Stonemasonry vs Stoneworking

[BowStreetRunner]

Dungeon Delver (Complete Adventurer p42) has a prerequisite of 5 ranks in Craft (stonemasonry) and Stoneblessed (Races of Stone p122) has a prerequisite of 5 ranks in Craft (stoneworking). Since there does not appear to be any official list of Craft skills, I suppose it was inevitable that something like this would happen. You could probably have Craft (stonecutting) and craft (stonecarving) if you want too...the choices are only limited by the diversity of the English language.

My question is, does anyone think it would be unreasonable to treat stonemasonry and stoneworking as interchangeable - allowing the character to take 5 ranks in either and qualify for both prerequisites this way?

[The Random NPC]

Nah, they seem interchangeable enough.

[Wookie-ranger]

Yeah, I would regard them as the same skill. Mainly because nearly every task that would require a skill check for one skill can also be done with the second skill.

You also mentioned Craft(stone-carving). I am not sure about this one though. I am not a Stone mason, but Stone-carving sounds more artistic then structural to me. Kind of like the difference between Carpentry and woodcarving.
Not sure though, and as a DM that does not want to be a complete A** to players i would let this fly, too.

[Phelix-Mu]

Thematically, and totally not from a dictionary perspective, I believe masonry refers more toward building structures or architectural features. Stoneworking, the working of stone, could be less functional/more decorative.

Honestly, there is massive overlap, and really if anyone wants the artistic one, they should take the VERY BROAD Craft(sculpting), which could works with almost any medium that can be shaped with some kind of tool (it's a long list).

I do like a good Craft skill. The last campaign I ran had a nice Craft emphasis, with a couple different craft-related affiliations, and 3/4 of the party making cool stuff in spare time. Nice flavor, also nice cash flow once you get past a certain level.

[Alpha Saiyan]

how does stonemasonry even benefit anyone much less this class?

[Necroticplague]

Stonemasonry is things like bricks, stone buildings, and tunnels through solid rock. Stoneworking is things like figurines, hand tools of stone, and sculptures. Only real similarity is a medium, which is like saying that a bowyer and and cabin-builder are intechangeable because they both use wood.

[Buufreak]

how does stonemasonry even benefit anyone much less this class?

That's a bad necro. BAD!

But to answer your question, it does so thematically, which to some people is far much more important than the hardcore number crunching.

[Mars Ultor]

Stonemasonry is things like bricks, stone buildings, and tunnels through solid rock. Stoneworking is things like figurines, hand tools of stone, and sculptures. Only real similarity is a medium, which is like saying that a bowyer and and cabin-builder are intechangeable because they both use wood.

I agree. In general there are three types of masons. There's the mason that takes the raw stone and prepares it for use, this involves some dressing and shaping of the stone. A carver is the mason carving friezes on buildings, decorative stonework like columns, and statuary. A fixer is the mason that actually used the stone to make build something. He's cementing them together, or paving a road, or laying bricks to make a wall.

For game purposes I'd say a Stonemason is involved in both basic shaping and assembling stones for construction projects. Stoneworking is the art of making statues or decorative stonework. I'd allow a crossover though; half of your skill in one can be used to do the other. The guy carving the allegorical figures on the victory monument knows enough that he can build something basic, and the mason can probably do a very rough sculpture of something.