Yea I felt the same! And the original intent was there in the sourcebooks as they mention something like a week of downtime should be taken between adventures. Sadly, I’ve just never found that to feel correct in the games I’ve run and the games I’ve played in!

But if its too easy or quick there would be thousands of magic items saturating the settings. It's a tough balance that should be setting based (adjusted for your own group preferences) with guidance in the setting books how it works for that world.

@@jiminkpen9750 That feels correct as well! That's why I made a bit of a trade off when I changed the time needed for enchanting an item. Failure is possible at multiple stages of the system but it gives the player a sense of accomplishment each time to encourage them to keep trying as opposed to never really getting the time to try their hand at crafting.

​@@jiminkpen9750 spell plague ho brbrbrbrupee

@@ConstructedChaos You could set it so all enchantments last for awhile. Permanence if the tough part. Another trick: treat enchant item as a scalable, temporary spell effect. Hit it with dispell magic, and it's likely you jam it till next long test. Yet another trick: go back to 3.0-3.5. prices were reasonable, with scrolls being cheapest. To make it was DC 10 plus the spell level. Multiplier was about 25 gold pieces per level. It's in the book.also, consider quirky magic items. A sword that loudly asks: "Siri, where am I" in mid dungeon is not so, bad, and kind of endearing . And it's still technically a sword of direction finding, and a great story hook!

Yeah, that seems to be the case for sure. And I think a lot of games still run that way. But I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that the majority of 5e games today aren't traditional dungeon crawls.

@@ConstructedChaos Agreed. Plus, players are probably going to be 10x more engaged if crafting is an _active_ process, requiring actual creativity and decision-making on their part to make a magic item.

NICE! I think that's how RAW crafting/enchanting was intended to work and I'm glad you got some great use out of it! I just wanted to speed things along and make it more accessible is all!

Yep! Technically, you're right on here. Thanks for that clarification. I run a lot of homebrew worlds so I tend to forget that fact!

YES! I will say that it makes being and Artificer less advantageous in crafting compared to other classes but just being able to craft with half the gold in this system is a HUGE help. I think it improves the Artificer overall but I could see also giving them advantage on crafting common and uncommon items when Magic Item Savant comes online at level 10!

@@ConstructedChaos A little late to the party but, The solution is actually quite simple, Make more spells like Magic Mouth, Arcane Lock, Continual Flame, and Programmed Illusion. Permanent until dispelled. Nothing too powerful. My Artificer/Wizard uses them to create "Magitech" devices. Useful ones would be a permanent version of Tiny Servants, you only get one per cast, and it can`t take the attack action. Now we can create motors, which means motorcycles, Walking ships modeled after the last Oasis game: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a61-iMaQy7OrkYE.html, self loading catapults, you name it. If you wanted to enable players to do damage, then create a permanent until dispelled 1D4 or 1D6 elemental imbue for their non magical weapons. I personally am not too sure about this one, but it could work if you made the material component slightly rare and somewhat expensive like 500G of powdered diamond, or something along those lines. Then it wouldn't necessarily be game breaking in power, with everyone having all their weapons and armor enchanted at level 3. Magic Mouth can be used to replace most modern electronics and electrical devices, up to and including telecommunications and computers. The real benefits are in small handheld or portable devices like audio recordings, which can be used to effectively lie under Zone of Truth for example, or to get advantage on intimidation checks by playing a combination of creepy whispers, faint almost inaudible screams, multiple distant sounding people begging for their souls, and indecipherable chanting, whenever you make a certain gesture. Portable alarm boxes that anyone can set up, whether they can use magic or not, that can even detect invisible creatures as long as they haven't taken the hide action, and that can tell the difference between your party and an undead, and notify you of what it detected, for another example. Arcane Lock can be used by those same Magitech devices to interact with the world. This lets you automate things. Programmed Illusion can be used for various things, from creating something like a holographic display for your Magitech Devices, to mimicking certain spells like Darkness. Using an Illusion to replace the old Darkness/Devil Sight combo can actually benefit the whole party instead of handicapping them, as long as everyone in your party knows that it`s an illusion so they can all see through it. Imagine casting what looks like a Fireball spell complete with any outward signs like material components, gestures, and incantations, and associated "light shows" so an enemy caster uses counterspell thinking they needed to shut down your spell, when all it was is a Programmed Illusion and they just blew their Counterspell for nothing, and all you expended was a word or small gesture and haven't even used up your action yet. We are only about two to three spells away from players creating their own lower end enchanted gear as it is. The trick would be to make sure it wasn't overly powerful, while still being relevant in the mid to late game. Also, please note the until dispelled part, as this is very important to DMs. If your party is getting too powerful from an excess of these types of magic items, hit them with an enemy caster or two with dispel magic. You can adjust them downwards in power quite easily!

