3 slots	-	Income: 100 gp / mo.	-	INT-3 *
Artisans & Craftsmen	-	-	-	Weaponmaker (DMG)
Proficiencies	-	-	-	DSG

A weapon maker is a sort of smith-armorer specializing in the manufacture of high-quality arms.
As DM you might desire to divide weapon makers into the three following classes:

    BOWYER-ARROWSMITH-FLETCHER: The bowyer would fashion any sort of bow, including crossbows, and missiles for same.
    SWORDSMITH-DAGGERSMITH: Swordsmith[s] work would be strictly with all forms of swords and daggers.
    WEAPONER GENERAL: The weaponer would fashion all weapons not made by the other two classes of weapon makers.

As with other hirelings of this sort, the weapon maker must have a forge and a workroom.
He or she will have various apprentices which are subsumed in the monthly cost.
A weapon maker is necessary to support troops, 1 being required to support each 80 men or fraction thereof.
If the weapon maker has free time,
    he or she can turn out weapons at the rate of 1 weapon per day after an initial start-up period of 1 month.
Exceptions to this rate are composite and long bows
    which require a start-up time of 1 year and are turned out at the rate of 2-5 per month thereafter,
heavy crossbows which are turned out at a rate of 15 per month,
and swords which are made as follows:

scimitar    10/month
sword, bastard    8/month
sword, broad    15/month
sword, long    12/month
sword, short    20/month
sword, two-handed    5/month

Scabbards for all swords will have to be manufactured by a leather worker of some sort.
Location of a weapon maker willing to take service with any player character should be difficult.

COST: 100 gp / mo.
(Cost does not incl. all renumeration or special fees.
Add 10% of the usu. cost of items handled or made by these hirelings on a per
job basis, i.e. an armorer makes a suit of plate mail which has a normal
cost of 400 gp, so 10% of that suit (40 gp) is added to
the costs of maintaining the armorer.)

Weaponsmith (3, 17):

A weaponsmith can fashion any weapon (other than
bows and finished arrows) found in OA. In +addition+, he
can construct weapons from the other AD&D gamer books if given a copy
to work from. The amount of time required to fashion any weapon but the
katana is two days per weapon. The fashioning of a katana requires one
month. At the end of the time period, 1d20 is rolled to check the success. If
the modified die roll is 25 or greater, the character has fashioned a
weapon of quality as explained in the Treasure section. In such a case,
an additional two weeks must be spent finishing a normal weapon. In the
case of a katana, two additional months must be spent. At the end of this time,
the finished katana must be taken to a temple and named by the priests
there. When this is done, the katana is finished.

    If the die roll is a failure, but within 4 of the # needed for success,
the weapon is flawed. Flawed weapons have the same effect as flawed bows
explained under Bowyer above.
 

<
Sword, Misc. Weapon: +1 to hit, price = x2d6
>
 

Weaponsmith (3*, Int, -3): This highly specialized proficiency allows a
character to perform the difficult and highly exacting work
involved in the making of metal weapons, particularly those with
blades. The character blends some of the skill of the blacksmith
with an ability to work fine detail to create blades of strength and
sharpness.
The times required to make various types of weapons are listed
on Table 12: Weapon Making, along with the approximate cost in
materials to make one of the weapons listed.

Table 12: WEAPON MAKING
 

Weapon Construction	Time	Material Cost
Arrowhead	1-2/day	1 cp
Battle Axe	10 days	10 sp
Hand Axe	5 days	5 sp
Dagger	5 days	2 sp
Crossbow, Heavy	20 days	10 sp
Crossbow, Light	15 days	5 sp
Fork, Trident	20 days	10 sp
Scimitar	3 days *	<>
Spear, Lance	4 days	4 sp
Shortsword	20 days	5 sp
Broad Sword	2 days *
Longsword	30 days	10 sp
Bastard Sword	3 3/4 days *	<>
Two-handed Sword	45 days	2 gp
Other	1 day *

* < x 6?> - OSRIC, page 135

Players can gain estimates for the times required to make weap
ons that are not listed here by comparing them to listed weapons.

When the construction of a weapon is completed, the player
must make a Proficiency Check. If the check is successful, it
means that the weapon created is of very fine quality and will last
through many combats. If the check fails, the weapon is still usable,
but has a limited lifespan. The weapon breaks and becomes
useless if the character wielding it rolls an unmodified 1 on his
d20 attack roll.

Option: As with the bowyer proficiency, the character can
attempt to create a weapon of truly fine quality at some risk if the
DM is agreeable. An unsuccessful Proficiency Check means that
the weapon is worthless, but a successful check means that a
nonmagical weapon has been created that inflicts + 1 damage on
all successful attacks. If the unmodified Proficiency Check is a
20, the weapon also receives a + 1 bonus to all attack rolls.
 

Equipment:

This character needs to maintain a small blacksmith’s shop,
with an additional array of tools for finishing the fine detail work required in putting edges and ornamentation on weapons.
Cost: 1,500 gp (Unless noted, the cost of raw materials might be 11-20%(1d10 + 10)of the value of the finished work.) <>
Space: 40' x 30'

DMPrata wrote:
Gary, here's (I hope) a question that hasn't been asked before: In the Dungeon Masters Guide, you set a precedent (later expanded upon by others) that
meteoric iron could be enchanted up to +3,
mithral-alloyed steel to +4,
and adamantite-alloyed steel to +5.
Then, in Unearthed Arcana, you introduced the Sword +6, Defender and Sword +6, Holy Avenger.
Did you have some other mythical metal in mind for these +6 weapons? Pure (as opposed to alloyed) adamantite, perhaps? Or maybe glassteel? My players appreciate this added level of detail, as opposed to, "Ho hum, another magical sword. . . ." :roll:
 

Actually, that's the sort of detail I dislike giving, as it seemingly encourages players to have their PCs attempt to create magic items that are meant to be won by adventuring success.
If I must, pure adamantite would be the metal of a +6 weapon.
Cheers,
Gary

DMPrata wrote:
Thanks, Gary. While I haven't had a problem with anyone crafting magic items (yet), I can see your point. I use this mostly for flavor. When the villain draws his "long sword of dull grey metal, which seems to exude a purplish, black light-like radiance," I get the players' attention.
 
 

Understood, and a good plan while it lasts 

Cheers,
Gary