This is my (mostly) final houserule addressing the craft, perform an profession skills.
The major change from RAW is about the Craft skill, which works around crafting time (which I call creation time windows) rather than on the base price. Income rules were also re-visited.
This was done with the intention of giving the player the ability to craft things relatively quickly and within time frames that are compatible with gameplay.
for those who have been reading my earlier versions, the text is considerably clearer and more concise.
As usual, comments are more than welcome.
'findel
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You are skilled at a specific job. Like Craft, Knowledge, and Perform, Profession is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks. While a Craft skill represents ability in creating a specific item, a Profession skill represents an aptitude in a vocation requiring a broader range of less specific knowledge. Note that products resulting from a batch process (such as ale, bread and wine) are created through the Profession skill rather than the Craft skill. Profession skills include (but are not limited to) architect, baker, barrister, brewer, butcher, clerk, cook, courtesan, driver, engineer, farmer, fisherman, gambler, gardener, herbalist, innkeeper, librarian, midwife, miller, miner, porter, sailor, scribe, shepherd, stable master, soldier, tanner, trader, trapper, and woodcutter.
CHECK
You can practice your trade and make a decent living. For each week of dedicated work, roll once on the Income Table to determine the amount of net profit generated by your trade. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the income generated by this chart takes into account the necessary expenses related to the profession, such as raw materials, rent or taxes, guild membership, employees’ wages and other overhead expenses. The Income Table does not however take in consideration other living expenses such as food, lodging, clothing etc. A character must subtract its weekly expenditures from its net profit.
To determine the income collected over a week, follow these steps:
- Determine the trade class corresponding to the performed trade. Note its associated trade DC and base income.
- Make the appropriate skill check.
- Apply any skill check modifier (if applicable).
- Compare the result on the Income Table below. Apply the multiplying factor (if applicable) to the base income associated with the trade’s class.
Trade Class Trade DC Base Income Examples of trades
Peasant Class | DC 10 | 1 gp per week | Farmer, shepherd.
Merchant Class | DC 15 | 5 gp per week | Craftsman (most Crafts skills), innkeeper, trader, sailor.
Gentile Class | DC 20 | 25 gp per week | Ambassador, architect, master craftsman (can craft masterwork products).
Condition Modifier
Less than 2 assistants | -2
Assistants are journeymen | +2
Improper Tools or Installations | -2
Masterwork Tools or Installations | +2
Dead Season | -2
High Season | +2
Magical assistance | +2
Other circumstances | -2/+2
Income Check Result:
Failure by 5 or more | Loose the equivalent of the base income appropriate to your trade class.
Failure | Earns the base income of the previous trade class (or 1 sp per week).
Success | Earns the base income for your appropriate trade class.
Success by 2 or more | Earns 1.5 times the base income for your appropriate trade DC.
Success by 5 or more | Earns 3 times the base income for your appropriate trade DC.
Success by 10 or more | Earns 10 times the base income for your appropriate trade DC
Tools and Installations: Most trades require some kind of tools and/or installations to give the best chance of success. While some trades may be performed using improvised or improper versions of those tools/installations, some may simply not be fulfilled without the proper equipment (at the DM’s discretion). If improvised or improper equipment is used, the check is made with a -2 penalty. On the other hand, masterwork equipment provides a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
Assistants: While most trades can be performed by one person, all trades require a minimum of two assistants to give the best chances of success. If an income check is attempted alone, the check is made with a penalty of -2. On the other hand, journeymen assistants (labourers with enough training to succeed a DC 15 check by taking 10) provide a +2 circumstance bonus to the check. Each journeyman cost an additional 5 gp per week of work, which must be deducted from the net income.
High/Low Seasons: Some trades perform better during a “high season” where productivity and general interest in the trade reach their pinnacle. Regardless of the length or frequency of those high seasons, such a trade always sees an equal amount of “dead season” time, where the market and proceeds of the trade slow down almost to a stop. Any income checks made during the dead season is made with a -2 penalty. On the other hand, a trade’s high season provides a +2 circumstance bonus to any income checks made during that period. High and low seasons may or may not have an impact on the skill’s alternative functions. Not all trades know such changes in interest and productivity; most are constant enough throughout the year to bear no modifiers on seasonal tides.
Magical Assistance: A professional that benefits from magical assistance gains a +2 bonus on its trade check, as long as the spell or spell-like ability improves in some ways the performance of the said trade. As a rule of thumb, a 1st or 2nd level spell may act as “tools/installations” or “assistants”, negating the -2 penalty for improper equipment or working alone. A spell of level 3rd or 4th may act as masterwork equipment or journeymen assistants, granting a +2 circumstance bonus on the check. Only spells of level 5th and beyond grant a plain +2 bonus on the income roll. At any rate, the DM remains the sole adjudicator for the validity of the spell’s contribution to the trade.
Other Circumstance: Finally, other various circumstances may bring favourable or unfavourable conditions to the character. Such factors should be both rare and significant, such as a drought (-2 penalty on any agricultural trades and derived products) or the discovery of a nearby gold vein (+2 bonus on any merchant trades). At any rate, the DM is the sole adjudicator to decide whether the circumstance affects and for how long the situation persists.
ACTION
Not applicable. A single check represents a week of work.
