Crafting System
| Systems and Tools |
Overview
In 2nd Edition AD&D, PCs could learn proficiencies such as bowyer/fletcher, armorer, and weaponsmith, which allowed that PC to make bows and arrows, armor, and weapons, respectively. But making such things took up time, and rarely would a party of adventurers allow one of their characters to spend months making a suit of armor when they could simply buy one in five minutes.
This is not so on Avlis. In Avlis, your character does not even have to fight monsters to gain experience points (XP), if he wants to. Thanks to Avlis' crafting system a PC can spend his entire career being a blacksmith, a weaponsmith, an armorer, a jeweller, an alchemist, or even a tailor. Or he could spend some of his time doing the deeds a "traditional" adventurer would do and use the rest crafting items.
Crafting on Avlis
- Related Topics:
- Avlis Recycling System
- Avlis Economy
- Avlis Tradeskills
PCs of any class can be crafters. To craft an item only two things are needed – the proper ingredients and the proper place at which to craft. For example, a blacksmith would first need to find some iron ore and smelt it at a forge. Then perhaps he would flatten that iron into sheets on an anvil. After that he might use those iron sheets along with other ingredients to form a suit of armor.
Ingredients
Gathering ingredients can be both easy and difficult. In the blacksmith example, the blacksmith might have to enter a mine and gather ore. Or perhaps he would enlist others to do so for him, or perhaps join a group of people and enter the mine together, for it is often the case that mines are inhabited by all sorts of creatures come up from the underground world. And the blacksmith might find that he cannot just pick the ore from the walls of the mine by hand – he might need some kind of hammer to knock the ore out. Finding a place to work the ingredients is usually a case of common sense. Blacksmiths use forges and anvils. Bowyers might use a sawhorse to work the wood they have found or cut.
Consumables
Consumables are required for some crafting recipes (e.g. potion bottles for Alchemy, or lapidary supplies for Gemcutting). Those can be purchased from Biomerchants.
Recipes
Indeed, there is one other thing a crafter needs to make something – its recipe. There are many ways to find the proper recipe needed to make an item. One is simple trial and error. Many of the item recipes follow common sense. Another is to ask another PC. Of course, the PC may not know, or he may not be inclined to tell you. A third way is to do some in-game research. You might find certain item recipes in a book, or you might learn an item recipe from a DM as a reward for good roleplay. And yet another way is to join a crafting guild. You probably have to pay some sort of fee or dues to the guild, but in exchange you will learn their recipes and have access to their crafting supplies and work areas.
Crafting XP
When you attempt to craft an item you may not always succeed; indeed, your chance of success depends on the difficulty rating of the item you are trying to craft. Whenever you successfully craft an item your PC will gain two types of XP – standard XP and crafting XP. Standard XP is the same type of XP you get for killing monsters and completing scripted quests; it goes toward advancing your character level (see also: Experience System). Crafting XP goes toward the type of skill associated with the item you made. If you smelt ore, you will gain XP in Blacksmithing. If you make a potion, you will gain XP in Alchemy. If you spin cotton into fabric, you will gain XP in Tailoring.
Levels can be gained in each of the different types of crafting. As a PC gains crafting levels the difficulty of making things goes down – items that were once impossible for him to try and craft become merely difficult, and formerly difficult items may become easy to craft. To keep track of your crafting XP you can review your crafting skills using the crafting menu located in the Emote Radial menu, or type /check craftxp (see also: Avlis Command Prompt).
Gaining levels in most Avlis Crafting Systems follow the standard NWN Level Progression.
Lore
A higher Lore skill modifier will grant extra XP on successfully crafting a recipe, as well as some XP on failing to craft a recipe while researching. You learn from your successes and your failures.
Tools
There are 2 types of tools used in crafting: Crafting Tools and Extraction Tools.
Crafting Tools
Crafting tools are optional. They can be equipped to improve the odds of success in crafting a recipe. The tools are specific for each craft.
