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Crafting

tags: - system - downtime - crafting - core version 0.07.04 created: 2026.01.29

Crafting in Kaernest is not a means of generating wealth.
It is a way to bind Effort, risk, and narrative weight into an object.

Crafted items matter because of what was invested to create them:
time, rare materials, danger, and attention.

Crafting is handled as a project, not a single roll.

What Crafting Is (and Is Not)

Crafting is:

  • deliberate and time-consuming
  • tied to specific materials and environments
  • shaped by skill, preparation, and interruption
  • a source of story hooks and consequences

Crafting is not:

  • an income stream
  • a way to bypass scarcity
  • a sequence of repeated rolls until success

Most meaningful crafting occurs during Downtime, though urgent or improvised work may occur during play at greater risk.

Crafting as a Project

All significant crafting is treated as a project with a clock, similar to long-term projects in Blades in the Dark.

A project clock represents:

  • complexity of the work
  • precision required
  • instability of materials
  • resistance from the world

Typical Project Sizes

  • 4-segment clock: Simple or well-understood work
  • 6-segment clock: Complex, specialized, or risky work
  • 8+ segment clock: Dangerous, experimental, or legendary work

The GM determines clock size based on:

  • the nature of the item
  • the rarity of materials
  • the consequences of failure

Advancing a Crafting Project

Each attempt to advance the project represents focused work.

An attempt may require:

  • a Downtime Action
  • access to proper tools or facilities
  • specific materials
  • uninterrupted time

The player describes how they are working and which skill is being used.
Common skills include Crafting, Channeling, Hermetics, Chirurgeon, or others depending on the project.

Results

  • Strong success: Advance the clock by 2 segments
  • Partial success: Advance the clock by 1 segment, with a complication
  • Failure: No progress, and a complication
  • Critical failure: The clock regresses or a serious consequence occurs

Complications may include:

  • damaged or consumed materials
  • attracting attention
  • instability in the item
  • new requirements emerging mid-project

Materials Matter

Crafting in Kaernest requires appropriate materials, not abstract gold costs.

Materials should:

  • match the intended function of the item
  • carry narrative meaning
  • be rare, dangerous, or difficult to acquire

Examples:

  • gossamer wings of a magical butterfly
  • condensed ghost mist
  • chameleon skin that never reflects the same color twice
  • metal quenched in dragonfire or buried under a storm

Materials may sometimes be purchased, but doing so:

  • costs significant coin
  • requires contacts or Community positioning
  • risks counterfeit or degraded components

Acquiring materials is often an adventure in itself.

Work Is More Than a Roll

Crafting is not solved by skill alone. Projects may require:

  • multiple different skills at different stages
  • specific environments (ley lines, sanctified ground, forges, laboratories)
  • assistance from others
  • waiting for the right conditions

Failure during crafting does not usually destroy the project outright.
Instead, it creates new problems that must be addressed before progress can continue.

Completion and Consequence

When the project clock is filled, the item is complete. Completion may still involve:

  • a final test or risk
  • lingering quirks
  • obligations tied to how the item was made

Powerful or unusual items are noticed.
They may attract:

  • envy
  • suspicion
  • obligations
  • attention from forces that care how such things enter the world

Crafting always leaves a mark.

Relationship to Downtime

Crafting integrates directly with Downtime:

  • Each significant crafting attempt usually consumes one Downtime Action
  • Larger projects may span multiple Downtime periods
  • Interruptions, travel, or danger may stall progress

Downtime is where crafting breathes.
Adventure is where it is tested.

Design Intent

Crafting exists to:

  • slow down power acquisition
  • turn items into story anchors
  • reward preparation and commitment
  • create reasons to engage with the world

If an item feels cheap or easy to replace, it should not have been crafted this way.