Craft (choose type): The character knows one type of craft; examples include armor-making, bow-making, tattooing, leatherworking, smithing, weapon-making, etc. The character must choose which one type of craft the skill pertains to; of course, he can spend more slots and have several types of craft skills. The character can make his living at this profession and, with a successful roll, make expert opinions on subjects pertaining to his skill.
General Skills vs. Craft Skills #
- General Skills: Represent fundamental knowledge and basic ability.
- Purpose: Used for character background, basic skill work, appraisal, and general knowledge.
- Example: A character with a General Skill in “Smithing” knows how to identify a good sword, repair basic tools, and understands the basics of ironwork.
- Craft Skills: Represent a significant, focused pursuit toward mastery, requiring specialized training (usually from a guild/clan).
- Purpose: Unlocks advanced abilities, higher quality work (masterpieces), and formal recognition (skill class/rank). A character can only have one primary Craft Skill, though guild membership might allow secondary craft skills.
- Example: A character with a Craft Skill in “Smithing” can create masterwork armor, train others, and gain a formal rank like Journeyman or Master within the Blacksmith’s Guild.
Interpreting Skill Scores #
Skill scores indicate a character’s proficiency:
- 3-5 (Very Basic): Capable of undemanding tasks; often fails difficult tasks.
- Example: Can light a forge and hammer a simple nail.
- 6-8 (Fair Grounding): Competent work; often fails difficult tasks.
- Example: Can make a basic, functional horseshoe.
- 9-12 (Solid Grounding): Good work; can train apprentices; often succeeds in hard tasks.
- Example: Can craft a standard, reliable longsword and teach a beginner.
- 13-15 (Excellent Command): Almost always finds work; can train journeymen; usually succeeds in hard tasks.
- Example: Known for creating high-quality, durable shields; can mentor skilled apprentices.
- 16-17 (Marvelous Command): Can train masters; acts as an efficiency expert; usually succeeds in hard tasks.
- Example: Can optimize a guild’s production process and produce exceptional gear consistently.
- 18+ (Genius Command): Can train masters; always finds work; creates masterpieces/classics.
- Example: Creates legendary arms and armor that are considered works of art.
Skill Classes and Progression #
Characters with Craft Skills gain a formal “Skill Class” based on how many skill choices they have invested in that specific skill.
| Skill Choices Invested | Skill Class | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Junior Journeyman | JJm |
| 1 | Journeyman | Jm |
| 2 | Senior Journeyman | SJm |
| 3 | Master | M |
| 4 | Craft Master | CM |
- Note: A Guild Master (GM) is a Craft Master who has earned the top guild rank through fame, intrigue, and years of service.
Guild Loyalty
- Leaving a guild to join another is strongly discouraged and may result in the loss of formal vetting (though the character keeps the skill benefits).
- Some guilds may train non-members if they show natural talent, but typically demand exclusivity over the character’s produced wares.
Crafting Items #
This section details how to resolve checks and determine the quality of finished products using General vs. Craft Skills.
1. Resolution Mechanics
Both skills use a d20 roll. The goal is to roll equal to or under your adjusted Skill Score.
- General Skill Roll: A simple Success/Fail check.
- Craft Skill Roll (The “Blackjack” Rule): The goal is to roll as close to your score as possible without going over. The higher the successful roll, the better the result.
- Skill Class Bonus: For every class above Junior Journeyman (JJm), you may add +1 to a successful roll to get closer to your target score.
- Example: A Journeyman (Jm) has 1 bonus point. If they roll a 14 against a score of 15, they can adjust the result to a 15 to achieve a “Perfect” roll.
2. Item Quality and Effects #
The quality of a finished item is determined by the skill used and the success of the roll.
| Quality | Bonus/Value | General Skill Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Improvised | -1d4 to use | N/A (Wrong tools/materials) |
| Inferior | -1 to use | N/A (Failed roll/low skill) |
| Fair | Standard | No penalty |
| Excellent | +10% Value | -2 to roll |
| Superior | +20% Value | -4 to roll |
| Masterwork | +1 to use; +100% Value | -6 to roll (Score must be 18+) |
- Magical Requirement: Items intended for enchantment must be of Superior or Masterwork quality. Masterwork items grant a +5% bonus to the enchantment process.
3. Crafting Results by Skill Type #
General Skills (The Penalty Method)
To create anything better than “Fair,” a General Skill user must subtract the Quality Penalty from their skill score before rolling.
