Special Rules

In most Pathfinder campaigns, the process of making magical items in game is somewhat hand-waived. Provided that you have the right feats, enough gold and a high enough Spellcraft modifier, you can make anything without leaving the comfort of your own laboratory. In Ultimate Campaign, Pathfinder introduced a slightly more involved mechanic, called Talismanic Crafting (UCam, pg. 173). It did not alter the time needed or the skill checks involved, but it did add the extra element of needing to substitute part of the gold piece cost with rare components, worth an equivalent gold piece cost.

In Eberron, however, magical item creation can become a great deal more complicated. In addition to pursuing rare ingredients, certain kinds of magical item creation requires a very niche skill set and a lot of dedicated effort. In order to bring the flavor of this more complex magical item creation rules into Pathfinder, I will first simply a few core concepts.

Reagents vs. Components

Components, as detailed in Ultimate Campaign, are special and rare natural materials that often require special skill checks to acquire. While not specifically stated, the DCs for these checks are recommended to be the same as the final Spellcraft DC for making the item (give or take -5 to +5, as per the GM). Aside from the special check necessary acquire a special component, they are calculated as a straight substitution for gold pieces for the crafting an item that is appropriately themed.

Similar to components are reagents, the remains of recycled magical items that are created though the use of the artificer's Retain Essence class ability (detailed here). While far more common to obtain that components, as artificer recycling is a common practice in larger cities, reagents do have a special requirement to use them in future crafting. In order to use reagents, the person crafting the item must have not only the necessary Item Creation feats for the magical item he is wanting to create, but also the Item Creation feats used to create the magical item that has been recycled. GM's and players can safely assume that any reagents found or bought involved either the Craft Magic Arms and Armor or the Craft Wondrous Item feats (50% chance for either) unless specified otherwise. Given the fact that one-time and charged items are eventually used up, reagents from recycled scrolls, potions and wands are rare, while the usefulness of rods and staves means they are not recycled often.

In either case, use of reagents and components are both calculated as a straight substitution for the gold piece requirement for making magical items, provided that either the theme is appropriate, in the case of components, or the necessary item creation feats are present, in the case of reagents.

Standard Crafting

Most of the magical items presented in this conversion use the normal magical item creation rules presented in Pathfinder. As such, unless a magical mentions one or more special rules, it can be created with the standard amount of time, cost and effort, both in game and out of game, as normal items.

Talismanic Crafting

Talismanic crafting works exactly as presented in Ultimate Campaign, pg. 173, with some minor alterations. Talismanic crafting in Eberron frequently involves the use of hard-to-get gemstones, called dragonshards (detailed here). Obtaining dragonshards is difficult and often requires more than just gold pieces to acquire. Any talismanic costs for a magical item are listed in the construction costs.

Complex Crafting

Complex crafting is new alteration to the existing magical item creation process. While most of the process remains the same, complex crafting has the possibility to alter it in a number of ways, listed below.

Creation

The process to create a complex item is never hand-waived. Given the effort to create the item and make it usable, it is something that should always be an in-game project.

Feats

The feats required to make this particular kind of complex item.

Price

The exact properties, not including the Benefits or Complications (see below) of the complex item is used to determine the normal base price and the final price does include both the cost to buy the item and the cost, if any, to make it usable.

Cost

The cost in raw materials needed to create a complex item can be covered with gold pieces, reagents or other optional talismanic components. The formula for determining the construction cost of a complex item is detailed for that specific complex item type.

Talismanic Cost

All complex items have a mandatory talismanic cost, bast on the specific complex item type. The cost of this talismanic cost, and the effort needed to obtain it, factors into the final price of the complex item. All talismanic costs for a magical are listed in the construction costs.

Time

The time required to make a complex item, and make it usable, is the standard 1 day or 1,000 gp, plus some additional amount of time, either before or after, the actual creation process. The exact amount is detailed in the specific type of complex item.

Effort

All complex items have one or more special processes needed, either in its creation or in process to make the complex item usable. The exact rules needed are detailed for specific complex item type.

Use

Complex items are used much like other magical items, with some unusual benefits and complications, detailed below..

Benefits

The exact benefits of a type of complex items. Many complex items have standardized benefits as detailed below.

Complications

The exact complications or limitations of complex items. Many complex items have standard benefits as detailed below.

Designing Your Own Complex Item

Designing your own complex item is done much like designing a new magical item. The pricing formula is detailed in the specific types of complex items and while many of them have the Locked Benefits quality, there is nothing preventing an enterprising character from designing a new one from scratch. When adding multiple enchantments or abilities to a complex item, always handle the complex item pricing adjustments after the final price for a normal magical item of the same qualities has been determined. This includes determining any talismanic costs.

