City and Guild Chapter Four: Crafts
In the 13th century most working people derive their subsistence from the land, engaging in the agricultural occupations that are still the foundation of Mythic Europe’s society. Like their forefathers, they till the soil of inherited fi elds, raise cattle, grow crops, develop additional arable land, herd sheep and feral pigs, and regularly combat nature’s intrusions into their cultivated holdings. Agricultural concerns permeate every aspect of medieval life and touch every member of society, regardless of social rank or geographical location. Even Paris, one of the largest community centers of the West, has set aside specifi c districts of the city to accommodate the populations’ agricultural needs for raising livestock and personal vegetable gardens.
Dotted among this population of farmers and herders are craftsmen, men and women who produce the tools and fi nished goods on which society at large has come to rely. Every community, from the smallest hamlets of thatched-roofed shacks to the greatest metropolises of the continent and the Near East, has a collection of craftsmen who provide indispensable services or products. Some goods can be made at home, but the important tools must be bought: a plow for the fi eld, a mill-wheel for fl our, a loom for cloth, and a sword for battle. A Hermetic magus’s laboratory would be useless without its assortment of beakers, balances, fl asks, furnaces, cups, cauldrons, and arcane bric-a-brac.
Craftsmen congregate in cities, where the outcome of their efforts will be most fi nancially rewarding. Even the simplest tailor knows that he’ll sell more shirts in an area where more shirts are worn. Larger population centers also provide craftsmen with more autonomy. Rather than live under the yoke of a distant lord or unapproachable cleric, an urban craftsman enjoys a degree of personal independence. While towns defi nitely require adherence to civic regulations, they are generally not as arbitrary a rural lord’s rule.
A standard Ars Magica craftsman character is distinguished by the free Social Status Virtue Craftsman, and a score in a Craft Ability. Other characters may have scores in various Craft Abilities, but most do not derive their income and social ranking from their work as crafters. Simple peasants and wanderers may have Craft Abilities to refl ect skills they have in making personal items.
Craftsmen
Regular craftsmen are independent operators, working at their own trade under their own guidance and for their own fi nancial motives. Rural craftsmen are indebted to their local lord or ecclesiastical overseer for this entitlement; their feudal lords own their workshops, for which they pay rent. Urban craftsmen own their own workshop and tools, paying civic taxes for this benefit. Craftsmen train apprentices to continue their trade, and these young apprentices are commonly the craftsmen’s children. Monastic craftsmen operate under similar conditions, although their apprentices are naturally not related to them, but rather, are other ecclesiastical youths directed by a Church superior to learn a specific trade.
Rural and foreign craftsmen are often forbidden to sell surplus goods in the local town, since only resident craftsmen have that right. Rural craftsmen make a decent living at their trade, but nothing compared to their urban contemporaries. Ecclesiastical craftsmen, typically monks who serve God through craft labor, may sell their goods in town, regardless of whether a guild governs that particular craft or not. The Church has this universal right in all urban areas.
A regular craftsman character must have the Free Social Virtue Craftsman. Every craftsman character should have a Craft Ability score to cover his trade. Such a craftsman is not a guild member because his trade has not been incorporated intothe guild system. While possible, it is rare for a medieval craftsman to be skilled in more than one craft. Every trade is demanding, requiring vast amounts of time and energy to master. Developing multiple Craft Abilities also undermines the intrinsic pride that a craftsman feels from practicing a specific craft.
Bargain is also an essential Ability for a craftsman character, who negotiates the cost of his raw materials as well as haggling over the price of his finished goods. Bargain and Craft are the only two mandatory Abilities that an average, non-guild member craftsman character needs. Guild member characters require additional Abilities to cover the additional complications of their lives.
Craftsmen characters may train apprentices in their trade, usually family members. These apprentices are not limited by gender, and nonguild craftsmen can transcend the traditional gender roles that guilds impose. If a blacksmith only has a daughter, for example, it is possible for him to train her. Craftsmen without children may take another youth as an apprentice. A regular craftsman may have a number of apprentices at a single time equal to his Leadership score. Even without a Leadership score, a craftsman is always allowed at least one apprentice.
The majority of craftsmen living in covenants are regular craftsmen. Despite their often odd environments, covenants offer craftsmen a safe and secure home in which to practice their trades. Focusing on magical endeavors, the rule of the magi is rather lax, and craftsmen find considerable freedom concerning their own affairs. Ecclesiastics can be demanding, nobles temperamental, and urban governments restrictive. While the covenant certainly makes demands on a craftsman’s goods, and most likely owns the craftsman’s workshop, commodities are exchanged for rent, and covenant craftsmen do not face the demands of providing room and board that their rural and urban counterparts do.
Laborers
People who perform regular tasks but create no finished products are called laborers. Mythic Europe is awash with such folks, who perform sundry tasks, from the most unsavory chores of digging ditches, cleaning latrines, and hauling garbage, to the more prestigious positions of waiting on bishops, cooking for princes, and serving town aldermen. Gangs of laborers are an urban phenomenon. Much of the day-to-day labor necessary to keep a rural village running is done by the residents, although bands of migrant workers wander Mythic Europe looking for temporary agricultural work.
A laborer character must have the free Social Status Virtue Laborer. He does not have a Craft Ability, but rather a Profession Ability to cover the activities by which he makes his livelihood. His Profession Ability score covers his negotiations over wages, so he does not necessarily need a Bargain score, although it could be helpful in other urban activities. A score in Folk Ken might further benefit this and other social interactions.
Covenant Craftsmen
Companions vs. GrogsThere is a natural assumption that Ars Magica companion characters should be of a higher social rank than grog characters. This is not necessarily so. Companions and grogs are defined by their narrative role; if you want your character to be a central protagonist in the troupe’s stories, no matter what his craftsman rank, make him a companion. If your character is only a minor participant in the saga, make him a grog. Master craftsmen can be grogs, and apprentices can be companions. You must, however, adhere to the maximum number of Virtues and Flaws for grog and companion characters. |
Most Ars Magica covenants include a handful of craftsmen, either specialists bought with covenant Build Points, or players’ grogs and perhaps companions. Covenants usually fall on the margins of medieval society, mimicking villages and small feudal estates, although this depends on the type of covenant you have selected for your saga. Like the covenant, covenfolk craftsmen inhabit a gray area in the typical medieval social structure, and you should determine the specifics of each craftsman. This does not have to be arduous or extensive, but should be determined before these craftsmen interact with urban folk.
The simplest method is to make every craftsman a regular craftsman. He may train apprentices to continue his trade and does not have to abide by any guild restrictions described in this book. If covenant management is lenient, the craftsman might train others in his field. This should be determined by story events during the course of the saga. This option ignores interactions between craftsmen and guilds, but only until a nearby guild takes notice of the characters.
Covenant craftsmen could be those who have been expelled from a guild or found it to be too restrictive. A covenant craftsman could be a journeyman who couldn’t find work in town and decided to work at the covenant. He is treated like a regular craftsman but still maintains connections to a nearby guild. This option has the best of both worlds, letting storyguides include guilds when they would make for an interesting story, but not forcing guilds to constantly interact with the covenant. A more dynamic example would be to make a specialized craftsman a defrocked master who is illegally practicing his trade at the covenant. A craftsmen could be a run-away apprentice, matured in years and competent in his craft, but still vulnerable to a vengeful master. He might be a master or journeyman escaping responsibility — massive overdue fines, for example — and hiding out at the covenant. Any of these could be covenant Hooks (ArM5, page 72), as they involve the covenant in stories once the identity of the craftsman is discovered.
