Skill-based magic item creation system

[RainOfSteel]

That'd work too, but what about the potential for cursed items?

I think your proposal was the middle road between too complicated and too simple.

 

[Kerrick]

Sorry for the long delay here, guys - I got sidetracked working on a semi-related project involving a variant wealth progression and variant epic pricing system. I've finally nailed things down there, and I think it'll help over here. Anyway, I updated the original post with the critical success/failure charts and the (revised) crafter feats.

 

[bestone]

You know what, i like it? and its a little long and there is lots to it, but so what? BRING BACK TABLES! MUAHAHA ...kidding, but its alright to have a table every once in awhile, expecially for something like item creation

Im a big fan, you should suggest this to wizards

yoinked

 

[airwalkrr]

That'd work too, but what about the potential for cursed items?

Two 1s in a row results in a cursed item? If the roll is made secretly, then the player may never know the item is cursed. If there is also a mechanic for two 20s in a row doing something spectacular, then the PC might mistakenly believe they got the spectacular result.

 

[Kerrick]

Two 1s in a row results in a cursed item? If the roll is made secretly, then the player may never know the item is cursed. If there is also a mechanic for two 20s in a row doing something spectacular, then the PC might mistakenly believe they got the spectacular result.

Check the first post - I added the tables for rolling nat 1s and 20s. Its pretty much what you said - 2 nat 1s in a row results in a cursed item, and 2 20s (well, a 20 and a 10, since the second roll is 1d10) make something extra special. The rolls are made in secret - I didn't like the idea of a crafter knowing if something's cursed or not, or if it gets special benefits; these should be something you find out through use or a legend lore spell.

Oh yeah - I was working on the DCs yesterday, and I think I've got something workable now, but I need to check a few things before I post the new numbers. Basically, scrolls and potions start at 20+spell level (I boosted potions because I realized alchemical items like smokesticks were DC 25), and the DCs increase as you go up the chart until you have DC 46 for major rings and DC 50+ for high-end magic items (which also start at 100,000 gp instead of 60). Armor and weapons were heavily revised because of that other project I was working on - a +10 suit of armor, for example, has a DC of 62. Epic magic items start at DC 70 and go up from there. I might work on it a little over the weekend, but don't expect anything new till Monday-ish.

 

[Kerrick]

Okay, folks, I've updated everything again, and I think this is pretty much a final version. The DCs, as you will probably notice, have been boosted quite a bit, especially at the higher levels; I might drop them by 5, but I think they're pretty close to where they should be otherwise.

It's rather a good thing that I went over the numbers over the weekend, because I found an error in my calculations for weapons and armor, which has been corrected. The tables for weapons, armor, and other items that grant just bonuses is below the main table.

I added some extra notes in the Discussion section, and updated the old notes. I'll be posting my stuff on the graded multipliers tomorrow, after I get it cleaned up and some notes written.

And, as an added bonus, here are some of my notes on how I came up with the numbers in the first place.


For Craft DC, add the minimum and maximum prices for the range* and divide by 5, then add it to 20 (round up). For items that apply the epic multiplier, multiply the modifier** by 5,000 and divide the total by that number, then add to 20.

*For example, medium wondrous items go from 7,500 gp to 27,500 gp (I rounded up). Add those (35,000) and divide by 5,000 (7), and add that to 20 - voila, Craft DC.

**The modifier, in this case, is the graded multiplier. For instance, a +7 weapon has a x1.5 multiplier, and +8 has x2; you use the lower multiplier, so the price range for +7 to +8 weapons is divided by 5,000 * 1.5 = 7,500.

For crafting time, add the minimum and maximum prices for the range and divide by 3,000 (round up). For weapons/armor, divide by 5,000. For high-end items, divide by 6,000. For epic items, divide by 10,000*. If the combined price (for items that use the graded
multiplier) is over 1 million, divide by 10,000 gp instead.**

*I came up with the base time for epic items by determining the highest time for non-epic items (90 days) and adding 10, thus ensuring that the time for any epic item would always be more than any non-epic item.

**For instance: the combined price range for +9 to +10 weapons is 1,286,000 gp. Since it's over 1 million, you divided it by 10,000 instead of 5,000 to get the time.