ksbsnowowl
2015-02-20, 01:54 PM
I'm running a game in Eberron, and my artificer player is having some trouble hitting the DC's to craft some lower-level items (so far, things under 1,000 gp). He's just had a string of bad rolls, and with the low prices of the items, he only gets two chances to make the requisite UMD rolls.
I had previously pointed out the Skill Enhancement infusion, for the purposes of using said infusion to boost his UMD modifier when activating items, and for making use of the Spell Storing Item infusion. Skill Enhancement lasts 10 minutes per level, and grants a scaling circumstance bonus to a single skill chosen at the time of casting, which could be UMD.
Now he's trying to argue he should be able to use this infusion for the normal crafting of items, claiming the artificer crafting rules don't say when in the 8-hour crafting day you make the check. He wants to either make the check at the start of the day, after having just cast Skill Enhancement, or he wants to be able to cast Skill Enhancement in the middle of the crafting day, just before making the check. Neither of these seem okay to me, but if there were a way to get Skill Enhancement to last for 8 hours, then he'd be golden; just cast it before he starts the 8-hours of crafting, and use the bonus.
My argument is that the UMD check isn't happening at any one point during the day, but over the course of the entire 8 hours of crafting.
Another point from him, that perhaps has more merit, is an argument that he should at least be able to cast the infusion just prior to his "last-ditch effort" UMD roll, if he were to have failed all the UMD emulation rolls along the way. I'd be more inclined to allow it on this roll only, but the idea still gets a "meh" response from me.
Here are the relevant bits from the SRD:
The creator also needs a fairly quiet, comfortable, and well-lit place in which to work. Any place suitable for preparing spells is suitable for making items. Creating an item requires one day per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price, with a minimum of at least one day. Potions are an exception to this rule; they always take just one day to brew. The character must spend the gold and XP at the beginning of the construction process.
The caster works for 8 hours each day. He cannot rush the process by working longer each day. But the days need not be consecutive, and the caster can use the rest of his time as he sees fit.
Pertaining to the creation of Wondrous Items:
If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the item, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells...) ... The act of working on the item triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the item’s creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from his currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)
Now, it says that working on the item "triggers" the spells, but it never says at what point this happens. Also, D&D pretty typically requires an effect to be on long enough to encompass the entirety of an activity for it to grant you its bonus.
Maybe I'm just being a mean, stingy DM, but searching around I've not seen any Artificer/UMD threads that have proffered this infusion as the answer to Artificer crafting woes. The fact I've not seen this ECS infusion offered up as an answer in a perusal of threads from the last 10 years, indicates to me that it probably can't be used for normal crafting.
Should Skill Enhancement be able to aid an artificer in crafting normal items, such as a Periapt of Wisdom, or a Glove of Storing? Or does its short duration preclude it from doing so?
I had previously pointed out the Skill Enhancement infusion, for the purposes of using said infusion to boost his UMD modifier when activating items, and for making use of the Spell Storing Item infusion. Skill Enhancement lasts 10 minutes per level, and grants a scaling circumstance bonus to a single skill chosen at the time of casting, which could be UMD.
Now he's trying to argue he should be able to use this infusion for the normal crafting of items, claiming the artificer crafting rules don't say when in the 8-hour crafting day you make the check. He wants to either make the check at the start of the day, after having just cast Skill Enhancement, or he wants to be able to cast Skill Enhancement in the middle of the crafting day, just before making the check. Neither of these seem okay to me, but if there were a way to get Skill Enhancement to last for 8 hours, then he'd be golden; just cast it before he starts the 8-hours of crafting, and use the bonus.
My argument is that the UMD check isn't happening at any one point during the day, but over the course of the entire 8 hours of crafting.
Another point from him, that perhaps has more merit, is an argument that he should at least be able to cast the infusion just prior to his "last-ditch effort" UMD roll, if he were to have failed all the UMD emulation rolls along the way. I'd be more inclined to allow it on this roll only, but the idea still gets a "meh" response from me.
Here are the relevant bits from the SRD:
The creator also needs a fairly quiet, comfortable, and well-lit place in which to work. Any place suitable for preparing spells is suitable for making items. Creating an item requires one day per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price, with a minimum of at least one day. Potions are an exception to this rule; they always take just one day to brew. The character must spend the gold and XP at the beginning of the construction process.
The caster works for 8 hours each day. He cannot rush the process by working longer each day. But the days need not be consecutive, and the caster can use the rest of his time as he sees fit.
Pertaining to the creation of Wondrous Items:
If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the item, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells...) ... The act of working on the item triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the item’s creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from his currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)
Now, it says that working on the item "triggers" the spells, but it never says at what point this happens. Also, D&D pretty typically requires an effect to be on long enough to encompass the entirety of an activity for it to grant you its bonus.
Maybe I'm just being a mean, stingy DM, but searching around I've not seen any Artificer/UMD threads that have proffered this infusion as the answer to Artificer crafting woes. The fact I've not seen this ECS infusion offered up as an answer in a perusal of threads from the last 10 years, indicates to me that it probably can't be used for normal crafting.
Should Skill Enhancement be able to aid an artificer in crafting normal items, such as a Periapt of Wisdom, or a Glove of Storing? Or does its short duration preclude it from doing so?