So, Lizardfolk's Cunning Artisan says you cna take any Small or Larger Beast, Construct, Dragon, Monstrosity, or Plant's Bone and Hide to make certain items (A Shield, a Javelin, 1d4 Darts or Blow Gun Needles).
I think my big problem here, is there doesn't seem to be any specification of how many of these items one corpse of a size can make, and i feel like it assumes despite corpse size, they all can only make one batch. Further, this list includes Dragons, and i feel like a Shield made from Dragon hide and Bone would be more resilient than one made of Wolf Hide and Bone, but for the terms of the ability, without DM intervention, they would be technically the same. Obviously if i wanted to play a Lizardfolk, I would have this discussion with my DM, to make sure any fine tuning that needed to be handled, but i surely can't be alone in thinking that its absurd that there isn't some specification on this.
It's a lot less of an issue if you recognize lizardfolk craftsmanship as strictly utilitarian and not up to the standards of quality expected by other races. In other words, it's not going to matter if you're not attempting to turn a profit.
But that's a limitation to your freedom, and there's nothing rules-wise to say you shouldn't do it. I can see why people wouldn't be satisfied with this answer.
Frankly it's not a feature that does much on its own, and that's to be expected because it's not really considered part of the power budget for the race's design. It's effectively a roleplay motivator.
However, I've played with lizardfolk on two separate occasions and we've run into similar problems. I think a DM will have to bend the rules on it pretty often for contextual reasons like you describe, just to make it feel like it makes sense. Maybe that's the best solution, to avoid making extensive tables and unique equipment in advance. Maybe not. I think most people reading it won't recognize intuitively that it's something a DM needs to put some thought into, so that's a problem in itself. It can blindside DMs.
Just because you can make something from dragon hide doesn't mean you can make it in such a way that it uses the hide's superior qualities to best effect - I'd assume working with dragon hide to be more difficult than with that of a less imposing animal. Don't overthink it too much; if you want a character to be able to turn high quality resources into high quality items just get proficiency with the appropriate tools, as that represents formal training. Cunning Artisan is more along the lines of a basic skill passed down from parent to offspring, like learning how to cook a simple meal or craft a crude clay pot vs becoming a formally trained chef or an artisan potter.
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I mean, sure, but I'd then also like to point out the requirement of only needing a blade(like a dagger), or the appropriate tools, and that, as well in the list of creatures that are acceptable targets are Clay, Stone, and Iron Golems. Suggesting the idea that they are skilled enough with a blade to 'whittle' solid Iron into any shape, with only a dagger in an hour.
If the party manages to kill a Dragon I'm running, they are level 17 at the least, It will be Ancient, and I'll be quite happy if the Lizardfolk player character makes all sorts of cool, non-magical stuff. Why not? If they want a shot at it at lower level than that? They won't run into a Wymling, no matter what level, because those things have parents. They can make all the stuff they want out of a Young dragon, but only if they solo it.
Dragons are an iconic monster, and ought not be all that easy to kill.
More common sorts of critters are just fine under the usual rules. One batch of whatever and the corpse is used up.
I mean, sure, but I'd then also like to point out the requirement of only needing a blade(like a dagger), or the appropriate tools, and that, as well in the list of creatures that are acceptable targets are Clay, Stone, and Iron Golems. Suggesting the idea that they are skilled enough with a blade to 'whittle' solid Iron into any shape, with only a dagger in an hour.
More like suggesting they can craft something serviceable, not that they can craft any shape they like. Taking parts that are roughly the size they need and mcgyvering a bunch of straps to turn those into a shield, not breaking them down to the exact specifications they might ideally want.
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If the party manages to kill a Dragon I'm running, they are level 17 at the least, It will be Ancient, and I'll be quite happy if the Lizardfolk player character makes all sorts of cool, non-magical stuff. Why not? If they want a shot at it at lower level than that? They won't run into a Wymling, no matter what level, because those things have parents. They can make all the stuff they want out of a Young dragon, but only if they solo it.
Dragons are an iconic monster, and ought not be all that easy to kill.