Examples

Talismanic Crafting

Listed below are the specific talismanic crafting rules in Eberron.

• Dragonmarked Items

Complex Crafting

Each different kind of complex item alters the rules slightly in their own way. Listed are the types of complex item creation rules for Eberron. Any magical item in this conversion that references these special rules requires them for their in-game creation.

• Elemental Binding

• Implants

• Symbionts

Common Benefits & Complications

Many complex magical items use the same benefits and complications. For ease of reference, they are detailed here.

As One: Some complex items are considered to be actually part of the wearer, not just something he is wearing or wielding. As such, they have the following exceptions to the normal rules

• All complex items with this quality must have either the Attachment or otherwise permanently attached.

  • The complex item is considered part of the wearer for the purposes of effects, including delivering or receiving effects.

  • Effects that target or affect the host automatically include attached complex items without counting toward any per creature or person limit. However, if the complex item detaches, it counts against any per creature or person limit normally and may loose the effect.

• They cannot be targeted separately from the wearer for the use of disarm or steal combat maneuvers or for spells, spell-like abilities, powers, psi-like abilities, supernatural effects or extraordinary effects.

• Called shots or sunder attempts can still target a complex item with this quality, but it resolves against the wearer's Armor Class, CMD and saving throws, not the item's.

• Should the wearer be targeted by an effect that reacts differently based on creature type or subtype, the wearer and item use the same resistance (Armor class, saving throw, caster check, percentages, etc), but suffer the effect separately.

• Any information that the complex items has or might learn is automatically known by the wearer. If the complex item as a sense that it does not share with the wearer, that sense can be used to accurately choose an appropriate square or intersection for an attack, but does not negate any miss chance.

• Repairing an item with this quality requires it to be removed, repaired and reattached.

Attachment: Some complex items have to be attached to be used and are difficult to remove. Donning an item with attachment requires a full-round action that provokes. Removing it an item with attachment requires either the wearer to voluntarily remove it, which is a full-round action that provokes, or someone else making a successful Heal check, DC 25 (also a full-round action that provokes). This check can be retried, but each failure inflicts 1 point of Constitution damage on the wearer.

Should the wearer of a complex item with quality roll a natural 1 on their Reflex saving throw, and the complex item is capable of detaching on its own, it automatically separates and is allowed a Reflex saving throw of its own, using the wielder's Reflex save modifier. This makes it become a separate creature or item (appropriate for the item's entry) for determining the result of the effect.

Collective Ego: Some complex items have an Ego score, as per intelligent magical items. For the most part, this Ego score is calculated and treated in the same manner as normal intelligent items. However, having multiple complex items of the same type does not mean individually separate Ego scores. Instead, it provides a single Ego score. This is calculated by taking the highest Ego score of all of the complex items of the same type and adding +2 to the Ego score for additional complex of the same type. Any negative levels that are applied are determined once, from this heightened Ego score, not separately for individual complex items of the same type.

Damage: Some complex items inflict damage to the wearer. The specific item of damage dealt, and whether or not it can be healed (magically or otherwise) are detailed in the specific item or item type.

Dispel Immunity: An item with dispel immunity cannot be suppressed through the use of Anti-Magic Field, Dispel Magic or similar effects as the source of the magic is actually within the item and not reliant on the outside environment. Likewise, items with dispel immunity are difficult to disenchant, allowing any roll involved (d20, d100, etc) to be rolled twice and the better result of the two chosen. This immunity does not apply to any effect, spell, spell-like ability, psionic power or psi-like ability the item is capable of using that targets anyone but the wearer or the item itself.

Locked Benefits: Some complex items cannot be improved upon later, after their creation. The process of re-enchanting cannot be used on them, without effectively destroying the entire item and rebuilding the item from scratch.

Locked Size: Some complex items do not change size when applied to a new owner, similar to how a magic weapon is set to specific size category. By default, all complex items are assumed to be for Medium sized owners, unless stated otherwise. Making a complex item for a different sized owner does not change the pricing, time or process.

Limited Transformation: Some complex items do not function during a polymorph effect, unless specifically mentioned in the implant's entry. Once the polymorph effect has ended, the complex item becomes functional again.

Magic Weapon: When the complex item is appropriately wielded as a weapon, the complex item counts as magic for the purposes of damage reduction. The complex item looses this quality when not wielded appropriately.