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Message: <blockquote data-quote="N'raac" data-source="post: 6073874" data-attributes="member: 6681948">I'd rather a GM simply denied item crafting than allowed the players to waste feat slots on abilities the GM will render useless.  However, if the Wizard can craft items, and has reasonable down time, he can craft them for the group as a whole, not for himself only.  He's part of a team.  How long does the Wizard last without other party members between him and the enemy?A lot of this comes down to the social contract.  In my games, at least, characters think like living beings.  "One encounter, then rest for 23 hours, 55 minutes" is not the usual human approach.  So, if the GM refuses to allow the 5 minute work day - there are time pressures, the hostage gets sacrificed and the Dark One summoned, the bad guys move on, the bad guys reinforce their position, a more proactive adventuring group gets the job done while these "heroes" are in hiding - this throws the question back on the players.  If the characters are not going to act on time sensitive issues in a timely manner, how is the campaign going to progress?  It's not the GM acting in a vacuum that prevents the game progressing.  It's the players' insistence on a five minute work day that prevents the game from progressing.  The five minute work day exists only if the players and GM allow it to exist.  Most game problems are best resolved by out of game agreement as to how the game is desired to play out.And the villains now have the option of retreat.  So what do the PC's do now?  Wait for their defensive magics to drop off, and risk an ambush by the enemy, or retreat back up the rope?  Maybe an enemy spellcaster Summons a strong creature who yanks the rope out of the spell - now we have a character or two on the ground, and a couple in that extradimensional space.I'd also suggest the enemy consider Dispel Magic, but then it would have been as easy or easier to cast it shortly after locating the Rope Trick area.In the 23 hours and 55 minutes the PC's are hiding in their rope trick, how many preparations can the enemy make around their space in the real world?  The players are asserting that it's "only rational" for the characters to hole up and replenish their resources.  Isn't it equally rational for the enemy to bolster their defenses and prepare an ambush, or move their plans along, or otherwise take steps similar to those the PC's would take if they were on the other side of the equation?By the way, where do you leave your Handy Haversack, bag of holding, etc. while in the Rope Trick space?  The spell description says bringing one extradimensional space into another is hazardous.However, if we remove the magic shop, then we effectively add to the power of the Crafting spellcasters.  The noncasters can't get items to make them more versatile without that magical economy.To me, the real limitation is available wealth.  Crafting allows the characters to swap items more economically (we only get half value in sale, but we only pay half price to craft).  At the extreme, it doubles the available wealth since gold can be converted into twice as many items.  That extreme relies on having every crafting feat, and all prereq spells, available, and never getting an item the crafter can't take 10 on.  And the crafters with crafting feats gave up on other feats they could have taken for greater effectiveness in another area.I find most spellcasters will buy a few scrolls.  I've never needed every possible spell in my spellbook, but enhancing the 4 spells per spell level I'll get advancing with some scrolls for added versatility is a given.  I rarely find my characters cast spells from scrolls, though.  What I do find is that, at 5th or 7th level, I stop using L1/2 spells for offense and start getting longer-lasting enhancement spells and/or more situational use spells for those slots.If there is a broken combo, why do only the PC's use it?  It's amazing how easy it is for the group to decide to ban or modify a broken ability when the enemy uses it against the PC's as well as the PC's using it against their enemies.That's a big one.  Even for the Haversack guy, using up a move action every round to get that item, and your standard action to use it, becomes tougher if the combat moves around.  Trimmed a few items I had no comments onWhat stops the enemy from surrounding the area with archers while infantry digs a pit under the rope trick area and fills it with spears, or builds a bonfire they will light when that rope drops down?  Some years back (well before 3e), I recall a player persuading his teammates they needed to bed down - right here, right now - because they were short on resources.  A second player didn't like the idea, but threw his hands in the air in the debate.  So they bedded down.  And, in the middle of the night, they were attacked by a contingent of giants.The "bed down" player was very upset.  The other fellow said "Seriously?  This is like breaking into a house, packing up all the valuables on the second floor in a sack, going down the stairs and taking a nap on the couch.  What did you EXPECT would happen?"  Rope Trick provides a bit of an advantage, but nowhere near insurmountable to intelligent foes.Again, if that spell is so effective then enemy casters will reasonably use it too.  If the players consistently use scry & fry tactics, why doesn't that Lich do the same?And when the party is actually working as a team, my experience is that the team is OK with each party member having some power.  That makes the team more powerful.</blockquote>

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