Hay seasong:
I didn't think you were being snippy, I was just rambling, which I tend to do at times when interesting subjects cross my bow. I'm the one that should apologise
I'll try to remain more focused in the future, when posting your comments.
My point I was trying to get across was this:
The DC is wrong for creating Plate armour. NO WAY can an apprentice bang it out. Yes I completely forgot about Skill Focus, that was stupid of me. Perhaps the base should be 15 + armour bonus, in the core rules. I'll go away and think more on this.
In almost any (RL) economy I can think of, a luxury item that is produced for the stinking rich will be overpriced in comparisson to raw materials. The stinking rich WANT to pay more for their luxury items, so that every tom, dick, and harry don't have one. In fact they even want it to cost even more, so the other stinking rich b*st*rd over the hill can't afford one either (or at least, this year's model!).
Even further, full plate is not just plates of beaten steel. There is some mysteries that we have not solved, such as the varying hardness across the plates, a property they were able to reliably repeat, and yet which we today we are baffled as to how they were able to accomplish this, given their technological level. Obviously there were secrets of the masters, only handed to their trusted apprentices.
Lastly The travel expenses for creating a plate mail are far greater than for a chainmail. Why? Because a platemail was fitted to the wearer. Often exact measurements of various body parts were required. In a day prior to a post service, the measurements had to be carried across the continent by messengers, along highways that required exhorbitant fees and tolls to use.
In contrast, a chainmail need only be a decent fit to function. Whether it was XXL or merely L hardly mattered at all to the wearer.
By merely publishing a "artisan's cost", a false impression will be given to players and perhaps unexperienced DMs.
Perhaps a "recommended retail price" with a note as to why Plate cost was marked up so horrendously much in RL? (I'm still of the opinion that revealing the "artisan's cost" to players will lead to strife. Suddenly every play group will contain a master armourer...)
Another thought: Not all the exceptional (Int 14) artisan's will choose to be armourers... Given the large number of Craft skills, and the fact that many skills be more readily available to learn in village environs... (But I waffle again! My apologies!)