Quote:
Originally Posted by VariousRen
I don't have the book with me at the moment, but I believe there was a section on different materials and forging styles that improved rolls. The purpose as I saw it was that the smiths skill is less important than the materials being used. It is impossible to take bog iron and forge a fine balanced sword, but it becomes easy with an advanced forge and perfectly smelted steel. Master smiths are known for making the best of bad material, and legendary weapons with the good material.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Langy
That's only partially true; you still get really hefty penalties even if you've got a craft secret perk and use the appropriate materials.
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The rules should work as VariousRen describes, but they currently don't. There is one example where a smith can get a bonus for better materials, but the character must apparently have 20 points in a craft skill and a Craft Secret Perk. That does not really suit my sense of realism.
Presumably any smith should be able to get a bonus toward creating a Fine (Materials) weapon by having access to fine materials. If there is thriving trade in raw materials for weapons, such as picked ash for spearshafts, Italian yew for bow staves, sword-grade steel for axe-heads or spear-points, the weaponsmith should be able to buy these and get a bonus without needing a Craft Secret Perk.
Currently, the rules make it
equally impossible for a skill 14-16 smith to make a Fine (Materials) and Fine (Balanced) Small Knife [+7 CF; $240] and a Very Fine (Materials) Edged Rapier [+19 CF; $20,000].
Both require a success by 18+, which even a skill 16 highly-skilled expert with Fine tools can't get unless he spends 8x normal time and rolls 1-1-1 (or spends 30x normal time and rolls 5 or below).
Where do Fine (Balanced and Materials) Small Knives come from and how come they are just $240? It seems that only legendary master smiths could make them at all and it's hard to see why they'd bother to make 20+ attempts before they have even one successful Fine (Balanced and Materials) knife to sell for $240.
Also, why is it
impossible to have a Very Fine (Materials) weapons that is also Fine (Balanced)? Is there something about the best materials that makes it impossible to balance them well?