Here are some item creation rules that I hope are both simpler and more realistic than the current item creation rules in the DMG.
I am still testing these rules to some degree and would be very grateful for any critism on the rules so I can better refine them.
The rules are for a homebrewed low magic world but I have tried to remove any world specifc rules.
There are a few oddities I am aware of that I have allowed to persist since I feel changeing it would needless complecate the rules. The most notable of these is the ease to make Chain shirts compared to some medium armors such as hide.
Gear and Goods:
Craft vs. Profession:
When making an item you may select wither to use a Craft roll or a Profession roll. If you select to make a profession roll the DC is 3 higher. If you select to make a Craft roll in place of a similar craft skill the DC is 6 higher. The skills gained with ranks in profession represent a basic and unfocused knowledge of the field. A craft skill represents a focused practice on a specific aspect in the field.
Failing an Item creation roll:
When crafting an item you must state what quality item you are trying to make. If you fail your roll but it's still high enough to make a lower quality item you make that item instead. If you roll high enough to make a higher quality item then you originally started out making you DO NOT make the higher quality. (High rolls will reduce the time needed to make the item though). If you fail an item creation roll when making a faux item all the materials are destroyed and need to be replaced.
Armor/Shields:
Armor creation DCs can be found by looking at a comparable weapon DC. The base cost of the materials can also be determined by the Armor Type.
Light Armor = Simple Weapon = 2/3 final cost
Medium Armor = Martial Weapon = ½ final cost
Heavy Armor = Exotic Weapon = 1/3 final cost
Armor as any other item can be made in a variety of qualities from Shoddy to Masterwork. Shoddy armor decreases the max DEX and AC by 1, increases the skill check penalty by 2, and increases the spell failure chance by 10%. Normal and Masterwork armor are per the PHB.
The cost for various armors can be found in the PHB.
Faux armors provide only 2/3 the normal AC bonus (minimum 1) and have a 5% chance of becoming damaged anytime the wearer takes an amount of damage higher than the armors AC rating. Damaged faux armor loses 1 point of AC and is considered ruined when it’s AC reaches 0. Before it is ruined it may be repaired with an appropriate skill check equal to the original creation DC and a cost equal to ¼ the armors base price per point of AC repaired. Faux Armor may be detected with the same check faux weapons use.
Shields should in all ways be treated with the same rules as armor. All shields count as Simple Weapons to determine the crafting DCs.
Example: Turon wishes to craft two masterwork sets of armor for his friends; a set of Full Plate and a set of Padded. Since the Padded will take less time Turon sets about gathering the finest materials and spends 102gp and 3sp (5+150 x (2/3)= 102.3). He then makes a skill check DC 22. He gets lucky and gets a 30 on his skill check. After 6 days (22/3=7.3, rounded down, + 155/250 .63, rounded down. This is reduced by an additional day since the skill check was more than 6 but less than 12 over what was needed.) the armor is finished.
Turon takes the next day off to rest and purchase the materials needed for the Full Plate. He spends 544gp and 5sp (1,500 + 150 x (1/3) = 544.5) on expertly crafted steel plates, rivets, and other materials. He then rolls a skill check DC 28. Again he gets a 30 on his skill check. After 13 days (28/3 = 9.33, rounded down, + 1150/250 = 4.6, rounded down, for a total of 13 days. There is no reduction in the creation time as the skill check was less than 6 over what was needed) the armor is crafted.
Non-weapon Items:
Non-weapon items DCs can be found by looking at a comparable weapon DC. For example if you wanted to make a simple gold ring you’d look at simple normal weapon and find a DC of 12. An average normal gold ring would have the same DC as a Martial weapon while a complex normal gold ring would have a DC of 18.
In general base material costs for items are as follows*:
Shoddy: 2/3 market value
Normal: ½ market value
Masterwork: 1/3 market value
Simple: -15% to normal market value
Martial: Normal market value
Exotic: +15% to normal market value
Example: Turon is making a gold ring. He spends 10gp on materials for the ring. If he wanted to make a shoddy gold ring it would have a final price of 15gp. A normal gold ring would price out at 20gp and a masterwork gold ring would have a final price of 30gp. Turon decides that he wants to try and make a normal gold ring. He then must decide if it’s a Simple, Martial, or Exotic gold ring. If he decides on a simple design it the ring would have a cost of 17gp, a martial ring would stay at 20gp while an exotic gold ring would have a final price of 23gp. He finally decides to make a normal exotic gold ring. He pays 10gp for the base price and makes his skill check DC 18.
To make a faux item price it as you would normally and then spend only 1/10 the normal material costs. Faux items are designed using cheap materials to simulate the normal materials used. Faux items have hardness and hit points equal to ½ normal for that item. Any faux tool has a 5% chance to break every time it is used and imposes a –1 penalty to any craft checks made while using it. It is not uncommon to find faux jewelry and other finery available for open sale in many markets. These normally sell for substantially less than the item they imitate though some unscrupulous vendors charge the price of the item they imitate.
