Have the requirements for building a portal changed?

Question

The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is the only source I'm aware of for the feat Create Portal (34). The feat is untouched by errata and has as its only prerequisite the feat Craft Wondrous Item (PH 92-3).

But the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting on Building a Portal says

Any character of at least 17th level can build a portal if she knows the Create Portal feat and either the teleportation circle or gate spell. (61)

As the feat Craft Wondrous Item has as its lone prerequisite Caster level 3rd, a wizard can take the feat Craft Wondrous Item then the feat Create Portal as his wizard bonus feat at level 5.

Yet he won't be able to create on his own a portal until level 17.

This seems like a long time to wait.

While it's interesting that a low-level wizard could knock on the archmage's door and offer his portal-building skill in exchange for the archmage's spell knowledge (the Wiz5 providing the feat and Wiz17 providing the spell knowledge), unlike many other magic items, the portal doesn't need the Wiz17 to expend the spell gate or teleportation circle during the the portal's creation. Seriously, in the hypothetical scenario, the archmage supervises portal creation, expending zero resources except time (and, perhaps, patience at being stuck hanging around a Wiz5).

Here're the questions.

1. The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting is from 2001. The game is in its infancy. Should the quoted text be read as guidelines, as the feat Create Portal has no further prerequisites? That is, should anyone with the capacity to cast either the spell gate or the spell teleportation circle be permitted to use the feat Create Portal? (Perhaps cribbing from an arcane scroll of teleportation circle (9th-level spell at caster level 17) (DMG 241) (4,825 gp; 0 lbs.) is sufficient?)

   Alternatively, is there a reason to restrict creating portals to characters level 17 and higher but to give characters the ability to consider for 12 levels their poor and probably pointless choices?

2. Was the portal creation process updated or expanded upon in later texts?

Answer 1

The feat Create Portal was deleted by the Player's Guide to Faerûn, but prerequisites for creating portals remain otherwise unchanged

The Player's Guide to Faerûn on Changes to Feats from the Campaign Setting says

In addition to overhauling the regional feat system, this chapter also introduces a small number of changes to other feats from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Most of these alterations are minor changes to the wording for clarity, but some of the key changes include the following.…

Create Portal: Portals are now considered wondrous items and are built with the Craft Wondrous Item feat. The new Portal Master feat makes it easier for a character to build a portal. (42)

(The Player's Guide likewise describes the feat Portal Master (42).)

So by removing the feat Create Portal, any ol' caster with access (somehow) to the correct spells and a feat with a prerequisite of caster level 3rd can opt to create a portal.

Thus, without portals requiring their own specific feat to create and the large number of high-level casters on Toril and the utility value of the feat Craft Wondrous Item, the ubiquity of Faerûnian portals becomes a bit more understandable, despite portals themselves still possessing sort-of silly yet otherwise untouched prerequisites for creation.

So you know, Underdark has a few more portal qualities (52-3), Expedition to Undermountain describes Halaster’s drifting portals (218), and Power of Faerûn and Dungeon #92 describe a portal that emits deadly flying needles (152) and coral portals (79), but these latter two designs are largely specific to the location and group associated with them, respectively.

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*Note: This revision means that the DM must make minor adjustments to the prerequisites of the item creation feat Create Moving* Portal * and the epic feat Create Time* Portal.

Answer 2

Answer to Question #1

Yes, there are rules supporting multiple people during magic item creation. SRD states:

It is possible for more than one character to cooperate in the creation of an item, with each participant providing one or more of the prerequisites. In some cases, cooperation may even be necessary.

If two or more characters cooperate to create an item, they must agree among themselves who will be considered the creator for the purpose of determinations where the creator’s level must be known. The character designated as the creator pays the XP required to make the item.

Answer to Question #2

No, there are no other RAW supporting Portal Creation outside of the texts you have already quoted. As I can't prove a negative - this may seem as opinion. There may be some 3rd party resources that I am unaware of, and some Homebrew resources floating around the internet somewhere.

Suggestion

Make a Magic Door (portal) as a spell trigger wondrous item using Teleport / Greater Teleport with the other Magic Door linked. There will need to possibly be some creative license by the DM. It could be some "fun" roleplaying allowing a chance of failure using the standard Teleport spell. But having the DM state that the two "doors" linked teleporting back and forth to each other shouldn't be too far a stretch of the imagination. It is not gamebreaking by any method. And using certain spell triggers could also help prevent others from freely using the Magic Door. Also, having familiarity limitations as prescribed from the two Teleport spells can also prevent the Average Joe from utilizing the Magic Door.

The only reason Create Portal requires 17th level, is due to Teleportation Circle being a 9th level spell.