OK, first of all, i put this here instead of House Rules 'cause i don't have any new rules to propose, i'm just looking for discussion.
With that out of the way: I've been thinking mightily about magic item creation for D&D, prompted in large part by reading Power Classes: Artificer and reading about The Artificer's Handbook. Now, i've never been happy with magic item creation in D&D. D&D3E fixed a lot of the issues, but it still needs w,rk, IMHO. Specifically, i have two main issues:
1: XP cost. yes, there needs to be a mechanism for limiting magic item creation. I'm not sure this is the best one. I'd probably be ok with it, if it carried with it some sort of guarantee--in most games where character possessions are point-costed, the point cost makes the item as much a part of the character as any other aspect (such as a skill or power/spell). In D&D3E, you could spend a whole bunch of XP, lose the item, and you're just SOL. It seems to compound the "balance" issue, rather than solving it. Also, it has some rationale problems: why does doing this cost the character power/experience, when the item is most clearly not ap art of the person? Why doesn't it gain them anything (in terms of experience)? And if you're investing some of your power into the item, why doesn't the itemhave some sort of tie to you? I haven't read the Artificer's Handbook rules in depth yet, but the spell slots technique seems like a possible solution. But it also seems like it has its own problems, in terms of in-character rationale. Again, why does the character lose magical power when investing the item, but then gain it back once the item is finished? At least the XP cost method is consistent: you invest some power, and it's gone. Also, the spell-slot method introduces another problem--see the next point.
2: Disconnect between magic items and the rest of the magic system, and between magic items and magic-item-creators. On the first part, 3E went a long way to fixing this: between prerequisite spells and generalized rules for converting a spell to an item effect, there's now a considerable connection between spells and magic items. Arcana Unearthed improves this significantly with its cost modifiers for putting spells into items. But weapons and armor still are special cases: compare the costs for +X weapons with the costs of making items with Magic Weapon spells, and the fact that they're treated differently from other items when it comes to disenchantment/antimagic/etc. On the second part, a ring of cloudwalking is a ring of cloudwalking, no matter who makes it. It doesn't matter i fthe creator was a wizard or cleric, a specialist or generalist, or anything of the sort. Yes, it might be easier for one person to make it than another, but the result is the same--there's no individuality to it. The related converse problem is that spellcasting and item creation go hand-in-hand. There's no way to create a character who, say, brews magic potions, but isn't a spellcaster. Perhaps more importantly, there isn't the incentive to make an item instead of casting the spell, beyond saving your spell slots--there's no such thing as being able to enchant an item, albeit perhaps via an arduous and time-consuming process, with an effect that you can't do as a spell. Similarly, there's no such thing as the, say, dwarven crafter whose works are so good as te be effectively magical (in game terms, enchanted objects, but the crafter has no spellcasting ability). [Again, talking in the core rules--i'm aware of some options for such things--though i don't think i've seen any D20 System supplements that don't use spellslots and "virtual" spellcasting as the basis.]
So, i'm wondering what ideas people have, or have seen, that might address thise "problems"? To toss out a few of my own:
--rituals/processes/materials that substitute for spell knowledge
--high Craft skill, rather than spellcasting ability, being the eligibility for some Item Creation feats.
--Spellcraft, or a new "magic theory" skill being used for item creation, rather than caster level/spell knowledge
--let anyone, not just the creator, pay the XP cost (probably normally has to be voluntary, but special rituals/spells can force others to pay--thus the whole "sacrificing virgins to make the evil magic go" plot element)
But most of these are just patches.
I'm really stymied on the cost/balance thing. XP seems "unfair", since it introduces an element of the character's total cost than can easily be taken away (and i don't like the Hero solution that an item paid for with XP is "part of " the character on a narrative level, and simply can't be taken away permanently without player permission--fine for some items, but not items in general). Monetary cost seems too arbitrary, and too easily circumvented. Spell slots might work (have to see the Artificer's Handbook system in detail), but tie item creation even more to spellcasting, which i don't like. And it seems like mostly a non-cost, since aren't groups going to mostly handle item-creation during downtime whenever possible, for boringness reasons if not cost reasons? I mean, even if you ignore the lack of spells for adventuring, would n't the lack of time (you're spending how many hours crafting) kill it for in-play happenings, in general? Spell slots seem like a great way to limit power based on character level, but a lousy way to actually give the items a cost. There's uses per unit time--the Artificer (Power Classes) effectively does this with the charged item every X levels--but that seems like a really artifical limit. Any ideas for other costs that are semi-quantifiable (the AD&D1/2 method that often boiled down to "go on a quest of arbitrary difficulty, depending on the whim/orneriness of the GM" just is a no-go), actually limit item creation (so the creators don't run the show, especially in games with copious downtime), but don't cost the creators unfairly (such as by charging a non-renewable resource for a non-permanent item)?
