Magic Item Creation Question

[Yogibear41]

When creating a magic item, it is acceptable for another character/npc to provide the required spell in order to create said item. For example Mr. Sorcerer is creating a pair of +2 dex gloves, but does not know cat's grace, fortunately his Wizard companion does indeed know the spell and is more than happy to provide it for him each day.

While I know Mr. Sorcerer will have to work on the item for 8 hours for several days in order to complete the item and that his Wizard buddy will also need to provide the Cat's Grace spell every day as well, what I am unsure of is how long his Wizard buddy will have to hang around each day in order to do so. Could his wizard friend simply swing by, spend a standard action to cast the spell every day and then leave, or would he be required to sit there for the 8 hours everyday as well?

[rockdeworld]

Yes, you can have someone else provide the spell.

Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item’s creator (although access through another... spellcaster is allowed).

The rules imply but don't state that the other spellcaster would have to be with you for the whole time. Ask your DM if you want to shorten that.

[Sagetim]

It is reasonable to assume that the person supplying the spell doesn't have to stick around for the 8 hours of crafting in a day. I would cite the way that dedicated wrights work in ebberon: if you have one, you can get the crafting process started on an item by supplying the necessary spells, then leave the dedicated wright to continue the process to completion. As I recall, it implies that you only need to cast the spells once, and not repeatedly throughout the item creation process.

If your DM isn't sure, then it would probably not be broken to allow a wizard or what have you to supply the spell(s) required as a one time thing at the start of the item creation and leave the rest of the process up to the person with the item creation feat. The person making the item is still spending gold, time, and xp (unless you're in pathfinder or house rule the xp cost out). The only advantage that this provides is letting someone with a limited spell list make items that aren't on their limited list of spells known. This does allow for the possibility of the sorcerer having craft wand and using a party cleric (or hiring a cleric) to cast cure light wounds so they could make a wand of cure light wounds, etc, but even if they can make a wand like that, they have to spend the normal resources to make the wand.

[BowStreetRunner]

The minimum necessary in order to satisfy the requirements spelled out in the rules is for the wizard to show up once during the entire crafting process to provide the spell. Once you have satisfied the rules, don't make things harder on yourself by offering more than that. If the DM doesn't object, there is no need to suggest anything more.

[Jeraa]

The minimum necessary in order to satisfy the requirements spelled out in the rules is for the wizard to show up once during the entire crafting process to provide the spell. Once you have satisfied the rules, don't make things harder on yourself by offering more than that. If the DM doesn't object, there is no need to suggest anything more.

The rules do specifically say the spell is expended each time you work on the item. While the quote is specifically for magic armor, the other item types all say the same:


If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the armor, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard), must provide any material components or focuses the spells require, and must pay any XP costs required for the spells. The act of working on the armor triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the armor’s creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from his currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

So your wizard buddy would need to be there every day you work on the item, or you need a scroll/wand charge for each day.

[ericgrau]

Yeah, but he might only need to be there for the casting time of the spell each day. It's not clear, but this would make sense.