Smithing Talent (by jaythegreenling)

*These smithing rules were created for the Dragon Age setting and thus use setting-specific metals. Feel free to create your own metals.*

# Smithing Talent

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Class: Any

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Requirement: You must have Strength 2 or higher and the Strength (Smithing) focus.

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*You know how to work a forge or foundry and create items made of metal. A smith must choose a specialty, and this talent must be purchased separately for each specialty.*

**Novice**: You have great focus and it shows in your workmanship. If you fail a Strength (Smithing) test, you can re-roll it, but you must keep the result of the second roll.

**Journeyman:** You know how to use your time efficiently. When you perform an advanced Strength (Smithing) test, you gain a +1 bonus to the result of each Stunt Die for the purpose of reaching the Success Threshold.

**Master:** You are a master of your craft. When smithing items, you may now add masterwork benefits.

**Grandmaster:** You have studied the ways of creating high quality items and mistakes are less likely to ruin your entire project. The exceptional, outstanding, and kingly quality penalties for failures are all reduced by 1.

**Apex:** You know the secret ways of unlocking any metal’s inherent properties. When smithing items, you may now use apex benefits.

### Rules

When taking up smithing, you must choose a specialty, with some examples being:

* Anchorsmith: Makes anchors for boats and ships.
* Anvil Smith: Makes anvils and hammers for blacksmiths.
* Armourer: Makes armour.
* Arrowsmith: Makes arrowheads.
* Bellmaker: Foundryman who makes bells.
* Blacksmith: Works with iron.
* Bladesmith: Makes blades.
* Bucklemaker: Makes belt buckles.
* Cauldronsmith: A foundryman who makes cauldrons.
* Chainmaker: Makes chains.
* Coinsmith: Works with coins and currency.
* Coppersmith (Brownsmith, Greensmith, Redsmith): Works with copper.
* Cutler: Makes cutlery.
* Farrier: Makes horseshoes.
* Foundryman: Creates items out of molds.
* Goldsmith (Whitesmith, Yellowsmith): Works with gold and often jewels.
* Knifemaker: Makes knives.
* Swordsmith: Creates swords.
* Locksmith: Makes locks and keys.
* Nailsmith: Makes nails.
* Pin Drawer: Makes pins.
* Tinker (Tinner, Tinsmith): Works with tinware.
* Silversmith (Brightsmith): Works with silver and often jewels.
* Snaffle Maker: Makes snaffles—the most common bit used when riding horses.
* Spurrer: Makes spurs.
* Spur Rowel Maker: Makes the rowel that attaches to the spur.
* Wainwright: Makes hoops for wagon wheels or barrels.
* Weaponsmith: Makes axes, flails, spears, and other weapons.
* Whitesmith: Works with tin and pewter.

## Specialties

While there are many different types of smiths, this ruleset mainly focuses on armour- and weaponsmiths. If your speciality is a different one, some of these rules might have to be adjusted somewhat. Make sure to speak to your GM to find out which rules do or do not apply.

* **Item Quality:** Depending on your specialty, an item’s quality might not need to go past Fine Quality. A nail is a nail, and a fine nail is a good quality nail. There is no need to make a bigger distinction.
* **Item Type:** For some specialties, you might only create one type of item. For you, the item complexity thus always stays the same.
* **Metal Tier:** If your specialty only allows you to make items out of one specific metal, the metal tier rule can be ignored.
* **Required Units:** Some specialties may require you to make very small items. In this case your GM may reduce the unit size.

## Smithing Items

Smithing is the act of creating items out of metal. It is a labour-intensive process that requires an immense amount of skill. To model the time and effort required, smithing uses an advanced test. The Target Numbers and success thresholds are determined by the following factors:

* Item Quality
* Item Complexity
* Metal Tier

Each roll in the advanced test is based on these factors, as well as circumstantial bonuses and penalties.

## Target Numbers

An item’s complexity determines the basic difficulty for the advanced test as well as how long each roll in an advanced test takes. Higher tier metals increase the Target Number.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

These rules provide basic category descriptions and a few examples of the sorts of items that fit each category.

* **Very Simple:** Arrowheads, crossbow prod, crossbow stirrup, crowbars, knuckles
* **Simple:** Axe heads, ball bearings, bludgeons, spear heads
* **Moderate:** Keyed locks, shields, swords, wind instruments
* **Complex:** Combination locks, gauntlets, mail armour, plate armour

### Metal Tiers

Certain metals are harder to work with than others. The metal tier increases the Target Number by the listed amount. Combining two or more different metals of the same tier is possible, but it increases the Target Number by a further 2.

* Tier 1: +0
* Tier 2: +1
* Tier 3: +2
* Tier 4: +3

### Tools

All crafts require artisan’s tools for the best chance of success. When improvised tools are used, all Strength (Smithing) tests are made with a –2 penalty. Conversely, Masterwork smithing tools provide a +2 bonus to all Strength (Smithing) rolls.

## Success Thresholds

Basic items, such as the weapons and armour listed in the Dragon AGE Core Rulebook, have a Success Threshold of 10 to create. The Success Threshold increases with the item quality. This is to show that producing quality items takes more time and thus provides more opportunities for error.

