Can someone explain crafting to me please?

[Nick_mi]

I've never played in a game where anyone actually knew how to effeciantly craft. I read stories about people crafting scrolls with spells, crafting magical weapons, etc. Are these just really high levels or ?

Also, please explain to me how you work it into the story. The only time craft came into affect was a guy had it and wanted to stay in a city for 2 years so he could craft weapons. So we ingame let 2 years lapse while working in the town and he was crafting, and by the end of that, when he went to make a MW greatsword, he rolled mediocre and failed. So, I'm pretty confused on it.

[Urpriest]

Question 1: Do you want to know about crafting magic items or crafting mundane items? They're entirely different and largely unrelated rules.

[Nick_mi]

both?

Apparently I need 10 characters so here you are.

[iDM]

No item should take two years to make... basically, crafting is spending a few weeks (or a day in 4e D&D) and about 1/5 of the item's purchase price in gold to make an item, magic or otherwise. Most magic items require no checks to make, but daily or weekly checks are usually made for mundane items.

[Nick_mi]

It was reasoned that you spent 2 years practicing how to create the item. Not making the actual item.

What about magical?

[Urpriest]

Magic Items have a Market Price, which is how much you would pay a merchant for one of them. A caster pays half this price in materials, spends 1/25 of it in XP, and takes one day for every 1000gp in the Market Price.

To make a magic item you need the appropriate feat (for example, Craft Magic Arms and Armor for weapons) and the spells/caster level that the item requires.

[Kelb_Panthera]

what in the world are you crafting, that it takes 2 years? That's a 730,000 gp item. Or are you talking about the mundane crafting of a mountain plate? Even that can be accelerated by voluntarily increasing the craft dc.

[Otodetu]

I guess it just involved some missunderstandings.

[Saintheart]

Perhaps he's talking about leaving the character around for 2 years to flip up some levels so he gets some extra skill points or something?

Also, bear in mind the Craft Points alternative, from Unearthed Arcana IIRC.

[kamikasei]

OP, it sounds like you're playing 3.5, is that right?

Have you read the rules for crafting in the DMG/SRD (I think it's in the DMG... shows how often I refer to the core books for material that's in the SRD :P)?

Your first post makes it sound like your group were unaware there were rules for this at all and had to ad-hoc it. If you read through the rules they may answer all your questions, or if there are specific points you don't understand the forum should be able to answer them.

[Snake-Aes]

Crafting: You spend a week crafting an item, you also spend 1/3 of the item's price in "raw materials".
At the end of the week, roll your craft check. If you beat the craft dc, multiply the result by the DC. That number is how many silver pieces' worth of the item you made. Failure means you didn't progress that week, and might have wasted materials.
If that is higher than the item's price, then the item is finished. If not, spend another week, and add the new results with the previous ones.
Masterwork items are, for crafting, two separate items: The item being made, and the "masterwork component". Once both are done, the item is complete.

Spending 2 years to craft a single masterwork sword is...odd to say the least.

[shadow_archmagi]

Rules for crafting magical items work as follows:

1. Determine what sort of item you're crafting. Flavors are "Scroll, Potion, Wondrous, Wand, Weapon/Armor, Staff, Ring." Each one has it's own feat. If you have the feat, you can craft it.

2. Use the formulas here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm) to determine Base Price.

3. Discuss the base price with your DM; some items will be vastly more valuable or less valuable then indicated by the formula.

4. Spend 50% of the item's base price in gold, 4% of the base price in XP, and .1% of the item's base price in days.

5. Enjoy.

[Gavinfoxx]

4. Spend 50% of the item's base price in gold, 4% of the base price in XP, and .1% of the item's base price in days.


As part of the crafting process, you have to have access to someone to cast the spells associated with that magic item as part of the item creation process.