[MEG - PR] Artificer's Handbook - sample magic item

[der_kluge]

Yep, I should have seen that. So, if only that one operator was mistyped (* instead of +), then the Bag of Roses would indeed cost 2500gp/5000gp, a much more reasonable price.

Yep, yep. CRGreatHouse got it.

 

[der_kluge]

I've played in a game like that, and one really annoying thing that cropped up was the way that every game session turned into a 'dismantle the monster' discussion or a 'find the strange herb/stone/slime/etc' exercise. It gets old very fast and really bogs down play. I hope that the book has some discussion for how to incorporate this approach smoothly into the game.

Strangely, the flip side also bothers me about this approach. It puts the whole process of item creation into the DM's hands. One thing I like about the current system is that once you 've correctly costed a magic item, a spellcaster who has invested in the right feats can make it. It's up to the PC to decide whether that use of resources is a good one, not whether the DM feels like giving them access to the components.

Sorry if this seems negative. I just like the way the current system works in principle (in practice I agree that there's still work to be done on getting the balance of the Item Creation Feats right). Still, I fully expect to buy the book just to rip off ideas for the peripheral aspects of item creation you mention!

You're absolutely right, Deadguy. While I think there is a little bit of discussion concerning this, a lot of time is not spent on it. Basically, there's a tradeoff there, as you mention. We have the formula (as mentioned in the other discussion) to calculate the creation cost. How the GM forces the player to spend this is up to them. My own personal preference is for the cost to be absorbed as components that are sought after. In the end, I think a combination of purchased items (gems, herbs, alloys), and maybe 1 or 2 "found" things is the best balance.

Playing mortician after every kill is probably not feasible, since most things wouldn't last in that fashion. I think the example we use in the book is a troll's bladder. Not only would it becomr rotten fairly quickly, but think of the smell!

I would contend that most simple magic items could be fashioned from things purchased in a large town - jewels, metals, craftsmanship, herbs, etc. Once you get into the powerful stuff (10,000gp+) items, should you require specialized components.

One of the more interesting lists of components are what we call "weird" components, which include things like a monkey off someone's back, a sigh of relief, or a stitch in time. Just watch your players squirm when you tell them that the powerful rod they are trying to create requires a "stitch in time" to create.

 

[Deadguy]

Actually I'm glad that at least some thought has been given to the 'mortician' question. I reckong that it's something that the DM and players need to talk about in advance, and settle some ground rules.

Interestingly, the approach you mention to material components for item creation is pretty much something I was considering adopting. I am thinking of offering the PCs the option of seeking out power ingerdients to reduce the gold piece cost of item creation (not the XP cost - that's the real limiting factor). That way, the Wizard can decide whether it's worth hunting down a Gargoyle Elder for one of its eyes to reduce the cost of making his 'Ring of Stoneskin'. Or whether he'd just prefer to pay the gold cost in town. Options are always good!

Still, the more I her of the Artificer's Handbook the more inclined I am to buy it...

 

[der_kluge]

Deadguy, there's a lot of discussion that can take place concerning components. In fact, we discussed that one could write an entire 96 page book on nothing but components.

We cover it, but not as much as could be covered on the topic. One thing that we did do, was to provide "power components". These are things that artificers can use to go "above and beyond" during item creation. The example we used internally, but couldn't in the book for OGL reasons was that of a wand of web. If web requires a bit of cobweb as a component, then what would happen if you cast web using a bit of web from Lolth's spider web? Certainly, the DC would be much higher, and the effect would be just that much more powerful.

We touch on that concept briefly, and provide some guidelines of how to increase the power of the item if the components used exceed what would normally be required.