TRY AGAIN
Varies. An attempt to use a Profession skill to earn an income cannot be retried. You are stuck with whatever weekly wage your check result brought you, but you are usually allowed to take 10. Another check may be made after a week to determine a new income for the next period of time. An attempt to accomplish some specific task can usually be retried.
UNTRAINED
Untrained laborers and assistants (that is, characters without any ranks in Profession) earn an average of 1 silver piece per day, or 1 silver piece per week if housed and fed.
SPECIAL
A character may use the Craft and Perform to generate a weekly income. In this case, the Craft and Perform skills use the Income Table as if they were a profession, but using their respective skill check modifier.
Alternate Use: Hired Hands
Hire hands are not as much an alternate use of the skill as a specific condition under which workers are paid fixed wages instead of determining their salary from an income roll. This situation is frequent in professions like sailors, stable-hands, soldiers and any other profession where the worker receives a salary from an employer. Apprentices and unqualified labourers also fall under the category of hired hands (see below).
Hired hands receive wages based on the skill level that their profession requires, but not necessarily on their own level of proficiency. As long as the worker can demonstrate the basic aptitudes for the trade (can succeed the profession’s income DC by taking 10), the worker is hired and paid the same salary as all other workers of the same social class, regardless of their skill check modifier. Most of these professions offer opportunities for advancement however, and each promotion comes with a higher salary. Each different stage follow the same guidelines used for the income table (the base salary is multiplied by 1.5 if the DC can be succeeded by 2 or more, multiplied by 3 if the DC is succeeded by 5 etc.)
These promotions are not automatic and may take years to be granted to a deserving worker. However, with all the attention that they warrant, PCs have a much better chance to be promoted quickly than regular workers.
Hired hands of a peasant trade (DC 10) are basically unqualified labourers. Their wages rarely exceed 1 gp per week of work, sometimes even down to 1 sp per week when housed and fed. Apprentices are treated similarly in terms of wages and salary.
Gentile hired hands often hold positions within the government and among the aristocracy. To represent these vocations, the professions of administrator, chamberlain and seneschal could be added to the list presented above. Alternatively, the DM may allow these positions to operate from the Diplomacy skill instead of Profession.
Alternate Use: The Batch Process
This alternative use of the Profession skill deals with the creation of a product via the batch process. Such products include ale, bread, cheese and wine and involves the respective professions of brewer, baker, cheese maker and winemaker. While creating a batch product falls under the use of the Profession skill, the batch process shares many similarities with the Craft skill.
In most cases it will suffice to roll an income check and determine the amount of money generated by the merchant this week, as stocks from the last batch may still bring an income even if the new batch isn’t yet ready. But should a PC attempt to create a batch for its own use (i.e. not trying to make profit out of it), this alternative use of the Profession skill provides guidelines for the creation of such a product.
Like crafted items, batch products imply a creation cost, a production DC and a creation time window. Unlike crafted items however, the initial creation costs are not necessarily proportional to the whole batch’s market value; the main objective of those professions is to get the most productivity out of the smallest initial investment possible.
To determine how much time and money it takes to produce a batch, follow these steps:
- Find the “Craft DC” of the product (A typical ale has a Craft DC of 15).
- Find the time window (see the Craft rules below) necessary to produce the batch (3 months for typical ale).
- Determine the projected quantity to be produced and find its market value (2 sp per gallon for typical ale).
- Pay half the batch’s projected market price in raw materials.
- Make the appropriate Profession check.
- Apply any skill check modifier (if any).
- Compare the result on the following table.
Income Check Result:
Failure by 5 or more | The batch is spoiled. You loose your initial investment.
Failure | Half the batch is spoiled. You end-up not saving any money.
Success | You create the projected quantity at a reasonable quality.
Success by 2 or more | You create 150% of the projected quantity OR the product is slightly better than the typical variety.
Success by 5 or more | You create 300% of the projected quantity OR the product is significantly better than the typical variety.
Success by 10 or more | You create 300% of the projected quantity AND the product is significantly better than the typical variety.
The three tiers of the working class.
Trades and professions are segregated in three social classes: the peasant class, the merchant class and the gentile class. Each tier determines the level of knowledge and complexity involved in the profession, but also the type of market targeted by the trade.The Peasant Class
The first class – the peasantry – till the lands that surround and provide for the cities. This class harvest the raw products of the farm, such as grain, vegetables, meat, wool and linen, for the next class to transform into finished commodities such as bread, sausages and clothes.The peasant class is primarily composed of shepherds and farmers of all sorts. Most of them are at the service of a lord of some sort who in turn provides order and protection. While a peasant’s life is far from being easy, its profession is relatively simple to perform, requires a low level of education and benefits from a dependable market. A peasant’s income is low, but the trade usually provides for the most of a household’s necessities; peasants tend to be poor but self-sufficient.
Peasantry offers very few opportunities of promotion or social advancement, which explains why many young adventurers hoping to improve their lot in life hail from this social class. Nevertheless, a few successful farmers occasionally manage to make their way up to the landed gentry, administrating their small estates like mayors of small villages.
A peasant trade has an income DC of 10 and a base income of 1 gp per week.