Covenants that derive their income from a trade should also consider how they fit into the greater scheme of craftsmen in Mythic Europe. To avoid serious trouble, the craftsmen should be legal masters of the guild, living outside town but operating by the guild rules. This allows them to sell their produced goods in town without any problems. If they are not guild members, they cannot sell their products in town, and you must determine where they do sell them. Perhaps they attend annual fairs and pay an increased town tax for participating. Conversely, the products could all be sold illegally, dodging local trading regulations and providing goods to carefully chosen buyers. Again, you should decide how much interaction you want with local guilds and how often you want that interaction to affect stories. Legal guild members foster fewer stories, while illegal or questionable practices should foster more.
Crafting Items
A craftsman’s life is spent in his workshop, bent over his workbench from sunup to sundown, regularly called away from his labors by curious customers and potential buyers. The work week is interrupted by mass on Sunday, when shops are closed for the day, and other holy days and annual religious festivals that break up the work schedule. Still, most days a craftsman is found in his workshop working.
Finished goods are produced throughout the year, with seasonal high and low points depending on the trade. The rules used to determine the amount and quality of an Ars Magica craftsman’s output operate seasonally, much like the other long-term activities characters in the game undertake. Every craft trade has a seasonal component to it, since no medieval activity is completely free from the seasonal shifts of its agricultural base. While Hermetic magi could potentially work every season in a year, craftsmen work only three, with one season being an “offseason.” If their trade demands that they work during the off-season, like bakers who bake bread every day, the production rules are made harder. For purposes of the total amount of goods produced in a year, storyguide characters are only allowed three seasons of actual work. This is an abstraction, however, and players should not assume that a craftsman is doing absolutely nothing for one season a year.
Storyguide character craftsmen are assumed to be busily working in their workshops, and only need to follow these rules when asked to make a specific item, or when commissioned by the player characters for a shipment of goods. Craftsman characters use these rules to determine how many items of their trade they can produce, for creating specialized items, and for making minor enchanted items, for those who have the ability to make such things.
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According to the Ars Magica core rules, a character’s Craft Ability should be defined by the material that he works with rather than his occupation (page 64). Thus, the Ability Craft Blacksmith is incorrect, and should more correctly be listed as Craft Wrought Iron. This is problematic. First, it contradicts published examples of craftsmen characters who list their occupation as the form of their Craft Ability. Secondly, some occupations deal in a variety of material; a successful embroiderer works with taffeta, velvet, satin, and luxurious silk. Adhering strictly to the core description would force some characters to spend experience points on relevant, but ultimately unnecessary, similar Craft Abilities. Lastly, adults living in Mythic Europe know that a blacksmith works with wrought iron, and to them the occupation is synonymous with the material used. Since we do not have this intrinsic knowledge, this section provides information about the basic materials used in common medieval crafts. For all these reasons, a craftsman should define his Craft Abilities by vocation rather than material, save where the material he is expert in is rare and cannot be used by multiple types of craftsmen. Blacksmiths work in either wrought or cast iron. Wrought iron is mined iron ore that is melted down without adding any carbon. It is fairly soft and pliable and is good for making nails, horseshoes, door hinges, locks, keys, and some farm implements. Cast iron is saturated with carbon, primarily from charcoal. It is melted down and poured into molds to make kettles, cookware, and decorative building motifs. Steel is a mixture of carbon and iron and is used by swordsmiths and armorers to make the paraphernalia of war. Mundane craftsmen have not yet determined how to exactly monitor the mix between iron and carbon in the initial smelting process, so that the iron has to be test afterward for its exact properties. While wrought and cast iron are easy to achieve, steel is much trickier. Animal hides are made into fashionable furs and other clothing by furriers. They are also manufactured into finished leather by tanners. Leather is used for a variety of products, with shoes, saddles, scabbards, purses, harnesses, gloves, and book covers being the most common. Weavers use a loom and distaff to weave sheared sheep’s wool into usable wool fabric, which tailors cut and sew into garments. Weavers also produce cotton from the cotton plant, and linen from flax. These materials are then dyed by dyers, who use a variety of natural substances to permanently stain them in specific colors. Tailors, also called “clothiers,” use wool and linen to make garments. Wool is the most common material used for medieval clothing. Linen was used for tunic-like undergarments, bed sheets, and outer garments for the rich. Some tailors also work in silk, a luxury item available from the Near East and certain Italian sources. Gold and silver are either beaten flat or melted and cast into shapes. Goldsmiths and silversmiths know both techniques. Gold is fashioned into chalices, candleholders, jewelry, and a variety of religious artifacts. Silver is fashioned into bottles, bowls, chalices, dishes, cutlery, sauce dishes, and communion plates, besides the typical jewelry that is still quite common. Lead is used by roofers to roof cathedrals, monastic buildings, and the dwellings of the rich. Pewterers use lead and pewter, an alloy of tin and either copper or lead, to cast religious icons including crucifixes and fonts, as well as other decorative architectural items. Pewter and lead vessels are common items found in Hermetic laboratories. Jewelers use jewels and other precious stones to decorate rings, crowns, thrones, ecclesiastic and noble vestments, armor, bracelets, brooches, and book covers. Wood and stone are used in several ways besides their most obvious use as building materials. Sculptures and millwheels are made of stone, and wood is used so extensively that much of Mythic Europe is being deforested, a concern of both Hermetic magi and many faerie courts. |
The Workshop
The first thing a craftsman needs to pursue his craft is an adequate workshop. It takes a season to build such a workshop, either starting one from scratch or converting an existing building. The cost of construction depends on the type of goods to be manufactured. Workshops for inexpensive goods cost one Mythic Pound to construct, while those for standard goods cost two, and those for expensive goods cost five.
Craftsmen live in the same building they work in. Urban workshops are commonly two-story wooden buildings, with the shop occupying the bottom floor and the living spaces above. The second floor extends past the facade of the lower floor, offering a sheltering overhang for the shop below. The wall that faces the street has large windows that can be uncovered to provide counters that open to the street and allow the craftsmen to display their wares.
Rural craftsmen live in a variety of dwellings. Most common is a single story building, with a shop in the front and the living space behind. Rather than a counter and window, a rural craftsman usually displays his wares on a table set in front of his shop, or hangs the goods from posts holding up a thatch awning. The rural environment provides more room for the craftsman to display his goods, but the workshop proper still follows the basic construction of its urban equivalents.
The size of a workshop is less fixed for a craftsman character than the size of a Hermetic laboratory is for a magus (see Covenants). A clothes dyer needs more room to work than a goldsmith. A craftsman character’s workshop is assumed to be of an adequate size for the proper operation of his trade and the number of helpers he can employ. Unlike a Hermetic lab, a larger workshop does not increase the amount of goods a craftsman character can produce, as this is determined solely by the skill of the crafter and the number of employees he can effectively oversee.
Workshop Innovation
Many craftsmen seek to improve their craft, hoping to utilize the latest advances in technology to augment their training. This information is spread by guild inquisitors and visiting members of the trade. It is also one of the many topics discussed at the guild hall. While many crafters have a reluctance to incorporate new procedures, preferring to rely on the tried and true methods of their ancestors, most eventually see the advantages that new technology offers their craft.
