Treating Complex Trades & Crafts like Martial Arts

[Drop Bear]

Ok many Trades can be hand waved away with a M/A Professional Skill because apart from Income rolls they hardily effect the game. but what about more complex Crafts and Trades?

Like Stone Masonry? you could say P/E Mason, but then all they can do is lay bricks and Stones and perhaps work a Quarry, in the middle ages grunt work. An actual Mason also needs Mathematics to cover the geometry. Engineering (Fortification & Construction) to interpenetrate the model (this was before paper plans) and figure out the structural work. Geology to know about the Stone. Carpentry at a level better than Joe Schmo from the village to build his own scaffolds and the wooden elements. Sculpting for the decorative work, and perhaps some Architecture, and wile where at it lets not forget Lifting because although Stone Masonry is more about Precision & Technique than brute strength they still have to manhandle Stone & Hard Wood Beams and lug Bricks all day and Climbing to move quick around the work sight.

so lets look at what the Craft Mason would look like in the format of a Martial Art

Mason
3/-

Primary Skills: Mason, Engineering (Fortification & Construction), Mathematics.
Secondary Skills: Geology, Carpentry, Sculpting.
Optional Skills: Architecture, Lifting, Climbing.

Perhaps Lifting & Climbing could also be Secondary Skills?

I think I have some others zoned in if folks are interested?

[(E)]

I for one am interested, I played with a similar idea a while back but for different reasons. I was looking at a way of expressing how an unaging characters skill list would look like.

[mr beer]

Of course this can definitely be done and probably should be done in any game in which the details of actively using trades and crafts approaches the focus on combat in a typical game.

Pretty sweet idea actually.

[jason taylor]

As chrome each guild could have a martial-arts movie style mysticism about it's particular craft. Not unrealistic by the way.

[(E)]

Techniques could be included too. Building on swamps for example.

[Drop Bear]

Oho! we all know about Swamp Castle, how many times did it take to get that one right?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNaXdLWt17A

[Donny Brook]

But does sheer persistence count as a technique?

[Donny Brook]

I think in many cases it will be desirable/necessary to make the Styles (Occupations) more specific in terms of TL range and culture. For example a nurse might look quite different before and after Florence Nightingale.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

But does sheer persistence count as a technique?

Not of the same level. It would make one a manual laborer not a craftsman. While I can see a fantastic city having a generic manual laborers guild and indeed it might be publicly beneficial in some ways(on the one hand it might defend the rights of grunts or less loftily provide a hiring hall, on the other it might provide a way for the oligarchy to control them rather more then to the political taste of modern times), I never heard of such a thing. In any case it is hard to imagine an esprit de corps like a craft guild would have.

[(E)]

Elven horsemanship or Horseman's Guild
(TL2/3/4) more nomadic than settled

Primary skills
- Animal handling (Horse)
- Riding (Horse)
- Vet (Horse)
- Professional skill (Equine Geneology)

Secondary skills
- Leatherworking (saddler)
- Blacksmith (Horse)
- Herbary (Horse)
Optional skills
- tracking
- teamster
- elven magic as appropriate
- farming (horse)

Available perks, Horse Whistle, mount moving.