Forging

[Click to view original Forging Guide (introductory material)][Click to view full article]

Introduction

The Forging System enables a character to craft weapon parts from raw materials and then assemble the parts into combat-ready weapons. Every weapon is constructed of two parts, a head or blade part and a handle, hilt or haft part. Forging hammers, which are not functional weapons but which have to be constructed in order for a character to work metals in the forges, also adhere to this two part design.

The Forging Skill is actually comprised of six separate skills.

Crafting	Basic Weapon Creation
OHE-forging	Creating One-Handed Edged Weapons
OHB-forging	Creating One Handed Blunt Weapons
2H-forging	Creating Two-Handed Weapons
Polearm-forging	Creating Polearm Weapons
Brawling-forging	Creating Brawling Weapons

Crafting skill determines how well a character can fashion weapon parts by shaping them on the grinder and also impacts the quality of each completed item which is assembled using the vise. The weapon forging skills determine how well a character shapes a weapon part at the forge.

Successful production of parts and assembly of parts into complete items is dependent upon a character's development of one or more of these skills within the Forging System. Characters may only master two skills from among all Artisan Skills which are available. However, mastery of three forging system skills (Crafting, and two weapon forging skills) will count as one skill within the Artisan Skill system. This is because, in order to "master forging", a character must first develop their Crafting skill and then also develop one or two of the five weapon-group-specific forging skills. Because the production of some weapons, such as the bastard sword, will average two weapon-group forging skills, the Forging System allows mastery of two forging skills in addition to the Crafting skill.

There are multiple machines within forging workshops which allow a character to progress through the weapon creation process. These machines are:

• The Glyphs
• The Grinder
• The Forge
• The Polisher
• The Vise

Workshops

Public forging workshops will be present in every town. The number of workshops in a particular town will depend primarily on the history, culture and geography of the town.

Access to the workshops will be via a central supply shop. The verb used to gain access to a public workshop is GO WORKSHOP, at which point the clerk will charge 1,000 silver coins as a rental fee for one hour of workshop time. If characters enter a workshop in a group, only the leader is charged the rental fee. Supply shops sell bronze bars as a practice material, tempering oil and magical tempering oil, a type of wood block for hilts or hafts, and glyphs for the parts of three weapons in each weapon-skill group. Glyphs for forging-hammer heads and handles are not sold in the shops, because these glyphs are permanently affixed to the workbench in each workshop and are available free of charge. Each town's supply shop sells one pair of glyphs for a weapon that is unique to that supply shop.

The Glyphs

The first interaction a character performs within a forging workshop is with a "glyph". Glyphs exist for each part of each weapon that may be forged. Glyphs are either purchasable in the supply shops outside each set of public workshops or, in the case of forging-hammer glyphs, permanently affixed to the workbench in each workshop and are free of charge. Each glyph is designed to support the advancement of a character's forging or crafting skill through a 110 point range of the skill's 0 - 500 range.

Glyphs serve as a pattern in that the character chooses which part of which weapon they will be fashioning by selecting a specific glyph. In order to use a glyph, a character must be wearing a crafting apron (We wouldn't want to burn or dirty our clothing, would we?), and must be holding enough of the appropriate material in his or her left hand to create the weapon part. Once a player has done this, they may trigger a glyph by using the STARE <glyph> verb.

Some glyphs require higher levels of skill, and the character will not be able to use them until he or she has developed his or her skill to an appropriate level. Additionally, some weapon materials are too powerful for lower level characters to hold. (The rule is that a character may only hold an item with an enchantment value of no more than two times his or her level.)

Glyphs may be temporary or permanent. Temporary Glyphs will crumble once they have been used up.

The Grinder

The grinder is used to shape the head and handle of a forging-hammer and the handle, hilt or haft of a weapon. Successful use of the grinder is dependent upon the character's Crafting skill. The verb used to start the grinder is TURN.

Grinders are available within forging workshops, which must be rented in order to use. When a character's rental time is complete, the grinder will stop working.

To use the grinder a character must be in good enough health to operate it, must be wearing a crafting apron, and must be holding the raw weapon material which has been scribed by the glyph material in his or her left hand.

A character's level of success at the grinder is dependent on their health, crafting skill, Strength, Dexterity and Discipline bonuses, the material difficulty, their profession and race, and a random element.

Successfully using the grinder on a material will result in a rough weapon part, however, if a failure occurs, the material will need to be scribed again before the grinder may be used. Extraordinary failures will destroy the material altogether.

If more material was used than necessary, the remaining material will be left in the character's right hand.

