DQ Artisan

Artisan

Artisan is not a skill in itself. It is a heading under which many craft, trade and service skills may be grouped, as they all function in a similar manner within the rules. Any, or indeed all of the skills listed below may be learned, but each is learned and ranked as a separate skill. Knowledge of any one of the Artisan skills confers no benefit with regard to learning or ranking another.

The most common skills under the heading of Artisan are:

APIARIST: bee breeder, keeper, honey collector.
ARTIST, PAINTER: formal, perspective painting.
ARTIST, SCULPTOR: sculpture design and construction.
BARBER/COIFFEUR: simple hairstyling through to massive structures of hair, wire and glue, made to resemble ships in full sail, castles, etc.
BASKETMAKER: basket weaving, making wicker.
BLACKSMITH: iron smelting and fashioning, simple founding.
BREWER: brewing beer, ale, stout, mead, creating new recipes.
BRICKMAKER/BRICKLAYER: mixing the ingredients for bricks, using brick moulds, checking integrity, making brick constructions, designing paving stones.
BUTCHER: killing, butchering and preparation of animals.
CARPENTER/CABINETMAKER: joints and wood-joining, woodworking, making basic wooden constructions, wooden furniture.
CALLIGRAPHER/ILLUMINATOR: fancy script, book illustration, drafting official documents.
CARTOGRAPHER/CHARTMAKER: map and sea chart making and copying.
CARTWRIGHT/WHEELWRIGHT: basic wagon and cart design, wagon, cart and wheel construction.
CARVER:BONE/ETCHING/WOOD: carving, engraving, woodcuts, plates for printing.
CASTER/PEWTERER/TINSMITH: complex and intricate casting by sand, mould or "lost wax" methods. Making and casting pewter and smelting and fashioning of soft base metals.
CHANDLER / LAMP MAKER: design and construction of lamps and lanterns.
CHARCOALER: making charcoal from partially burnt wood and bones.
CHEESEMAKER: turning milk into curds and whey, pressing curd to form cheese, creating new recipes.
CLOTHMAKER/FULLER/WEAVER: material collection, cleaning, spinning, weaving, hammering in dirt to soften, cloth design and creation.
COBBLER/CORDWAINER: shoe and boot design and construction.
COOK/BAKER: food preparation and cooking, baking, pastry making, creating new recipes.
COOPER: design and construction of barrels and casks.
DYER/INKMAKER: extraction of natural dyes, mixing of mineral compounds to make inks and dyes.
FARMER/GARDENER:
ploughing, planting, tending, harvesting, food crops or ornamental plants.
FISHER: fishing, basic net repair, fish identification.
GLASS BLOWER: glass mixing, blowing, window construction, staining.
GOLD/SILVERSMITH: smelting and fashioning of gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals.
HATTER/MILLINER: design and construction of men's and women's hats.
HUNTER/TRAPPER: use of gin, or other animal traps, skinning, animal collection.
HUSBANDER: breeding, raising, tending of animals.
LAPIDARY: gem and semi-precious stone cutting, polishing, finishing.
LEATHERWORKER: making of leather into garments and articles such as saddles.
LOCKSMITH: design and construction of simple locks.
LUMBERJACK: tree felling, hewing, sawing for planks, replanting.
MASON: stone quarrying, cutting, finishing and fitting.
MILLER: milling grains into flour, millwheel use.
MINER: quarrying, prospecting, tunnelling, not mine design.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER: design and construction.
PAPERMAKER: plant collection, pulping, screening, drying, grading, creating new recipes.
PERFUMER: extraction of scents, perfume recipe creation, perfume mixing.
PLASTERER: mixing and application of plaster.
POTTER: clay collection and mixing, pottery design and construction, firing, glazing.
PRINTER/BOOKBINDER: setting printing type and plates, press operation, binding books.
ROOFER/THATCHER: material collection, bundling, binding, attaching roofs of thatch, sod, or tile.
ROPE/NETMAKER: plant collection, unravelling, winding and braiding, net design and construction.
RUG/CARPETMAKER: pattern design, material collection, weaving, and finishing.
SAIL/TENTMAKER: sail construction, sewing tents, tarring and waterproofing.
SAILOR: operating small boats and crewing ships. Basic sail repair and knots.
SALTER: salt collection from inland sources or by evaporating seawater.
SHIPWRIGHT: boat and ship construction from standard designs, not creating new designs.
TAILOR/SEAMSTRESS: cutting, fitting, designing and constructing, men's or women's clothing.
TANNER/HIDEWORKER/FURRIER: cleaning, scraping, preserving, grading, leather or pelts, making of preserved pelts into garments, or garment trims..
TATTOOIST: tattoo design, pigment mixing and implementation.
TAXIDERMIST: pithing, preserving, stuffing and mounting of animals and trophies.
TINKER: basic metal implement repair, knife grinding.
TOYMAKER: design and construction of puppets, dolls and simple mechanical toys.
UNDERTAKER/EMBALMER: funeral preparation and celebration, body preservation and reconstruction, mixing embalming fluids.
VINTNER: manufacture of wine, sherry, port, brandy and other fermented or distilled beverages, creating new recipes.
WIG MAKER: hair collection, cleaning, sorting, wig design, manufacture and fitting.