The Merchant Class
The second class – the merchant class – is composed of artisan and tradesmen, which includes virtually every other craft and profession other than farmer and shepherd. Where the peasant class provides the food, the merchant class provides the homes, the tools, the services and all the other necessities that makes civilisation possible. In general, these trades require a higher level of education and are more complex to perform than peasant trades, but for those who have the proper skills, the pay is also much higher.Aside from the occasional miller or blacksmith established in the countryside, most merchants live within the confine of a city’s walls, which explains why they are occasionally known as burghers. In larger cities, artisans and tradesmen band together to form guilds which regulate market prices and care for their members’ well-being.
A merchant trade has an income DC of 15 and a base income of 5 gp per month.
The Gentile Class
The third and uppermost class – the gentry – is constituted of dignitaries, master craftsmen and wealthy merchants. Where the previous classes provide the raw materials and labour to achieve a variety of products, the gentry provides the funds, the expertise and the leadership necessary to make it happen.In many cases, a gentile trade has more to do with status and high position than a different trade altogether: when a predisposed peasant or merchant achieves mastery of its profession (is able to succeed a DC 20 skill check by taking 10), its social class improves to gentry, often receiving the title of “master”. Master farmers have has much influence as mayors and master craftsmen usually sit on their guild’s council.
In addition to the elevated peasants and merchants, the gentile class includes several governmental professions such as ambassador, chamberlain and military officer. Earning a gentile trade demands a high level of education and expertise, but its associated salaries are often comparable with the income of a lesser aristocrat.
A gentile trade has an income DC of 20 and a base income of 25 gp per month.
From Apprentice to Master
Students learning a merchant trade are known as apprentices. After completing its apprenticeship with a master, the student is elevated to journeyman status. Journeymen are then required to create a “masterpiece” (an object of masterwork quality) in the presence of judges to be elevated to the status of master.In game terms, an apprentice has either no rank in the proper skill or not enough ranks to succeed a DC 15 skill check while taking 10. Note that there are no such things as an apprentice peasant; an untrained peasant is basically an unqualified labourer, and most can succeed the DC 10 check as soon as 1 rank is invested in the appropriate skill. It is expected that most PCs will exceed the status of apprentice by 1st level. Apprentices are paid 1 sp per day (or 1 sp per week if housed and fed).
An apprentice’s salary is included in the overhead costs of the weekly income check or of an item’s creation costs.
A journeyman is able to live off his trade and succeeds a DC 15 skill check by taking 10. Journeymen make the bulk of the working force and should include most trade-oriented PCs from 1st level. Again, the journeyman status does not exist among the peasantry; farmers able to achieve a DC 15 skill check by taking 10 are simple more successful farmers (as this represent a success by 5, which triple their base income).
Hiring at least two journeymen assistants grants a +2 circumstance bonus on any appropriate skill check. Each journeymen assistant must be paid a salary of 5 gp per week of work, which must be subtracted from the income check result or added to the item’s creation costs.
A master has enough ranks to succeed a DC 20 skill check by taking 10 with no reliance on journeymen assistants, masterwork tools and other circumstantial bonuses. Peasants and merchants not only take the title of “master” when they reach this level of proficiency; they also access the gentile social class. Masters are the one owning the shops, teaching apprentices and ultimately, running the (economic) show.
While this has no impact on an item’s market price, custom orders and specific goods are always created by masters. Trade-oriented PCs should acquire this status relatively early into their career, assuring a decent income during their short periods of downtime.
Expanding on the Alchemist’s Lab…
For 500 gp, an alchemist may purchase all the necessary accessories and furnishings to warrant a +2 circumstantial bonus on its Craft (alchemy) checks. Expanding on the same idea, a professional may purchase “masterwork installations” as appropriate for its trade, for the same price of 500 gp. Like masterwork tools, these ideal furnishings grant the professional a +2 circumstance bonus on the appropriate Profession check. Note that the bonus granted by masterwork tools do not stack with masterwork installations.
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You are skilled in the creation of a specific group of items, such as armour or weapons. Like Knowledge, Perform, and Profession, Craft is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Craft skills, each with its own ranks. The most common Craft skills are alchemy, armour, baskets, books, bows, calligraphy, carpentry, cloth, clothing, glass, jewellery, leather, locks, paintings, pottery, sculptures, ships, shoes, stonemasonry, traps, and weapons. A Craft skill is specifically focused on creating a single item. If the endeavour does not produce a finished product or generates a batch rather than a single item, it probably falls under the heading of a Profession skill.
CHECK
You can practice your trade and make a decent living. You know how to use the tools of your trade, how to perform the craft’s daily tasks, how to supervise untrained helpers, and how to handle common problems. In order to generate a weekly income, you may roll an Income Check as described under the Profession skill, using your appropriate Craft skill modifier (see the Profession skill description).
The basic function of the Craft skill, however, is to allow you to make an item of the appropriate type (if the item result of a batch process such as wine or bread, refer to the Profession skill instead). The DC depends on the complexity of the item to be created. The DC, your check result and the creation time window of the item determine how long it takes to make a particular item. Unless the craftsman fails horribly, the creation costs are independent form the skill check result and are solely based on the finished item’s market price.
To determine how much time and money it takes to make an item, follow these steps.
