Currently, armour and weapon crafting (in the meaning of modifying appearance) are done via the standard Bioware system. You head into some vacant room, arrange all the parts as you want them, pray, and watch how the arrangement you just spent ten minutes setting up crumbles away with that roll, lacking one point to pass the DC. It's irritating, time consuming, and I've never heard it refered to as "fun". My suggestion is thus: Place NPCs in fitting locations in the server - A smith with the duergar, the tailor at the tailor's, so forth. One of the conversation options with these NPCs is to have them modify your armour/weapon (where appropriate) for you, for a fee. This option opens up the crafting menu, where you arrange things to your satisfaction. Once done, you ok the modification, and pay the price (The cost of modifications can either be a set, flat price for any item or a scaling price, depending on value. Whatever the DMs feel like, really.) . And the modifications always work. No more repeats, no more irritation, and a perfect in character reason for it to work - You're letting an experienced professional do the work. Opinions and so forth much welcome.

I adore this idea...

I'd love something like this!

If PC customization would still be allowed, I wouldn't object against it.

I'm not sure I like this one...

I feel that the problem with this is that it bypasses the reason to get craft weapon/craft armor. And besides, you likely don't have an IC reason to go to a room somewhere and sit and modify your weapon or armor over and over again until you pass the DC, especially if you have very few points allocated to those skills.

The underdark isn't exactly the place where people walk around flaunting customized armor. You buy your rothe hides and live with it. That "surplus great axe" is all you're going to get. I enjoy seeing groups of people wearing the same mundane armor and mundane weapons, as I think it adds to the whole 'feeling'. Highly customized equipment seems out of place for the setting.

I could see this working for a tailor, but a duergar smith seems more like a "You want a sword? *throws you a sword* Get out of my sight!" situation.

Well two things about the NWN crafting system.

1) I like the stats for it, they should be used.. even though they arent canon pnp

2) I dont like rolling for crafting., either I can complete the article or modification or I cant and shouldnt try.. or maybe it costs more (in place of it taking longer) if I'm not that good.

So I suggest there be a minimum SKILL needed to do certain parts of armor (or recolouring weapons, changing parts) Recolouring of weapon is really just DIPPING it in a colour solution or metal plating so it should be easy. Changing a hilt is the next easiest thing, and lastly changing the blade or main part of the weapon is the hardest. (or the middle part of BOWS)

here's a possible min skill needed: Recolouring a Base: 1 Recolouring a hilt: 4 Recolouring a Blade/End: 6 Part Changing Base: 5 Part Changing Hilt: 7 Part Changing Blade/End: 10

And maybe the COST of doing so is changed based on how good you are at it.

I'm not against the idea of letting NPC's do the mods for the player (paying them for doing it) but it should be WELL in excess money wise of somebody doing it themselves.

If you're a rich underdark noble then sure.. have somebody else make your NEW SUIT :)

You should have the option of simply paying exorbitant for somebody else to do something complex , or work hard for it yourself.

The other possible way to go with crafting wouild be more complex , which would involve needing to get COMPONENTS to colour weapons certain colours (theres only 4 generally, Steel/Mithril , Copper/Rust, Gold/Bronze/Brass, Cold Iron/Adamantite)

And for bows: Teak/Oak (light brown), Mahogany (Dark Brown) CharredWood/Ironwood(black) etc

ExileStrife I'm not sure I like this one...

I feel that the problem with this is that it bypasses the reason to get craft weapon/craft armor. And besides, you likely don't have an IC reason to go to a room somewhere and sit and modify your weapon or armor over and over again until you pass the DC, especially if you have very few points allocated to those skills.

The underdark isn't exactly the place where people walk around flaunting customized armor. You buy your rothe hides and live with it. That "surplus great axe" is all you're going to get. I enjoy seeing groups of people wearing the same mundane armor and mundane weapons, as I think it adds to the whole 'feeling'. Highly customized equipment seems out of place for the setting.

I could see this working for a tailor, but a duergar smith seems more like a "You want a sword? *throws you a sword* Get out of my sight!" situation.