Benefits of Rank

An Artisan becomes increasingly more effective at their skill as their rank increases. An Artisan may always work at an Effective Rank lower than their true rank. Standard items, as shown on the DQ Equipment List as manufactured with an Effective Rank of 0. The Artisan creating the item may have had a higher rank than this, but the skill used was elementary. Generally, work produced at a higher Effective Rank will appear better, be more aesthetically pleasing, be more durable, taste better, or result in a higher yield, as appropriate.

APPLICABLE BASE CHANCE: +1% / Rank applied.
APPLICABLE CHARACTERISTIC: +1 / 5 full Ranks applied.
DIFFICULTY MODIFIER: -0.5 / 5 full Ranks applied.
YIELD: +5% / Rank applied.

These effects are not cumulative, but the effective Rank used may be spread between these aspects. The benefits of the improved quality will only accrue if the Skill (or item created) is used correctly and in appropriate circumstances.

E.g. A Seamstress with Rank 8 in her Skill creates a ball gown at an Effective Rank of 8 for a courtesan. She must make the gown out of very high quality cloth (of an appropriate type) and can either create a gown which confers +8% on reaction rolls or one that gives +1 PB and +3% on reaction rolls, provided that the courtesan wears it both correctly and in a situation for which it was designed.

E.g. A Carpenter with Rank 7 may build a door (to resist the gentle ministrations of adventurers) that either reduces their chance of kicking it down by 7% or is half a difficulty factor harder to kick in and further reduces their chances by 2%.

E.g. A Fisher with Rank 10 may catch 150% (100 + (Rank 10 x 5%)) of the normal amount of fish, in a days fishing.

No more than one Artisan bonus may applied to a specific Base Chance or Difficulty Modifier, be gained to any one characteristic, or be added to a Yield. If there is a conflict the better of the bonuses may be employed.

E.g.. If the Courtesan in the example above where to wear her Rank 8 (+1 PB, +3%) ballgown in conjuntion with the a tiara she had made at Rank 5 that also grants +1 PB, she would still only gain +1 to PB.

If the Skill (or item created) is used incorrectly or in inappropriate circumstances then no bonus will be gained and negative modifiers may apply.

Time & Cost

The time and cost for an Artisan to perform their skill is dependant on the Effective Rank used and the Base Time required for that skill.

The Time required is: (Base Time x ((Effective Rank / 2) +1)).

E.g. If the Base Time to make a Rank 0 Ball-gown is 1 week, then an Rank 7 one will take 1 week x ((7 / 2) +1) = 4.5 weeks.

The Cost is: (80% of Base Cost x (Effective Rank + 1)) silver pennies. Note: This is the cost to the Artisan, not the sale price.

Exceptions: Those Ranks used to gain extra yield do not count in the Time calculation. Also, half of any Ranks possessed by the Artisan above the Rank being used, may be subtracted from the Effective Rank in the Time calculation, to a minimum of the Base Time.

Artisan as Merchant

An Artisan is treated as a Merchant of half their Rank (rounded down) when attempting to buy or value equipment or materials with which someone with their skill would be familiar.

Requirements

An Artisan will usually require a workshop, or at least a tool-kit to perform their skill properly. The cost of tools and basic materials will vary, but will usually be (100 + (50 x Rank)) silver pennies. An Artisan may not perform their skill at a higher rank than that of their workshop or tool kit.

Rank	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
EP	250	100	150	350	700	950	1500	1850	2500	3200	4000

Design Notes

The intent of this skill is to provide a single way of handling all of those mudane abilities that players wish to acquire for character reasons. They may represent knowledge and skills from before the character became an adventurer, or may be a character's hobby. The list of skills is not meant to be exhaustive and almost any arts, crafts, or simple professional skill that a player or GM can come up with may be fitted into this framework.