I am working on a build that relies heavily on woodworking and carpentry, and I was curious what races were generally thought of as the best woodworkers?
I think for this campaign my character would be a human that apprenticed with whatever race this would be and brought that knowlege back to their homeland, so locality shouldn't necessarily be a limiting factor.
It kinda depends on your point of view on what the "best" means.
In terms of minimizing waste and ensuring only what you need is used, it would absolutely be a Firbolg. Or at least, the 5e "fey touched" version of the Firbolg. It's part of their relationship with nature. But they don't appreciate art for art's sake, and would find a statue carved from wood, for example, to be a waste.
I always thought gnomes would be expected to be very good because they have an affinity as tinkerers so wood joinery would be right up their alley. I would think Elves would likewise be considered good woodworkers, wood carvers and carpenters in the same manner as Dwarves being experts at stone work.
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Hmm, this gives me a lot to think about. The backstory I'm working on has my adventurer starting as a contractor/home builder. Maybe a better question would be who has the best made homes, and who built those homes?
Firbolg probably have a unique relationship with wood, since they're the only race that can speak to plants. Telling the wood what you want it to be as you coax it gently in that direction... flatter that old oak enough, and it just might straighten its grain out a little for you! Also their Wisdom (attention to detail and thoughtfullness) and Strength (physical capability) also would combine nicely in a carpenter
Wood Elves eat/wear/live in/are bushes, so I'm sure they're pretty good with wood. It's right in the name!
Aereni Wood Elves are the same, but even better, since they racially have expertise in something (which could be carpenter's tools or the like)
I think that Forest Gnomes are more about small critters than plants, and also don't strike me as particularly industrious (unlike their Rock Gnome brethren). They're out.
Vedalken (are they even real?) also are naturally skilled in a tool of their choice. Vedalken Experimental Woodwork is probably bizarre and scientific and wholly unrecognizeable as woodworking to other races.... but you can't argue with the results!
Half Orcs I imagine to be very very good lumberjacks. Imagine if every time you got a splinter you flew into a rage and were able to hit that $*@!ing tree even harder, grrrrrr! Bonus points if elves fall out for you to squish, pinata!
That is all super helpful information! I'll have to do some research into a few of those and see of it would make sense that a human would be able to apprentice under them!
I think “best” would really be impossible to decide. Each of the races will have its own style, and some people will like some more than others. And some might be better for building a house vs building a fort vs sculpting a statue. As others said, it would be best to work with your DM. Decide what kind you want to be so you can explain it to them.
If you want to have a basis for giving a human an affinity for wood craftsmanship, particularly on the scale of carpentry instead of cabinetry or wood carving, I would consider having them related to a seafaring culture because shipbuilders have to be very good at carpentry level tasks to make things water tight and hydrodynamic, which requires smooth curved transitions. There are many large building that were once ships than were removed from the water, gutted and then turned upside down to make enormous barn-like gathering places. This would also give them exposure to many other crafts including rope making and knotwork, blacksmithing to make the fittings for a ship or the tools for shipbuilding, glazier (glass pane making), navigation and cartography, fighting styles associated with a cutlass, fishing, weather knowledge and working with canvass.
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I think for this campaign my character would be a human that apprenticed with whatever race this would be and brought that knowlege back to their homeland, so locality shouldn't necessarily be a limiting factor.
So again, ask your DM which race that would be and go from there. Simple, really.
Elves I would say are the best woodworkers. An elven woodworker could plant the trees, let them grown for 200-300 years watching over them, nurturing them as they grow, then take another 100-200 years turning that wood into exquisite works of art. Any race could create beautiful pieces but I think in the end they would be hard-pressed to create something on the scale of a dedicated Elven artisan.
I've always gone with a classic trope breakdown of:
Dwarves are expert smiths and stone workers, their pieces are functional, practical, perfect, and looks good (to dwarves at least, only dwarves view practical as a work of art)
Elves create timeless works of art from various metals and woods, usually taking a century or more on a single piece. They have the time to spare.
Gnomes take a dwarven approach to crafting but add in a whimsical flair that the elves find quaint and the dwarves roll their eyes at.
Halflings craft for practical comfort and pride, some of their best pieces are never sold, just stay in their families, passed down generation to generation.