- Find the item’s market price (including regional modifiers, if applicable)
- Find the item’s DC and creation time window.
- Pay half the item’s market price in raw materials.
- Make an appropriate Craft check.
- Apply any skill check modifier (if applicable).
- Compare the result on the Craft Table below. Apply the dividing factor (if applicable) to the item’s creation time window.
Item – Craft Skill – Craft DC – Creation Time Window
Armours and protective items – – –
Leather armours, light and medium – Leather – DC 10 + AC bonus – 3 weeks
Metal armours, light and medium – Armours – DC 10 + AC bonus – 3 weeks
Metal armours, heavy* – Armours – DC 10 + AC bonus – 3 months
Full Plate* – Armours – DC 18 – 3 days
Light Shield or Helmet – Armours – DC 12 – 3 weeks
Heavy Shield or Helmet – Armours – DC 15 – 3 weeks
Melee and thrown weapons – – –
Simple weapon – Weapons – DC 12 – 3 weeks
Martial weapon – Weapons – DC 15 – 3 weeks
Exotic weapon – Weapons – DC 18 – 3 weeks
Ranged weapons – – –
Crossbows – Weapons – DC 15 – 3 weeks
Shortbow – Bows – DC 12 – 3 weeks
Longbow – Bows – DC 15 – 3 weeks
Composite bows, long and short – Bows – DC 15 + (2 x rating) – 3 weeks
Alchemical Items – – –
Acid – Alchemy – DC 15 – 3 days
Alchemist fire, smokestick or tindertwigs (pack of 20) – Alchemy – DC 20 – 3 days
Antitoxin, sunrods (pack of 10), tanglefoot bag or thunderstone – Alchemy – DC 25 – 3 days
Other items – – –
Very simple item – Varies – DC 10 – Varies1
Typical item – Varies – DC 15 – Varies1
High quality item – Varies – DC 20 – Varies1
Mechanical traps – Trapper – DC Varies – Varies
Masterwork item* – Varies – DC 20 – As base item x3
* Dues to its high base price, the full plate armor has a higher creation time window than other medium armors. Also, crafting a masterwork full plates does not require the expenditure of a longer creation time window.
Condition | Modifier
Less than 2 assistants | -2
Assistants are journeymen | +2
Improvised tools | -2
Masterwork artisan’s tools | +2
Magical assistance | +2
Income Check Result:
Failure by 5 or more | The item is ruined The craftsman may recuperate 1/2 the creation costs.
Failure | The item sees no significant progress from its last stage.
Success | The item is completed in the appropriate time window.
Success by 2 or more | The item is created in 2/3 of the appropriate time window.
Success by 5 or more | The item is created in 1/3 of the appropriate time window.
Success by 10 or more | The item is created in the time window of the previous category.
(Ex: an item normally created in 3 weeks is completed in 3 days).
Tools: All crafts require artisan’s tools to give the best chance of success. If improvised tools are used, the check is made with a –2 penalty. On the other hand, masterwork artisan’s tools provide a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
Assistants: All crafts require ate least two assistants to give the best chances of success. If the craftsman works by himself, the check is made with a penalty of -2. On the other hand, journeymen assistants (labourers with enough training to succeed a DC 15 Craft check by taking 10) provide a +2 circumstance bonus to the check. Each journeyman costs an additional 5 gp per week of work, which must be added to the item’s creation costs.
Magical Assistance: A craftsman that benefits from magical assistance gains a +2 bonus on its Craft check, as long as the spell or spell-like ability improves in some ways the performance of the said craft. As a rule of thumb, a 1st or 2nd level spell may act as “artisan’s tools” or “assistants”, negating the -2 penalty for improper equipment or working alone. A spell of level 3rd or 4th may act as masterwork artisan’s tools or journeymen assistants, granting a +2 circumstance bonus on the Craft check. Only spells of level 5th and beyond grant a plain +2 bonus to the Craft check. At any rate, the DM remains the sole adjudicator for the validity of the spell’s contribution to the trade. Also, specific spells may have a direct impact on the Craft check:
Ironwood Spell: A successful Craft check related to woodworking in conjunction with the casting of the ironwood spell enables you to make wooden items that have the strength of steel.
Fabricate Spell: In some cases, the fabricate spell can be used to achieve the results of a Craft check with no actual check involved. You must make an appropriate Craft check, however, when using the spell to make articles requiring a high degree of craftsmanship.
Minor Creation Spell: When casting the spell minor creation, you must succeed on an appropriate Craft check to make a complex item.
ACTION
Does not apply. Craft checks are made in a minimum of 1 hour. A craftsman is assumed to work about 9 hours per day, 9 days per week of dedicated work. When a character is simply rolling an income check, part of the working time may be spent selling the merchandise, buying raw materials and “keeping the shop in order”.
TRY AGAIN
Varies. An attempt to use a Craft skill to earn income cannot be retried. You are stuck with whatever weekly wage your check result brought you, but you are usually allowed to take 10. You are allowed to retried a failed Craft Check, but each time you miss by 5 or more, you ruin half the raw materials and have to pay half the original raw material cost again.
SPECIAL
A dwarf has a +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal, because dwarves are especially capable with stonework and metalwork.
A gnome has a +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks because gnomes have sensitive noses.
