Magic Item Creation

To create magic items, crafters use special lore and talent to push magical energy into mundane items. Enchanted in this way, these items increase PC power, add flavor, open new play options, and help players make their characters more real, so that their PC concepts develop to match their vision and goals. To get the perfect piece of gear, sometimes the best way is to make it yourself. To achieve true magic mastery, sometimes you need to become a magic crafter.

Construction Requirements

Making a new magic item requires investment. Crafters invest feats, time, wealth, and, for long-lasting items, their own personal energy in an item's creation. Sometimes they use special magical ingredients, too. This investment comes at a cost, but some players decide the results are worth it.

Feats

The magical lore of item creation is represented in game by enchanter tree feats (and related others). The right feat is essential, as detailed below. Each of the four listed feats is a prerequisite for the one above it. (Craft Construct is not a prerequisite for any feat.) In general, each one is taken at a higher tier than the one above it. (Exception: Craft Construct, again. Also, the Wizard's Enchantment School's "Magical Crafter" Arcana allows early access to enchanter tree feats.)

• Tier One (Tyro): Craft Magic Consumables: potions, wands, scrolls, and more
• Tier Two (Adventurer): Craft Permanent Items: armor, shields, weapons, things you wear, and more
• Tier Two (Adventurer): Craft Constructs: golems and similar monsters
• Tier Three (Hero): Craft Casting Items: orbs, rods, staves, and more
• Tier Four (Legend): Craft Free-Willed Items: intelligent items and artifacts

Note that spell casting ability is not a requirement for taking and using these feats. Each feat grants all the magical lore needed to craft magic items. So long as the other requirements, as noted below, are invested, no casting is required (though it can help!).

Time

Item creators need a fairly quiet, comfortable, and well-lit place in which to work. Time spent crafting includes a minimum of an hour per day and a maximum of eight hours per day. If you are engaging in other activities, such as adventuring, a maximum of four hours per day is allowed. This refers to enchantment time; the time to craft the mundane item to be infused with magic follows the standard rules as given in the Craft skill.

• Consumable Items: 1 hour for each 125 gp in its price, or one eight-hour workday for each 1,000 gp.
• Permanent Items: 1 hour for each 250 gp in its price, or one eight-hour workday for each 2,000 gp.
• Constructs: 1 day per hit die of the construct.
• Casting Items: 1 hour for each 500 gp in its price, or one eight-hour workday for each 4,000 gp.
• Free-Willed Items: 1 hour for each 1,000 gp in its price, or one eight-hour workday for each 8,000 gp.

This required time cannot be decreased in any way, and, aside from divine intervention or wish-like spells, there is no way to squeeze more crafting into a day. Also, a character can work on only one item at a time. If you start work on a new item, all materials used on the under-construction item are wasted.

Gems

Gems are created when magical energies condense into crystal form. Being valuable as well as beautiful, they are used basically as currency in most lands. Gems are not themselves magical, but they can be used to infuse magic into a magic item. The lore you gain by taking enchanter tree feats reveals to you the necessary art of incorporating gems into your creations, unlocking thier hidden potential. Sometimes gems are set into an item, and sometimes they are ground to a powder or dissolved as part of the craft process. When a magic item set with jewels is broken or used up, any incorporated gems become dull and cracked, obviously worthless now.

Every magic item has a specific value given in gold pieces (gp). This is the price for you to buy one, and if you sell a magical item, you can expect to receive half of this value as payment. Half of the value/price is also the required cost, in gems, needed as part of the enchanting process. There is no alternative to the necessity of using gems in making magic items.

Other monetary costs: In addition to gems, some items require an expenditure of gold in crafting the mundane component of the item, as with the cost to make masterwork weapons, shields, and armor. Game masters may require other masterwork items, such as manacles or musical instruments, to be bought or made at a cost separately counted apart from the usual enchantment spend in gems. For most other items, however, this extra expense can be ignored without damaging the game.

Life Energy

To make a magic item that lasts indefinitely, crafters must invest their life energy into the effort. This is represented by a direct loss of experience points. The amount of experience points required is given in the "construction requirements" given as part of the item's description. However, it can be calculated as one tenth of the cost (in gems) needed to construct the item. (Thus, that's one twentieth of the value of the item.)

If the expenditure of experience points would place a creator below the required xp total for their current level, they cannot attempt to create the item. You can't lose a level in making an item.

You must use your own experience points for this purpose — no substitution or contribution from any other creature or source is allowed.

