Iituem
2007-02-09, 09:21 PM
A bunch of scratch rules from a piece I'm doing on commoner/craftsperson advancement. The last three feats may be of use to adventurers, as well as the information on knowledge as a research skill. The 'apprentice' feat is designed with NPCs in mind.
Advancement for NPCs/Crafters: NPCs and Crafters advance differently from adventurers. Given their non-combatant status, most of their advancement is through diligent progress in their work rather than slaying monsters (although they may still get experience from this method, it just is not likely). NPCs/Crafters advance by means of skill development but also through the equivalent of roleplaying XP - taking part in significant social events (on whatever scale) ranging from unmasking the traitor to the crown to saving Mrs Malley's cat garner xp on the side.
NPCs/Crafters advance at a rate of 1 level/year if challenged, though this is usually awarded as a quarter of the xp needed to advance a level every three months. If an NPC/Crafter's ranks in his highest Craft, Profession or Knowledge skill are such that when combined with his appropriate natural ability modifier he would exceed the DC of the task he most commonly undertakes with that skill by 5 on a roll of 10, he will not advance until he undertakes a more difficult takes.
Example: Kudrick has 12 ranks in Craft (blacksmithy) and 15 Int. He typically creates masterwork longswords. Most of his time is spent on the masterwork components (DC 20). On a roll of 10, he would get a result of 10+12+2 or 24. This is only 4 points higher than the required DC for the component, so he will still gain xp every three months for making the swords. If he advances a level (taking another rank in the Craft) or is granted a wish and becomes smarter (raising his Int bonus to +3) his average result is 25, 5 points higher than the DC of 20. He will no longer gain from producing masterwork components and so must try to produce more difficult items with higher DCs if he wishes to advance further levels.
Advancement in Knowledge Skills: If the character is a scholar, judge this by the DC of the type of knowledge he spends the most time researching.
Advancement in Professions: If the character's primary earning skill is in a Profession, assume that menial jobs equate to DC 10, trained jobs equate to DC 15, skilled jobs to DC 20, expert jobs to DC 25 and continue advancing using DM judgement as to whether a character is in a sufficiently challenging position to advance.
Apprentice [Feat]
Req: 11 Int or 11 Wis, 4 ranks in Craft (any), Knowledge (any) or Profession (any), must be lower than 8th level, must have secured an apprenticeship with a Master, Doctor or Expert of the associated Craft/Knowledge/Profession and remain within it.
Benefits: The Apprentice gains levels at a rate of 1 per year, so long as he remains within his apprenticeship (even if he would not normally qualify for this method of advancement, such as because he spends all his time making nails). Where the Apprentice is also earning experience on the side, assume that the Apprentice gains one quarter of the xp needed to advance to his next level every three months he remains in the apprenticeship.
Master Craftsman [Feat]
Req: 15 Int, 13 ranks in Craft (any). Must present a guild of craftsmen with three different masterpieces with a total worth exceeding one thousand gold pieces*. The guild's members (all masters) must accept the character.
Benefit: The Master can make his Craft checks ten times as quickly as before. When making his checks over a daily period his result is in silver pieces rather than gold and when making a check over a weekly period his result is in gold pieces rather than silver.
Normal: A character can make Craft checks with progression in copper pieces per day or silver pieces per week.
*This can include items with multiple masterwork components, such as a masterwork blade with a separately masterworked handle. Assume purely cosmetic masterwork has a value of 300gp and DC 20.
Expert Professional [Feat]
Req: 15 Wis, 13 ranks in Profession (any). Must receive an official appointment to a noble (or regional) court.*
Benefit: The Expert can make his Profession checks as if receiving ten times more coin than is usual. He earns half his check result per week in platinum pieces, rather than gold.
Normal: A character can make Profession checks once per week to earn half their check result in gold pieces.
*There is only generally one Expert of any given field provided noble appointment in a region. Competition for the position can be harsh, given the benefits of patronage.
Doctor of Philosophy [Feat]
Req: 15 Int, 13 ranks in Knowledge (any). Must receive a doctorate from a university or similar body of knowledge in exchange for some form of significant scientific contribution.*
Benefit: The Doctor can take 10 on any Knowledge check. He does not have to take 10 and can make a roll to potentially increase his chances of having the knowledge, but he must pick either to take 10 or roll to see if he knows the information required. He cannot make the check again until he has gained a rank in the field of Knowledge in question. He cannot take 20 on this sort of check. He cannot apply this to Bardic Knowledge checks (or similar).
