HERALDS CAMPAIGN
Materials, Salvage and Crafting
Materials can be harvested all across Noth, as scavenging, recycling and restoring cycle old technology or reliquaries is a lucrative, and important part of the continued stability of society; from Pennant Archae shapers recycling artefacts into religious items; to Herald Bartolo’s creation of the Long-Range Chemical Cannon.
Very rarely will someone have the complete equipment or knowledge to compete with the craftsmen of cycles past, and even with all the tools in the world, many new inventions, faith-bathed items or tinctures are ad-hoc creations, some with side effects unintended upon completion…
Characters who are sufficiently experienced in the creation of tools and items, and have the components or financial backing to do so, can create a range of magic or non-magical items. To create magically infused items, the crafter must have the spellcaster or similar feature. All characters will also require:
- Proficiency in the tools that apply to the item they wish to make;
- Access to a sufficiently stocked workbench;
- Meeting the material cost for the item they wish to make.
Materials of different qualities can be found all over Noth, and come in 5 different types;
Botanical
Botanical materials include wood, flowers, seeds and leaves of plants and trees.
Organic
Organic materials include the flesh and organs of creatures, both native and otherwise.
Mineral
Mineral materials include metals, stones, gems and most non-organic material.
Spiritual
Spiritual materials might include incense, broken relics, wooden fetishes and holy artefacts.
Technical
Mechanical materials include manufactured parts, circuitry, tinkering equipment and gears.
Common Materials are found in major cities, and some frontier towns:
- Local Herbs
- Quality leathers
- Metal ingots
- Incense
- Tinkering parts
Uncommon Materials are only found in the frontier or exclusive vendors in cities:
- Non-native plants
- Bearhide
- Gems
- Broken statuettes
- Complex moving parts
Rare Materials are only found in the most isolated and hidden parts of Noth by the daring:
- Scapebeast hide
- Empyria flowers
- White Filament solution
- Blessed cerements
- Circuit boards
Legendary Materials are a life altering find, changing history in their discovery:
- Flesh of the Outsider Gods
- Bark of the Hesperetiyehn
- 5ml of Omnimatter
- Tears of the Herald of Loss
- A broken Angle Swallower
Note: Some materials may be considered heretical to even hold, so discretion is advised when players search for or advertise components in public spaces.
Characters may at any point search an area for materials, called salvaging. Salvaging takes into account the location players are looking for materials, and the likelihood of finding higher quality materials. Searching for circuit boards in a local flowerbed is unlikely to turn up anything; searching for legendary materials in the same flowerbed is just as unlikely.
Once the character has determined the location and type of materials to salvage, they use one of the following skills to salvage;
- Nature for Botanical
- Survival for Organic
- Investigation for Mineral
- Religion for Spiritual
- Arcana for Technical
Characters then perform their skill check, their roll determining the quality and quantity of materials salvaged. They may be helped by ally NPCs in their salvage. Both characters then roll and the highest roll determines salvage. They then consult the table, and determine the quality of the materials:
DC Range | Salvage Quality | Salvage Quantity | Value |
5 - 10 - 14 | Common | 1d4 - 1d8 | 8 -64gp |
15 - 17 - 20 | Uncommon | 1d3 - 1d6 | 50 - 300gp |
21 - 23 - 25+ | Rare | 1d2 - 1d4 | 150 - 600gp |
N/A | Legendary | 1 | priceless |
If they meet the median DC requirement for a material's rarity, they roll the maximum amount. Players must announce before rolling their intent to salvage lesser quality materials; If they wish to only salvage common materials, any roll above 5 will allow them to do so, but they cannot choose to then salvage a rarer materials type.
Items characters wish to create have materials costs to them. Some of these costs can be bypassed with gold, such as the purchase of ingots from a local smith, or herbs from a Merse clinic.
Common Materials: 10 - 50gp
Uncommon Materials: 100 - 250gp
Rare Materials: 250 - 1000gp
Legendary Materials: - N/A
When crafting an item, its rarity dictates the cost in materials required to create it. The GM can alter the cost requirements at their discretion. Legendary materials will have specific applications in their use at the GM’s discretion.
Item Rarity | Base gp Cost | Low Cost | Median Cost | High Cost |
Common | 30 - 100gp | 3 Common
| 5 Common
| 3 Common 1 Uncommon |
Uncommon | 100 - 500gp | 3 Common 1 Uncommon | 3 Uncommon
| 1 Rare
|
Rare | 500 - 1500gp | 1 Rare
| 3 Uncommon 1 Rare | 6 Uncommon 2 Rare |
Very Rare | 1500 - 2500gp | 3 Rare
| 5 Rare
| 1 Legendary
|
Legendary | 2500 gp+ | 1 Legendary
| 5 Rare 1 Legendary | 2 Legendary
|
Once a crafter has met all prerequisites, they may begin the construction of their item. The craft of the item takes xd6 hours, where x is the rarity level of the item being crafted to a minimum of 1 hour crafting a common item (rarity 1), and a maximum of 30 hours, or 4 days crafting a Legendary item (rarity 5).
The crafter then performs a skill check with their chosen skill. This skill depends on the artisan tools used and item to be created;
- A smith may use strength to smelt and beat armour or weapons into shape
- A jeweller or watchmaker may use dexterity to keep their hands steady
- A glassblower may use constitution as they toil for hours in a hot workshop
- An inventor may use intelligence to piece together complex machinery
- A brewer or poison maker may use wisdom as they create their concoctions
- A painter or sculptor may use charisma to pour their soul into their work
The crafter adds their proficiency bonus to their skill, and the resulting dice roll determines the success of the items construction;
DC Range | Result |
1 | A complete failure, nothing can be salvaged from this |
5 - 8 | The project failed, but half of the materials can be salvaged |
9 - 11 | You salvage half of the materials. Get advantage on crafting the next item |
12 - 14 | You are successful, but a complex item may have a hidden downside |
15 - 22 | You are successful in crafting the item |
23 - 25 | You are successful, and find you needed less components than you thought |
26 - 30+ | You are successful, and find a additional benefit bestowed upon it |