User:Tarkisflux/sandbox/crafting revision

Note - this is extremely rough at this stage. This is only for mundane items. This is not a revision to the magic item crafting as yet, since that is a whole other mess. I see several possible extensions into that area, but the basic approach here is far enough from the norm that I'm not worried them yet.

Starting Assumptions

Crafting mundane gear is a background thing that does not net you more power when you do it. Crafting is not relevant during an actual adventure, though it may be relevant in NPC interactions the same way other background characteristics are.

Crafting mundane gear is not something that should depend on level, as it is not something that can possibly remain relevant with level. Crafting magic gear could be relevant, but should depend ONLY on level (and no other benchmarks) so that people don't have the option of falling behind in a gear dependent game. Investing things that could go to keeping you relevant in your adventuring party is right out then (mostly, feats remain a possibility that I dislike for other reasons), since you should either invest nothing at all or everything you possibly can. The former makes it not valuable as a skill and thus a poor inclusion, the later makes it better suited for a character ability in the same way that casters just make stuff limited by their current level (and feat choices, but meh).

As crafting is a downtime thing and not an adventure, it is not something that people should roll for. Rolls might need to be made to graduate from apprentice to partner to master (or whatever), or other times that might involve making something above your current skill level, but normal crafting should just happen over time. Rolls for these other things could be their own mini-game, but as they are unlikely to involve the rest of the party I don't see that as a particularly good option. One roll, attribute bonus only, against a pre-fixed and never modified DC seems best, but I'd honestly be happy to just let people craft what they want in their ability level and train up when plot appropriate at no cost.

Crafting Revision

People who want to be able to craft stuff take a crafting ability like a background. The various crafting types let them make stuff. Some people need other crafting specializations to make stuff, and can thus spread the work around

• Metalsmith - metal working, horseshoes, plows, etc., includes pieces used in weaponsmithing and armorsmithing
• Armorsmith - armor construction, using pieces made by tanners, metalsmiths, weavers
• Weaponsmith - weapon construction, using pieces made by woodwrights, metalsmiths, and assorted minor bits
• Bowyer - special category, constructs bows and arrows from start to finish
• Tanner - skins and prepares animal hides for other uses, including pieces for
• Carpenter - builds homes, boats, wagons, etc. using pieces made by woodwrights and metalsmiths
• Woodwright - takes trees and turns them into planks or other bits, including pieces used in carpentry
• Tailor - makes clothes
• Weaver - makes cloth
• Sculpter - makes pottery and sculptures
• Glassblower - makes glass using sand and stuff
• Alchemist - makes alchemical items in containers provided by glassblowers and metalsmiths
• Trapsmithing - somewhat of a misnomer as it also includes locks and clocks and other finicky devices using pieces supplied by metalsmiths, carpenters, tanners, clothwrights, alchemists, glassblowers, and others
• Stonewright - makes stone bits, including statures
• (whatever else should be added)

Stuff that people make comes in 3 qualities: poor, standard, and masterwork. Most stuff is standard quality. Poor quality stuff has some defect, limitation, or just looks bad, but will generally serve in a pinch with a caveat (boats made from poor planks leak and need to be bailed regularly, weapons have a -1 to hit or damage due to balance, etc.).

People who take one or more of these specializations have a level with it: apprentice, partner, and master. Apprentices make poor quality stuff, partners make standard quality stuff and can make poor stuff more quickly, and masters can make masterwork stuff and the other quality stuff more quickly. Partners and masters can also take lower quality stuff from those under their supervision and improve it, making stuff more quickly if they have people working under them. Partners and masters can also add decorative engravings, filigree, or whatever to their work, while apprentices can not.

Each specialization has a craft time associated with it (not made up yet). This is the time it takes to make an item one size category smaller than the crafter is. Medium crafters thus make small items in the same amount of time that small crafters make tiny items. This base time is modified by the nature of materials worked with. Hard / firm / stiff materials increase the time, soft / pliant materials reduce the time, and fragile / brittle materials increase the time (complexity may also add in here, but I'm not sure it's worth including yet). These modifiers modify the base time. Detail work, like engravings or filigree or lace or whatever, is added on top of the base time for the item.

Items may also have a "rest time" associated with them. You spend the craft time and leave it alone during the rest time and it's done afterwards.

Cost revision

Items have a raw material cost depending on their weight and materials, which I think it listed somewhere but I don't feel like looking up. You can purchase partially worked materials (lumber planks from a woodwright for barrels or boats, leather from a tanner for backpacks or armor, etc.) can be purchased for 2x the raw cost. Probably. These numbers may need to be adjusted so that we don't fall into weird cost problems. In general, making armor and weapons should have a huge profit margin and the non-combat ones less so, since the non-combat ones will have a higher useage rate within a community.