​@@ConstructedChaos The solution is to use this system for the artificer and the base system for all other characters. Leans into the purpose of the artificer and still keeps this kind of stuff pretty arcane and obscure for everyone else.

@@Reverendshot777 That's not a bad idea but I do think that artificers already gain a lot here and have a fairly robust infusions system that allows them to create some pretty great items without any checks or materials involved.

You’re not wrong at all about the possibility for farming here. I think some groups would go to such lengths. However, if this isn’t a desired result, I’d try to make it clear to the group that seeking out these creatures might not always produce the exact same effect. Perhaps the effect generated from these ingredients relies as much on the PC as it does on the creature!

@@ConstructedChaos there's a reason I specified weaker creatures, both due to the level of difficulty wrangling them in would require even if domestication was possible, and due to the change in potency between a wild creature and a domesticated creature. So the tradeoff being in potency but also a higher gain in quality control in ingredients gained due to the rendering being the sole focus of the job in question. By ensuring that there are creatures that can't be domesticated/farmed as a job, you in turn require the party to seek out these creatures with the possibility of lower-quality ingredients that are much more potent. I've once came across someone who mind enfeebled a Mind-Flayer, stuck a ring of sustenance on it, and used it's skin to make extremely useful spellbooks.

@@XThexReaperX aaaahhhh I see!! Very cool then!!

@@ConstructedChaos it allows the questing every Adventurer thrives on while also making it possible for the creation of lesser magical items(that classes like Artificer would need) that can get those wishing to make their own magical gear started with. That way it provides a nice little plot hook and gives the world a more immersive feel.

Hell yeah!! I'm glad you're using this stuff to such a potent degree! That sounds absolutely awesome!

I think that’s a perfectly viable approach! However, I think it’s also possible to set up this system so it feels more cohesive with the rest of your campaign. As I said in the video, this is just the approach that I enjoy and have had success with in my games. In no way is it the only solution!

Gotta ask. If it takes a week or more to craft common magic items, how are they becoming common?

@@citizen_grub4171 That's a good question! I suppose in the typical system it relates to the amount of time OTHER items take to craft. Though, in my system, it just comes down to how easy or hard an item is to make. Someone will have a much higher success rate crafting a common item each day AND other rarer items will take longer and might result in failure more often.

What if the game is being a crafter? Dun dun dun! Tell that to Telchar and see how he feels that crafting is just a side mission

Nice!! Yeah, as a live streaming DM, I feel I often already have so much to juggle that I need an intuitive system with some boundaries but a lot of flexibility to be used on the fly!

You’re totally right on about that. As I’m sure you can tell, I don’t have any experience when it comes to blacksmithing haha. However, regardless of that fact, I’ve found it best to forgo realism here in favor of a system that’s more likely to get used and result in more fun for my group!

Smiths on “Forged in Fire” have hand hammered full swords start to finish in 4 work days to a quality that withstands the most brutal tests designed to break weapons. A lot of the smiths are also not full time smiths and some even have to restart halfway through.

or...you could machine that round stock into a hammer head in about 35 minutes..

If you wanna implement that realism, do you implement realistic food and sleep? How about your Realism of healing even without spells and you use a healing kit. There are all kinds of stuff people overlook for ya know a fantasy game with magic. The artificer (if you are one) has magical abilities and of made up races like gnomes and dwarves that focus on crafting things. You need to sacrifice some realism in fantasy especially with other players when you basically hold up the entire game to craft an item.

@@mikederp9612 this just says the requirements of making an item in 5e rules are, generally speaking, also realistic. Its not implementing realism when the game rules imitate real life.

Hey friend!! Welcome to the hobby and I'm so glad you're enjoying the content and finding it helpful! You're going to have a great time playing--I'm positive!

Honestly DND and pathfinder both have sucky mechanics for it. I’m going to ditch those systems when Andrew Rowe releases his own system

I like the idea of finding a specific crafter to make the item for them but I'm not sure I'd implement this for every item--maybe just some campaign-specific story-related ones.

@@ConstructedChaos yes best not overused, my player claimed a hellhound skin and wanted to get it enchanted, it took several visits to mages etc they pointed him towards a fabled tailor who was known to live in a less reputable part of the distant city. I needed the players to travel there so it worked out great

@@Deadreckoner562 I can totally see how that'd work well! There's an item in my own homebrew campaign that came about similarly!

