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The Codex · in development

Six pipeline steps · five skill tiers · one quality roll that matters

Materials in.Quality rolled. Crafter stamped.

Every crafted item runs the same six-step pipeline. Material check, skill check, production, quality roll, modifier seeding, output. Skill tier decides the ceiling; tools and active buffs reduce quality loss; the rarity roll decides whether your work is a Common workhorse or a Masterwork proc that gets a name. Crafters are stamped onto the output; reputation follows the maker, not the buyer.

6pipeline steps5skill tiers12crafting professions+2 tiersMasterwork proc

Masterwork proc · the named-output rare roll

Skill tier ladder · active tier highlighted

Apprentice
Journeyman
Expert
Master
Grandmaster
1MATERIALCheck inventory2SKILLProfession tier3PRODUCTIONConsume + craft4QUALITYRandom roll5MODIFIERSeed prefix/suffix6OUTPUTStamp creator

Six steps · quality roll is the interesting variance

6

Pipeline stages

5

Skill tiers

12

Crafting professions

6

Quality factors

The six-step crafting pipeline

Every craft — a loaf of bread, a longsword, an enchanted amulet — runs through the same six stages. The complexity between stages varies; a Masterwork forge differs from a kitchen mostly in time and stakes.

  1. 1 · Material check

    Verify inputs

    The recipe defines its input list (e.g. 4× Iron Ore + 2× Coal + 1× Leather Grip). The engine checks the crafter's inventory and the station's supply stockpile. If anything is short, the craft is queued or refused.

  2. 2 · Skill check

    Is the crafter qualified?

    The crafter's profession level must be ≥ the tier of the output. A Blacksmith with skill 4 cannot smelt Steel Ore (Tier 5) at full quality — they can attempt it, but the success rate drops and the quality loss climbs.

  3. 3 · Production

    Time, fuel, attention

    The recipe consumes time at the workstation. Fuel (Coal, for the metal chain) and attention are deducted. Crafter cannot multitask during high-tier production.

  4. 4 · Quality roll

    Roll the output

    On completion, the engine rolls quality — Poor / Common / Uncommon / Rare / Epic / Legendary — modified by the crafter's skill relative to the tier, their tool quality, and any active buffs. A Masterwork proc (rare) jumps two rarity tiers above the expected baseline.

  5. 5 · Modifier seeding

    Prefix / suffix roll

    If the rolled rarity is Uncommon or higher, the ItemModifierSystem rolls prefixes and suffixes — Flaming, Verdant, of Power, of the Titan. Higher rarities have more modifier slots and pull from a deeper pool.

  6. 6 · Output

    Stamp and finalize

    The finished item carries the crafter's creator_character_id field. The item appears in the crafter's inventory; the crafter gains profession XP scaled to the output's quality.

Crafting skill tiers

Profession skill runs 1 to 70 (the engine treats higher values as Grandmaster). Skill grows through use — crafting at-tier items gives the most XP. The five tiers below are practical labels for what a crafter at each band can reliably produce.

  • Apprentice

    1 – 10

    Can craft T1 items at full quality. Higher tiers attempted with severe quality penalties. No Masterwork procs.

  • Journeyman

    11 – 25

    Full quality up to T3. Workable production for the local market. Rare Masterwork procs begin appearing at the top of the range.

  • Expert

    26 – 40

    Full quality up to T5. Reliable craftsmanship for regional commissions. Masterwork procs are uncommon but possible.

  • Master

    41 – 55

    Full quality up to T7. Commissioned for noble houses, faction armouries. Masterwork procs are routine on high-tier work.

  • Grandmaster

    56 – 70

    Full quality up to T8. The Legendary-tier crafters. Their work commands continental reputation. Masterwork procs are expected.

What rolls into the quality roll

Six factors feed the quality roll. Each is independent — skipping any one tilts the bell curve downward.

  • Skill vs tier

    Crafter's profession level relative to the recipe's tier. At-tier crafting is the baseline; above-tier crafting is faster and higher quality; below-tier crafting quality-drops sharply.

