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Tradeskills - by T.A. Saunders ©2013 v1.5
Blacksmithing is the trade of working with metals to create an end product. Though many other trades might use small amounts of metal in their work, the Blacksmith is the master of such things, capable of creating everything from household tools, to horseshoes, to weapons and armor. The Blacksmith dedicates days, even weeks or months to a single project, pouring literal sweat, blood, and tears into his work at the forge.
At the peak of a Blacksmith’s skill, he might learn to Rune-Forge their weapons or armor. This knowledge, passed to the Kaal`Kor of Ishaela by Kaal, allows a Blacksmith to imbue an item with any number of special properties. As Kaal has his runes he passed to his servants, so too did Miron have Black Runes to grant to his faithful. Successful rune-forging requires a smith to have succeeded both their base crafting roll and their Masterwork check.
Generally speaking, blacksmithing includes creating just about anything that is made of metal, save firearms and ammunition. This gives it a great deal of synergy with other trade skills. As a trade, it is also one with the most materials and enhancements available. This is both a boon and a hindrance, as each of these materials must be learned to work individually, by either spending IC time using trial and error (which almost certainly wastes a great deal of product) or learning from another skilled smith.
The smithing process is a lengthy one, with any combination of different techniques used to achieve a final product. Though too extensive to fully explain in this guide, some of the most common steps involved in manufacturing weapons or armor include
Smelting - heating ore to extract the metal.
Forging - the shaping of metal using compressive forces. This can either be done by cold-forging (little or no heat), warm-forging (moderate heat), or hot forging (extensive heat) to aid the shaping process.
Tempering - slow application of heat to increase elasticity and durability.
Annealing - application of rapid heat, followed by slow cooling, to increase a metal’s ductility.
Welding - fusing same or similar metals, usually via application of heat and compression.
Quenching - Rapid cooling of metal by submersion is liquid, usually oil. It is not unheard of for substances such as water, ammonia, or blood to be used instead.
Machining - use of lathes, polishers, presses, etc. to shape metal. The core difference between forging and machining is that forging places a focus on removing as little material as possible, where machining often removes a great deal of scrap material in its process..