Forging
Forging is the Artisan skill related to the creation of weapons. The skill includes crafting, forging edged weapons, forging blunt weapons, forging polearms, forging two-handed weapons, and forging brawling weapons.
For introductory information, read the Official Guide.
Forging Process
The forging process consists of, essentially, three parts. Crafting the handle, forging the blade, then combining the two.
Crafting the Handle
Any wood or metal can be used when crafting the handle. Generally, using a block of wood would be ideal because wood is very cheap compared to metal. Basically, to craft the handle, while holding the medium in your left hand, STARE at the appropriate handle-glyph, available in your local forging shop. Once the medium is "scribed" with the appropriate glyph, TURN the grinder. There are four possible outcomes:
- Major failure - The entire medium is destroyed. You are left with a toothpick.
- Minor failure - Try again. The weight of the medium is reduced slightly, which means you may need more medium.
- Success - You've a crafted handle. Not great, but functional.
- Major success - This can become a part of a perfect weapon, with the right amount of luck.
Upon completion of the grinding portion of the forging process, you must polish the finished piece by LEANing on the polisher.
Forging the Blade
Only metal can be used to forge a blade. To do so, place water or oil in the trough, then scribe the medium similar to the grinding process using a blade-glyph. Once the medium is scribed with the appropriate glyph, put the medium in your left hand and a forging-hammer in your right hand, then GET the tongs. There are five possible outcomes:
- Continue working - You've more work to do on this part. It means nothing, it just takes longer to create larger pieces.
- Major failure - The entire medium is destroyed. You are left with nothing.
- Minor failure - Try again. The weight of the medium is reduced slightly, which means you may need more medium.
- Success - You've a forged blade. Not great, but functional.
- Major success - This can become a part of a perfect weapon, with the right amount of luck.
As with crafting, you must polish the finished piece by LEANing on the polisher.
Combining the Pieces
After the blade and handle have been polished, hold both pieces, the blade in your left hand, and TURN the vise. There are four outcomes:
- Major failure - The pieces are combined, albeit at a severely reduced quality.
- Minor failure - Merely try again.
- Success - The pieces are combined. You will not get a perfect weapon from this result, but if the two pieces going into the vise are "best" pieces, the resulting weapon will be a superior weapon.
- 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.
After this step, the 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 (LEAN POLISHER WITH CLEAN).
NOTE: While it is possible to dye the pieces at this step, it can cause serious bugs. It is best to leave them as-is.
Other Tools
- Slab cutter (Crafting Room) - Used to divide the medium into several pieces. Since a successful forging attempt uses the entire portion of medium, 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 medium in half. To find out how much medium to use, MEASURE the glyph.
Learning to Forge
Learning to forge involves actually doing it. There are six skills that make up the forging Artisan Guild Skill: One-handed edged, two-handed weapons, brawling, polearms, blunt weapons, and crafting. For each skill, there are 500 ranks, and for each attempt at using each individual skill, there is a chance approximately equal to the following:
Given this, about 483 ranks is the half-way mark as far as average number of attempts it takes to mastery. Note that it has been said that Logic plays a part in determining if a character learns from an attempt at forging or not. The average number of attempts required to master a guild skill is 3400 attempts. If it takes 3 minutes per forging attempt, this translates to about 170 hours of doing nothing but forging in order to master the skill. Any use of the skills is counted as an attempt at forging, and it is possible to master by forging the simplest weapons from bronze and wood.
"LOG Bonus" in this context is not your stat bonus, but a possible small adder (assumed +1 limit) for those with the correct amount of logic bonus, assumed to be +20.
Messaging
Knowing the messages when forging is a very good way to try and keep track of how many ranks you have gained so far so that you know how close you are to mastering. It is very helpful for the long times spent to gain the last 16 ranks. Another good thing about knowing the messages is when you want to save the perfect parts created to attempt to make a perfect weapon.
- The messaging for having gained a rank when forging/crafting is: Aha, you learned something that time.
