I've made a character with a tweaked soldier background, who's role on the battlefield was to build, test, and maintain crossbows (support role). At this point, I realized I have no idea if a smith or tinker makes crossbows. The former could possibly work for the smaller two, but given the mechanisms used in the heavy crossbow, I'm not so sure anymore. Looking through Google hasn't helped me, either.
In the Basic rules, read Between Adventures. Use the search function on this site to find Downtime Activities and Crafting an Item. That should give you a start.
According to Xanathar’s guide downtime crafting information, smith’s tools are what you use to make all armor and weapons.
That doesn't make sense when you stop and think about it. You don't make leather or hide armors using metal, nor do you use hammers, tongs, charcoal, rags, or a whetstone to craft a wooden longbow.
I figure it's best to divide the work between what materials get used; smith's tools for the metal bits and carpenter's or woodcarver's tools for the wooden parts. My character would then assemble these components into the completed product using tinker's tools.
In all honesty, player crafting is far and away the largest deficiency in the 5e rules. The best any rulebook does is give the DM a very loose set of guidelines about how the process could look. But the time scale involved usually doesn't make sense, and inevitably the narrative of the adventure or setting or whatever makes the time investment simply not possible.
I really, really hope they make a supplemental book that tears up the all the "guidelines" and writes a set of real rules on how players could adequately craft things.
I think the crafting rules are oversimplified, because as an adventurer, you probably shouldn't be able to produce high quality wares at all. You spent your time training in your class. The rules are vague and allow you and your DM to flesh out ideas on you own instead of presenting you with ultra realistic rules that many would complain about as well.
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I've made a character with a tweaked soldier background, who's role on the battlefield was to build, test, and maintain crossbows (support role). At this point, I realized I have no idea if a smith or tinker makes crossbows. The former could possibly work for the smaller two, but given the mechanisms used in the heavy crossbow, I'm not so sure anymore. Looking through Google hasn't helped me, either.
Have any of you had this sort of issue?
Those rules don't exist. Whatever your DM decides.
In the Basic rules, read Between Adventures. Use the search function on this site to find Downtime Activities and Crafting an Item. That should give you a start.
According to Xanathar’s guide downtime crafting information, smith’s tools are what you use to make all armor and weapons.
That doesn't make sense when you stop and think about it. You don't make leather or hide armors using metal, nor do you use hammers, tongs, charcoal, rags, or a whetstone to craft a wooden longbow.
I figure it's best to divide the work between what materials get used; smith's tools for the metal bits and carpenter's or woodcarver's tools for the wooden parts. My character would then assemble these components into the completed product using tinker's tools.
Thanks, everyone!
In all honesty, player crafting is far and away the largest deficiency in the 5e rules. The best any rulebook does is give the DM a very loose set of guidelines about how the process could look. But the time scale involved usually doesn't make sense, and inevitably the narrative of the adventure or setting or whatever makes the time investment simply not possible.
I really, really hope they make a supplemental book that tears up the all the "guidelines" and writes a set of real rules on how players could adequately craft things.
Those are the basics. Most are fairly easy decision, except where I put a /. Then the DM has to make a decision based on what kind is being made.
I think the crafting rules are oversimplified, because as an adventurer, you probably shouldn't be able to produce high quality wares at all. You spent your time training in your class. The rules are vague and allow you and your DM to flesh out ideas on you own instead of presenting you with ultra realistic rules that many would complain about as well.