More common sorts of critters are just fine under the usual rules. One batch of whatever and the corpse is used up.
sure, but True Dragons aren't the only 'Dragons' in D&D, as the category with Drakes(ranging from CR 1/2- CR 2) and Wyverns(which sit about 6) are also Dragons. also, just a quick reminder that by 'more common sorts of critters', i assume you mean Beasts, and not the various horrible Monstrosities, Living Plants, and Constructed Golems out of certain materials that are also in the list of things, a lot of which fall below CR 10 on their own.
something else that just occurred to me is the economic factor. Now, in this Hypothetical, I'm Referencing Xanthar's Guide to Revisiting Downtime, which cites a workweek as 5 days, or about 120 hours, in which you can craft up to 50 gp worth of items using that ruling.
now in this Hypothetical, let's say, for purpose of the argument, that the Lizardfolk is able to hunt down at least 1 beast every other hour over the course of a work week(lets say for reference that there is a forest with well over 60+ Deer(Medium size, 13 AC, 4 HP) in it), and then takes his short rest, using the time to craft 1 shield from the corpse. a shield is 10 gp. easy enough to craft 5 of in one workweek according to Xanathar's guide, but that with 'proper' materials, the 'proper' tools (even though you can also use that), and with no difference between this Deer Shield, and a professional one, mechanically.
according to Xanather's Guide, the Lizardfolk should only be able to craft 5 shields, but because of the wording on Cunning Artisan, and normally no restriction on Short rests per day(except the hit dice you roll, but you dont need to roll any), you could theoretically make more than 5 shields in one workweek, and in this hypothetical, where they hunt down a Deer every other hour, then take an hour to craft it's corpse parts into a shield, you could, again, in this hypothetical, make 600 gp in the workweek, worth of shields that function the same as a wood or metal one made by a professional artisan.
however, this brought to my mind the number of Javelins a Professional could make in the workweek(which is about 100), or the number of clubs(around 500), darts(if i did my math right, around 1000), or Blowgun needles(sitting at about 2500) in the same workweek, as the 60 javelins or clubs, or 60d4(max 240) Darts or Needles.
I have been thinking about it, and I've changed my mind about something. I'm not a vegetarian, but I have known some, and I can only imagine how one of my players who was one might react to being in a game where someone made a suit of armor out of a formerly living, sentient creature of any kind.
There was a tradition where people did things like that, they honored the spirits of the animals and the things that acted like beasts for their sacrifice in allowing themselves to be killed. I think of Cunning Artisan as a way of doing just that.
Anything that you can Murder (intentionally set out to kill) with two scores in Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma under 6) can't be the target of Cunning Artisan in my games. It's not a matter of CR at all, nor is a function of creature type really. I will let people do it in my games, I just hope someone will stop the player character somehow (no matter what race) who tries, because if they don't, that's something that sickens me, and I'd have a hard time liking any of the other player characters who didn't object when they saw it happening. Golems and such aren't truly sentient no matter what their scores might be. They are pretty much magical robots who do what they are told. Same thing with Undead, the only kind of those that I can think of off hand that's truly sentient is the Lich
something else that just occurred to me is the economic factor. Now, in this Hypothetical, I'm Referencing Xanthar's Guide to Revisiting Downtime, which cites a workweek as 5 days, or about 120 hours, in which you can craft up to 50 gp worth of items using that ruling.
now in this Hypothetical, let's say, for purpose of the argument, that the Lizardfolk is able to hunt down at least 1 beast every other hour over the course of a work week(lets say for reference that there is a forest with well over 60+ Deer(Medium size, 13 AC, 4 HP) in it), and then takes his short rest, using the time to craft 1 shield from the corpse. a shield is 10 gp. easy enough to craft 5 of in one workweek according to Xanathar's guide, but that with 'proper' materials, the 'proper' tools (even though you can also use that), and with no difference between this Deer Shield, and a professional one, mechanically.
