Lark's Comprehensive Guide to Blacksmith Roleplay (V1)

[Lark 2227]

‘Dwarves, The Original Metalworkers, circa 1323’

 

Introduction

For the sake of keeping this straightforward and easy to read, I’ll keep this introduction brief, detailing who I am, why I wrote this guide, and what I hope you take away from it.

 

My name is _Lark_(aka Origin_Lark), I have been playing on Lord of the Craft since early Asulon, but my time of notoriety came around during the map of Anthos from May 2013 to about sometime in 2015, with my appearances on the server being marked by periods of school and general interest in the server. How I became known was my stint as one of the few crafting roleplayers being a blacksmith on the server. The others being Tethras and SirSmithers, later Nalatac, CosmicWhaleShark, and a few others whose names unfortunately escape. These names are relevant because they are the roleplayers who would later set the groundwork for all sort of lore that is incredibly vital to racial culture as well as inspiring all sorts of other lore documents related to crafting. To be honest, all I did was quite simple, I researched what to do, and tried to write it out as best as I could inasmuch detail as possible while engaging whoever came my way, it was roleplay after all. As I got better, people recognized that and I met so many different individuals on the server. People enjoyed my roleplay, and I enjoyed the roleplay it brought me in turn, a positive feedback loop if you would. All it took was time.

 

The purpose of this guide is not to tell you WHY you should be a blacksmith, nor WHY you should be a crafting roleplayer. If you’re reading this guide, you’ve already made this decision so there will be less focus on trying to convince you why it’s so great and more so on techniques, you should be employing and researching, as well as engaging those around you. It is roleplay after all. Overall, I hope those who read this guide will only be able to improve and take away the idea that crafting roleplay isn’t meant to enhance their character as it is to enhance others. I largely accepted that Lark, Avgust, and Dain wouldn’t be very important characters in the way most people think. They weren’t quite NPCs, but they were characters who would be able to support others with their crafts and help other characters develop with the weapons, armor, and whatever else was asked of me to make. So if you will take anything from this guide, take this, it’s dangerous to go alone, so smith a sword for someone so they won’t be.

 

Improving your Blacksmith Roleplay

I. Resources

When writing a research paper, what do you do? You gather sources for your paper and use it support your opinion, argument, or idea. I’m not talking about Minecraft resources, I’m talking about the resources available to us in our day and age. Youtube and other websites dedicated to the hobby that so many people do professionally are available publically if you know where to look. In addition, there are many historical blacksmiths that are available if you really want to be authentic. This is the biggest piece of advice I tell people when they ask me about blacksmithing. At the end of this guide, I will include a large list of resources that I highly recommend you check out.

 

II. Getting People Involved

Something I stick by for blacksmithing RP and encourage any good blacksmith roleplayer to do is get players involved in your roleplay, like any other form. I don’t mean, “Hey get # X for me so I can make your sword”, I mean talk with them while you smith. Describe the environment of your smithy to them. Lark’s smithy reeked of alcohol because of his rampant alcoholism, and it would hit you like a brick when you visited. I would emote the steam rushing from the cauldron as I quenched burning steel or the forge snarling like a beast as fire tends to do. For any sort of crafting roleplay, think of yourself as a mini-ET, you are painting a scene for a player and interacting with them while you do it. Talk to them, get to know them, make it a personal interaction and I guarantee it will make the roleplay that much richer.

 

III. Progression and Detail

This ties into Resources, as I mentioned, you need to research your roleplay before you do it. A lot of players enjoy seeing realism in roleplay, especially if you’re in a low-fantasy playergroup here on the server such as one of the Human nations. So as I mentioned before, knowing your stuff is key here. However, not everyone is born a master blacksmith. You can start off as one, sure, but where is the fun in that. A lesson I pulled from ROMANCE roleplay of all things is that perfection is boring. If every time you roleplay as a blacksmith, every time you make a piece of metalwork it comes out perfect, it gets boring and repetitive. There were times I purposely had myself screw up a piece of metal because sometimes you will make mistakes. You don’t have to but, trying to adjust your mistake or just scrapping the whole thing adds a dimension of depth to the roleplay, that you are indeed a craftsman.

I wouldn’t say you actually need to throw yourself into a Tier System like magic has, but adhere to something similar. Lark Steelwall was not a master blacksmith the first day I joined Kralta. I roleplayed him making horseshoes, basic tools, and I outright refused to make more advanced projects until I felt I was ready. When I did, I felt like I had earned it, and when I did roleplay making swords and armor, I had a better understanding of what I was doing, because I took that time to write out all of the emotes, going through the motions and practicing on the mundane items.

 

IV. Magic and Narrative Blacksmithing

Something to always keep in mind when applying magic or magical styles of smithing isn’t that you are trying to make the strongest roleplay item, its that you are adding a flavour to smithing, a new facet that changes how you are making whatever item it is at the time. Using magical fire, be it dragon breath, arcane fire, or some other thing, it’s all flavour. I feel a lot of people forget that the best part about roleplay isn’t the mechanical aspect of it, it is the flavour, the spin, the twist, the style, of the blacksmith and how they apply magic, or whatever other sorts of narrative you want to put on your blacksmithing. Lark Steelwall was a tamer of his forge, a wild, temperamental beast that hungered for oxygen and greedily devoured it whenever the billows burst forth with its favorite snack. Others might elegantly conduct the flames, watching the metal slowly change from red to yellow, monitoring the temperature with technology or magic. Whatever the case, the flavour of how you blacksmith is the scene you paint, but always keep in mind that you aren’t trying to make a 50% Iron sword anymore, you’re trying to make something that is sentimental and a memorable item that can persist through the maps.

