The variety of items found in this Chapter do not simply make themselves: someone has to gather the materials and create the item. This section contains rules for characters wishing to create items of all types.
Step 1: Determine Item
First, the character must choose the item they wish to create. Some items cannot be created, such as those that only occur naturally, so the GM should use discretion when determining if a character can craft an item. The character must also choose the quality of the item, if applicable, which when combined with the item’s base price will allow them to determine the approximate market value of the item.
Step 2: Gather Raw Materials
Next the character must gather the raw materials necessary to create the item. Exactly what this entails will vary from item to item, but as a general rule of thumb if the character wishes to purchase all the raw materials it will cost roughly one third of the item’s standard price.
Step 3: Determine Test Difficulty
Third the character determines the difficulty of the crafting test. The difficulty of the crafting test for most items is based solely on the quality of the item, and modified further as the GM sees fit. When creating weapons or armor the material also provides a modifier. See the tables below for test difficulties.
Crafting Difficulty
| Quality | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Inferior | +30 |
| Common | +0 |
| Superior | -30 |
Material Difficulty (Smithing)
| Material | Difficulty | Material | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adamantium | -20 | Leather | +10 |
| Bonemold | -5 | Malachite | -20 |
| Bone | +0 | Mithril | -10 |
| Chitin | +0 | Moonstone | -10 |
| Dragonbone/Dragonscale | -40 | Orichalcum | -10 |
| Dreugh Hide | -10 | Padded | +30 |
| Dwemer | -10 | Silver | -5 |
| Ebony | -30 | Stahlrim | -10 |
| Fur | +10 | Steel | +0 |
| Iron | +20 | Wood | +20 |
Step 4: Make Crafting Test
Next the character makes the actual crafting test using the difficulty determined in the previous step. The skill that the character tests is based on the item they wish to craft. Creating weapons or armor uses the Profession [Smithing] skill, while other items will usually use some other variation of the Profession [Field] skill as appropriate. Failure produces no item, while critical success halves the time required.
Creating any item requires the appropriate craft tools. In the case of smithing, the character will also need access to a forge (along with the related facilities and tools) in order to complete the product. The actual act of crafting can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days (and sometimes even longer). During this time the character must be focused on creating the item. The duration required is left to the GM and should be based on the complexity of the item in question.
Runed Weapons & Armor
Characters with knowledge of Enchanting can imbue weapons and armor with magic runes that make them effective against certain types of enemies. The character must pass an Enchant (Skill) test when creating the item. On success, add the Magic quality to the armor or weapon and, if creating armor, add 1 Magic AR. On failure, the item is created without the Magic quality and the test cannot be repeated for this item.
Repairing Weapons & Armor
Much like people, gear does not always survive combat. In the event that a weapon or piece of armor is damaged, a character can attempt to repair it with a Profession [Smithing] skill test. This takes about an hour and requires raw materials worth five percent of the price of the item. Given a successful skill test, the character can reduce the X value of the Damaged (X) weapon/armor quality on the damaged item by their degrees of success.
Daedric Weapons & Armor
The Daedra are undisputed masters of craftsmanship, and it is possible for mortals to utilize many of their secret ritual techniques to create Daedric armor and weaponry, which draw power from a Daedric soul consumed during the creation of the item itself. However, detailed knowledge of the specifics of this process can be hard to come across. Daedric equipment is made by binding Daedric essence to ebony. As such, the process for creating Daedric armor or weaponry is mostly the same as it would be for the ebony equivalent but with a -40 penalty to the crafting test rather than the usual -30. Additionally, the character may only work at night and must have a Soul Gem containing the captured soul of a Daedra. Halfway through the process the character must make a -10 Enchant skill test. On failure they are unable to bind the soul properly and the only thing that they can salvage from their efforts is the ebony version of the item. On success, the soul is bound to the item and its power begins to twist the item into its Daedric form. The Willpower of the captured Daedra caps the item’s quality as specified below. Either way, the soul gem is destroyed and the energy within is lost.
Daedra Willpower Requirements
| Quality | Daedra’s Willpower |
|---|---|
| Inferior | <40 |
| Common | 40-64 |
| Superior | 65+ |