I'm wondering about the requirements needed to create magical items on Amia.
Not so much the components of a request for a magical items (those are clearly explained in the topic in the request forum) but more the requirements of the crafter creating the magical items.
My search fu found 2 topics that already touched on this topic:
- Magical Item crafting
This topic discussed if scrolls/magic items can be used to craft other magic items. The general consensus was that it is DM dependant and the request needs to be well executed. Serbiris however referred to the magical item crafting feats which I will mention below.
- Creating magical items, in particular with divine means
This topic discussed if divine magic can be used in item crafting. The general consensus was: yes. _Ts said that the item creation feats don't exist on amia and that they are substituted by the skills for the mythal system and the job system. This was not denied by anyone in the topic.
I didn't find a definitive answer in either topic on what is considered valid on Amia. While I think it will probably be decided by DM discretion in the requests (which I support), I would like to see if there is a general consensus on the matter. I'm not intending to force a ruling on the matter. I'm merely being quite selfish and want to see for which crafting my character would be eligible.
So our problem is NWN does not have the item
creation feats. The question is then: how do we subsitute them?
I think we have 5 options:
- Characters are automatically considered to have the craft magical item feats.
- Characters are thought to posses the craft magical item feat if they meet the requirements for the relevant craft item feat.
- Characters need the scribe scroll/craft wand/brew potion feats as a substitution.
- The skill points and job system of the character is the substitute for the craft feats.
- Take a custom feat to represent the craft feats/the relevant craft feat.
1. Everyone can craftThe easiest solution: rp will decide if the crafting was done successfully. A drawback however is that technically a character with an intelligence of 8 could be making magical items.
This does not seems very logical to me.
2. Pnp requirements = featIn pnp the difference is made between different feats related to ones caster level: (CL3) Craft wondrous item, (CL5) Craft Magic Arms and Armor, (CL9) Craft Rod, (CL12) Craft Staff; Forge Ring. This would require an investment of at least a few spell caster classes to be able to craft magical items.
This perspective remains rather inclusive since every one capable of actual magic will be able to dip into this specific rp theme.
3. NWN featOnly characters that posses one (or all?) of the existing craft item feats are able to create magical items. This would mean wizards are the only class that gets crafting magical items by default. All other classes would at least need to invest one feat.
I believe this pushes too much exclusivity into the camp of the wizards.
4. Skill points and job systemThe first is rather straightforward. Skills in craft weapon, armour and spellcraft decide if one is proficient in a certain field of expertise. This requires some effort to be put in the skills when building the character. Spellcraft does seem to be on the winning side in this system as it governs a lot of different items and all the miscellaneous knick knacks. Question: is this base skill points or with items taking into consideration?
The second part is less clear however. the job system is very broad and limited at the same time. Relvant jobs could be alchemist, arcanist, armoursmith, bowyer, engineer, fletcher, goldsmith, inventor, tailor, weaponsmith. For weapons and armour it seems rather straightforward: one job is related to one type of magical item. But is an armoursmith sufficient for making magical cloth or is this the field of tailors only. General magical items make things even more difficult: is and arcanist and an inventor equally relevant? Or can the former make existing items only?
Things can get complicated quickly but it is also the system that allows for a lot of diversity.
5. Custom featA suggestion I think a lot of people would dread as it has an impact on pve viability of a character, even though it would be old school d&d. While a crafter is not necessarily an adventurer but in our game it is the mix of the two that is the appealing factor. I think it would also limit the amount of players that wish to invest in magical crafting which would make it even more difficult for non spellcasters to obtain the item of their dreams. I believe the djinn involvement in the latest requests has been made specifically so that more people can do requests while not being dependent on other players who might not play at the same times.
Personally I'm a mix between 2 and 4. Where spellcasters can be considered to have the feats due the required caster levels. But the success or strength of the item can be determined by their skills and relevant jobs. Still not a hard distinction, but I think this is not needed.