Eldritch

Crafting and Gathering

Kits, schematics, and resources

Goods at Eldritch came from players. Gatherers brought in iron, leather, cloth, wood, and herbs, and crafters turned them into the arms, potions, and tools of the game.

A hand draws on a sheet of paper by the light of a brass lantern.

How Crafting Worked

Crafting took three things: a kit, a schematic, and resources.

Kits stood for the tools and consumables of a trade. Each had ten uses, marked by checkboxes on its item tag, and Artificers could make new ones. Resources came from gatherers, Cirque merchants, and modules.

The kits
KitUsed by
Apothecary KitAlchemists
Artificer KitArtificers
Blacksmith KitBlacksmiths
Bowyer KitBowyers
Gunsmith KitGunsmiths
Chirurgeon's KitThose with healing abilities, not for crafting
Lockpicking KitThose with Disable Device, not for crafting

Schematics

A schematic was a document that held the knowledge of how to make an item. It named the skill and level needed, the mechanical benefits, the prop that represented the item, and the resources required. Some archetypes began with schematics, and each further level of a crafting skill brought one of that level. Others were found or bought at events.

A character claimed a schematic by signing it. It could then no longer be stolen or traded, because it counted as knowledge.

Stations

Crafting stations stood in the Tavern. Each was a Construction Project that had to be built first, and each stayed in place at every later event. The Alchemy Lab served alchemists, the Forge served blacksmiths, and the Artificer's Bench served artificers, bowyers, and gunsmiths.

Stations were self-serve. A crafter sorted the resources into a tote, took the finished item's tag from the matching tote, and marked off a use of the kit.

The Trades

Alchemy

Alchemists held a cipher that listed potion names, descriptions, and codes. After brewing, the crafter placed a coded sticker over the name on the potion's card, so that only alchemists could tell what a bottle held. All recipes yielded 2 potions, except Distilled Spirits, which yielded 10.

Artificer, Bowyer, and Gunsmith

Items with uses, such as kits, arrows, and bullets, took a sticker with ten checkboxes. Those with the skill could repair items at an Artificer's Bench with five to ten minutes of roleplay and no use of a kit.

Blacksmith

Blacksmiths repaired weapons and armor at a Forge in the same way. Patch Kits let anyone repair weapons and armor away from a forge.

Release of Higher Levels

Staff held back level 2 and level 3 schematics until later in the campaign. Level 2 crafting skills opened at Event V, and level 3 opened at Event VII.

Crafting skills
SkillEffectRequiresCP
Alchemy - 1Can use level 1 schematics to create alchemy substances.None3
Alchemy - 2Can use level 2 schematics to create alchemy substances. Gain one level 2 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Alchemy - 13
Alchemy - 3Can use level 3 schematics to create alchemy substances. Gain one level 3 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Alchemy - 23
Artificer - 1Can use level 1 schematics to create artificer goods.None3
Artificer - 2Can use level 2 schematics to create artificer goods. Gain one level 2 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Artificer - 13
Artificer - 3Can use level 3 schematics to create artificer goods. Gain one level 3 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Artificer - 23
Blacksmith - 1Can repair all weapons and armor. Can use level 1 schematics to create Blacksmith goods.None3
Blacksmith - 2Can use level 2 schematics to create Blacksmith goods. Gain one level 2 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Blacksmith - 13
Blacksmith - 3Can use level 3 schematics to create Blacksmith goods. Gain one level 3 schematic of choice at the next check-in after purchasing this skill.Blacksmith - 23
Bowyer - 1Can make bows and arrows and repair bows. May acquire the Arrows schematic or the Bow schematic.Artificer - 11
Bowyer - 2Can make improved bows. The schematic comes with the skill.Artificer - 2 and Bowyer - 11
Bowyer - 3Can make masterwork bows. The schematic comes with the skill.Bowyer - 21
Gunsmith - 1Can make ammunition and repair firearms. The schematic for bullets comes with the skill. The character needed a connection to House Richter, which controlled knowledge of gunsmithing.Artificer - 1 and Dusklander background1
Gunsmith - 2Can make pistols. The schematic for pistols comes with the skill.Blacksmith - 1 and Gunsmith - 11
Gunsmith - 3Can make masterwork pistols and rifles. The schematics for both come with the skill.Gunsmith - 21
Hands pour red liquid from a glass bottle into a carved red cup on a wooden table set with flasks.

Gathering

Characters with a gathering skill received resources at check-in and could also work nodes around the site during events. All resources could be looted and traded.

  • A sketch of a stack of iron ingots.Iron Ingots Gathered by Mining.
  • A sketch of a tanned leather hide.Leather Gathered by Hunting.
  • A sketch of a folded bolt of cloth.Cloth Gathered by Farming.
  • A sketch of cut wooden planks.Refined Wood Gathered by Woodcutting.

Herbs, also called apothecary reagents, came from Herbalism. Players with that skill received a list of herbs and their descriptions for each level.

Gathering skills
SkillEffectRequiresCP
Farming - 1Gain 4 Cloth per event at check-in. Access Farming nodes at events.None1
Farming - 2Gain 12 Cloth per event at check-in. Access more resources from Farming nodes at events.Farming - 12
Farming - 3Gain 20 Cloth per event at check-in. Access more resources from Farming nodes at events.Farming - 22
Gathering - 1Gain 4 random resources per event at check-in. Access Gathering nodes at events.None1
Gathering - 2Gain 12 random resources per event at check-in. Access more resources from Gathering nodes at events.Gathering - 12
Gathering - 3Gain 20 random resources per event at check-in. Access more resources from Gathering nodes at events.Gathering - 22
Herbalism - 1Gain 4 random apothecary reagents per event at check-in from the level 1 box. Access Herbalism nodes at events.None1
Herbalism - 2Gain 12 random apothecary reagents per event at check-in, drawing each from the level 1 or level 2 box. Access more resources from Herbalism nodes at events.Herbalism - 12
Herbalism - 3Gain 20 random apothecary reagents per event at check-in, drawing each from the level 1, 2, or 3 box. Access more resources from Herbalism nodes at events.Herbalism - 22
Hunting - 1Gain 4 leather per event at check-in. Access Hunting nodes at events.None1
Hunting - 2Gain 12 leather per event at check-in. Access more resources from Hunting nodes at events.Hunting - 12
Hunting - 3Gain 20 leather per event at check-in. Access more resources from Hunting nodes at events.Hunting - 22
Mining - 1Gain 4 iron ingots per event at check-in. Access Mining nodes at events.None1
Mining - 2Gain 12 iron ingots per event at check-in. Access more resources from Mining nodes at events.Mining - 12
Mining - 3Gain 20 iron ingots per event at check-in. Access more resources from mining nodes at events.Mining - 22
Woodcutting - 1Gain 4 refined wood per event at check-in. Access Woodcutting nodes at events.None1
Woodcutting - 2Gain 12 refined wood per event at check-in. Access additional resources from Woodcutting nodes at events.Woodcutting - 12
Woodcutting - 3Gain 20 refined wood per event at check-in. Access even more additional resources from Woodcutting nodes at events.Woodcutting - 22

Gathering Nodes

Nodes were plastic zip-top bags placed around the site. A slip of paper inside explained which skill and level could take resources and how many. Some were easy to spot, and some lay behind Tracking trails. Staff added them to give gatherers something to do during events.

Example. A character with only the Gathering skill could take nothing from a Woodcutting node but could take from a node marked for Gathering.

Uses for Resources

Resources went into crafting, Construction Projects, and Settlement Events. Characters without a crafting skill sold or gave them to others, and some paid taxes with them. NPC merchants sometimes bought them as well.