There are four possible outcomes in turning the grinder:

Result	Notes	Messaging
Major failure	The entire material is destroyed.	You are left with a toothpick.
Minor failure	Try again. The weight of the material is reduced slightly, which means you may need more material.	Things seem to be going okay, but this is more difficult than you expected. After grinding for what seems like an eternity you realize that the scribed pattern has been chewed away, but the remaining <material> doesn't look like anything yet.
Success	A functional, crafted handle has been created	You finish your work and stand up, turning the <hilt> in your hands. You nod, satisfied with the piece you've created.
Major success	The hilt can be used to attempt to create a perfect weapon	You finish your work and stand up, turning the <hilt> in your hands. You smile as you realize that this piece is the very best that you can create.

Upon completion of the grinding portion of the forging process, one must polish the finished piece by LEANing on the polisher.

The Forge

The forge is used to shape the head or blade of a weapon. Successful use of the forge is dependent upon one of the character's weapon-group forging skills. In order to activate the forge a character needs to hold a scribed raw material in their left hand and a forging-hammer in their right hand and then GET TONGS. When a forge is not being used, a pair of mithril tongs should be visible on the anvil in each forging chamber.

Forges are available within forging workshops, which must be rented in order to use. When a character's rental time is expired, the tongs will not be usable.

Before forging, you must fill the tempering trough with a liquid appropriate for quenching the material that is being worked in the forge. To use the forge a character must be in good enough health to operate it, must be wearing a crafting apron, must be holding the raw weapon material - which has been scribed - in his or her left hand, and must be holding a forging hammer in his or her right hand.

The more magical a material is used, the longer it will take to forge it. Magical materials are also more difficult to forge, and may require more skill on the part of the character.

Forging a weapon head usually requires multiple sessions. Once the weapon head is finished, a character's level of success is dependent on their health, forging skill, Strength, Constitution and Discipline bonuses, the material difficulty, the amount of material forged, their profession and race, and a random element.

Having significantly more skill in forging another type of weapon can prove helpful when forging any type of weapon up to a certain point of skill. So those characters who have a great deal of skill in forging brawling weapons, for instance, will have an easier time forging edged weapons, than someone with no skill in forging weapons at all.

Successfully using the forge on a material will result in a rough weapon part, however, if a failure occurs, the material will need to be scribed again before the forge may be used again. Extraordinary failures will destroy the material altogether. If there is no liquid in the tempering trough when the forging session reaches its conclusion, the session will be aborted and the material will need to be worked again.

There are five possible outcomes in getting the tongs:

Result	Notes	Messaging
Continue working	It takes longer to create larger pieces.	You finish this round of work on your {material} slab and set the tongs on the anvil, realizing that there's more work to be done before the >material< slab will resemble its intended form.
Major failure	You are left with nothing.
Minor failure	Try again
Success	A regular head or blade is created	You finish your work and straighten up. Turning the {material} {item}-blade you nod, satisfied with your work.
Major success	The head or blade can be used to attempt to create a perfect weapon	You pause and lift the still glowing {material} {item}-blade from the anvil. A moment of close inspection is all you need to tell that you have done your best work this time. You smile as you plunge the hot {item}-blade into the tempering trough.

As with crafting, one must polish the finished piece by LEANing on the polisher.

The Polisher

Both the head and the handle of a weapon must be polished before the weapon can be assembled. In order to operate the polisher, a character must hold the weapon part in their left hand and LEAN POLISHER.

The Vise

The vise is used to assemble two parts of a weapon or forging-hammer into a completed and functional item. Successful use of the vise is dependent upon the character's Crafting skill. The verb used to start the vise is TURN.

Vises are available within forging workshops, which must be rented in order to use. When a character's rental time is expired, the vise will stop working.

To use the vise a character must be in good enough health to operate it, must be wearing a crafting apron, and must be holding a weapon handle in one hand and a weapon head in the other. The handle and head must be finished by the polisher and must be compatible.

A character's level of success at the vise is dependent on their health, crafting skill, Dexterity and Discipline bonuses, their profession, and a random element. Successfully using the vise will result in a completed weapon, however, if a failure occurs, the parts will need to be assembled again. Extraordinary failures will create an weapon of lower quality, and an extraordinary success will result in a weapon of higher quality.

