Some arcane spellcasters aspire only to perfect their own spellcasting powers. The master arcane artisan instead focuses her efforts outward, creating vessels of great power to wield against her enemies.

Most master arcane artisans are wizards, since few other classes have the ability to learn the wide range of item creation feats required for the class. However, bards and sorcerers who focus their attentions can qualify for this class as well. A variety of prestige classes also offer good preparation for this class, including the gnome artificer and the master alchemist.

Master arcane artisans tend to have many acquaintances -- everyone seems to like the wizard with all the toys -- but few true friends. Many arcane spellcasters, particularly sorcerers, disdain the artisan's reliance on trinkets, but it's hard to argue with the result.

Role: Spell Utility

Characteristics: Pinnacles of item creation that can rapidly create and draw power from magic items.

Source: Epic Insights

Game Rule Information

The Master Arcane Artisan has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Intelligence for your skill points and crafting, whatever your casting stat is as it could also be charisma based feats,

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d4

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Master Arcane Artisan's class skills are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Master Arcane Artisan.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Master Arcane Artisan is proficient with whatever they were already proficient with prior to taking levels in this class.

Spells: The epic master arcane artisan's caster level increases by 1 per even-numbered level gained above 10th. In addition, at every even-numbered level, the epic master arcane artisan gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class, up to the number of spells per day possessed by a 20th-level character of that class.

Rapid Item Creation Ex: When crafting any magic item for which she has selected the Efficient Item Creation feat, a master arcane artisan can craft magic items at an even more accelerated rate. At 1st level, she can craft such items at a rate of 20,000 gp per day. This increases by 10,000 gp per day for every 2 levels gained after 1st (30,000 gp per day at 3rd level, 40,000 gp per day at 5th, and so on). This ability has no effect on creation times for items that require feats for which she has not selected the Efficient Item Creation feat.

Item Creation XP Pool Ex: A 2nd-level master arcane artisan has a source of magical energy from which she can draw the equivalent of XP to contribute toward the creation of magic items. At 2nd level, the pool has the equivalent of 3,000 XP in it. Every level thereafter, the pool gains a number of points equal to the level gained times 1,000 (+3,000 at 3rd level, +4,000 at 4th, and so on). These points can be spent only to create magic items, and once spent, the points are gone.

Bonus Feat: The master arcane artisan gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic master arcane artisan feats) at 3rd level, and every 3 levels thereafter.

Additional Magic Item Space, Augmented Alchemy, Craft Epic Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Epic Rod, Craft Epic Staff, Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Efficient Item Creation, Forge Epic Ring, Improved Spell Capacity, Master Staff, Master Wand, Scribe Epic Scroll, Spell Knowledge.

Bonus Item: At 4th level the master arcane artisan gains a single magic item of her choice (whose market price can't exceed 100,000 gp) that she could craft herself. She need not spend any time working on the item, and she need not expend any gp or XP. She is assumed to have been working on the item during her studies and spare time, and she completes it for free as part of gaining the new level. The master arcane artisan must meet all the item's prerequisites herself.

Every 4 levels after 4th, the master arcane artisan gains an additional free magic item, and the maximum market price of the item gained increases by 100,000 gp (to 200,000 gp at 8th, 300,000 gp at 12th, and so on).

Cannibalize Magic Item Ex: A 10th-level master arcane artisan gains the ability to cannibalize magic items to harvest the power held within. The process requires 1 day per 100,000 gp of the item (or fraction thereof), at the end of which the artisan can add a number of points to her item creation XP pool (see above) equal to one-half the XP required to create the item. For instance, if a master arcane artisan cannibalized a +5 longsword (which costs 2,000 XP to create) she would add 1,000 points to her pool. A charged item that isn't fully charged only contributes a proportional amount of XP. For instance, a wand with only 25 charges would contribute half the normal points of a fully charged wand. The power harvested from such activity contributes only to the character's item creation XP pool, not to her normal XP total.