I am currently working on a campaign setting in which the players are left on an unknown landmass and need to completely fend for themselves. Because of this, they will need to be able to craft…well…everything they need. And while working on this project I realized that, in order for this to work, I have to completely revise crafting from scratch because the current Pathfinder rules don’t work.
The problem is that all crafting is based on the item value. Crafting an item requires using materials equal to one third the cost. The assumption with all crafting is that you buy the materials you need. That assumption goes out the window when there are no stores. The players will have to harvest raw materials from the land: lumber, hides, plants, minerals.
This adds a whole new level of problems because once you harvest the raw materials, they then need to be prepared. Cotton needs to be spun into thread and woven into fabric. Trees need to be cut down and seasoned for lumber. Furs and hides need to be tanned. Ore needs to be smelted and refined.
And I have NO IDEA how long any of this would reasonably take or how complicated/simple it would be.
Thus I am looking for folks with obsessive interests in crafting to help flesh out functional rules. Looking for people who could provide insight into making making clothes, forging metal items, tanning leather, harvesting wood.
The sort of questions I have are:
What are the bare minimum tools needed to perform the task?
How long would it take to actually harvest raw materials, assuming they were easily available in the environment?
How long would it take to refine the raw materials for use in a crafted item?
How long does it actually take to make a specific type of item (a shirt, a sword, a boat)
The problem is that the current game mechanic rules, because they are based on item price, treat all crafting times the same. But realistically this can’t be true. I would think some tasks are much more labor intensive than others when you have to do it all by yourself. Whatever rule set I finalize on would need to take these differences into account.
So if you are interested in helping, please reach out to me either on Spoutible (@bardsandsages), Twitter (@bardsandsages), or email me at jdawson@bardsandsages.com with the subject line “Fantasy Crafting” so I know what it is. And I’m happy to reciprocate any help if there is something I can do in exchange.