A while back I blogged about the start of a Crafting/Professions system I'm working on for 5th Edition D&D.

Things are going swimmingly on my end. I intend to create this whole system as a PDF and a module for use in Fantasy Grounds.
Behind the curtain, its really some rules/guidelines for how I've expanded on the meager crafting and professions rules/guidelines outlined in the Dungeon Master's Guide. And by expanded, I really mean it.

In this module/pdf you will find Professions, how players can learn these crafts, what they need to make things, so on and so forth.
The module/pdf has DOZENS UPON DOZENS of items (ore, ingots, herbs, so on and so forth), recipes for just about everything you can think of. Perks and powers given to high-level Smiths, Scribes, Alchemists and the like.
Guidelines and suggestions for Dungeon Masters on how to incorporate these rules/guidelines on home-brewed items like your Staff of Sheer Awesomeness or Evil Wizard's Robes, or what-have-you so that the system is mold-able to your setting, your worlds, your games and your players. Again, just guidelines here. D&D is beautiful because you can do just that, and make everything your own.

A few blog posts back I had shown that I had really stripped down all the professions, but I have decided against that. The final product will include rules, formulae and profession guides for the following professions:

• Alchemist
• Enchanter
• Scribe
• Jeweler
• Tinker
• Tailor
• Leatherworker
• Armorsmith
• Weaponsmith

So, here's the thing: I will be sharing this module via the Dungeon Master's guild, but at no cost. Yes, free. I like free things. You should like them too. But also, there is merit in things that you buy, I just don't feel that this is content I've made that I should charge for. That's all.

Once it goes up on the DMsG, I'd like it to be sort of... Playtest type material at first. I'd like lots of people to use it in their groups and tell me how it should be tweaked. I have a fear that some things in a D&D world should not be craftable even by the mightiest heroes or artisans of the lands. Maybe some things should? In this regard, I'd like as much feedback from the playerbase as possible (from those that are interested in this sort of supplement, anyhow). Then I can sort of mold the pdf/module based on community feedback. I cannot possibly test everything within the one weekly group I DM for, and our experiences will in no way represent the experiences of the general masses either. And yes, I am aware I cannot make everyone happy, too. But making lots of folks happy using their feedback would be a goal of mine anyway.

That all being said, the module/pdf as a whole SHOULD be ready to go up by February 26th. So with that all out of the way, I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE IT ALL! Now back I go to tidying up things and more formatting! HUZZAH!

Huzzah! I'm singing from the rooftops!

For those of you who read a bit of my blogs or forum posts, you know by now that I'm running a homebrew campaign. We (the players and myself) have been playing out little stories here and there and fleshing out the world in the process. Every week I work on something new. World maps. Lore. Mythology. Kingdoms. Factions. Its all so much fun!

This week I finished up the creation myth of the world, the pantheon of deities AND the world calendar to boot! Feels great!

The icing on the cake? I dabbled in the xml files and actually made the calendar as a calendar usable in the Fantasy Grounds calendar module! HUZZAH! I didn't think I'd ever be able to do something that complicated! But I did!

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Annnnnnd the creation myth I'm pretty proud of too! I made it into a PDF for my players, which unfortunately is too big to attach to this blog post... but here's images of it:

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Other things I finished this week include the world map now with roads:

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And a plethora of other minor things here and there!

It feels really good to get things done, even though in the grand scheme of things, these things seem small to others. They're pretty big accomplishments to me.

I aim to someday meld everything into a nice PDF and release it as a full-blown campaign setting other people could use to stage adventures in, if they wanted to. Someday. But for now, the work continues!

I like to style myself as Her Royal Highness Remedeez the Queen of Homebrewing.

I'm a weird combination of a person. I'm incredibly self-depricating, and sometimes frustratingly humble... and yet somehow I'm also incredibly egotistical and like to toot-my-own-horn. I can't explain it.

With that out of the way, Homebrewing is hard, man.

I can come up with ideas sometimes at the drop of the hat. I jot em down, and crack open some books and start whipping up the stat-blocks or item descriptions, or mechanics or whatever you can think of, that would be necessary to make my Homebrew A La Carte fantastical thing of wonderfulness! Then, I start looking at stuff on forums or on the DM'sGuild and... lo and behold some dude (or dudette) has beaten me to the punch! Oh! The agony! Woe is me! I cry for a few hours and watch Moulin Rouge and stuff my face full of Almond Joy because that's how I mourn the death of my ideas, and don't you dare judge me!

There are some days when I'm browsing all the wonderful D&D pools of information (reddit, forums, DMsGuild, WotC articles, published material, etc) and I think to myself... there's nothing left for me to make. For me to share with the world. Everyone has already "done it". And that's super frustrating. Sure I could put my spin on Vampires for the umpteenth time, or make a magic pair of shoes and call it by another name... but a rose is still a rose, y'know?

