Using magical items as components for crafting

[Mike Miller]

Are there rules regarding using magical items of any kind in crafting new items? I am not referring to adding enchantments or increasing enhancement bonuses.

My party is trapped in a large dungeon but has access to a forge. They have plenty of magical items and equipment, but would like to craft new things. Most of their wealth and resources are tied up in these items. So I am wondering if there are rules to help my group in this situation.

[Fizban]

The only first party one I know of is that Artificers (from Eberron Campaign setting) can disenchant items to add xp to their craft pool, but that's not what you need and you don't have it anyway. I always found it amusing that the one first party crafting guru doesn't get the most obvious crafting fix, but Eberron's all about its lightly magipunk setting and naturally if you're in town you can just sell items.

Other specific things you don't have are the Ancestral Relic feat and the Samurai (from Oriental Adventures, not Complete Warrior), which can directly sacrifice any valuable goods, including magic items, to empower their daisho or item.

The correct solution is to ask the point of your DM: "Hey you stuck us in a megadungeon so we can't go back to town to craft, does this mean we get to cannibalize magic items instead of selling them?" The DM should already have the answer, since they're running the adventure and should know weather they want you to make do with the exact items you find or be able to craft them into more appropriate gear.

Edit: woah, the rarely seen iajutsu post, where after hitting post the page loads and that post isn't at the bottom.

[Darrin]

Are there rules regarding using magical items of any kind in crafting new items? I am not referring to adding enchantments or increasing enhancement bonuses.


Not that I'm aware of. The only relevant rules would be "adding enchantments or increasing enhancement bonuses", but you've already ruled that out.



My party is trapped in a large dungeon but has access to a forget. They have plenty of magical items and equipment, but would like to craft new things. Most of their wealth and resources are tied up in these items. So I am wondering if there are rules to help my group in this situation.

I think you mean a forge?

If you want to add a property or magical ability 'Y' to an existing magic item with a cost of 'X', you figure out how much a new magic item of 'X' + 'Y' would cost, subtract 'X' from this to get 'Y', and then pay GP/XP based on 'Y'. Each 1000 GP takes 1 day to perform the necessary crafting. The exact mechanics of how you pay 'Y' is up to the DM. It could involve melting down or merging two magical blades into a single weapon, or magically draining the 'essence' from an existing item in a specially prepared cauldron, or whatever the DM feels is appropriate.

The Ancestral Relic feat (BoED) is much easier, though... conduct a ritual, sacrifice loot worth the amount you want to add to the item, and you're done. Since magic items have an established GP value, it's easy to turn extra loot into new magical properties/enhancements, and you don't have to sell the items back to a merchant for 50% of their GP value. But if you don't have the feat already, it's probably not going to help you in a dungeon.

[weckar]

I don't suppose the forge has any properties of its own?

[Wartex1]

I don't suppose the forge has any properties of its own?

You should be able to enhance an already existing magic item if someone has the proper feats (though this is for Pathfinder, not sure if you can do that in 3.5). In addition, if you have a wand that casts a certain spell, you can use that wand for that spell prerequisite for crafting.

[Bohandas]

I believe you can use spells from spell completion and spell trigger items to fulfill crafting prerequisites (as per eberron's schemas) if that helps

[Helluin]

Do you have access to planar binding? I don’t know how lenient your DM is but some of my DMs allowed me to trade with outsiders that I call. Just be respectful and sincere, and make sure you have someone who has decent diplomacy. In general, Mercanes are good candidates (since it’s part of their fluff anyway) if you want to deal with a professional haggler.

[Mike Miller]

The forge isn't magical and summoning is out. Ancestral relic is a good place to start though