Knowing Item Creation Requirements

[Desdinova]

Okay, there have been a lot of discussions on the requirements for making various magic items, but here is a question.

Every magic item has it's requirements (feats, spells, etc), but it seems.... off.... to me that a character would automatically know what goes into the making of any given magic item.

Am I just missing the section/rules on researching these "recipes" or is there not one? If there is, then where is it?

I don't have a problem with the simple things, like making a +x weapon or suit of armor, but other things like special abilities and so forth would seem to me to be something that should require a little effort (i.e. research) to discover.

I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't such a thing before I went through the time of working a system out myself.

 

[Datt]

I think it is assumed that when the character takes the appropriate feat, ie Carf Magic Arms and Armors, that they figure out who to make all the special abilities. You can say they get a nice big "cook book" of reciepes on how to do the special abilities. Of course that isn't to say that you can't say that the caster needs to do some research on how to actually make the item.

 

[dcollins]

In AD&D this was enforced, that the character research requirements prior to being able to craft a magic item.

In D&D this definitely does not seem to be the case, and it really makes things simpler. Presuming the character takes the appropriate feat, the text of the feat directs them to the DMG for descriptions of magic items and their requirements. There are no rules given for researching these requirements (as Datt says, the feat itself represents the knowledge for crafting items in the core rules), and it sure makes it a lot easier to adjudicate for players and DMs alike.