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Old 02-14-2018, 03:59 PM   #160
Icelander
 
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Default Re: Do Blacksmith and Machinist exist side by side in TL8 industry?

Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher View Post
Yes, for sure.
Okay, so Armoury (Body Armour) would be both the Design and Repair skill, in the sense of the standard GURPS tripartite division of technical skills, Design/Repair/Use?

Unlike more complicated devices, such as guns or cars, e.g. Engineer (Small Arms)/Armoury (Small Arms)/Guns or Engineer (Automobile)/Mechanic (Automobile)/Driving (Automobile)?

I suppose that makes a certain kind of sense, as it was already obvious that armour didn't quite fit into that model, as it lacks a Use skill.

Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher View Post
Metallurgy/TL8 is what I would use.
Metallurgy might actually be a good fit for the Design skill for new types of metal armour or even an incremental advance in the kind of alloys you can practically work into armour.

Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher View Post
It's also possible to know nothing about swords, knives, maces, axes, and armour and just make hammers, punches, nails, and horseshoes. Not likely, but certainly possible. I think the default assumes you can work it out from theory if you take your time.
Yeah, I don't have any problem believing in an ordinary village blacksmith who only has a -3 default to smithing weapons and armour and may lack the familiarities to make such elaborate things as swords and, especially, articulated plate armour.

It's the guy with Armoury (Body Armour)/TL4 at skill 15 and not a single point in Blacksmith/TL4 (and no default, because there isn't one) that I don't quite know how to make sense of in terms of a plausible background.

Where would you learn how to expertly forge all kinds of metal armour, from the simplest clasp to an articulated plate harness, without learning how to make even a single other metal object? By the rules, you couldn't even make a belt buckle for an ordinary belt, even though you could make an identical buckle that served as part of the fastenings for leather armour.

In any event, not strictly relevant, just the same line of reasoning that led me to consider how and where real people might plausibly pick up the various fields of study, information, experience, skills and techniques that collectively make up the body of knowledge GURPS calls Armoury (Body Armour).

Quote:
Originally Posted by safisher View Post
I suspect at low TL you could pick up Smith/Iron as an apprentice, then get training in Armoury, but only if you do metal armour (not say, leather or fabric only). At high TL you can have a metal Armoury shop that doesn't include a forge at all! You cut your sheets with shears and hammer all things to shape cold. My father used to be a farrier and he did a lot of horseshoing cold.
Okay.
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