Revised Magic Item Creation Rules

To create magic items, spellcasters use special feats which allow them to invest time and money in an item’s creation. At the end of each day of this process, the spellcaster must make skill checks (usually Spellcraft, but sometimes another skill) to finish the item. If an item type has multiple possible skills, you choose which skill to make the checks with. Once chosen, all checks for the given item must use the same skill. The DC to create a magic item is 10 + the caster level for the item.
Note that all items have prerequisites in their descriptions. These prerequisites must be met for the item to be created. Most of the time, they take the form of spells that must be known by the item’s creator (although access through another magic item or spellcaster is allowed). The DC to create a magic item increases by +5 for each prerequisite the caster does not meet. The only exception to this is the requisite item creation feat, which is mandatory. In addition, you cannot create spell-trigger or spell-completion magic items without meeting their spell prerequisites.
While item creation costs are handled in detail below, note that normally the two primary factors are the caster level of the creator and the level of the spell or spells put into the item. A creator can create an item at a lower caster level than her own, but never lower than the minimum level needed to cast the needed spell. Using metamagic feats, a caster can place spells in items at a higher level than normal.
Magic supplies for items are always half of the base price in gp. For many items, the market price equals the base price. Armour, shields, weapons, and items with value independent of their magically enhanced properties add their item cost to the market price. The item cost does not influence the base price (which determines the cost of magic supplies), but it does increase the final market price.
In addition, some items cast or replicate spells with costly material components. For these items, the market price equals the base price plus an extra price for the spell component costs. The cost to create these items is the magic supplies cost plus the costs for the components. Descriptions of these items include an entry that gives the total cost of creating the item.
The creator also needs a fairly quiet, comfortable, and well-lit place in which to work. Any place suitable for preparing spells is suitable for making items. Given the necessary materials and workspace, you can attempt a check of the appropriate skill (usually Spellcraft) of the appropriate DC each day. If you succeed, you make an amount of progress equal to 1000 gp of the item’s base cost. For every 5 you beat the DC by, you make an additional 1000 gp of progress. When your total progress equals the base cost of the item, that item is completed. Note, however, that the total amount you pay is only equal to the construction cost, not the base price.
If you fail the check, no progress is made that day. If you fail the check by 5 or more, you waste 1000 gp worth of materials, which must be replaced to complete the item (effectively making the item cost more to create). However, if you ever waste enough material equal to half the base cost or more, you instead create a cursed item (see Cursed Items for more information).
Creating an item requires 8 hours of work per day, with a minimum of at least 8 hours. Potions and scrolls are an exception to this rule; they can take as little as 2 hours to create (if their base price is 250 gp or less). Scrolls and potions whose base price is more than 250 gp take 8 hours to create per day, just like any other magic item. Regardless of the time needed for construction, a caster can work on no more than one magic item per day.
The caster can work for up to 8 hours each day. He cannot rush the process by working longer each day, but the days need not be consecutive, and the caster can use the rest of his time as he sees fit. If the caster is out adventuring, he can devote 4 hours each day to item creation, although he nets only 2 hours’ worth of work. This time is not spent in one continuous period, but rather during lunch, morning preparation, and during watches at night. If time is dedicated to creation, it must be spent in uninterrupted 4-hour blocks. This work is generally done in a controlled environment, where distractions are at a minimum, such as a laboratory or shrine. Work that is performed in a distracting or dangerous environment nets only half the amount of progress (just as with the adventuring caster). In all such cases, skill checks are made only after every 8 hours worth of work is completed.
A character can work on multiple items at a time. However, the character can only work on one item per day.
Summary of Changes: The DC to create items has increased to 10 + caster level (from 5 + caster level). Skill checks are made for every day of work. Beating the DC results in 1000 gp of progress. Beating the DC by 5 or more doubles progress, beating the DC by 10 or more triples progress, by 15 or more quadruples the progress, and so on.
Example of magic item creation: A spellcaster is creating a cloak of the bat. The item has a caster level of 7th, a base price of 26,000 gp, and a construction price of 13,000 gp. It also requires Craft Wondrous Item, beast shape III, and fly. The spellcaster does not have beast shape III, but she does have the other requirements. Because she is missing one requirement, the DC is increased by 5. The total DC is 22 (10 base + 7 caster level + 5). She has a Spellcraft modifier of +15. She could choose to take 10 every day for a total of 25, resulting in 1000 gp of progress every day and taking 26 days total to create. However, the player decides to roll each day instead. On the first day, she rolls a 14 for a total of 29. This exceeds the DC by more than 5, so she makes 2000 gp of progress that day. On the second day, she rolls a 20 for a total of 35. This exceeds the DC by more than 10, so she makes 3000 gp of progress this day (for a total of 5000 gp of progress overall. On the third day, she rolls an 11 (26 total) for another 1000 gp progress (6000 gp total). On the fourth day, she rolls a 1, giving a 16 total. This fails by more than 5, so she must spend an additional 1000 gp to make the item. She continues making rolls each day until she makes progress equal to the base price of 26,000 gp. Assuming she does not make any further rolls that fail by 5 or more, she will spend a total of 14,000 gp (13,000 gp + 1,000 gp extra for the day she failed the check by more than 5).

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Revised Wand Pricing

Notes: The intention of these revised prices is to bring down the cost of higher-level wands while maintaining the cost of a wand with a first-level spell cast at 1st caster level at the Core Rulebook price of 750 gp. The values on the chart below are calculated with the following formula and then rounded to the nearest 10 (except 0-level spells, which are rounded to the nearest whole):
750 × spell level × log (caster level × 10)
All values are the base price in gold pieces (not including any expensive material components).

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Revised Staff Pricing

Note: This pricing system is a work in progress and specific values may be adjusted as the system is tested.
To determine the price of a staff, use the formulas below. Calculate the price for each spell in the staff and add all the results together to get the total price of the staff. As always, crafting costs half the amount.
Highest-Level Spell in Staff: 500 gp x spell level x caster level
2nd-Highest-Level Spell in Staff: 250 gp x spell level x caster level
All Other Spells (calculated individually): 150 gp x spell level x caster level

A spell can be placed into the staff at less than the normal cost, but then activating that particular spell drains additional charges from the staff. Divide the cost of the spell by the number of charges it consumes to determine the final price. Note that this does not change the order in which the spells are priced (the highest-level spell is still priced first, even if it requires more than one charge to activate). The caster level of all spells in a staff must be the same, and no staff can have a caster level of less than 8th, even if all the spells in the staff are low-level spells.
When crafting a staff, the creator must supply any focuses the spells require, as well as material component costs sufficient to activate the spell 50 times (divide this amount by the number of charges one use of the spell expends).