Item quality has no influence on an item’s function and provides no benefits. It solely increases its cost.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

## Failure

Working with metals means that sometimes when things go wrong, there is no way to fix it, and you must scrap your progress and start anew.

The GM may rule that a character working with substandard or improvised equipment or under chaotic conditions must roll on the Smithing Mishaps table each time they fail a production test. Making higher quality items is harder, and thus easier to get wrong. When you fail a test when making a Kingly item, you must always roll on the Smithing Mishaps table.

When rolling on the Smithing Mishaps table, add the listed numbers to the result of the D6 roll when making higher quality items:

* Outstanding Quality: +1
* Exceptional Quality: +2
* Kingly Quality: +3

If the result from the Smithing Mishaps table would drop an item below Basic Quality, it becomes a Flawed item. The GM decides how this will affect the item.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

## Metal Requirements

Not only does a smith need the tools for their trade—anvil, forge, tongs, and hammer, at the very least—they also need metal. Smiths do not have to purchase their tools or metals. They may buy or steal time at a forge, or go foraging along the mountains for metals. The amount of metal a smith needs depends on the project. For simplicity’s sake, metal is counted in units called scrap metal, ingots, or ore. One unit is approximately one pound.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

## Repairs

Any metal armour, tool, or weapon might get bent or dulled slightly with frequent use, and this can be carefully hammered out during travel with an anvil, but any more serious damage like a chipped sword or a cracked gauntlet must be treated with a forge hot enough to actually bend, mold, and/or reshape the metal, using additional scrap metal in the process. Repairs which do not require a forge are considered Minor Repairs, whereas those that do require a forge are considered Major Repairs.

Repairing an item requires making rolls with the same TN that it took to make the item in the first place. The Success Threshold is 5, and each test takes 15 minutes.

Major Repairs require 1/2 of the production cost in scrap metal, which must be at least of the same tier as the metal the item is made of.

## Masterwork Benefits

Masterworks are objects crafted by a maker of surpassing skill. Such implements are, simply put, more effective than their counterparts of common provenance.

Once you have the Master degree of the Smithing talent, you may roll on the Masterwork Weapon Benefits table, Masterwork Armour Benefits table, or Masterwork Tool Benefits table once you’ve successfully finished an item from that category.

### Weaponry

Masterwork weaponry generally gives a bonus to the attack and/or damage rolls of those who wield them. Most such weapons give a simple +1 bonus. A rare few give a +2 bonus. A very few legendary treasures of craft give a +3 bonus. Higher bonuses are impossible outside the realm of magic.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

### Armour

Masterwork armour generally provides an increased Armour Rating with respect to non-exceptional armour of the same type. Some masterwork armour provides a bonus to Communication (Leadership) tests, and/or a penalty to enemies’ Willpower (Morale) tests.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

### Tools

Masterwork tools provide the same mechanical benefits as weapons—ingenious construction by a master of craft can give bonuses of between +1 and +3 to the test rolls of those using them.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

## Superior Benefits

Superior items are objects made from the choicest raw materials. These accoutrements are easier to use than their counterparts that are made from inferior raw materials. Superior implements usually impose lesser burdens than common items, endure longer in use, and/or provide the benefits of focuses and/or talents that their users do not otherwise have.

### Weaponry

Superior weaponry can have several different mechanical effects. Nearly all have reduced minimum Strength requirements, even to the point of the weapon’s minimum Strength being a negative number.

Some superior weapons give those who wield them the benefits of one (or in rare cases more than one) level of increased talent with the weapon style in question. Even those without any inherent talent can gain the Novice benefits of such talents from the virtues of these weapons, as long as they meet the requirements of the talent in question. A wielder who does not meet the requirement does not gain those benefits. Those who are already masters of the talent in question do not gain additional benefit from this effect of superior weapons.

A few superior weapons forged or constructed from exceedingly valuable materials can give those who wield them the benefits of having a focus with that type of weapon whether they actually have it or not. This type of bonus, however, does not stack with the bonus a character receives from actually possessing the focus in question.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

### Armour

Superior armour generally features reduced armour penalties. Higher tier armour can be impressive and flamboyant and can give their owners a bonus to social interactions with those inclined to be impressed by such objects.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.

### Shields

Shields are unsubtle tools. Although they can be made beautiful by the touch of a master’s hand or creation from superior raw materials (and so can provide Social Benefits), shields cannot be made physically more effective via crafting.

### Tools

Superior tools—again, like superior weapons—can give the effects of additional talent levels, as well as the (non-stacking) benefits of a focus that the user does not possess. Use the same tables for weapons when considering the statistics of superior tools. Minimum strengths do not apply to tools.

### Apex Benefits

Once you reach the Apex degree of the Smithing talent, you have studied all there is to know about the various metals of Thedas. You are able to use their inherent properties to make weapons, armour, and tools even more powerful.

Each metal’s Apex Benefit comes in two forms: as an Attack Bonus when used in the creation of weapons, and as a Defence Bonus when used for armour. This can make a weapon’s attacks deal a certain type of damage, or it can provide the wearer with a bonus to resist certain types of damage.

The Apex Benefit of every metal is automatically added to an item you smith as long as you have the Apex degree of the Smithing talent and the advanced smithing test is a success.

A detailed description of the contents of this table can be found here.