Clerics + scrolls

[silverwolfer]

So the basic of the question comes down to is


Should a cleric bother with taking the scribe scroll feat, or should he focuse on other aspects like killing things.

[ArcturusV]

I would. Least if you're starting off at level 1. Scribing low level scrolls is not only cheap, it improves your ability to have an impact. At higher levels it tends to lose it's appeal however.

[Urpriest]

Depends. Scrolls are pretty cheap, if you can count on buying them I wouldn't bother.

[silverwolfer]

Well it is a bit of a soloist adventure, but all should be within a city, and I do have the support a guild am in, so by take the advice you two have given me, it is not worth it.

[ArcturusV]

Good call based on the particulars.

[silverwolfer]

are any crafting feats besdies magic armor and weapons, worth it for a cleric?

[ArcturusV]

Wondrous Item is such a huge catchall I usually consider it worth the time to take it.

[silverwolfer]

usually such things are slacked on creation price though right?

You can't do the usual nice things like making it specific for a race and cut the cost of creation by alot?

[Andezzar]

You can't do the usual nice things like making it specific for a race and cut the cost of creation by alot?Yes ad no. There is no rule against restricting an item to race/alignment, but if you do so, it becomes a custom magic item, whose cost and other particulars are a the DM's discretion.

So ask your DM how he wants to handle it.

The thing is once you start doing that, the DM might decide that it is good tactics as well to use items not usable by the enemies. This will hurt the selling price of the party's loot.

[silverwolfer]

well the normal creation rules are 50% of the cost of the item + xp

if I do it by alignment or class it reduces it further taking 30% off that.


So something that is 100 GP, if i made it myself would be 50 gp, and if i said only clerics could use it 35 gp? with Xp staying the same of the 1/25 rule, so instead of costing me 2xp it cost me 1 xp?


((this is taking the rules as they are, not with Dm balancing or decision making))

[Andezzar]

It sounds right, but I'm not sure if you are not supposed to use the weird D&D multiplication i.e -(50%+30%)=-80%

[ArcturusV]

Well, depends if they use that phrase "Base Cost" or "Market Price" or whatever the particular book feels like using. Which it usually does.

*shrug* It mostly comes down to if your DM is going to just give you the loot you want (Through your Contacts maybe), or if he's going to expect you to use your Divine Smitery powers to make your own.

[ericgrau]

Scrolls are awesome, but they are also cheap. So the value of scribe scroll isn't the benefit of having scrolls. They are great, but you can get them without the feat. The benefit is the 50% savings on scrolls. Because they are cheap, you don't save that much money.

At very high levels I might spend an extra feat on it to save a little gp, but generally I wouldn't take scribe scroll.

[Leon]

So the basic of the question comes down to is


Should a cleric bother with taking the scribe scroll feat, or should he focuse on other aspects like killing things.

Yes.
Being able to prepare important situational spells in advance that you done specifically want in your slots at any given time.

[Andezzar]

Yes.
Being able to prepare important situational spells in advance that you done specifically want in your slots at any given time.Depending on the availability of scrolls this can also be achieved with your local magic mart.

[Psyren]

Wondrous Item also allows you to improve existing items, so it is worth it for that alone. (For example, even if you have magic mart and can buy a Periapt of Wisdom or Amulet of Natural Armor, taking the feat will allow you to create a custom amulet that combines both effects.)

Obviously this sort of thing needs DM approval, but a new item that is simply a couple of old items combined is a reasonable thing for an adventurer to invent.

[Leon]

Depending on the availability of scrolls this can also be achieved with your local magic mart.

Having never played in a game with a Magic mart my suggestions come from experience.

Magic items tend to be found as loot or in small amounts at Through the nose prices by people who can make them. Which is better than wandering into a shop and picking up a bulk discount on +3 swords.

[Urpriest]

Wondrous Item and Rod are the best ones to craft, since they're usually expensive. Magic Arms and Armor is less useful on a Cleric, you've got Magic Vestment and Greater Magic Weapon after all.

[ericgrau]

I'd never use craft magic arms and armor to instill an enhancement bonus anyway, I'd use it for misc weapon enchantments. I never find magic vestment to be useful to prepare because it scales way too slowly and armor enhancement bonuses are as cheap as they get. I'd want to max them out around mid levels, but magic vestment can't do that until high levels. So you can save a large amount of money with this feat. Depending on the party makeup it could often be more than wondrous.

So craft magic arms and armor is one of my favorites, though wondrous item is nice too. I can't think of enough useful rods to make craft rod useful at first. I'd mainly go for the metamagic ones but early on you can't even afford to use them to to boost your lower level spells to be on par with your high level spells. Around level 17 it could be quite handy though, mainly for greater quicken rods that you can finally afford without throwing your budget for everything else in the toilet. Ring is good, but doesn't affect nearly as much as wondrous item or arms & armor. Staff is good because more full power spells are always supreme. Wand falls together with scrolls: wands are great but the feat doesn't provide enough gp savings to be worth much.

So I'd say the top crafting feats are wondrous item, arms & armor and staff. At level 17+ rod is great.

The scrolls I'd prefer to get are mainly low level, so I'd say a DM would have to be pretty stingy to not let you get all or most of them without a crafting feat. But if you do have to put up with such things then I could see taking craft scroll.