Craft
This skill encompasses several categories, each of them treated as a separate skill: Craft (chemical), Craft (electronic), Craft (mechanical), Craft (pharmaceutical), Craft (structural). Each of these skills is also Rank Dependent. Some items require a certain rank or higher in a Crafting skill. Also, in order to make Masterworked items, you need a rank of 3 or higher in a Craft skill.
Summary: Crafting allows players to repair and make items. Crafting an item requires crafting materials. The amount of materials is based on the price. You need 1/3rd of the cost of the actual item in materials. This is called the Bill of Materials. The crafting skill needed to craft an item is noted by the item. For Weapons it is by default Mechanical, Armor it is Structural, and for General Equipment it is listed at the top of each category. To repair an item, you need a craft rank of 1. To make an item, you need a craft rank of 2. To masterwork an item, you need a craft rank of 3. For every extra bonus you wish to add to an item, you will need another rank over 3. Materworked items require advanced crafting materials. These cost 3 times as much as normal materials and are harder to find.
:Note: Crafting in most fantasy-themed pen and paper games has a large list of crafting skills, which include things such as visual art and writing. This is a world where not everyone is educated or literate. Where artisans have specialized crafts that take 1/2 a lifetime to learn and the other half to train a successor. However, modern civilizations likely have their kids learn most of those things in schools. So in this universe Crafting is focused strictly on creating and repairing useful equipment and ships/houses etc... For advanced writing of manuscripts, artwork, and so on, pick a profession.
Checks/Actions
The Craft Skills are used for two checks. For Creating items or for Repairing items. Both Creating and Repairing have two aspects, the Bill of Materials and the amount of Time.
Craft skills are specifically focused on creating or repairing objects. To use a Craft skill effectively, a character must have a crafting Kit specific to the craft (i.e: A Chemistry Kit) or some substitute for them. Without a kit a Character either cannot craft the item or takes double disadvantage. The Character also cannot attempt to make a master worked item without the correct kit. An Advanced Crafting kit can provide an advantage bonus to crafting items.
Review each Crafting skill for more information.
Crafting Costs
Both Crafting and Repairing require materials. This is called the Bill of Materials. Each Craft skill is associated with two types of materials. Normal and Advanced. Advanced is usually required for complex equipment or master-worked items. Advanced is always 3 times as costly as Normal material.
In order to size up how much material you have on hand you can use Units just like Cargo Space for Space Ships or simply state how much you have in cost. (IE: I have $100 bucks left in Chemical materials). 1 Unit of materiel is roughly 100Lbs and 1x1x1 square feet of volume. The prices for 1 Unit of Normal Material is:
- Chemical: $250
- Electronic: $100
- Mechanical: $150
- Pharmaceutical: $500
- Structural: $100
Items require 1/3 of their price in Normal materials to make. Repairing usually costs 1/100th to 1/10 of the item's price, depending on the damage. You do not have to buy Crafting Material in Unit increments; however, it is suggested in games where Players play with strict rules on how much a person and/or ship can carry.
For Advanced materials you have to buy the same amount of materials that would equal the cost of the item you are crafting. So if you want to craft an item worth $300 bucks with basic materials, you buy $100 worth of Normal materials or $300 bucks worth of Advanced Materials.
Craft Checks
When the player has the correct crafting skill and rank for the item. (The item should specify the crafting skill/rank) Then the Character can attempt to make it. This requires a craft skill check to make sure the Character doesn't make a mistake in building the item. The default crafting DC for a general equipment item is 10 unless specified otherwise. Weapons and Armor it is 12 unless specified otherwise. Master-worked items add a +5 to the DC. Structural items are divided into multiple skill checks, with the default DC for each at 12. The Procure Difficulty also adds to the crafting of the item. Even if it's just because it's illegal. (Harding to craft something in secret in such a way that you won't get caught or leave evidence behind.) +1 DC per Procure Diff level.
The Tech Level doesn't affect the DC of crafting an item. This only means that you cannot craft the item unless you have that level in the Tech skill.
Failure means that the item is not made, and 1/2 of the materials are wasted, and 1/2 the time is also wasted before the person realizes the mistake. If it is a natural crit of 1, then 100% the materials and time are both wasted.
Crafting Time
All crafting time is in 1-day increments. 1 day implies 8 to 10 hours of labor that will leave a Character with the fatigued condition and require sleep to remove. If the Character then continues to do adventuring that same day before resting, the Character gains the exhausted condition.
