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Reduced Cost Magical Item Production

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Aug 02, 2003 2:33:59 Over the years, many groups have made magical items. Countless years of experimentation have caused several groups to make new, more 'cost-effective' ways of crafting magical items. But no matter what method you use, there is always some sort of cost.

Below is one such method.

Production Plans:
An old clan of Artificers developed plans by which specefic devices could be made, with the proper material components, and heavily reduce the cost in XP, gold, or reduce both by 50%, by adding in the requirements of other materials.

Master Plan: This type of plan can completely negate the gold or XP cost, or even both. It is never available for sale, as its value is truly impossible to calculate.

Plan: These plans are simply modifications on standard magical item creations, to use special material types to reduce the amount of magical energy required to be put in. It can up to halve the gold or XP cost, or reduce both by 25%. Such a plan generally costs 10x as much as the basic item to be produced.

Components:
The components for such plans vary, but typically require a part that can only be obtained by slaying a creature of CR equal to the caster level required to craft the item. The component should be based on the type of spell to be enchanted into the item. Dragons make excellent ideas for components sources, possibly making the dragon itself as valuable as its hoard. Samples below.

Ring of Shocking Grasp. Requires the liquified eyes of 6 shocker lizards to be mixed with the metal during forging.

Armor of Invulnerability +x. Requires that it be made from the severed limb of a golem of appropriate CR.

Wand of Burning Hands. Wand must be made from the bones of a Hellhound ground into paste then shaped into masterwork quality, heated in a furnace and cooled by blood.

Lost Plans:
The crafter must have the plans and the components both present in order to construct the device. The caster must construct the base item himself in order to utilize the components effectively.

Where to find Plans:
Plans to craft magical items can generally be found in the lairs of organizations devoted to the study of magic. Mages who live alone typically never have such things, as they would commit the procedure to memory and not desire others to learn of it.

How to make Plans:
The plan itself is easy to create, simply by writing down the methods. But learning the methods is a much harder process. Generally, learning such a plan requires a well-stocked library and 1 week of research per caster level of the item to be created. In the end, the value of the components which replace the normal cost is generally equal to the gp cost, or 25 times the xp cost, which is replaced for the plan. The DM should use that and the above CR guideline when attempting to craft a new plan, or if a player learns of such and attempts to craft one.
#2
Ertai_Planeswalker
Aug 02, 2003 16:42:32 The idea for thsoe reagents is nice as a roleplaying hook, which I plan on using anyway with the normal crafting rules. However, allowing players to make items at reduced cost so far always disrupted my game balance at one point, so I'm not allowing that anymore.
#3
tharkos_dup
Aug 13, 2003 5:09:30 Crafting a magic item should ALWAYS require special components which are hard to find (speak: have to be acquired via adventure), some special processes and in general should NOT be cheap. Only things you have to work HARD for are worth remembering, not those manufactured in a 9 to 5 daily job. So even if a guild of NPC crafters has some recipes for neat magic items they still need some adventurers (PCs) to get the required materials and to escort the guild wizard to the special location to enchant the item.
#4
zombiegleemax
Sep 04, 2003 9:56:33 one of my mage characters was geared up to be a magic item producer, but i got so sick of trying to find all the right materials not to mention the vast XP loss if i wanted to make something decent i hammered out a prestige class with the DM an Arcane Smith who would have bonuses to magic item creation reduced costs perhaps but we never finished the character.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Aug 02, 2003 2:33:59	Over the years, many groups have made magical items. Countless years of experimentation have caused several groups to make new, more 'cost-effective' ways of crafting magical items. But no matter what method you use, there is always some sort of cost. Below is one such method. Production Plans: An old clan of Artificers developed plans by which specefic devices could be made, with the proper material components, and heavily reduce the cost in XP, gold, or reduce both by 50%, by adding in the requirements of other materials. Master Plan: This type of plan can completely negate the gold or XP cost, or even both. It is never available for sale, as its value is truly impossible to calculate. Plan: These plans are simply modifications on standard magical item creations, to use special material types to reduce the amount of magical energy required to be put in. It can up to halve the gold or XP cost, or reduce both by 25%. Such a plan generally costs 10x as much as the basic item to be produced. Components: The components for such plans vary, but typically require a part that can only be obtained by slaying a creature of CR equal to the caster level required to craft the item. The component should be based on the type of spell to be enchanted into the item. Dragons make excellent ideas for components sources, possibly making the dragon itself as valuable as its hoard. Samples below. Ring of Shocking Grasp. Requires the liquified eyes of 6 shocker lizards to be mixed with the metal during forging. Armor of Invulnerability +x. Requires that it be made from the severed limb of a golem of appropriate CR. Wand of Burning Hands. Wand must be made from the bones of a Hellhound ground into paste then shaped into masterwork quality, heated in a furnace and cooled by blood. Lost Plans: The crafter must have the plans and the components both present in order to construct the device. The caster must construct the base item himself in order to utilize the components effectively. Where to find Plans: Plans to craft magical items can generally be found in the lairs of organizations devoted to the study of magic. Mages who live alone typically never have such things, as they would commit the procedure to memory and not desire others to learn of it. How to make Plans: The plan itself is easy to create, simply by writing down the methods. But learning the methods is a much harder process. Generally, learning such a plan requires a well-stocked library and 1 week of research per caster level of the item to be created. In the end, the value of the components which replace the normal cost is generally equal to the gp cost, or 25 times the xp cost, which is replaced for the plan. The DM should use that and the above CR guideline when attempting to craft a new plan, or if a player learns of such and attempts to craft one.
#2 Ertai_Planeswalker Aug 02, 2003 16:42:32	The idea for thsoe reagents is nice as a roleplaying hook, which I plan on using anyway with the normal crafting rules. However, allowing players to make items at reduced cost so far always disrupted my game balance at one point, so I'm not allowing that anymore.
#3 tharkos_dup Aug 13, 2003 5:09:30	Crafting a magic item should ALWAYS require special components which are hard to find (speak: have to be acquired via adventure), some special processes and in general should NOT be cheap. Only things you have to work HARD for are worth remembering, not those manufactured in a 9 to 5 daily job. So even if a guild of NPC crafters has some recipes for neat magic items they still need some adventurers (PCs) to get the required materials and to escort the guild wizard to the special location to enchant the item.
#4 zombiegleemax Sep 04, 2003 9:56:33	one of my mage characters was geared up to be a magic item producer, but i got so sick of trying to find all the right materials not to mention the vast XP loss if i wanted to make something decent i hammered out a prestige class with the DM an Arcane Smith who would have bonuses to magic item creation reduced costs perhaps but we never finished the character.