There are four outcomes to turning the vise:

Result	Notes	Messaging
Major failure	The pieces are combined, but at a severely reduced quality.
Minor failure	Try again
Success	The pieces are combined. The weapon will not be perfect, but if the two pieces going into the vise are "best" pieces, the resulting weapon will be a superior weapon.	You finish your work and step back, turning the {material} {item} in your hands. You nod, satisfied with the piece you've created.
Major Success	The pieces are combined at increased quality. If the two pieces were "best" pieces, the resulting weapon will be a perfect weapon, provided that you are a master of crafting. If the two pieces are not "best" pieces, then the resulting weapon will be a superior weapon.	You finish your work and step back, turning the {weapon} in your hands. You smile as you realize that this piece is probably the best that you can create.

After this step, the head or blade is complete. The weapon will be a <quality> <material>-handled <material> <weapon>. The handle portion of the short can be removed using the polisher via LEAN POLISHER WITH CLEAN.

While it is possible to dye the pieces at this step, it can cause serious bugs. It is best to leave them as-is.

The Slab Cutter

The slab cutter in the crafting room is used to divide the material into several pieces. Since a successful forging attempt uses the entirety of a piece of material, this cuts down on waste. To do so, PULL slab-cutter, after PUSHing to adjust the cut size, or POKEing to reset it to cut the material in half. To find out how much material to use, MEASURE the glyph.

The Forging Hammer

A forging hammer must be used during the forging process (GET TONGS). Pieces made with a perfect forging hammer have an 8% chance to combine to make a perfect weapon.

Forging hammers must be attuned to the character in order make a perfect piece. When using a forging hammer crafted by another forger, the following message will indicate when the hammer is attuned to the forger.

You feel as if you've become accustomed to the balance and heft of this forging-hammer.

Modifiers to Forging

Statistic Modifiers

As described above, the following statistics affect the three stages of forging:

Crafting	STR, DEX, DIS
Forging	STR, CON, DIS
Vise	DEX, DIS

Racial Modifiers

A character's race and profession modify their roll when making an item. Characters that come from a race with a tradition of forging or crafting might have a bonus to those skills, possibly innate, or possibly from growing up in a culture where they would have grown up learning about forging.

Race	Crafting	Forging
Burghal Gnome	?	?
Dark Elf	bonus	small bonus
Dwarf	bonus	small bonus
Elf	bonus	small bonus
Erithian	?	?
Forest Gnome	?	?
Giantman	+0	+0
Half-Elf	+0	+0
Half-Krolvin	?	?
Human	+0	+0
Halfling	+0	+0
Sylvankind	handicap	small handicap

Profession Modifiers

Since training as an adventurer does not generally involve practice at the forge, most professions suffer a penalty to working on the grinder and receive no bonus to forging. Those with exceptionally nimble hands avoid the grinder penalty, while those with thickly-calloused hands and a tradition of hard labor suffer less of a grinder penalty and a slight bonus to forging.

Profession	Crafting (Grinder)	Forging Handicap	Assembling (Vise)†
Bard	significant handicap	?	?
Cleric	significant handicap	?	?
Empath	significant handicap	?	?
Monk	+0	?	?
Paladin	small handicap	-5	+0
Ranger	+0	?	?
Rogue	+0	?	?
Sorcerer	significant handicap	+50	?
Warrior	?	-5	+0
Wizard	significant handicap	+50	?

^† Profession matters much less when assembling parts

A negative handicap is a bonus

Maximum Professional Handicaps

• Crafting: -40
• Forging: -50
• Assembling: -6

Success Determination Calculation

The chance to successfully forge an item is determined by:

1-500	[appropriate forging skill (OHE, BR, etc.)]
-	[wound/HP-loss penalty]
+	[Forging stat bonuses averaged] (Effective Con bonus, Effective Dis bonus, Effective Str bonus)
	{Comparatively, Grinder stat bonuses are (Effective Dex bonus, Effective Dis bonus, Effective Str bonus)}
-	[material's magical-plus penalty (higher plus = higher penalty)]
-	[material's size penalty (each "pound" of material being worked is a -1 penalty)]
	(working larger masses of material at the forge is inherently more difficult)
+	[forging hammer's quality modifier]
-	[profession handicap]
+	[Racial bonus]
--------------------------
{Chance of success}

1-500 RNG

If RNG < {Chance of success} then SUCCESS.

Weapon Quality Determination

Once a forging attempt has been determined to be a success, an additional 1-100 RNG determines if it was actually an Extraordinary Success (ES) (a "best work" item, necessary in order to achieve a perfect weapon).

The forge's script/code suggests that a 5% chance of an ES was intended, with the hammer's ownership/quality providing a bonus, but the code evaluates to the two If statements below:

If the forging-hammer does not belong to the weaponsmith, the % chance of an ES is 0.

