Following on from my recent post on the NPC classes I had a think about how to make the craft skill make more sense from a world economic perspective and how it fits in with the different experience levels that NPCs would have.
The basic premise is that every point in a craft skill check above the minimum DC is worth a set amount for a given item. The harder something is to make the more each point is worth. Higher level craftsmen have a higher skill bonus, make more difficult items and have a higher standard of living. Rather than rolling a craft check, the crafter picks their roll. Above 10, the crafter is taking more time than standard and below 10 the crafter is taking less time than standard.
I have a houserule that the profession skill bonus gets added to any relevant skill check. So a carpenter would gain their profession skill added to their craft skill when making wooden objects, to their knowledge check when deciding on the appropriate tree and to their appraise check when valuing a cabinet.
Somebody who works as a craftsman would start as an apprentice, become a journeyman and be a master around middle age. Taking 2XP per day and medium progression, a human should reach 5th level by middle age. With my houserule, an average (all stats 11) NPC should be able to get a craft bonus of around +10 at first level, +20 at 3rd and +30 at 5th level. These levels fit nicely with the three grades of crafter. At 10th level +50 should be possible.
At 1st level an NPC crafter should earn 3GP per month and should earn 10GP per month at 5th; 100GP for 10th level also seems reasonable. This corresponds to the standards of living in the GMG.
There are four classes of item, ranging from simple, typical, high quality and complex, each has their own DC and their value per skill point:
Simple – DC10 – 1cp
Typical – DC20 – 2cp
High Quality – DC30 – 4cp
Complex – DC40 – 2sp
In place of the skill roll use the following table as the time multiplier:
+0 – x0.5 (add 0.05 to)
+10 – x1 (add 0.2 to)
+15 - x2 (add 0.4 to)
+20 – x4
The overall formula is Daily income = (Skill Score – Item DC) x (Value/Time)
With this system apprentices make the most money making simple items but can make typical items. Journeyman cannot make complex items but earn approximately the same (within 80% peak) for simple for typical items and less for high quality items. Master craftsmen make approximately the same making any kind of item. True experts with a skill bonus in excess of 30 makes more money on complex items.
I’ve still to work out masterwork, but I think increasing the DC by a multiplier of 1.5 and requiring a skill roll pick of 15 or more to simulate the extra time required. The earnings per day number should be slightly higher than the best normal item to make it worth the craftsman’s while to take on a commission over making their normal goods.
Working out how long it takes to make an item is a case of reversing the formulae so that the craftsman’s labour cost equals the item’s labour value (which is 2/3 the cost of an item) and then seeing how long it would take the craftsman to earn that much for making that type of item.
A masterwork version of a high quality item would have a DC of 45 and earn the crafter 35cp per excess point
I have toyed with a related idea -
That NPCs can gain XP for making critical successes while performing their chosen profession. The catch is that any levels gained by this method have the following penalties -
Any skill points and feats gained must be spent on selections that enhance their job performance (skill focus, craft/profession, or even diplomacy to market their items or skills, etc.)
Hit points gained are at the minimum if a level is gained purely by making critical successes in their profession (rolled a "1" for more HP).
Adventurers do not gain XP from making such checks as their chosen profession is adventurer crafting or profession is more of a background, hobby, or fallback once they retire.