This is the price "creative types" pay. We either borrow bits and bobs and find ways to mash them into a new bit or bob, or we get really lucky and do come up with the elusive "thing that has NEVER been done before" but those things are really rare, and for good reason.

I think I've gotten a bit rambly there, and I do apologize. Sometimes blogs are born out of the sheer desire to just put thoughts and feelings into words and then smack it on the internet to hear folks reply to said words with their own words. Words are good, okay?

That being said (written, rather) I would like to take a moment and say I am having the hardest time figuring out how to make an effective crafting system for 5E that just... works. I'm having the hardest time of finding where to borrow bits and bobs from, and where to just... innovate from. Darn that Unearthed Arcana Article on the Artificer for throwing a kink in all my dreams! Heh! (WotC literally made the Alchemist, and yes I'm aware its been around for ages... but its throwing off all my mojo on making an Alchemist profession, not class!) </end rant>

How I Got to Where I Needed a Crafting System in My Campaign:
Ah the good ole Dungeon Master's Guide. My favorite book in the entirety of the D&D Collection. I flip through it constantly, devouring information, plotting ways to challenge the PCs in my campaign, planning out vast worlds with diverse storylines and so much more.

One day during our D&D session, Ielenia, my group's Elven Druid said to me after we were wrapping up the session: "Hey Rem, can I just craft some potions?"
Now, we use Discord for voice communication, so she couldn't see the look on my face. But if she could, I imagine she would describe it as some cross between bewilderment, a loss for words, and sudden intrigue.
Naturally, I cracked open my handy-dandy DMG, and flipped to the Crafting Rules. And then... my dismay sunk in.

Now typically, I'm something of a "fangirl" of all things Wizards of the Coast and Official D&D content. So at first, I tried not to feel... disappointed... by the Crafting Rules set out in the DMG. But, as an adult, we often have to be honest with ourselves about our feelings. So, yes, I was disappointed.

And then, I started cracking away at it.

I planned a long list of Professions. Then I pruned a bunch because my play group didn't want too many. Then I combined some, and reworked some ideas.

And then I really went to town with it.


Let Me Introduce You To Rem's 5E Crafting System

Over the next few blog posts I'll be sharing ALL the details of this Crafting System I've come up with, as it is still VERY MUCH a work in progress.
But today, I'd like to share some of the basics of it!


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In our world, if the Player Character's travel to a town where there is a Blacksmithing building or shop, they can see if there is, for example, a Master Weaponsmith, who would be willing to teach them his or her trade.


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Now, in this screenshot, ignore the top portion that talks about Enchanting Scrolls for just the time being. I will discuss that aspect of my system in a further blog post, as my design decision for that aspect requires some explanation.
Here, however, you can see the results of my Profession options pruning, and what Professions we ended up with.

• Alchemists: Make potions and stuff. They can transmute things at higher level. Once a Character becomes Skilled (Level 2 basically) or higher, they gain the permanent perk: You can imbibe or administer potions in combat as a Bonus Action.

• Armorsmith: They make armor made from metal: Chain, Plate, etc. Just not Leather armor, and certainly not clothing. That's someone else's job. The Level 2 Armorsmith Perk is +1 to CON. Forever.

• Fashion Designer: Okay, okay, I know the name sounds silly. But these folks make clothing, leather armor, disguises, costumes, AND Jewelry. You got a better name? Designer Level 2 Perk: A Custom-made Cantrip called Dazzle. Can be cast even by people who are not Spellcasters.

• Melee Weaponsmith: Another pretty obvious title. These folks make Axes, and Hammers, and Maces and so on. Level 2 Perk: +1 bonus to all damage rolls if using a weapon you made for yourself. (This perk scales) More info in further posts.

• Ranged Weaponsmith: Your friendly neighborhood bow-maker (bowyer?) These people also make guns, if guns are in your world (they're sort of in ours) arrows, crossbows, javelins, darts, etc. Level 2 Perk: +1 bonus to all damage rolls if using a weapon you made for yourself. (This perk scales) More info in further posts.

• Tinker: My favorite profession. Since our world has gunpowder, tinkers love making things go BOOM! They make bombs, and all kinds of nifty things like listening devices (think: a stick enchanted with Clairaudience) that they can stick under doorways and listen in on private conversations. Yeah, tinkers are pretty awesome. Level 2 Perk: Can use any crafted Tinker's items (such as Bombs) as a Bonus Action in combat.

In the next few blog posts I'll share more details on the specifics, details on each Profession and how they work, how the System itself works, how you can implement it in your worlds, how you can tweak it, and so much more!