I won’t have much to say on this final chapter in the Players Handbook, because it’s very few sentences and many tables. I do like the very simple availability rule. If something is uncommon, you need to get a four or above on a d6 to find it for sale. If it’s rare, you need a six. I also like the fact that everything can be crafted, and that there is a simple system for doing so. Sometimes too simple – the fact that you need a forge to make arrows, when you could arguably purchase arrowheads, makes me cringe a little. But on balance I am in favour of simplicity. So the simple solution to more complex crafting is that you need to relevant talent to be able to make certain items. Or sometimes more than one talent. Our arrows require the smith and the bowyer talent. Gah! Why can’t there be an item called arrowheads that only a smith can make?!
There are wooden tipped arrows that you don’t need the smith skill to create. Armour counts double against them. But seriously, who since the bloomin’ Stone Age has used wood-tipped arrows?!
RIGHT! I am making my own house rule: arrows heads cost six copper and can be made with the Smith talent in a forge. You can make wood-tipped arrows with the bowyer talent, but if you have some arrowheads (six copper, remember, or made by a smith in a forge) and the bowyer talent, you can craft proper arrows, or you can buy ’em for twelve fucking copper!
/rant over
The other thing that slightly annoys me is the line “PRICE: The cost of an item can vary greatly from place to place.” Well, duh! But that’s it, there’s no indication how prices might fluctuate.
I am thinking with all these raw materials you will be sourcing, especially stone for your stronghold, you will need a cart. Let’s look that up. It costs fifteen silver, or with the builder talent, and 30 wood you can make one. Wood costs three copper a unit, so that’s 90 copper, or nine silver. So your labour will save you six silver. All you need is a cart to carry those 30 units of wood…
The gear chapter also includes all the critical hit tables. Or rather the gear chapter doesn’t end as such, but fades away into all the stables at the back of the book. I note with interest that a severed foot makes running a slow action permanently, but a severed ear only gives you a -1 to scouting for d6 days. A slashed eye doesn’t permanently blind you either. You are just -2 to scouting and marksmanship for 2d6 days.
The character sheet is pretty enough. There’s an index. And I am done with the Players’ Handbook. Next up – The Gamemasters’ Guide.
fictionsuit.org 