A workshop has an Innovation score that starts at 0. The workshop’s Innovation score is added to the Workshop Total. A character increases his Innovation score with Labor Points. It takes 100 Labor Points to increase Innovation to +1, 200 more Labor Points for a +2 Innovation score, and another 300 Labor Points to have a +3 Innovation score, the highest possible Innovation score. A workshop retains its Innovation score for as long as it exists, allowing heirs and purchasers to benefit from its improvement.
Working with Related MaterialSometimes situations might force a craftsman character to work with materials not related to those required by his regular occupation. A local war might force a blacksmith to make swords, or a magus might ask a goldsmith to make a ring out of copper. Exotic substances are also considered to be unrelated to a craftsman’s regular materials. Harness makers do not regularly make horse tack out of dragon hide, but can if asked to. If a craftsman character is using unrelated raw materials, he may still use his Craft Ability to fashion an item within his range of skills. Treat his Craft score as one less for determining his success. Furthermore, he may not add his bonus for specialization even if the final product falls within his specialization’s purview. If a craftsman is asked to work in material unrelated to his field — a swordsmith asked to make a sword from stone, for example — the character’s Craft score is penalized by three. SpecializationThe intent of the specialization rules is to allow a character to gain a +1 bonus to a single aspect of a broader Ability. Craftsmen characters should pick a single item of the many that they can craft to specialize in. Alternatively, you can pick a specific sort of workshop activity your character specializes in, or a specific quality of the goods your character can produce (see Crafting Items). Good examples include Craft Blacksmith (locks), Craft Jeweler (votive crowns), Craft Embroiderer (table clothes), Craft Ivory (altars), Craft Painter (religious miniatures), Craft Weaver (shoddy goods), Craft Armorer (excellent helmets), and Craft Carpenter (standard residential houses). |
It takes a season to improve a character’s workshop, once the minimum number of Labor Points have been accrued. The character cannot work in his workshop that season, and is assumed to be investigating and installing the new technology. He can earn Practice experience points for the season, or Adventure experience if the storyguide has developed a story that incorporates the new innovation.
In 1220, the wheelbarrow is the leading technological advancement. Other in-period new technologies are percussion drilling, artesian wells, rat traps, glass mirrors, windmills, and Arabic numbers. Spectacles will be invented near the close of the 13th century, but might already exist in Hermetic enclaves.
Raw Materials
Having an adequate workshop, the craftsman must acquire the raw materials necessary for his trade. Sometimes attaining these materials is regulated by a guild, through specific contracts and supplies, but often he has free rein in gathering them. Storyguide craftsmen automatically have the materials required to produce their goods, unless otherwise stipulated by a specific story that affects the characters. Player characters automatically start with suitable raw materials, and only need worry about additional raw materials if they want to improve their Workshop Total or start a new workshop.
Every workshop has a Raw Materials score, which starts at 0. Players can spend excess Labor Points to better their workshop’s Raw Materials score. Spending Labor Points in this manner means that the character is searching for a new source of raw materials, negotiating a better contract with an existing supplier, or developing new techniques to purify incoming materials. It takes 50 Labor Points to increase the Raw Material score to 1, 100 more Labor Points to increase it to 2, and an additional 150 Labor Points to increase the score to 3, the maximum improvement. Unlike a Workshop’s Innovation score, the Raw Material score drops to 0 if the character responsible for the improvements leaves the workshop.
It takes a season to improve a workshop’s Raw Material score, once the minimum number of Labor Points have been accrued. The character cannot work in his workshop that season, and is assumed to be finding or bargaining for the improved materials. He can earn Practice experience points for the season, or Adventure experience if the storyguide has developed a story that incorporates the new raw materials.
Unlike innovations, better raw materials need to be maintained. It costs 5 Labor Points per point of Raw Material to sustain a business with a positive Raw Material score. This additional cost is added to the regular Labor Point cost of sustaining a business for a year (which is 36 Labor Points).
Basic Craftsman Production
There are five qualities of finished goods in Ars Magica: shoddy, standard, superior, excellent, and minor enchanted goods. Standard quality goods are self-explanatory, but the four other quality types are explained below.
To determine the quality of the goods he produces in a given season, a craftsman character generates a Workshop Total. This is similar to a Hermetic magus’s Lab Total, and the procedure for making finished goods should feel very similar to creating Hermetic spells and items. The Workshop Total is the sum of a character’s primary Characteristic + his Craft Ability score + his workshop’s Innovation and Raw Materials scores. Typically, this total is relatively low for starting characters, but there are many ways to enhance the Workshop Total to accomplish many of the more specialized activities available to craftsmen.
| Workshop Total | Primary Characteristic + Ability + Innovation + Raw Materials |
Success is measured against the Craft Level of a desired seasonal activity. If the Workshop Total equals or exceeds the Craft Level, the character produces a specific amount and quality of finished goods. The exact amount of produced items depends on the trade.
Primary CharacteristicMany of the craftsman formulas in this chapter use the term “primary Characteristic.” A character’s primary Characteristic is the Characteristic most used for his specific craft, usually Strength or Dexterity. Usually the primary Characteristic demanded by a craft is Dexterity, measuring the agility and nimbleness of a character’s hands, hand-to-eye coordination, and manual precision. Some craft trades have other demands, and use Strength (for a blacksmith, miner, or logger) or Stamina (cloth dyer or baker). A common rule of thumb is that craftsmen use Dexterity and laborers use Strength. There are exceptions. For example, a wine caller – a laborer who wanders the markets proclaiming the merits of a particular vintage and the tavern that carries it – would use Communication. You and your troupe should decide which Characteristic is appropriate for a given character’s occupation. |
Finished Goods
A character creates finished goods in a season by comparing his Workshop Total against a Craft Level, both of which are influenced by various modifiers. The standard Craft Level, which assumes adequate space, necessary materials, and no distractions, is 6. If the Workshop Total equals 6, then standard quality goods are made. If the total falls below 6, shoddy goods are produced. A workshop total above 6 allows the craftsman to make better quality goods.
- Craft Level for Shoddy Items: 3
- Craft Level for Standard Items: 6
- Craft Level for Superior Items: 12
- Craft Level for Excellent Items: 15
- Craft Level for Wondrous Items: 12 + Magnitude of Effect
The Craft Level is influenced by outside variables dependent upon extraneous situations that are usually determined by the storyguide, so she may raise this Craft Level as she sees fit. Substandard raw materials, magical interference, famine, war, plague, and guild politicking are typical examples (see the insert).
Seasonal Production ChartThe following chart shows how many individual items can be made within a season’s time, as well as the craftsman guild responsible for making each item. Each lot is based on a craftsman with an appropriate Craft Ability score of 5. Characters with different Ability scores make more or fewer items. Divide the character’s Craft Ability score by five, then multiply this number by the number of items that a basic craftsman would make in a season. Finally, round up to get the number of items produced. Thus, a tailor with a Craft Tailor score of 7 would produce 45 suits of clothes in a season. 7 divided by 5 is 1.4; 1.4 times 32 is 44.8, which is rounded up to 45. For some trades this is merely an abstraction useful in determining how long it takes to make a specific item. Some craftsmen make a variety of goods in a single season. For example, a blacksmith produces more items than just hoes. But, if a troupe needs to know how long it takes to produce a specific item, divide 72 (which is the number of working days in a season, derived from 12 six-day weeks) by the number of items constructed in a season. Thus, it takes about two and a half days to make a hoe (72 divided by 30 is 2.4).
