Alternate Item Creation Feats

[MrNexx]

I've heard that these item creation feats exist in some d20 game, but I was curious as to where you'd find them.

Basically, I don't like the current set of magic item creation feats. I don't think they are very in tune with the way magic items are created, and want to fiddle with them a bit... making items based on how they are activated, rather than their form.

For example, Scribe Scroll would become Craft Spell Completion Item. Brew Potions would become Craft Consumable Magic. Wands and Staves would be Craft Spell Trigger Item, with staves costing more because they draw somewhat on the ability of the user, not just the caster. Weapons and Armor, Rods, Rings, and Wondrous Items would become Craft Permanent Item, because most of them have permanently active effects (maybe broken into a couple feats; many rods might require Craft Charged Item, or something).

Functionally, this wouldn't change a heck of a lot... everything would be used the same way. But you'd be defining how an item works, rather than its form, by the feats you used to create it.

[Jack_Simth]

You've basically got everything you need in the statement of what you want, provided you're fine with house rules.

Seriously.

[mostlyharmful]

*stealing this for my next house rule*

[MrNexx]

You've basically got everything you need in the statement of what you want, provided you're fine with house rules.

Seriously.

Oh, I know that. I was just under the impression that there's a d20 book out there that does it similarly, and I'd like to know which one, so I can see what they did.

For example, I just developed the idea further: http://rpg-crank.livejournal.com/14970.html

[Jasdoif]

Complete Arcane has rules for alternate item types, for potions and scrolls. They're mechanically identical (with perhaps some minor exception) to standard items of the sort, but they're different in use and/or flavor. Off the top of my head, the most interesting one is the magic tile, which acts as a potion except that it's a tile, and you break it open to receive its effects.

You need the item creation feat for the base type (Brew Potion or Scribe Scroll) and Craft Wondrous Item to make the alternate types.

[MrNexx]

Complete Arcane has rules for alternate item types, for potions and scrolls. They're mechanically identical (with perhaps some minor exception) to standard items of the sort, but they're different in use and/or flavor. Off the top of my head, the most interesting one is the magic tile, which acts as a potion except that it's a tile, and you break it open to receive its effects.

You need the item creation feat for the base type (Brew Potion or Scribe Scroll) and Craft Wondrous Item to make the alternate types.

Yes, but that's really just implying what I'm changing the rules to state. The form of a potion isn't important... the fact that it uses its magic by being "consumed" (i.e. is a one-shot item) is.

[Jasdoif]

Yes, but that's really just implying what I'm changing the rules to state. The form of a potion isn't important... the fact that it uses its magic by being "consumed" (i.e. is a one-shot item) is.

Certainly, which is why I thought Complete Arcane might be the source of the "heard these feats exist" that you mentioned. It almost completely matches your description.

[Jack_Simth]

About the most common (house rule, anyway) way is to split them into two feats required for items (one for number of uses, one for activation), with one-shot items being the default for a given trigger mechanism. Something like...

Trigger Mechanism:
Craft Spell Completion Item (scrolls)
Craft Spell Trigger Item (wands/staves)
Craft Command-Word or Use-Activated Item (just about everything else)

Uses (one use only out of the item unless you have one or more of these as well):
Craft Charged Item (anything with multiple charges that never go back up - Wands, staves, a Scarab of Protection, and the like)
Craft Recharging Item (anything with A per B charges - Cape of the Monteback, Boots of Teleportation, Circlet of Blasting, and the like)
Craft Infinite Item (anything useable at will, with no restrictions - Swords, Armor, Headbands of Intellect, and the like, but also things like the Hand of the Mage or the Well of Many Worlds)

A scroll requires Craft Spell Completion Item (only).
A Potion requires Craft Command-Word or Use-Activated Item (only).
A Wand or Staff requires Craft Spell Trigger Item and Craft Charged Item.
A Cape of the Monteback requires Craft command-Word or Use-Activated Item and Craft Recharging Item
And so on.

[Golthur]

Personally, I'd put use-activated and continuous effect items at the top of the food chain.

Spell Completion
Consumable
Spell Trigger
Command Word
Use-Activated/Continuous

I might also lower consumables down to the same as spell completion - they're similar, and the one has the trade off that you have to be a spellcaster to use it, the other has that it's limited in the level of effects you can create with it.

If you remove the level restriction, I'd use this order.

I've only seen a system like this in homebrew (including my own), but never in an official published source that I can recall.