The Royal Artificery Society - OOC

[MrAbdiel]

Well +20 is really good and all. But in this game, a crafting focused game where we try to make wondrous things.. I've found that often times to get everything we want, we usually need rolls of 25 or 30...

It really depends, though. A masterwork violin out of the appropriate wood? Easily a dc of 20 as it is. Then taking advantage of the spirit wood properties and first time working with the wood? Yeah, I can easily see needing a 30 for that roll. Not reaching the high numbers has typically resulted in having to make compromises and dropping features, or needing to find new ways to tackle a problem.

For instance, Bolten did not roll superbly well one time while crafting that SCORP thing, and so Shandara had to step in to try to solve the problem with some enchantments to get around the engineering shortcomings.

Not like I'm the GM here, but just telling you what I'm intuiting based off of experience.


edit: Aiden is so sweet and unassuming, I feel kind of bad to make him feel sad and bashful...

I know IRL I could not stand up to his charms and puppy dog eyes. Shandara however is.. well, a bit more 'focused'.

Well, I'll just have to roll WELL then! :D Aiden is bummed out but he'll just have to pay the premium price to buy some Spiritwood for himself and make a fiddle some day, that's all. And it'll be easier to afford if Shandara and he make a side hustle right now of cranking out deluxe wands. But that kind of long-term planning is the domain of people with more than 8 in Wisdom; Aiden can just learn that fact in retrospect.

If something goes wrong during the wood cutting process you could repurpose at least part of it to something simple like wands. In fact, if Aiden does really well there might be enough left even on a success to make a couple wands.

Edit: if Aiden were to agree to be extra prudent (which would raise the dc), you could guarantee almost all of the wood to be suitable for reprocessing into wands.

For the enchanting, using the properties of the wood you pay for a very small amount of reagents (let's say 1% of the usual cost), and a failure wastes those reagents and reduces the capacity of the wood to some degree (if it starts out at 10,000 gp a small failure might knock of 500 or 1000, while a major one would reduce by more). This is irreversible, but if enough capacity is left you can try again, and worst case, you can do it the traditional way at full price if you waste too much of the wood's capacity.

@prehysterical, you think you have a good grasp on what you need for creating the typing machine, but you have the feeling you're overlooking something slightly more fundamental to the whole problem.

@mrabdiel, just to set some expectations for the DC's in projects like this, you can indeed expect it to hover in the 25-35 area. That +20 is what qualifies you to take on things of this magnitude, but it won't fix it all on its own for you.

Thanks for the breakdown! And no worries; I will nat 20 this roll and solve all problems.

[Prehysterical]

DeTess, should I have Bolten make some kind of Intelligence or Wisdom check for him to figure out what the potential issue might be?

[DeTess]

DeTess, should I have Bolten make some kind of Intelligence or Wisdom check for him to figure out what the potential issue might be?

If you haven't figured it out from the gentle prod, feel free to do so.

Edit: sorry if the above seems arrogant. It seems really obvious from where I am standing, but I've seen before that that doesn't mean it is actually obvious.

[WindStruck]

I don't have anything else to post at the moment. Just waiting for a response to Aiden's inquiry i guess?

But I do plan to continue a bit after that.

[WindStruck]

Actually.. regarding Aiden's question.. I'll throw in a random appraise roll for Lady Orlof's dress.

(1d20+11)[21]

[DeTess]

Actually.. regarding Aiden's question.. I'll throw in a random appraise roll for Lady Orlof's dress.

[roll0]

Based on what you can see, Lady Orlof's initial appraisal sounds fair. The higher estimate she gives is hard to justify based on the dresses appearance, but might be explained if there is something unusual about the material. You're not picking up any enchantments.

[Prehysterical]

Did I forget about the paper roller? I know that I talked about the slider, but I think I forgot having that knob on the side that you can twist to raise or lower the paper while it is being held in the machine.

