D&D 5E What do you want out of crafting rules?

[CleverNickName]

consideration: should not be more complex than most video game crafting system.

For reference, I recommend Dragon Age's crafting system. I like that you have to collect schematics and rare ingredients, and then find, purchase, or build the proper workstation, before you can start making stuff.

And I also like Mass Effect, and how you can reduce items into "gel" that is used to make other items. This could be an interesting way to upcycle magic items into more useful things as the party outgrows them. The existing enchantment on a magic +1 dagger could be transferred to another item somehow, or used as an ingredient. "In order to craft a cloak of protection, you need a protection enchantment to build from. A magical shield or suit of armor will suffice, but it will be destroyed in the process."

I would avoid Skyrim's crafting system completely...especially the alchemy and smithing. Being able to crank out multiple identical objects quickly, then sell them for a small fortune, is ridiculous. The enchanting is slightly better, requiring you to collect parts of creatures (trapped souls, in this case), but it is still too easy to spam it for insane profit.

EDIT: I don't want to be too harsh on Skyrim, because there are some merits to their crafting system. Having separate "skill trees" for alchemical items/potions, mundane items, and enchanted items is a really good idea. In D&D terms, this could be expanded to also include Cooking, Scribing, and whatever.

 

[el-remmen]

For the record, the part of 3E I threw out immediately, was the idea of "wealth-by-level advancement" and the inclusion of magical items in that consideration.

I have never had magical item shops in my games (and probably never will). It is not that it is impossible to sell or buy items, but in my settings, it is both economically difficult and culturally looked down upon by the customs of wizards and others who can make such items. And thus magic items remain "special."*


*Heck, if it wouldn't be too much to house rule and make work, I'd get rid of all damage-dealing endlessly repeatable cantrips from the game - and all cantrips would be simple practical "household" magic. Run out of spells? Pick up a crossbow! But that is neither here nor there.

 

[CleverNickName]

Something else I want out of the crafting rules:

The ability to cook interesting foods. I'd like to see recipes for nourishing soups and stews that reduce exhaustion, rules for turning monster meat into rations (and all the good/bad things that could happen from eating them), and so on. Too often, this gets lumped together with "potions," which then gets lumped together with "alchemy." I'm not weaving magic here; all my druid wants to do is make a friggin' cuppa tea to settle her upset tummy.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Something else I want out of the crafting rules:

The ability to cook interesting foods. I'd like to see recipes for nourishing soups and stews that reduce exhaustion, rules for turning monster meat into rations (and all the good/bad things that could happen from eating them), and so on. Too often, this gets lumped together with "potions," which then gets lumped together with "alchemy." I'm not weaving magic here; all my druid wants to do is make a friggin' cuppa tea to settle her upset tummy.

so what go full monster hunter with cooking?

 

[Li Shenron]

I can see some value in enabling the possibility of a PC to craft a special item now and then. It could be magical or just masterwork, consumable or permanent, a replica of a DMG item or completely original.

But if it turns to be a mere commodity then I am not interested. I don't want it to be just a way to make a profit, otherwise I'd just rather hide all the details and give the PC some weekly pocket money but who cares if they earn them by crafting or another way. I don't want it to be replicable in a way that once the PC knows how to make e.g. a Cloak of Elvenkind then it's Cloaks of Elvenkind for everyone.

I want the process to be generally slow but not with fixed times, and I want it generally expensive but not with fixed prices. One month and 1000gp is meaningless to me, when I might be once running a fast-paced campaign and another time a lifelong saga, and either could be monty haul or grim and gritty.

I think the only way is to make the "recipes" subjective to DM's discretion, by including priceless ingredients. Then the DM can indirectly infer a cost in terms of time and monetary expenses, and can also decide whether to handwave all the details or bring them to the forefront with a quest where how the time and money is spent becomes very visible.

I hardly think that a "crafting rules system" can achieve this, but then it is also unnecessary. The best a book can do is provide guidelines and examples.

 

[hopeless]

I've been wondering about upgrading weapons for example could you first upgrade say a sword and dagger to become moon touched first and then upgrade to a +1 and so on?

Will either need training in the Arcane proficiency or the Smith's Tools Kit proficiency but sounds very possible, how would you look at that?

 

[Mind of tempest]

I can see some value in enabling the possibility of a PC to craft a special item now and then. It could be magical or just masterwork, consumable or permanent, a replica of a DMG item or completely original.

But if it turns to be a mere commodity then I am not interested. I don't want it to be just a way to make a profit, otherwise I'd just rather hide all the details and give the PC some weekly pocket money but who cares if they earn them by crafting or another way. I don't want it to be replicable in a way that once the PC knows how to make e.g. a Cloak of Elvenkind then it's Cloaks of Elvenkind for everyone.

I want the process to be generally slow but not with fixed times, and I want it generally expensive but not with fixed prices. One month and 1000gp is meaningless to me, when I might be once running a fast-paced campaign and another time a lifelong saga, and either could be monty haul or grim and gritty.

I think the only way is to make the "recipes" subjective to DM's discretion, by including priceless ingredients. Then the DM can indirectly infer a cost in terms of time and monetary expenses, and can also decide whether to handwave all the details or bring them to the forefront with a quest where how the time and money is spent becomes very visible.

I hardly think that a "crafting rules system" can achieve this, but then it is also unnecessary. The best a book can do is provide guidelines and examples.

I have a question why do you assume it would only be used for making money or as a pure magic item farm, lots of others also seem to share your fear.

 

[CleverNickName]

so what go full monster hunter with cooking?

Sure, why not? I wouldn't mind having a rule or two for that, which I could plug in to my campaign and share with the players. The barbarians, rangers, and druids in my group would really eat that up, pun intended. Everyone else would ignore it, and that's fine too.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Sure, why not? I wouldn't mind having a rule or two for that, which I could plug in to my campaign and share with the players. The barbarians, rangers, and druids in my group would really eat that up, pun intended. Everyone else would ignore it, and that's fine too.

if it gives that little extra bonus they will care.

 

[CleverNickName]

if it gives that little extra bonus they will care.

I'm thinking something more along the lines of "we don't have to buy rations, we can hunt for food along the way" or "yeah the meat of that creature is mildly toxic, but it's better than starvation." Maybe "that creature is really rare! If we properly butcher and salt the meat, we can sell it for X sp back at the market!" Or at the very most, "a tea made from these leaves will let you ignore one level of exhaustion for 1 hour...but be careful, two doses in 24 hours is toxic."

I'm not interested in anything like "this sandwich cures pneumonia and stab wounds" or "carrot stew gives you a +X bonus to Perception because it's good for eyesight or whatever." That's what potions are for, imo.