While reading through the rules and looking at the various careers I could not find an anwer on how to handle the following:

1.) How would a character go about creating or repairing items?

Example 1: A player in my group wants to play an apothecary. Now. an apothecary would surely know how to create certain potions, medicines, how to prepare herbs, etc. But how would this be resolved within the rules? The tradecraft skill would seem the most appropriate, but it's not available to apothecaries.

Example 2: Smithing is mentioned as a specialisation for tradecraft, but there doesn't seem any career suitable for craftsmen like blacksmiths (or carpenters, etc.) that has access to the tradecraft skill.

2.) How to create art or make an artistic performance?

Again, the only thing I could find was perform as a specialisation for tradecraft and again, there don't seem to be any career suitable for artists, musicians, performers, etc. So what if someone wanted to play a traveling minstrel, for example?

Has anybody found anything in the rules about these topics that I might have missed? If not, I'm open to suggestions on how to handle these things with house rules?

Thanks in advance for any help!

M.

No you are correct, there is nothing in the rules about these kind activities. My initial character concept was a en engineer, but that didn't really work out since Tradecraft is just too broad of a skill to build a concept of (and in the Core rules the only career with Tradecraft was the Burgher, which did not fit with my idea at all). I considered writing up some houseruled skills, but lack of time and the fact that my GM wanted to play completely by the book at start made me scrap that idea.

It shouldn't be too hard to houserule though. Just remove the Tradecraft skill and add skills for whatever you feel is lacking. Being professional skills I think most of them should be based on Int (as Tradecraft) but possibly with some exceptions. They should also all be advanced skills. I suggest the following list (sample specializations within paranthesis) as a starting point:

- Blacksmithing - Int (Armoursmith, Weaponsmith, Utility smithing)
- Leatherworking - Int (Skinning, Curing, Armourer, Leathertailoring)
- Tailoring - Int (Material based, Type of garment, Brass/Silver/Gold tier tailoring)
- Jewelcrafting - Int (By material - e.g. Goldsmith, type of jewellery - e.g. Rings)
- Woodworker - Int (Bowmaking, Fletching, Whittling, Utility woodworking)
- Engineering - Int (Gunsmith, Demolitions, Building, Vehicles, Clockworks, By guild - e.g. Nulnish engineering)
- Entertain - Fel (Storyteller, Singer, By instrument, Dancer, Actor, Comedian)
- Artistry - Int (Painting, Sculpturing, Playwriting)
- Trading/Tradecraft - Int (Shopkeeping, By Guild trading, By Tier, By city)
- Logistics - Int (Trade routes, Landtrading, Seatrading)
- Farming - WP (By region, By animal, By crop, Weathersense)

The existing careers with the Tradecraft skills should then be given opportunity to get whatever tradeskill they want that fits with their concept. The Burgher would for example be able to chose any of them.

Ok, so I didn't have a blind spot during rules reading

I like your ideas and suggestions. Maybe I'll make it a little less specific, less skills but more specialisations for the various crafts and art forms. While this would be less realistic, I think it would be more in line with the way the game handles other skills like education, folklore, skullduggery, etc. which cover a pretty wide range of abilities under one skill. Have think about it some more

What I'm wondering is whether giving existing careers and additional skill would upset game balance in any way. Apart from mages and priests alle basic careers have 5 career skills. So if I e.g. give the apothecary a new skill like "Craft (Potions & Remedies)", should I replace an exisiting skill with it or just add it?

BTW a friend of mine thought that he read in one of the rulebooks about potion making, but couldn't remember where exactly. I looked again, but still couldn*t find anything. Now I'm wondering if he was simply mistaken, or if maybe the information is hidden somewhere I haven't looked for it?

I'm pretty certain there's nothing in the core rules about potionmaking, but maybe in Winds of Magic?

Hmm, well careers that have Tradecraft are easy I guess, but for the ones that don't I guess you should try to exchange one of the skills. Well, it wouldn't be the end of the world if you just tacked on the skill either, it's not like the those skills will be used all the time in any way.