I’ve got a question about crafting dragonhide armor.
First, let’s make sure I’ve got crafting masterwork armor correct.
Let’s say you’re making a masterwork breastplate. It has two components; the breastplate component (200 gp, 2,000 sp to create, craft DC 15 [10 + 5 armor bonus]) and the masterwork component (150 gp, 1,500 sp to create, craft DC 20 [masterwork]). It costs 1/3 of the market price in raw materials, so 116 gp (66 gp for the breastplate and 50 gp for the masterwork component). If you miss a check by 5 or more, you have to pay ½ the cost in raw materials (33 gp for the breastplate, 25 gp for the masterwork component). You make both parts separately and when both are finished your masterwork breastplate is finished.
This is correct, right?
But trying to make dragonhide armor confuses the snot out of me. The PRD states “Dragonhide armor costs twice as much as masterwork armor of that type, but it takes no longer to make than ordinary armor of that type (double all Craft results).” But the craft skill states “To create a masterwork item, you create the masterwork component as if it were a separate item in addition to the standard item.”
So how do you craft it? There can’t be a separate masterwork component because that would take longer to make and dragonhide specifically states that it doesn’t. And is the craft DC 20 (masterwork) or 15 (10 + armor bonus)? "Ordinary armor of that type" is DC 15, but you make more per week on the same craft skill roll if the DC is 20. And I don’t understand how the “double all Craft results” part fits in.
This is what I have so far:
200 gp (breastplate cost) + 150 gp (masterwork) = 350 gp x 2 (dragonhide) = 700 gp market price
Raw materials = 233 gp (1/3 market price)
Craft skill failure = 116 gp (1/2 raw materials cost)
Breastplate = 200 gp, 2,000 sp to create, craft DC ?
Am I close? What am I missing?
Where are you getting your dragonhide?
For normal armor, you buy a bunch of iron and this is purchase is represented in paying 1/3 the price for the non-masterwork armor, then add 50gp for the masterwork bit - call that extra metals or extra tools or maybe some cheap gemstones or precious metals for inlays, or whatever.
For dragonhide, usually you just don't buy that in the local market. At least, every time I've had a player make dragonhide armor, they skinned a dragon they killed. If that is the case, they already have the raw materials and only need to pay 100p for the masterwork bit (double the normal price for masterwork).
But I suppose a GM could let a player buy the dragonhide in town somewhere - that's a GM call.
As for the crafting rolls, you can double all of them, or just for the sake of crafting, pretend it is NOT dragonhide make the normal rolls for the same kind of ordinary masterwork armor (that's the easier way to do it - less math).
The DC is always 10+AC bonus, the masterwork DC is always 20.
This is correct, right?
The PRD states “Dragonhide armor costs twice as much as masterwork armor of that type, but it takes no longer to make than ordinary armor of that type (double all Craft results).” But the craft skill states “To create a masterwork item, you create the masterwork component as if it were a separate item in addition to the standard item.”
So how do you craft it?
...
Am I close? What am I missing?
You were incredibly close - one of the best armor crafting summaries I've seen actually. The only thing you are missing is that the dragonhide crafting rules supercede the standard crafting rules, in that you ignore that "as if it were a separate item" section.
In other words - other than paying more - absolutely nothing changes from your original example. So 400gp for the breastplate and 300gp for the masterwork mean you pay 233gp for the components, and the crafting time is identical.
"Double all craft results" means double the silver pieces worth of crafting completed by each successful crafting check. So if for week 1 you rolled a 22, you'd normally produce 22 x 16 sp in armor (352sp, or 35.2gp). Instead, you produce 70.4gp, because the expensive components you're working with (dragonhide) don't actually take longer to work.
Another way of wording it would be: “Dragonhide armor costs twice as much as masterwork armor of that type, but it takes no longer to make than ordinary armor of that type (use normal material costs to determine when the armor is completed).” Many feel the other exotic materials should have a similar line, as the time can get rather ridiculous (e.g. four years to produce a mithril greataxe for a minimally proficient smith).