  • Tool quality

    Better tools reduce quality loss percentage. A Masterwork Smith's Hammer cuts quality loss by ~30%.

  • Material quality

    Inputs carry their own quality. Crafting with Common ore caps quality at Uncommon; Rare ore can produce Rare+.

  • Active buffs

    Well Rested, Nourished, Temple Blessing all stack their bonuses onto crafting outcomes.

  • Aspect-aligned essence

    An active Fire essence improves weapon crafts with Fire-aspect modifiers; an active Earth essence improves stone-based work.

  • Workstation quality

    Forges, sawmills, and similar buildings carry their own tier. A T7 forge in a major city outperforms a frontier-village T2 forge.

Masterwork procs

On a successful craft, the quality roll can occasionally produce a Masterwork proc — a one-tier or two-tier jump above the expected rarity. A Common-tier Iron Sword becomes Rare. A Rare-tier Mithril Blade becomes Epic, or in extreme cases Legendary.

Masterwork procs:

  • Roll on every successful craft, but the chance is very low for Apprentice and Journeyman crafters.
  • Become routine at Master / Grandmaster tier — high-tier crafters expect Masterwork procs as part of their pricing.
  • Carry extra modifier slots, sometimes a rare prefix or suffix only Masterwork procs can roll (Eternal +100% durability, for example).
  • Stamp the crafter's identity more prominently — a Masterwork weapon usually carries the crafter's surname or maker's mark in its display name.
  • Cannot be forced outside specific consumable rituals. Save your best materials for crafts you really want to roll well.

Tools matter

Every crafting profession has signature tools that improve quality, reduce waste, or unlock specific recipes. Tools themselves are crafted items (most often by Blacksmiths or Engineers) and carry tier and rarity values the same as weapons. Carry the best tool you can afford for your profession.

  • Smith's Hammer

    Blacksmith

    Quality on every metal craft; reduces quality loss percentage.

  • Tailor's Shears

    Tailor

    Cloth-to-garment efficiency. Reduces waste percentage.

  • Master Chef's Cleaver

    Chef

    Yield from each ingredient. More plates per crop.

  • Surveyor's Compass

    Mason

    Foundation accuracy; reduces structural failure rate.

  • Jeweler's Loupe

    Jeweler

    Gem quality assessment; rerolls failed inspections.

  • Alchemist's Mortar

    Alchemist

    Potion potency; reduces ingredient waste.

  • Engineer's Toolkit

    Engineer

    Construct durability; structural-integrity bonus.

  • Pickaxe / Sickle / Saw

    Gathering

    Yield from resource nodes; rare-material drop chance.

Crafting professions

Twelve professions produce crafted output (down from the full 32 — the other 20 either gather, trade, fight, or support). For per-profession quest rewards and synergies, see the professions page; for the full production chains see the economy page.

  • Blacksmith

    Ore → Metal → Weapons, Armor, Tools

  • Tailor

    Fiber → Cloth → Garments, Padding, Banners

  • Chef / Cook

    Crop + Meat → Meals (consumable, persistent buffs)

  • Mason

    Stone → Brick → Buildings, Fortifications

  • Jeweler

    Gem → Jewel → Accessories, Augments

  • Alchemist

    Herb → Potion-base → Finished Potions

  • Apothecary

    Herb + Water → Salves, Tinctures, Cures

  • Engineer

    Metal → Constructs, Siege weapons, Industrial buildings

  • Architect

    Brick + Lumber → Buildings, Fortifications

  • Enchanter

    Gem + Essence → Enchanted dust, focus stones

  • Runecaster

    Dust + special items → Runes (bindable to gear)

  • Artificer

    Finished item + Rune → Enchanted unique items

Modifier seeding

On Uncommon or higher quality, the engine rolls prefix and suffix modifiers via the ItemModifierSystem. Modifiers are themed around the Titans — Flaming (Ignathar), Verdant (Sylvara), Storm-Blessed (Aerithon), Abyssal (Khorath), Eternal (Morthis).