Example: Lets continue using the previous example except Turon decides that 10gp is too much to spend on making this ring. He decides instead to make a faux normal exotic gold ring. Rather than paying 10gp he pays only 1 (one tenth the normal base price) and makes a skill check, DC 21, to determine if he was successfully in making the ring.
*Note that item costs listed in the DMG assume normal martial items.
Item DC charts
Shoddy: These weapons have a -1 to hit and damage
Simple melee or thrown weapon 8
Martial melee or thrown weapon 9
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 13
Faux Shoddy: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 11,12, or 16 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. In addition these weapons take half the normal time to make. They also impose a –2 to hit and damage.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 11
Martial melee or thrown weapon 12
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 16
Normal:
Simple melee or thrown weapon 12
Martial melee or thrown weapon 15
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 18
Faux Normal: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 15,18, or 21 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. These weapons impose a –1 to attack and damage rolls.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 15
Martial melee or thrown weapon 18
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 21
Masterwork: These weapons add +1 to hit.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 22
Martial melee or thrown weapon 25
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 28
Faux Masterwork: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 25, 28, or 31 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. These weapons do not provide the normal bonus for masterwork weapons.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 25
Martial melee or thrown weapon 28
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 31
Item Creation Time:
Items take 1 day per 3 points of the DC. This time is reduced by 1 day
for every 6 points you roll above the DC. If you roll well enough to reduce the time below one day it is reduced to half a day and then ¼ a day. ¼ a day is the minimum amount of time it takes to make any item. As a special note some items, such as arrows, are made in batches. For these items the minimum time is for a batch rather than one item.
Example: It normally takes 5 days to craft a Martial Melee weapon. Our smith though dose very will on his roll and manages to get a 27 (20 roll +7 skill). Since this is 12 points above the needed DC to make a normal martial melee weapon he makes it in 3 days rather than 5 days (-2 days for 12 points above the DC).
1 Person may aid you in your forging adding +2 to your check (if they
succeed at a blacksmithing check DC 10)
Masterwork tools add +2 to your craft check.
5 ranks in a knowledge adds a +2 synergy bonus to a related craft skill or profession roll. (max 1 synergy bonus from related knowladges)
New Feat:
Master Craftsmen [General]
You are a skilled craftsman who’s dedication goes far beyond most.
Benefit: Select a craft skill and a profession skill. (Exp. Craft weapon smithing and profession smith] When you spend a skill point on one of these skills you gain a free skill point to spend on the other.
Special: Note this only applies to craft skills and only those closely related.
I am still testing these rules to some degree and would be very grateful for any critism on the rules so I can better refine them.
The rules are for a homebrewed low magic world but I have tried to remove any world specifc rules.
There are a few oddities I am aware of that I have allowed to persist since I feel changeing it would needless complecate the rules. The most notable of these is the ease to make Chain shirts compared to some medium armors such as hide.
Gear and Goods:
Craft vs. Profession:
When making an item you may select wither to use a Craft roll or a Profession roll. If you select to make a profession roll the DC is 3 higher. If you select to make a Craft roll in place of a similar craft skill the DC is 6 higher. The skills gained with ranks in profession represent a basic and unfocused knowledge of the field. A craft skill represents a focused practice on a specific aspect in the field.
Failing an Item creation roll:
When crafting an item you must state what quality item you are trying to make. If you fail your roll but it's still high enough to make a lower quality item you make that item instead. If you roll high enough to make a higher quality item then you originally started out making you DO NOT make the higher quality. (High rolls will reduce the time needed to make the item though). If you fail an item creation roll when making a faux item all the materials are destroyed and need to be replaced.
Armor/Shields:
Armor creation DCs can be found by looking at a comparable weapon DC. The base cost of the materials can also be determined by the Armor Type.
Light Armor = Simple Weapon = 2/3 final cost
Medium Armor = Martial Weapon = ½ final cost
Heavy Armor = Exotic Weapon = 1/3 final cost
Armor as any other item can be made in a variety of qualities from Shoddy to Masterwork. Shoddy armor decreases the max DEX and AC by 1, increases the skill check penalty by 2, and increases the spell failure chance by 10%. Normal and Masterwork armor are per the PHB.
The cost for various armors can be found in the PHB.
Faux armors provide only 2/3 the normal AC bonus (minimum 1) and have a 5% chance of becoming damaged anytime the wearer takes an amount of damage higher than the armors AC rating. Damaged faux armor loses 1 point of AC and is considered ruined when it’s AC reaches 0. Before it is ruined it may be repaired with an appropriate skill check equal to the original creation DC and a cost equal to ¼ the armors base price per point of AC repaired. Faux Armor may be detected with the same check faux weapons use.
Shields should in all ways be treated with the same rules as armor. All shields count as Simple Weapons to determine the crafting DCs.
Example: Turon wishes to craft two masterwork sets of armor for his friends; a set of Full Plate and a set of Padded. Since the Padded will take less time Turon sets about gathering the finest materials and spends 102gp and 3sp (5+150 x (2/3)= 102.3). He then makes a skill check DC 22. He gets lucky and gets a 30 on his skill check. After 6 days (22/3=7.3, rounded down, + 155/250 .63, rounded down. This is reduced by an additional day since the skill check was more than 6 but less than 12 over what was needed.) the armor is finished.