according to Xanather's Guide, the Lizardfolk should only be able to craft 5 shields, but because of the wording on Cunning Artisan, and normally no restriction on Short rests per day(except the hit dice you roll, but you dont need to roll any), you could theoretically make more than 5 shields in one workweek, and in this hypothetical, where they hunt down a Deer every other hour, then take an hour to craft it's corpse parts into a shield, you could, again, in this hypothetical, make 600 gp in the workweek, worth of shields that function the same as a wood or metal one made by a professional artisan.
however, this brought to my mind the number of Javelins a Professional could make in the workweek(which is about 100), or the number of clubs(around 500), darts(if i did my math right, around 1000), or Blowgun needles(sitting at about 2500) in the same workweek, as the 60 javelins or clubs, or 60d4(max 240) Darts or Needles.
in short, what the hell.
Just because you can craft something with a nominal value doesn't mean you can actually sell it for that value, or even at all. And whether those quickly fashioned items have the same nominal value as a professional artisan's is not specified by the rules either.
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Now, however, so far my assumptions and thoughts have been with using only the dagger, but Lizardfolk can use the appropriate tools, and have proficiency in said tools(making them as skilled as a professional), which means that if for example, you kill plants or constructs, and use the proper tools to make the shield, there is now a very thin line of 'no-difference' between these 'quicker' shields, and one that might take you normally a whole workday.
also, so i did a quick breakdown of the material cost, and yes, estimating a bit here. so, 5 gold worth of iron(and i think the PHB might refer to raw iron, but doesn't specify in the trade goods), is about 50 pounds of iron, which then get worked down to 6 pounds(i mean it has to be raw iron ore, right?), now the roughest estimations i can get for hide are square yards of canvas, which again i need 50 of. now i cant find a direct material equivalent to wood or bone, but i can do some figuring with just these two. After some brief searching, one full Cowhide would be about the right size for this application(and if we are buying a cow, thats the full price of a shield right there), and a brief looking at about only 1.19 square yards of hide, which means we are definitely using bone, and after double checking against another insane person(The Monster Harvester's Handbook) it looks like im not alone on that thought, as he valued a Jackal hide at 1 gold, but didnt list bones
after a bit of pondering, and cross-referencing, the bones together would probably also sit at about 1 gold, meaning, technically we're not making a shield out of a Jackal.
However, this then brings up the thought that somehow, even only being able to gather 2 gold worth of materials from a single Jackal corpse, make a Shield that is mechanically the same as a Metal Shield.
... Lizardfolk can use the appropriate tools, and have proficiency in said tools (making them as skilled as a professional)...
They can use those tools for that specific task. They do not have proficiency in said tools (at least not as a racial quality, obviously they can pick up proficiency through class or background), and thus are not as skilled as a professional.
"Cunning Artisan As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan’s tools, such as leatherworker’s tools."
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They may not be fully proficient but within the context of their ability, they would indeed seem to be proficient. Any idiot can pick up tools and hammer away to try to 'make something.' If this is intended to be just making crude barely serviceable items without any actual proficiency in doing so, that is an ability of every race.
They can make shields, javelins, darts and clubs given the necessary materials. They can't do that with their bare hands, they still need relevant tools (and a blade counts as such). That's - as far as I can tell anyway - what it comes down to. I'm sure other races can kitbash something together as well, but those results will not be as serviceable as a lizardfolk's; a DM might give such items stats anyway, but they should be less good than the regular (and lizardfolk) versions.
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They may not be fully proficient but within the context of their ability, they would indeed seem to be proficient. Any idiot can pick up tools and hammer away to try to 'make something.' If this is intended to be just making crude barely serviceable items without any actual proficiency in doing so, that is an ability of every race.
They can make shields, javelins, darts and clubs given the necessary materials. They can't do that with their bare hands, they still need relevant tools (and a blade counts as such). That's - as far as I can tell anyway - what it comes down to. I'm sure other races can kitbash something together as well, but those results will not be as serviceable as a lizardfolk's; a DM might give such items stats anyway, but they should be less good than the regular (and lizardfolk) versions.
You said (lizardfolk are) not as skilled as a professional. I was saying that, with respect to those things they can make, there is no reason to consider them less skilled than a professional, given the lizardfolk are still using similar (or the same) appropriate tools.