If the forging-hammer DOES belong to the weaponsmith, the % chance of an ES = the hammer's quality modifier.

Once a grinding attempt has been determined to be a success, an additional 1-100 RNG determines if it was actually an ES. The grinder's chance of an ES is a flat 5% chance. No modifiers of any sort.

At the vise, the chance of an ES and a quality increase is determined by a 1-100 RNG vs. (the applicable Forging skill/50), and so the max possible is a 10% chance. A weaponsmith with an OHE forging skill of 400 would have an 8% chance of an ES when assembling an OHE weapon.

Gift of Eonak

Gift of Eonak will provide a second roll for the Grinder, Forging, and Vise steps of the forging process, and the better of the two at each step will be kept.

It does not provide a second roll when a success at grinding is followed by a roll to see whether an Extraordinary Success was achieved or not. Similarly, it does not provide a second roll when a success at forging is followed by a roll to see whether an Extraordinary Success was achieved or not. However, it DOES provide a second roll when a success at the vise is followed by a roll to see whether an Extraordinary Success was achieved or not.

Summary

To completely create a weapon, the following success/failure rolls are involved:

1. Grinding the hilt or handle:

Item-creation success roll (Gift of Eonak provides a second success roll, the best of the two is kept.)

if successful, an Extraordinary Success roll is made.

max ES chance is 5%

2. Forging the head or blade:

Item-creation success roll (Gift of Eonak provides a second success roll, the best of the two is kept.)

if successful, an Extraordinary Success roll is made.

max ES chance is 5%, but Perfect forging hammer can raise the chance to 8%.

3. Vise assembly of hilt and blade:

Item-creation success roll (Gift of Eonak provides a second success roll, the best of the two is kept.)

if successful, an Extraordinary Success roll is made.

max ES chance is 10% (Gift of Eonak provides a second success roll, the best of the two is kept.)

Advancing Skills

Learning to forge involves actually doing it. For each of the six skills, there are 500 ranks. The number of ranks one has can be seen using the ARTISAN verb.

Increasing Skill

For each sub-category of forging the chance of gaining a skill rank upon completion is approximately equal to the following:

Probability = [500 - RANKS + (Logic Bonus / 3)]/500

"LOG Bonus" in this context was changed for all systems to (LOGIC BONUS / 3) by GM Naijin in December of 2020.

Given these probabilities with a 0 logic bonus, the average number of forging attempts required to gain 500 ranks is 3,397, wherein the halfway point in expected attempts is found at rank 483 out of 500. This is typically the figure quoted when players ask about forging time requirements. Alternatively, having a logic bonus of 30 reduces the expected number of attempts by 58% to 1,429. The halfway point with a logic bonus of 30 is found at 403 ranks, and the original 483-rank threshold represents being approximately 85% of the way to mastery (on average).

Materials Available

There are various types of wood available in different locations. For the most part, the metals are universally available.

Woods

Wood	Town
Haon	Ta'Illistim
Hickory	Solhaven
Ko'nag	Troubled Waters prize
Maoral	Wehnimer's Landing
Maple	Icemule Trace
Modwir	Kharam Dzu
Monir	Ta'Vaalor
Oak	Zul Logoth
Walnut	River's Rest

Non-magical metals

Metal Type	Towns Sold	Percent chance in EG 2015 Slab Generator	Seconds per Forging Cycle
Bronze	all	n/a	60
Iron	none, forge in Kobold Mines	37.5%1, 3	604
Steel	all	37.5%1, 3	60
Invar	Zul Logoth	7.8%1	804

Common magical metals

These metals are sold in every forging shop, and are rather common in slab generators.

Metal Type	Percent chance in EG 2015 Slab Generator	Seconds per Forging Cycle
Mithril	10.3%1	80
Ora	2.6%1	100
Imflass	12.1%1	120
Vultite	2.1%1	180

Uncommon metals

These were sold off the shelf at certain events, and show up somewhat regularly in the slab generator.

Metal Type	Percent chance in EG 2015 Slab Generator	Seconds per Forging Cycle
Drakar	3.7%1	80
Gornar	2.8%1	80
Mithglin	off the shelf only	1404
Rhimar	3.5%1	80
Zorchar	3.7%1	80

Rare metals

These have only been available through auctions or raffles.

