Loosing XP in item making

[Anditch]

Clearing up loosing XP

I have a good idea instead of loosing xp why not have ranks in making items turn the item creation into a skill. Have each magical item a rank amount to make. So the better the item the higher the rank. This stops the silly xp loss which does not quite make sence to me. If someone asked you to make a chair would u turn around and say ok no probs give me 2 or 3 days whilst i go and kill 50 rabbits in the nearby field. To me this is a way of making something without any thought process involved on the behalf of WOTC. So making it skill based but only available to casters the same then the problem is eliminated

 

[kenjib]

For a magic-item rare campaign, another option would be to have the caster sacrifice spell slots to make items. The spell slots only come back if the item is somehow destroyed. I think this is a much more clean way of requiring a caster to expend personal power to create an item than xp cost, but it does have quite a different flavor.

 

[Norfleet]

The XP loss isn't a big deal if the rest of your group is eating 20% XP penalties from uneven multiclassing. If the rest of your group does, then you won't be falling behind by doing this, since now you can afford to periodically burn some XPs to create some toys, and still stay with the group.

If the rest of your noncasters aren't suffering from XP lag, however, losing experience as a caster will definitely lag you behind unless you regularly receive bonus experience for "creative" spell use. Muhahahahaha.

Remember, to think outside the box, you usually need to blast holes through the box to escape it.

 

[Spatula]

Re: problem

The problem that I always had with this was that an old wizard could not sit around his shop and make scrolls and potions for a career after he has retired from adventuring. Doing a craft should give you experience in the craft. If we really wanted to symbolize life force or power being drained away why not artificially age a character? It may be harsh but to me it makes more sense.

Aging effects don't get applied on an equal basis to all characters; being aged 10 years is much worse for a human than it is for an elf. That's why there are no longer spells that age the caster as a side effect - most of those spells now cost XP instead in 3E.

And if creating magic items prematurely aged the creator, you still wouldn't be able to have old retired wizards making scrolls and potions - they'd all be dead from old age.

 

[Spatula]

I think that loosing XP to make magical items is a crap idea.Why should u loose your memories of an adventurer to make say a wand or whatever.Isnt Experience the knowlendge of what you have done. If i went to make a table i wonder forget how to make a chair now would I. Can anyone flesh this one out pls

You lose life force, not memories. The same way you lose life force (only on a more serious level) when attacked by some types of undead.

 

[Selvarin]

The XP loss isn't a big deal if the rest of your group is eating 20% XP penalties from uneven multiclassing. If the rest of your group does, then you won't be falling behind by doing this, since now you can afford to periodically burn some XPs to create some toys, and still stay with the group.

If the rest of your noncasters aren't suffering from XP lag, however, losing experience as a caster will definitely lag you behind unless you regularly receive bonus experience for "creative" spell use. Muhahahahaha.

Remember, to think outside the box, you usually need to blast holes through the box to escape it.

Interesting point to consider.

 

[kenjib]

Re: Re: Loosing XP in item making

You lose life force, not memories. The same way you lose life force (only on a more serious level) when attacked by some types of undead.

XP does not equal life force. I think the undead level drain is a crap mechanic too.

 

[EarthsShadow]

Here's a wild option: let people of other classes take a limited selection of item creation feats also, but only limit the kinds of items they can create to something within their specified classes. For example, a Fighter can only create a item or armor. Have the XP requirement be higher for them than for a Wizard or Sorceror, but at least this way they won't require a Wizard or Fighter to create an item that logically they normally wouldn't create anyway.

Of course, this kind of idea would probably work in a specific world where everybody has the potential of tapping into the natural fabric of magic within the world but only those that take heroic class levels are capable of manipulating that energy. Earthdawn is the best example I can think of, and I think its possible to be used in a D&D game also.

It just needs to be tinkered with.

 

[Olive]

The person who wants the effect is willing to use thier own "life force" to endow the effect. Otherwise, I never understood why a magi would make a magic sword, except only for his king or leige lord.

Or for cold hard cash. Or to say thank you to someone who helped them out. Or to give to another vassle of the lord, at the lord's request. Or for any other number of reasons.

 

[Olive]

Re: Re: Re: Loosing XP in item making

XP does not equal life force. I think the undead level drain is a crap mechanic too.

I think, at least in part, it does equal life force. It's an abstract mechanism, just like HP. HP equals the damge itself, the ability to roll with punches etc. XP represents basic experience, life force and a whole lot of other elements, wrapped into one abstract game mechanic.