That's not necessarily true, as 5E doesn't really care about the quality of crafted items for the most part. The shields and other items crafted by a lizardfolk character using only their racial ability have the same practical stats as other shields, but that's it. They aren't necessarily as sturdy or as valuable - 5E just doesn't track that kind of thing.
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It's a lot less of an issue if you recognize lizardfolk craftsmanship as strictly utilitarian and not up to the standards of quality expected by other races. In other words, it's not going to matter if you're not attempting to turn a profit.
But that's a limitation to your freedom, and there's nothing rules-wise to say you shouldn't do it. I can see why people wouldn't be satisfied with this answer.
Frankly it's not a feature that does much on its own, and that's to be expected because it's not really considered part of the power budget for the race's design. It's effectively a roleplay motivator.
However, I've played with lizardfolk on two separate occasions and we've run into similar problems. I think a DM will have to bend the rules on it pretty often for contextual reasons like you describe, just to make it feel like it makes sense. Maybe that's the best solution, to avoid making extensive tables and unique equipment in advance. Maybe not. I think most people reading it won't recognize intuitively that it's something a DM needs to put some thought into, so that's a problem in itself. It can blindside DMs.
It's almost as if I preempted all of this conversation in the very first reply to this thread.
To get back to the point I made at the end there: I think it's best to not make any assumptions about what you can and can't do with this feature until you ask your DM. The only thing it definitely lets you do is supply your party with mundane gear, which they probably already have (shields notwithstanding; I find players sometimes have to go out and get those).
"But Choir," I hear you saying, "why would I pick a race when I don't even know what it can do? That's garbage!" And while I'll generally agree it's subpar design, it doesn't actually matter, and here's why. 1: As mentioned, it's not relevant to the mechanical power of the race. If you cut it completely, lizardfolk would be on par with other races, ignoring the obviously busted ones. Artificers can create artisan's tools too, and that's a ribbon feature there as well. Lizardfolk get a lot of other stuff that's more useful, and the Cunning Artisan feature is for fun, not to boost their power level in any meaningful way. And 2: Designing your character without consulting with your DM is bad practice anyway, and you shouldn't be doing it. Volo's Guide to Monsters, the literal book this race is from, says, and I quote, "If you're a player, consult with your DM before using any of the races here." You should be doing that regardless of whether you're using splatbooks, but especially if you are.
Remember, there's no such thing as a default table. Absolutely everything in the game is up for interpretation and alteration. Everything. The fact that a racial feature would require interpretation and would play differently at different tables is, at most, just calling attention to this fact in a way that you might find distasteful. Here on the internet we like to imagine that the rules are a solid and rigorous framework on which we can theorycraft. That's because we're D&D players and we enjoy imagining the fantastical.
They may not be fully proficient but within the context of their ability, they would indeed seem to be proficient. Any idiot can pick up tools and hammer away to try to 'make something.' If this is intended to be just making crude barely serviceable items without any actual proficiency in doing so, that is an ability of every race.
They can make shields, javelins, darts and clubs given the necessary materials. They can't do that with their bare hands, they still need relevant tools (and a blade counts as such). That's - as far as I can tell anyway - what it comes down to. I'm sure other races can kitbash something together as well, but those results will not be as serviceable as a lizardfolk's; a DM might give such items stats anyway, but they should be less good than the regular (and lizardfolk) versions.
You said (lizardfolk are) not as skilled as a professional. I was saying that, with respect to those things they can make, there is no reason to consider them less skilled than a professional, given the lizardfolk are still using similar (or the same) appropriate tools.
That's not necessarily true, as 5E doesn't really care about the quality of crafted items for the most part. The shields and other items crafted by a lizardfolk character using only their racial ability have the same practical stats as other shields, but that's it. They aren't necessarily as sturdy or as valuable - 5E just doesn't track that kind of thing.
They aren't necessarily as sturdy or as valuable, but since 5e doesn't track that, they are....? You realize the very lizardmen we are discussing are also 5e, right?
And that shields all have a generic price?
What is your argument that they should be less skilled?
