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Here’s a simple mechanic for crafting for you.  I’ve seen, and linked to I think, one GA complex crafting spreadsheet and others have also instituted some farily complex systems for crafting.  From using skill challenges regardless of system to things that make Everquest 2 and the original Starwars Galaxy crafting systems seem simplistic.

In this case it’s just like a ritual except you go buy training for a type of thing which takes gold and time.  Pretty realistic there.  Then it’s a matter of again spending gold and time to make the item. No skills (although personally I’d probably have a d20 roll where 1′s equal failures and 20′s equal superiour qualities as a throwback to Ultima Online’s crafting system).

So spend a feat, then go pick up ‘rituals’ in this case crafting rituals and start crafting away.

Crafting has been removed as a skill in 4e, and I agree with this. I am certain though that some kind of crafting mechanic will eventually appear in the official books. Until then, here is an idea:

I never liked the fact that a complex process like crafting a weapon, armour, etc could be resolved by a single roll. After all, success in such a case is a matter of pure expertise and not luck. The process of crafting is tedious, complicated and requires a great deal of knowledge. So, something came to my mind: RITUALS

A mechanic similar to the ritual mechanic would be ideal to re-incorporate crafting into the game. By taking a feat the PC will be able to learn various techniques (‘crafts’) that can perform similar to a ritual.

The differences to rituals:

• There is no level limit for crafting most mundane items. More complex and specialized items (such as clockwork contraptions) may require a certain level, but are the exception.
• There is no skill check involved. A character trained as a craftsman possesses the needed knowledge to preform the task successfully by definition.
• Item creation costs about 75% of the market price of the item (at DM’s discretion)

To acquire a Craft, you must seek a trainer and pay a training fee. The Craft is mastered after a period of training.

The feat:

CRAFTSMANSHIP
Prerequisite: Wis 12
Benefit: You can master Crafts, that allow you to create a variety of non-magical items.

Sample Craft:

FORGE LONGSWORD
Procedure cost: 12 gp
Procedure duration: 3 hrs
Training fee: 50 gp
Training time: 1 week

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