*Most of these larger items take more than a single season, and so a fraction can be completed in one season. In these cases, do not round up when adjusting the amount produced based on the skill of the craftsman. Instead, round to the nearest nice fraction. For example, a mason with a skill of 4 would make 0.4 of a stone tower in one season. The nearest nice fraction is 1/3, so it takes him three seasons. Many of these items cannot be made by a single craftsmen, and assume a team of skilled craftsmen working under the instruction of a trained master. The master’s Ability score determines the Workshop Total and the length of time taken. All require a labor gang, a group of 1–10 untrained workers employed to haul bricks, lumber, and other building supplies. Master guild members may substitute a labor gang for one of the journeymen they can employ based on their Leadership score. |
Finished Goods Craft LevelsThe standard Craft Level used for seasonal crafting is 6. This can be modified, and the following chart offers suggestions for doing so. Anything that might somehow hamper production raises the Craft Level. Modifying the basic Craft Level also changes the Craft Levels of different quality goods. For example, if the storyguide decides that the Basic Craft Level is 9, then a craftsman character needs a 15 to make superior goods and an 18 to make excellent goods.
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Shoddy Quality Items
Items of shoddy quality look and feel like standard quality items, and usually the buyer cannot tell the difference between the two. Shoddy items perform exactly like standard quality items. Every trained craftsmen can make shoddy items with even minimal Craft Ability scores. They are not as durable as regular goods and their production could cause guild craftsmen trouble if they are caught selling them. The difference is that they break more easily. In general, if a character botches while using a shoddy item, the item breaks, in addition to the normal effect of the botch. A craftsman will be able to tell the difference between a shoddy and standard item by making a Perception + Craft Ability + simple roll against an Ease Factor of 6. He may only do this for goods he could manufacture himself.
Superior Items
Superior quality items are better than standard finished goods: prettier, more durable, and exceptionally well made. Guild craftsmen are usually proficient enough to regularly make superior items, helped by their work force to increase their reputations and annual incomes. Exceptional urban and rural craftsmen can create superior items single-handedly.
Superior quality items have one of their features increased: their strength, durability, or appearance. They contribute a +1 bonus to a specific activity when used. Beautifully crafted clothing and apparel allow the wearer to add +1 to a specific social roll. For non-military items, the player should determine a specific situation to which this +1 bonus is added. Situations that would receive a bonus for a character’s specialization in an Ability are good examples. Superior cloaks could add +1 to a Charm roll for first impressions, or a superior tapestry could add to an Etiquette roll to deal politely with guests in the room where it is hung. A diet of superior bread sustained for a whole year gives a +1 aging modifier to Aging rolls. Tools allow the crafter to add +1 to his roll when he is making a specific item. Superior shields add +1 to defense rolls, and a superior sword adds +1 to an attack roll. Superior armor grants the user a +1 to his armor’s protection value.
Regarding Enchanted ItemsHermetic magi theorize that magic is the reflection of a perfect realm, and that created magical items are facsimiles of a single perfect image of a specific item. Not all magi follow this Platonic thinking, but all admit that when enchanting devices, magical effects adhere more strongly to better crafted items. If a magus is enchanting a crafted item — be it a boot, blade, or broom — the item must be of at least superior quality. Lesser items dirty the process and impose negative modifiers to a Lab Total. Regular, standard quality goods subtract one from a maga’s Lab Total, and shoddy goods subtract three. Superior quality goods do not affect a Lab Total, while excellent quality goods add any bonuses they have to a maga’s Lab Total. Wondrous goods are treated as superior goods for these purposes. If a Hermetic magus enchants a wondrous item, the non-Hermetic effects are wiped out, replaced by the more reliable Hermetic effect instilled. Since few magi can craft superior quality items, many covenants seek long-term relationships with competent craftsmen who can provide them with the exceptional baubles necessary for their enchantments. Any magus character interesting in enchanting items will eventually be concerned with neighboring craftsmen and merchant suppliers. |
Excellent Quality Items
Excellent items are generally made for a specific person or purpose. Each is a beautifully crafted work of art. They decorate cathedrals, clothe bishops, adorn papal legates, accessorize ladies, and enhance knights. They have higher bonuses in play than superior quality items, cost more to purchase, and take more skill to create.
Like superior quality items, excellent items gain bonuses to one of their features. Unlike superior quality items, they are not limited to a +1 bonus or to a single, specific activity. To make an excellent item, the Workshop Total must equal or exceed the Craft Level. For every 3 points that exceed the Craft Level, add an additional +1 bonus to a feature of the item. This bonus is then applied to every activity that the item is used for. The maximum total bonus an excellent item may have is limited by its creator’s Craft Ability score divided by three, rounded up.
| Total Bonus Limit | Craft Ability / 3, Rounded Up |
An excellent longsword adds its bonus to both attack and defense rolls. Excellent armor increases a character’s Soak, and excellent shields increase his defense roll. Excellent shoes could add the bonus to LongTerm Fatigue rolls made at a journey’s end, gowns could add to all Etiquette rolls, and excellent parchment could add to a scribe’s rolls to make a book. Some adjudication is necessary, and you and your troupe determine the exact situations in which an excellent item’s bonus applies.
Wondrous Items
Magic abounds in Mythic Europe, and has left its mark in the blood of some craftsmen. Certain such individuals can instill minor magical enchantments into their creations. These items are called “wondrous” by their crafters and the buying public; Hermetic magi find this title grandiose. This practice existed long before Bonisagus invented his magical theory, and is more common than many magi willingly admit. Much of Bonisagus’ original work involved mimicking smiths’ and weavers’ enchantments with minor Hermetic spells. This sort of magic-work is not Hermetic magic, although many of the resulting effects can be easily mirrored by minor formulaic spells.
There are a number of styles of craft magic in Mythic Europe, and that used by crafters with a drop of magic in their blood are just one of the many varieties. Some of the more powerful creators of magical items have been incorporated into the Order of Hermes (see Houses of Hermes: Societates), but most produce items that are too minor to qualify them for membership.
To create wondrous items, a character must have the Major Supernatural Virtue Touched by (Realm). You must also select two Hermetic Forms for the character at character generation. The powers of every wondrous item the character creates must fall within those two Forms, although you may use any Technique when determining the exact nature of the power instilled.
While these effects and their use are similar to Hermetic magic, the power that a craftsman instills is based on older, more unpredictable forces. There are essential differences between wondrous items and Hermetically enchanted items, namely the latter’s predictable operation and ability to affect other magical entities or items. Wondrous items have no Penetration scores and cannot affect anyone with even the slightest Magic Resistance.
Wondrous items are made for a specific customer. A blacksmith does not have a collection of wondrous horseshoes available for ready sale, but must create a set designed for a specific animal. Because of this close association, each wondrous item acts as an Arcane Connection to the person it was made for, rather than to its maker. The Arcane Connection lasts until the recipient dies, and for a number of years after that. Roll a simple die on the recipient’s death to determine how much longer the connection persists. This connection can be broken like any other, but if it is the item loses its powers.
It takes a least one season to create a wondrous item, during which a character cannot undertake any other workshop activity, although he can work alongside his staff while they are engaged in the regular operations of the workshop. He may be assisted by one helper for every two points he has in his Leadership score. The assistant need only have a score in the specific Craft Ability. The process begins by taking exact measurements and weights of the item’s recipient, as well as collecting her hair, blood, and other bodily excreta. After selecting the finest raw materials available, the character begins the enchantment process.