Humans craft for coin more so than any other race, there will be master craftsman, but the most veteran human craftsman will be years behind the average novice elven and dwarven crafters in terms of knowledge, but humans have the drive that the other races lack, due to their shorter life span, their pieces will be impressive for the short amount of time they spend on them.
since its just backstory on where your character learned its trade...don't limit yourself to player options. ALL monsters are options - and would probably be more interesting than saying it learned from yet another elf. i'd filter monsters by forest environment and select plant, fey, and humanoid and see what your options are.
and even then, don't limit yourself to that list, you can look at legacy editions as well...forest goblins come to mind. that would have more flavor than a gnome.
i personally would not do elf. i think a few posts above are kinda backward when it comes to elves. they wouldn't plant a tree, let it grow, then chop it up and make something out of it (always exceptions of course like arrows and bows). for big items like houses and such, they'd plant a tree and shape it into something as it grows, largely without the use of any woodworking tools. wood elves [at least my idea of wood elves] don't build houses, they grow them....i suspect the same for something like a forest gnome. similar to a treant, seeing a set of carpenter's tools would make them sick or angry. Of all your options where you could learn the skills to be a contractor making traditional wooden houses - the LEAST believable would be from an elf. yes, they could teach you how to make exquisite works of art from wood, but with that comes the respect for the wood. housing contractors would be an absolutely slap in the face to that idea.
I am working on a build that relies heavily on woodworking and carpentry, and I was curious what races were generally thought of as the best woodworkers?
Depends on your setting. Ask your DM.
I think for this campaign my character would be a human that apprenticed with whatever race this would be and brought that knowlege back to their homeland, so locality shouldn't necessarily be a limiting factor.
It kinda depends on your point of view on what the "best" means.
In terms of minimizing waste and ensuring only what you need is used, it would absolutely be a Firbolg. Or at least, the 5e "fey touched" version of the Firbolg. It's part of their relationship with nature. But they don't appreciate art for art's sake, and would find a statue carved from wood, for example, to be a waste.
I always thought gnomes would be expected to be very good because they have an affinity as tinkerers so wood joinery would be right up their alley. I would think Elves would likewise be considered good woodworkers, wood carvers and carpenters in the same manner as Dwarves being experts at stone work.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Hmm, this gives me a lot to think about. The backstory I'm working on has my adventurer starting as a contractor/home builder. Maybe a better question would be who has the best made homes, and who built those homes?
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
That is all super helpful information! I'll have to do some research into a few of those and see of it would make sense that a human would be able to apprentice under them!
I think “best” would really be impossible to decide. Each of the races will have its own style, and some people will like some more than others. And some might be better for building a house vs building a fort vs sculpting a statue.
As others said, it would be best to work with your DM. Decide what kind you want to be so you can explain it to them.
If you want to have a basis for giving a human an affinity for wood craftsmanship, particularly on the scale of carpentry instead of cabinetry or wood carving, I would consider having them related to a seafaring culture because shipbuilders have to be very good at carpentry level tasks to make things water tight and hydrodynamic, which requires smooth curved transitions. There are many large building that were once ships than were removed from the water, gutted and then turned upside down to make enormous barn-like gathering places. This would also give them exposure to many other crafts including rope making and knotwork, blacksmithing to make the fittings for a ship or the tools for shipbuilding, glazier (glass pane making), navigation and cartography, fighting styles associated with a cutlass, fishing, weather knowledge and working with canvass.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
A little off topic, but if you haven’t thought of it already, you might want to look at the guild artisan background.
Super impressed and happy with the feedback in this thread. All super strong and thoughtful responses!
So again, ask your DM which race that would be and go from there. Simple, really.
Humans I would think. They chop more trees and carve more wood than any other race.
I never considered it could be humans. That is a good thought!
Humans, elves, and forest gnomes are the three PHB races most commonly associated with woodworking.
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Elves I would say are the best woodworkers. An elven woodworker could plant the trees, let them grown for 200-300 years watching over them, nurturing them as they grow, then take another 100-200 years turning that wood into exquisite works of art. Any race could create beautiful pieces but I think in the end they would be hard-pressed to create something on the scale of a dedicated Elven artisan.
I've always gone with a classic trope breakdown of:
since its just backstory on where your character learned its trade...don't limit yourself to player options. ALL monsters are options - and would probably be more interesting than saying it learned from yet another elf. i'd filter monsters by forest environment and select plant, fey, and humanoid and see what your options are.
and even then, don't limit yourself to that list, you can look at legacy editions as well...forest goblins come to mind. that would have more flavor than a gnome.
i personally would not do elf. i think a few posts above are kinda backward when it comes to elves. they wouldn't plant a tree, let it grow, then chop it up and make something out of it (always exceptions of course like arrows and bows). for big items like houses and such, they'd plant a tree and shape it into something as it grows, largely without the use of any woodworking tools. wood elves [at least my idea of wood elves] don't build houses, they grow them....i suspect the same for something like a forest gnome. similar to a treant, seeing a set of carpenter's tools would make them sick or angry. Of all your options where you could learn the skills to be a contractor making traditional wooden houses - the LEAST believable would be from an elf. yes, they could teach you how to make exquisite works of art from wood, but with that comes the respect for the wood. housing contractors would be an absolutely slap in the face to that idea.
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