To make an item using Craft (alchemy), you must have alchemical equipment. If you are working in a city, you can buy what you need as part of the raw materials cost to make the item, but alchemical equipment is difficult or impossible to come by in some places.
Purchasing and maintaining an alchemist’s lab grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks because you have the perfect tools for the job, but it does not affect the cost of any items made using the skill.
CRAFTING MASTERWORK ITEMS
You can create a masterwork item – an item of superior quality – that conveys a bonus on its use through its exceptional craftsmanship, not through being magical. A masterwork item has a masterwork price component; an additional value added to the base item’s market price. Like the base item, the masterwork component has a part of labour, raw materials and overhead costs associated to it. A craftsman must pay 50% of the masterwork components in raw materials in addition to those of the base item.
The additional value of the masterwork component varies depending on the category of item created, as indicated on the table below:
Item Category Price Modifier
Weapons +300 gp
Armours +150 gp
Musical Instruments +100 gp
Tools +50 gp
“just about anything else” +50 gp
A masterwork item takes 3 times as long to create (use the next creation time window above). The Craft DC is also increased to 20. Should the craftsman fail its Craft check by less than 5, the item is still completed within the time window but does not grant from any of the masterwork benefits. A disappointed craftsman may spend an equal amount of time perfecting its creation, at the end of which another Craft check is allowed. Doing so involves investing another 50% of the masterwork component in raw materials, but as long as the item is not ruined in the process (by a failure of 5 or more), the craftsman could attempt to improve its item indefinitely. The item acquires the masterwork quality as soon as the DC 20 skill check is successful.
Should the optional rule of staged crafting be used, each stage requires a Craft DC of 20 and uses the full creation window for the appropriate base item (instead of 1/3 of the item’s creation time window).
Optional Rule: Adjusting the Masterwork Component’s Price Modifier
It is curious that a knife and a two-handed sword be just as expensive to “improve” to masterwork quality. This optional rule proposes to adjust the masterwork component’s price modifier by 50% for light armours and weapons, and by 150% for heavy armours and two-handed weapons. The masterwork price for 1-handed weapons and medium armours would thus remain unaffected.
SPECIAL MATERIALS
Whenever an item is made of a substance that isn’t typical for its kind, the substance takes the mention of “special material”. Most special materials possess properties that benefits the wielder of the item in one way or another, hence their popularity amongst adventurers who need every advantage they can get. Other than their use in superior armours and weaponry, special materials are often used in ornamentation, jewellery and objects of art. Thus, silver and gold also receive the mention of special material, although their use is usually reserved to enhance the durability and/or appearance of mundane items (such as a golden chandelier or a silver spoon).Like masterworksmanship, special materials have a price component that directly modifies the value of the base item. Unlike the masterwork component however, a craftsman must pay 100% of the special material’s component in raw materials. Note that some special materials – such as adamantine and mithral – specifically state that items created of such materials are automatically of masterwork quality and already include the masterwork component in their price modifier. In order to get the effective special material’s price component, subtract the appropriate masterwork component from the special material’s price modifier.
Only 1/3 of the special material’s price modifier represents the ore proper (or timber, or dragon hide etc). Therefore, a craftsman forging a adamantine longsword from the shattered fragments of another adamantine weapon would save 1000 gp (1/3 of 3000 gp) in raw materials.
New Feat: Craft Special Materials
CRAFT SPECIAL MATERIALS [GENERAL]
You know the secret techniques that allow you to create items out of a special material at a reduced price.Prerequisites
Int 13, at least 1 rank in a Craft skill.Benefit
When creating an item out of a special material, you must pay 50% of the special material’s price modifier in raw materials.Normal
Without this feat, the creator of an item made of a special material must pay 100% of the special material’s price modifier in raw materials minus the masterwork component, if applicable.
Optional Rule: Staged Crafting
Rolling one Craft check for the whole creation of an item might feel unsatisfactory, especially in the case of expensive items that require long periods of time to create. This optional rule proposes to deconstruct the creation of an item in three stages, each representing 1/3 of the creation process and requiring its own Craft check. This method may even bring some realism to the game, as many items where historically completed in multiple stages (often by different specialists). For example, a sword would first be forged, then send to the mill for grinding and finally hilted in yet another shop. This way, the final item is only truly finished once the third stage is completed.To craft an item in three stages, add to following steps to the craft procedures.
- Find the item’s market price (including regional modifiers, if applicable)
- Find the item’s Craft DC and creation time window.
- Pay half the item’s market price in raw materials.
- Make an appropriate Craft check for the first stage of the creation.
- Apply any skill check modifier (if applicable).
- Compare the result on the Craft Table below. Apply the dividing factor (if applicable) to a third of the item’s creation time window (use the previous category below).
- Repeat the last three steps for the second and third stages.
They Shall Come in Threes…
The categorization of an item in a specific creation time window should represent an estimation of the time necessary for a capable yet conservative craftsman to produce the item. At the best of bests, the item shouldn’t be produced in less than the previous category “down” from it. For example the time necessary to produce a longsword should be calculated in weeks. At any case, it should definitively be less than 3 months and no less than 3 days. Among the choices offered here, 3 weeks sounds the most reasonable.Categories also receive a gp limit, based on the assumption that a craftsman should not make more money crafting and selling a single item than rolling on the Income Table. Again, that gp limit should act as a guideline, not a definitive rule.