As a DM I had a bard player ask about “glasssteel” from the FR campaign setting. 5ed axed the spell from previous editions and I allowed him to use one of his magical secrets (and a side quest) to pick it up. His character backstory had him start his life as a blacksmith apprentice. Working with him and the side quest has lead to an absolutely insane story arc the entire party loved!

@@normknapp4404 sounds like you knocked it out of the park as a DM! Well done!!

Oh that is an interesting way to handle it! Thanks for sharing this with me!

Of course!! I’m happy to give back to the community that has already given so much to me! We’re all here to have fun! 😊

Thanks so much! I'm glad you're finding some use for it!

Absolutely, I shouldn't have undersold the work that goes into crafts like that! However, even now that I know this, I'm willing to sacrifice some realism to afford us a game mechanic that actually gets used and is fun for the players!

Hell yeah! I hope this helps out in some way! My favorite magic items are the ones I created with my players over the years!

Sounds like an awesome solution! And way to work it into the overarching campaign/story! Your players are lucky to have ya!

That's high praise. Thank you.

Thanks so much! I’m glad you may find some use for it!

There’s no denying that at all! If its relevant to the story, I’m certainly keen on it. For me and my group, it’s just not something we want for every item

You're not the first person to point this out and you're exactly right haha. I have plenty of woodworking experience but absolutely none in metal working! That said, I'm okay with sacrificing that modicum of realism for a system that I think is more fun for my players!

I think that makes a lot of sense too, honestly! And we've largely implemented that alongside this system in our games. It's just fun to have other options as well!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Hmmmm I'm not sure that I like removing the ability of doing something that I'm trying to encourage the players to do for something that isn't nearly as powerful as Wish.

@@ConstructedChaos It only applies if you don't attune to it. This stops players from just making magic items and selling them. Unless that is what you want. It wouldn't apply to items that don't require attunement, so they could sell those.

@@daithi1966 I see what you mean. That makes some sense!

Definitely read that last line in jack black voice. But hell yeah! Glad you're enjoying crafting in your games!

Fair enough, but sometimes shops may not have exactly what you're looking for. This system encourages players to craft by allowing them to sculpt the mechanics that they're looking for.

It's important to note that you'd still need the mundane item to enchant first but that is an interesting observation!

I know this isn't exactly what you're speaking to but I think it'd be a cool implementation of this system to use the cartographer's tools to ink a sortof star map-like series of symbols onto an item for a magical enchanting effect!

@@ConstructedChaos that's an awesome idea, I'm going to totally steal it... Some devine / Celestial script (she's part Celestial Warlock) can be used to enchant her arms and armour. Totally combines the skills she's been naturally building as she's been journeying through life. Thanks for that idea!

@@lukeblundell5610 Nice!! Happy to help and I'm glad it resonated with you!

That’s a really cool concept too! A weapon that grows along with your character!

Fair enough! it sounds like that worked pretty well in your group!!

Really cool and flavorful ideas with practical applications! I like it!

All excellent points!! The adjustments to attunement in particular are definitely interesting to me! I may continue my homebrew journey in line with something similar! Also, I’m still on vacay haha. I filmed and edited this one before leaving on Tuesday and scheduled it so I wouldn’t miss a week! Can’t wait to get back and work on more!

@@ConstructedChaos yeah i think as a DM balancing PC power is my top most concern when allowing for magic item crafting/enchanting in my game. that's my DMs main concern too. I think the main objectives or questions in tweaking/creating crafting/enchanting systems are: 1. how to balance it so that pc power level doesnt get out of hand? 2. how to ensure the pcs don't ruin the world economy and lore? 3. how to make it easy/accessible for the pcs to use so they're encouraged to use it without compromising moving the plot forward? 4. how to weave enchanting/crafting into character arcs and the overall story arc? 5. how to execute everything without stepping on the artificer's toes?

@@TheRobversion1 that’s totally fair! I feel like I’ve had similar concerns in shaping up this video/system too. 1. Keeping the gold cost I believe acts as a good enough barrier to entry at most tables. Plus, ingredients themselves will likely only exist for common/uncommon items at lower levels. 2. I think for my table just having a discussion about not turning the game into “magic shop monopoly” is all that’s necessary. But I did see a few people suggest other solutions for this like applying extended exhaustion mechanics after creating an item. Just gotta balance it a bit so people aren’t dissuaded from doing it entirely. 3. This was the main focus for me and why I chose to keep the skeleton of the Xanathar’s system while also modifying things so I could ascertain what my players wanted without breaking immersion. 4. I think this happens on more of a case by case basis but even just having ingredients tied to certain creatures goes a long way here. 5. I was going to take some time to speak on this specifically, but I think that dimly halving the gold cost still gives the artificer a decent leg up here. Though, admittedly, there’s a slight nerf involving the time changes. Perhaps they could be given advantage on their checks for common/uncommon items to make up for it?

