Question about creating an Artificer above 1st level

[reveal]

One of my player's fiance will be joining us in a couple of weeks. She has asked about being an Artificer and we came upon an interesting conundrum. We know that the Artificers Craft Reserve doesn't roll over from one level to the other but what's the easiest way to creat stuff and keep track of it?

I mean, she'll be coming in at 10th level. Let's say she creates her character and then, at 3rd, creates an item. How does she keep track of XP? Normally I would just say "Ok, you're 10th and have X amount of XP. Subtract the XP used to create items from your current total." But since an Artificer has Craft Reserve that doesn't roll over it's more difficult than that.

 

[Bront]

Either just have her do the math, (Different things at different levels) or let her carry it over for that level only (Or let her use all her previous points out of a single pool).

Probably no easy solution, so wing it the fairest way you know how.

 

[Jdvn1]

The starting gold for levels above 1st is everything you have -- that includes stuff you've created. Let her buy things normally and just say, "Okay, you've made some of this yourself..." There's other stuff she's made that she's used up, that you just don't worry about.

 

[reveal]

The starting gold for levels above 1st is everything you have -- that includes stuff you've created. Let her buy things normally and just say, "Okay, you've made some of this yourself..." There's other stuff she's made that she's used up, that you just don't worry about.

That doesn't really solve the problem though. One of the joys of being an Artificer is the ability to create items and not pay as much for them. If I just have her buy items normally, she wil pay a lot more than she would to make them herself.

That's why it's such a tough decision because on one hand the Artificer is benefited with the ability to create items but, OTOH, you have to go through the process one level at a time if you start out above 1st and want to possess items you've created yourself.

And even then you have to figure out when you level up, how much XP you get/spend, etc.

 

[Jdvn1]

That doesn't really solve the problem though. One of the joys of being an Artificer is the ability to create items and not pay as much for them. If I just have her buy items normally, she wil pay a lot more than she would to make them herself.

That's why it's such a tough decision because on one hand the Artificer is benefited with the ability to create items but, OTOH, you have to go through the process one level at a time if you start out above 1st and want to possess items you've created yourself.

And even then you have to figure out when you level up, how much XP you get/spend, etc.

You get that advantage in game. In theory, Artificers don't start with more stuff by nature of their class. Wealth after 1st level is level dependent, not class dependent. Don't think of it as buying stuff, think of it as "This is the value of all the stuff I have."

To my knowledge, that's the RAW. Otherwise, you could sum up the points she'd have otherwise and say, "Okay, you can use up to 1/5 this amount." Or something.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Let her have it all, spend it level-by-level to ensure the correct distribution of items. It's complex, but not really that much more complex than selecting a high-level wizard's spellbook.

The rationale behind her not having spent large chunks of it on expendable items that have been used? The fact that she's probably 'recovered' a fair bit from useless items via retain essence.

 

[Saeviomagy]

You get that advantage in game. In theory, Artificers don't start with more stuff by nature of their class. Wealth after 1st level is level dependent, not class dependent. Don't think of it as buying stuff, think of it as "This is the value of all the stuff I have."

Would you deny someone with an appropriate craft skill the ability to make some of their starting gear?

"Things that I have made" is a really massive part of the artificer. You're really reaming them badly if you say that a high level artificer doesn't get to make use of most of his class abilities.

 

[Jdvn1]

Would you deny someone with an appropriate craft skill the ability to make some of their starting gear?

"Things that I have made" is a really massive part of the artificer. You're really reaming them badly if you say that a high level artificer doesn't get to make use of most of his class abilities.

I'd say, "Use the starting wealth to buy whatever you want. You can say that you've made whatever you qualify for."

I don't see how it's reaming someone to give him the amount of wealth he's supposed to start with. If we're talking about the Craft skill specifically, I'd give the items to the person for free, assuming the cost was negligible. But, really, I'd prefer him to buy his weapon and just say, "I made it."

 

[AuraSeer]

At character creation only, I'd say to just add up the craft reserve for each level, and allow her to spend that much XP on crafting gear. It may not be perfectly accurate, but it'll be pretty close, because each created item frees up gold for other gear.

For instance, her first level craft reserve might have been poured into scrolls of cure light wounds, which have long since been used up. But each scroll she scribed means one fewer scroll she had to spend money on. That extra cash gets saved up over time, and is spent on later crafting of more advanced items. Eventually, when she becomes a PC and joins the party, her gear reflects the benefit of all those accumulated savings.

 

[Diirk]

So for a theoretical character that's played in your campaign from 1 to 10 who has crafted all the gear that he owns, is the value of his gear 49k or 98k ? If its 98k as one would expect, then why wouldn't a character starting at 10 be able to achieve the same amount, assuming he spent the xp required ? (Altho arguably this would result in him being 9th level and thus only having 72k worth of items.. nevermind that for now).

Of course if its only 49k, and you don't let your characters achieve more than standard wealth for their level... whats the point of the feats again? And why are they spending all that xp ?