Crafting Research Example 2

Start a New Project
Jason's character Khazad is a Grand Master Empowerer and a Grand Master Smith he wants to begin a new project that will let him enhance the bonus given by a Mithril weapon by combining it with the Empowering bonus ritual. He creates a new project. He will be using both Empowering and Smithing but will focus on the Smithing skills so he selects that as the project type.

Project Name: Enhanced Weapon Bonus

Project Goal: Khazad will be working to combine the natural honing of Mithril weapons with the weapon bonus ritual so it increases the base effects of the weapon.

Through previous projects, Khazad has established connections in Symprath and has gained access to the library of one of the higher Dwarven families. So he begins his investigations.

Create First Journal Entry
I intend to travel to the Axegrind library in the Symprath Heights. As arranged previously I will speak with Nahmen Axegrind and explain the parameters of my project before I begin. I will look for information regarding the combination of smithing procedures and Empowerment rituals. If I can find anything specific regarding Mithril and the enhancement of its damaging abilities I will take special consideration for those notes.

First Entry Results
Nahmen granted the request and says he will be interested to see the results. Over the weeks spent, I learned that others have often tried to combine the weapon creation process with various rituals and it sounds like there were varying degrees of success. Mithril ore is mentioned in numberous accounts as people try to combine especially damaging attacks with several other properties though I could not find any matching my own intended mix. Perhaps if I stayed longer I could find something more specific but true to Dwarven form, few specific results are recorded. Instead knowledge is horded by the craftsmen; their secrets as precious as the gems and ore they work with. My general impression is that it will require a good bit of time and experimentation to find the right combination of materials and sequence of crafting and casting but the potential for success is very real.

Jason considers the time it will take as indicated by the results but decides to try the experiment.

Second Journal Entry
I will return home to start working through the process of trying to imbue a weapon at various stages of creation. I expect to begin simply with the raw materials. Collecting the pieces of Mithril I need to create a weapon I will try to cast the Empowerment ritual on the unrefined ore.

If the results are not positive, I will begin to forge the weapon and stop at various points to cast the ritual.

Second Entry Results
I attempted to imbue the magic into the ore with no success. The magic scattered and dissipated finding no prepared vessel to be bound in.

Moving on to the next stage I melted the ore and attempted to trap the energy in the molten metal but again it could not be anchored.

I attempted each stage multiple times but with similar results and have found the month travel quickly. Next I would expect to move on to the following steps of the forging process.

Jason decides to continue and hope for more progress.

Third Journal Entry
I will continue working through the process of forging a weapon stopping to see what effect the ritual has at different stages of completion.

Third Entry Results
I was able to work through the full progression of weapon creation concentrating on the final steps of creation I did not test last month. I discovered that as the metal becomes more refined and the magic of the Mithril more concentrated, the ritual has more of a result. However, when I examine the results they are as impermanent as if I had cast the ritual on a finished vessel. There must be something I am missing to fully integrate the magic into the creation process.

Jason considers the implications of his results but cannot think of what may be missing so he decides to go consult another crafter.

Fourth Journal Entry
I think I will travel to Haven and speak with the BBT representative there; Asurmin is a smith and may have some suggestions. I will ask her if she has encountered or heard of anyone who has attempted a similar experiment. I will also see if she has any suggestions about what step I may be missing for combining the two processes. If she doesn't have answers herself, I will ask for any ideas she may have regarding who I could speak with.

Fourth Entry Results
I was able to catch up with Asurmin at her shop. She said she would consider the problem and see what she could find out but she had never tried anything similar herself. When I returned she said she was able to speak with another BBT crafter who mentioned that often combining magic types requires combining materials but that it tends to distort the full principles of the two. She said in some of her smithing research she has mixed ores with similar results.

Jason decides to take the advice and continue the research.

Fifth Journal Entry
After speaking with Asurmin I have decided to include some Obsidian in the crafting of the Mithril weapon. I will repeat the process of attempting the ritual at various stages of the creation process but I will begin after melting the ore since there were no benefits working with the raw materials initially.

Fifth Entry Results
Combining the Mithril and Obsidian is a little complex. The Obsidian does not simply melt into a mixture of the refined Mithril. However I discovered that I could chip it into small flakes and combine it with the molten metal. After overcoming that issue, I began testing with much better results. Due to the delay I only worked with the liquefied materials but I felt the magic of the ritual responding to the obsidian of the mixture. There was still not enough of an anchor to store any of the energy but hopefully one of the next stages of vessel creation will solve that deficit.

Jason knows he is still several months away from a finished product but decides Khazad would not give up yet especially after making some progress.

Sixth Journal Entry
I seem to be on a better path so I will continue with my plan hoping not to run into any more riddles.

Sixth Entry Results
I trudged on until I lost count of the number of times I fanned the forge and stopped to cast but I think I have identified the exact point where the ritual belongs. When the materials are fully combined but not shaped, if I stop and cast the magics of the weapon and the ritual seem raw and still malleable themselves. However it requires a great deal of concentration to keep the weapon in its unsolidified form. I have to cast while keeping the weapon over the forge so it does not cool or scorch. However with some practice I think I can grow accustomed to it.

The bigger obstacle is that my mixture does not seem balanced. I can get the magic to react but the energy stored is too weak to produce a result so far.

Jason decides to continue.

Seventh Journal Entry
I will work on my focus as I try to find a mixture that performs as required. I will continue to add Obsidian hoping to anchor more of the energy. If necessary I will use less Mithril to account for the density of the mixture.

Seventh Entry Results
I spent the month filtering the Mithril and Obsidian mixture trying to find the right equilibrium and I believe I have. However, working through the process and examining the results I still feel like it is not a permanent effect. It does seem much stronger than the general ritual and I need to polish the steps a bit more but I think in another month I could have some solid results.

Jason realizes the weapon he makes may not be exactly what he was looking for but he is only a month shy of a usable schematic so he decides to find out what the weapon will turn out to be.

Eighth Journal Entry
Too late to turn back now, I suppose I will finalize my schematic and see what the finished product can be used for. I will polish my steps and test the results.

Eighth Entry Results
Schematic Created

I have refined my process into a rather handsome weapon. It is shimmering white with flakes of black glass and it slices through flesh and bone with unparalleled precision. The empowering magic will not last more than a year but is easily replenished having a permanent anchor in the metal. It also never seems to fail or falter as a typical ritual would. However, as I was warned, the Mithril cannot hold as many other enhancements as it is not as pure as a typical weapon. It also takes a bit longer to create because of the addition of a ritual into the middle of the forging process.

Razor Bite Schematic Ritual
This schematic and ritual combination allows a smith to craft weapons, armor and ammo holders out of Mithril ore and obsidian. Any weapon made of this combination can hold up to two magical enhancements in the form of Enchantments or Empowerments. If the vessel becomes Shattered, the Enchantments or Empowerments will not be able to be used until the item is mended. Weapons of this combination also add two damage to every attack. Additionally this weapon bears the Plus Two Damage Bonus empowerment upon creation. It will last for a year from the time of creation. At the end of that year or at any point after, this bonus can be recharged by casting the +2 Damage Bonus ritual into the vessel again using the components of a 4 month duration. This ritual automatically succeeds with no bonus or flaw. Also, the effect will last a year and not use one of the two enhancement slots.

Materials: 20 Mithril, 15 Obsidian

Creation Time: 25 Minutes