@@ConstructedChaos 1. yeah my DM just though of a magic item limiter system because he knew he played with a table of mostly optimizers. if gold and time was the sole gatekeeper, someone would eventually come up with some way to gain infinite gold by playing some sort of conjurer, forge cleric or creation bard with fabricate/creation spell. 2. yeah agreed with #2. i just pointed out my own solution since while you can reason with your table, not all DMs at all tables can. and since you're making a video, i wanted to suggest ideas that would be applicable to those types of tables. 3. i think this was very smart as its less work and more intuitive for players to just refer to the book instead of a pdf file you create from scratch. tweaking is better than outright creating new systems in dnd when homebrewing. 4. this is fair. though as you said, there's the danger of players trying to hunt down enemies because they lost a component or need more to make multiple items which could derail moving the plot forward. what our DM tends to do is award us "recipes/blueprint" as treasure that you can take to special npcs/or learn yourself to craft/enchant items. then all the components are just buyable from the town market. for rarer components its in special cities like a component for an oathbow (very rare) would be sold in the city of brass. 5. i think this is fair but i wouldnt limit the advantage to common/uncommon. that's harder to remember and you'd always have to refer to a table. better to just give blanket advantage as long they have proficiency.

@@TheRobversion1 specifically about the artificer, I just mentioned common and uncommon since it aligns with their magic item savant feature at level 10!

Thanks for the accolades!! I actually never watched CR campaign 1 but I have seen the animated series so far and grog would definitely do that haha.

That does seem like a pretty sound system! Perhaps I’ll look into drawing inspiration from there too in the future! Thanks for the suggestion!

Love this idea too!! It did cross my mind but thought I might work some exhaustion effects into some of the failure risks!

Haha glad you like it!

😁

Absolutely! Depending on your table, that kind of downtime activity is both flavorful and efficient!

Hi there, huge OP fan here. A campaign in that setting sounds fun as hell! Then maybe I could get some of my friends to watch 1000 episodes of the anime and catch up with me haha. You can keep the 8 bags of holding, though hahahaha

I think someone else mentioned that before and it piqued my interest. I haven't played 3/3.5e but I need to go back and have a look at that crafting system.

@@ConstructedChaos i recently joined a 3.5 game and the crafting realy is nice i especially appreciated the poison crafting because of the diversity of effects from the poisons and how much more simple it is to hombrew for. the other cool crafted items in 3.5 is the grafts from the libra mortis books.

Haha perfect timing!! Hopefully this has given you some ideas for a system to use there! Artificer balance can swing pretty heavily depending on the implementation of this stuff!

@@ConstructedChaos artificer "balance" haha

Yeah this was my line of thinking more or less.

Haha you’re not the first one to point that out and I’ll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about actual blacksmithing. That said, this is a fantasy world and I think choosing to run it this way in my games is viable! I definitely don’t blame others for doing something different from me here as it doesn’t have a large amount of influence on the final system anyway!

@@ConstructedChaos 🤗 s2

Oh that's a pretty cool thought! Crafting on the go!

In my experience, too many cursed or dysfunctional magic items have turned my groups off to magic items entirely. I'm sure it might play out differently depending on the group but just something to be cautious of.

Haha friends that can give you magic items are definitely friends that you want to keep around!

Thanks so much for contributing to this conversation! I love your take on it here and I can tell you've put a lot of thought and creativity into your approach!

You're 100% right. I do a fair amount of woodworking but it's probably obvious that I've never done any blacksmithing. Still, at the end of the day my goal is to make a system that we use more often and have fun with. I'm okay with sacrificing a little realism in a fantasy world for that purpose!

I can see where you're coming from but I haven't found that to be the case. I'm not making spreadsheets or anything like that. A lot of it is just a little improv and taking some inspiration from the monster stat block and existing magic items in the core rulebooks. And I'd argue that this system is remarkably easy to understand, but maybe I'm a bit biased there.

Nice!! That sounds like some reasonable and fun homebrew!

@@ConstructedChaos it's definitely helped me really dig into being pure support which is where I feel I am the strongest in most games.

@@silverrendprops9760 For sure! And Cleric in general is going to be great at support/healer no matter what subclass you pick up!

totally fair enough!

That's exactly the right attitude to have! Couldn't agree more!

Hell yeah!! Enjoy!

I've had a few comments like this pointing out that I know nothing about blacksmithing and you'd be absolutely right haha. In any case, these are fantasy worlds with magic and unrealistic physics so I don't have a problem bending the rules of reality here as well haha.

