Post/Author/DateTime	Post
aazan 09-27-05, 03:13 AM	Hello guys, can anyone help me out here on a few things? First question: What skill is used to place alchemical silver to a weapon? Weaponcrafting or Alchemy? Also, what would the proccess be to place the achemical silver to a weapon and what would the craft DC's be? All I can find out about it is the cost for the alchemical silver for different items. Second question: What are the armorcrafting DC's for placing armor spikes on armor and shields? And can armor spikes be placed on say, a chain shirt? Any help would be much appreciated. I'm sure some of these have been gone over before but I can't figure out how to search these boards... :confused:
Colmarr 09-27-05, 03:37 AM	First question: What skill is used to place alchemical silver to a weapon? Weaponcrafting or Alchemy? Also, what would the proccess be to place the achemical silver to a weapon and what would the craft DC's be? All I can find out about it is the cost for the alchemical silver for different items. Per RAW, no special skills or feats are required to create items made of special materials (other than the skill required to create the base item). Therefore Craft (weaponsmithing) is the appropriate skill. However, the special materials increase the base cost of the item and therefore the average time it takes to make it. That in turn suggests that only artisans with high skill bonuses (and thus the ability to voluntarily increase the DC to speed up the work) will make such items. I would recommend that the DC of the item not change. However, if you wanted to you could use the suggested DC for "complex items", which is 20. Second question: What are the armorcrafting DC's for placing armor spikes on armor and shields? And can armor spikes be placed on say, a chain shirt? Spiked armour is technically a light martial weapon. It would therefore use Craft (weaponsmithing) and the DC is 15. As for adding spikes to a chain shirt, nothing in the rules says you can't (It some seem a little unlikely, so your DM may house-rule otherwise).
aazan 09-27-05, 04:04 AM	Wow, thanks for the fast response Colmarr. A few more questions if you don't mind. How long would it take for a PC with like an weaponsmithing mod of say 13 to put alch silver on a +1 bastard sword? And if he fails will it destroy his sword? Also, the PC would like to place alch silver on arrowheads then place them back on the arrows. How long of a process would doing this take you think?
SALDAR 09-27-05, 07:53 AM	Alchemical silver is not something that is "added" to an item, it is what the item is made out of. The bastard sword +1 would have to be made out of alchemical silver using the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.
KangTheCallipygian 09-27-05, 11:50 AM	Alchemical silver is not something that is "added" to an item, it is what the item is made out of. The bastard sword +1 would have to be made out of alchemical silver using the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat.That's just not so (though if the discussion were regarding adamantine or cold iron you'd at least be correct about the weapon being actually made of the special material):Silver, Alchemical: A complex process involving metallurgy and alchemy can bond silver to a weapon made of steel so that it bypasses the damage reduction of creatures such as lycanthropes. On a successful attack with a silvered weapon, the wielder takes a –1 penalty on the damage roll (with the usual minimum of 1 point of damage). The alchemical silvering process can’t be applied to nonmetal items, and it doesn’t work on rare metals such as adamantine, cold iron, and mithral.(emphasis mine). I'd say since the process is described as a complex one, and, "involving metallurgy and alchemy", Craft(Alchemy) would be as appropriate as Craft(Weaponsmithing), if not moreso. Though I probably wouldn't even require a skill check assuming the PC's just pay to get their steel weapons silvered; of course if they're applying the alchemical silver themselves that's another story and I don't know what to tell you, as far as DC goes. I certainly wouldn't require the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat; unlike other special materials, silvered weapons aren't required to even be masterwork, much less magical. Kang