Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Aeranos Update - Crafting Mechanics



A character with the proper Craft skill, and enough time, can create just about anything. The process of building or creating one item is called a Project. A Project is made up of Skill, Time and Difficulty. Some projects are relatively simple affairs, like shoeing a horse, or brewing some beer. Other projects are complicated and time consuming, like penning a musical composition, building an entire castle, or brewing really good beer.
Determining how difficult and time consuming a project is, may require some research, and is ultimately up to the GM. The depth to which you want to go into crafting is likewise up to the GM and the players.

Skill
The proper knowledge for the job at hand. This is the particular skill needed to complete the project. Most of the time this is a Craft skill, but it could also be a Religion, History, Arcana or Wilderness Survival skill, or even something else at the GM's discretion. Besides the main skill needed, there might be other skills that can provide modifiers to the main project test.

Time
The time it takes to complete a project includes material gathering, preparation and actual crafting time. The final time will be the standard amount it takes an average craftsman to complete the project. If the project is long, or involved, the GM is free to turn it into an extended skill test. In fact, many projects will be extended skill tests.

Difficulty
This is the actual target you are aiming for with your skill tests. The difficulty of a project is determined by most of the same elements that are used for Time. In addition, the difficulty is determined by the final product you are attempting to create. Forging an average sword is easier than attempting to create a Quality blade ready for enchantment.

With big, complicated projects, it may be tempting to split the process into several different extended skill tests, but unless you want the project to be a central theme to a game, you should probably avoid this. While crafting an item is useful, its often not the most exciting thing your character will do. That said, something that will take months, or even years to complete might be one extended test split up over several sessions.

Example Project  /  Skill  /  Time  /  Difficulty  /  Special Rules
Forge Horse Shoes /  Blacksmith  /  3 Hours  /  10  /  -15 minutes per success (min. Half hour)

Weapons
Forge Average Weapon  /  Blacksmith, Bowyer  /  1 day  /  12  /  1 test halfway to the end of the process. -1 hour per success (min. 6 hours)
Repair Average Weapon  /  Blacksmith, Bowyer  /  3 Hours  /  12  / 1 test. -15 minutes per success (min. Half Hour)
Forge Quality Sword  /  Blacksmith  /  About a week  /  15  /  1 test per day. Extended skill test. Requires 12 Successes.

1 comment:

  1. If only may characters could survive the dungeons long enough to craft something... :)

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