Crafting Arrows?

[melkoriii]

Ok so I have a Ranger type and want to craft my own arrows so I don’t have to worry about running out on the road.

Looking under the Craft skill they do not list arrows as a item.

So whats the base DC?

Basic Long/short bow is DC 12 but Arrows are easier to make then Bows (Strait shaft, Pointy Head, Nock and Feathers).
A Typical item is DC 10 but Im not sure if that’s right ether.

What do you do?

 

[CrimsonTemplar]

I'd say DC 10 would be about right.

 

[melkoriii]

I'd say DC 10 would be about right.

OK so if the DC is 10 then with a Craft skill of 10 and average 1d20 roll of 10 I can make 40 arrorws in 1 day

(Total 20 * DC 10 = 200cp or 2gp each day)

More if my roll is good.

So then Masterwork would be: 50 arrows or 20?
Going by 3.0 masterwork arrow at 7gp each its 50. Though (302.5gp/50 = 6.05gp each)

thats average total 20*20 so 4gp a day so 1 masterwork arrow every 2 days.

More if you roll good.

 

[WCrawford]

Ok so I have a Ranger type and want to craft my own arrows so I don’t have to worry about running out on the road.

Looking under the Craft skill they do not list arrows as a item.

So whats the base DC?

Basic Long/short bow is DC 12 but Arrows are easier to make then Bows (Strait shaft, Pointy Head, Nock and Feathers).
A Typical item is DC 10 but Im not sure if that’s right ether.

What do you do?

IMO, it should be a Craft (Fletching) roll DC 12.

 

[Fester]

OK so if the DC is 10 then with a Craft skill of 10 and average 1d20 roll of 10 I can make 40 arrorws in 1 day

(Total 20 * DC 10 = 200cp or 2gp each day)

More if my roll is good.

So then Masterwork would be: 50 arrows or 20?
Going by 3.0 masterwork arrow at 7gp each its 50. Though (302.5gp/50 = 6.05gp each)

thats average total 20*20 so 4gp a day so 1 masterwork arrow every 2 days.

More if you roll good.

Here's how I would do it.

I would cost out arrows individually at a base price of 2 cp each to make. The actual number is something like 1.6, but 2 is just so much easier for calculations.

I'd use a DC 12 for the skill check. This is because arrows are "complex items" according to the Craft description and making them correctly is a skilled job - yes, as skilled as making the bow itself.

Base Price of Arrow (1): 5 cp
Cost To Make: 2 cp
Craft DC: 12
Craft Check (assuming +10 and a role of 10): 20 * 12 = 240 (cp)
Arrows/day: 48

I'd assume "a day" represents 12 hours of hard graft, which means that the whole thing can be broken down nicely into hours. Wanna spend 1 hour making arrows? Fine, assuming the above numbers, you make 4 arrows and it costs 8 cp (buying 4 would cost you 2 sp, so it's not quite a third).

Masterwork:
You still need to make the normal arrow as per above.

Base Price of MW Arrow (1): 600 cp (price taken from the equipment chapter)
Cost To Make: 200 cp
Craft DC: 20
Craft Check (assuming +10 and a role of 10): 20 * 20 = 400 (cp)
MW Arrows/day: 2 thirds (or 1.3 days to complete 1)

Something like that, anyway.

 

[Fester]

IMO, it should be a Craft (Fletching) roll DC 12.

I'm not so sure. While Craft (fletching) would represent the real world much better, I don't think it helps improve game mechanics. It's not like someone who crafts plate armor also crafts leather armor, or someone who makes bows also makes crossbows. So should we have a Craft (armorsmith (metalworking)) or Craft (armorsmith (leatherworking)) or Craft (atilliator)? It could all get a bit messy. IMO it's far easier to just have a general area of mastery and leave it at that, even if it doesn't reflect real life.

I agree of the DC 12, though

 

[pyk]

IMO, it should be a Craft (Fletching) roll DC 12.

I'm not so sure. While Craft (fletching) would represent the real world much better, I don't think it helps improve game mechanics. It's not like someone who crafts plate armor also crafts leather armor, or someone who makes bows also makes crossbows. So should we have a Craft (armorsmith (metalworking)) or Craft (armorsmith (leatherworking)) or Craft (atilliator)? It could all get a bit messy. IMO it's far easier to just have a general area of mastery and leave it at that, even if it doesn't reflect real life.

I agree of the DC 12, though

Actually, in real world parlance, the maker of a bow (bowyer) can make the arrows for the bow (fletching).

As for armor smithing, real world is that blacksmiths made the metal armor, and leatherworkers made the leather armor, there were no true 'armorsmiths'. Same with the mythical 'weaponsmith'.


On side note: wtf is an atilliator?

 

[Zad]

Oddly in 3.0 I remember it saying that Craft (bowmaking) included fletching, but I couldn't find that reference in 3.5. It doesn't make much sense to seperate them - it's too specialized and doesn't work well from a game mechanic sense where players have limited amounts of skill points.

A DC in the 10-12 range is about right. Honestly, it's just not something worth obsessing over. You have to carry raw materials, so you say "My character is carrying spare fletching/shaft/heads and I put together arrows in my spare time to compensate for what I use" and that's probably ok for most circumstances. I know some games/gamers love to obsess over every arrow fired, but generally it seems to be an issue that adds no fun and just creates drudgery. My advice: Take reasonable steps to manage ammo usage and don't worry overly much.

 

[Fester]

On side note: wtf is an atilliator?

Someone who makes crossbows.

There's a decent castle glossary site that maps out a number of medieval terms.

 

[pyk]

Someone who makes crossbows.

Thanks