Re: (TFT) Magic Item Creation Example?

[raito@raito.com]

I have always used the following:

The wizard(s) creating the item may use as much ST as they can and 
still be at full ST the next working day, using the 15 min./ST recovery 
as a guideline. Some paranoid wizards only use ST from Apprentices, so 
that if they're attacked during the day, they have full ST to fight 
with. 

Guild apprentices can't be required to give more than 25 ST per day. 

But as I use a 40-hour work week as a uniform basis (which I readily 
admit has no real basis in any sort of medieval or immediately 
post-medieval world), a (non-Guild, or Guild with extra pay) apprentice 
supplies no more than 8 hrs./15 min. = 32 ST per day. Again, that's 
only if, at the end of an 8 hour work day, the can recover full ST by 
the start of the next work day. 

So, to make that shield... 

I'll assume that it's the first enchantment on the item, so that it 
takes just the amount of time, materials, etc. specified (no 
multipliers). 

The first thing you need is a wizard with the Weapon/Armor Enchantment 
spell (IQ 14). And a shield. 

Now, because the spell covers everything, the wizard doesn't need a 
book like he would if he was making some other sort of item. 

And that wizard needs access to a lab. That's either $10K (+$50/wk on 
maintenance), or rental for a sum of $200/wk. And don't forget that the 
wizard has to attune the lab. That's a week, plus 50ST (over the week), 
and a 3DX roll at the end of the week. 

Now we can start work on the shield. 

Weapon/Armor Enchantment takes 2 weeks to cast, at 75 ST per day, and a 
weekly ingredient cost of $40. So he let's assume he'll need 2 
apprentices @25ST/day, and he also supplies that much. He'll also need 
$80 total in ingredients. 

Let's run down the timeline... 

The wizard rents out a lab, and pays the first week's $200. He spends 
the week attuning the lab to himself. Since he can supply 25ST/day, he 
doesn't need apprentices at this point, so he only need to pay for his 
own room and baord, which we won't get into here. He makes his DX roll 
at the end of the week, so the lab is attuned to him, and he can get to 
work. 

Week2 he hires his 2 apprentices @$25/wk, buys a large shield to 
enchant ($50) (he's going to add +1DX, so that the shield has no DX 
disadvantage). He also pays the $40 for the first weeks materials and 
the $200 rent. We'll assume that he makes his first DX roll at the end 
of the week and continues. 

The next week, he still has to pay those apprentices, rent, and get 
more materials. He makes his roll, and presto, there's the new 
enchanted shield. 

So, in this case, it took the wizard 3 weeks and $830 to make an item 
worth $1050 (magic cost + cost of the shield). That's not a hack of a 
lot of profit for 3 weeks work (a little over $70 per week). 

A +2 shield would take 5 weeks, cost $1410, and be worth $2050 
($128/wk, more reasonable). 

A +3 shield would take 9 weeks, cost $2570, and be worth $4050 (about 
$164/wk). 

As you can see, more powerful makes more money, but takes a lot longer. 

As to your specific questions:

There's little mechanics for the Apprentices. They can put in 25ST/day. 
As it says on p30 of AW, the ST is expended in little bits over the 
course of a day, not all at once, and (in my opinion) not during combat 
stress. 

How many wizard is required is answered at the top of p30. The short 
answer is that one wizard can do anything, but it takes a long time. 
The number of wizards may double per added enchantment to keep time 
costs down (but note that material costs are per wizard per week), and 
you can't go below the original time cost. 

Neil Gilmore
raito@raito.com

Quoting Sgt Hulka <hulkasgt@yahoo.com>:
> First off, thanks to everyone who replied to the healing potion question. 
>
> Now, could someone provide an example of magic item creation? Maybe just the
> creation of a +1 protective shield or something. I've never really understood
> the process, and there seem to either be steps that are never explained in
> Advanced Wizard or steps that are in strange places within the book. Like how
> much ST can a wizard use per day? Just his full ST? Less than his full ST to
> avoid loss of consciousness? More than his full ST with recovery between
> sessions? How do the mechanics of the AID spell with apprentices work? How
> often does the DX roll for the AIDers have to be made? Where does it say how
> many Wizards are required to work on a project?
>
> Thanks in advance. 
> =====
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