Hey!! Glad you enjoyed it! I actually haven't compiled this into a PDF but that's not a bad idea at all! I may do that if I get a free second in the coming weeks and upload it to our Discord with our other homebrew!

Hahaha just…. Remembering 😂😅

A lot of people have mentioned that I need to take a look at the 3.5e crafting system. I have yet to do it but I will soon--I promise! haha

Thanks so much!! I like to think so myself but I've still got plenty to learn about being a great DM haha. I do always draw as much inspiration from players' backstories as I can for my campaigns. Often times, that's what makes it fun for them, not whatever story I'm trying to tell haha.

Hey, if that's what your table enjoys and you're having a good time with it there's absolutely no reason to avoid it! Good on ya!

That’s a shame! Any particular reason why they ruled that way? It’s a pretty rough nerf to the artificer!

That’s literally removing the one thing the artificer does better than other classes, buffing teammates with synergistic items….

I think that makes total realistic sense but I'm more concerned with the effect these mechanics have on the actual gameplay. If the system isn't getting used at most tables, I think it's worth considering a change. It's worked well for me so far and we are playing in a fantastical world with magical spells and creatures after all. Who's to say that things don't work differently there?

That's actually one of the sources I'm talking about when I mention that there are more robust systems out there that end up a bit too complex for my liking. I love it but I definitely don't expect my casual players to learn an entire slew of new crafting rules and mechanics.

@@ConstructedChaos the way I see it is, it can be as simple or complicated as you want it. On ethe player side, they just need to get the ingredients, spend the amount of time needed, then roll the DC to see if they are successful. On the DM's side, you build quests around getting ingredients, or finding certain people who knows how to make what you're looking for. Or it can be as simple as, you have this much downtime, what did you make in that amount of time?

@@neogod29 They also have to keep track of the ingredients, grades of ingredients, recipes, enchantment process types, etc. It was a bit too much for my group so I toned it down and this is where I landed. Granted, I did lean a bit more towards the RAW enchantment system, but this is meant to be a marriage of the two.

@@ConstructedChaos yes, I think that's what's great about it. The thing I don't like though, is how long it takes to make some of the potions. I think consumables shouldn't take much time at all, and I think this book is a good supplement for anyone wanting to play an artificer. This would be especially good for the alchemist. The DM could set up a system where they could get recipes like wizards can get spells from other wizards, and even maybe allow the artificer to use a spell slot to make temporary potions from recipes they know.

@@neogod29 I actually wonder if it would hurt that alchemist if everyone else was given the ability to do what they do.

Haha thanks for chiming in! As you and others in the comments have pointed out, I don't know the first thing about blacksmithing in real life. However, I've chosen to forgo the realism here for a system that will likely be more usable for my players. I think it's a worthwhile trade to make!

I think that’s totally viable! I bet your group enjoys that a lot. I do find that trying to streamline certain downtime activities like shopping and crafting goes a long way for me since we do stream some of our games and not many are interested in watching that haha

Group enchanting was something I’d considered at a point as well but felt it was a bit too complex for many of my groups to really enjoy it. That said, I think you’ve got a lot of great ideas here!

Haha funny enough I recently published that exact build in a video here! It’s an awesome combo!! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hNpodK-eltDYl2g.html

That's totally a respectable decision! Traditionally, you do get to add your tool proficiency to the check so it is usually accounted for. I just wanted to open things up but that doesn't mean my approach is right for every table!

I couldn't agree more! I'll probably touch on that in another video if WOTC doesn't fix it with One D&D.

Wow! I didn't even think about that. Thanks for pointing this out!

That’s some insight that I didn’t have!! Thanks for that. I do still think I’ll roll with these changes, however. After all, we’re playing in a fantasy world with a different set of rules and physics for how things operate. Additionally, the blades on those shows are often masterpieces. I would think the average greatsword in this scenario would be something closer a sharpened hunk of metal.

They're masterpieces made using modern tools. It's a tit for tat tradeoff. I'd keep it a week for something like swords because you can't rush working metal. It gives an excuse for a bit of party downtime and recuperation for them to do things like research or cavort in town.

@@zackmyers805 I think that’s a totally viable approach! It’s certainly more realistic, it seems like. But I’ll stick with how I’m running things simply because I’m willing to trade that added realism for the chance to use these mechanics more often. That’s not an approach that’ll be right for every table but my players seem happy with it! 😊

Thanks so much for contributing! I love the ideas you propose here but I do feel as though this system (much like the existing system) would go unused at my table. The problem lies in, really, any added complexity at all. I want my games to be more about creative and artful ideas rather than restrictive mechanics that make a math equation or ingredients list out of magic. This, of course, comes down to personal preference and I, in no way, mean to imply that your system isn’t fantastic. I just wanted to share the reasoning for my own!

