Summary
- Kill Monster
- Harvest Monster Parts
- Gie Monster Part To NPC Craftsman
- Pay and Retrieve Item
Step 1: Kill a Monster
No caveats here.
Step 2: Harvest Monster Parts
The GM will assign a DC for a Survival, Arcana, Nature, or other appropriate Check to harvest special parts from the creature. Usually, this DC will be around 5 + Monster Hit Dice + 1 Rolled Monster Hit die, though particularly common or rare creatures might lower or increase the DC. This does mean some monsters' organs may be nigh impossible to harvest without damaging them.
The Tier of the harvested part (which determines the Tier of item that can be created from it) depends on the monster. Most outer parts (like teeth or spines) have a Tier around one third of the monster's hit dice, while something like a heart or optical nerve might be closer to half the monster's hit dice. The part is almost never higher Thier than half the monster's Hit Dice, but there are a few very rare creatures that are exceptions to this.
Harvesting parts from a monster is not a simple process. It requires fine precision and a Monster Harvesting Tool Kit for harvesting and preserving the organ. Without the tools the Check has Disadvantage. Regardless, the check always takes at least 10 minutes + 2 minutes per Hit Die the monster has. This time is doubled for every size category larger than medium that the monster is.
Sometimes a failed Harvest Check does not destroy the monster part, but simply damages it. Damaged parts may create items of lower Tier, increase the cost of crafting, or simply add a high chance of item quirks.
Step 3: Give Part To Craftsman
In order to make a magical item from the monster part, you must bring the part to a craftsman. Each NPC craftsman has a different kind of item that they are able to make. Some may make potions, some may make weapons, some may make oddities, etc..
When you give the item to a craftsman they will give you an estimate of what they can make with the part, an approximate cost, and an approximate time spent crafting. Some parts may also require some arcane research before being used to make an item. You can provide this research yourself (whether from your own arcane skills or those of a hired mage) or let the craftsman provide the research if they are able. If they can provide the research they will add it to the final bill as an extra fee. The cost and time spent crafting are based on the Tier of the resulting item. Remember that at this point they are only estimates.
Pay and Retrieve Item
Once the item is complete, you can pay the craftsman for the item and it is yours.
Prototypes
Sometimes arcane research is simply not available or not within your budget. In these cases you can commission the item as an Prototype. This dramatically reduces the price at the cost of causing side effects in the item. Most side effects are just that, little more than a mild inconvenience. In some rare cases, however, the side effect can provide a beneficial effect, a detrimental effect, or (in extremely rare cases) a curse.
Craftsmen are usually aware of the side effect during creation, but may not know the exact effects it has. Curses usually avoid detection entirely since the magic has not fully cured yet during crafting.
Your Own Craftsman
When you craft your own items it follows the same rules with the following exceptions.
You do not have to pay for labor, reducing the cost by a percentage equal to a Crafting Check you make on completion of the item.
You must either find your own arcane research or create the item as a Prototype.
You can only craft items during downtime. In a pinch, you might be able to craft while adventuring, but it is a much slower process.
Crafting While Adventuring
If you try to craft the item while adventuring, you must have a full set of the appropriate crafting tools with you (so blacksmithing is generally not an option).
If you try to craft while adventuring in a dangerous area (such as a dungeon or haunted forest), make half an hour of progress every time you complete a Night's Rest. Additionally, if your crafting generates strong smells, lots of light, or loud noises, then it doubles the chances of attracting the attention of monsters that night. There is a reason most craftsmen have their own shop with their own tools in a safe, quiet place.
If you craft while travelling in a relatively stable environment (such as a ship on calm waters), then you progress as if it was regular downtime as long as you do not help in any way with travelling (i.e. no keeping watch or navigating or hoisting sails or driving wagons, etc.). If you help in any way with the traveling then you make half as much progress that day. (Helping to overcome a brief task (such as helping pull a wagon out of the mud) does not reduce your progress for the day, only long-term tasks (such as helping push the wagon through a muddy region all day, or helping to ford a river) slow your progress).