Note that consumable items, which do not last indefinitely, require no life energy to craft. After they are used up, they cease being magical. A creative game master may rule that consumable items lose their magic over very long spans of time, even if they have not been used. The idea of decaying consumables and their "expiration dates" is left to these game masters as options they can explore through house rules.

Spells

An item's construction requirements may list a specific spell, or an item may replicate a spell (as do potions, scrolls, and wands). When a spell is required, the easiest way to satisfy the requirement is for the caster or an ally to cast that spell once per day that the crafting continues. A spell-like ability that replicates a required spell can be used instead. If the spell is not available, a special ingredient or the use of a skill may be substituted.

A game master may allow a crafter to use a similar spell in place of a required spell, especially if the substitute is more powerful. For example, it seems fair to allow the use of consecrate in place of bless in making a Candle of Invocation.

Note that when you cast a required spell, your caster level must be equal to or higher than the caster level of the item. It would take a crafter with caster level 10 to cast bless or consecrate in making that candle.

If a required spell has a costly material component, then the material component must be used each time the spell is cast, that is, daily during construction. Skills and special ingredients cannot be used to substitute for these spells (see immediately below), unless the ingredient is a magical core.

A character can work on only one item at a time. If a character starts work on a new item, all materials used and XP spent on the under-construction item are wasted.

Skills

If a spell is not available, a crafter with ranks in a relevant skill can use that skill to enchant the item. The game master's role is to determine the required skill. For example, a game master may allow Use Rope skill ranks to substitute for the casting or a Rope Trick or Animate Rope spell. Here are a few more examples.

• Handle Animals: a spell with the word "animal" in the name.
• Heal: a conjuration (healing) spell.
• Knowledge (Arcane): an arcane spell.
• Knowledge (Nature): a natural spell.
• Knowledge (Planes): a conjuration (calling, summoning, or teleportation) spell.
• Knowledge (Religion): a divine spell.
• Language: a language-dependent spell.
• Perform (Instrument or Voice): a spell with the [sonic] descriptor.
• Scrivening: a spell with a written component (for example, one with maps, runes, glyphs, sigils, or symbols).
• Spellcraft: a universal school spell.
• Tactics: an inherent spell.

The number of ranks required to replicate a spell is equal to the item's caster level (CL). It would take a crafter with nine ranks in the Use Rope skill to substitute for the casting of a Rope Trick spell in the creation of a (CL9) Handy Haversack.

Special Ingredients

If a spell is not available, another option is to use a special ingredient to enchant the item. An ingredient is usually a monster part, most often fur or ivory or teeth or bone or hide. Some monsters have magical cores; a magical core can always be used to substitute for all the required spells an item requires. Sometimes plants or nonliving materials may be used. Parts of people never work in magic item creation, and only certain monsters are useful.

If a monster's subtype matches a required spell's descriptor, any ingredient from that monster can be substituted for the spell. A phoenix feather substitutes for a Fireball spell in making a CL10 Necklace of Fireballs (fire aligned). A lock of angel hair substitutes for a Gift of the Liontaurs spell in making a Lionstone (good aligned).

Some monster types substitute for spells of certain schools.

• Oooze: any transmutation spell.
• Undead: any necromancy spell.
• Fey: any enchantment spell.
• Dragon: any evocation spell.
• Outsider: any divination spell.

The power (challenge ranking, or CR) of a creature required to replicate a spell must be equal to (or greater than) the item's caster level (CL). It would take a CR7 ghost's ectoplasm to substitute for the casting of a Fear spell in the creation of a (CL7) Drums of Panic item (necromancy aligned).

When spells are required to construct an item, you must cast the spell each day in which crafting takes place. When you substitute a special ingredient, you must possess the material or item throughout the entire process, and the ingredient vanishes on the last crafting day.

Successful Item Creation

If all the requirements detailed above are met, then the item is created.

However, there is always a five percent chance that the new item will be cursed. Note that the crafter never chooses the curse; the game master determines (usually randomly) the nature of the curse.

If your caster level — or your skill ranks — or the CR of your special ingredient — is less than the CL of the item, then the item is still created, but for every point of difference that you fall short of the required item CL, there is an extra 5 percent chance that the item will end up cursed.

Off-Menu Magic Items

Inspired by other games, by literature, and by your own desires, you can imagine and then create magic items that do not exist in the Labyrinths & Liontaurs rules. Care must be taken, however, to avoid breaking the game with overpowered options. These crafting rules are intended as guides, because the vast range of potential magic items and ways to make them preclude covering every possibility. In general, make a new item like an existing item. For example, if you wish to make an item that boosts a skill, look to existing similar skill-boosters as a model.

