Crafting Weapons and Armour

Author: MHP

Following are rules on how to make weapons and armour in WFRP. This covers cost, time, difficulty and skills required to make the specific items. Not the most detailed system, perhaps, but should be sufficient in most games. The numbers, especially those concerning weapons have not been tested or checked so there might be some errors there. This is of course mainly meant for player character armourers or weaponsmiths but might come in handy for the GM too.
Note that this page contains some large tables and can take some time to load. So be patient.

Preperation
Crafting Armour | Armour Creation Table | Armour Creation Test
Crafting Weapons | Weapon Creation Table | Weapon Creation Test
Repairing Items | Ornamental Items | Maintainance | New Skills

Preperation:

This covers everything the smith needs to do before he can start crafting the item he wants to make. There are three things to think of: Workshop, Apprentices and Materials. Each of these are described below:

Workshop – First of all, a place to make the item and tools to make it with are needed. Most workshops are either smithies (producing metal items), stoneworks (producing stone items), woodworks (producing wooden items) or leatherworks (producing leather items) but there are some that combine some or all of these and have all the necessary tools and equipment for making a variety of items.

Workers – When crafting some items, the armourer/weaponsmith needs help of a worker (or workers) to do his job properly. He can do with one fewer than is listed but that makes the task more difficult. These workers do not have to be skilled but they have to have some knowledge on the subject. Therefore they are treated as a Labourer (working for 7/- a day).

Materials – These are the materials required to make the item, the metal for the chains and plates, the leather for the straps, hilts, full leather armours and the protection layer of metal armours. The materials must have been worked up to a point, that is, having skins and metal ore is not enough. The raw metal must have been extracted from the ore and leather must have been made of the skins. Note that if the character has the Metallurgy skill he can extract the metal from the ore and if he has the Leatherworking skill he can work skins.

Crafting Armour:

He who wants to create armour does not only need the things mentioned above in Preperation but he also needs some skills to be able to make a usable armour. To craft armour, the armourer needs the Armouring skill and then one other skill depending on the type of armour. If he is crafting metal armour, he also needs the Smithing skill. If he is making leather armour, he also needs the Tailor skill. Note that when he is crafting metal armour, he does not require the Tailor skill to make the straps, the protection layer or other leather parts. The Armourer skill covers enough knowledge of leather to make those things but not enough to make full leather armours or clothes which the Tailor skill covers. Note that these rules are made for an average human. If you need armour of different sizes, you might want to modify the material cost and time periods a bit. The armour will cost the same to buy though.

Armour Creation Table:

Following is a table to use when someone crafts an armour. Following abbreviations are used in the table: Pr. = Price for fully made item, Ma. = Material cost of the item, Wo. = Ideal number of additional workers needed to assist, Ti. = Time in days needed to make item, Te. = Test needed to make item, Ti. P. = Time increase for each missing worker and Te. P. = Test penalty for each missing worker. Note that prices are in Gold Crowns unless the number given is followed by /-, in which cases the price given is in Silver Shillings.

Armour Creation Test:

When creating armour, the armourer needs only make one test to see if or how successful the job is. This test is made at the end of the creation process and the ability score to test against is Dexterity. Note that dwarves have an automatic +20 bonus to this test. Also, the GM can allow an armourer to spend 50% more time doing the armour and as a result, giving a +10 bonus to the test.

Critical Success = Armour of superior quality successfully created. Counts as a +1 armour for purposes of damaging it only. Value raised by 300%.
Success by 30+ = Armour of superior quality successfully created. Counts as a +1 armour for purposes of damaging it only. Value raised by 100%.
Success by 00-29 = Armour successfully created.
Failure by 01-10 = Looks fine but is flawed, armourer knows. Easier to break in combat. Automatic if any of the conditions in Companion are met.
Failure by 11-30 = Obviously flawed. Easier to break in combat. Automatic if any of the conditions in Companion are met. Reduce armour value by -0/1.
Failure by 31+ = Unusable.
Critical Failure = Looks fine but is flawed, armourer does not know.

