Brew Potion/Craft item questions

[Elboxo]

Hey forum, i was reading over the Brew Potion and Craft Wondrous Item feats for 3.5e and noticed that it takes a day to brew ANY potion and a day per 1000 gp for wondrous items and would like two questions answered on the topic;

1) Since it takes a day to brew a potion, what is the quantity of the spell? By spending a day on it do you make a potion for one person, or can you make a huge cauldron with enough of the potion in it to give to a group of people?

2) Can you use unseen servant to craft/brew ( Or a servant horde p182 Spell Compendium ) for you or is there a way to increase the speed of potions/items being made?

3) For brewing potions can you apply Eschew Materials if the material cost is low enough?

[deuxhero]

It doesn't matter. Cost per gold, the only use for potions is cure minor wounds for stabilizing, and only in core (tyou should get a Blessed Bandage if not core).

[tyckspoon]

It doesn't matter. Cost per gold, the only use for potions is cure minor wounds for stabilizing, and only in core (tyou should get a Blessed Bandage if not core).

They're marginally useful for transferring particularly high-impact buffs, especially if you have decided it's worth taking a round out of the fight to buff.

@ thread questions:
You make 1 potion per crafting day, you must do the crafting unless something specifically says otherwise (one of the little robot constructs they introduced in Eberron for Artificers to play with can craft in your place), and no.

[Elboxo]

Well doesn't that just spoil the enjoyment of potion-brewing, i guess you could make an npc brewer with some of the spells in the Spells Compendium for offensive use or something

Also tyckspoon: There is an infusion though that does it, it'd be nice to read up on artificers and play one.... I was asking the questions for a wizard character, craft wondrous item still has it's uses i guess

Are there any item creation boosting feats....?

[deuxhero]

Yes, but IIRC, you can still only work on 1 a day even with them.

[faceroll]

They're marginally useful for transferring particularly high-impact buffs, especially if you have decided it's worth taking a round out of the fight to buff.

Or better yet, a round before the fight, and the spell isn't on your spell list.

[Larpus]

Or better yet, a round before the fight, and the spell isn't on your spell list.
Or you have no spell list.

Anyway, it can be asked to the DM if he'd allow Craft Woundrous rules for other crafts, which really makes thing much faster and more...."realistic"...yes, I said realistic in a D&D discussion, sue me.

But seriously, 1000gp/day (or similar) should've been the standard crafting cost, crafting is already bad and lengthy enough without kicking it harder in them nuts.

[ericgrau]

Potions give non-casters something to do in the buffing round, and something to do when they're in trouble and not engaged in combat. Emergency potions save their life. There are also situational uses. So, yes, they're nice to have.

Some to consider, ** = awesomesauce:
1 (if no party caster): endure elements, enlarge person, **mage armor, jump, feather fall, hide from animals, hide from undead, **shield of faith (esp. with a high caser level), remove fear, magic weapon oil (situational DR)
1: **protection from evil, expeditious retreat, **shillelagh oil, cure light wounds
2 (if no party caster): delay poison, spider climb, remove paralysis, lesser restoration
2: bull's strength, **invisibility, cure moderate wounds
3 (if no party caster): **flame arrow, **fly, **heroism, magic circle against evil, neutralize poison, remove blind/deafness, remove curse, remove disease, tongues, **greater magic fang oil (+2 to +5)
3: cure serious wounds, **displacement

It's counter-intuitive at first, but expendables in general tend to be better than permanent items in 98% of games. People hate them because it seems like throwing your money away. But most campaigns are so fast paced - often only 3 encounters per level instead of 13 - that you only use something a few times anyway. Thus an expendable is usually a better deal than a permanent item. Once you consider saving your more expensive expendables for the even fewer important fights, those become even more reasonable. At the same time past a certain level I wouldn't be afraid to spam 1st level potions on every buffing round given how cheap they are.