Just realized something about item crafting.

[Imperialus]

Enchant Magic Item is a Level 4 ritual now...

The way the ritual rules work means that anyone can cast it.

This means that I can actually have some crazy dwarf smith who forges magical swords! No (what was it 9th level?) Wizard required. This is awesome beyond words. No weird mental image of some dude in a wizards hat working over an anvil until his robes catch fire. No more dwarven master smith handing his baby over to a wizard so that he can finish the job. YAY!

 

[Wormwood]

No more dwarven master smith handing his baby over to a wizard so that he can finish the job. YAY!

Bruenor Battlehammer agrees with you.

 

[breschau]

But, there are no craft skills. So what makes anyone a weapon smith. Desire?

 

[Imperialus]

DM magic

I say to the Players: "Bruenor Battlehammer has been a smith for 100 years. He's reached the pinnacle of his trade. He offers to take the mithril you found and forge it into a sword in thanks for rescuing his king."

It's a lot easier for me to handwave "The dwarven smith knows how to make a sword" than it is to handwave "The dwarven smith is somehow also a 9th level wizard"

 

[Fredrik Svanberg]

Enchant Magic Item is a Level 4 ritual now...

The way the ritual rules work means that anyone can cast it.

This also means that I can PLAY that dwarven master smith... I tried making one in 3.5. While he was fun to play he never really worked as a wizard/fighter... But now I can finally have a dwarf that makes his own weapon and armor.

 

[Revinor]

One small point is that Enchant Item (and Ritual casting actually) requires Arcana skill, so probably Dwarf Fighter would have to take a multiclass feat to wizard first.

 

[Xect]

But, there are no craft skills. So what makes anyone a weapon smith. Desire?

A life not spent killing stuff?

 

[NMcCoy]

At 4th level you'd have 3 feats. Even without the multiclass, you can just take Skill Training: Arcana and Ritual Casting.
And NPCs need not follow character rules anyway, but I agree that "fourth level" is a lot more plausible for an item-crafting NPC than "9th level wizard".

 

[fletch137]

But, there are no craft skills. So what makes anyone a weapon smith. Desire?

That and basic, human common sense.

Like some, I miss the crafting and profession rules from 3.5 and will likely house rule something for them in my 4e campaign. Even without them, though, I trust a player or DM to be thinking being enough to decide whether someone has smithing skills or not.

 

[Sitara]

He could take skill training. Or he could take multi in the cleric class.