[3.5] Artificer question

[cerkai]

Hi, I have a question for anybody familiar with the artificer class from Eberron Campaign Setting.

Now, I was planning to join a game starting at level 10 as an artificer, so I have a lot of item creation feats, right?

When making my character, can I use those early levels (1-9) craft reserve points to make my items, since it's assumed the character would have made some items with those earlier levels of craft reserve points?

Or do I just start at level 10 with 400 reserve points, and I have to buy all the items I would have made myself as I was levelling?

From one perspective, I can understand having to buy everything, to start off on same grounds as everyone else, and an artificer really would have used some of those craft reserve points on scrolls, potions and wands, all of which would have been used long before level 10.

On the other hand, starting with just 250 reserve points but not being able to use those of earlier levels means that you're short a homunculus and any other items that last forever (such as a cloak of resistance +1, which is easily made at level 3 with craft wondrous item and could well last you past level 8, or a +1 shield, again easily made at level 5 when you get craft magic arms and armor).

I could live with buying the stuff I would have made, I guess, but the lack of homunculus especially hurts given how much exp it uses up. One of the better homunculus, the dedicated wright, costs 160 exp and could easily have been made at level 7 with the 200 point craft reserve, leaving points spare for other things like wands and scrolls. At level 10 though, making it eats up almost half the reserve points, despite it other artificers having made one long before.

Still, it also feels a bit overpowered to just get stuff for half price at chargen, since there's no guarantee you weren't an artificer that, say, made purely scrolls from levels 1-9 without ever making a homunculus or other items. Sure, that'd have been -stupid-, but again, it's a possibility.

So I'm of split mind, and not knowing anyone who's ever played an artificer before, I can't really ask, either, how exactly chargen at later levels work.

[Duke of URL]

Typically, I've seen games run with the rules as follows (note, none of this is RAW, it's all DM rulings):

• Start at level 1 with level 1 WBL and level 1 craft reserve
• Craft what (if anything) you want, using your level 1 skills, abilities, feats, etc.
• Proceed to level 2 and beyond, using the same approach
• Keep track of total GP spent through the previous steps, and deduct from starting WBL At no point in the process may this total exceed WBL for the level you're currently working from.

[Telonius]

The best answer I can give is, "Ask your DM." Artificers generally do break WBL since they get the craft bonuses. Starting one at higher levels results in all kinds of headaches, as you can see.

Personally, I'd allow the player to plot out what items he made at first level (based on what he would have been able to craft per prerequisites, etc) but that might be more work than you and your DM would be willing to take on. A more "quick and dirty" solution would be to allow the player all of last level's craft points plus half the craft points of two levels ago.

I would absolutely allow a player to have retroactively made a homunculus (assuming they want one).

[Dusk Eclipse]

One thing a GM in a PbP campaing here, is that an higher level artificer has only half the craft reserve for the level and you could only craft items you could at that level.

So at level 1 you could use IIRC 10 craft points to craft scrolls up to lvl 3

[Stegyre]

Typically, I've seen games run with the rules as follows (note, none of this is RAW, it's all DM rulings):

• Start at level 1 with level 1 WBL and level 1 craft reserve
• Craft what (if anything) you want, using your level 1 skills, abilities, feats, etc.
• Proceed to level 2 and beyond, using the same approach
• Keep track of total GP spent through the previous steps, and deduct from starting WBL At no point in the process may this total exceed WBL for the level you're currently working from.

This is a good approach, except you should remember the following:
Once an Artificer reaches 5th level, he may retain essence, essentially recovering those craft points from earlier creations. This is actually a means to "save" craft points from level to level, provided you can stomach the gp cost for the crafting. It will also require a bit more bookkeeping, if you want to plan out prior levels of crafting, selling, and essence retaining.

[zagan]

I was ask this question for a campaign I'm currently Dming and I rule like the example that DuskEclipse give.
The other half of the point are suppose to have been use on consumable item or lost because the UMD check was failled. That seem the most fair.
Depending on backstory you can also propose to craft item for the other player, they generaly like that.

[Eldariel]

I never do too close a math; it's a horrible amount of work to level-by-level everything. I just take the composite amount of craft reserve thus far, the composite WBL and make sure to include some cheap items that could have plausibly been generated on the lower levels to fill it up, leaving bit of the Craft Reserve over 'cause it's hard to use it with complete efficiency.

It works quite well. Retain Essence, before game, pretty much comes out at "convert gold to XP" for crafting, at a decent rate (since you can convert useless found items that would normally be sold at half price).

[sonofzeal]

For starting, I just added up all the craft reserves. Retain Essence makes this a bit more plausible; you come out behind in gold, but the WBL guidelines already assume a certain amount of waste.