Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vokkyt 04-21-07, 07:39 PM	This is something my group and I have been grappling with for awhile; what exactly are the "magical component costs" which are subsumed in making magic items? As far as making magic arms and armor, we can somewhat justify the cost of making masterwork items and such, but we are at a loss as to what happens when you take a mundane item like a pair of boots and apply flying on command to it. What are the items which are consumed in this process? What is the process that makes it take so long? We have been searching book after book for any indication of what makes creating magic items so costly, but other than the chart, we have no answer. We've made up some solutions to it, but for the most part, it tosses the rules provided in the DMG right out the window. Does anyone know any book which provides more insight as to the creation of these items?
Marcus Majarra 04-22-07, 12:39 AM	Those rule items are explicitly left out because they add arbitrary complications to the item creation rules. Costs in gold and time help mitigate the item creation process and to balance the power curve of creatures with respect to their overall wealth and level. Feel free to illustrate the creation materials how you see fit, if it serves a purpose.
runestar 04-22-07, 07:34 AM	It was deliberately left vague as it was really of no consequence. The main concern is that you expend the gold and xp required to craft said item. The rest, you are free to flesh it out however you deem fit. Think of it as a black box. You are simply concerned about the requirements and aftermath. No need to worry about the actual process itself.:)
Serrin 04-22-07, 08:22 AM	Well, the process that makes it take so long is magic. The end. Since magic isn't real and would make no sense if it was, don't sweat it. You cast stuff for a lot of days. Then you cast it some more. As far as the material costs, they can be whatever you like: powdered precious gems, incense made from rare fungus that grows only ten miles below ground, ground up monster parts from some ferocious beast, a vial containing the liquid essence of a shadow from the plane of shadow, whatever. The only "right" answer is "anything that costs as much as the book says it should".
Kuronue 04-22-07, 03:13 PM	Sheesh, what if you wanted to roleplay something involving the creation, perhaps gathering items for something? You guys would be no help. I'd imagine it'd be along the lines of a lot of (or more expensive) versions of the material componants for the spells
Evil DM Mk3 04-22-07, 03:18 PM	If you want to RP getting the stuff togther, man is your game going to take forever, crafting PCs take the feats to use them after all and they may well make a few dozen low level items a level. Otherwise things like rare herbs and crystals are a good start. How do you make flying boots? Maybe you have to soak them in a rare and expencive solvent mixture that requires magical charinging over the several days that the liquid evaporates leaving raw fly in the boots.
Kuronue 04-22-07, 03:45 PM	Clearly you wouldn't do this ALL the time, but it might be nice to do, say, the first time, or when trying to make something particularly important or difficult. It could be a quest right there.
Marcus Majarra 04-22-07, 04:42 PM	That may be true, but it has no relevance with the RAW. The materials are deliberately left unspecified exactly for this purpose. If the DM wants to run an adventure for this purpose, then by all means allow him to do so. My response merely indicated that the costs are there to balance characters against their expected wealth per level.