Dark Sun Harvesting & Crafting System - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dark Sun Harvesting & Crafting System

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
abattior
Oct 12, 2010 17:19:55 Apologies if people feel this should go in the adventure building workshop forum; however given that it is specifically related to Dark Sun I feel it might get more attention here.

First of all, credit to Mightroot for the idea, presented in the House Rules thread.

At first the idea of a Harvesting & Crafting system seemed troublesome and like a lot of hard work. However, recently after giving it some more thought I felt it might be a good way to lend more of a unique feel to the Dark Sun Setting, as well as a way to provide characters with an additional special treasure or two.

The campaign that this system is being designed for is going to be a low magic (inherant bonuses) campaign. As a result I was trying to find an appropriate way to rarely introduce a magical item that is not obtained or created using the traditional method of most magical items.

Without further ado, here is the system thus far:

The basics of Harvesting and Crafting:

Certain Elite and Solo class monsters that are encountered during your travels may have valuable parts that can be used for a variety of means.
Ritual Components

Alchemical Components

Masterwork Crafting Components

Trophies

Special Item

When the party successfully defeats certain Elite or Solo monsters, they may attempt to harvest any materials of value from the corpse.

In order to attempt to harvest from a monster the party must either make a group skill check, using the same skill as is used for monster knowledge checks.

Or

An individual party member can take part in a small skill challenge involving the relevant monster knowledge skill.

The DC for this skill check is determined based on the level of the monster relative to the level of the party.
Party level -2 up to Party level: Easy DC Skill Check

Party level up to Party level +2: Medium DC Skill Check

Party level +3: Hard DC Skill Check

If the party or character succeeds in the group check or skill challenge, then they get to roll on the harvesting table:

1-50% Ritual Components (Value equal to 1/5 monster xp value)

51%-75% Alchecmical Components (Value equal to 1/4 monster xp value)

76%-85% Monster Trophy (Value equal to 1/2 monster xp value)

86%-95% Masterwork Crafting Components (Value equal to masterwork item of monster level or less)

96%-100% Special Item (Equivalent to magic item of monster level or less), subject to DM approval.

Masterwork Crafting Components and some Special Items will require the help of skilled artisans the party will meet during their travels.

I'm sure some of the harvesting rewards could be modified and perhaps made a little better, the given table is an example I came up with that I felt would not throw the game balance off tremendously.

Please share any thoughts, comments or suggestions. I very much want to maintain game balance, but also feel like a system like this could be implemented without much disruption.

I counted up 34 monsterous Elite or Solo creatures in the DSCC, I neglected humanoid Elite and Solo creatures. I am sure there are more possibilities out there, but I thought this would be a good number to know.
#2
abattior
Oct 12, 2010 17:20:38 Example:

Gaj Mindhunter
Level 8 Elite - Medium abberrant magical beast

Knowledge Skill(s): Arcana or Nature (assuming 8th level party)

DC: Easy 18
DC: Medium 23
DC: Hard 28

Party Skill Challenge: More successes than failures.
Individual Skill Challenge: 4 successes before 2 failures.

Success results in rolling on the Harvesting Table.

Harvesting Table(eg):

1-50% - 140 gp Ritual Components
51-75% - 175 gp Alchemical Components
76-85% - 350 gp Monster Trophy
86-95% - Gaj Shell Armor, Gaj Scale Armor, etc. (equivalent to Rimefire Plate or Drakescale armor)
96-100% - Shield, light blade, cloak, wondrous item, armor, or waist item of 8th level or lower that has some kind of psychic characteristic or property. Subject to DM approval.
#3
onionkid
Oct 14, 2010 14:22:48 I've done something similar in my campaign. When the players kill some manner of non-humanoid they can make a skill check as appropriate. (Nature for beasts, arcana for constructs, religion and arcana for undead etc.)

Every level the creature is worth will net the character 10 gp in "raw materials". So you skin 5 Baazrags, you have yourself 50 ceramic gold worth of material.

The player can then turn this money into the following categories:

1. Crafting materials (for creating or repairing weapons, armor, and tools)
2. Alchemy (making potions and poisons)
3. Ritual components
4. Trade goods (this essentially becomes simple treasure and can be sold like gems and jewels of other campaigns)

10 gp per level of creature has been working for mid-heroic but if they skin a paragon tier monster I may need to change it to something more lucrative.

I may also adopt your system, as it also looks fun. I think the players will enjoy getting more mileage out of monster corpses anyway!
#4
abattior
Oct 14, 2010 16:36:58 I am struggling to come up with a way to set the correct difficult for the skill challenge.

Currently as it is, if the party kills a higher level monster they have a rather small chance of successfully harvesting anything from it.

Where the lower level monsters, in relation to the party become easier to harvest. This seems like a good setup for a system like yours Onionkid, where the PCs get to harvest from everything.

But in the system I have, where the PCs will not get to harvest from every non-humanoid, and only harvest from elite and solo's; it may get discouraging for the PCs if they do not succeed much.

I feel like making the system something like:

Hard DC (15) + Monster Level = DC for harvesting check

However that system may be difficult for higher level characters. A level 15 monster becomes a DC 30 skill check at level 15, not sure but that seems a bit difficult.

Hard DC (15) + 1/2 Monster Level = DC for harvest check

This seems like a more balanced system for the long run, but a bit easy at lower levels. With this DC system the Gaj Mindhunter becomes DC 19 check, which again seems easy.