 

Emote Examples of Metalwork

Here I’ll include some written examples of blacksmithing of a few basic items, so you can get an idea of what you should be doing. You don’t have to follow these exactly as this is just my personal style, but these should provide a good idea of what you should be covering.

 

Example: Stoking the forge, heating metal

 

Lark Steellwall huffed as the customer turned to talk with their associates, not really interested in watching the old smith get to work. He tied his blacksmith’s apron around himself and slid on his gloves.

 

Lark Steelwall pick up his tongs, retrieving an ingot of metal to prep for the requested blade. Setting in the belly of the forge. Placing the tongs down he’d pull hard on a chain as the billows would be squeezed, feeding the fires with air.

 

Lark Steelwall grinned into the stoked forge, the firelight always a welcome sight as the fires lapped at the ingot in its nest of coals, heating from a dull grey to a bright red over time.

 

Example: Smithing a Blade

 

Lark Steelwall grinned to himself as he set the molten ingot against the anvil, chisel and hammer at the ready as he began to draw the ingot out to length, a good half a meter for the shortsword intended.

 

Lark Steelwall slowly and methodically began to fold the metal over itself, strengthening it and beating out some of the imperfections within the metal as he beat the iron down over itself again and again before set aside his hammer, placing it back into the fire to prepare it for the next round.

 

Lark Steelwall grunts as he pulls the ingot out once more, hammering it out to length again, beating out the impurities and stresses within the metal before turning it on it’s side as he hammers the blade into shape.

 

Lark Steelwall picks the heated blade up from the anvil as he sets it into a cauldron of water, steam hissing into the air as the blade rapidly cools, hardening quickly and preparing it for the next step.

 

Conclusion and Resources

Thank you for taking the time to read this guide, and if you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, or death threats, leave them in the thread so that I may continue to update this guide for future generations on the server. I do hope you took away something from usable from this guide, and hope you continue to enjoy the roleplay that brought me so much joy in my younger years.

 

Resource List

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith - Wikipedia, has a basic summary of what to know and what to do

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering_(metallurgy) - A better explaination of what tempering is

 

Videos on Sword Forging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ_cFOcpeEc&t=2967s - Long movie on making a sword, uses modern techniques and machines but give you a good idea of what to do from start to finish.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6TzT0eCYs - Why you should stop making iron sword casts in Roleplay, Iron and moulds are not always good

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R62TPFzBQ40 - Why you SHOULD start making bronze sword casts in Roleplay, Bronze and moulds are usually good! See: Auric_Saint

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WkWNDDrQO4 - For those of you who want to make glorious Easterner weapons, and understand their actual strength and process.

 

Historical Forging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEWIuyeNp2k - Pretty good idea of how historically blacksmithing was done, gives you a good idea of what your toolset should be

 

https://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-swords-and-armor/chain-mail.htm - Not a video but a good article on how chainmail was made, also a great website for understanding the history behind what you’re making

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tu0184Nw6c&list=PLrgikEH6Zo-Hk_uWBecUCkRnaUDDTXgsY - Playlist of making 14th century metalcraft and other great examples. This one uses modern techniques and tools, but you should be able to adapt your workshop and style as needed

 

https://www.stormthecastle.com/blacksmithing/blacsmithing-throughout-the-ages.htm - A great article on how blacksmithing has changed through the ages and getting an idea of what you should know of the craft.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxVrvn7k6Kg - Making a horseshoe!

 

Guide Changelog

Version 1.0000

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Please note this guide will be updated as needed and possibly revised in the near future if required. Stay tuned!

[thesaintjaleel 791]

The world could use more heroes

[Gladuos 857]

I love this guide. I very much appreciate the resources you've linked near the bottom as well. As a craftsman IRP myself, I will indeed benefit from this. Mind you, I knew a lot of this already, but I'm certain others will have everything to learn! :] Take my rep.

[TheNanMan2000 473]

I love this ****.  Historically accurate crafters RPing the creation of RP items is the essence of wholesome Roleplay.  You don't need a bunch of goons with you for it.  btw make me enchanted sword with runes k? thx

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by TheNanMan2000

[Unwillingly 11325]

Watching youtube videos is one of the ways I learned how to properly roleplay blacksmithing, but this helped a ton. Good read ?

[Lark 2227]

Just now, Gladuos said:

I love this guide. I very much appreciate the resources you've linked near the bottom as well. As a craftsman IRP myself, I will indeed benefit from this. Mind you, I knew a lot of this already, but I'm certain others will have everything to learn! :] Take my rep.

 

I'm glad you like it! I'll most likely update this guide with more advanced techniques later on, as well as include some examples for magical smithing eventually^TM

So keep an eye on this, I do want to keep it as straightforward and uncluttered as possible so people can easily refer back to this and go "Oh there it is"

 

[Starfelt 1323]

Been waiting for this ?

[Legendd 37]

Geat guide. This kinda roleplay is something that is most enjoyable to expereicne if done right. I love the push for this being that I dont see this type of roleplay getting attension.

[CaptainSheepy 317]

God I love you, Lark.

 

[Treshure 5581]

bump