The Craft Level of a wondrous item has a base of 12. Like other finished goods, the Craft Level can be modified by the storyguide according to the situation. Then, estimate the level of effect a Hermetic spell that mirrors the power the character wishes to instill would have, and add the magnitude to the Craft Level. The powers of a wondrous item are not as flexible as Hermetic enchanted items. The Range of the effect must be Personal or Touch, since wondrous items can only affect themselves or the bearer of the item, the Duration cannot be greater than Sun, and the Target must be Individual. The craftsman must also determine how often he wishes this power to occur. Consult the Effect Frequency Table (ArM5, page 98) and add this number to the Craft Total. A wondrous item can only have one instilled effect.
| Base Supernatural Item Craft Level | 12 + Magnitude of Hermetic Effect + Modifier for Number of Uses Per Day |
To make a wondrous item the Workshop Total must be higher than the Craft Level. The Workshop Total is influenced by the type of aura the craftsman is working in and the realm from which he derives his ability. Add or subtract the appropriate modifier based on the strength of the aura and the Realms Interaction Table (ArM5, page 183). If he has a helper, add half the helper’s Craft Ability score to the Workshop Total. Unlike regular workshop activities, the crafter of a wondrous item can only have one assistant. For each point the Workshop Total is above the Craft Level, the craftsman accumulates points toward the item’s completion. Once the accumulated points equal the Craft Level, the item is finished.
The craftsman may add any applicable bonuses listed on the Shape and Material Bonus chart (ArM5, page 110) for his wondrous item to his Workshop Total. This bonus is limited by his Craft Ability score. If starting with an excellent quality item, the bonuses from the excellent item may be added to the Workshop Total if the enhanced features of the wondrous item are similar to its final instilled power. For example, an excellent quality cloak that provides a +2 bonus to Charm rolls can be added to the Workshop Total to make it a supernatural item with a power similar to the spell Aura of Ennobled Presence.
A wondrous item can only be used by the person for whom it was crafted. Hermetic magic can learn this if the item’s enchantment is investigated in the laboratory.
Wondrous items have verbal triggers to activate their power. The bearer touches the item and recites a specific word or phrase determined by the crafter during construction. Divine wondrous items are triggered by saying a small prayer, Infernal wondrous items by an unholy name, Faerie wondrous items by a quick song or pagan prayer, and Magic wondrous items by a special phrase or arcane word.
Craftsmen Supernatural VirtuesThree Supernatural Virtues exist that should be available only for craftsmen characters. Your troupe may decide to let other characters take them at character generation, but only the Eye of Hephaestus is potentially usable for a character who does not have a Craft Ability or vocation. Eye of Hephaestus (Minor): The character can innately tell the quality of a manufactured item. If the item is somehow flawed he is instantly aware of that by merely touching it. He also has a chance to tell if an item is magical. For supernatural items made by a craftsman, make a Perception + Awareness + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 9. If successful, the character knows the power of the item. For Hermetic enchanted items, or those made by other sorcerers, make a Perception + Awareness + stress die roll against a 12. If successful, the character knows the item is enchanted, but has no idea how, or what its powers might be. Botching either roll results in false information. This Virtue does not offer any information about the actions or commands necessary to trigger an item’s powers. Hephaestus was a pagan god of craftsmen, primarily metallurgists. Calling this Virtue the Eye of St Dunstan is more appropriate for Christian characters. Touched by (Realm) (Major): Through ancestry, accident, or supernatural intervention, the character has a small amount of magic in his blood and may make wondrous items through his craft. Unlike The Gift, this supernatural ability does not interfere in any type of social interaction. You must determine the source of this power, either Divine, Faerie, Infernal, or Magic. He is considered to be affiliated with the realm you choose, and thus immune to Warping due to prolonged exposure to auras of that realm. Crafter’s Healing (Major): Like the smiths of ancient lore, the character can magically heal wounds by touching them with the tools of his trade. This is a rare and mysterious power that Hermetic magi cannot understand or duplicate, and it is common for this Virtue to follow familial bloodlines. Selecting this Virtue gives the character the Crafter’s Healing Ability at a score of 1. When using this Ability, each wound can only be treated once, regardless of its severity. Make a Presence + Crafter’s Healing + stress die roll against an Ease Factor equal to the Improvement Ease Factor determined by the Wound Recovery Table (ArM5, page 179). Healing a wound costs a Long-Term Fatigue level. If successful, the wound is healed one level: heavy wounds become medium, medium wounds light, and light wounds heal totally. If the roll fails, nothing happens besides fatigue loss. If the roll botches, the healer suffers a similar wound immediately. The wounded recipient gains a Warping Point each time this Ability is used on her, regardless of its success. Common Wondrous ItemsHere is a suggested list of some of the common magical effects that wondrous items can have. They can serve as guidelines for your troupe in creating such minor enchantments. Each item works once per day. Craft Levels have been included in the examples. They are determined by the magnitude of the Hermetic effect + 12. Bishop’s Platter: Made by a silversmith, this silver serving tray copies the effects of the spell Taste of the Spices and Herbs. Craft Level 13: Magnitude 1 (Muto Imaginem base 2, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). Bridle of the Talking Horse: Made by a leather maker, this bridle allows a horse’s rider to talk to his steed. Craft Level 17: Magnitude 5 (Intellego Animal base 10, +1 Touch, + 2 Sun). Builder’s Helper: This miniature ladder, which can be easily carried in a builder’s pack, expands to 15 feet upon command. Craft Level 15: Magnitude 3 (Muto Herbam base 3, +2 Sun, +2 for change in size from –1 to +1). Charlemagne’s Loaf: The smallest nibble from this loaf of bread gives the eater incredible courage, granting him a +3 on all Bravery rolls. Craft Level 17: Magnitude 5 (Rego Mentem base 10, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). Helm of Invisibility: Made by an armorer, this helmet makes the wearer invisible. Craft Level 16: Magnitude 4 (Perdo Imaginem base 4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 changing image). King Richard’s Ring: This gold ring protects the wearer from fire, granting him a +5 Soak. This is named after Richard the Lionhearted and the legendary ring he wore on crusade. Craft Level 16: Magnitude 4 (Rego Ignem base 4, +1 for up to +10 damage, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). Neptune’s Brooch: This carved precious stone, made by a jeweler, prevents the wearer from drowning by allowing him to float on the surface of water. Excess weight, like armor, can still sink the swimmer. Craft Level 14: Magnitude 2 (Rego Corpus base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). Scarf of Healing: This scarf copies the effects of the spell Bind Wound. Craft Level 14: Magnitude 2 (Creo Corpus base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). Shoes of the Zephyr: These horseshoes allow a horse to fly, running across the sky as if it were land. Craft Level 20: Magnitude 8 (Creo Auram base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +2 highly unnatural, +1 size, +1 Rego requisite). The King’s Goblet: This gold cup trembles in the holder’s hand if a poisoned beverage is poured into it. Craft Level 13: Magnitude 1 (Intellego Aquam base 3, +2 Sun). Thief’s Slippers: These shoes let the wearer move without making a sound. Craft Level 15: Magnitude 3 (Perdo Imaginem base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 changing image). Wolf’s Cloak: Made by a furrier, this cloak allows the wearer to change into a wolf. The cloak, but not his other clothes and items, change with the transformation. The wearer remains a wolf until the effect ends, at either sunrise or sunset. Craft Level 17: Magnitude 5 (Muto Corpus base 10, +1 Touch, +2 Sun). |
Assistants
Craftsman characters can employ assistants to boost their Workshop Totals. Regular craftsmen typically have an apprentice helper, and guild craftsmen may have multiple assistants. A character is limited in the number of assistants he can have by his Leadership score. If the character is a regular craftsman, he may have apprentices equal to his Leadership score. If he is a guild member, he may have either apprentices or journeymen equal to his Leadership score. Journeymen are more skilled than apprentices, but only work for a guild master. Regardless of Leadership, every craftsman may have a single apprentice helper.