A fundamental rule for adding off-menu items to the game is that the game master has the power to edit, revise, or outlaw the item after it is created, if it proves disruptive or unbalanced. Honestly, this is true for any addition to the game, whether a custom race, a new feat, or an invented spell.

All that said, there are definite guidelines you should use in creating brand new items.

Rule: Numeric Boost Items

All magic items should give enhancement bonuses. Bonuses to attacks, saving throws, and ability scores must never exceed +4. Bonuses to skills must never exceed +8. There may be a scattered few exceptions in the existing rules: Cayzle says, "Do as I say, not as I did in those rare cases."

Numeric boost items should cost twice as much as equivalent non-numeric items. You should get more bang from your buck with a Flying Carpet or a Crystal Ball, for example, to encourage the use of magic items to flavor your character, rather than to just stack bonuses.

Magic Item Gold Piece Values

Many factors must be considered when determining the price of new magic items. The easiest way to come up with a price is to compare the new item to an item that is already priced, using that price as a guide. Otherwise, use the guidelines summarized on Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values.

Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values

Effect	Base Price	Example
Ability bonus (enhancement)	Bonus squared x 1,000 gp	Belt of incredible dexterity +2
Armor bonus (enhancement)	Bonus squared x 1,000 gp	+1 chainmail
Bonus spell	Spell level squared x 1,000 gp	Pearl of power
AC bonus (deflection)	Bonus squared x 2,000 gp	Ring of protection +3
AC bonus (other)1	Bonus squared x 2,500 gp	Ioun stone (dusty rose prism)
Natural armor bonus (enhancement)	Bonus squared x 2,000 gp	Amulet of natural armor +1
Save bonus (resistance)	Bonus squared x 1,000 gp	Cloak of resistance +5
Save bonus (other)1	Bonus squared x 2,000 gp	Stone of good luck
Skill bonus (competence)	Bonus squared x 100 gp	Cloak of elvenkind
Spell resistance	10,000 gp per point over SR 12; SR 13 minimum	Mantle of spell resistance
Weapon bonus (enhancement)	Bonus squared x 2,000 gp	+1 longsword
Spell Effect	Base Price	Example
Single use, spell completion	Spell level x caster level x 25 gp	Scroll of haste
Single use, use-activated	Spell level x caster level x 50 gp	Potion of cure light wounds
50 charges, spell trigger	Spell level x caster level x 750 gp	Wand of fireball
Command word	Spell level x caster level x 1,800 gp	Cape of the mountebank
Use-activated or continuous	Spell level x caster level x 2,000 gp2	Lantern of revealing
Special	Base Price	Adjustment Example
Charges per day	Divide by (5 divided by charges per day)	Boots of teleportation
No space limitation3	Multiply entire cost by 2	Ioun stone
Multiple different abilities	Multiply lower item cost by 1.5	Helm of brilliance
Charged (50 charges)	1/2 unlimited use base price	Ring of the ram
Component	Extra Cost	Example
Armor, shield, or weapon	Add cost of masterwork item	+1 composite longbow
Spell has material component cost	Add directly into price of item per charge4	Wand of stoneskin
Spell Level: A 0-level spell is half the value of a 1st-level spell for determining price.
1 Such as a luck, insight, sacred, or profane bonus.
2 If a continuous item has an effect based on a spell with a duration measured in rounds, multiply the cost by 4. If the duration of the spell is 1 minute/level, multiply the cost by 2, and if the duration is 10 minutes/level, multiply the cost by 1.5. If the spell has a 24-hour duration or greater, divide the cost in half.
3 An item that does not take up one of the spaces on a body costs double.
4 If item is continuous or unlimited, not charged, determine cost as if it had 100 charges. If it has some daily limit, determine as if it had 50 charges.

Multiple Similar Abilities: For items with multiple similar abilities that don't take up space on a character's body, use the following formula: Calculate the price of the single most costly ability, then add 75% of the value of the next most costly ability, plus 1/2 the value of any other abilities.

Multiple Different Abilities: Abilities such as an attack roll bonus or saving throw bonus and a spell-like function are not similar, and their values are simply added together to determine the cost. For items that take up a space on a character's body, each additional power not only has no discount but instead has a 50% increase in price.

0-Level Spells: When multiplying spell levels to determine value, 0-level spells should be treated as 1/2 level.

Other Considerations: Once you have a cost figure, reduce that number if either of the following conditions applies:

Item Requires Skill to Use: Some items require a specific skill to get them to function. This factor should reduce the cost about 10%.

Item Requires Specific Class or Alignment to Use: Even more restrictive than requiring a skill, this limitation cuts the price by 30%.