Note that when an item looks fine but is flawed, characters with the relevant skills will notice this if passing an Int-test after examining it. The GM can impose bonuses or penalties to that test as fitting. Flawed items can be sold if someone is desperate enough to buy them but value should be reduced by 50%-80%. But if the buyer doesn't know it's flawed, there's nothing to stop the armourer to sell it at full price.

Crafting Weapons:

Like when creating armour, those wishing to create weapons must, in addition to the things mentioned in Preperation, have the necessary skills to make a usable one. To craft wepons, the weaponsmith needs the Weaponsmithing skill and in addition one other skill depending on what material he is using to create the weapon. If he is making metal weapons, he also needs the Smithing skill. If he is making wooden weapons, he also needs the Carperntry skill. If he is making stone weapons, he also needs the Stoneworking skill. Sometimes he nees a combination of those skills to make the required weapon. To make bows, the character needs the Bowyer/Fletcher skill in addition to the Weaponsmithing skill and to make gunpowerder weapons, the Smithing, Weaponsmith and Gunsmith skills are needed. Note that a bowyer/fletcher does normally not have to set up a workshop to create bows or arrows.

Weapon Creation Table:

Following is a table to use when someone is crafting a weapon. The same abbreviations are used in this table as in the Armour Creation Table: Pr. = Price for fully made item, Ma. = Material cost of the item, Wo. = Ideal number of additional workers needed to assist, Ti. = Time in days needed to make item, Te. = Test needed to make item, Ti. P. = Time increase for each missing worker and Te. P. = Test penalty for each missing worker. Note that prices are in Gold Crowns unless the number given is followed by /-, in which cases the price given is in Silver Shillings. If the time needed to make the item is followed by 'h', then that's hours.

* Price depends of size of weapon which the scabbard is made for.
** All numbers are for 5 items.
*** Price and time are increased by 25% per extra barrel.
# These items are not included as they are not really made by weaponsmiths.
& Elf bow can only be made by elves and by special means.
% Don't ask.

 

Weapon Creation Test:

When making a weapon, the weaponsmith needs only make one test to see if or how successful the job is, just as when armourers make armour. This test is made at the end of the creation process and the ability score to test against is Dexterity. Note that dwarves have an automatic +20 bonus to this test. Also, the GM can allow an armourer to spend 50% more time doing the armour and as a result, giving a +10 bonus to the test. Some weapons, especially the firearms are very difficult to make and thus have a nasty penalty to the test.

Critical Success = Weapon of superior quality successfully created. Item has extra +5 WS bonus. Value raised by 300%.
Success by 30+ = Weapon of superior quality successfully created. Value raised by 100%.
Success by 00-29 = Weapon successfully created.
Failure by 01-10 = Looks fine but is flawed, weaponsmith knows. Possibly give item -5 WS.
Failure by 11-30 = Obviously flawed. Breaks in combat on a double failure (i.e. roll of 11, 22... 99, 00 that is also a miss). Item has extra -5 WS penalty.
Failure by 31+ = Unusable. Counts as improvised weapon (if applicable) and breaks on a double failure.
Critical Failure = Looks fine but is flawed, weaponsmith does not know. Possibly give item -5 WS.

Note that when an item looks fine but is flawed, characters with the relevant skills will notice this if passing an Int-test after examining it. The GM can impose bonuses or penalties to that test as fitting. Flawed items can be sold if someone is desperate enough to buy them but value should be reduced by 50%-80%. But if the buyer doesn't know it's flawed, there's nothing to stop the weaponsmith to sell it at full price. Items with an extra WS bonus get that as they are either exceptionally well or exceptionally badly balanced.

Repairing Items:

Armour and weapons can get damaged and thus need repair. Anyone able to make an armour can also repair it, and same goes for weapons. The time this takes is one-third the creation time (Ti.) in hours and the cost is worked out from there (whatever the armourer/weaponsmith charges for his time) and then 50% is added. This is materials and everything else included. As an example, think of damaged mail leggings. Let's say the armourer works for 2 GCs per day. It would take 8 hours (one full work day) to repair them and it would cost 3 GCs. If you think this is too little, you could have that repair time takes half the creation time in hours and/or the armourer adds 100% to the cost.