[DeTess]

Did I forget about the paper roller? I know that I talked about the slider, but I think I forgot having that knob on the side that you can twist to raise or lower the paper while it is being held in the machine.

The design of the typing machine is fine, it's just... Are you certain it is the right solution to this particular problem?

[Prehysterical]

I mean, Bolten could make a mechanical arm that writes with the pen instead of just leaving it to magic, but that still sounds like automated magic... just with extra steps.

I suppose Bolten could use this opportunity to fund his research into a clockwork servant. A construct would be able to correct for an error since it has at least enough of a mind to recognize an error and not just mindlessly keep going.

[WindStruck]

Bolten can create the first AI language model in this fantasy setting!

[WindStruck]

Heya, just checking in! It has been quite a long time. Is everything okay?

I think Aiden and Shandara would be waiting on some response from Lady Orlof, though I think our meeting there is wrapping up.

As for Bolten, I think there was some question about his design? Or maybe that is cleared up. Just not sure where we are going now.

[DeTess]

Heya, just checking in! It has been quite a long time. Is everything okay?

I think Aiden and Shandara would be waiting on some response from Lady Orlof, though I think our meeting there is wrapping up.

As for Bolten, I think there was some question about his design? Or maybe that is cleared up. Just not sure where we are going now.

Sorry, that was my bad. I think I thought I was still waiting on you when I wasn't.

@prehysterical, feel free to either take that wisdom check, or continue as you planned. If you manage to make the typing machine working it won't be useless to them either.

[Prehysterical]

At this point, now I'm curious.

Wisdom: (1d20+1)[16]

[DeTess]

At this point, now I'm curious.

Wisdom: [roll0]

Well, what they need right now is something to mass-produce existing documents, rather than easily create new ones. Your solution is meant to do the latter and would need many additions to do the former. To better suit their needs, it would be better to look at something that does the former first of all.

[MrAbdiel]

Alrighty; well, unless we're gonna get rumbled dropping Shandara home, I think we're close to done and ready to start rolling to experiment with these woods.

For clarity on my end Windstruck, is Shandara requesting that the wood length - which is a pretty chunky little log at this point - remain uncut entirely? Or is she just warning against cutting it up completely, asking instead to get just a sample 'wand' from a small piece?

[DeTess]

Alrighty; well, unless we're gonna get rumbled dropping Shandara home, I think we're close to done and ready to start rolling to experiment with these woods.

No issues on that end.

[WindStruck]

Alrighty; well, unless we're gonna get rumbled dropping Shandara home, I think we're close to done and ready to start rolling to experiment with these woods.

For clarity on my end Windstruck, is Shandara requesting that the wood length - which is a pretty chunky little log at this point - remain uncut entirely? Or is she just warning against cutting it up completely, asking instead to get just a sample 'wand' from a small piece?

The latter is correct.

[Prehysterical]

Well, what they need right now is something to mass-produce existing documents, rather than easily create new ones. Your solution is meant to do the latter and would need many additions to do the former. To better suit their needs, it would be better to look at something that does the former first of all.

Oh... I somehow skipped straight over to the typewriter without the printing press step in the middle. Yes, I see how that could be a problem.

So, since Bolten succeeded on that Wisdom check, can we just say that he would realize that and come up with a design that incorporates metal typeface with a rolling press wheel that stamps the design template onto the paper once set?

[DeTess]

Oh... I somehow skipped straight over to the typewriter without the printing press step in the middle. Yes, I see how that could be a problem.

So, since Bolten succeeded on that Wisdom check, can we just say that he would realize that and come up with a design that incorporates metal typeface with a rolling press wheel that stamps the design template onto the paper once set?

That's perfectly fine.

[WindStruck]

Well okay. I think Shandara will be working on her comprehensive water conjuring paper in the meantime. Perhaps if deemed worthy, and there is enough information, they might even bind it into a small book! Or add it to another book.