- The messaging for having created a perfect part when crafting a hammer is: You smile as you realize that this piece is the very best that you can create.
- Perfect steel awl-pike messaging: You finish your work and step back, turning the steel awl-pike in your hands. You smile as you realize that this piece is probably the best that you can create.
- Attuning to a forging-hammer someone else made: You feel as if you've become accustomed to the balance and heft of this forging-hammer.
Modifiers to Forging
Statistic Modifiers
Per Cirakin (aka JoshT), the mean of the following stat bonuses (after enhancives) affects your chances for creating an item. Note that the roll to make a "best piece" is separate from the roll to create the item. These stats do not directly affect your chance to make a "best piece". (They do affect it indirectly, as you cannot make a best piece if you fail to make a piece altogether.)
| 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 | Forging |
|---|---|---|
| Bard | significant handicap | +0 |
| Cleric | significant handicap | +0 |
| Empath | significant handicap | +0 |
| Monk | ? | ? |
| Paladin | small handicap | small bonus |
| Ranger | +0 | +0 |
| Rogue | +0 | +0 |
| Sorcerer | significant handicap | +0 |
| Warrior | -5 (small handicap) | small bonus |
| Wizard | significant handicap | +0 |
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 |
Minutes per Forging Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | all | n/a | 3 |
| Iron | none, forge in Kobold Mines |
37.5%1, 3 | 3 |
| Steel | all | 37.5%1, 3 | 3 |
| Invar | Zul Logoth | 7.8%1 | 4 |
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 |
Minutes per Forging Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Mithril | 10.3%1 | 4 |
| Ora | 2.6%1 | 5 |
| Imflass | 12.1%1 | 6 |
| Vultite | 2.1%1 | 9 |
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 |
Minutes per Forging Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Drakar | 3.7%1 | 4 |
| Gornar | 2.8%1 | 4 |
| Mithglin | off the shelf only | 7 |
| Rhimar | 3.5%1 | 4 |
| Zorchar | 3.7%1 | 4 |
Rare metals
These have only been available through auctions or raffles.
| Metal Type | Percent chance in EG 2015 Slab Generator |
Minutes per Forging Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Eahnor | 0.063%2 | ? |
| Eonake | 0.209%2 | rumored 10 |
| Faenor | 4.0%1 | 4 |
| Golvern | 0.063%2 | 7 |
| Kelyn | 1.610%2 | 7 |
| Razern | 2.5%1 | 5 |
| Rolaren | 0.230%2 | 9 |
| Vaalorn | 1.9%1 | 8 |
| Veil iron | auction/raffle only | rumored 18 |
| White ora | 1.212%2 | 5 |
- 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%
Tempering Oils
In order to complete a 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, faenor, (white) ora | ~ 2,000 silvers |
| twice-enchanted oil | 3x to 4x (+11 to +19) | razern‡, imflass, mithglin, vaalorn | ~ 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 | ? |
Blunt Weapons
| Weapon Type | Towns Sold | Forging Cycles |
|---|---|---|
| Cudgel | all | 2 |
| Mace | all | 3 |
| Crowbill | all | 4 |
| War hammer | Kharam Dzu | ? |
| Morning star | River's Rest | 4 |
| Ridgemace | Zul Logoth | 3 |
| Spikestar | Zul Logoth | 3 |
| Ball and chain | Ta'Vaalor | 5 |
Twohanded 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 | ? |
| Awl-pike | Ta'Vaalor | 5 |
| Lance | none, merchant only | 1 |
Brawling
| 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 | 3 |
Hybrid
| 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
The real benefit to a perfectly forged weapon is the ability to enchant or bless the weapon, which is not available to any weapon with weighting. Given the premium benefits as well as the limited merchants with the service, flares can also be added to a perfectly forged weapon, making the weapon the best choice for an upgrade in the land of Elanthia.
Also, as AvD's are increased at a flat rate as well, it is therefore similar to increasing the enchant, slightly. Below is a listing of the quality ranks, and their bonuses.
| 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 |
See the discussion page for more information on this.