Each assistant adds half his Craft Ability score to the Workshop Total. For multiple assistants, add all their Craft Ability scores together before dividing by two and rounding up. Usually, assistants’ Labor Points are not important, and their livelihoods are assumed to mirror the shop’s owner’s livelihood. If he prospers, they prosper. Player character assistants do need to maintain their own livelihoods, though, so players must calculate their character’s Labor Point totals independent of their employer’s. Apprentices are the exception, since they are learning their trade and living under the master’s roof, and do not calculate Labor Points.
Craftsman Manuals
Typically, medieval craftsmen did not make written records of their workshop efforts. Nearly every craftsman is trained in the same manner, making such texts valueless. A trained smith does not need to read a book to learn how to make a horseshoe, and there is little that he could contribute to the overall trade if he detailed his process of making one. Thus, most craftsmen are not interested in reading or writing a book about their trade, nor are they concerned with the exact blueprints for an individual item. Indeed, most craftsmen cannot read or write.
Craftsmen that have interacted with Hermetic covenants, however, have seen the value of Lab Texts and their usefulness in repeated operations and for communicating with others. These craftsmen sometimes do record their workshop processes, especially when making superior, excellent, and wondrous items. They spend the time necessary to record their activities during the season in which they undertake them.
If a character wishes, he may make a manual during a season that records the exact measures he undertook to make an item. This costs him one Labor Point. He must have an Artes Liberales score of at least 1 to create a manual, as otherwise he is illiterate. He does not need a specific language, and many manuals are written in the vernacular language of the craftsman. If a craftsman’s seasonal enterprise was successful, he produces a manual that has a score of one-third his Craft Ability score, rounded up. This manual can be used by other craftsmen to augment their Craft Totals. An author cannot benefit from a craft manual that he wrote.
Craft manuals can be used by any craftsman who is undertaking the activity described in the manual. He must be able to read the manual, and only one craft manual can be used in a season. A craft manual adds its score to the Workshop Total.
Some very famous craft manuals exist in the 13th century, including John de Garlande’s Dictionarius, about moneychangers, clasp makers, cup makers, jewelers, and harness makers, and the monk Theophius’ On Divers Arts, about painters, glass makers, and metalworkers. Both of these manuals add +4 to a craftsman character’s Workshop Total.
Workshop Exertion
There may be times when a character wants to push his crafting abilities, striving for goals that seem impossible based on his current capabilities and work force. This is exhausting, as he puts his back into working harder, taking fewer breaks, and spending late nights in the workshop. Guilds restrict the hours of operation that a workshop can function, but are lenient if the master only abuses these restrictions once every other year or so. Craftsmen who are not guild members are not restricted in their workshop practices.
When a character exerts himself in the workshop, add a simple die roll to the Workshop Total. There are considerable risks when exerting in the workshop. For every season that a character exerts himself, the player must make an Aging roll, regardless of the craftsman’s actual age. If under 35, replace the stress die with a simple die. While age doesn’t actually increase, apparent age can, and the character can also accrue Aging Points. If he is under 35, ignore the Crisis aspect of the “13” result (ArM5, page 170).
You must also roll a stress die on the Workshop Exertion Results chart every time a character exerts himself in the workshop.
Disaster: The character’s increased efforts have gone horribly awry. The storyguide determines the exact results, but the character’s misfortune is tantamount to potential ruin. For example, he could ruin his stock, destroy his raw materials, kill a journeyman through a workshop accident, get caught by guild officials and face a major fine, or burn down his workshop. No Special Results: The season goes as planned without any unfortunate incidents. Disappointing Ramifications: The season is fruitful, but the character attracts the attention of someone or something that he would rather not have. Or, some aspect of the production that he didn’t think connected to his season becomes problematic. For example, raw materials become harder to acquire for a year, income is decreased by 10% due to a market glut, he gains a temporary enemy, or the magi make greater demands on him once they notice his skill. No Benefit: Despite his best efforts, the character does not receive any bonus to the Workshop Total for the season. Story Event: As a successful season ends, something happens that draws the character into a story to resolve. This could involve the character directly, or instead relate to his staff, his competitors, clients, or neighbors. Invention: During his efforts the craftsman discovers a way to increase the overall production of his workshop. Put a simple die’s worth of Labor Points towards the workshop’s Innovation score. Increased Reputation: News of the craftsman’s efforts spreads quickly. Add a simple die worth of experience points to the craftsman’s (Craft) Reputation score. Increased Understanding: The craftsman discovers more about his craft through his season’s work and gains experience points in his Craft Ability. Add the results of a simple die to his experience points in his Craft Ability. |
Reputations
A craftsman character benefits from a positive Reputation score concerning his craft. A higher Reputation means that more people have heard of a crafter’s services, which generates more potential clients and stories from the storyguide. Each craftsman character has a (Craft) Reputation that starts at 0. This Reputation is more mutable than regular Reputations and fluctuates up and down during the character’s career.
Every notable act that a craftsman character succeeds at in his profession earns him 1 experience point towards a positive Craft Reputation, which builds on the Ability scale. Any season a craftsman has a Workshop Total 6 or more points over the necessary Craft Level to produce standard quality goods, the character earns 1 experience point. Making a wondrous item also grants him 1 experience point. Your storyguide can also award Reputation experience points as a result of story events.
Bad news spreads even faster than good news. Successive seasons of producing shoddy goods lower a character’s (Craft) Reputation. If the score becomes negative, give the character a positive reputation as a bad craftsman. Each season past the first that a character makes shoddy goods subtracts one experience point from his (Craft) Reputation, or adds to a Reputation for being a bad craftsman.
Selling Finished Goods
Once an item is made, it is sold from the workshop or included in a larger lot for sale. Craftsmen are responsible for selling their items, either directly to a customer or to a merchant who will later sell it to another. Being able to sell finished items for good prices is just as important to a craftsman as being able to manufacture them in the first place.
A guild has set price ranges for each kind of finished item they govern, a minimum and a maximum that they feel fairly reflect the efforts involved in making those goods, and the compensation due the craftsman to adequately maintain him in the guild’s desired lifestyle. This flexibility allows a customer and craftsman to haggle over the price, knocking a few pennies off the price or including a few more items in a lot they propose to purchase. Many medieval goods are sold in lots, and getting 11 swords for the price of 10 is considered a good deal. Superior and excellent quality goods also sell for more, and the guild does not regulate the price of these commodities.