Otherwise, she'll be waiting on Aiden for both a sample wand dowel to more closely examine and experiment with, and also on any finished violins he'd like her to enchant.

Now as a suggestion.. perhaps, he'd just want to go for making a standard quality instrument (not masterwork) so we can get an idea of what modifications need to be made to factor in Shandara's enchantments. For example, if she were to add some gems somewhere, or carve little runes into the sides, would that affect the sound quality?

Um, last thing. I actually don't have a wand crafting feat yet, but.. when might we expect to level? I'm sure one will come again in the months before more spirit wood comes.

[MrAbdiel]

Works for Aiden! Masterwork instruments are 100gp, so they're a little bit of effort; but common ones are 5gp, so that's basically an overnight job (insane as it is to craft a violin overnight; handwave handwave...). Although Aiden has a little professional pride in making good things... But he can certainly make her a mock-up of the design he intends to make out of mundane wood for her to plan with.

As the base rules stand, crafting a musical instrument is like this:

Base cost 5GP or 100GP for masterwork. Naturally, one is required to pay 1/3rd of the final item's cost in materials, though we might have covered much of that up front. Still, the values are necessary for their goal marks in silver: 50SP and 1000SP respectively.

A single week of labor, taking 10 for the example, nets Aiden a 32. It's probably fair to call a violin a "complex or superior item" for a DC of 20.. Or a DC of 30 to accelerate the crafting.

32*30=960, for 960SP worth of carpentry labor a week. He can complete 96% of a masterwork violin in a week... But that's using materials he is familiar with and comfortable with enough to take 10. Needless to say, he can very comfortably make an instrument worth 1/20th of the cost/labor intensity in much less time.

So! Here's what Aiden needs to do, before anything:

1. Carve off a wand length of Spirit Wood for Shandara. He'll cut a flat sheet about 3/4" thick from the spirit wood, then cut a 3/4" wide stick from the end of that sheet. He'll put the rest of the spirit wood away for safe keeping; and he'll also be careful to clear his workspace and store the dust from the sawing, on an instinct that he can mix it into the wood glue later to better cohere it as a magical instrument. The next evening, he'll drop off the 'blank' wand, trimmed at that point into a long octagonal prism, to Shandara's home.

2. Experiment with Bogwood and Tundra Oak, trying to understand their properties to foresee potential dilemmas using them for this delicate crafting.

Spoiler: 3. Secret Project, for GM Eyes Only

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Aiden is going to use the little scraps and offcuts he makes from squaring off the Spirit Wood for later use (and from cutting out the wand blank) to make a gift for Shandara - a set of spectacles. He's noticed that she squints in daylight and seems to struggle in bright surroundings, so his plan is to get some 'smoked glass' with a nice dark tint for lenses, make some frames from finely sanded and shaped scraps of spirit wood, and maybe consult with the cranky dwarven tinker about a tiny set of hinges for the arms to fold away. Fundamentally it's a small, nonmagically woodworking project (though if later on Shandara wants to enchant them to be something better then maybe the Spirit Wood would make that more affordable). And they're just flat lenses, not corrective; so Aiden's minimal investment in Craft: Glass may be enough to cut and shape those lenses. Standard eyeglasses cost 5GP on the SRD, so it might not be a large investment timewise or cashwise!

[DeTess]

@mrabdiel,
Agrees on not being able to take 10 for working with this new material.

For the wand, the people you talked about it emphasized it is the crystal veins running through it that comprise the enchanting properties. Just cutting out the wand blanks like you normally would would result in a piece holding several short sections of different veins. You could also try following one of those veins for the wand, but that would be more difficult and would result in a more twisty shape, so with that method you could get fewer in total if you processed the rest of the block later.

You don't know much about enchanting so you're unsure which method is better for the enchanting side of things.

@everyone, I think I have been forgetting about the level up side of things, so everyone take an e6 level-up (just an extra feat).

