Artisan Skills

Artisan skills are seen as the noblest pursuits in Kiga, and they are generally only practised by the highest elements of the social strata. While many have little utility in day-to-day life—or perhaps because of this fact—these arts are a means of acquiring and leveraging important social currency in the courts of Kiga. Writing a poem that stirs the hearts of its readers or restoring an ancient sword used by a hero of old can have a profound effect on others.

Elemental Approaches for Artisan Skills

A character’s natural aptitudes likely push them toward a variety of endeavours even within the sphere of expertise a single art represents. The elemental approaches for Artisan skills function as follows.

Restore Approach (Earth Ring)

The Earth Ring represents a character’s tendency toward cautious, well-considered approaches that show due respect for history, so the repair and upkeep of art is governed by the Earth approach to Artisan skills. The creation of art is a monumental task, but so is its maintenance and preservation. Even for arts that exclusively create ephemeral works of beauty, tools must be maintained and records must be kept so that future artisans in the tradition can understand and reflect upon the achievements of the past.
A character uses Restore when they want to:

• Restore a damaged or degraded work of art to its previous state.
• Perform routine maintenance on a work of art.
• Store or transport a work of art safely.

Adapt Approach (Water Ring)

Water is an element of change, so for Artisan skills, the Water approach determines a character’s ability to reframe, combine, divide, or entirely transform their own creations and those of others. Whether this means translating a piece of literature, cutting down and remounting a blade for a new wielder, or remaking a piece of broken pottery completely by filling in the shattered seams with lacquer and powdered gold, adaptation is transformative and fluid.
A character uses Adapt when they want to:

• Break a piece down to serve as raw materials for a new work.
• Modify a creation to serve a different function.
• Reflect upon the other ways that a piece could function.

Invent Approach (Fire Ring)

Pure invention is the domain of the Fire Ring, and as such, creating new works of art is the Fire approach to Artisan skills. Even seemingly minimalistic pursuits such as flower arrangement or bonsai call for vast amounts of passion and mental energy. If an artist makes few decisions in the process of creating a work, then each decision the artist does make carries exceptional significance. These bold strokes and decisions are represented by the Invent approach.
A character uses Invent when they want to:

• Create a new piece from raw materials.
• Draft a new work.
• Develop a technique or tool to assist in the creative process.
• Brainstorm possible new works that they could make.

Refine Approach (Air Ring)

Understanding nuance is part of the Air Ring, as are the careful addition, manipulation, and removal of detail. These apply to Artisan skills via the Refine approach, which allows a character to improve a piece’s core function, elevating it to heights otherwise unreachable. 
Refine turns a creation into a masterwork, and it differs from the Adapt approach in that instead of changing, subverting, or reinterpreting function, it enhances and deepens it. Refine also allows a skilled artisan to layer into a piece nuance and hidden messages or meanings that viewers must disentangle for themselves to fully understand.
A character uses Refine when they want to:

• Improve the core function of a piece by adding or manipulating details.
• Improve the core function of a piece by removing unnecessary things.
• Add a subtle message or complex nuance to a piece.

Attune Approach (Void Ring)

The Void Ring governs self-knowledge and self-reflection, so the Void approach to an Artisan skill revolves not around learning about a work of art per se, but around learning about oneself by entering deeply into the mindset the piece evokes. This sort of artistic reflection allows a character to use a piece of art as a lens through which to understand their own heart. It can reveal not only the piece’s purpose in a grander sense, but also why it has entered into the character’s life at this time and what conclusions the character can draw about their own circumstances and emotions from that incident.
A character uses Attune when they want to:

• Use a piece as a focal point through which to disentangle their own emotions or contemplate Enlightenment.
• Spiritually centre their being around a work.
• Awaken the dormant supernatural properties of an object.

While art may seem a frivolous pursuit, it serves as yet another way to maneuver politically and socially in Kiga. Gift giving is an important part of Kigani culture, and a work produced by the gift-giver is especially valued for the effort expended on the gift. This also allows the giver to send subtle messages to the recipient. For example, an origami lion may suggest an alliance against a mutual foe, while a painting of an ocean scene may propose a trade agreement. The best pieces of art are those with multiple possible meanings, so that only the recipient may understand the message.

Crafting Weapons and Armour

If a character wants to make a new item, they must make a check using the appropriate skill, with the DC set by the GM. They must acquire the materials needed to make the item (which could be anything from a brush and ink to a forge and steel). 
They usually use the Invent or Adapt approach to create the first version of the item. Of course, they might then adapt and refine the item to improve it, restore it if it ever becomes damaged, and attune themself to it to gain greater insight into its use.
However, since weapons and armour have more detailed rules for use than most other items, there are some slightly more granular guidelines for making these items in the context of the game:
A character must acquire the raw materials needed for the item. This might be as simple as requesting them from one’s lord or as difficult as undertaking an epic quest to retrieve half of an ancestor’s blade from the hide of a particular oni in the Shadowlands.
As a downtime activity, a character begins with a Smithing (Fire) check (if they are starting with raw materials) or a Smithing (Water) check if they are transforming one item into another, such as refitting armour for a new wearer.
The DC of this check is determined by the rarity of the item they wish to create, with a reduction to the difficulty based on the facilities available—the wondrous workshop used by the Kakita smiths would reduce the DC by 4, while a small-town blacksmith’s facilities would provide a more modest reduction of 2. If the character fails, they can always try again later. If they succeed, the character crafts the general shape of the item—it is a blade without a fitting, or armour without straps. It is not usable yet.
As another downtime activity, the character may make a Smithing (Air) check to take the unfinished product to its final state. The DC of this check is again determined by the rarity of the item, again reduced by the quality of the facilities. If the character fails, they fail to make the item but can try again later. If they succeed, they complete the item, and it now possesses the profile found on DnD Beyond.