3.U Crafting

[Kane0]

Hello again Playground!

As part of my ongoing work on 3.U we are re-doing magic item creation a little, in order to minimize reliance on WBL and wealth in general.

The basic premise:
Crafting can be split into two halves: The acquisition and the use of Essences
Essences are how items can be enchanted and imbued with magical power
Essences are usually stored in gemstones or other precious substances.

Acquiring Essences
By breaking down Magic Items
*Requires feat for that item type
*Gives you essences equal to half the amount of that needed to create. See below
*Takes one hour per essence to be recovered
*These essences must be stored in gemstones or some other appropriate vessel
*Requires successful spellcraft check (DC = 5 + CL)
*Failure means only half the amount of essences gained (of each kind, not total)
*You lose the original item whether you pass the check or not

By buying them
Most merchants, mages and smiths will have a few essences on them for sale
The average price of a greater essence is XXX (say 500gp) each
The average price of a lesser essence is XXX (say 50gp) each

By converting them
The exchange ratio of Greater to Lesser essences is roughly X:Y

By creating them
Certain spells can create essences

By finding them
You can sometimes loot essences from other creatures, especially those with the ability to craft magic items themselves

Using Essences
To create Magic Items
*Requires feat for that item type
*Requires essences as seen in table below
*Takes two hours per greater essence used, or one hour per 2 lesser essences, whichever is greater.
*Potions and scrolls take half this time
*Using essences usually just depletes the containing gem instead of destroying it
*Requires successful spellcraft check (DC = 10 + CL)
*Failure means you do not enchant/create the item, nor is the original item lost
*You lose the essences used whether you pass the check or not
*In the case of replicating spells, you must know the spell in order to make the item that replicates it
*You may still need to supply additional ingredients for specific items, especially if they are specialized or powerful.

To recharge Magic Items that use charges
*Requires feat for that item type
*Requires two essences for each charge you wish to restore
*Requires one hour per charge you wish to restore
*Requires successful spellcraft check (DC = 5 + CL)
*Failure means you do not add charges, nor are any charges lost or the item destroyed
*You lose the essences used whether you pass the check or not

Optional Extra: Souls in crafting
An alternative to essences are souls, stored in high quality gemstones and other valuable substances
*Souls are far more powerful than essences (worth X Greater essences and Y lesser essences), but using them is innately evil, as it destroys the soul, and difficult to achieve, increasing the DC by Z for each soul used.
*It is sometimes possible to free the soul (or what is left of it) by breaking down the item it was used to make

Table o' Enchanting
{table=head]Enchantment|Example|Cost
Enhancement +X Item Quality | +X Weapon | 2 Greater Essences per +
Cast Spell Once | Potion, Scroll | [One Lesser Essence per Caster Level]
Cast Spell times/day | Ring of Invisibility | [1 Greater essence per 2 spell levels (starting at 0, minimum 1) x times per day available] + [2 lesser essences per caster level]
Cast Spell with Charges | Wand of Fireball | [1 Greater essence per 2 spell levels (starting at 0, minimum 1) + ([1 lesser essences per caster level] x [1 lesser essence per charge])
Permanent Spell Effect | Boots of Speed | [1 Greater essence per 2 spell levels (starting at 0, minimum 1) squared] + [2 lesser essences per caster level]
Attribute Bonus | Belt of Dexterity | 2 Greater Essences per +1
Skill Bonus | Ring of Haggling | 1 Greater Essence per +1 bestowed
Bonus to AC, Saves, etc | Ring of Protection | 2 Greater Essences per +1 bestowed
Spell Resistance | Cloak of Spell Resistance | 2 Greater Essences per point of SR over 11, minimum 2 for SR: 12
Does not take up slot | Ioun Stone | Double the cost of both greater and lesser essences
Extra Spell Slot/Technique | Pearl of Power | [1 Greater essences per 2 spell levels (starting at 0, minimum 1) squared]

[/table]

[toapat]

So, you are using a less gimped version of DDO's crafting system?

That is alot better then the current system though, because the current system is horrible for balance.

hopefully you wont make the base price of a mithral item 50000gp though

[Kane0]

Pretty much, yeah.

The way it is so far, a DM will only have to tweak 3 or so variables to change the rarity and difficulty of magic items/magic item creation.

Mithral isn't quite as awesome as it used to be, but still valuable. Not 50k valuable though.

Edit: Updated!

[toapat]

Pretty much, yeah.

The way it is so far, a DM will only have to tweak 3 or so variables to change the rarity and difficulty of magic items/magic item creation.

Mithral isn't quite as awesome as it used to be, but still valuable. Not 50k valuable though.

Edit: Updated!

mithral isnt that valueable in PnP anyway, its just worth 5kpp in DDO because of the crappy cannith crafting execution

[Kane0]

I have a half-done table of special materials ready to go too:

{table=head]Material|Requirement|Armor Bonuses/Effects|Weapon Bonuses/Effects|Other Effects|Cost|Variants
Adamantine | Metal Only | DR /- (Light:1, Med: 2, Heavy:3) | Extra damage (One-H:1, Both:2, Two-H:3) | Hardness +2, +20% HP, weight x2 | Base x5 | Obdurium
Mirthal | Metal Only | Treated one step lighter for Max Dex, ACP & ASF (eg Flexible heavy becomes bulky medium) | | Weight -25% | Base x5 | Alchemical Platinum
Cold Iron (Darksteel) | Metal Only | Cold resistance 10 | Extra Cold damage (One-H:1, Both:2, Two-H:3) | | Base x3 | Flametouched Iron (Fire), Hizagkuur (Electrical), Alchemical Gold/Copper (Acid)
Darkwood | Wood Only | ACP -1 | | Weight -50%, Hardness +1 | Base x2 | Bronzewood
Cryrite | Metal Only | Saves +1 | Extra Magic damage (One-H:1, Both:2, Two-H:3) | | Base x3 | Targath, Gemstone
Dragon hide/bone | | Resistance based on dragon 10 | Extra damage based on dragon (One-H:1, Both:2, Two-H:3) | | Base x3 | |
Crystal/Glass | Wood Only | Replaces metal | Replaces Metal | | Base x2 | Elven Darkleaf, Chitin
Aurorum | Metal Only | Recreates 1d4+1 rounds after sunder | Recreates 1d4+1 rounds after sunder | | Base x4 |

[/table]