I'm not saying 'should be', I'm saying 'could be'. The ability, as written, doesn't indicate anything about the value or quality of the shields crafted by lizardfolk other than that their practical stats are those of regular shields. The result of this possible distinction is that the 5E economy is not (or at least less; it's pretty tenuous anyway) screwed up by it, as the OP seems to conclude.
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To me, this feature is 99% flavor and 1% avoiding costs of mundane equipment.
My lizardfolk barbarian makes things out of defeated foes purely as a symbol of prowess and deeds accomplished. Anyone with a couple coins to rub together can get a wooden shield from a shop. Only a seasoned warrior carries a shield made of triceratops frill or drake scales. But it still just does the work of a shield.
Where can I find the original source rules and information on cunning artisan?
It was part of Volo's Guide to Monsters. DDB no longer sells it, so if you don't already have it, you'll have ti get a physical copy.
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So, Lizardfolk's Cunning Artisan says you cna take any Small or Larger Beast, Construct, Dragon, Monstrosity, or Plant's Bone and Hide to make certain items (A Shield, a Javelin, 1d4 Darts or Blow Gun Needles).
I think my big problem here, is there doesn't seem to be any specification of how many of these items one corpse of a size can make, and i feel like it assumes despite corpse size, they all can only make one batch. Further, this list includes Dragons, and i feel like a Shield made from Dragon hide and Bone would be more resilient than one made of Wolf Hide and Bone, but for the terms of the ability, without DM intervention, they would be technically the same. Obviously if i wanted to play a Lizardfolk, I would have this discussion with my DM, to make sure any fine tuning that needed to be handled, but i surely can't be alone in thinking that its absurd that there isn't some specification on this.
It's a lot less of an issue if you recognize lizardfolk craftsmanship as strictly utilitarian and not up to the standards of quality expected by other races. In other words, it's not going to matter if you're not attempting to turn a profit.
But that's a limitation to your freedom, and there's nothing rules-wise to say you shouldn't do it. I can see why people wouldn't be satisfied with this answer.
Frankly it's not a feature that does much on its own, and that's to be expected because it's not really considered part of the power budget for the race's design. It's effectively a roleplay motivator.
However, I've played with lizardfolk on two separate occasions and we've run into similar problems. I think a DM will have to bend the rules on it pretty often for contextual reasons like you describe, just to make it feel like it makes sense. Maybe that's the best solution, to avoid making extensive tables and unique equipment in advance. Maybe not. I think most people reading it won't recognize intuitively that it's something a DM needs to put some thought into, so that's a problem in itself. It can blindside DMs.
Just because you can make something from dragon hide doesn't mean you can make it in such a way that it uses the hide's superior qualities to best effect - I'd assume working with dragon hide to be more difficult than with that of a less imposing animal. Don't overthink it too much; if you want a character to be able to turn high quality resources into high quality items just get proficiency with the appropriate tools, as that represents formal training. Cunning Artisan is more along the lines of a basic skill passed down from parent to offspring, like learning how to cook a simple meal or craft a crude clay pot vs becoming a formally trained chef or an artisan potter.
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I mean, sure, but I'd then also like to point out the requirement of only needing a blade(like a dagger), or the appropriate tools, and that, as well in the list of creatures that are acceptable targets are Clay, Stone, and Iron Golems. Suggesting the idea that they are skilled enough with a blade to 'whittle' solid Iron into any shape, with only a dagger in an hour.
If the party manages to kill a Dragon I'm running, they are level 17 at the least, It will be Ancient, and I'll be quite happy if the Lizardfolk player character makes all sorts of cool, non-magical stuff. Why not? If they want a shot at it at lower level than that? They won't run into a Wymling, no matter what level, because those things have parents. They can make all the stuff they want out of a Young dragon, but only if they solo it.
Dragons are an iconic monster, and ought not be all that easy to kill.
More common sorts of critters are just fine under the usual rules. One batch of whatever and the corpse is used up.
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More like suggesting they can craft something serviceable, not that they can craft any shape they like. Taking parts that are roughly the size they need and mcgyvering a bunch of straps to turn those into a shield, not breaking them down to the exact specifications they might ideally want.