Trade Class Examples
3 hours | A simple trap, an item under, 5 sp.
3 days | 20 arrows, a simple weapon, an item under 5 gp.
3 weeks | A martial weapon, a light or medium armour, an item under 25 gp.
3 months | A masterwork weapon, a heavy armour (except full plate), an item under 500 gp.
3 seasons | A full plate armour or masterwork heavy armour, an item under 2500 gp.
Ten Days a Week
This model assumes that each week is composed of ten days (also known as a tenday). Each month is of equal length and composed of three weeks, for a total of 30 days. In addition to the twelve months, four holidays (which do not count as a “day” of the month) complete the year. Every four year, an additional holiday fills the leap-year’s extra day to bring the total to 364 ¼.
Based on the 3-hours, 3-days, 3-weeks, 3-seasons guide, it is assumed that a craftsman woks about 9 hours a day and 9 days a week.
Designer’s Notes
As far as the player is concerned, it is not important to know exactly how much iron was used in the creation of a longsword, or what exact percentage of an item’s market price corresponds to the overhead costs of the craftsman’s shop. Should these factors become important, we can assume that roughly 1/3 of an item’s price goes in raw materials, about 1/3 goes into labour and 1/3 goes in overhead costs necessary to manufacture and sell the item.
Should the item involve an expensive material, such as silver, gold, adamantine or mithral, about 1/3 of the material’s price modifier represents the material itself.
You are skilled in a type of artistic expression, which may encompass a variety of specific methods, and you know how to put on a show. Like Craft, Knowledge, and Profession, Perform is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks.
Each of the nine categories of the Perform skill includes a variety of methods, instruments, or techniques, a small list of which is provided for each category below. The DM is free to expand any of these categories with additional methods, instrument or techniques, as appropriate to his or her campaign.
- Act (comedy, drama, mime)
- Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling)
- Dance (ballet, waltz, jig)
- Keyboard instruments (harpsichord, piano, pipe organ)
- Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling)
- Percussion instruments (bells, chimes, drums, gong)
- String instruments (fiddle, harp, lute, mandolin)
- Wind instruments ( flute, pan pipes, recorder, shawm, trumpet)
- Sing (ballad, chant, melody)
CHECK
You can perform in front of an audience on a regular basis and make a decent living. You know how to use the methods and techniques of your trade, how to select the right repertoire to the right crowd and how to keep people entertained. In order to generate a weekly income, you may roll an Income Check as described under the Profession skill using your appropriate perform skill modifier (see the Profession skill description).
The basic function of the Perform skill, however, is to allow you to give punctual performances and collect your earnings then and there. Performing in a medieval-fantasy setting is little more than “begging with style”, and your income is at the mercy of your audience’s wealth and generosity.
To determine the amount of money earned during a performance, follow these steps:
- Determine the type of audience addressed by the performance. Note the associated DC and type of coins.
- Make a Perform check.
- Apply any skill check modifier (if applicable).
- Compare the result on the Perform Table below.
Type of Audience | Perform DC-
Poor audience | DC 10 | Earnings are calculated in Copper Pieces
prosperous audience | DC 15 | Earnings are calculated in Silver Pieces
Wealthy audience | DC 20 | Earnings are calculated in Gold Pieces
Condition-Modifier
Less than 2 assistants | -2
Seasoned assistants | +2
No accessories / improvised props | -2
Masterwork instrument or props | +2
Dead season | -2
High season | +2
Magical assistance | +2
Other circumstantial conditions | -2/+2
Income Check-Result:
Failure by 5 or more | The audience is outraged. The performer is lucky if only its self- esteem got hurt…
Failure | The performer receives only 1d3 coins of the appropriate type for the crowd, more out of pity than appreciation really.
Success | The performer earns 2d6 coins of the appropriate type for the crowd.
Success by 2 or more | The performer earns 3d6 coins of the appropriate type for the crowd.
Success by 5 or more | The performer earns 6d6 coins of the appropriate type for the crowd.
Success by 10 or more | Punctual uses of the Profession skill do not reach this level. Success by 5 is the best that one can get from its audience, but the DM may take exceptional results in consideration (like reputation or invitations).
Instruments and Props: Most types of performance require some kind of instrument, props or installations to give the best chance of success. This can take the form of a musical instrument, an entertainer’s outfit or a selection of theatrical accessories and props. Many types of performance can be executed without accessories or using improvised props, but an expecting audience may find the performance unsatisfying. If no instruments or improvised props are used, the check is made with a -2 penalty. On the other hand, masterwork equipment provides a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
The DM may decide that some types of performance simply cannot be executed without the proper instrument, or that some other types may not benefit from masterwork accessories.
Note that the absence of accessories or props does not affect the skill of the performer whatsoever. Only, it affects its ability to capture its audience and generate an income.
Assistants: While most types of performance can be executed by one performer (as many performers do), all types of performances may benefit from cooperative work. If an income check is attempted with less than two “assistants”, the check is made with a penalty of -2. On the other hand, seasoned performers provide a +2 circumstance bonus to the check.
