Better Crafting for (Almost) Any Edition

I had an idea for a rogue-class character who is actually a blacksmith/artisan character, and I want an interesting way for this character to craft mundane (and with help, magical) weapons, armor, and equipment. The Player's Handbook does a rubbish job describing the process of crafting new gear, and I am here to mend this.

Crafting Rules:

In order to craft weapons, armor, adventuring gear, and other items, the artisan must succeed at a Crafting Skill Challenge! This is similar to the Skill Challenges from D&D 4th Edition, but with some additional twists if you want them.

Here's how a Skill Challenge works if you're not familiar: to accomplish their goals, the Player Characters must perform skill checks until some number of them pass, or until 3 failures are accumulated. When the requisite number of skill checks are passed, the characters succeed at the goal. Otherwise, they fail.

In a Crafting Skill Challenge, a character needs to succeed at a certain number of Skill Checks before 3 failures are accumulated. Most of these Skill Checks involve the character's artisan tool proficiency, but he or she may be required to achieve some successes with other skills relevant to the task at hand. Succeeding on the requisite number of checks results finishing their product, whether martial or mundane. Failing three times the project is ruined, but the character may be able to recover the materials.

To begin a Crafting Skill Challenge, the character must have on hand the necessary tools, materials, and possibly a workshop. The supplies to start a Crafting Skill Challenge cost approximately 1/3rd of the final product's total cost, without embellishment (more on that later). If the Crafting Skill Challenge is failed, the cost of materials may be recovered entirely and put towards a similar crafting project.

A workshop is not always necessary, but if a character does not have a personal workshop they can usually rent the space from their guild or a local artisan. Renting brings the cost of the Crafting Skill Challenge to 1/2 the final product's total cost (sans embellishment).

As a Dungeon Master creating a Crafting Skill Challenge, you can use various properties of the final product to determine the DC, number of required successes, and time consumed by each check in the Challenge. I use the bullets below to determine the details of a skill challenge based on what is being created. The majority of Skill Checks should utilize the appropriate Artisan's Tools, but as stated before, you and the player may decide that other Skills are necessary to complete the item. As a guideline, anywhere from a third to half of the skill checks should utilize Skills other than the Artisan's Tools.

Required Successes, DCs, and Crafting Times:

• ARMOR, DC = Base AC (DC 12 for Shields)
• Light Armor: 3 Successes, 1 Check/Day
• Medium Armor: 6 Successes, 1 Check/Day
• Heavy Armor: 9 Successes, 1 Check/3 Days
• Shields: 3 Successes, 1 Check/Day
• WEAPONS, DC = 10 + Average Dice (Rounded Down), 1d4 = 2, 1d12 = 6, 2d6 = 7
• Simple: 3 Successes, 1 Check/Hour
• Martial: 3 Successes, 1 Check/Day
• Loading: +3 Successes
• Two-Handed/Versatile: +3 Succeses
• ADVENTURING GEAR, DC varies, round down
• Cost < or = 1 gp: DC = 10
• Cost < 50 gp: DC = 10 + 1/10 gp
• Cost > 50 gp: DC = 15 + 1/50 gp (ignoring first 50 gp)
• Wood/Soft Material: 1 Success/5 lbs. (min. 1), 1 Check/Hour
• Stone/Tough Material: 1 Success/lb., 1 Check/Day
• Metal/Hard Material: 3 Success/lb., 1 Check/3 Day
• If multiple materials are present, use the average based on what is the most common.
• Spyglass and Other Extravagant Items: To create an incredibly expensive and technical item, such as a spyglass, each 100 gp costs 1 week to create, and the DC is 20, 1 Check/Week. Or just apply the Works of Art rules (later in this post).

Optional Rule: Flaws and Failures

Is it realistic that every sword in the world is flawlessly crafted? No. Are the flaws I describe below realistic? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But they are dramatic and make the players nervous, and that's what counts.

Each failure in a Crafting Skill Challenge introduces a flaw into its product. Flaws come in Major and Minor varieties, and may affect the final product or the skill challenge. Determine which flaw is introduced by rolling 2d6 and consulting the Flaw Table.

Minor Flaws are small penalties that do not affect every product the same. They can usually be overcome by handing the item to the right character. For example, a longsword with the A Bit Heavy minor flaw is no different from any other longsword when wielded by a halfling or gnome, but carries a penalty when wielded by a medium creature.