@@ConstructedChaos No problem. I posted that this is my home-brew. Use it or lose it. :)

Oh that definitely is an interesting approach. I've never thought of doing that before. How would you handle it narratively?

I don't see why not! The beauty of this (and a lot of things in 5e) is that it's up to the DM's discretion! I'd certainly allow it at my table. It'd all just come down to finding the right component/ingredient!

@@ConstructedChaos Thank you for respondng, because I am TRYING to get into D&D and well... I've already created two characters, which need some reflavoring as one is supposed to be inspired by Street Fighter and hails from Earth, and the other is inspired by TMNT and uses Tortle stats but is not a Tortle but Mutant Turtle. So I hope you can do a video on this particular topic especially for first time players who like me, aren't into the whole fantasy genre, but want to get into the game... But do D&D characters HAVE to be from the fantasy genre to be part of a game?

@@RakaiThwei that’s a great idea for a video! D&D is a game that can really be molded to fit anything. And, 5e gives most of that power to your DM! So, basically, if your DM is cool with it, you can flavor things however you like!

Having all that info accessible can be really helpful, for sure. But, I've found it can be extremely overwhelming also. I actually had been using The Ultimate Guide to Alchemy, Crafting, and Enchanting for a little while for a similar reason but found that I was spending just as much time thumbing through the pages during the session as I was actually letting the party adventure. It just felt like a bit of a slog for us but I don't doubt this would work at a lot of tables that enjoy the added mechanics!

One of the key wonders of this game is that anything is possible! Creating such an item would be up to you and the DM!

This seems like a pretty fun system too!

@@ConstructedChaos Feat Support -[Name Of Profession] Mastery. Effect: You can make up to two crafting tests per day for [Above] tests. E.g. Smithing Mastery.

In real time using 3-4 hours game time + up to 6+ days of real time downtime how long did collecting the resources and crafting the item take (ball park figure is fine)?

@@grog4063 it took however long it was to stab the beastie to death, and I was implied to work on things during our travels.

@@styxriverr5237 Sounds pretty cool!! I'm not sure I'd allow working on an item without explicit downtime available but that's just my table. The way that ran sounds perfectly reasonable! I'd imagine the DM just limits magic items by limiting ingredients instead!

It was more sitting down and trying to figureout what the ingredients could even make, and then during the segments we where traveling long distances or staying in one place without interruption I would work on them. Incidentally that Belt of Jotun Strength was never finished in game, but it was created for our Eldritch Knight who suplexed said Jotun after piling on size increasing magic items, spells, and potions. It's physical description is a champion's belt with a oversized gold and platinum belt buckle with a depiction of a elf suplexing a jotun. So in future campaigns it's possible to now run into it, and possibly my other items too.

@@styxriverr5237 Ah I see! So it actually wasn't too different from how I'm running things! And I know first hand how awesome it can be to run into items/references from past campaigns!

Totally understandable!! I don’t blame you for disagreeing on that point. But I will reiterate that this often promotes some really creative and flavorful ideas on what enchanting might look like! It’s probably not super realistic that everyone would be able to enchant but it is a lot of fun to see how it all happens and tends to speed along the process for my groups!

I think that makes a lot of sense too! I'm just not sure I'd be ready to commit as a DM to multiple "find the artisan" quests over the course of a single campaign. I usually run something like that once or twice in a long adventure but I think doing so for every player (and potentially multiple times) would be beating a dead horse.

@@ConstructedChaos True The best is do it once or twice and then let the players build their own workshop. If they have a lot of money they can hire NPCs to work for them and just focus on the main quest.

@@gabrielbaieel8073 now there’s an idea! I like that!

Thanks for such a well-thought comment! I feel like you bring up a lot of fair points. I definitely don’t know anything about blacksmithing but this system is certainly not about making the game easier-it’s about giving players access to a system that I otherwise never see utilized.

@ConstructedChaos I get your point. And I really shouldn't criticize a system i haven't actually tried. Buuuuuuuut :p To me, when you make everything available to everyone. That makes it easier. Removing limitations always makes things easier.

@@angelicus-9307 so then increase the CR haha? It’s all about having run at the table at the end of the day

@@ConstructedChaos sure. And in the end. What really matters is that the table has fun.

@@angelicus-9307 I couldn’t agree more! Regardless of this system and where we each stand on it, I appreciate you chiming in with your own outlook and I wish you many happy adventures in the future!