A personal item is an item designed for use by a single character. If the personal item doesn't specify the time, then the default crafting time is 5 days unless it is 'Large', 'Gigantic', or 'Heavy'. For example: A weapon, suit of armor, personal computer, etc..) take 5 days to craft. This assumes that the item is being made to industrial standards and that part of the crafting process includes testing and clean-up. Once done, the item could be sold in a store. The Character can choose to pause work. Or only work for half the day in order not to gain the fatigued condition. This, however, means that the Character will take 10 days to finish the item.
The Character can do things to reduce the time. Crafting facilities can do part of the crafting work automatically for the Character. They cost money to gain access, unless, of course, the Character owns one. These workshops can allow the character to either build the item much faster. Or have to work less every day. A basic workshop reduces the time in half. So, for an item that takes 5 days to construct, it now only takes 2. Or 4 days of half-day work.
If a Character succeeds at the crafting check by at least 5, then the Character can take a day off, the length of time it takes to finish crafting. An additional day for each 5 more the roll surpasses the DC.
Some items that require more time are usually personal items that are considered large, gigantic, or Heavy. If a personal item is considered any one of these things, then the default crafting time is 7 days.
Helping Craft
Other Characters can help in the building or repairing of an item if they have the necessary crafting skill/ranks. The helping player can either take over for a half-day so neither character takes the fatigued condition, but the item still finishes on time, or the Character can attempt to assist in speeding up the item's construction. In either case, the helping Character's player rolls for the assist. If the Characters are only dividing up the time between themselves, then both Characters have to make successful craft checks. If just one of the Characters fails, then the item is not made. If the Character is assisting, then the roll acts like a skill assist. If the Character succeeds on the craft check, the time is reduced by 25%, rounded down.
Large structural items such as a spaceship, house, or boat take much more time. And normally *require* workshops or some form of facility such as a docking bay or a shipyard. These items should indicate how many days it takes to craft each item if only a single person works on it. However, if it doesn't assume that it would take 150 days. This accounts for working in a special facility built to enable a Character to build such an item. The only way to shorten the work is to add labor. There are no penalties for more people. You simply take the number of days, divide by the number of Character building, and round up. Each Character has to have the required crafting skills. If a Character fails the skill check, they simply do not build their part of the item. Someone else will have to pick up the slack. You can divide up this work however you may like. A Character can roll for only up to 10 days' worth of work at a time.
Example: You have 4 players who wish to build a Ship together. All players rolled, but 1 failed the check. If the ship takes 100 days to build, then you only just took 30 days off. After 10 days have passed, all 4 players can roll again. Continue this process until the ship is completed.
Repairing Checks
Repairing has the same DC rules as crafting. However, for personal items, it takes either half a day or a full day, depending on the item's size. Any item that is considered Large, Gigantic or Heavy takes a full day. All other items take 1/2 day. And the cost of materials is only 1/100th to 1/10th the cost of the item, depending on the extent of the damage.
Procure Diff has no effect on materials or costs during repair. There is a feat Jerry Rigging that allows a repair without the cost of the materials but the DC is +6.
Repairing structures is different. Structures can have multiple things that need repairing. Up to 10 different things can require repairs on a structure item before it is considered dilapidated and useless. Meaning that it would only be good for scrap (1/10th the original cost). Each issue with a structural item can take up to 10 days to repair and cost 1/10 of the item's cost. Multiple people can work on the same broken item with the same rules as crafting the item. The "Jerry Rigging" feat still applies to structures, but instead of affecting the materials, it affects how long it takes to repair the item. Instead of 10 days. Just 1 day.
Summary
- Crafting:
- In summary crafting requires materials and time. The Character must have the Bill of Materials before they can attempt to build the item. When ready, the player rolls a d20 for the appropriate craft skill check (The item should provide which craft skill[s] are necessary), and if the craft check is passed, the Character spends the allotted time (usually 5 days) building the item. During that time, the Character will be Fatigued if they choose to go on an Adventure. If the craft check fails then the item is not made and 1/2 the materials and time are wasted.
- Repairing:
- In summary, repairing requires materials and time. The Character must have the Bill of Materials before they can attempt to repair the item unless they have the Jerry Rigging feat. When ready, the player rolls a d20 for the appropriate craft skill check, which is based on the crafting skill, and if the craft check is passed, the Character spends the allotted time (usually 1/2 or 1 full day) repairing the item. If the Character spends a full day doing repairs, then that Character will be Fatigued if they choose to go on an Adventure that same day. The "Jerry Rigging" feat can adjust materials or time. If the crafting check failed, then the materials and time are wasted.
Rules are slightly different when dealing with structures. The items are usually things such as cars, houses, space ships, etc. Basically, any item in the Weapons, Armor, and General Equipment is *NOT* a structure. Also, anything the Character can carry on their person is not considered a structure. Characters can divide up the work of building a structure. If not specified, a structure takes 150 days to make. A special facility is always required for making a structural item.