Magic Item Crafting Rules

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Having an Item Crafted

The player must provide the materials to create the item. The cost of these materials is subtracted from the base cost of the item, and then a diplomacy check is made against the appropriate merchant DC.

Weapons

The base pathfinder weapon rules: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons

A magic weapon is enhanced to strike more accurately and deliver more damage. Magic weapons have three types of improvements that may be applied to them:

Enhancements

Magical enhancements range from +1 to +9. As a firm rule, the maximum enhancement a weapon may have is equal to one quarter of the campaign level, round up. This maximum Enhancement Bonus cap must not be exceeded at normal play levels to maintain balance. Any attempt to wield a weapon more magically enchanted than this results in the character taking a non-proficiency penalty with the weapon, with the possibility of even more dire consequences (such as insanity, or being controlled by the weapon). At level 36 and higher all restrictions are lifted, and a weapon may be enchanted in any way the characters can afford.

Properties

Magic Item Properties are additional traits, bonuses or effects the magic weapon grants or performs on top of the normal functionality of that weapon. A weapon must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before any magic weapon properties may be added to it. The limit to the total value of all weapon properties that may be added to a weapon is one quarter of the campaign level, rounded up. This maximum Magical Properties cap must not be exceeded at normal play levels to maintain balance. At level 36 and higher all restrictions are lifted, and a weapon may be enchanted in any way the characters can afford.

Absolute Bonus

By adding together the value of the Enhancement Bonus and Magical Properties of a weapon, you determine the weapon's Absolute Bonus. The Absolute Bonus is the hard maximum magical enhancement allowed to a weapon at a given campaign level, and must not be exceeded at normal play levels to maintain balance. The maximum possible Absolute Bonus of a weapon is +18, and cannot exceed 1/2 of the campaign's level (round up). At level 36, all restrictions are lifted, and a weapon may be enchanted in any way the characters can afford.

Materials

Mundane weapons are assumed to be made of forged iron. Fragile weapons are usually made of crude iron, bronze, or bone. Masterwork weapons are assumed to be made of good quality steel, similar to historical Damascus or Wootz (forging good steel was often a happy accident before the chemistry was fully understood). Weapons made from fantastic materials are possible as well, such as the classic mithral and adamantine. Campaign-specific special materials may also exist (ask your GM!). In all cases, only ONE material may be used in the construction of a single weapon, even after the Apotheosis. Unless the referee allows it, of course.

Important Terms

There are two important terms to know regarding magic weapons, armor or shields:

• Enhancement Bonus: This is the plus to a weapon, armor or shield that grants it a bonus to to-hit, damage or AC rolls. This does not include the plus-cost of any magic properties the item may have. For example, a +2 Keen Longsword has a +2 Enhancement Bonus; the Keen property is irrelevant to the Enhancement Bonus.

• Absolute Bonus: This is the total net plus of the weapon, armor or shield, after the plus-cost of all magic properties are added to the enhancement bonus. The Absolute Bonus determines the total cost of the item. For example, a +2 Keen Longsword has a +3 Absolute Bonus, since the Keen property has a +1 cost associated with it.

If the above +2 Keen Longsword were made out of a special material, such as adamantine, it would increase the overall cost of the weapon, but not the Absolute Bonus, since special materials have no plus-cost associated with them.

Table: Magic Weapon Enhancement Limitations

Campaign Level	Max Enhancement Bonus	Max Magic Properties	Absolute Bonus	Cost
1 - 4	+1	no properties	+1	2,000
		+1 worth of properties	+2	8,000
5 - 8	+2	no properties	+2	8,000
		+1 worth of properties	+3	18,000
		+2 worth of properties	+4	32,000
9 - 12	+3	no properties	+3	18,000
		+1 worth of properties	+4	32,000
		+2 worth of properties	+5	50,000
		+3 worth of properties	+6	72,000
13 - 16	+4	no properties	+4	32,000
		+1 worth of properties	+5	50,000
		+2 worth of properties	+6	72,000
		+3 worth of properties	+7	98,000
		+4 worth of properties	+8	128,000
17 - 20	+5	no properties	+5	50,000
		+1 worth of properties	+6	72,000
		+2 worth of properties	+7	98,000
		+3 worth of properties	+8	128,000
		+4 worth of properties	+9	162,000
		+5 worth of properties	+10	200,000

