Making Masterwork Weapons !!!

[Rashak Mani]

How have you ruled changes in the craft skill for making masterwork weapons ? As by the rules it takes even a master craftsman ages to finish a good longsword !!

Example

+15 skill Expert with MW tools giving +2 bonus

p 66 PHB Great Axe costs 200 sp Masterwork part 3000sp

If I throw a 20 in all my checks its 20 + 17 = 37 37 x 20 (DC masterwork part) = 740

4 weeks for Masterwork part and 1/3 week min for Great Axe itself. So even in optimal conditions a very good smith takes a month and 3 days more or less !!!

At average 10 rolls that would become 6 weeks... at the same time period I could forge 2 Great axes a week for 12 total... now imagine a lowly weaponsmith PC with a +5 or +7 skill only...

Have you changed this ? How have you ruled this kind of thing... ? Seems very frustrating for the wannabe smith...

 

[Crothian]

Any true weapon smith should have about +8 at first level. 4 ranks, +2 ability, +2 skill focus. And that can be even better with a better attribute, with another craft realted feat (I think OA has some and FRCS has some, too), not to mention that everyone I know has skill focus at +3.

But as you'll notice, the time is making it MW. MW items represent the very best possible. It should take lots of time to do that. I think the rules work very well.

Another thing, PCs are adventures. Sure, they can use downtime to manufacture items, but it might be ewasier to kill abunch of things, claim the gold, and just buym the item.

 

[CRGreathouse]

The existing rules sound reasonable to me. Here's my example:

Exp3, Craft (weaponsmith) +10 (a fairly average score)

He takes 10 every week, making 20*20=400 sp progress each week, for 7.5 weeks. Add another half week for the sword itself, and throw in a few days of downtime, and you get 2 months.

2 months for a excellent sword sounds like the right amount of time to me.

 

[Orco42]

+17 is not much. A good fifth level expert will have a +24 (8 ranks, 4 int, 2 skill foc, 10 magic item).

Under 5 weeks with taking 10.

 

[Rashak Mani]

Problem is that it leaves any PC completely out of league... for gods sake... working even half a day for 7 weeks is too much even for the best of swords... how many hours can you hammer away at a sword ? Putting magic into the item takes days not weeks !!

 

[CRGreathouse]

Here's a link that goes into some detail about creation of weapons & armor; for swords, it gives 1 day to 1 week to 1 year, depending on type of sword and skill of smith.

http://wtimmins.tripod.com/lore/swords.html

 

[Orco42]

Problem is that it leaves any PC completely out of league... for gods sake... working even half a day for 7 weeks is too much even for the best of swords... how many hours can you hammer away at a sword ? Putting magic into the item takes days not weeks !!

Yes but it is a steady low risk way of making money. Especially with the Hammer of the Weaponsmiths.

 

[hong]

Problem is that it leaves any PC completely out of league... for gods sake... working even half a day for 7 weeks is too much even for the best of swords... how many hours can you hammer away at a sword ? Putting magic into the item takes days not weeks !!

The answer to this is: don't go swanning off on "adventures" if you want to make a career out of forging masterwork items.

 

[Chacal]

[
http://wtimmins.tripod.com/lore/swords.html

Very good link ! Thanks !


Chacal

 

[Rashak Mani]

Well it does take out some of the Fun of forging your own weapon and so forth... its all economics now... pay them experts to do it...

I will try to see if I can shorten that time... will ask DM for some leniency on these tough rules...