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sure, but True Dragons aren't the only 'Dragons' in D&D, as the category with Drakes(ranging from CR 1/2- CR 2) and Wyverns(which sit about 6) are also Dragons. also, just a quick reminder that by 'more common sorts of critters', i assume you mean Beasts, and not the various horrible Monstrosities, Living Plants, and Constructed Golems out of certain materials that are also in the list of things, a lot of which fall below CR 10 on their own.
something else that just occurred to me is the economic factor. Now, in this Hypothetical, I'm Referencing Xanthar's Guide to Revisiting Downtime, which cites a workweek as 5 days, or about 120 hours, in which you can craft up to 50 gp worth of items using that ruling.
now in this Hypothetical, let's say, for purpose of the argument, that the Lizardfolk is able to hunt down at least 1 beast every other hour over the course of a work week(lets say for reference that there is a forest with well over 60+ Deer(Medium size, 13 AC, 4 HP) in it), and then takes his short rest, using the time to craft 1 shield from the corpse. a shield is 10 gp. easy enough to craft 5 of in one workweek according to Xanathar's guide, but that with 'proper' materials, the 'proper' tools (even though you can also use that), and with no difference between this Deer Shield, and a professional one, mechanically.
according to Xanather's Guide, the Lizardfolk should only be able to craft 5 shields, but because of the wording on Cunning Artisan, and normally no restriction on Short rests per day(except the hit dice you roll, but you dont need to roll any), you could theoretically make more than 5 shields in one workweek, and in this hypothetical, where they hunt down a Deer every other hour, then take an hour to craft it's corpse parts into a shield, you could, again, in this hypothetical, make 600 gp in the workweek, worth of shields that function the same as a wood or metal one made by a professional artisan.
however, this brought to my mind the number of Javelins a Professional could make in the workweek(which is about 100), or the number of clubs(around 500), darts(if i did my math right, around 1000), or Blowgun needles(sitting at about 2500) in the same workweek, as the 60 javelins or clubs, or 60d4(max 240) Darts or Needles.
in short, what the hell.
I have been thinking about it, and I've changed my mind about something. I'm not a vegetarian, but I have known some, and I can only imagine how one of my players who was one might react to being in a game where someone made a suit of armor out of a formerly living, sentient creature of any kind.
There was a tradition where people did things like that, they honored the spirits of the animals and the things that acted like beasts for their sacrifice in allowing themselves to be killed. I think of Cunning Artisan as a way of doing just that.
Anything that you can Murder (intentionally set out to kill) with two scores in Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma under 6) can't be the target of Cunning Artisan in my games. It's not a matter of CR at all, nor is a function of creature type really. I will let people do it in my games, I just hope someone will stop the player character somehow (no matter what race) who tries, because if they don't, that's something that sickens me, and I'd have a hard time liking any of the other player characters who didn't object when they saw it happening. Golems and such aren't truly sentient no matter what their scores might be. They are pretty much magical robots who do what they are told. Same thing with Undead, the only kind of those that I can think of off hand that's truly sentient is the Lich
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Just because you can craft something with a nominal value doesn't mean you can actually sell it for that value, or even at all. And whether those quickly fashioned items have the same nominal value as a professional artisan's is not specified by the rules either.
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I mean, your not wrong.
Now, however, so far my assumptions and thoughts have been with using only the dagger, but Lizardfolk can use the appropriate tools, and have proficiency in said tools(making them as skilled as a professional), which means that if for example, you kill plants or constructs, and use the proper tools to make the shield, there is now a very thin line of 'no-difference' between these 'quicker' shields, and one that might take you normally a whole workday.
also, so i did a quick breakdown of the material cost, and yes, estimating a bit here. so, 5 gold worth of iron(and i think the PHB might refer to raw iron, but doesn't specify in the trade goods), is about 50 pounds of iron, which then get worked down to 6 pounds(i mean it has to be raw iron ore, right?), now the roughest estimations i can get for hide are square yards of canvas, which again i need 50 of. now i cant find a direct material equivalent to wood or bone, but i can do some figuring with just these two. After some brief searching, one full Cowhide would be about the right size for this application(and if we are buying a cow, thats the full price of a shield right there), and a brief looking at about only 1.19 square yards of hide, which means we are definitely using bone, and after double checking against another insane person(The Monster Harvester's Handbook) it looks like im not alone on that thought, as he valued a Jackal hide at 1 gold, but didnt list bones
after a bit of pondering, and cross-referencing, the bones together would probably also sit at about 1 gold, meaning, technically we're not making a shield out of a Jackal.
