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Masterwork Items — House Rules — Campaign Notes — Home last changed 16 March 2008 |
In the Xaeyruudh campaign, there are several "levels" of masterwork. Masterwork items do not simply add a flat cost and give a single benefit.
It's a little more complicated, but there are two significant payoffs. First, having multiple levels of masterwork craftsmanship introduces a wider array of benefits to the use of masterwork equipment. Perhaps more exciting for PCs in the Xaeyruudh campaign, the masterwork bonuses do stack with enhancement bonuses.
Of course, my initial reason for tampering with masterwork mechanics was a firm belief that charging the same 300 gold for a masterwork dagger and a masterwork silver greatsword just doesn't make sense.
There are several tiers of masterwork armor. Each suit is a remarkable work of art— hand–crafted to exacting standards.
Times–10 armor grants no combat benefits, but can receive +1 enchantments. It is crafted from uncommon materials, and may allow a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks with NPCs who are impressed by expensive gear. Times–10 armor costs 10 times the standard cost— 10x leather armor, for instance, has a market price of 50 gp.
Times–20 armor offers the standard –1 modifier to armor check penalties and can receive +2 enchantments. It is crafted from fine materials, and may allow a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–20 armor costs 20 times the standard cost— 20x hide armor, for instance, has a market price of 300 gp.
Times–30 armor raises the Maximum Dexterity Bonus by one point. In addition it offers the standard –1 modifier to armor check penalties and can receive +3 enchantments. It is crafted from exceptional materials, and may allow a +3 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–30 armor costs 30 times the standard cost— 30x scale mail, for instance, has a market price of 1,500 gp.
Times–40 armor is considered one category "lighter" for the purposes of determining movement reduction. In addition it raises the Max Dex Bonus by one point and offers the standard –1 modifier to armor check penalties, and can receive +4 enchantments. It is crafted from superior materials, and may allow a +4 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–40 armor costs 40 times the standard cost— a 40x chain shirt, for instance, has a market price of 4,000 gp.
Times–50 armor offers a nonmagical +1 modifier to Armor/Shield Bonus and is considered one category "lighter" for the purposes of determining movement reduction. In addition it raises the Max Dex Bonus by one point, offers the standard –1 modifier to armor check penalties, and can receive +5 enchantments. It is crafted from exquisite materials, and may allow a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–50 armor costs 50 times the standard cost— 50x banded mail, for instance, has a market price of 12,500 gp.
If you're making use of Epic items (enhancement bonuses up to +10), times–100 armor offers a nonmagical +2 modifier to Armor/Shield Bonus and is considered one category "lighter" for the purposes of determining movement reduction. In addition it raises the Max Dex Bonus by two points, eliminates armor check penalties, and can receive +10 enchantments. It is crafted from utterly unique materials, and may allow a +10 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks with NPCs who have a clue of what they're looking at. Times–100 armor costs 100 times the standard cost— 100x full plate, for instance, has a market price of 150,000 gp... which seems like a lot until you consider the +10 enchantment which will set you back a cool million.
The tiers also apply to masterwork weapons.
Times–10 weapons grant no combat benefits, but can receive +1 enchantments. They are crafted from uncommon materials, and may allow a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks with NPCs who are impressed by expensive gear. Times–10 weapons cost 10 times the standard cost— a 10x shortspear, for instance, has a market value of 10 gp.
Times–20 weapons offer the standard nonmagical +1 modifier to attack rolls, and can receive +2 enchantments. They are crafted from fine materials, and may allow a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–20 weapons cost 20 times the standard cost— a 20x halberd, for instance, has a market value of 200 gp.
Times–30 weapons give a nonmagical +1 modifier to attack and damage rolls, and can receive +3 enchantments. They are crafted from exceptional materials, and may allow a +3 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–30 weapons cost 30 times the standard cost— a 30x short bow, for instance, has a market value of 900 gp.
Times–40 weapons weapons have their critical–threat range extended by one point. In addition, they give a nonmagical +1 modifier to attack and damage rolls and can receive +4 enchantments. They are crafted from superior materials, and may allow a +4 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–40 weapons cost 40 times the standard cost— a 40x greatsword, for instance, has a market value of 2,000 gp.
Times–50 weapons weapons have their critical–threat range and critical damage multiplier increased by one point. In addition, they give a nonmagical +1 modifier to attack and damage rolls, and can receive +5 enchantments. They are crafted from exquisite materials, and may allow a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks in some situations. Times–50 weapons cost 50 times the standard cost— a 50x falchion, for instance, has a market value of 3,750 gp.
If you're making use of Epic items (enhancement bonuses up to +10), times–100 weapons weapons have their damage die increased as per heavy weapons. In addition, their critical–threat range and critical damage multiplier are increased by one point, they give a nonmagical +1 modifier to attack and damage rolls, and can receive +10 enchantments. They are crafted from utterly unique materials, and may allow a +10 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks with NPCs who have a clue of what they're looking at. Times–100 weapons cost 100 times the standard cost— a 100x repeating heavy crossbow, for instance, has a market value of 40,000 gp.
Masterwork tools can also make use of multiple tiers.
One integral premise of this system is that creating times–20 armor is more demanding work than making times–10 armor— the Craft DC is higher. As the materials become more scarce and the processes become more difficult, there are fewer craftsmen who can rise to the challenge. Accordingly, there are only a handful of smiths in Faerûn who can make times–50 armor, and perhaps only one in the world who can forge a times–100 silver greatsword.
Add to this funnel–effect the proclivity of most smiths to "autograph" their work in some fashion, and a natural consequence is that most of the powerful magical items in the Realms can be readily traced to a particular crafter's hands by those who recognize the signatures.
| Simple | Martial | Exotic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 10 | 13 | 16 |
| One–Handed Melee | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Two–Handed Melee | 14 | 17 | 20 |
| Double Melee | 17 | 20 | 23 |
It becomes possible with this expansion of the masterwork rules to introduce a much greater variety of item qualities into the campaign. A 20x longsword will cost 300 gp, and be very similar to a masterwork longsword purchased under the standard rules except that it can only receive a total of +2 enchantment. On the other hand, a 50x hand axe will cost 300 gp and offer a nonmagical +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and have a base crit range of 19–20/x4.
I believe the choice to use a cost multiplier rather than a flat cost increase for masterwork items is so easily defensible as to make justification completely unnecessary.