Item creation with no XP cost?

[tauton_ikhnos]

Considering how long it takes to craft items anyway... I'd say this is a bad solution in most cases. PC wizards have enough problems finding the time to craft items and this would just make it worse.

Effect is roughly time x 8.

It is not a bad solution - it is a different solution than shorter times and XP costs. It will work better in some campaigns than others. XP cost will also work better in some campaigns than others.

As for finding time: depends on GM. My GM, we level about 2/year game-time. Plenty of downtime, personal projects, etc. If anything, he'd probably say this system is too easy, change it to 2 XP-worth per day (longsword +2 takes 160 days) or something similar.

Your GM, may decide it's too hard, change it to 20 XP-worth per day (longsword +2 takes 16 days).

Anyway, not my problem. We don't craft in our campaign, we retain the services of a personal wizard, pay for/defend his tower, he makes toys. Lots of toys

 

[LazerPointer]

The main goal is to prevent them (and other campaign world wizards) from making a ton of items. At the low levels the XP cost is low. Maybe make it a die roll: instead of 200 XP, make it 1d20X10.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Just house rule that other people can help with the process by spending XP. They would have to do so willing and be there for the entire process.

This is exactly what I do in my campaign, and it works fine. The PC's are very happy to do it (even though, for campaign specific reasons, the xp cost is 5 times higher in my campaign world...)

This is the simplest and easiest way to do it.

 

[Spatzimaus]

Just house rule that other people can help with the process by spending XP. They would have to do so willing and be there for the entire process.

Personally, I'd say that's just a little too good, for one simple reason: during downtime, the mage would argue that he's renting out his time to do this for total strangers, which should pay far more than any Craft or Profession skill would give. Since there's no XP cost to him, he could claim to be making really expensive items, at a profit of 500 gp per day...

I suppose you could do it as a Feat chain, say:

SHARE DRAIN I: When creating an item, a willing target can supply 50% of the XP needed for the item's creation. This is divided before any other Feats (such as Magical Artisan) or class abilities are applied. The target must be present for the entire item creation time.
SHARE DRAIN II: As Share Drain I, but the entire amount can be transferred.
IMPROVED SHARE DRAIN: Prereq: SD 1, and either Magical Artisan or Metacreative. The amount of XP to be transferred is determined after any XP-reducing Feats or class abilities. Additionally, the target only needs to be present for half of the item creation time.

Each of these can be selected any time an item creation feat can (Wizard bonus feat, etc.). I've got a custom Artificer PrC in my world that has these as class abilities, and it's worked well so far. I suppose you could give SD1 to everyone for free, but I wouldn't go past 50% without costing feats.

 

[Crothian]

Personally, I'd say that's just a little too good, for one simple reason: during downtime, the mage would argue that he's renting out his time to do this for total strangers, which should pay far more than any Craft or Profession skill would give. Since there's no XP cost to him, he could claim to be making really expensive items, at a profit of 500 gp per day...

How does the mage claim to be renting his time to total strangers? This is totally in the hands of the DM, the price, the total strangers, all that would be role played out. This assumes there are poeple willing to give up XP and gold for the wizards services. A DM can easily make this not happen if he feels the Wizard is abusing it.

 

[FireLance]

There is less reason to whine in 3.5e because lower-level characters gain experience faster than those with higher level. If the XP loss from making a magic item does not cause the spellcaster to be of lower level relative to the rest of the party, no problem - everyone is on par. If it does, the lower-level spellcaster gains XP faster and will catch up to the rest eventually.

 

[der_kluge]

Nifelhein, the check is in the mail, buddy.


Right, I would recommend you check out Artificer's Handbook, even if it meant just sitting down and reading through it at your FLGS. There are numerous ways to eliminate the XP cost.

The best way, IMHO, is to just require the PCs to acquire all the components. The amount of time and energy they will expend in adventuring for the sole purpose of acquiring rare components is more than enough of a balancing factor to remove the XP penalty. In my mind, the XP penalty is there solely for campaigns where the player merely scratches off 4,350gp on his character sheet, and replaces it with 2,350gp when he creates a 2,000gp item. In other words, he just lowers his gp on his sheet, without making any role-playing attempt to determine just *where* this money is going. Another good method that I like is the "instability" method. There's a whole section on instable items in the Artificer's Handbook.


Give it a look, and let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Wehtam]

Not necesserally a non XP method, but a method of saving XP to make magic items.

I actually have a kind of method where a Magic user can bank 10% of their earned XP per encounter and save that to make magic items. Or they can just keep it to get to the next level, but there is no trading between the two.

Sure they are still having to sacrifice XP that might get them another level, but they have a fighter and other classes to back them up.

 

[Nifelhein]

@ die_kluge.

I really loved the book, although i never manages to actually write a review of it. i even loved the gem part, saved me a trouble in a preview for a character, used a gem as a kind of savior, the one that chanegs color by the direction light hits on it.

Anyway, as none seem to be interested in the book here, I think that yo could just make the requirements be special components instead of XP, it reduces the rate of production and takes the burden out of the caster.

 

[der_kluge]

@ die_kluge.

I really loved the book, although i never manages to actually write a review of it. i even loved the gem part, saved me a trouble in a preview for a character, used a gem as a kind of savior, the one that chanegs color by the direction light hits on it.

Anyway, as none seem to be interested in the book here, I think that yo could just make the requirements be special components instead of XP, it reduces the rate of production and takes the burden out of the caster.

Glad you like it, Nifelhein. The section on gems was probably the section I had the most fun writing. I learned a lot writing that section. The gem you speak of is Iolite, IIRC.

It's funny, because at the time of that writing, I was playing NeverWinter Nights, and in that game, there are all kinds of gems that you find as treasure. That game *routinely* drops alexandrite, which is quite rare. I found that to be quite amusing.