- Example: To make a Superior sword (Penalty -4) with a Skill Score of 15, the player must roll an 11 or lower.
Craft Skills (The Accuracy Method)
Craft Skill users ignore quality penalties if the item is in their specialized “Codex.” Quality is determined by how close the roll is to the Skill Score:
- Superior Item: Roll is exactly equal to the adjusted Skill Score.
- Excellent Item: Roll is within 1 point of the score for every skill class above JJm.
- Example: A Master (M) is 3 classes above JJm. If their score is 15, a roll of 12, 13, or 14 creates an Excellent item. A 15 creates a Superior item.
- Masterwork Item: Requires extra time. If the character spends the required time, the roll requirements for Superior/Excellent results are applied to create a Masterwork item instead.
Summary of Quality Examples
- Improvised: A rogue uses a sharpened piece of scrap metal and a rock to make a “dagger.”
- Fair: A blacksmith makes a standard iron pot.
- Excellent: A tailor makes a silk gown with exceptionally clean, sturdy stitching.
- Superior: A carpenter makes a throne with intricate, artistic engravings.
- Masterwork: A weaponsmith creates a balanced, razor-sharp rapier that grants the wielder +1 to hit.
Crafting Codex #
This section details the Codex (the record of technical knowledge), Research, and the Workshop requirements for advanced crafting.
1. The Codex
A Codex is a collection of blueprints, recipes, and diagrams.
- General Items: No Codex is required.
- Advanced Items: A Codex is mandatory for any item of Excellent quality or higher, or items with high difficulty.
- Penalty: Attempting an advanced item without its Codex entry imposes a penalty based on quality/difficulty.
- Security: Treat a Codex like a Wizard’s spellbook. It can be encrypted, cursed, or trapped.
2. Codex Research (Learning New Items) #
To add an item to your Codex, you must spend time and gold to practice.
- Time: 7 days + 1 day per Difficulty Level (DL).
- Cost: 1,000sp per DL + 1,000sp per day beyond the first 7 days.
- Success Chance:
(Skill + [Level × 2]) - (3 × DL)- Note: Use
-5 per DLif the item is “completely new” (not just a quality upgrade). - Bonus: +5% for every Skill Class above Journeyman (Jm) if you already own a lower-quality version of the entry.
- Automatic Failure: A roll of 95% or higher.
- Note: Use
- Failure: You must restart from day one. If you passed a raw skill check during the failure, you may skip the initial 7-day lead time on your next attempt.
Experience Points (XP) Gained:
- Base: 1,000 XP per Difficulty Level.
- Modifiers: Completely New (+50%), Found as Treasure (50%), Gifted by Guild (25%), Stolen/Traded (10%), Failed Attempt (10%).
3. Workshops and Tools #
Research requires a dedicated space. You must own or lease a workshop to gain these benefits.
- Base Value: A Level 1 Difficulty workshop costs 4,000sp.
- Scaling: Add +2,000sp to the workshop value for every Difficulty Level above 1.
- Growth: Every time a new entry is added to your Codex, add 10% of that research cost to the workshop’s total value.
- Bonus: For every 2,000sp of value above the minimum required for a project, gain +1% to research success (Max +10%).
4. Production Time and Material Costs #
- Base Time: 1 day per 100sp of materials.
- Speed Bonus: Each class above JJm allows you to produce one additional item per day OR reduce the total crafting time by 1 day (minimum 1 day).
- Quality Time Additions: Excellent (+1 day), Superior (+3 days), Masterwork (+7 days).
- Material Cost: 50% of the item’s base value.
- Discount: Reduce this cost by 5% for every class above JJm.
- Sourcing: Materials can be bought or foraged (DM sets foraging difficulty).
Example: Crafting a Superior Silver Sword
A 10th Level Senior Journeyman (SJm) with a Skill Score of 17 (15 INT + 2 Training) wants to add a “Superior Silver Sword” to their Codex. They already have the “Fair Silver Sword” entry.
- Difficulty: 5 (4 for Superior + 1 for Silver).
- Time: 12 days (7 base + 5 for DL).
- Cost: 10,000sp (5,000 for DL + 5,000 for extra days).
- Success Chance:
17 (Skill) + 20 (Level x 2) = 3737 - 15 (Difficulty x 3) = 22%22% + 5% (SJm bonus for existing entry) = 27% chance of success.
- Result: If successful, the character gains 5,000 XP and the ability to craft Superior Silver Swords.
