# Crafting a Lich's Phylactery

The cost to craft a Lich's Phylactery is 120,000 gold and the caster level is the level of the crafter at time of creation.

To craft wondrous items you use an amount of gold equal to half the item's cost and crafting takes an amount of time equal to 1day per 1,000 gold. Does this mean that if i begin crafting a Phylactery at level 11 it will cost me 120,000 gold and take 240 days? Also, is the caster level of the item the level i am when i begin crafting or when i finish crafting?

1. Does this mean that if I begin crafting a Phylactery at level 11 it will cost me 120,000 gold and take 240 days?

In theory, yes.

The lich template is the only source I found that says the phylactery costs 120,000 gp to create. Since the crafting cost is usually 50% of the market price, I suppose this means that a lich's phylactery has a theoretical base price of 240,000 gp.

According to the rules on magic item creation, crafting a magic item normally takes 8 hours per 1000 gp in the base price, working up to 8 hours per day. This would translate to 1 day per 1000 gp in the base price. This also assumes you aren't adventuring and have sufficient space and concentration for crafting.

So a base price of 240,000 gp would normally require 240 days. This time can be reduced:

This process can be accelerated to 4 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item's base price (or fraction thereof) by increasing the DC to create the item by +5.

In most cases, this means you can craft at double speed, i.e., complete the phylactery in 120 days.

Additionally, if you (and an ally) both have the Cooperative Crafting feat, then you can double the speed again, i.e., complete the phylactery in 60 days.

1. Also, is the caster level of the item the level I am when I begin crafting or when I finish crafting?

It's when you begin. The material cost is determined by your caster level, and the material cost is paid when you begin crafting.

The character must spend the gold at the beginning of the construction process.

Therefore, the item uses the caster level of the crafter when they began making it.

• Is there confirmation somewhere that increasing the Spellcraft DC by +5 to take 4 hours allows double speed magic item creation? It sounds like it could go either way. (That is, either you can work 4 hours instead of 8 hours to complete 1 day's work or you can work 8 hours per day in 2 4-hour shifts to complete twice as much work.) May 19 '18 at 20:58
• @HeyICanChan You can't work more than 8 hours on a single magic item in a day (and starting multiple items is just a waste); it's not that you can't make more than one progress check if you want. "The caster can work for up to 8 hours each day. " from here May 19 '18 at 21:10
• @HeyICanChan If you can work 4 hours per 1000gp in the base price, then you can work 8 hours per 2000gp in the base price. That generally means completing in half time. Effectively 2x the normal rate. May 19 '18 at 21:13
• @thedarkwanderer O, I totally get that's how it should work. I'm just saying that Creating an item requires 8 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item's base price (or fraction thereof), with a minimum of at least 8 hours combined with This process can be accelerated to 4 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item's base price (or fraction thereof) by increasing the DC to create the item by +5 doesn't automatically mean the creator can work 2 4-hour 1,000-gp-ea. shifts. I mean, 4 hours is included in up to 8 hours each day also! (Frex, this would allow adventuring during a creation day.) May 19 '18 at 21:23
• @HeyICanChan There is a separate rule for that: 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. May 20 '18 at 3:29