3rd level wizard...what to Craft??

[aglondier]

So my pathfinder Wizard just reached 3rd level. I have 2 feats to choose, and I'm interested in Crafting.
At the moment I am thinking Craft Wondrous Item, and Ring Apprentice. Are these the best choices?

What magic items should I be looking at crafting, and in what order, to make the most of my time (which is the only real limiting factor)

Appreciate the advice...

[Seward]

What you should craft right at this moment (L3) is probably enough scrolls to get through an adventuring day without resorting to a crossbow. A L3 wizard is starved for spell slots unless you don't tend to fight many battles in a day, or unless you have some way of contributing that lasts multiple rounds or are a rare wizard who can do something actually useful without magic in combat. (Shooting a crossbow at dex+bab1 for 1d8 damage isn't useful anymore, and was barely useful at L1)

As a wizard, IMHO craft wondrous is probably your most important crafting feat, if only to halve the cost of a Blessed Book (which while costly at first, will pay for itself long before you have filled its pages). But also because it lets you craft all those "item tax" magic items that give enhancement bonuses to stats, or resistance bonuses, freeing wealth for other things.

Taking it at level 3 might be a bit early. Level 5-7 is where you might actually have enough cash and when you'd have the Secret Page spell needed to craft a Blessed book, and the stuff you can craft at only L3 is kinda underwhelming (like a cloak of resistance+1). But if you have plans for those later feats (eg, they take skill ranks or something you can't get till then) it won't hurt to get in a crafting feat or two early. Ring Apprentice is at least reasonable for the wealth you are likely to have, but are there rings that inexpensive you want to craft?

Edit - never mind. the feat upgrades to Forge Ring later. With that, I'd say Ring Apprentice is a decent pick if you are into crafting as you will have the cash to make some minor rings at L3, where other items are too expensive. Craft Wondrous at L3 is only a good idea if there is no way to take something more immediately useful to you now and/or no way to take it around level 5-7 due to other feats you want to take, as you won't really have the cash to make much use of it till after level 5 (and possibly not for a level or two after that, depending on what else you are trying to do with your wealth)

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Question: Does the DM give enough down-time to craft in the upcoming campaign? Talk to him (or her) and see if it's viable. If not, you may want to reconsider.

Also, is 3e stuff allowed? Because crafting a dedicated wright from the Eberron Campaign Setting (2,100 gp to craft) and an enveloping pit from the MIC (1,800 gp to craft) at first opportunity is a fantastic idea. The wright has your effective skill ranks for crafting, so take some Craft skills for alchemical items to use while adventuring (or to sell). You may want to hire the services of an artificer to help you craft it by donating the feat for the wright, since I doubt you want to waste a feat on Craft Construct.

Also, there's the quill of scribing in Complete Mage that can craft magical scrolls for you (875 gp to craft).

[Kurald Galain]

The feat you want at low-to-mid level is indeed Craft Wondrous Items. Aside from the obvious numerical stuff, some nice cheap items to craft include Clockwork Key, Quick Runner's Shirt, Pearl of Power, Buffering Cap, Boots of the Cat, Badge of Veiled Authority, Fortunate Charm, and maybe a special spellbook like Arrowsong's Sorrow.

And I'd use the other feat for metamagic or defense or spell specialization. Easily 80% of the good items in the game are wondrous items, and there's not a lot of rings that are both useful and affordable at low level. Don't worry about that yet.


What you should craft right at this moment (L3) is probably enough scrolls to get through an adventuring day without resorting to a crossbow.
This is Pathfinder. Wizards don't use crossbows, they have infinite-use cantrips (that are still useful at level 3) as well as school powers.

That said, getting a bunch of scrolls for situational or utility spells is still a good idea.

[aglondier]

Would Arcane Discovery: Arcane Builder for Craft Wondrous Item be a good choice? 25% reduction in crafting time and +4 to Spellcraft or other skill check while crafting same.

[Kurald Galain]

Would Arcane Discovery: Arcane Builder for Craft Wondrous Item be a good choice? 25% reduction in crafting time and +4 to Spellcraft or other skill check while crafting same.

Very much so, since you specify that time is your biggest constraint.

[Gnaeus]

Question: Does the DM give enough down-time to craft in the upcoming campaign? Talk to him (or her) and see if it's viable. If not, you may want to reconsider.

Also, is 3e stuff allowed? Because crafting a dedicated wright from the Eberron Campaign Setting (2,100 gp to craft) and an enveloping pit from the MIC (1,800 gp to craft) at first opportunity is a fantastic idea. The wright has your effective skill ranks for crafting, so take some Craft skills for alchemical items to use while adventuring (or to sell). You may want to hire the services of an artificer to help you craft it by donating the feat for the wright, since I doubt you want to waste a feat on Craft Construct.

Also, there's the quill of scribing in Complete Mage that can craft magical scrolls for you (875 gp to craft).

PF has rapid crafting rules and let's you craft 2 hours a day while adventuring, so unless it's a very very rushed campaign it's almost always worth it.

The easiest Pf crafting accelerator is cooperative crafting on a valet familiar. Then if your wizard has enough spell craft to rapid craft (and he should, he's a wizard), you can get a full day crafting in every day, or 4 days per day of downtime, 5 with rapid builder.

(You definitely want craft wondrous, you probably start with a headband of int the moment you have 2kgp, which may be now)

[Seward]

This is Pathfinder. Wizards don't use crossbows, they have infinite-use cantrips (that are still useful at level 3) as well as school powers.



Fair enough. Daze is still useful at L3 vs humanoids. The rays though are pretty much in "crossbow" territory, although at least sometimes they can take down that dude in platemail with 1hp left that your fighters are having trouble hitting. Most cantrips are pretty much strictly utility (terrific utility, but not nearly as good in combat as, say, a scroll of obscuring mist or enlarge or even magic weapon vs unexpected DR/magic or incorporeals)