No Spellcasting, Just Item Creation

[mmadsen]

Basically, rather than spells, the Artificer gets a certain number of "augmentations" per day. These can only be cast on objects. For example, he can cast Bull's Strength on an object, and it functions as a Belt of Giant Strength for the duration of the spell.

An interesting idea -- basically the opposite of what I suggest: creating magic items using the mechanics of normal spellcasting, rather than casting spells using the mechanics of item creation.

He gets all the magic item feats and craft homunculus as class abilities, can disable traps like a rogue, and has Cleric BAB.

Now that sounds like the Expert "wizard" I'd like to see...

 

[mmadsen]

I don't that'd work for PCs -- far too much time and money required -- but it'd be interesting.

Time isn't necessarily a problem; just amend the SRD's "Creating an item requires one day per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price, with a minimum of at least one day" to "Creating an item requires one day per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price." With that small change, a "wizard" can produce 40 1st-level "scrolls" in a day -- five per hour.

 

[mmadsen]

I like the idea. I assume that you would then cut the other spellcasting classes from teh campaign/world?

Right. Of course, you could have Expert "wizards" alongside Expert "clerics" and "druids" -- and you may decide to base their "spellcaster level" on the lesser of their ranks in spellcraft and knowledge (arcana, religion, or nature).

Another option is to allow the true spellcasting classes as prestige classes for those masters of the mystic arts who can cast spells without hours or days of ritual beforehand. An Exp2/Wiz1 would then be able to craft talismans of 2nd-level spells, but he'd only be able to cast 1st-level spells with just the normal prep.

 

[mmadsen]

Double post.

 

[mmadsen]

Another thought: With "spellcasting" based on the spellcraft skill (and, perhaps, a secondary knowledge skill), multi-classing becomes more viable. (Of course, it becomes a little too viable if you use the rules as written for class vs. cross-class skills, where a cross-class skill becomes a class skill forever once a character has had it as a class skill.)