I'm sure like most of you, the crafting rules presented in Special Modifications and other source books represented for me a long-awaited addition to the game. And, for the most part, I like what they did with it.

However, it is sometimes infuriatingly random, more than I personally feel it should be. The basic foundation is great, but it lends itself too much to tedious pre/post session moments where the party grease-monkey is just tumbling dice again and again trying to get the exact thing they want. Also, far too often do I see items with anything more than minor flaws just thrown out. This wouldn't be so bad if there was occasionally a sense of tension where, yes, you made a blaster that requires a heavy power pack to function, but you managed to give it Pierce 4 so do you really wanna throw it out? This is really only possible with a Triumph plus Threat or Despair plus Advantage, both of which are rare in my experience.

So to that end, I'd like to suggest the following additions to the rules, intended to increase interesting outcomes and reduce tedious roll-fests.

When rolling the check to assemble the created item, the crafter may attempt to grant their created item a specific benefit from the chart. If the check is a success, the item automatically gains that benefit upon completion. However, the extra time devoted to experimentation and the specific materials required increase the potential dangers and cost of the process. Modify the dice pool as follows, based on the Advantage/Triumph cost of the benefit:

Benefits on the 1-Adv. List: +1 Setback

Benefits on the 2-Adv. List: +1 Difficulty

Benefits on the 3-Adv. List: Upgrade Difficulty Once
Benefits on the 4-Adv. List: Upgrade Difficulty once & Flip a Destiny Point (only once)

Similarly, crafters willing to accept certain limitations to their created items can work within those limitations to ease the overall process of crafting.

The crafter can, when rolling to create an item, choose to allow the finished item to have one or more flaws from the chart automatically be applied upon completion. The crafter may then improve the item creation roll as follows, based on the Threat Cost of the flaw:

1-Threat Flaws: +1 automatic Advantage

2-Threat Flaws: +1 Boost Die

3-Threat Flaws:+1 Automatic Success

4-Threat Flaws: Upgrade Check once

I'm still trying to nail down the exact effects and costs, but it is purposeful that they are asymmetric to avoid players piling on opposing benefits and flaws that cancel each other out. You'll note that the 2 Triumph/2 Despair results cannot be purposefully taken, retaining some of their special nature and avoiding the constant aiming for Integral Attachment or similar high-powered benefits, or the narrative oddity of deliberately putting a fatal hidden flaw in your item.

Thoughts? Feedback?
<steps behind transparisteel rotten tomato deflector>

This is one concept.

Another is that Advantage/Threat don’t have to cancel each other out, depending on the player and GM preference.

I’m not sure if one solution is better than the other. I’d probably have to see them both in use, or actually use them myself, before I could get a good sense of which one I felt brought better flavor to the game without adding too much crunch.

One specific problem I've run into with the crafting system as-is, and one that highlights what I mentioned above, is that the Grenade template seemingly makes for a solid way to build one-use "Batman Gadgets" for use in combat (sleep gas bombs, EMPS, etc.), and is something several players I've run for want to do. However, as-is, it's difficult to replicate a successful creation for repeated use as you would naturally want to in this case rather than hope you can whip up more of the same in the future. (Admittedly, allowing the "+1 Limited Ammo" option to create a "clip" of them or duplicates could help, but this is just one example)

One specific problem I've run into with the crafting system as-is, and one that highlights what I mentioned above, is that the Grenade template seemingly makes for a solid way to build one-use "Batman Gadgets" for use in combat (sleep gas bombs, EMPS, etc.), and is something several players I've run for want to do. However, as-is, it's difficult to replicate a successful creation for repeated use as you would naturally want to in this case rather than hope you can whip up more of the same in the future. (Admittedly, allowing the "+1 Limited Ammo" option to create a "clip" of them or duplicates could help, but this is just one example)

Isn’t that what the Schematic is for?

In a way yes, but the luck it takes to make that happen alongside the Qualities you want is, in my opinion, needlessly tedious.

I can't tell you how often I've had a player ask to build (for example) a netgun or a gas grenade or something similar, and all I can tell them is "Well I hope you can do that."

I feel like the crafting rules as-is take too much agency out of the players' hands and doesn't allow for the kind of gameplay narrative it seems it should have. For whatever reason, in my experience, my players have reacted better to "Well I tried to make this specific blaster that is harder to make than a regular blaster, but I failed" than "Well I tried to make a net gun and ended up with a standard blaster pistol we don't really need"

As it stands, the crafting rules do the "I'm going to tinker in my workshop for a day or so and see what I get" thing very well, but not the "I want to make a specific item to serve a specific function because I invent things."

In a way yes, but the luck it takes to make that happen alongside the Qualities you want is, in my opinion, needlessly tedious.

I can't tell you how often I've had a player ask to build (for example) a netgun or a gas grenade or something similar, and all I can tell them is "Well I hope you can do that."

I feel like the crafting rules as-is take too much agency out of the players' hands and doesn't allow for the kind of gameplay narrative it seems it should have. For whatever reason, in my experience, my players have reacted better to "Well I tried to make this specific blaster that is harder to make than a regular blaster, but I failed" than "Well I tried to make a net gun and ended up with a standard blaster pistol we don't really need"

As it stands, the crafting rules do the "I'm going to tinker in my workshop for a day or so and see what I get" thing very well, but not the "I want to make a specific item to serve a specific function because I invent things."

Except that is what templates are for. IF you want to make a specific type of item (a net gun for example), you don't use the template for a blaster, you use one what you want to build. If there isn't a specific template for that, ask the GM if you can make a new template. That is well within the rules. All of the crafting rules in every book state this. In fact, it encourages it.

here is how I suggest people deal with crafting.

custom templates

Taking a lot of ideas from KOTOR and bam you have frag grenades, sonic grenades, adhesive grenades, deadly plasma mines etc.

In my current game custom templates are the players favorite rewards, my personal favorite is the one off shielding devices that have to be activated as a manuver and add 5 to your soak for the next 3 hits then gets burned out. Currently costs 1000 credits to craft and 500 credits to craft if you have a burned out one.

Some templates have difficulties that start at 5 with 2 upgraded difficulty and 4 setback due to it being dangerous old republic era tech (we added 5 advantage or triumph downgrade an upgraded difficulty template once and 3 advantage or a triumph reduce a templates setback by 1)

There is plenty of star wars tech in the expanded universe to choose from or you can make your own.

I guess you're right. It comes down to difference of approach, and in a way I was one step off from that conclusion anyway. (You want specifics that are outside the norm? That template has some setbacks on it since you're doing something so specific). I guess I was trying to avoid creating new templates from whole cloth by seeing what a fair tradeoff would be for some of the common items in the bonus/flaw list that already exists.

I guess you're right. It comes down to difference of approach, and in a way I was one step off from that conclusion anyway. (You want specifics that are outside the norm? That template has some setbacks on it since you're doing something so specific). I guess I was trying to avoid creating new templates from whole cloth by seeing what a fair tradeoff would be for some of the common items in the bonus/flaw list that already exists.

Well, creating Templates whole cloth is indeed intended only for instances where existing template/bonus/flaw combinations don't. However, using the Blaster template for a Net gun is not what the Blaster template was even remotely designed for. The closest existing template for a Net Gun is the Simple Projectile Weapon.