Does anyone have any ideas or solutions before I go nuts

Also, Onionkid, I really like the trade good options, gives the characters another chance to sell their harvested good for straight ceramic pieces.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 abattior Oct 12, 2010 17:19:55	Apologies if people feel this should go in the adventure building workshop forum; however given that it is specifically related to Dark Sun I feel it might get more attention here. First of all, credit to Mightroot for the idea, presented in the House Rules thread. At first the idea of a Harvesting & Crafting system seemed troublesome and like a lot of hard work. However, recently after giving it some more thought I felt it might be a good way to lend more of a unique feel to the Dark Sun Setting, as well as a way to provide characters with an additional special treasure or two. The campaign that this system is being designed for is going to be a low magic (inherant bonuses) campaign. As a result I was trying to find an appropriate way to rarely introduce a magical item that is not obtained or created using the traditional method of most magical items. Without further ado, here is the system thus far: The basics of Harvesting and Crafting: Certain Elite and Solo class monsters that are encountered during your travels may have valuable parts that can be used for a variety of means. Ritual Components Alchemical Components Masterwork Crafting Components Trophies Special Item When the party successfully defeats certain Elite or Solo monsters, they may attempt to harvest any materials of value from the corpse. In order to attempt to harvest from a monster the party must either make a group skill check, using the same skill as is used for monster knowledge checks. Or An individual party member can take part in a small skill challenge involving the relevant monster knowledge skill. The DC for this skill check is determined based on the level of the monster relative to the level of the party. Party level -2 up to Party level: Easy DC Skill Check Party level up to Party level +2: Medium DC Skill Check Party level +3: Hard DC Skill Check If the party or character succeeds in the group check or skill challenge, then they get to roll on the harvesting table: 1-50% Ritual Components (Value equal to 1/5 monster xp value) 51%-75% Alchecmical Components (Value equal to 1/4 monster xp value) 76%-85% Monster Trophy (Value equal to 1/2 monster xp value) 86%-95% Masterwork Crafting Components (Value equal to masterwork item of monster level or less) 96%-100% Special Item (Equivalent to magic item of monster level or less), subject to DM approval. Masterwork Crafting Components and some Special Items will require the help of skilled artisans the party will meet during their travels. I'm sure some of the harvesting rewards could be modified and perhaps made a little better, the given table is an example I came up with that I felt would not throw the game balance off tremendously. Please share any thoughts, comments or suggestions. I very much want to maintain game balance, but also feel like a system like this could be implemented without much disruption. I counted up 34 monsterous Elite or Solo creatures in the DSCC, I neglected humanoid Elite and Solo creatures. I am sure there are more possibilities out there, but I thought this would be a good number to know.
#2 abattior Oct 12, 2010 17:20:38	Example: Gaj Mindhunter Level 8 Elite - Medium abberrant magical beast Knowledge Skill(s): Arcana or Nature (assuming 8th level party) DC: Easy 18 DC: Medium 23 DC: Hard 28 Party Skill Challenge: More successes than failures. Individual Skill Challenge: 4 successes before 2 failures. Success results in rolling on the Harvesting Table. Harvesting Table(eg): 1-50% - 140 gp Ritual Components 51-75% - 175 gp Alchemical Components 76-85% - 350 gp Monster Trophy 86-95% - Gaj Shell Armor, Gaj Scale Armor, etc. (equivalent to Rimefire Plate or Drakescale armor) 96-100% - Shield, light blade, cloak, wondrous item, armor, or waist item of 8th level or lower that has some kind of psychic characteristic or property. Subject to DM approval.
#3 onionkid Oct 14, 2010 14:22:48	I've done something similar in my campaign. When the players kill some manner of non-humanoid they can make a skill check as appropriate. (Nature for beasts, arcana for constructs, religion and arcana for undead etc.) Every level the creature is worth will net the character 10 gp in "raw materials". So you skin 5 Baazrags, you have yourself 50 ceramic gold worth of material. The player can then turn this money into the following categories: 1. Crafting materials (for creating or repairing weapons, armor, and tools) 2. Alchemy (making potions and poisons) 3. Ritual components 4. Trade goods (this essentially becomes simple treasure and can be sold like gems and jewels of other campaigns) 10 gp per level of creature has been working for mid-heroic but if they skin a paragon tier monster I may need to change it to something more lucrative. I may also adopt your system, as it also looks fun. I think the players will enjoy getting more mileage out of monster corpses anyway!
#4 abattior Oct 14, 2010 16:36:58	I am struggling to come up with a way to set the correct difficult for the skill challenge. Currently as it is, if the party kills a higher level monster they have a rather small chance of successfully harvesting anything from it. Where the lower level monsters, in relation to the party become easier to harvest. This seems like a good setup for a system like yours Onionkid, where the PCs get to harvest from everything. But in the system I have, where the PCs will not get to harvest from every non-humanoid, and only harvest from elite and solo's; it may get discouraging for the PCs if they do not succeed much. I feel like making the system something like: Hard DC (15) + Monster Level = DC for harvesting check However that system may be difficult for higher level characters. A level 15 monster becomes a DC 30 skill check at level 15, not sure but that seems a bit difficult. Hard DC (15) + 1/2 Monster Level = DC for harvest check This seems like a more balanced system for the long run, but a bit easy at lower levels. With this DC system the Gaj Mindhunter becomes DC 19 check, which again seems easy. Does anyone have any ideas or solutions before I go nuts Also, Onionkid, I really like the trade good options, gives the characters another chance to sell their harvested good for straight ceramic pieces.