Normal: It is impossible to take 10 or 20 on Knowledge checks.
*Good examples would be groundbreaking research in the field of choice or potentially researching a new spell relating to the field of choice. The college retains ownership of the contribution at the end and such endeavours usually require field work (rather dangerous field work, for the planar scholars).
Knowledge as a Research Skill
Partly to provide a method of employment for scholars, as well as to allow players to go about researching knowledge of different kinds, here are some short rules for adapting the Knowledge skills to allow for research (as well as simply knowing or not knowing things).
As a Trade: To peddle your services as a scholar in a field of knowledge, make a Knowledge check and receive half that amount in gold pieces for a week's work.
Researching Information: The DM assigns both a value to a specific piece of knowledge and a difficulty. The value is usually representative of the depth of knowledge required (as well as its value to research), such that a valuable piece of common knowledge would require a very in-depth analysis (taking months) rather than an equally valuable piece of esoteric knowledge (requiring less time but more skill to obtain). Researching a piece of knowledge works much as crafting an item - the character makes his check and multiplies it by the DC of the task. If successful, this result in silver pieces is added to a running total. When this total reaches the market value of the information in question, the research is completed. Research uses up 1/3rd of the market value of the information being researched in library fees, book purchases, scholarly consultation and in pre-researched material.
Obtaining an artefact of some description relating to a piece of knowledge adds a +2 artefactual circumstance bonus to all checks made to research a piece of knowledge. Obtaining literature relating directly to the knowledge in question adds a separate +2 literary circumstance bonus to the check. Having an individual at hand who has directly experienced whatever the piece of knowledge relates to (interacted with it, was present during an event) provides a +5 artefactual circumstance bonus (this supercedes an artefactual bonus from an artefact). Physically visiting the site or finding the item, person or entity the knowledge pertains to provides a +8 artefactual circumstance bonus (this supercedes the bonus from an individual or artefact).
Simple Knowledge: DC 10 Requires few if any materials.
Basic Knowledge: DC 15 Requires a small library of basic books or a thorough textbook.
Complex Knowledge: DC 20 Requires a well-stocked library.
Advanced Knowledge: DC 25 Requires a specialised library.
Esoteric Knowledge: DC 30+ Requires a very specialised library, almost certainly field work.
Advancement for NPCs/Crafters: NPCs and Crafters advance differently from adventurers. Given their non-combatant status, most of their advancement is through diligent progress in their work rather than slaying monsters (although they may still get experience from this method, it just is not likely). NPCs/Crafters advance by means of skill development but also through the equivalent of roleplaying XP - taking part in significant social events (on whatever scale) ranging from unmasking the traitor to the crown to saving Mrs Malley's cat garner xp on the side.
NPCs/Crafters advance at a rate of 1 level/year if challenged, though this is usually awarded as a quarter of the xp needed to advance a level every three months. If an NPC/Crafter's ranks in his highest Craft, Profession or Knowledge skill are such that when combined with his appropriate natural ability modifier he would exceed the DC of the task he most commonly undertakes with that skill by 5 on a roll of 10, he will not advance until he undertakes a more difficult takes.
Example: Kudrick has 12 ranks in Craft (blacksmithy) and 15 Int. He typically creates masterwork longswords. Most of his time is spent on the masterwork components (DC 20). On a roll of 10, he would get a result of 10+12+2 or 24. This is only 4 points higher than the required DC for the component, so he will still gain xp every three months for making the swords. If he advances a level (taking another rank in the Craft) or is granted a wish and becomes smarter (raising his Int bonus to +3) his average result is 25, 5 points higher than the DC of 20. He will no longer gain from producing masterwork components and so must try to produce more difficult items with higher DCs if he wishes to advance further levels.
Advancement in Knowledge Skills: If the character is a scholar, judge this by the DC of the type of knowledge he spends the most time researching.
Advancement in Professions: If the character's primary earning skill is in a Profession, assume that menial jobs equate to DC 10, trained jobs equate to DC 15, skilled jobs to DC 20, expert jobs to DC 25 and continue advancing using DM judgement as to whether a character is in a sufficiently challenging position to advance.
Apprentice [Feat]
Req: 11 Int or 11 Wis, 4 ranks in Craft (any), Knowledge (any) or Profession (any), must be lower than 8th level, must have secured an apprenticeship with a Master, Doctor or Expert of the associated Craft/Knowledge/Profession and remain within it.