Prices presented in the magic item descriptions (the gold piece value following the item's slot) are the market value, which is generally twice what it costs the creator to make the item.

Since different classes get access to certain spells at different levels, the prices for two characters to make the same item might actually be different. An item is only worth two times what the caster of the lowest possible level can make it for. Calculate the market price based on the lowest possible level caster, no matter who makes the item.

Not all items adhere to these formulas. First and foremost, these few formulas aren't enough to truly gauge the exact differences between items. The price of a magic item may be modified based on its actual worth. The formulas only provide a starting point. The pricing of scrolls assumes that, whenever possible, a wizard or cleric created it. Potions and wands follow the formulas exactly. Staves follow the formulas closely, and other items require at least some judgment calls.

Creating Magic Armor

To create magic armor, a character needs a heat source and some iron, wood, or leatherworking tools. He also needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being the armor or the pieces of the armor to be assembled. Armor to be made into magic armor must be masterwork armor, and the masterwork cost is added to the base price to determine final market value. Additional magic supply costs for the materials are subsumed in the cost for creating the magic armor—half the base price of the item.

Creating magic armor has a special prerequisite: The creator's caster level must be at least three times the enhancement bonus of the armor. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met. Magic armor or a magic shield must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus to have any armor or shield special abilities.

If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the armor, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any material components or focuses the spells require. The act of working on the armor triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the armor's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

Creating some armor may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Crafting magic armor requires one day for each 1,000 gp value of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft or Craft (armor).

Creating Magic Weapons

To create a magic weapon, a character needs a heat source and some iron, wood, or leatherworking tools. She also needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being the weapon or the pieces of the weapon to be assembled. Only a masterwork weapon can become a magic weapon, and the masterwork cost is added to the total cost to determine final market value. Additional magic supplies costs for the materials are subsumed in the cost for creating the magic weapon—half the base price of the item based upon the item's total effective bonus.

Creating a magic weapon has a special prerequisite: The creator's caster level must be at least three times the enhancement bonus of the weapon. If an item has both an enhancement bonus and a special ability, the higher of the two caster level requirements must be met. A magic weapon must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus to have any melee or ranged special weapon abilities.

If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the weapon, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) but need not provide any material components or focuses the spells require. The act of working on the weapon triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the weapon's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

At the time of creation, the creator must decide if the weapon glows or not as a side-effect of the magic imbued within it. This decision does not affect the price or the creation time, but once the item is finished, the decision is binding.

Creating magic double-headed weapons is treated as creating two weapons when determining cost, time, XP, and special abilities.

Creating some weapons may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Crafting a magic weapon requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp value of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (bows) (for magic bows and arrows), or Craft (weapons) (for all other weapons).

Creating Potions

The creator of a potion needs a level working surface and at least a few containers in which to mix liquids, as well as a source of heat to boil the brew. In addition, he needs ingredients. The costs for materials and ingredients are subsumed in the cost for brewing the potion: 25 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster.

All ingredients and materials used to brew a potion must be fresh and unused. The character must pay the full cost for brewing each potion. (Economies of scale do not apply.)

The imbiber of the potion is both the caster and the target. Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions.

The creator must have prepared the spell to be placed in the potion (or must know the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any material component or focus the spell requires.

Material components are consumed when he begins working, but a focus is not. (A focus used in brewing a potion can be reused.) The act of brewing triggers the prepared spell, making it unavailable for casting until the character has rested and regained spells. (That is, that spell slot is expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if it had been cast.) Brewing a potion requires 1 day.

Item Creation Feat Required: Brew Potion.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft or Craft (alchemy)

Creating Rings

To create a magic ring, a character needs a heat source. He also needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being a ring or the pieces of the ring to be assembled. The cost for the materials is subsumed in the cost for creating the ring. Ring costs are difficult to determine. Refer to Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values and use the ring prices in the ring descriptions as a guideline. Creating a ring generally costs half the ring's market price.

Rings that duplicate spells with costly material components add in the value of 50 × the spell's component cost. Having a spell with a costly component as a prerequisite does not automatically incur this cost. The act of working on the ring triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the ring's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

Creating some rings may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Forging a ring requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Forge Ring.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft or Craft (jewelry).

Creating Rods

To create a magic rod, a character needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being a rod or the pieces of the rod to be assembled. The cost for the materials is subsumed in the cost for creating the rod. Rod costs are difficult to determine. Refer to Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values and use the rod prices in the rod descriptions as a guideline. Creating a rod costs half the market value listed.