Turon takes the next day off to rest and purchase the materials needed for the Full Plate. He spends 544gp and 5sp (1,500 + 150 x (1/3) = 544.5) on expertly crafted steel plates, rivets, and other materials. He then rolls a skill check DC 28. Again he gets a 30 on his skill check. After 13 days (28/3 = 9.33, rounded down, + 1150/250 = 4.6, rounded down, for a total of 13 days. There is no reduction in the creation time as the skill check was less than 6 over what was needed) the armor is crafted.
Non-weapon Items:
Non-weapon items DCs can be found by looking at a comparable weapon DC. For example if you wanted to make a simple gold ring you’d look at simple normal weapon and find a DC of 12. An average normal gold ring would have the same DC as a Martial weapon while a complex normal gold ring would have a DC of 18.
In general base material costs for items are as follows*:
Shoddy: 2/3 market value
Normal: ½ market value
Masterwork: 1/3 market value
Simple: -15% to normal market value
Martial: Normal market value
Exotic: +15% to normal market value
Example: Turon is making a gold ring. He spends 10gp on materials for the ring. If he wanted to make a shoddy gold ring it would have a final price of 15gp. A normal gold ring would price out at 20gp and a masterwork gold ring would have a final price of 30gp. Turon decides that he wants to try and make a normal gold ring. He then must decide if it’s a Simple, Martial, or Exotic gold ring. If he decides on a simple design it the ring would have a cost of 17gp, a martial ring would stay at 20gp while an exotic gold ring would have a final price of 23gp. He finally decides to make a normal exotic gold ring. He pays 10gp for the base price and makes his skill check DC 18.
To make a faux item price it as you would normally and then spend only 1/10 the normal material costs. Faux items are designed using cheap materials to simulate the normal materials used. Faux items have hardness and hit points equal to ½ normal for that item. Any faux tool has a 5% chance to break every time it is used and imposes a –1 penalty to any craft checks made while using it. It is not uncommon to find faux jewelry and other finery available for open sale in many markets. These normally sell for substantially less than the item they imitate though some unscrupulous vendors charge the price of the item they imitate.
Example: Lets continue using the previous example except Turon decides that 10gp is too much to spend on making this ring. He decides instead to make a faux normal exotic gold ring. Rather than paying 10gp he pays only 1 (one tenth the normal base price) and makes a skill check, DC 21, to determine if he was successfully in making the ring.
*Note that item costs listed in the DMG assume normal martial items.
Item DC charts
Shoddy: These weapons have a -1 to hit and damage
Simple melee or thrown weapon 8
Martial melee or thrown weapon 9
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 13
Faux Shoddy: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 11,12, or 16 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. In addition these weapons take half the normal time to make. They also impose a –2 to hit and damage.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 11
Martial melee or thrown weapon 12
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 16
Normal:
Simple melee or thrown weapon 12
Martial melee or thrown weapon 15
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 18
Faux Normal: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 15,18, or 21 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. These weapons impose a –1 to attack and damage rolls.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 15
Martial melee or thrown weapon 18
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 21
Masterwork: These weapons add +1 to hit.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 22
Martial melee or thrown weapon 25
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 28
Faux Masterwork: Made out of the poorest of materials these weapons break very easily in combat. These weapons cost 1/10 normal to make. They break on any attack roll of 1. An appraise check equal with a DC of 25, 28, or 31 for simple, martial, or exotic weapons will reveal a Faux weapon for what it is. These weapons do not provide the normal bonus for masterwork weapons.
Simple melee or thrown weapon 25
Martial melee or thrown weapon 28
Exotic melee or thrown weapon 31
Item Creation Time:
Items take 1 day per 3 points of the DC. This time is reduced by 1 day
for every 6 points you roll above the DC. If you roll well enough to reduce the time below one day it is reduced to half a day and then ¼ a day. ¼ a day is the minimum amount of time it takes to make any item. As a special note some items, such as arrows, are made in batches. For these items the minimum time is for a batch rather than one item.
Example: It normally takes 5 days to craft a Martial Melee weapon. Our smith though dose very will on his roll and manages to get a 27 (20 roll +7 skill). Since this is 12 points above the needed DC to make a normal martial melee weapon he makes it in 3 days rather than 5 days (-2 days for 12 points above the DC).
1 Person may aid you in your forging adding +2 to your check (if they
succeed at a blacksmithing check DC 10)
Masterwork tools add +2 to your craft check.
5 ranks in a knowledge adds a +2 synergy bonus to a related craft skill or profession roll. (max 1 synergy bonus from related knowladges)
New Feat:
Master Craftsmen [General]
You are a skilled craftsman who’s dedication goes far beyond most.
Benefit: Select a craft skill and a profession skill. (Exp. Craft weapon smithing and profession smith] When you spend a skill point on one of these skills you gain a free skill point to spend on the other.
Special: Note this only applies to craft skills and only those closely related.
