How exactly do you make riverine things?

[Raishoiken]

At least, how does a non-magic wielder do so? it doesn't seem to say anywhere in my skimming about that the process is a magical one, but the fact that it involves force fields and extra pressurized water seems to imply that magic's afoot

[Kelb_Panthera]

There's no actual canonic answer to your question. However, objects made of force aren't -necessarily- magical. Force can certainly be manipulated by magic but there -are- instantaneous conjuration creation effects that produce foce objects. It's not unlike the way both fire and air can be solid objects in a D&D world.

I'd go with "don't overthink it."

[Fizban]

You don't, because I banned it *arms crossed eyebrow raised emoji*.

That wasn't even on my list of reasons, but yeah. If you think it should exist, then you'll have to finish figuring out how and why it works, 'cause whoever wrote it sure didn't.

[Raishoiken]

The inconclusivity is killing meeeeeee. I suppose I'll have to fumble around with figuring out how exactly a mundane will be crafting this. Really seems like magic but i suppose shapesand exists so i suppose it's not the longest stretch

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Fabricate would do it, but it's, y'know, a spell. Psionic fabricate is technically not a spell, although the difference is basically academic.

How about devices, from Ravenloft: Legacy of the Blood? A device of (psionic) fabricate isn't magic, and it can be crafted by a nonmagical person.

[Troacctid]

You need to pour the water into a specially designed mold. After enough time, forcefields will form around it naturally, and the water will set into the desired shape. This is why you need to have water sandwiched in between the forcefields: it's what allows you to shape it the way you want.

Of course this process only works on certain parts of the Elemental Plane of Water, so if you're on the Material Plane, you'll have to locate—or precipitate—an appropriate planar breach.

[FrogInATopHat]

You don't, because I banned it *arms crossed eyebrow raised emoji*.

That wasn't even on my list of reasons, but yeah. If you think it should exist, then you'll have to finish figuring out how and why it works, 'cause whoever wrote it sure didn't.

This has to be one of the least helpful comments I have ever seen that wasn't (I think and hope) active trolling.

[Fizban]

This has to be one of the least helpful comments I have ever seen that wasn't (I think and hope) active trolling.
It's basically the same as Kelb's first post, but from a negative perspective on the material. An agreement that there is no official answer, that the writer clearly didn't have one, and thus the reader will have so supply their own (or as Kelb suggested, just not think about it).

I can add more branching off from existing: People suggest the Ravenloft devices a lot, but IIRC those base mechanics are from a specific adventure and have little or no distinction from just "say it's not actually magic." The Gnome Artificer from Magic of Faerun however, has a range of non-magical and quasi-magical devices, and introduces them via a dedicated prestige class with a bunch of engineering skill requirements. Not something any modern PCs would take, but suitable for an NPC, though since they stop at 4th you still can't get a non-magical Fabricate for shaping your non-magical magical force.

But really, the best option if you want to pretend it has something to do with the water, is the mold suggestion. It still has nothing to do with elemental properties, but if there's a type of "water" or liquid that when placed under high pressure eventually spontaneously generates a field of force around itself, forever trapping it in that shape like some sort of coal into diamond transformation. . . well again, that's actually putting some thought into it, unlike the writer. Crafting it non-magically would involve building a non-magical high-pressure mold out of medieval technologly, which is essentially impossible, but the thousands of gp you'd have to Craft roll your way through would take a considerable amount of time which might be considered enough to invent and build all the required technology yourself.