[Prehysterical]

Hey all, it's pretty obvious that my participation has been lacking lately. I do apologize for that. There's been workplace drama and this time of year is always the busiest for me with the school groups.

On top of that, we are approaching the one-year "anniversary" of my father's death, so... I've had things on my mind.

I will try to get a post up this week, but I won't make a promise that I may not keep. If you're wondering why I've been away so much, that's why.

I'm happy with this group and didn't want you to think that my quiet has been due to me flaking on the game.

[WindStruck]

@everyone, I think I have been forgetting about the level up side of things, so everyone take an e6 level-up (just an extra feat).

So only just a feat, no more levels in that class we "gestalted" into?


I think I will have Shandara reserve a few more days experimenting with her water magic in one of those lab rooms that are designed against flooding in the mean time.

Also about the wand: I think it would be best to cut a piece as small as possible out of the wood. In other words, avoid the idea where you shave off a whole flat side of it. Then again, this is just my OOC advice, and I guess Shandara hasn't fully explained her preferences, nor is she the wood working "expert".

[DeTess]

So only just a feat, no more levels in that class we "gestalted" into?

This time, yeah.

[MrAbdiel]

Ah! I can't get into making wonderous items or expanding my ability to use Inspire Competence until after Bard 3 - but hey, I'll take a free feat without complaining too much! I'll take Prodigy again. This time for Sculpture, and... Shipwright. And as for out next step on the wand thing - well, Aiden is a woodworker and not much of an arcanist; and Shandara is an arcanist and not much of a woodworker. But I have a plan! I will include it in my post to come.


EDIT: Also...

Hey all, it's pretty obvious that my participation has been lacking lately. I do apologize for that. There's been workplace drama and this time of year is always the busiest for me with the school groups.

On top of that, we are approaching the one-year "anniversary" of my father's death, so... I've had things on my mind.

I will try to get a post up this week, but I won't make a promise that I may not keep. If you're wondering why I've been away so much, that's why.

I'm happy with this group and didn't want you to think that my quiet has been due to me flaking on the game.

Appreciate the update, friend. Between the drama, the being busy, and the unwelcome anniversary, it's more than understandable. You do what you gotta do; but I'm glad you're sticking around.

[WindStruck]

Hmm. About what time would you say Aiden is coming over? And did he make any cuts to the Spirit Wood at all yet?

Spoiler: ooc spoilers

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So much to my shock a while ago, elves in the pathfinder setting actually need exactly as much rest as other similar humanoid beings, though I suppose whether you want to still say they meditate, trance, or just actually sleep is up in the air at this point. Most will have a standard immunity to sleep, though.

So ANYWAY. If I am having to cut out 8 hours of the day, it's a bit inconvenient to interact with the daywalkers

Though RAW explicitly writes the minimum threshold of restful sleep as 6 hours. So I will tentatively go out on a limb and say Shandara will pretty much always be sleeping from 10am - 4pm. If given another generous hour, 9am - 4pm. This may exclude certain other outings or special events we had, for example I think she got back a bit later after visiting Lady Orlof, and had to wake up earlier for that little picnic and testing thing with Bolten.

So anyway, I figure I'd have to concretely write down some times at some point. Let's see how much Aiden manages to annoy her!

[MrAbdiel]

He has made no cuts. And he would come over, I guess, immediately after his daily busking-for-the-Stormdrains gig at the Society campus, which always felt like a breakfast thing. 8 am or so. Say he hangs there for an hour, or a half - how long does it take to walk from there to Shandara’s home? :)

[WindStruck]

I don't really know how long it takes to walk from A to B, but it shouldn't be long. Well, okay.

That time actually works. You won't find her opening the door half asleep and grumpy or just about to settle into bed in a night gown. Maybe just plain grumpy though.

[MrAbdiel]

Well, Aiden’s pretty distractible. He is definately at risk of wandering around looking at houses and trees and ending up getting there just a little too late to be ideal! Feel free to flip a coin for it!