Table: Epic Magic Weapon Enhancement Limitations

Campaign Level	Max Enhancement Bonus	Max Magic Properties (Note: +5 is the minimum allowed for Epic)	Absolute Bonus	Cost
21 - 24	+6	+5 worth of properties	+11	400,000
		+6 worth of properties	+12	800,000
25 - 28	+7	+5 worth of properties	+12	800,000
		+6 worth of properties	+13	1,600,000
		+7 worth of properties	+14	3,000,000
29 - 32	+8	+5 worth of properties	+13	1,600,000
		+6 worth of properties	+14	3,000,000
		+7 worth of properties	+15	5,000,000
		+8 worth of properties	+16	9,000,000
33 - 35	+9	+5 worth of properties	+14	3,000,000
		+6 worth of properties	+15	5,000,000
		+7 worth of properties	+16	9,000,000
		+8 worth of properties	+17	15,000,000
		+9 worth of properties	+18	23,000,000
Apotheosis!	unlimited	unlimited	unlimited	impossibly expensive

Caster Level Required To Make Weapons

The caster level required to make a weapon with a weapon property is given in the description of the property. If a weapon has more than one weapon property, the caster level required to place the weapon properties is the highest of all the properties. For a weapon with only an enhancement bonus and no other abilities, the caster level required to make the weapon is three times the enhancement bonus. Thus, it requires a third level caster to make a +1 weapon, sixth level to make a +2, etc. If a weapon has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the caster level requirements must be met.

Additional Damage Dice

Some magic weapons deal additional dice of damage. Unlike other modifiers to damage, additional dice of damage are considered bonuses and are not multiplied when the attacker scores a critical hit.

Additional Base Damage Dice

Some magic weapons gain improved or additional base damage dice. These dice improve with level as normal base damage dice do, and are multiplied when the attacker scores a critical hit.

Ranged Weapons and Ammunition

The enhancement bonus from a ranged weapon does not stack with the enhancement bonus from ammunition. Only the higher of the two enhancement bonuses applies. Ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an enhancement bonus of +1 or higher is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Similarly, ammunition fired from a projectile weapon with an alignment gains the alignment of that projectile weapon. Weapon properties of a ranged weapon do stack with weapon properties of ammunition, assuming there is a minimum +1 enhancement on the ammunition. As always, no weapon may ever have the same property twice. If ammunition and a ranged weapon have the same weapon properties, only count the property once.

Magic Thrown Weapons

Weapons designed for throwing, such as the throwing axe or the careen (but not weapons with the ammunition property, such as skiprocks), gain the Lesser Returning property for free if they have an enhancement bonus or magic property worth an enhancement bonus of at least +1. If they have an enhancement bonus of +2 or greater (or magic properties equivalent to +2 enhancement or greater), thrown weapons gain the Greater Returning magic property for free. These properties cost nothing extra, and never increase the overall cost of additional upgrades, but they do count against the maximum possible enchantments the weapon can have.

Magic Ammunition and Breakage

Magical ammunition follows the standard rules for recovering expended ammunition. If the attack hits, the arrow, bolt or bullet is expended and not recoverable. If the attack misses, there is a 50% chance that the piece of ammunition is recoverable.

Light Generation

30% of randomly generated magic weapons shed light equivalent to a light spell. These glowing weapons are quite obviously magical. Such a weapon can't be concealed when drawn, nor can its light be shut off. Some weapons always or never glow, as defined in their descriptions. If a weapon is specially crafted for hire, whether or not it gives off light is chosen by the player.

Hardness and Hit Points

Each +1 of a magic weapon’s enhancement bonus adds +2 to its hardness and +10 to its hit points. See also Table: Common Armor, Weapon, and Shield Hardness and Hit Points. Weapon properties usually have no effect on hardness or hit points. Special materials almost always have an effect on a weapon's hardness and hit points.

Activation

Usually a character benefits from a magic weapon in the same way a character benefits from a mundane weapon—by wielding (attacking with) it. If a weapon has a weapon property that the user needs to activate, then the user usually needs to utter a command word (a standard action). A character can activate the special abilities of 50 pieces of ammunition at the same time, assuming each piece has identical abilities.

Magic Weapons and Critical Hits

Some weapon properties and some specific weapons have an extra effect on a critical hit. This special effect overcomes immunity to critical bits. Criticals rolled with these weapons function against creatures not normally subject to critical hits. In such instances, on a successful critical roll, apply the magic weapon's special effect, but otherwise resolve damage as though it were a normal hit.

Weapons for Unusually Sized Creatures

The cost of weapons for creatures who are neither Small nor Medium varies (see Equipment). The cost of the masterwork quality and any magical enhancement remains the same.