The crafter influences modifier seeding in three ways:

  • Active essence aspect biases which modifier pool is sampled. A Fire-essence crafter is more likely to roll Flaming or Eternal Flame modifiers; a Water-essence crafter is more likely to roll Verdant or Tide-Touched modifiers.
  • Skill level determines how many modifier slots are filled. Apprentice crafts rarely get more than one; Grandmaster crafts can fill prefix + suffix + a second prefix on Masterwork procs.
  • Material rarity gates the modifier pool — Common materials only unlock common modifiers; Epic+ materials open access to Eternal, of the Titan, and similar high-tier suffixes.

See the items page modifier section for the full modifier examples and requirements.

Durability and crafting

The crafted item's maximum durability is set at production. The default is tier × 50 (so a T5 item has 250 max durability), modified by:

  • Material quality — Rare materials can push max durability +25%.
  • Crafter skill — Master+ crafters add a flat +10% durability bonus.
  • Eternal prefix — +100% max durability. Rare modifier, only rolls on Epic+ Jade+ items.

Durability decays in use. See the items durability section for repair costs and broken-item rules. Crafters of the same profession can repair items they didn't craft — and some crafters specialise specifically in repair work for better long-term margins than chasing Masterwork procs.

Creator tracking

Every crafted item carries creator_character_id — the character who made it. This is real persistent data, visible to anyone inspecting the item. The benefits:

  • · Reputation: Items bearing a famous crafter's stamp sell for premium prices regardless of base quality.
  • · Authenticity: Forged copies can be detected by checking the creator field.
  • · Story hooks: Quests can target items 'crafted by X'. The Vault example: tracking an heirloom forged by a now-disgraced smith.
  • · Set traceability: Items in a numbered legendary set carry the original crafter's ID, useful for verifying provenance.

A successful crafter builds reputation that outlives them. Items made decades ago by a famous Master Smith remain identifiable; collectors will pay for them at well above tier value.

Workstations

Crafting requires a workstation. Some you carry (Cook's travel stove, Tailor's portable kit); most you must visit. City-tier workstations outperform rural ones; major industrial buildings outperform individual workshops.

  • Smithy — Blacksmith. Building cost 100 gp + 50 lumber + 30 stone.
  • Smelter — Blacksmith, for ore → metal conversion. Building cost 150 gp + 40 lumber + 60 stone.
  • Sawmill — Lumberer / carpenter. Wood → lumber.
  • Weavery / Tannery — Tailor. Fiber → cloth, hide → leather.
  • Masonry — Mason. Stone → brick.
  • Jeweler's Bench — Jeweler. Gem → jewel. Higher tier required for premium output.
  • Alchemical Lab — Alchemist / Apothecary. Herb → potion base → finished potion.
  • Enchanter's Sanctum — Enchanter, Runecaster, Artificer. The full enchantment chain (gem + essence → dust → rune → bound item).

See the industrial buildings table for full cost breakdowns. Cities choose which workstations to build based on local profession distribution.

Special crafts

A handful of recipes break the standard pipeline:

  • Soul Mirrors require a Master Engineer plus a Jade+ Arcane Assembly mage. Two crafters, one craft.
  • Spatial Rings require a Jade+ cultivator with the spatial aspect. Cannot be crafted by anyone without active spatial-essence cultivation.
  • Technique Jades are made by Master+ cultivators imprinting their own knowledge. Profession-based crafters cannot produce them.
  • Awakening Stones are forged at the Floating Spires through a multi-week ritual. Not a standard recipe.
  • Dark Elf paired-link glyphs are Runecaster work — dangerous and forbidden in most jurisdictions. The base recipe exists; the practitioners are rare.
  • Titan-tier artifacts cannot be crafted at all. They survive from the Titan Age — see the artifacts page for the named ones.

Where to read next

Source: World-Engine — ITEM_SYSTEM_ARCHITECTURE, ITEM_DATABASE_CATALOG, ITEM_MODIFIER_SYSTEM, INDUSTRIAL_PRODUCTION_FLOWS, PROFESSIONS_COMPLETE_REFERENCE, building_config.json.