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 formularize. 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, nor are any XP costs inherent in a prerequisite spell incurred in the creation of the item. 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 his currently prepared spells, just as if they had been cast.)