• One up-side of Minor Flaws: they may be removed by performing an additional Crafting Skill Check as part of the Crafting Skill Challenge. Success on the check removes the Minor Flaw AND the failure that created it. Failing the check, however, replaces the Minor Flaw with the Major Flaw in its Flaw Table entry.
• The time to complete a Crafting Skill Check to remove a Minor Flaw is the same as any other check in the Challenge.
• When a Minor Flaw would become a Major Flaw, the Major Flaw it becomes is the Major Flaw in the same 2d6 Flaw Table result as that particular Minor Flaw.
• If the third Failure in a Crafting Skill Challenge creates a Minor Flaw (as opposed to a Major Flaw), the crafter may immediately attempt a Crafting Skill Check to remove the flaw and avert failing the Challenge.

Major Flaws, with one or two exceptions, are fairly debilitating to whoever is using them. They are intended to be equivalent to a "mundane cursed item". Unlike Minor Flaws, they cannot be removed.

If the product of a Crafting Skill Challenge would gain a Minor or Major Flaw already affecting it, treat the Flaw as having no effect other than being removable or irremovable, respectively. It's possible to have both the Minor and Major Flaw for a given entry by rolling each result on a different failure, or by failing to remove a Minor Flaw and rolling the same Minor Flaw on a subsequent Failure.

Flaw Table.  Roll 2d6 to determine the Flaw created by a failure. While an item has no Flaws, a roll on the Flaw Table always yields a Minor Flaw, even if the dice rolled are doubles (i.e., both show the same number).

2d6	Minor/Major: Flaw Name. Effect.
Odd	Minor: Easy fix. The check to remove this Minor Flaw is made with Advantage. Major: Oops. Weapon/item/armor immediately gains a Failure in the Crafting Skill Challenge. Treat the resulting flaw as an Easy Fix instead of rolling on the Flaw Table.
2 (1,1)	Minor: Double Guessing. No failure or flaw, just wasted time. Major: Scrapmetal. If the Crafting Skill Challenge is failed, the cost of materials cannot be recovered.
4 (2,2)	Minor: Fragile. Weapon breaks on a natural attack roll of 1, armor breaks when critically hit, an item drops and breaks at feet when used in a check and a natural 1 is rolled. Major: Flawed. Weapon/armor/ammunition provokes attacks of opportunity after user performs an action, and user does not benefit from Disengage action.
6 (3,3)	Minor: A Bit Heavy. Light weapon loses light, versatile weapon becomes two-handed instead of versatile, non-loading ranged weapon gains loading, armor Strength requirement increases by 1, or becomes 10 if it has no Strength requirement. A versatile weapon weapon that becomes two-handed uses the base damage of the weapon, not the damage specified by the versatile quality. Major: Too Big, weapon imposes disadvantage on attack roll, armor imposes disadvantage on Strength- and Dexterity-based Saving Throws, unless used by a Large creature.
8 (4,4)	Minor: Functional, no one will pay more than cost of materials for this weapon/armor/item. Major: Embarrassing, disadvantage on social (Charisma) interactions involving this weapon/armor/item, and disadvantage on Charisma Saving Throws, while weapon/armor/item is visible. You're suddenly very self-conscious, but you think a carnival (or goblin) somewhere would pay top-dollar for your codpiece.
10 (5,5)	Minor: Unbalanced. Weapon imposes -1 penalty on attack roll, armor has -1 AC. Major: Caddywhompus. Weapon may not use proficiency bonus on attack roll, heavy armor has -2 AC, other armor may not add Dexterity to AC, shield provides no bonus to AC.
12 (6,6)	Minor: Double Guessing. No failure or flaw, just wasted time. Major: This Makes Things Harder. The next check in the Crafting Skill Challenge is made with Disadvantage.

There are relatively few Flaws that specifically mention items or adventuring gear, and these two terms are used interchangeably. For a Crafting Skill Challenge to create Adventuring Gear, if a Minor or Major Flaw does not specifically mention that it affects gear/items, and the Flaw does not affect the Crafting Skill Challenge, then treat the Flaw as having no effect other than being removable or irremovable, respectively.

Optional Rule: Critical Success! 

Whenever a natural 20 is rolled for a Crafting Skill Check, the character may choose to generate an additional success, remove any one Flaw (Major Flaws included), or add 100 gp to the item's final value (making it a Work of Art), in addition to the normal effect of succeeding on the roll. You might consider making this rule a special benefit for characters who are proficient in using their Artisan's Tools.

Optional Rule: Works of Art. 

Why not have rules specifically for crafting weapons, armor, and items that can be considered artwork?

For every 100 gp to be added to an item's cost, make an additional Crafting Skill Check. This additional check takes one week to complete, costs 50 gp for materials (like glitter and paint :-D), and has DC 14 or the item's normal Crafting DC, whichever is higher. Putting this extra effort into making something beautiful does ensure top-price for the item; the sale price largely depends on who you are selling it to. A collector or commissioner is more likely to pay full-price for an embellished sword (and more likely to overlook functional flaws) than a mercenary only interested in the sword's practical application.

