Masterwork More Common?

[Khorod]

Should masterwork weapons and equipment be more common?

Pro: They represent stuff of exceptional quality, so wouldn't anyone of any wealth contract out for the masterwork stuff?

Con: If you suppose these are the great achievements of a lifetime in the crafting of items, well, of course its rare. Wizards that want to enchant something have to track down a great smith, tell him what they want to inspire his work, and supply him with the best of materials. After that, the smith will be depressed for months having just accomplished his greatest work.

Maybe there should be partial masterwork. Perhaps providing bonuses to the weapon's ability to absorb damage.

 

[herald]

masterwork items are also supposed to be items made from very high quality materials. So I don't think that they should be all that common.

 

[Greatwyrm]

Can you take 10 on craft skills? A 5th level expert weaponsmith with average stats (all 10s) and Skill Focus: Craft (Weaponsmithing) could have a +10. If you can take 10 on Craft, they should be able to build the masterwork component every time, assuming the DC is 20 (can't recall).

 

[F5]

Ask yourself how common the baseline, no-frills, magic +1 longsword is in your campaign. Masterwork weapons should be signifigantly more common than that, at least. They require extra time and skill from the smith to make, but you don't need a 5th level mage pouring XP into it to get a Masterwork sword.
I see masterWORK and masterPIECE as two different things. A masterpiece is the epitome of what a craftsman can accomplish in their lifetime. A masterwork item, while impressive, just implies that it takes a "master" smith to make one that good.
I allow non-spellcasters with a craft skill of 15+ to take the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, and make a few simple items with a single magic quality (+1 to hit, keen, 25% fortification, etc) by paying the XP cost, to reflect this "I poured my heart and soul into this sword" kind of idea. Simple +1 weapons are not too uncommon IMC, so this justifies their presence.

 

[Zappo]

More common than +1 weapons, yes. More common than normal weapons, no way. They take far longer to make and require more skill, and 99% of people don't have the money to purchase one.

 

[Lazybones]

Since 95% or more of the population in a medieval-style fantasy setting wouldn't be able to afford a "normal" sword, let alone a masterwork one, yes, I'd say they would be pretty rare. I imagine that nobles would purchase them, though, in addition to adventurers, as much for the cache as for the actual military value.

I agree that even a small city/large town would be likely to have a smith with the stats/skill to turn out masterwork items, but it would depend on the demand (since the materials are so expensive).

 

[Vaxalon]

Ask yourself this...

In the real world, how many ordinary M16's are there compared to sniper rifles?

How many Mercedes compared to Subarus?

How many Elvis-on-velvet compared to Rembrandts?

 

[bushfire]

In my campaign MW stuff is not common, but not scarce either.

I look at like this -

Most weaponsmiths just crank out swords and axes, these are common weapons and are what most guards, simple npc's and monsters have. But anyone of any rank or worth will want a better weapon and these are masterwork.

Masterwork weapons in my campaign are not "special" they are just very well made. A simple village smith cannot make a masterwork weapon (or will not want to spend the time to do it) as there is little need. In a major city there will be several smiths that *only* make masterwork items, to ask them to do less is an insult to them.

A good way is just to look at the cost. Who can afford the +300 gp a masterwork weapon costs? If everyone can afford it they will have them, if 300 gp is a fantastic amount of money then no one would be able to afford them and they will be rarer.

 

[Wicht]

One thing I especially liked about The Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves were the rules on making those masterpiece masterwork armors and weapons and such.

IMO Masterwork weapons are not so much rare as they are out of the league of the common man. However any professional soldier or adventurer would buy one first chance they got. It is just a matter of supply and demand. If there is a cultural or professional demand for masterwork items then someone will supply them.

 

[Crothian]

IMC masterwork items are usually availible because of the price, but are always kept behind the counter for people who ask for them. Most respected weeapon shops will have a few in stock for the right customers. Most people of wealth are equipt with them, and sometimes they are given away as prices in tournements.