Advice on Crafting Ammo - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Advice on Crafting Ammo

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
rerun0369
Jun 16, 2013 12:08:01 So here is the deal guys. Last night my party killed a baby black dragon that showed up out of the blue during an encounter. After the encounter was over, I decided to pry out all the teeth from the dragons mouth, with the intention of possibly crafting some arrowheads. The DM agreed and told me to figure out how to create an Acid Arrow +1. The dilemna I am having is that obviously this ammunition does not exist. So what I came up with was taking a Lightning Arrow +1 and changing the damage type to acid. Is this possible or is there some other ways to do this? I am fairly new to D&D, and am not entirely sure what I can and cannot do in regards to crafting items. My PC is a level 11 Wilden Ranger, and we are playing 4e if that helps. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
#2
Doobledigoop
Jun 16, 2013 12:33:56 Your approach seems perfectly fine. Just ask your DM is he's okay with it.
#3
Sea-Envy
Jun 16, 2013 16:05:31 By the rules you would still need someone with ritual caster that knows the right ritual in order to create the (house ruled) magic ammo item. That person would still have to spend the price for makeing the item.
Your DM could easily allow the item and could allow that some of the treasure you gained could partley or fully cover the cost of the item. You DM could also allow a ritual scroll as part of the treasure so you don't really need a ritual caster.
#4
Mad_Jack
Jun 16, 2013 16:42:30
There are no rules for creating new types of magic items, so whatever your DM decides is perfectly valid.

Yeah, you'd still need someone with the right ritual to enchant the arrows, but since the acid arrows don't currently exist, your DM could certainly houserule that having the dragon teeth could allow anybody with the Enchant Magic Item ritual to create them for the appropriate amount of gold.
Alternately, perhaps having the dragon teeth could lower either the price or the time required to create them.

As mentioned, this isn't covered under the rules, so taking the closest item you can find to what you want and then tweaking it a bit is generally the standard approach to making up your own items.

#5
thadian
Jun 16, 2013 16:50:37

There are no rules for creating new types of magic items, so whatever your DM decides is perfectly valid.

Yeah, you'd still need someone with the right ritual to enchant the arrows, but since the acid arrows don't currently exist, your DM could certainly houserule that having the dragon teeth could allow anybody with the Enchant Magic Item ritual to create them for the appropriate amount of gold.
Alternately, perhaps having the dragon teeth could lower either the price or the time required to create them.

As mentioned, this isn't covered under the rules, so taking the closest item you can find to what you want and then tweaking it a bit is generally the standard approach to making up your own items.

And to be technical, the method of "fire to ice, etc." is the easiest adjustment to make in the whole game. I actually have a class that can change the elemental subtype of a spell, to sling iceballs and chain fire or tornadoes of fire and rain of rocks.
#6
rerun0369
Jun 16, 2013 19:12:55 Ok, awesome. Thanks for the replies. Since we dont have anybody in the party that knows any rituals, I guess we are going to have to find a NPC to do it. Our DM is fairly relaxed when it comes to all of this, but I don't want to break the game, and we try to stick to "realism" as much as possible. So off my Ranger goes to find a crafter that can enchant. Could actually be fun, make it a sub quest.
#7
Doobledigoop
Jun 17, 2013 5:03:19 You could also ignore the way it usually works since you aren't enchanting anything, you just want a few teeth to be carved into the shape of arrowheads and maybe the weight needs to be adjusted. Ask your DM if some crafter would do this for a small fee (you have the materials already and aren't breaking the game in any way).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 rerun0369 Jun 16, 2013 12:08:01	So here is the deal guys. Last night my party killed a baby black dragon that showed up out of the blue during an encounter. After the encounter was over, I decided to pry out all the teeth from the dragons mouth, with the intention of possibly crafting some arrowheads. The DM agreed and told me to figure out how to create an Acid Arrow +1. The dilemna I am having is that obviously this ammunition does not exist. So what I came up with was taking a Lightning Arrow +1 and changing the damage type to acid. Is this possible or is there some other ways to do this? I am fairly new to D&D, and am not entirely sure what I can and cannot do in regards to crafting items. My PC is a level 11 Wilden Ranger, and we are playing 4e if that helps. Any advice will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
#2 Doobledigoop Jun 16, 2013 12:33:56	Your approach seems perfectly fine. Just ask your DM is he's okay with it.
#3 Sea-Envy Jun 16, 2013 16:05:31	By the rules you would still need someone with ritual caster that knows the right ritual in order to create the (house ruled) magic ammo item. That person would still have to spend the price for makeing the item. Your DM could easily allow the item and could allow that some of the treasure you gained could partley or fully cover the cost of the item. You DM could also allow a ritual scroll as part of the treasure so you don't really need a ritual caster.
#4 Mad_Jack Jun 16, 2013 16:42:30	There are no rules for creating new types of magic items, so whatever your DM decides is perfectly valid. Yeah, you'd still need someone with the right ritual to enchant the arrows, but since the acid arrows don't currently exist, your DM could certainly houserule that having the dragon teeth could allow anybody with the Enchant Magic Item ritual to create them for the appropriate amount of gold. Alternately, perhaps having the dragon teeth could lower either the price or the time required to create them. As mentioned, this isn't covered under the rules, so taking the closest item you can find to what you want and then tweaking it a bit is generally the standard approach to making up your own items.
#5 thadian Jun 16, 2013 16:50:37	There are no rules for creating new types of magic items, so whatever your DM decides is perfectly valid. Yeah, you'd still need someone with the right ritual to enchant the arrows, but since the acid arrows don't currently exist, your DM could certainly houserule that having the dragon teeth could allow anybody with the Enchant Magic Item ritual to create them for the appropriate amount of gold. Alternately, perhaps having the dragon teeth could lower either the price or the time required to create them. As mentioned, this isn't covered under the rules, so taking the closest item you can find to what you want and then tweaking it a bit is generally the standard approach to making up your own items. And to be technical, the method of "fire to ice, etc." is the easiest adjustment to make in the whole game. I actually have a class that can change the elemental subtype of a spell, to sling iceballs and chain fire or tornadoes of fire and rain of rocks.
#6 rerun0369 Jun 16, 2013 19:12:55	Ok, awesome. Thanks for the replies. Since we dont have anybody in the party that knows any rituals, I guess we are going to have to find a NPC to do it. Our DM is fairly relaxed when it comes to all of this, but I don't want to break the game, and we try to stick to "realism" as much as possible. So off my Ranger goes to find a crafter that can enchant. Could actually be fun, make it a sub quest.
#7 Doobledigoop Jun 17, 2013 5:03:19	You could also ignore the way it usually works since you aren't enchanting anything, you just want a few teeth to be carved into the shape of arrowheads and maybe the weight needs to be adjusted. Ask your DM if some crafter would do this for a small fee (you have the materials already and aren't breaking the game in any way).