Metal Type	Percent chance in EG 2015 Slab Generator	Seconds per Forging Cycle
Eahnor	0.063%2	1204
Eonake	0.209%2	200
Faenor	4.0%1	80
Golvern	0.063%2	140
Kelyn	1.610%2	1404
Razern	2.5%1	100
Rolaren	0.230%2	180
Vaalorn	1.9%1	1604
Veil iron	auction/raffle only	unknown
White ora	1.212%2	100
Black ora	auction/raffle only	1004

Notes:

Percentages come from two different sources, using the bigger sample when possible. Thus, percentages will not add to 100%.

¹Uncommon metals taken from Frorin's sample of about 680 slabs.

²Rare metals taken from Liia's release of slab generator data, totaling 4784 slabs between Prime and Platinum.

³Frorin did not break out iron and steel results; they combined to around 37.5%

⁴Has not yet been confirmed with in-world testing

Tempering Oils

In order to complete a head or blade, you must have the proper oil in the trough. You empty the trough by pulling the cork and then POURing the oil into the trough. Below is a table which, while not comprehensive, hopefully offers pertinent examples and tricks, sufficient for most needs.

Oil	Enchantment	Pertains to (examples)	Price
water	less than 0x	bronze, iron	free
tempering oil	0x	steel, invar†	~ 10 silver
enchanted tempering oil	1x to 2x (up to +10)	mithril, kelyn, faenor, (white) ora	~ 2,000 silvers
twice-enchanted oil	3x to 4x (+11 to +19)	razern‡, imflass, mithglin, vaalorn, eahnor	~ 10,000 silvers
ensorcelled oil	4x and above	vultite, eonake, rolaren, golvern	~ 20,000 silvers

Notes:

^†Invar is naturally +2 but is neither enchanted nor nor magical.

^‡Razern in principle seems to fall into the previous category, but requires twice-enchanted oil, likely owing to its natural critical weighting.

Weapon Glyphs Available

The following is a list of weapon glyphs available at the various forging workshop locations.

Edged Weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Dagger all 2 Short sword all 3 Main gauche all 4 Backsword Wehnimer's Landing 4 Cutlass River's Rest 4 Handaxe Ta'Illistim 4 Falchion Kharam Dzu 5 Longsword Ta'Illistim 5 Broadsword Icemule Trace 5 Estoc Ta'Illistim 5 Rapier none, merchant only 1	Blunt Weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Cudgel all 2 Mace all 3 Crowbill all 4 War hammer Kharam Dzu 6 Morning star River's Rest 4 Ridgemace Zul Logoth 3 Spikestar Zul Logoth 3 Ball and chain Ta'Vaalor 5
Two-handed Weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Quarterstaff all 2 Mattock all 3 Flail all 4 Greatsword Wehnimer's Landing 7 War-pick Kharam Dzu ? Flamberge Icemule Trace 7 Greataxe Zul Logoth 3 Maul none, merchant only 1	Polearm Weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Spear all 2 Pilum all 3 Halberd all 4 Hammer of Kai Wehnimer's Landing 5 Trident Solhaven 5 Jeddart-axe River's Rest 4 Awl-pike Ta'Vaalor 5 Lance none, merchant only 1
Brawling Weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Knuckle-duster all 2 Hook-knife all 1 Knuckle-blade all 2 Troll-claw all 3 Yierka-spur Solhaven 2 Fist-scythe Ta'Vaalor 4 Tiger-claw none, merchant only ? Sai none, merchant only 1	Hybrid weapons Weapon Type Towns Sold Forging Cycles Skills Required Katar Solhaven 3 Brawling Edged Weapons Warsword Icemule Trace 6 Edged Weapons Two-Handed Weapons

Usefulness of Forging

Forged weapon AvDs are increased over those of normal weapons at a flat rate; therefore, it is similar to increasing the enchant slightly. Below is a listing of the quality ranks, and their bonuses. Forged weapons may be blessed, enchanted, ensorcelled, and otherwise improved through various profession, merchant, and Premium Point services.

Quality	DF/Breakage Bonus	AvD Bonus
Perfect	6%	+3
Superior	4%	+2
Hefty	4%	+2
Nifty	4%	+2
Exquisite	4%	+2
Well-crafted	4%	+2
Elegant	2%	+1
Well-made	2%	+1
Fine	none?	none?
Nice	none	none
Plain	none	none
Simple	none?	-1
Crude	none?	-2
Lop-sided	none?	-2?
Flimsy	none?	-3

Resources

• Forging saved posts
• Artisan skill saved posts
• Attempts Per Rank Log Parser - Perl
• Forged weapon dyeing
• Forging scriber
• Slab weights
• Forging Supply Shops category
• Officials folder