When performers put on a show together, all participants roll a perform check and only the best result is considered. If the result of every participant equals or exceeds DC 15, the leading result benefits from the +2 circumstance bonus for seasoned assistants. The proceeds of the income check are then divided among all participants in whatever way they previously agreed.
High/Low Seasons: Most types of performance generate higher income during a “high season” where commerce and traffic is at its maximum. Regardless of the length or frequency of those high seasons, an equal amount of “dead season” time equally affects the performer. Any income checks made during the dead season is made with a -2 penalty. On the other hand, the high season provides a +2 circumstance bonus to any income checks made during that period.
High and low seasons may vary form locale to locale and wandering performers tend to migrate with the seasons of high activity, being where the money is.
Magical Assistance: More often then not, the blatant use of magic is a sure way to quickly dissolve (or infuriate) an audience; people tend to be weary when they know that they could be charmed into more than generous patrons. If used subtly (or in a society that is less suspicious about magical spells and their effects), spells and spell-like ability may give the performer’s better chances of success. As a rule of thumb, a 1st or 2nd level spell may act as “instrument/prop” or “assistants”, negating the -2 penalty for improper equipment or working alone. A spell of level 3rd or 4th may act as “masterwork instrument” or “seasoned assistants”, granting a +2 circumstance bonus on the check. Only spells of level 5th and beyond grant a plain +2 bonus on the income roll. At any rate, the DM remains the sole adjudicator for the validity of the spell’s contribution to the trade.
Other Circumstance: Finally, other various circumstances may bring favourable or unfavourable conditions to the performer. Such factors should be both rare and significant, such as the visit of a high dignitary or a recent raid from the mountain orcs. At any rate, the DM is the sole adjudicator to decide whether the circumstance affects the performer and for how long the situation persists.
ACTION
Varies. Trying to earn money by playing in public requires anywhere from an evening's work to a full day's performance. The bard's special Perform-based abilities are described in that class's description.
TRY AGAIN
Varies. An attempt to use a Perform skill to earn income cannot be retried. You are stuck with whatever weekly wage your check result brought you, but you are usually allowed to take 10. Otherwise, retries are allowed, but they don't negate previous failures, and an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is likely to be prejudiced against future performances. (Increase the DC by 2 for each previous failure.)
SPECIAL
A bard must have ranks in specific Perform categories to use some of his Bardic Performance abilities.
Unlike other trades, the performance DC is not set by the performer’s social class but rather by its audience’s. A performer’s crowd is thus divided in poor, prosperous and wealthy audiences and the same performer can easily go from one category to another, often within the same day.
The Poor Audience
A poor audience has a perform DC of 10, which represents a safe and sure way to gather some coins, albeit from a crowd that isn’t likely to pay much attention or be very rich. Playing in the streets or in a low quality tavern are good examples of addressing a poor audience. Those barely able to succeed such a trade DC are essentially beggars.
A poor audience allows earnings in copper pieces. A performer can find a poor audience pretty much anywhere, at any moment of the day. During high seasons, traffic allows up to 3 performances per pay. During the dead seasons, a performer will find it hard to perform more than once per day.
The Prosperous Audience
A prosperous audience commands a perform DC of 15, which represents a more focused and willing audience, but also one with higher expectations. Such audiences can be found in the hall of a rural noble, in a popular inn after supper or in a town square on a day of festival.
A prosperous audience allows earnings in silver pieces. A performer can usually find a prosperous audience once a day throughout the year, sometimes up to two times a day during holidays and festivals.
The Wealthy Audience
A wealthy audience demands a perform DC of no less than 20, which represents the very whimsical and capricious nature of such a crowed. Performances for the upper aristocracy, for a hero’s funerals or in the most reputable inns are example of a wealthy audience. Novice performers are recommended not to attempt those gigs, as failures are often shown the doors… and not always in the nicest of ways!
A wealthy audience allows earnings in gold pieces. A performer can usually find a wealthy audience up to three times a week. As the performer gains in reputation, he or she may be invited to perform for such an audience more frequently.
'Findel: I'm excited to see that someone has gone to the sheer amount of effort you have to make the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills relevant. Personally, I've put more work into recombining a lot of things (e.g., Perform: music instead of Perform: stringed instruments, singing, keyboard instruments, etc., etc., etc.) and giving them game-relevant uses. Still, the end goal is the same: occasional characters who know how to do things other than go into dungeons, kill things, and take their stuff.
I'm really liking this.
I especially like the extension to the alchemist's lab concept. This was something that I'd thought of myself, but never wrote down, so it's good to see it independently conceived and properly written up.
About the only thing I might add is a +2 synergy bonus for anyone with at least 5 ranks in a related profession, craft or performance form. For example, a bard can do Perform Dance or Perform Sing but not both at the same time, even though there are many performers in reality who do perform in this manner. I'd say for them to roll on whatever primary skill they want, with a +2 synergy bonus from using the other skill.
This can also jump the gap between the forms. One imagines that someone with many ranks in Profession Apothecary should get a +2 bonus from having 5 or more ranks in Craft Alchemy and vice versa. Ditto Profession Scribe and Craft Calligraphy and so on.