Bonuses from these tools will stack for up to 30% bonus (e.g. if you equip a Carpenter's Mallet in each hand, you will get the sum of bonuses from both). When you equip a crafting tool in either hand slot, you will receive a log message stating the tool name, the bonus and the crafts that it applies to. When you craft a recipe, the log will show your total equipped Tool Bonus for that Craft, as well as the difficulty.
| Alchemy | Alchemist's Manual or Alchemist's Flask |
| Herbalism | Herbalist's Handbook or Herbalist's Censer |
| Blacksmithing, Armorcrafting, Weaponcrafting | Smith's Hammer |
| Gemcutting, Jewelcrafting | Lapidary Hammer |
| Carpentry | Carpenter's Mallet or Knife |
| Tailoring | Tailor's Scissors |
All basic crafting tools are available with Biomerchants. On Examine, each basic crafting tool has an OOC description section which identifies them as such.
Crafting tools which offer a higher bonus may not have an OOC marker but you can infer their role from their IC description (e.g. Visimontium Smith's Hammer, Marazdin Smith's Hammer, Verloghokbol Hammer, Smithsong are all used in Blacksmithing, Armorcrafting & Weaponsmithing).
The recipe difficulty (which corresponds to specific odds of success) is stated in the crafting station's conversation menu.
Without the correct tool equipped, your chance of success is:
95% for a Trivial difficulty recipe 90% for Very Easy recipes 80% for Easy recipes 60% for Normal recipes 40% for Hard recipes 5% for Very Hard recipes
Extraction Tools
Extraction tools are required to do resource extraction. When you equip an extraction tool in the main hand slot, you will receive a log message stating the tool name, the bonus and the crafts that it applies to.
- Mining Ores and Gems requires use of a Pick to extract raw materials from a vein. Note that Heavy Picks can damage fragile ores and gems.
- Wood Cutting requires use of an Axe to cut branches from trees.
| Mining Gems | Gemstone Pick |
| Mining Ores | Miner's Pick |
| Wood Cutting | Woodcutter's Axe or Elven Woodsman's Axe |
More advanced versions of these tools will increase the rate of success when extracting resources.
- The Gem/Ore Mining Picks come in several tiers: Basic, Fine, Titanium, and Mithril.
- The Wood Cutting Axes come in several tiers: Axe, Fine Axe, Clearcutter, and Adze.
Recycling
Crafters can also make use of the Avlis Recycling System, which is literally that - converting existing items into basic crafting ingredients, whether the remnants of an unfortunate mercenary's sword, or a pair of boots hand-made by yourself.
Using the Crafting Menu
A crafting location is usually a placeable set as a container. Upon placement of items in the container (for some public facilities, a small user's fee may be deducted), and the crafting menu will open up, consisting of several options:
1. Load Raw Materials
- This command will check the items in the placeable and then transfer items with the same name and tag from your inventory into the placeable - manually moving each item into the placeable is not required.
2. Crafting Type Options
- These commands show what categories of crafting are available at this particular placeable.
2a. Crafting Category Recipes
- This forms the bulk of the crafting menu. These display the recipes that can be crafted at this placeable within the specific crafting category. They are further subdivided by difficulty - easy, normal, hard, and very hard. The recipes within do not give any information on the required ingredients - this is considered In-Character information that should be researched or learned IC.
Selecting one of these options further provides you with more options:
A. Craft Quantity
- Makes a number of craft attempts for the selected item as specified. Crafting will stop when the number of attempts has been reached or until materials run out. Crafting items will take some time and will expend ingredients for each attempt. In the case of some recipes, a real XP cost from your character must be paid per attempt - a prompt will be given to show the XP cost required and gives an option to cancel out of the process before beginning.
B. Toggle Research/Bulk Mode.
- Research Mode is primarily an experimental mode. Only small quantities may be crafted, but always give experience regardless of a success or failure. On failure, there is a chance of destroying some of the ingredients on the placeable.
- Furthermore, research mode will inform you if you are missing ingredients or sufficient quantities to craft an item.
- Bulk mode allows crafting in large quantities, but experience is only given for successes, and no information about ingredients is given.
3. Unload Raw Materials
- Moves the contents of the placeable to your inventory.
4. Clean off Workspace
- Deletes the contents of the placeable.
5. Quit
- Exits the crafting menu. Any items still on the placeable will remain there.
Avlis Crafts
Alchemy
In Avlis, Alchemy is the art of creating potions that emulate the effect of a spell. One gathers components needed, and mixes them to create the potion desired.