To create a Decorative Work of Art, such as a statue, painting, or jewely, use this similar process: a character may spend one or more weeks creating a Work of Art. Each week, the character spends 50 gp on materials and makes a DC 14 Crafting Skill Check.  The first success ensures the final product is worth at least 100 gp, and subsequent successes increase the final price by 100 gp. A Work of Art has failures and flaws just like any other Crafting Skill Challenge. Use the Work of Art Flaw Table below, which is

Work of Art Flaw Table. Like the normal Flaw Table, use the Minor result for first/only flaw, Major if doubles.

2d6	Minor/Major: Flaw Name. Effect.
Odd	Minor: Easy fix. The check to remove this Minor Flaw is made with Advantage. Major: Oops. The Work of Art/Performance immediately gains a Failure in the Crafting Skill Challenge. Treat the resulting flaw as an Easy Fix instead of rolling on the Flaw Table.
Even (Doubles)	Minor: Double Guessing. No failure or flaw, just wasted time. Major: Should Have Left It Alone. The next check in the Performance Skill Challenge is made with Disadvantage.

Any play, song, or poem is a Performance Work of Art, and may be created in the same way as a Decorative Work of Art. If a character intends to perform a Performance Work of Art for a crowd, use a Performance Skill Challenge!

• # Successes Required by Skill Challenge = # Successes in Performance Crafting Skill Challenge.
• Each check takes 10 minutes to perform.
• The total cost of the props, instruments, and score/script is equal to the final cost of the Performance Work of Art. 
• These items are usually not consumed while performing the Work of Art.
• Final revenue of the performance is the final cost of the Performance Work of Art divided by 10.
• On each Failed Performance Skill Check, roll on the Work of Art Flaw Table.
• Similar to a normal Crafting Skill Challenge, an additional check may be made to "cover up" the minor flaw, but without costing any time. Also similarly, if the third failure in a Performance Skill Challenge causes a Minor Flaw, a check to remove the flaw, and recover the performance from disaster, may be made immediately. The DCs are as hard as the DC that caused the Flaw. Except in this last case, the check to recover from a Minor Flaw may be made at any time, using the same skill as the check that failed.
• If the performance succeeds, then the performers (usually) receive the the final revenue as a reward from the audience. Each failure present at the end of the performance reduces the final revenue by 25%. At three failures, the performance is a bust and the performers are booed off the stage without any reward.
• The final revenue may be adjusted by the audience's taste, and it is possible to receive some revenue up front by charging admission.

It is totally within a player's right to come up with clever ways to use spells or other skills as a part of a performance (provided it's dramatic)! This is an exciting way for amateur performers (aka, everyone else in the party) to participate, and more excitement means more revenue! To incorporate a different skill into a Performance Work of Art, the author makes one of the Performance Skill Checks using either his own skill and proficiency, or that of someone who can demonstrate the skill and proficiency. Utilizing a spell in this way requires an arcana, religion, or nature check, depending on the spellcaster. For each different skill success in the Performance Skill Challenge, increase the final price by 50 gp (in addition to the usual price increase for a success). For each different spell used in the performance, at the GM's discretion, add 25 gp per spell level. The GM should consider whether a spell or skill contributes to the performance's narrative when allowing it to contribute to a Performance Skill Challenge. The DC of an Arcana, Religion, or Nature check to include or perform a spell is 10 + the spell's level, and consumes its spell slot.

Maybe an entire adventure is based around a knight commissioning the players to create a play in honor of the king! They then relive the king's adventures in order to inspire the Performance Work of Art they create (aka have advantage on the checks), and gain the levels and skills they need to finish the play. The knight has asked the play to be at least an hour long and have a price of at least 800 gp.

I'm considering coming up with a flaw table that is specific to Works of Art, and possible splitting the regular Flaw Table into tables to Weapons, Armor, and Adventuring Gear/items.

You probably noticed that it's much more cost-effective to create and sell a weapon, armor, or item, rather than a Work of Art. I like to think that for the weapon, armor, or item, there is more value in the fact that is can solve a physical problem. For a Work of Art, the final value is partially subjective.

I've probably used the words "price" and "value" interchangeably in this post. Hopefully this clears up any confusion. 

Optional Rule: Flawed World. 

Those goblins and kobolds probably don't have ideal weapons, and if they made it themselves, the craftsmanship is dubious at best. For any weapon of ill repute, roll twice on the Flaw Table and apply both results (apply identical results only once). If you think the item wouldn't have a Major Flaw, just roll 1d12. You can also speed things up by applying the Unbalanced Minor Flaw to a creature's description, and have the PCs roll on the Flaw Table when they pick up the item. Or skip applying a Flaw to the creature's description, and have the PCs roll whenever they pick up a piece of junk weapons or armor.