About the only thing I'd differ with is the business about masterwork tools not stacking with a masterwork workshop. Let's take a bard for example. You can have a +2 circumstance bonus from a masterwork musical instrument and those cost 100 GP. For 500 GP you can get a +2 circumstance bonus for having a concert hall or minstrels gallery, one imagines something with a stage or other setup for good acoustics and proper lighting, as one might expect to find in a better inn or a successful temple. It makes no sense to say that effectively the concert hall makes common musical instruments sound as good as masterwork instruments played in the same setting while somehow masterwork instruments don't sound any better than they do anywhere else.
I'm really liking this.
I especially like the extension to the alchemist's lab concept. This was something that I'd thought of myself, but never wrote down, so it's good to see it independently conceived and properly written up.
About the only thing I might add is a +2 synergy bonus for anyone with at least 5 ranks in a related profession, craft or performance form. For example, a bard can do Perform Dance or Perform Sing but not both at the same time, even though there are many performers in reality who do perform in this manner. I'd say for them to roll on whatever primary skill they want, with a +2 synergy bonus from using the other skill.
This can also jump the gap between the forms. One imagines that someone with many ranks in Profession Apothecary should get a +2 bonus from having 5 or more ranks in Craft Alchemy and vice versa. Ditto Profession Scribe and Craft Calligraphy and so on.
About the only thing I'd differ with is the business about masterwork tools not stacking with a masterwork workshop. Let's take a bard for example. You can have a +2 circumstance bonus from a masterwork musical instrument and those cost 100 GP. For 500 GP you can get a +2 circumstance bonus for having a concert hall or minstrels gallery, one imagines something with a stage or other setup for good acoustics and proper lighting, as one might expect to find in a better inn or a successful temple. It makes no sense to say that effectively the concert hall makes common musical instruments sound as good as masterwork instruments played in the same setting while somehow masterwork instruments don't sound any better than they do anywhere else.
I hear you, both on the synergy (which to the joy of some, disappointment of others has disappeared in Pathfinder) and on the Masterwork Tools/Shop stacking.
All I can say is that I was trying to prevent the inflation of bonuses, and put the spotlight more on the ranks (training). My mind isn't set on that yet.
'Findel: I'm excited to see that someone has gone to the sheer amount of effort you have to make the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills relevant. Personally, I've put more work into recombining a lot of things (e.g., Perform: music instead of Perform: stringed instruments, singing, keyboard instruments, etc., etc., etc.) and giving them game-relevant uses. Still, the end goal is the same: occasional characters who know how to do things other than go into dungeons, kill things, and take their stuff.
I think one could easily go deeper in the "houseruling". I tried my best not to affect anything but the Craft, Perform and Profession rules (for example, I didn't alter some of the market prices, some of which still make me twitch...)
As it is, I'm proposing an alternate ruleset that one can modify as he or she wishes. Should only 1 group adopt this system, and still re-fit it to their needs, I'd be satisfied.
I think one could easily go deeper in the "houseruling". I tried my best not to affect anything but the Craft, Perform and Profession rules (for example, I didn't alter some of the market prices, some of which still make me twitch...)
As it is, I'm proposing an alternate ruleset that one can modify as he or she wishes. Should only 1 group adopt this system, and still re-fit it to their needs, I'd be satisfied.
Understood. I've long since left "houseruling" behind and am in the realm of "3.95 edition" game writing now, but I understand and sympathize that most people don't share that obsession! Anyway, thanks again for posting this stuff.
I hear you, both on the synergy (which to the joy of some, disappointment of others has disappeared in Pathfinder) and on the Masterwork Tools/Shop stacking.
All I can say is that I was trying to prevent the inflation of bonuses, and put the spotlight more on the ranks (training). My mind isn't set on that yet.
Yeah, well, the Synergy thread I just looked at had some other sensible suggestions, one of them being able to Aid Another on oneself by use of a second skill, which makes sense: If the bard plays masterfully on his lute while singing off key, it will hurt; if he sings passably, it's unaffected; but if he sings well and plays well, then whatever the top score is would reasonably be bumped up a couple notches.
I'm thinking the Alchemist lab bonus is a little less abusable, as it's not only expensive, but a permanent fixture. Giving a good performance at the tavern which is set up for performing makes sense, and it's very easy for the DM to take that away--this new tavern has crappy acoustics.
I'll definitely be using this for my game, at least when characters start sitting down to make stuff.
We do this all the time. We also "extreme Aid" with +3 at DC20, +4 at DC25, etc.
We do that exact thing with Aid Another too :)
Yeah, well, the Synergy thread I just looked at had some other sensible suggestions, one of them being able to Aid Another on oneself by use of a second skill, which makes sense: If the bard plays masterfully on his lute while singing off key, it will hurt; if he sings passably, it's unaffected; but if he sings well and plays well, then whatever the top score is would reasonably be bumped up a couple notches.
This houserule system also has penalties and bonuses for assistants. Synergy could give a flat +2 circumstance bonus, or it could negate the penalty for working/performing alone. Basically, a bard "playing" 3 perform skills simultaneously could be "its own band"
Then again, my version of the Craft/Perform/Profession rules is meant to be a "remove-and-replace" module, attempting not to affect the rest of the rules in any other ways.
But if synergy exist as a houserule (which is the case in our game), it should definitively have its place here, more so than any other segment of the game.
'findel