Alchemy is done on an Alchemist's Table. Alchemists can also brew alcoholic beverages which can be used in the Bartending system.
There are many alchemists on Avlis, the publicly best known ones being the alchemists and herbalists of the organization AKN (The Guild for Advancement of Knowledge in Nature).
Armorcrafting
Armorcrafting entails the making of helmets and armor, from padded clothes to Mithril carapaces, and more. Armorcrafting is done on an Anvil.
See also: AAAA, The Avlis Arms and Armour Association.
Artificing
Artificing allows spellcasters to create wands and scrolls that are as strong as, or even stronger than their cast spells. Items such as swords and shields can be enchanted as well.
Blacksmithing
Blacksmithing is prmarily about making ingots of suitable materials, but can be used for things not included in Armorcrafting or Weaponsmithing as well, such as arrowheads. Blacksmithing is done with a Forge and an Anvil.
See also: AAAA, The Avlis Arms and Armour Association
Carpentry
Carpentry entails the making of bows, composite bows, crossbows, arrows, shields, instruments, and more. Carpentry involves gathering materials and chopping wood from trees to create these things. Carpentry is done with a Sawhorse.
Cooking
Cooking allows characters to prepare food and some beverages which can be consumed. Any class build can use cooking. To become a cook you need to acquire a Cookstove item. There are several NPC food merchants who sell cookstoves.
Wood Cutting
You need to use wood cutting axes to cut branches of wood from trees. Some axes will give you a better chance of success than others. Your level in the Carpentry craft also affects your chance of success.
Gemcutting
The polishing and cutting of gems to be used in Jewelcrafting. Gemcutting is done with a Jewelcrafting Table.
Due to the 1 October 2024 update, there was a change to how gems work. As a result, here is an OOC conversion table that will assist in transitioning old stock to new stock:
| Old Gem | Transition Method | New Gem |
|---|---|---|
| 8 small rough gems | via recipe | 1 rough gem |
| 4 rough gems | via recipe | 1 rough gem |
| 2 large rough gems | via recipe | 1 rough gem |
| 1 giant rough gem | None required | Functions the same as 1 rough gem |
For the purposes of recipes, any use of the old small, regular, or large rough gems can now simply be replaced with the new rough gem. The old giant rough gem will function the same as the new rough gem.
Herbalism
Herbalism is the study of the use of medicinal plants. Herbalists can create bandages, ointments and poultices. Higher level herbalists can also make other items from plants such as poisons and bone meal fertilizer as well as items of a mystical bent such as zombie powder. Many of the things created with Herbalism have a use in Alchemy as well. Herbalism is used with an Alchemist's Table.
See also: AKN, The Guild for Advancement of Knowledge in Nature
Jewelcrafting
Once the gems used have been polished, they can be used to craft trinkets, such as amulets and rings (as well as thieves tools). Often, these things are imbued with the quality of some being, enchanting the wearer in some way. Jewelcrafting is done on a Jewelcrafting table. It is a well known fact that Jewelcrafting is harder and more expensive to advance in than other crafts. This is intended.
Mining
The excavation of minerals from the base rock, the minerals can then be smelted to ingots later. You need a suitable hammer or pick to be able to mine. Metal ores and gems require different picks. Some picks will give you a better chance of success than others. Your level in the Mining craft will also affect your chance of success.
More experienced gem miners can "crack" a flourspar or amethyst vein to possibly expose better gem veins. ((OOC: The "cracking command" is enabled by left-clicking or "using" the gem vein with a gem pick equipped. This enables an experienced miner to dispose of the vein quickly, allowing a new gem vein to respawn later, and not leave an area to be entirely populated with flourspars and amethysts.))
Tailoring
Creating any sort of dress, outfit or armor made of cloth. Often, proficient tailors can make their creations magical by using the right materials. Tailoring is done with a Bolt of Cloth or a Loom.
Trapcrafting
The Trap Crafting System is a part of the Avlis Trap System. Useable by classes other than Rogue.
Weaponsmithing
The creation of weapons by forming the proper materials to the form desired and attaching it to a handle. Weaponsmithing is done with an Anvil.
See also: AAAA, The Avlis Arms and Armour Association