Most of the time goods are sold off-stage, not affecting the story or directly influencing a session’s events. If, however, a situation warrants a specific selling interaction, craftsman characters may make a roll to sell their goods. When interacting with a typical customer, a craftsman rolls Presence + Bargain + a simple die against an Ease Factor of 9. If successful, the character sells the item for 10% above its standard cost. Each additional point of success above 9 increases the price by 10%, to a maximum of 50%. Failing means the character receives the standard price. If the customer is an important storyguide character, or another player, the craftsman makes a Presence + Bargain + stress die roll against an opposed Communication + Bargain + stress die roll. If the craftsman rolls higher than his opponent, he receives more money based on the same formula above. If the customer rolls higher, the craftsman loses money, deducting 10% for each point of advantage the customer has over the craftsman’s roll, to a maximum discount of 50%. Botching means the craftsman makes a terrible error and sells the item for next to nothing, so desperate for the sale that he loses all common sense.
| Selling Goods | Presence + Bargain + Simple Die Vs. Ease Factor 9 |
or
| Presence + Bargain + stress die vs. Communication + Bargain + stress die |
This die roll should never replace roleplayed interactions between craftsmen and clients. Many troupes enjoy the verbal repartee of the market square, the boisterous bickering and price dickering. Use a die roll to quickly handle a sale, or to settle an argument that threatens to consume too much game time.
Example: Klaus’s WorkshopKlaus is a companion-level craftsman character played by Toby. A master of the Swordsmiths’ Guild, he has an apprentice named Gunter and a journeyman employee named Hans, both storyguide characters. Toby and his troupe have agreed that the swordsmith’s primary Characteristic is Strength, which will be used to calculate Labor Points and Workshop Totals. Klaus has Strength +3, Swordsmith 6, Leadership 3, and Puissant Swordsmith. Gunter has Strength +1 and Swordsmith 3, and Hans has Strength +2 and Swordsmith 5. None of the characters has the Poor Flaw or the Wealthy Virtue, so each is considered to be a financially average craftsman. Everyone works the first season. Klaus’s Workshop has Innovation and Raw Material scores of 0. Toby decides that both Gunter and Hans will contribute to Klaus’s Workshop Total. Klaus’s Workshop Total is 15: Strength (+3) + Swordsmith (6+2) equals 11, plus half of Gunter’s Swordsmith Ability (3) and Han’s Swordsmith Ability (5), or 4. The group makes an excellent quality greatsword, which has a +1 bonus to all its weapon statistics. Klaus receives 33 Labor Points: the sum of his Strength (+3) + Swordsmith (6+2), times three. However, Klaus should have three employees in his shop for it to function properly, since his Leadership should be half of his Swordsmith Ability. Lacking one assistant subtracts 3 Labor Points from Klaus’s regular 33, leaving a net total of 30 Labor Points. Toby doesn’t have to calculate Labor Points for the apprentice and journeyman storyguide characters. All three characters receive 2 Exposure experience points each. Everyone works the second season as well. Toby decides that he wants a variety of qualities of greatswords on hand. He has Hans work alone, and decides that Gunter will assist Klaus. Hans makes standard quality greatswords with a Workshop Total of 7: Strength (+2) + Swordsmith (5). With Gunter’s aid, Klaus makes superior quality greatswords with a Workshop Total of 13: Strength (+3) + Swordsmith (6+2), plus half of Gunter’s Swordsmith Ability (3 / 2 = 1.5, which rounds up to 2). Klaus generates another 30 Labor Points. Klaus has maintained his livelihood in two seasons with Labor Points to spare, since 30 + 30 – 36 (which is the cost of sustaining his business) = 24 Labor Points. Every character receives 2 Exposure experience points. Having worked two seasons, the characters are allowed their “free” seasons. Gunter needs to be trained, according to the apprentice’s contract, which Toby decides that Hans will do. Klaus continues working, hoping to generate more Labor Points. Alone, Klaus can make only standard quality greatswords. He receives another 30 Labor Points and 2 Exposure experience points. Hans receives 2 Exposure experience points for training Gunter, and Gunter receives 8 Training experience points (Hans’s Swordsmith Ability + 3). Klaus has accumulated 54 extra Labor Points. Klaus’s shop is a lesser source of income, meaning he earns 40 Mythic Pounds a year. Toby could save the Labor Points, hoping to eventually make Klaus Wealthy. He could also spend 50 of his accumulated Labor Points to improve the Workshop’s Raw Material score. However, Klaus has the Virtue Touched by the Divine Realm, and Toby would rather make a wondrous item. Klaus can instill either Ignem or Terram spell-like effects (because these forms were chosen at character generation by Toby). He wants to make a greatsword that shines like a lantern upon command, and enters into a bargain with a local bishop for such an item. In the fourth season, then, Klaus sets out to make this wondrous item, assisted by Hans. Since only one assistant can aid Klaus, Gunter is left to his own devices. The storyguide decides that Gunter earns 5 Practice experience points in Area Lore as he explores city life. Working with his storyguide, Toby designs the wondrous item’s effect. The effect mimics the spell Palm of Flame, is base 3, Range Personal, and +2 Sun, for a total magnitude of 1. The Craft Level is 12 + 1, or 13. Klaus’s Workshop Total, augmented by Hans’s, is 14. The 3-point Divine aura of the city adds to the Workshop Total, increasing it to 17. Toby calculates that using a Workshop Total of 17 against a Craft Level of 13 will take too long, since he will only accumulates 4 points a season towards the item’s completion, and decides that Klaus will exert himself in the workshop. Toby rolls a simple die and adds it to Klaus’s Workshop Total. Toby rolls a 9, which, when added to Klaus’s Workshop Total (17 + 9 =26), is high enough to complete the wondrous item in one season. Had he rolled a smaller number, Klaus would have had to extend his labors into additional seasons, although Klaus would not have had to exert himself for those additional seasons. Toby is ecstatic. Toby’s storyguide rolls a stress die and consults the Workshop Exertion Results. Her roll of a 5 generates “disappointing ramifications.” She determines that the wondrous item aroused the envy of a local knight, who has the means to restrict Klaus’s raw materials. His base Craft Level will be increased by +1 for the next year. Toby’s excitement dims. Klaus and Hans receive 2 Exposure experience points. Since Klaus worked at his trade, he receives another 30 Labor Points, for a yearly total of 84 (30 times 4 seasons, minus 36). They both also increase their Miser Reputations, since Klaus worked all four seasons of the year and Hans worked three. |
Basic Laborer’s Service
Like craftsmen, laborers use a similar seasonal formula to determine how successful they are at their occupation. Instead of a Workshop Total compared to a Craft Level, they generate a Labor Total and compare it to a Profession Level. Both are derived in a similar fashion to craftsmen’s totals. Labor Level is the laboring character’s primary Characteristic + Profession Ability and the Profession Level has a base of 6, modified in the same way Craft Levels are.
If a character’s Labor Total is above the Profession Level, he provides standard quality services for the season. If it is below his Profession Level, his services are shoddy. He can provide superior quality service the same way a craftsman can make a superior quality item. Labors cannot provide excellent or wondrous quality services. Laborers have a (Profession) Reputation, just like craftsmen have a (Craft) Reputation, and earn and spend Labor Points to maintain their livelihoods and expand their business.
Damaged Goods
Crafted goods break, often at the most inopportune times, no matter how well-made they might be. Regular wear and tear is easily repaired by regular maintenance, performed by a skilled craftsman or by the owner, who generally understands how to keep his items in good working order.
