D&D (2024) D&D Beyond Article on Crafting

[Paul Farquhar]

Personally I'd go with Alchemist's Supplies.

Retorts, burners, glass tubing? Not useful for making candles. Nor is knowing about material transmutation. All you are doing with a candle is arranging an existing material into a more useful shape.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Candles being made with herbalist’s tools is a bit odd.

Looks like they're using the herbalist kit as a catch-all for witch/animist/traditional medicine type things. Though, I don't see why you couldn't have Artisan Tools [Chandler] as well.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So, more or less as useless as 2014?

There is a fundamental conflict in what people think crafting should be. There is simulationist - full plate requires a well equipped workshop, assistants, months of work and a full time professional master craftsman with at least 10 years experience. Or there is the gamist approach, as seen in 3rd edition and many video games. Full plate can be created by an adventurer in the field with a work bench, four iron ingots, and an at most one days work.

I don’t really see a way to thread the needle between the two.

 

[Horwath]

There is a fundamental conflict in what people think crafting should be. There is simulationist - full plate requires a well equipped workshop, assistants, months of work and a full time professional master craftsman with at least 10 years experience. Or there is the gamist approach, as seen in 3rd edition and many video games. Full plate can be created by an adventurer in the field with a work bench, four iron ingots, and an at most one days work.

I don’t really see a way to thread the needle between the two.

in 3E you needed about 40 days to complete a fullplate.
and one day to give it +1 magic bonus.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Looks like they're using the herbalist kit as a catch-all for witch/animist/traditional medicine type things. Though, I don't see why you couldn't have Artisan Tools [Chandler] as well.

Same reason they don’t add a separate Geography skill. To try and keep the length of the list manageable. But you don’t need specialist tools to make a small number of candles. Chandlers focus more on mass production.

 

[Charlaquin]

What would you use to make candles?

You really don’t need much in the way of tools, but you do need to be able to collect the Ingredients - beeswax or tallow, and a suitable fibre for the wick. 5e has its strange division of skills and tool proficiency. And “collecting natural ingredients” is lumped into herbalist tool proficiency.

there really isn’t a kit that already exists and wouldn’t be a bit odd. It does, however, remain a bit odd nonetheless.

 

[Charlaquin]

Looks like they're using the herbalist kit as a catch-all for witch/animist/traditional medicine type things. Though, I don't see why you couldn't have Artisan Tools [Chandler] as well.

Probably figured that would be too narrow.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

in 3E you needed about 40 days to complete a fullplate.
and one day to give it +1 magic bonus.

That fails on both counts. It’s neither realistic nor something you can do during an adventure.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

there really isn’t a kit that already exists and wouldn’t be a bit odd. It does, however, remain a bit odd nonetheless.

You need: a bucket.

The tricky bit is collecting the beeswax from a hive without being murderised by bees, or collecting the fat whilst butchering an animal. So your alternative would be Survival skill.

 

[Azzy]

Honestly, it sounds underwhelming.