Crafting Shenanigans?

[Chester]

So I'm trying to figure out how long it takes to craft masterwork full plate. I THINK I'm doing it right, but the results I get is that it's 33 weeks to craft it. That does not sound right.

Does that sound right to anyone here?

3.5 rules.

[Railak]

It all depends on your craft check.. the DC is 18 for armor and 20 for masterwork.

It's 1200gp and 300gp, you craft each part separately.

There are a couple of things you can do to speed it up, but the simplest way if you can achieve it is by +10 to the DCs so that would be 28 and 30. The source oddly comes from the epic level handbook, but doesn't state anywhere that it's specific to epic level crafting.

Let's ignore the stated above say you can make a craft DC of 20 on average. Weekly progress is by silver pieces
Armor: 12000sp would be 18(DC)x20(check)=360 silver a week it would take 33.33 weeks to complete just the armor portion
Mwk: 3000sp would be 20(DC)x20(check)=400 silver a week it would take another 7.5 weeks to complete the masterwork part of it.

It gets shorter the higher your craft check

Edit There are 2 other things you can do if the DM allows, one is just slightly weird the other is considerably more.
Way 1: find a wizard who can cast the fabricate spell, but somehow use your own craft check, that's the slightly weird way.
Way 2: get a one time use, use activated, item of fabricate. It costs about 2,250 gp, but the spell is technically cast by you so you get to use your craft check without issue. Thing is this method is using magic item creation rules and is entirely up to the DM if they want to allow it.

[Zaq]

It all depends on your craft check.. the DC is 18 for armor and 20 for masterwork.

It's 1200gp and 300gp, you craft each part separately.

There are a couple of things you can do to speed it up, but the simplest way if you can achieve it is by +10 to the DCs so that would be 28 and 30. The source oddly comes from the epic level handbook, but doesn't state anywhere that it's specific to epic level crafting.

Let's ignore the stated above say you can make a craft DC of 20 on average. Weekly progress is by silver pieces
Armor: 12000sp would be 18(DC)x20(check)=360 silver a week it would take 33.33 weeks to complete just the armor portion
Mwk: 3000sp would be 20(DC)x20(check)=400 silver a week it would take another 7.5 weeks to complete the masterwork part of it.

It gets shorter the higher your craft check

The accelerated crafting rules are also in Complete Adventurer. You can add any multiple of 10 to the Craft DC before you attempt the check. It’s wisest to figure out the highest such augmented DC that you can hit without rolling (you should almost always be taking 10 on Craft checks) and go from there.

[Khedrac]

Surely "Masterwork" is 150gp not 300gp for armor?

[DrMotives]

Yes masterwork on armor is only 150 gp, not 300 gp like a weapon. Also, crafting rules can be found in the Players Handbook & SRD, no need to go to non-core books like ELH & CW to find them, although they are printed in multiple places. As far as the fabricate spell, when used for crafting it is the caster's skill check being used. You can't cast it for someone else, unless you use a scroll & UMD if needed.

[Jack_Simth]

So I'm trying to figure out how long it takes to craft masterwork full plate. I THINK I'm doing it right, but the results I get is that it's 33 weeks to craft it. That does not sound right.

Does that sound right to anyone here?

3.5 rules.

That's ballpark correct. Specifics will depend on your character.

Masterwork Full Plate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/armor.htm):
1,500 gp at DC 18 (full plate)
150 gp at DC 20 (masterwork)

Suppose you have a +10 modifier for Craft (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm), and you plan to take ten.

You pay 1/3rd your end value for materials (so 550 gp), and start making craft checks every week:

Make an appropriate Craft check representing one week’s work. If the check succeeds, multiply your check result by the DC. If the result × the DC equals the price of the item in sp, then you have completed the item. (If the result × the DC equals double or triple the price of the item in silver pieces, then you’ve completed the task in one-half or one-third of the time. Other multiples of the DC reduce the time in the same manner.) If the result × the DC doesn’t equal the price, then it represents the progress you’ve made this week. Record the result and make a new Craft check for the next week. Each week, you make more progress until your total reaches the price of the item in silver pieces.
At a +10 modifier, taking ten, you're making DC 20 each week. 20*18=360 sp/progress per week for the armor itself, 20*20=400 sp/progress per week for the masterwork component. 1500/36+150/40=45.416666(repeating) weeks. This is basically the minimum modifier expected for a suit of masterwork full plate.

At a +15 modifier, taking ten, you're making DC 25 each time. 25*18=450 sp/progress per week for the armor itself, 25*20=500 sp/progress per week for the masterwork component. 1500/45+150/50=36.333333(repeating) weeks.

At a +20 modifier, taking ten, you're making DC 30 each time. You can afford the voluntary +10 DC increase now. 30*28=840 sp/progress per week for the armor itself, 30*30=900 sp progress per week for the masterwork component. 1500/84+150/90=19.5238... weeks.

I'm guessing you've got a +17 modifier?

Yes masterwork on armor is only 150 gp, not 300 gp like a weapon. Also, crafting rules can be found in the Players Handbook & SRD, no need to go to non-core books like ELH & CW to find them, although they are printed in multiple places. As far as the fabricate spell, when used for crafting it is the caster's skill check being used. You can't cast it for someone else, unless you use a scroll & UMD if needed.

A Ring of Spell Storing can also do the job.

[ShurikVch]

Craft Expertise - Planescape faction-specific feat, which doubles your daily and/or weekly progress with the crafting

Magical forges from the Races of Stone - all required Dwarf (or Stoneblessed, or Changeling with Racial Emulation, or UMD):
Forge of the Armorsmith - gives +20 competence on Craft (armorsmithing) checks "In conjunction with voluntarily increasing the DC by 20, a smith working at this forge can craft expensive armor in a dramatically reduced time."; 10000 gp
Forge of Sustenance - "A dwarf using this forge for any purpose need not eat, sleep, or even breathe while he continues to work at the forge, and he can work indefinitely without tiring. When using the forge to craft an item, the user multiplies his check result by the item’s DC and then by 3 to determine his progress on a weekly (in sp) or daily (in cp) basis"; 8000 gp

[Sloanzilla]

Or, you can do what a player in my group is doing and argue by insistence that you should get to craft a masterwork item a day and get your way because you are bombastic and also the literal RL boss of the GM and one other player.

[Tiktakkat]

There are a lot of shenanigans that can be pulled with crafting, depending on level, build, and how much money you want to throw at the problem.

The Eberron spell Magecraft is a 1st level spell that gets you a +5 competence bonus to Craft checks. As long as it is on your spell list or you can UMD it, put it in an Eternal Wand for 780 gp and have fun.
For higher competence bonuses just pay for an item. +10 is 10K, +15 is 22.5K, and +20 is 40K.
Way cheaper of course is to hire help. Every flunky is a +2 when using aid another. Five flunkies is a +10, which is a "level" of accelerated crafting.
Then there are feats and affiliations for a few more bonuses to Craft checks, and reduction of base costs and crafting time. They peak with the Craft Points alternative in Unearthed Arcana, which will let you craft in one day.
There are also shenanigans with the Unseen Crafter spell or a Dedicated Wright homunculus to craft while you are adventuring. Of course that still takes a lot of time, and thus is limited by speed of plot.