I think that's totally fair, and I understand something like this wouldn't work for every group. But my players are happy enough with the crafting system that they agree to the honor system of not exploiting it. It just becomes a bit of a catch 22 if you want to run crafting in a simple way otherwise.

@@ConstructedChaos I also think that people sometime confuse the “desire to craft” with MMORPG games and downtime. Yes running a raid (dungeon crawl) is great but the other 20 hours of free time on your day off is spent grinding, questing, or crafting!

Haha fair enough--I don't know what I'm doing around a forge. However, I'd still prefer to sacrifice some realism in favor of a system that my players will actually use.

Haha I try to keep those class guides down to 1/month at most!

That would be more in line with what I was hoping for if true! Where did you see that?

@@ConstructedChaos my bad, as i read now, it's a homebrew idea, nothing oficial, we are planing on using that on our table so we can craft things in "8 days" means that we can dedicate some spare time during the day, short and long rests, etc.

Specially since we played 6 times and only 5 days have past in our game 😅

@@aaxxeell92 Ohhh okay nice! I thought I'd missed something somehow haha.

You make some great points here! But I think, for me at least, one can justify a lot of this simply with the existence of magic in your world. An old ratty axe is now indestructible due to the presence of a dragon's tooth? I'm okay with that. For some background, my settings are traditionally not high magic. So items of this kind are still a bit on the rare side and SHOULD feel super potent! Can't be afraid to add in that extra flavor too! Perhaps the axe falls apart often but the ropes that bind it together glow with a bright light and reassimilate because the tooth has an unfed bloodlust that manifests in this magic and keeps the barb killing for it.

I actually don't yet but someone else raised the same question recently! I'll probably put together a little PDF and release it on our Discord at some point in the future!

It would really just be rolled when they attempt to enchant the item!

No worries! I know to look for it now and I definitely will because that does sound interesting! I only wonder about how much upkeep would get ignored based on rules in 5e like tracking ammunition, encumbrance mechanics, and hunger.

@@ConstructedChaos Earthdawn if I remember correctly!

@@ConstructedChaos Here ya go sir … it’s not exactly like I remember it but it does explain it a bit better! Wikipedia article on fantasy tabletop games by name! “””One of the most innovative ideas in Earthdawn is how magical items work. At first, most magical items work exactly like a mundane item of the same type. As a character searches for information about the item's history, performs certain tasks relating to that history, and spends legend points to activate the item, he unlocks some of the magic in the item. As the character learns more about the item and its history, he can unlock more and more power within the item. Each magical item, therefore, is unique by virtue of its history and the scope of its powers. For example, one magical broadsword may have only 4 magical ranks and only increases the damage of the blade. On the other hand, the legendary sword Purifier, has 10 magical ranks and grants its wielder numerous powers.””” Of course I also like the idea of binding items intent. Summoning and binding an air elemental to a scimitar to make a sword of quickness. Or maybe a fire elemental for a flametounge just has a neat “vibe” to it. Of course the story arch of a world with bound elementals suddenly released and the PC’s and NPC’s trying to survive when ALL the binding magic suddenly stops could be fun!

@@normknapp4404 thanks so much for looking this up and sharing this with me!! It’s a very interesting approach to say the least!

I like this solution better than many similar ones posed in the comments of this video! It keeps the actual crafting time down, doesn't add on exhaustion (which I feel would be better to couple with a failure in making the item), and basically just forces players to wait for their abilities to "cooldown". Nice!

Yeah, you're not the first person to mention that I'm oversimplifying the blacksmithing process. I don't have much prior knowledge on that topic in the real world so that's my mistake. But I'm willing to forgo a bit of realism in my games for the system to be more appealing to my players.

@@ConstructedChaos I’m a new dnd player and my experienced younger brother is the dm running dragons of icespire peak for me, my wife and my children. I’m a half elf wizard with an artisan blacksmith background. I also took a level in Druid because our group healer finds herself wild shaping into our hit sponge more than healing. I wanted to utilize my tools, heat metal and flame blade to weld and modify two existing weapons into a larger better weapon for our fighter. My brother tried to add so much realism into this process that I had to just scrap it and do a standard forging. I felt ultimately it was just cool flavor and could’ve been rewarded…we were on some downtime anyway and I’m already a blacksmith so there was nothing keeping me from doing it anyhow…but…well…no…apparently…because…no. “That would overpower heat metal because it doesn’t get hot enough to make metal malleable. It’s only red hot and that description doesn’t fall within the range of heat degrees needed…” So I had to make a campfire and have my owl familiar fan the flames as my bellows. That was allowed… I still needed an assistant and it still took three days. At least I was allowed to use acid recovered from an aankeg for the quench to make it a +1 weapon. But what bothered me a little bit was that was the dm’s idea given to me so it felt a little…cheap. 🤷‍♂️

@@jgv4513 I’m sorry to hear that your experience there wasn’t so great! I can totally respect your brother’s decision but this kind of thing is a HUGE part of what led me to revamp this system at my table. Realism can be immersive for some but it has always felt a bit too clunky with my group that uses DND as an escape from reality. Being constantly reminded of the laws of physics and such seems like a betrayal of that spirit.