However, this then brings up the thought that somehow, even only being able to gather 2 gold worth of materials from a single Jackal corpse, make a Shield that is mechanically the same as a Metal Shield.
LIzardfolk are magic is what i'm learning
They can use those tools for that specific task. They do not have proficiency in said tools (at least not as a racial quality, obviously they can pick up proficiency through class or background), and thus are not as skilled as a professional.
"Cunning Artisan
As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan’s tools, such as leatherworker’s tools."
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They can make shields, javelins, darts and clubs given the necessary materials. They can't do that with their bare hands, they still need relevant tools (and a blade counts as such). That's - as far as I can tell anyway - what it comes down to. I'm sure other races can kitbash something together as well, but those results will not be as serviceable as a lizardfolk's; a DM might give such items stats anyway, but they should be less good than the regular (and lizardfolk) versions.
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That's not necessarily true, as 5E doesn't really care about the quality of crafted items for the most part. The shields and other items crafted by a lizardfolk character using only their racial ability have the same practical stats as other shields, but that's it. They aren't necessarily as sturdy or as valuable - 5E just doesn't track that kind of thing.
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It's almost as if I preempted all of this conversation in the very first reply to this thread.
To get back to the point I made at the end there: I think it's best to not make any assumptions about what you can and can't do with this feature until you ask your DM. The only thing it definitely lets you do is supply your party with mundane gear, which they probably already have (shields notwithstanding; I find players sometimes have to go out and get those).
"But Choir," I hear you saying, "why would I pick a race when I don't even know what it can do? That's garbage!" And while I'll generally agree it's subpar design, it doesn't actually matter, and here's why. 1: As mentioned, it's not relevant to the mechanical power of the race. If you cut it completely, lizardfolk would be on par with other races, ignoring the obviously busted ones. Artificers can create artisan's tools too, and that's a ribbon feature there as well. Lizardfolk get a lot of other stuff that's more useful, and the Cunning Artisan feature is for fun, not to boost their power level in any meaningful way. And 2: Designing your character without consulting with your DM is bad practice anyway, and you shouldn't be doing it. Volo's Guide to Monsters, the literal book this race is from, says, and I quote, "If you're a player, consult with your DM before using any of the races here." You should be doing that regardless of whether you're using splatbooks, but especially if you are.
Remember, there's no such thing as a default table. Absolutely everything in the game is up for interpretation and alteration. Everything. The fact that a racial feature would require interpretation and would play differently at different tables is, at most, just calling attention to this fact in a way that you might find distasteful. Here on the internet we like to imagine that the rules are a solid and rigorous framework on which we can theorycraft. That's because we're D&D players and we enjoy imagining the fantastical.
I'm not saying 'should be', I'm saying 'could be'. The ability, as written, doesn't indicate anything about the value or quality of the shields crafted by lizardfolk other than that their practical stats are those of regular shields. The result of this possible distinction is that the 5E economy is not (or at least less; it's pretty tenuous anyway) screwed up by it, as the OP seems to conclude.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
To me, this feature is 99% flavor and 1% avoiding costs of mundane equipment.
My lizardfolk barbarian makes things out of defeated foes purely as a symbol of prowess and deeds accomplished. Anyone with a couple coins to rub together can get a wooden shield from a shop. Only a seasoned warrior carries a shield made of triceratops frill or drake scales. But it still just does the work of a shield.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Where can I find the original source rules and information on cunning artisan?
It was part of Volo's Guide to Monsters. DDB no longer sells it, so if you don't already have it, you'll have ti get a physical copy.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.