Benefits: The Apprentice gains levels at a rate of 1 per year, so long as he remains within his apprenticeship (even if he would not normally qualify for this method of advancement, such as because he spends all his time making nails). Where the Apprentice is also earning experience on the side, assume that the Apprentice gains one quarter of the xp needed to advance to his next level every three months he remains in the apprenticeship.
Master Craftsman [Feat]
Req: 15 Int, 13 ranks in Craft (any). Must present a guild of craftsmen with three different masterpieces with a total worth exceeding one thousand gold pieces*. The guild's members (all masters) must accept the character.
Benefit: The Master can make his Craft checks ten times as quickly as before. When making his checks over a daily period his result is in silver pieces rather than gold and when making a check over a weekly period his result is in gold pieces rather than silver.
Normal: A character can make Craft checks with progression in copper pieces per day or silver pieces per week.
*This can include items with multiple masterwork components, such as a masterwork blade with a separately masterworked handle. Assume purely cosmetic masterwork has a value of 300gp and DC 20.
Expert Professional [Feat]
Req: 15 Wis, 13 ranks in Profession (any). Must receive an official appointment to a noble (or regional) court.*
Benefit: The Expert can make his Profession checks as if receiving ten times more coin than is usual. He earns half his check result per week in platinum pieces, rather than gold.
Normal: A character can make Profession checks once per week to earn half their check result in gold pieces.
*There is only generally one Expert of any given field provided noble appointment in a region. Competition for the position can be harsh, given the benefits of patronage.
Doctor of Philosophy [Feat]
Req: 15 Int, 13 ranks in Knowledge (any). Must receive a doctorate from a university or similar body of knowledge in exchange for some form of significant scientific contribution.*
Benefit: The Doctor can take 10 on any Knowledge check. He does not have to take 10 and can make a roll to potentially increase his chances of having the knowledge, but he must pick either to take 10 or roll to see if he knows the information required. He cannot make the check again until he has gained a rank in the field of Knowledge in question. He cannot take 20 on this sort of check. He cannot apply this to Bardic Knowledge checks (or similar).
Normal: It is impossible to take 10 or 20 on Knowledge checks.
*Good examples would be groundbreaking research in the field of choice or potentially researching a new spell relating to the field of choice. The college retains ownership of the contribution at the end and such endeavours usually require field work (rather dangerous field work, for the planar scholars).
Knowledge as a Research Skill
Partly to provide a method of employment for scholars, as well as to allow players to go about researching knowledge of different kinds, here are some short rules for adapting the Knowledge skills to allow for research (as well as simply knowing or not knowing things).
As a Trade: To peddle your services as a scholar in a field of knowledge, make a Knowledge check and receive half that amount in gold pieces for a week's work.
Researching Information: The DM assigns both a value to a specific piece of knowledge and a difficulty. The value is usually representative of the depth of knowledge required (as well as its value to research), such that a valuable piece of common knowledge would require a very in-depth analysis (taking months) rather than an equally valuable piece of esoteric knowledge (requiring less time but more skill to obtain). Researching a piece of knowledge works much as crafting an item - the character makes his check and multiplies it by the DC of the task. If successful, this result in silver pieces is added to a running total. When this total reaches the market value of the information in question, the research is completed. Research uses up 1/3rd of the market value of the information being researched in library fees, book purchases, scholarly consultation and in pre-researched material.
Obtaining an artefact of some description relating to a piece of knowledge adds a +2 artefactual circumstance bonus to all checks made to research a piece of knowledge. Obtaining literature relating directly to the knowledge in question adds a separate +2 literary circumstance bonus to the check. Having an individual at hand who has directly experienced whatever the piece of knowledge relates to (interacted with it, was present during an event) provides a +5 artefactual circumstance bonus (this supercedes an artefactual bonus from an artefact). Physically visiting the site or finding the item, person or entity the knowledge pertains to provides a +8 artefactual circumstance bonus (this supercedes the bonus from an individual or artefact).
Simple Knowledge: DC 10 Requires few if any materials.
Basic Knowledge: DC 15 Requires a small library of basic books or a thorough textbook.
Complex Knowledge: DC 20 Requires a well-stocked library.
Advanced Knowledge: DC 25 Requires a specialised library.
Esoteric Knowledge: DC 30+ Requires a very specialised library, almost certainly field work.