If the item is magical, then you could deal with it in two ways. Either allow it to repaired normally and deem that enough or you could rule that it also requires some enchantments to be cast over it. Or perhaps the latter must be done while the item is being repaired. It shouldn't really be more difficult for the armourer/weaponsmith to do his job so it would probably cost the same. The aid of a spellcaster is another deal, one which every GM must decide on himself depending on his campaign. Alternatively, you could rule that magical items are more difficult to repair and thus increasing both the time and cost. Note that the armourer/weaponsmith usually won't even know that the item he is working on is magical.

Note that I use damage rules as introduced in the 'Armour has feelings too' chapter in the Warhammer Companion.

Ornamental Items:

Items can be specially made with various ornamentations. This does not change the function or quality of the item per se but it does increase the cost, usually considerably. They are mostly made for those with gold to spend who want to flash their status. Popular ornaments are inlaid jewels, various engraving and painting but there are many more. The item can also be made of rare materials such as gold, silver or gromril for metal items or blackwood for wooden items. The price varies greatly on what kind of ornamentation the item should have and the material it is made of but anything from 200% to 5000% of the normal cost is possible. Perhaps even more in some very special cases. Note that items made of unusual metals all have penalties to the creation test. This can vary from -5 to -30, depending on the metal and perhaps who is making the item. All this is up to the GM's discretion.

Maintenance:

Armour and weapons must be taken care of properly if they are to stay in good condition. Following are suggestions on how and what needs to be done in order to ensure that. Note that much use can result in more frequent coating required. Immersion in water could also wash away the current layer of oil.

Plate Armour – Needs to be coated in an oil every month or so. Half a pint per 100 Enc points is needed.

Chain Armour – This is cleaned by putting it in a barrel of dry sand and then rolling the barrel, every month or so. Sometimes that isn't possible and then it must be cleaned with oil. This takes a long time and uses up a whole pint of oil per 100 Enc points. It could also be a good idea to clean chain armour with oil every now and then.

Leather Armour – Needs to be coated in wax every month. This uses up four ounces per 100 Enc points. Optionally, it can also be coated in neatsfoot or mink oils for waterproofing. These use up half a pint per 100 Enc points.

Metal Weapons – Treated just as metal armour. One pint is enough to treat 12-15 normal swords. You need to decide for yourself how much is needed for other types of metal weapons.

Leather Miscellany – This includes scabbards, straps, etc. Treated just as leather armour but the oils are not recommended for any grip areas.

Wooden Weapons – Need to be coated in lemon or tung oils every month or so to help prevent cracking. One pint is enough to treat 6-8 wooden handles (like of an axe).

Following is the cost for each of the maintenance items mentioned above:
Oil (for metal) – 1 GC (pint)
Wax – 15/- (8 oz)
Neatsoft/Mink oil – 15/- (pint)
Lemon/Tung oil – 10/- (pint)

New Skills:

Here are the new skills that follow the above rules. I decided to not give any more description of them as this is self explanatory.

Armouring – This is a general skill which any character must have if he wants to successfully make an armour. It really don't give the character any bonuses but is required to do a successful job. Those who don't have it can attempt making armour but they will fail automatically.

Leatherworking – This skill allows the character to skin animals and work the skin, making leather ready to be used in clothing, armour or similar. It really don't give the character any bonuses but is required to do a successful job. Those who don't have it can attempt to skin animals and/or work the skin but they will fail automatically.

Weaponsmithing – Just as Armouring is for armourers, this is a general skill which any character must have if he wants to successfully make a weapon. It really don't give the character any bonuses but is required to do a successful job. Those who don't have it can attempt making a weapon but they will fail automatically.

Gunsmithing – This is a general skill which any character must have if he wants to successfully make a firearm. It really don't give the character any bonuses but is required to do a successful job. Those who don't have it can attempt to make a firearm but they will fail automatically. This skill is needed as firearms are very complex and difficult to make.