I for one HATE seeing the exact same thing over and over when it comes to armour and weapons. It reminds me of servers where there's uber +20 magic gear thats just plain to expensive to change so people just leave it that way and thus making everybody look EXACTLY the same in that race/class/alignment area.

Changes to crafting is a lot of work, and are just really low priority. I wouldn't expect to see much effort in this area for at least a couple months after the patch.

Why not like this:

A player who wants to modify his weapon/armour, has to:

1. have exceptionally high crafting skills scores (the possibility to use the crafting objects determined by surpassing certain level of the skill, then normal rolls without penalties apply?); eventually pass a STR (smithing) or DEX (tailoring) check;

2. find a secluded place where there are facilities/objects that allow using the crafting skills;

3. pay a hefty admission fee to the greedy duergar / evil tailor to be able to enter that place;

I. e. in order to modify the armour/weapons, the player has to: focus on the crafting skills, undertake a potentially perilous journey, and prepare a large sum of gold. Only upon using the respective object would the crafting menu open.

This would limit the number of PC smiths and tailors (need many points in the crafting skills) so that not everyone would have his own fancy customized set, it would keep the crafting activity among the playerbase, and it would still allow for lesser degree of frustration since those that already surpass the set level of skill would be already fairly skilled and have better chance to succeed. Moreover, the crafting would probably end up being highly profitable and sort of exclusive métier.

The NPC craftsmen could be temporarily put in, offering their services for horrendous prices until the PC-based business gets running.

Just to add my $.02...

The NWN crafting system is horrible. The argument of spending an hour setting up the perfect look to loose it all just because you rolled a 1 is stupid. If you could "save" the template and try it again it would be one story, but all this is just a lousy game mechanic that causes frustion.

Not to mention that in this case, we are only talking about the "look" of an item. I understand all the hassle if I am "making" something, or adding functionality, but if all I want to do is add a cape or add a spiky glove... come on.

Most other servers I have played have completely removed the DC/Cost for modifying the visual aspects of an item. I do not think there is anything wrong with customizing the look of an item. This can help someone relate better to their PC and improve RP, and does nothing to effect gameplay or balance.

I would say may "look" modification free, or for a nominal fee through a vendor. Of course removed the "specialized" looks, like lazer/flame blames, etc, but normal, realistic, visual modification should not be a big deal.

Once again, just my $.02. I would still be playing here either way.

I'd like to add, by the way, that very few, if any, "higher price" armours seem to remain undyed on the server. I'd think that armour looking to be made half of gold is more out of place in Sanctuary than armour that doesn't look like someone else's. Also, duergar are greedy. Long as you pay enough, can't see why they'd disagree with doing anything to armour or weapons.

So, maybe this is obvious to everybody else, but...

Why not change your armor appropriately, take a screenshot from a few angles, find somebody else with high skill, and pay them to change your armor?

Alternatively, change it piece by piece, so if you fail one piece, you don't have to reselect over and over again.

-Cross (Am I missing something here?)

Crosswind So, maybe this is obvious to everybody else, but...

Why not change your armor appropriately, take a screenshot from a few angles, find somebody else with high skill, and pay them to change your armor?

Alternatively, change it piece by piece, so if you fail one piece, you don't have to reselect over and over again.

-Cross (Am I missing something here?)

Thrawn said he'd like to get to it but its low priority. As far as I know, he is the guy that would script this kind of thing. So, I fail to see why this thread continues to grow.

In the meantime, just do what you got to do to look good. If I remember correctly the dwarves were advertising this kind of service. Otherwise, try and fail from time to time. I know its a pain, but in the grand scheme of things at least you are not starving to death, with malaria, while a lion is chasing you in Africa. See, that would be a bigger pain. :)

PanamaLane Thrawn said he'd like to get to it but its low priority. As far as I know, he is the guy that would script this kind of thing. So, I fail to see why this thread continues to grow.

I think this is silly. It's perhaps not as silly as default Bioware crafting, though. They're both very flawed systems.

Arkov I think this is silly. It's perhaps not as silly as default Bioware crafting, though. They're both very flawed systems.

We will be going with a system similar to this one.