Crafting Masterwork, Fine and Balanced Weapons

Icelander · 08-11-2015, 02:56 PM

Does it strike anyone else that by the Crafting rules on p. 23-24 in GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics, it is nearly impossible for fairly realistic smiths with skill 12-16 to produce better than Fine or Balanced weapons?

First of all, why is it that success by a margin from 0-11 all yield the same result? With nearly every other roll, success by 5+ is a huge deal and success by 10+ is pretty much legendary.

What is it about crafting that makes a roll of 1-1-1 by an expert (skill 14) no more noteworthy than an average roll of ten or eleven by a normal professional (skill 12)?

Second why is it more difficult to make a Balanced weapon if you are also using the best steel and aiming for a Fine weapon?

Is it somehow easier to make Balanced spears from ordinary iron and scrounged wood than it is when you are using the finest ash shaft and sword-quality steel for the head?

Third, to take a worked example, a Fine, Balanced Spear costs $280 by the Low-Tech rules. How does that work if even a skill 18 master weaponsmith can't make one on a roll of 1-1-1 using the best tools of TL2-4?

The Craft Secret Perks help some, but given that the craftsman takes a -9 penalty if he tries to use Masterwork Spear and Graceful Spear together, it would seem that a roll of 6 or below is required to yield a Fine, Balanced spear that the master weaponsmith can sell for $280.

08-11-2015, 02:56 PM	#1
Icelander Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Iceland*	Crafting Masterwork, Fine and Balanced Weapons Does it strike anyone else that by the Crafting rules on p. 23-24 in GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics, it is nearly impossible for fairly realistic smiths with skill 12-16 to produce better than Fine or Balanced weapons? First of all, why is it that success by a margin from 0-11 all yield the same result? With nearly every other roll, success by 5+ is a huge deal and success by 10+ is pretty much legendary. What is it about crafting that makes a roll of 1-1-1 by an expert (skill 14) no more noteworthy than an average roll of ten or eleven by a normal professional (skill 12)? Second why is it more difficult to make a Balanced weapon if you are also using the best steel and aiming for a Fine weapon? Is it somehow easier to make Balanced spears from ordinary iron and scrounged wood than it is when you are using the finest ash shaft and sword-quality steel for the head? Third, to take a worked example, a Fine, Balanced Spear costs $280 by the Low-Tech rules. How does that work if even a skill 18 master weaponsmith can't make one on a roll of 1-1-1 using the best tools of TL2-4? The Craft Secret Perks help some, but given that the craftsman takes a -9 penalty if he tries to use Masterwork Spear and Graceful Spear together, it would seem that a roll of 6 or below is required to yield a Fine, Balanced spear that the master weaponsmith can sell for $280. __________________ Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 08-11-2015 at 03:19 PM.