If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the rod, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) but need not provide any material components or focuses the spells require. The act of working on the rod triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the rod's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

Creating some rods may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Crafting a rod requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Rod.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (jewelry), Craft (sculptures), or Craft (weapons).

Creating Scrolls

To create a scroll, a character needs a supply of choice writing materials, the cost of which is subsumed in the cost for scribing the scroll: 12.5 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster.

All writing implements and materials used to scribe a scroll must be fresh and unused. A character must pay the full cost for scribing each spell scroll no matter how many times she previously has scribed the same spell.

The creator must have prepared the spell to be scribed (or must know the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any material component or focus the spell requires. A material component is consumed when she begins writing, but a focus is not. (A focus used in scribing a scroll can be reused.) The act of writing triggers the prepared spell, making it unavailable for casting until the character has rested and regained spells. (That is, that spell slot is expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if it had been cast.)

Scribing a scroll requires 1 day per 1,000 gp of the base price. Although an individual scroll might contain more than one spell, each spell must be scribed as a separate effort, meaning that no more than 1 spell can be scribed in a day.

Item Creation Feat Required: Scribe Scroll.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (calligraphy), or Profession (scribe).

Creating Staves

To create a magic staff, a character needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being a staff or the pieces of the staff to be assembled.

The materials cost is subsumed in the cost of creation: 400 gp × the level of the highest-level spell × the level of the caster, plus 75% of the value of the next most costly ability (300 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster), plus 1/2 the value of any other abilities (200 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster). Staves are always fully charged (10 charges) when created.

If desired, 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 its 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.

The creator must have prepared the spells to be stored (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any focus 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). Material components are consumed when he begins working, but focuses are not. (A focus used in creating a staff can be reused.) The act of working on the staff triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the staff 's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

Creating a few staves may entail other prerequisites beyond spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Crafting a staff requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Staff.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (jewelry), Craft (sculptures), or Profession (woodcutter).

Creating Wands

To create a magic wand, a character needs a small supply of materials, the most obvious being a baton or the pieces of the wand to be assembled. The cost for the materials is subsumed in the cost for creating the wand: 375 gp × the level of the spell × the level of the caster. Wands are always fully charged (50 charges) when created.

The creator must have prepared the spell to be stored (or must know the spell, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) and must provide any focuses the spell requires. Fifty of each needed material component are required (one for each charge). Material components are consumed when work begins, but focuses are not. A focus used in creating a wand can be reused. The act of working on the wand triggers the prepared spell, making it unavailable for casting during each day devoted to the wand's creation. (That is, that spell slot is expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if it had been cast.)

Crafting a wand requires 1 day per each 1,000 gp of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Wand.

Skill Used in Creation: Spellcraft, Craft (jewelry), Craft (sculptures), or Profession (woodcutter).

Creating Wondrous Items

To create a wondrous item, a character usually needs some sort of equipment or tools to work on the item. She also needs a supply of materials, the most obvious being the item itself or the pieces of the item to be assembled. The cost for the materials is subsumed in the cost for creating the item. Wondrous item costs are difficult to determine. Refer to Table: Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values and use the item prices in the item descriptions as a guideline. Creating an item costs half the market value listed.

If spells are involved in the prerequisites for making the item, the creator must have prepared the spells to be cast (or must know the spells, in the case of a sorcerer or bard) but need not provide any material components or focuses the spells require. The act of working on the item triggers the prepared spells, making them unavailable for casting during each day of the item's creation. (That is, those spell slots are expended from the caster's currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)

Creating some items may entail other prerequisites beyond or other than spellcasting. See the individual descriptions for details.

Crafting a wondrous item requires 1 day for each 1,000 gp of the base price.

Item Creation Feat Required: Craft Wondrous Item.

Skill Used In Creation: Spellcraft or an applicable Craft or Profession skill check.

Adding New Abilities

Sometimes, lack of funds or time make it impossible for a magic item crafter to create the desired item from scratch. Fortunately, it is possible to enhance or build upon an existing magic item. Only time, gold, and the various prerequisites required of the new ability to be added to the magic item restrict the type of additional powers one can place.

The cost to add additional abilities to an item is the same as if the item was not magical, less the value of the original item. Thus, a +1 longsword can be made into a +2 vorpal longsword, with the cost to create it being equal to that of a +2 vorpal sword minus the cost of a +1 longsword.

If the item is one that occupies a specific place on a character's body, the cost of adding any additional ability to that item increases by 50%. For example, if a character adds the power to confer invisibility to her ring of protection +2, the cost of adding this ability is the same as for creating a ring of invisibility multiplied by 1.5.