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House rules ofr Magic Item creation
- Thread starter BluWolf
- Start date
Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
What exactly do you want to fix about it?
TS
TS
BluWolf
Explorer
Not exactly sure??
I like how Monte Cook handles it in his Arcana Unearthed but I run a E10 (from E6 fame) game, so while handeling the spell completion and use activated items is easy its the other stauff that becomes complicated.
Under the AU rules, Constant items can only be created by a minimum caster level of 12th. While under the E10 rules you can gain a feat that will allow you to gain a feat that will emulate this ability and therefore qualify for the item creation feat. It means ONLY exceptionally rare folks are making constant magic items.
This makes sense to me for more powerful items like unique legendary swords or staffs, it doesn't seem to jive with me for your average bag of holding.
Now +1 swords are not on every display table in my game and constant items are not regularly bought and sold (ala the normal assumption in 3.X) but there are available.
If only afraction of the worlds population can make them then they would be extremely rare.
I guess I am just looking for inspiration in how other folks have tweaked the system to fit in their worlds to see if I can come up with something similarly logical.
I like how Monte Cook handles it in his Arcana Unearthed but I run a E10 (from E6 fame) game, so while handeling the spell completion and use activated items is easy its the other stauff that becomes complicated.
Under the AU rules, Constant items can only be created by a minimum caster level of 12th. While under the E10 rules you can gain a feat that will allow you to gain a feat that will emulate this ability and therefore qualify for the item creation feat. It means ONLY exceptionally rare folks are making constant magic items.
This makes sense to me for more powerful items like unique legendary swords or staffs, it doesn't seem to jive with me for your average bag of holding.
Now +1 swords are not on every display table in my game and constant items are not regularly bought and sold (ala the normal assumption in 3.X) but there are available.
If only afraction of the worlds population can make them then they would be extremely rare.
I guess I am just looking for inspiration in how other folks have tweaked the system to fit in their worlds to see if I can come up with something similarly logical.
I can't point you anywhere, but I can tell you how I do it in my own E# game. If something requires a caster level high (but not too much) than E#, then make it a ritual/Incantation (from UA) needing a huge (x2 to x10) investment in gp (and/or really exotic ingredients), time and skill. If it is well over E# caster level. then I require them to find an outsider/dragon/etc... (ie: a being more-powerful-than-you-can-ever-hope-to-be) to make it for them.
In general I would say E#+4 for the 1st, while anything over +5 requires other makers.
In general I would say E#+4 for the 1st, while anything over +5 requires other makers.
Tequila Sunrise
Adventurer
I suggest that you simply adjust the CL prereqs for the item creation feats as you see fit. You clearly have your own idea of what magical items should be in your campaign, so therefore you're the best judge of how to tweak item creation.BluWolf said:
TS
Kerrick
First Post
I turned it into a skill-based system, which works off Craft (artificing). Check it out.
Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
There is also the Arcana Evolved way.
Dark Hermit
Explorer
I think the item creation is one of the worst things in 3.0/3.5.
I just think losing XP is too stupid of a thing. A dirty trick they used to try to balance the system, but I don't think it made it.
I often simply ban any magic item-creation from my players.
Not that cool, but so far I haven't played with anyone who would complain about that, so I haven't had so far any real reason to try better rules.
A simple thing one can do is to just not use the rules, but allow the characters to make magic items when they have specific situations that would allow it. The characters could, in order to make a nice magic sword, have to find an old, lost smith who now lives on the mountain and is the only living person who knows the arts of crafting such an item, then discover they must use an specific rare kind of metal, or put some rare gemstone in the weapon, stuff like that. It could be a whole adventure just to get them able to make themselves some weapons, and for no cost of XP.
The original rules simply ignore that kind of stuff by allowing people to just spend some money to make an item. It's like the gold pieces just evaporate and voila, the item is made (or not, you failed the check, meaning you're a retard who was hamming on the wrong side of it for days and didn't even realize it until a part of it was completely wasted).
Magic stuff could have any kind of prerequisites for someone to make it, not having to go for the stupid XP loss. some items could be only made by beings of pure good, evil, law, chaos, people with elven blood, on a specific time of the year (an equinox for example), etc. Prerequisites like that make it so much work to make an item that the players won't go wondering around making random items just to get richer/more powerful. Making a maigc item take so much effort, danger, time that they wouldn't think about making it unless they really need it. And sometimes they just wouldn't be able to make one at all.
I just think losing XP is too stupid of a thing. A dirty trick they used to try to balance the system, but I don't think it made it.
I often simply ban any magic item-creation from my players.
Not that cool, but so far I haven't played with anyone who would complain about that, so I haven't had so far any real reason to try better rules.
A simple thing one can do is to just not use the rules, but allow the characters to make magic items when they have specific situations that would allow it. The characters could, in order to make a nice magic sword, have to find an old, lost smith who now lives on the mountain and is the only living person who knows the arts of crafting such an item, then discover they must use an specific rare kind of metal, or put some rare gemstone in the weapon, stuff like that. It could be a whole adventure just to get them able to make themselves some weapons, and for no cost of XP.
The original rules simply ignore that kind of stuff by allowing people to just spend some money to make an item. It's like the gold pieces just evaporate and voila, the item is made (or not, you failed the check, meaning you're a retard who was hamming on the wrong side of it for days and didn't even realize it until a part of it was completely wasted).
Magic stuff could have any kind of prerequisites for someone to make it, not having to go for the stupid XP loss. some items could be only made by beings of pure good, evil, law, chaos, people with elven blood, on a specific time of the year (an equinox for example), etc. Prerequisites like that make it so much work to make an item that the players won't go wondering around making random items just to get richer/more powerful. Making a maigc item take so much effort, danger, time that they wouldn't think about making it unless they really need it. And sometimes they just wouldn't be able to make one at all.
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