For many crafted goods, it is immaterial if they break or are damaged during a story. A cloak torn on a thorn bush is descriptively colorful, but there is no need to detail such incidentals with a die roll. The rules that follow should be applied to items that hold a certain value for a character, though not necessarily a monetary value. If the above-mentioned cloak were a supernatural item, for example, whose magical effect would be lost if it were torn, then a die roll would be called for. Also, goods and items whose destruction could affect a specific scene — like a sword breaking in the middle of a melee — should be subject to these rules.
When a story event threatens to break an item, the player makes a stress check to see whether that item survives the incident intact or is damaged. To make a stress check, roll a stress die + modifiers against a 15. If the roll is successful the item has survived intact. If not, it has been damaged. If the roll botches, the item is damaged so badly that it could break.
| Stress Check i.e. Stress Die + Modifiers Vs. Ease Factor 15 | {{{2}}} |
The modifier to the stress check is usually the Ability of the character wielding the item. Thus, a veteran warrior has a better chance of preserving the edge of his sword in battle than a novice. Other modifiers depend on the situation, and the following list provides many possible example stress check modifiers.
Situation & Stress Check Modifier:
- Trained to use item: + Ability score
- Previously repaired: –1
- Shoddy Quality: –1
- Superior Quality: +1
- Excellent Quality" +3
- Wondrous Item: +5
- Hermetically Enchanted Item: + magnitude of the total of instilled spell effects
- Poor lighting or weather: –1
- Severe weather or no light: –3
- Prolonged use: –3
Items have a number of damage levels based on their quality. Size is also a contributing factor. Most items are Size –1, but some can be considerable larger. For example, most single weapons are Size –1, great weapons are Size 0, a house is Size +5, a ship could be up to Size +8, and a castle Size +10 or larger. Referring to the tables below, multiply the number of base damage levels (derived from the item’s quality) by the modifier corresponding to its Size to determine the number of damage levels an item can sustain before breaking.
Item Quality & Base Damage Levels:
- Shoddy: 1
- Standard: 2
- Superior: 3
- Excellent: 4
- Supernatural: 5
Item Size & Damage Level Modifier:
- –5 to +1: 1
- +2 to +5 2
- +5 to +8: 3
- +9 and larger: 4
If the stress check fails, the item loses one of its damage levels. If the stress check botches, the item loses one damage level plus an additional damage level for every botch. Damaged items continue to function as normal until they lose all their damage levels, at which point they are broken. Superior and excellent quality items retain their bonuses even when damaged.
There are two situations that may harm an item and call for a stress check. The most common is when you roll a botch on an activity. This commonly occurs in combat, and when it does the storyguide has the option of asking the player to make a stress check for the character’s weapon, shield, or armor, depending on the exact combat activity you botched. This is not mandatory, and if the storyguide has a better idea for the botch result she should use it. If a group of warriors is asked to make a stress check for a botched roll and fails, only the vanguard’s weapon or armor is affected by a failed stress check.
An item might also be damaged if it is put to unnatural use, which is when it is used for some activity other than what it was made for. Chopping wood with a sword, fighting with a silver candlestick, and hanging from a balcony by an enchanted cloak are all examples of unnatural uses. Common sense must prevail when determining if an item has been put to an unnatural use. Striking an animated stone statue with a greatsword, for example, is unnatural use.
Wondrous items made by craftsmen cease to function if they sustain any damage. A Hermetically designed magic item continues to function until it is broken. The player must still record the accumulated damage level loss, but it has no affect on the item other than moving it towards its possible destruction. Hermetic magic does not have a way of repairing damaged magic items. The only known repairers are certain magi of House Verditius (see Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults).
To avoid excessive bookkeeping, it is suggested that a player only track the damage of his character’s primary item, either sword, suit of armor, cart, or magic wand. Tracking damage can be helpful when roleplaying the attention and care a character would give his cherished item.
Locks and KeysAs merchants and guild masters accrue large sums of money, they invest in devices to secure their financial gains. Medieval locks are very similar to their modern day counterparts, being mechanized metal devices used for fastening doors, chests, and manacles. Despite their expense, they are relatively common, and most craftsmen, merchants, clerics, and nobles own a lock or two to keep their valuables safe. Most covenants have a locked door or chest to protect their vis stores. Locks and keys are significant symbols of status and importance. Keys are often worn around the neck or otherwise displayed to show that the owner is prosperous enough to have wealth that needs such costly security measures. Historically, the Locksmiths’ Guild did not develop until the late 14th and early 15th centuries. During the 13th century, locks are made by smiths who specialize in manufacturing these security devices. To make a lock, a craftsman has to have a score in Artes Liberales and a score in Blacksmith with a specialization in locks. Making a lock follows the regular rules for crafting finished goods with minor differences. Compare the Workshop Total against a Craft Level to determine the success of a craftsman’s efforts. Locks are very hard to make, and the base Craft Level is 15, which is subject to the same modifications as other Craft Levels. Because of the geometry involved in making the lock’s inner mechanisms, a character may add his Artes Liberales score to the Craft Total. Like other crafted items, locks can have a variety of qualities. Since they are constructed solely for the purposes of safekeeping, they have double the normal damage levels of regular items of their Size. Locks can be broken or picked. A lock is broken by striking it with a weapon or trying to pull it open. Make an attack roll against an Ease Factor of 12. Add the damage modifier to the advantage over 12. That number is the Ease Factor for the stress check the lock must make to avoid losing a damage level. Botching the attack roll means that the striking weapon must make an immediate stress check to avoid being damaged. Pulling a lock apart —that is, physically separating the bar from the locking mechanism — requires a Strength + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12. This is a Herculean feat and only rarely accomplished. Add the advantage rolled over 12 to a character’s Strength Characteristic to determine the Ease Factor for the lock’s stress check. Botching this roll means that the character injures himself, sustaining a Light Wound for every actual botch. Picking a lock is the easiest method of unlawfully opening a lock. A character must have tools that allow him access to the lock’s mechanisms, typically thin pieces of iron or steel. Make a Dexterity + Legerdemain + stress die roll against an Ease Factor of 12 to open a standard quality lock. The Ease Factor is 9 for a shoddy lock, 15 for a superior lock, and 18 for an excellent lock. Botching this roll means that the character has jammed the lock’s inner mechanisms together, preventing further Legerdemain attempts. Hermetic magic can also easily open a lock with the following spell: The Key of TheodorusReTe 10 R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Part This spell magically opens any single lock. Regardless of the lock’s complexity or quality, it falls open at the end of this spell. Since the locking mechanism is designed to naturally move in a single direction to lock and unlock it, this is a base 1 effect. The sixth century Greek inventor, Theodorus of Samos, is credited with creating the first locks in Mythic Europe. (Base 1, +1 Touch, +2 Part, +2 for metal) |
Repairing Damaged Goods
A skilled craftsman can repair an item that is damaged. It is a fairly straightforward process that does not require a die roll, only the absence of the item from the owner for a period of time. An absolutely broken item cannot be repaired, however. Broken items must be discarded, being too damaged to warrant any repair effort.
The craftsman must be able to make the item he is repairing, although he does not have to personally have made the damaged item itself. Damaged standard quality items are automatically repaired in a season. Superior and excellent quality items are also automatically repaired. However, the craftsman must have a Craft Ability equal to the twice the bonus of the item to repair it. He must also spend one Labor Point for every damage level he repairs.
Attribution
Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.