Players’ Compendium: Crafting
The Crafting Loop: A Three-Step Journey
Most crafting in the Aytherfell RPG system follows a logical, three-step loop. Whether you’re turning ounces of gold into a beautiful ring or brewing a healing potion, your process will always involve Gathering, Processing, and creating a final Product. However, smelting ounces to ingots in an extra processing step in the Blacksmithing profession.
1. Gathering
This is the very first step in all crafting. It’s the act of collecting raw materials from the world. This includes mining for ore, harvesting plants for ingredients, or chopping wood from trees. The success of this step is tied to your relevant Gathering Skill (e.g., Mining, Harvesting, Lumberjacking) and the quality of your tools.
2. Processing
After gathering, you must process your raw materials into usable components. This step often requires a specific machine or a special tool. For example, a Refiner crushes raw ore into ounces, a mortar & pestle turns herbs into reagents, or a lumber mill turns a log into planks. Your Processing Skill (e.g., Refining, Alchemy, Woodcrafting) will determine the efficiency and success of this step.
3. Product
This is the final stage of the crafting loop. Here, you take your processed materials and combine them using a recipe to create a finished item. This could be anything from a simple sword to a platinum necklace. Your Product Skill (e.g., Blacksmithing, Provisioning, Runecraft) will influence the outcome.
A Complete Example: Crafting an Iron Sword
Let’s walk through the detailed steps of crafting a basic Iron Sword:
- Gathering (Mining): You’ll use your Mining skill to extract Raw Iron Ore from an Iron Ore resource node found in the world.
- Processing (Refining): Next, you’ll use your Refining skill at a Refiner machine to convert the Raw Iron Ore into Iron Ounces. (Typically, 1 unit of Raw Ore yields 100 Iron Ounces.)
- Processing (Smelting): Then, you’ll use your Smelting skill at a Smelter machine to combine 1000 Iron Ounces into a single Iron Ingot.
- Product (Blacksmithing): Finally, you’ll use your Blacksmithing skill at a Blacksmithing Station to transform the Iron Ingot into a finished Iron Sword.
Please Note: Metalworking is a complex profession that requires four separate skills to master: Mining, Refining, Smelting, and Blacksmithing. Any of these skills can fail if your proficiency is too low. To become a true master of any skill line, a player character must invest a great deal of time and effort. As there is a global limit of seven skills that can be mastered at any one time, a player character cannot be a master of more than one crafting skill line at a time. A mastered skill can still decay if it is not used, especially if you attempt to master another skill line that would exceed your seven-skill limit.
Additional Note: At present, all crafted items cannot be directly used by the player or player character. All crafted items are meant to be deposited in a Population Center Donation Box for Faction Influence Points.
Metalworking
Woodworking
Tailoring
Provisioning
Alchemy
Runecraft