Hahaha it *is* a main concern of mine but I can't speak for everyone!

Not at all a bad suggestion! I love PF2e!

I like this variation! It certainly fleshes things out and evokes more direct imagery of the process!! My only qualm would be the slight addition of complexity-which some tables would probably love!! I just know I typically play with more casual groups that might not want that intricate of a system. Either way, thanks for sharing this! I’m sure lots of viewers will find this idea and a system like it very interesting!

@@ConstructedChaos well... Wasn't expecting response, let alone the heart... I have a particular use for this kind crafting... I just thought I would give the general idea... I made a couple animals magical and smith brothers that like interesting materials...

@@mikeknight6556 of course!! The channel is still small enough that I’m able to read and respond to most comments so I’m happy to offer you my sincere thanks for contributing! 😊

@@ConstructedChaos I'll try to do the same as you move forward.

You make a strong case for the artificer's useful nature being wiped out but I will say that artificer is not a PHB class as it is and there are also ways to work around this like allowing artificers extra bonuses or even autosuccesses on checks, being able to attune to more magic items (as they already are), etc. That said, I don't find my players often have much downtime in my campaigns. Maybe that's my fault as a DM haha

@@ConstructedChaos guess it depends on your campaign. there is always some downtime between 'stories'. PCs will need downtime to spend gold after all. a few days between storylines sometimes is all that is needed.

That does definitely keep things simple! Although, I could see the waters become a bit muddy when/if players want to sell/swap items later down the road.

@@ConstructedChaos As an old school player from the late 70s I feel differently about magic items now. I think Ginny Di mentioned a publication that follows a mechanic I have been doing. To avoid a glut of magic swords +1 tossed around I have magic items unlock traits as their user levels or successfully accomplishes some quest. It reduces magic items and creates a bond for the character and player alike. A staff of the Woodlands that Awakens into a giant Stick bug! Silly but fun!

@@chrisragner3882 That does sound fun! Any idea what system her video is referencing? I'd love to check that out--both the video and the publication!

@@ConstructedChaos GinnyDi’s video just this last month (June 2022), Epic Weapons, references a book on DM’s Guild. I am bad at this especially on my phone and not a desktop

@@chrisragner3882 Thanks for letting me know! I'll have a look for some insight!

I love the idea of curses being attached to failed magic items!!! That would be so fun to play with and could explain how such "curses" come into being! However, I'd still want to allow players to sell/trade their magic items later down the road so I'm not sure the attunement mechanic you mentioned would be right for my table. Cool ideas, regardless!!

​@@ConstructedChaos Alternative: Custom magic items are upgrade-able! Instead of selling it, you improve it the same way you created it in the first place. That way, your +1 sword can eventually become a flame tongue. So, you are the only one who can wield it at its full power, and you can add to its power as you acquire more powerful resources.

@@greevar I do like that solution much better! It makes a lot of sense to me!

@@ConstructedChaos One more thought. Socketed weapons and armor. Instead of the item being magic, you could attach gems or other adornments you craft that imbue the item with the magic while attached. Customized enchantment that can swap out for others. Craft a socketed item (tool poficiency required) and craft magic effects onto a gem you found. Plug in gem and you have a magic weapon!

@@greevar That sounds fun to me but might not be something I run in my games. I like the overall feeling of magic being irreparably bound to an item for better or worse. Because magic is volatile and mystical and unpredictable and all of those things!

Not a bad idea for alteration at all! Thanks for the suggestion!

I like this a lot! You may be interested in the book that Norse games has on crafting and enchanting. However, I chose to keep things a bit simpler because I don’t think most groups want that added complexity. I personally like systems that leave a lot of room for flavor to fill the gaps left by a lack of mechanics that some players would feel is a chore to learn. To reiterate, I’m not saying that your way is wrong! I like what you’re getting at here. I just think that it isn’t for everyone-just like my system isn’t for everyone either.

@@ConstructedChaos i cant seem to find the book you are referencing, any idea on the title?

@@rubensledsens572 it’s The Ultimate Guide to Alchemy, Crafting, and Enchanting

@@ConstructedChaos ty very much!

@@rubensledsens572 no problem at all!