Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

[Sociotard]

I have a couple of questions about the skill "Weaponsmith"/

 

1. I can see why weapons can only be made with the weaponsmith skill (instead of a Professional skill, which would cover bowls and birdhouses), but then why isn't Armorsmithing a skill? Wouldn't the ability to craft armor be almost as useful as the ability to craft a sword? Could it just be another catagory under Weaponsmith?

 

2. If a person buys weaponsmith, but only knows how to work certain materials, do they need to take a limitation on their skill, or just roleplay it? Examples would be a Druid who crafts wooden armor, but doesn't have a clue about how to make Steel armor, or a troll who makes stone spears, but doesn't know how to make bone tipped spears. Now, these characters might use bits and pieces of other materials in their products, they can't do anything without their favored material. the druid uses leather fastners to hold the wood plates in place, but that doesn't mean he can make a descent suit of leather or hide armor.

[SleepyDrug]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

Fantasy HERO addresses this. I think outside Fantasy, not enough genre uses complex armor to justify it. But weapons fit in every genre.

[Basil]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I have a couple of questions about the skill "Weaponsmith"/

 

1. I can see why weapons can only be made with the weaponsmith skill (instead of a Professional skill, which would cover bowls and birdhouses), but then why isn't Armorsmithing a skill? Wouldn't the ability to craft armor be almost as useful as the ability to craft a sword? Could it just be another catagory under Weaponsmith?

 

2. If a person buys weaponsmith, but only knows how to work certain materials, do they need to take a limitation on their skill, or just roleplay it? Examples would be a Druid who crafts wooden armor, but doesn't have a clue about how to make Steel armor, or a troll who makes stone spears, but doesn't know how to make bone tipped spears. Now, these characters might use bits and pieces of other materials in their products, they can't do anything without their favored material. the druid uses leather fastners to hold the wood plates in place, but that doesn't mean he can make a descent suit of leather or hide armor.

 

Fantasy Hero, p.85, does have the Skill: Armorsmith. Basically, it's an Agility Skill (3 pts for 9+(DEX/5), +1 for 2 pts). That text gives it as applying to metallic armor, and suggests PS: Leatherworker (on p.93) for leather armor; however, the entry on p.93 also suggests using PS: Leatherworker for leather, cloth, or hide armor. I suggest using PS: Woodworker for wooden armor---unless you have PS: Armormaker cover shield-making, in which that's the skill for wooden armor.

 

Re. weaponsmith only for certain materials: I would allow a -1/4 to -1/2 Limitation for rare materials, nothing for common ones. IMO, the Limitation should be for the rarity, not the "lack of usefulness." That is, wood, though it doesn't make very protective armor, is so easily available it doesn't much limit the use of the Skill.

 

BWT, SleepyDrug, some types of Science Fiction use complex armors, too, so an Armorsmith Skill would be appropriate there as well.

[Sociotard]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

Interesting. I left my copy of Fantasy Hero up at my university pad (home for the holiday's and all that).

 

Why is Armorsmith an Agility skill, when Weaponsmith is an Intellect skill?

 

One Idea I had was to take the Proffesion Skill, and add the Weaponsmith catagories to it.

[Rapier]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I can't see why any creation skill would be anything other than INT based. It's the knowledge that lets you make armour, not how strong or dextruous you are.

 

I probably wouldn't allow a limitation on ArmourSmithing for only wooden armour. Instead I would have it defined as Wooden ArmourSmithing. Break it down so that default ArmourSmithing is 3 pts and then each additional type of armour is another 2pts. Model it after Survival.

[Dust Raven]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I agree... Armorsmithing should be an Intellect Skill. I don't see how one's agility would aid significently in making armor, except to recuce the time it takes, and that only marginally.

[BNakagawa]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I suppose, but I don't want to wear armor MADE by Stephen Hawking.

Designed, maybe...but not made...

[Dust Raven]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I suppose, but I don't want to wear armor MADE by Stephen Hawking.

Designed, maybe...but not made...

True...

 

But I didn't know he had Armorsmithing...

[Lupus]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I intend (when I finally get around to FH) to make Armoursmith a generic skill. If you have metalworking, you can make metal armour (at a penalty). If you have leatherworking, you can make leather armour (at a penalty). If you have armoursmith, you can make any armour, at no penalty. But you can't create metal sculptures or leather clothes.

 

But I'm something of a fan of skill crossover. I see no reason to have absolutely distinct skills.

[Susano]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I can't see why any creation skill would be anything other than INT based. It's the knowledge that lets you make armour, not how strong or dextruous you are.

 

I've seen an armorsmith at work making metal armor. He had something in excess of 50 hammers, each used to hit the metal *just right*. I'd say it is an agility skill. You need a certain degree of coordination to be able to put the hammer where you want it and with a certain degree of force. It is not a matter of design capability (i.e. intellect).

[Rapier]

Re: Weaponsmithing/Armorsmithing question

 

I've seen an armorsmith at work making metal armor. He had something in excess of 50 hammers' date=' each used to hit the metal *just right*. I'd say it is an agility skill. You need a certain degree of coordination to be able to put the hammer where you want it and with a certain degree of force. It is not a matter of design capability (i.e. intellect).[/quote']

I'm not for an instant saying that agility and strength don't have a part in armoursmithing. When considering base stat to skill I look at it like this:

 

If I don't have ArmourSmithing but have a high DEX, how good are my chances of making armour? Pretty shitty. I'm not going to bang my toes with a hammer but I'll just be banging around to no end.

 

If I don't have ArmourSmithing but have a high STR, how good are my chances of making armour? Pretty shitty. I'm wailing the hell out of the metal, but pretty much just mashing it flat. Still pretty shitty.

 

If I don't have ArmourSmithing but have a high INT, how good are my chances of making armour? I may not be able to hit it in the right spot (all the time), I may not be able to hit it hard enough (so this could take forever), but I at least have the knowledge of the process and how to get from point A to point B. My chances are pretty good.

 

I do think that trailing a skill back to a single stat doesn't always make the most sense. However, pre HD the math would have been a pain in the ass:

 

ArmourSmithing: 9 + ( ( ((INT/5)*5) + ((DEX/5)*3) + ((STR/5)*2) ) / 10 )

 

In theory, all skills should be built on this kind of construct. The applicable stats should be considered as part of the base and weighted depending on their applicability. I remember how much of a pain it was to figure out power costs with a calculator. Thank god I don't have to do that anymore.

 

Even though HD would provide a leg up on this kind of stat-weighted skill base, not everyone has HD and it WOULD be a fundamental redesign of the skill system.