steels12
Explorer
Hey all, my players and I have switched over to a5e and they've just killed their first dragon. Naturally, they're both recuperating from the fight and also eager to craft with these new dragon parts. However, I'm finding some of the rulings are a bit vague, I was hoping people might be able to give their input or clarification on the subjects.
Crafting
"Initial Check. At the beginning of the required time, the character makes an ability check against the DC for an item of that rarity. On a success, they can continue crafting the item as normal. On a failure, they have to start over. On a failure by 5 or more, crafting can continue but the final check’s DC increases by 2. Failing this check by 10 or more consumes half the required materials and is considered a failed attempt; however you gain one expertise die that you can use the next time you attempt to craft the same item, as long as it has been no longer than a month."
"Final Check. At the end of the required crafting time, the character makes another ability check to complete their magic item against the DC for an item of that rarity. On a success, all the materials are consumed and they make the desired magic time. On a failure, the process consumes half of the required materials and the crafting fails. On a failure by 10 or more, all the materials are consumed and the crafting fails."
Maintenance
"On a success, the gear is restored to full working order. On a failure or until the roll is made successfully, gear is damaged."'
"When you fail a maintenance check and your gear is already damaged, it becomes broken and cannot be used with its full effectiveness until repaired."
Crafting
"Initial Check. At the beginning of the required time, the character makes an ability check against the DC for an item of that rarity. On a success, they can continue crafting the item as normal. On a failure, they have to start over. On a failure by 5 or more, crafting can continue but the final check’s DC increases by 2. Failing this check by 10 or more consumes half the required materials and is considered a failed attempt; however you gain one expertise die that you can use the next time you attempt to craft the same item, as long as it has been no longer than a month."
"Final Check. At the end of the required crafting time, the character makes another ability check to complete their magic item against the DC for an item of that rarity. On a success, all the materials are consumed and they make the desired magic time. On a failure, the process consumes half of the required materials and the crafting fails. On a failure by 10 or more, all the materials are consumed and the crafting fails."
- So this question pertains to the meaning behind a failure state during crafting. In the initial check, since this check is made when you start crafting, doesn't "having to start over" just mean they get to re-roll immediately with absolutely no consequences? Doesn't that just mean the effective DC of the initial check is just -5 of what is actually displayed, because that's when a penalty actually comes in?
- Secondly, I'm assuming in the "final check" section the "and the crafting fails" refers back to the initial check, implying they need to start over completely from scratch? That seems a bit more straightforward, though I feel like the wording of this whole section is awkward.
Maintenance
"On a success, the gear is restored to full working order. On a failure or until the roll is made successfully, gear is damaged."'
- My reading of this would imply that when the DM calls for a maintenance check it would mean the gear is already, by default, damaged, because for one: it does not say "On a failure AND until the roll is made successfully", and secondly, why would you perform maintenance on undamaged gear? The next section on Damaged Equipment then says:
"When you fail a maintenance check and your gear is already damaged, it becomes broken and cannot be used with its full effectiveness until repaired."
- I'm not sure if the intention is for armor to go like: Undamaged, then if a maintenance check is failed it becomes damaged, then if a maintenance check is failed AGAIN it becomes broken, and THEN the party ALSO has a chance to repair it on a short or long rest. If that is the case that seems like a cumbersome amount of pre-broken checks just to then have equipment that can be rolled against every single short AND long rest the party has during the day. Am I wrong to think like this?