Weaponsmithing is not about Strength (though that certainly helps). Weaponsmithing is about technique. The best examples I can think of is the Japanese swordscrafter. (Cliche, yes, but very very true.) A weaponsmith is likely to have a team of assitants that help with the forging and doing much of the menial work - keeping the forge hot, cutting wood for the fire, keeping tools clean & sharp, fetching water for quenching. A weaponsmith's skill (his knowledge, his intellect) comes in with knowing how long to heat the metal in the fires, what kind of wood is best, knowing when to add the borax to the metal to prevent oxidization, how many times to fold it, how to shape it, what kind of tool to use - and so on.
There also needs to be a clear delineation between "blacksmithing" and "weaponsmithing." A blacksmith is much more likely to be found repairing pots and pans, mending farm tools, shoeing horses, sharpening tools - the everyday situations that every village found themselves in. Weapons were made to last, and requires a level of skill beyond your average blacksmith.
A wizard weaponsmith may be smart, but the practical application of that knowledge may not be there (book smarts vs common sense) and their may be a lack of motivation to use that knowledge. (The atypical scholar that has mountains of knowledge on a subject, but has never actually done anything.)
A wizard's intelligence is more focused on his area of expertise - magic. A fighter's intelligence would be more focused on his martial skills, which could include weaponsmithing. Also consider that a wizard doesn't start out (normally) with Martial Weapon Proficiency - most typical swords, axes, kukris and rapiers are much harder to make than a club, dagger or longspear (simple weapons). What motivation would a wizard have to take ranks in Craft (Weaponsmithing) if all he could use were simple weapons?
So, in conclusion, ladies & jellyspoons, a strong character may be able to speed up the shaping of the metal, but the character needs to have the smarts to back it up.
So a wizard with 6 STR and 20 INT could craft a superior weapon than a strong, powerful fighter.
For a background on your character, you could have the angle that maybe he worked in his father's/mother's forge when younger and acquired the knowledge of how to craft weapons, but had an accident or a childhood disease which left him lame (hence the reduced Strength).
The added benefit is that your wizard could direct someone stronger than he (see the above example of a Weaponsmith with assistants) to do his grunt work for him. Your grunt could eventually pick up ranks in Craft (Weaponsmithing).
A funny thing I realized about weaponsmithing recently. I've always had this idea of the large burly guy beating away on his latest piece of steel or iron, muscles bulging from the strain of hours worth of intense labor. So I created a fighter with craft (Weaponsmithing) to play out this role. But then as I was creating him I realized that craft is an Int based skill. And then it hit me. Wizards, not fighters, make the best weaponsmiths! So a wizard with 6 STR and 20 INT could craft a superior weapon than a strong, powerful fighter. At this point I became discouraged and scrapped my character idea because it just seemed silly. I instead created a wizard weaponsmith, with the added bonus that I can enchant my own weapons. Now my Wizard (with all of 8 STR) is in there pounding away at his forge each day in an attempt to perfect his craft.
You've hit on a nerve. I dislike the skill system in D&D 3.5. Granted a large amount of knowledge is needed to know how hard to make the steel (so it doesn't shatter like glass when you strike a shield or object), how much to temper it and when. However, strength is also important. Manual dexterity would also play a key role.
Whatever. Castles and Crusades, tell Gygax I'm comin'!!
You are going to run into this with craft and profession skills they have to cover quite a broad group that there will be questions. I agree with Lilith a more int fighter will make a better weapon. The strength and constitution to carry and endure the heat favor the fighter.
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I have a blacksmith shop 2 blocks down from my house and watching the craftsmen work in there has made me notice 2 things. 1.)precision is more important than strength, i.e.Dexterity. 2.)constitution is more important than strength, repeatedly striking a precise spot with the exact same amount of force is something I picture a con check to acheive. On a side note, its pretty cool to to take a walk and listen to the sweet music of metal being pounded into someone's desired image. I love my town!
FH
My wife is a blacksmith and has done some weaponsmithing - she is not brawny. Take it from me - you need smarts and a good eye to be a smith. You very quickly build up the endurance (that would be a good feat) to pound away at metal. Also a good anvil has a lot of spring in it, when you strike the sword your hammer should recoil significantly. This reduces the amount of work you have to do. Don't forget that you are usually only striking the metal whilst it is hot - 2-3 mins at a time. After that it has to go back in the forge to heat up to red again.
If you want to play a smith having above average INT and perhaps endurance would set you on the right path and be totally in character with someone who spends time working with metal.
igi
Cheers FH. Unfortunately the only '6' figures she makes are metal numbers :( Blacksmithing is one of those jobs that is a 'calling' rather than a money earner. But I agree it is uber cool - one of the reasons I married her.
I don't think the issue of craft in the game is class, ability, or race related. I think it is primarily story related. If the background story makes sense and people role-play developing a skill then the craft skill maeks sense regardless of body type. But a backstory of I am a bookish wizard cloistered away with scrolls and tomes for your formative years then maxing out craft weaponsmith is lame. The same is true for improving skills that the character never practices - adventuring or ten levels maxing out craft weaponsmith without ever touching a forge, reading a book on the subject, or even being in a town.
Thats the mechanic of the game - but to me it is really cheesy play, and if a character roleplayed their advancement in a craft of profession as a DM I would adjust the DCs to reward that.
Think about the pace of level advancement - and the learning of skills - its horribly abused in terms of rational character development, I gained a level, never opened a book, or even seen an elemental but now I'm fluent in ignan or whatever. Some of this can be explained by magic - especially for certain skills and classes. But it is the players responsibility to have their character make sense not the rule books, the rules just keep the characters balanced.
"Steel is not strong, boy. What is this, compared to the hand that wields it?"
I've never heard of a dull witted blacksmith/weaponsmith. My guess would be strength is a by product.
I suppose that if I could have a rogue in my game that took Engineering as a skill choice (She thought it would assist her in doing second story jobs and B&E's in general. I wasn't gonna argue, it's her character), you could have a wizard that got a kick out of creating sharp pointy rods of iron for the big, dumb, jock/fighter types to wack away at the Big Bad Monster with.
(I love run-on sentences sometimes! They just make you want to take a long shuddering breath when yer done reading them...:-)