With that out of the way: I've been thinking mightily about magic item creation for D&D, prompted in large part by reading Power Classes: Artificer and reading about The Artificer's Handbook. Now, i've never been happy with magic item creation in D&D. D&D3E fixed a lot of the issues, but it still needs w,rk, IMHO. Specifically, i have two main issues:
1: XP cost. yes, there needs to be a mechanism for limiting magic item creation. I'm not sure this is the best one. I'd probably be ok with it, if it carried with it some sort of guarantee--in most games where character possessions are point-costed, the point cost makes the item as much a part of the character as any other aspect (such as a skill or power/spell). In D&D3E, you could spend a whole bunch of XP, lose the item, and you're just SOL. It seems to compound the "balance" issue, rather than solving it. Also, it has some rationale problems: why does doing this cost the character power/experience, when the item is most clearly not ap art of the person? Why doesn't it gain them anything (in terms of experience)? And if you're investing some of your power into the item, why doesn't the itemhave some sort of tie to you? I haven't read the Artificer's Handbook rules in depth yet, but the spell slots technique seems like a possible solution. But it also seems like it has its own problems, in terms of in-character rationale. Again, why does the character lose magical power when investing the item, but then gain it back once the item is finished? At least the XP cost method is consistent: you invest some power, and it's gone. Also, the spell-slot method introduces another problem--see the next point.
2: Disconnect between magic items and the rest of the magic system, and between magic items and magic-item-creators. On the first part, 3E went a long way to fixing this: between prerequisite spells and generalized rules for converting a spell to an item effect, there's now a considerable connection between spells and magic items. Arcana Unearthed improves this significantly with its cost modifiers for putting spells into items. But weapons and armor still are special cases: compare the costs for +X weapons with the costs of making items with Magic Weapon spells, and the fact that they're treated differently from other items when it comes to disenchantment/antimagic/etc. On the second part, a ring of cloudwalking is a ring of cloudwalking, no matter who makes it. It doesn't matter i fthe creator was a wizard or cleric, a specialist or generalist, or anything of the sort. Yes, it might be easier for one person to make it than another, but the result is the same--there's no individuality to it. The related converse problem is that spellcasting and item creation go hand-in-hand. There's no way to create a character who, say, brews magic potions, but isn't a spellcaster. Perhaps more importantly, there isn't the incentive to make an item instead of casting the spell, beyond saving your spell slots--there's no such thing as being able to enchant an item, albeit perhaps via an arduous and time-consuming process, with an effect that you can't do as a spell. Similarly, there's no such thing as the, say, dwarven crafter whose works are so good as te be effectively magical (in game terms, enchanted objects, but the crafter has no spellcasting ability). [Again, talking in the core rules--i'm aware of some options for such things--though i don't think i've seen any D20 System supplements that don't use spellslots and "virtual" spellcasting as the basis.]
So, i'm wondering what ideas people have, or have seen, that might address thise "problems"? To toss out a few of my own:
--rituals/processes/materials that substitute for spell knowledge
--high Craft skill, rather than spellcasting ability, being the eligibility for some Item Creation feats.
--Spellcraft, or a new "magic theory" skill being used for item creation, rather than caster level/spell knowledge
--let anyone, not just the creator, pay the XP cost (probably normally has to be voluntary, but special rituals/spells can force others to pay--thus the whole "sacrificing virgins to make the evil magic go" plot element)
But most of these are just patches.
I'm really stymied on the cost/balance thing. XP seems "unfair", since it introduces an element of the character's total cost than can easily be taken away (and i don't like the Hero solution that an item paid for with XP is "part of " the character on a narrative level, and simply can't be taken away permanently without player permission--fine for some items, but not items in general). Monetary cost seems too arbitrary, and too easily circumvented. Spell slots might work (have to see the Artificer's Handbook system in detail), but tie item creation even more to spellcasting, which i don't like. And it seems like mostly a non-cost, since aren't groups going to mostly handle item-creation during downtime whenever possible, for boringness reasons if not cost reasons? I mean, even if you ignore the lack of spells for adventuring, would n't the lack of time (you're spending how many hours crafting) kill it for in-play happenings, in general? Spell slots seem like a great way to limit power based on character level, but a lousy way to actually give the items a cost. There's uses per unit time--the Artificer (Power Classes) effectively does this with the charged item every X levels--but that seems like a really artifical limit. Any ideas for other costs that are semi-quantifiable (the AD&D1/2 method that often boiled down to "go on a quest of arbitrary difficulty, depending on the whim/orneriness of the GM" just is a no-go), actually limit item creation (so the creators don't run the show, especially in games with copious downtime), but don't cost the creators unfairly (such as by charging a non-renewable resource for a non-permanent item)?
). I've yet to actually have to approach that problem since my players don't want to item craft (initially for the reasons stated, becoming an Item Crafter for your party often costs you). At the moment, I'm considering using a base rule of 5 * the xp expended in 'services rendered' or 'power components'. For 'simple' / 'cheap' items I will most likly just have it be abstracted flavor in terms of the gp cost (the inks and papyrus for scrolls are more expensive), and use power components for the big items.
