Oct 6

Oct 6 A Player's Guide to Making Tools Useful

We have re-launched the Tool Craft: Making Tools Useful Kickstarter and reached our goal in the first 48 hours. I, of course, think everyone should pledge the Kickstarter. A shameless plug, I know. But it’s not only so Dump Stat can start producing more exciting stuff but also because it brings so much to the table. If you haven’t checked them out, I recommend clicking on one of the links below for the tool, kit, or supplies that interest you the most.

Alchemist's Supplies / Brewer’s Supplies / Calligrapher's Supplies / Carpenter's Kit / Cartographer's Tools / Chandlery Supplies / Cobbler's Tools / Cooking Utensils / Climbers Kit / Disguise Kit / Engraver's Tools / Fishing Tackle / Fletcher's Kit / Forgery Kit / Gaming Sets / Gardener's Tools / Glassblower's Tools / Gemologist's Supplies / Gunsmith's Kit / Healer’s Kit / Herbalism Kit / Jeweler's Tools / Leatherworker's Tools / Mason’s Tools / Musical Instruments / Navigator's Tools / Painter's Supplies / Poisoner's Kit / Potter's Tools / Scrollscriber's Supplies / Smith’s Tools / Snarecrafter Tools / Tattoo Supplies / Thieves' Tools / Tinker’s Tools / Vehicles / Wandmaker's Tools / Weaver's Tools / Woodcarver's Tools

They are an excellent resource for GMs to add to their game, but what about us players? What do we get? Here’s the best way to think about the tools. The GM receives the mechanics, and the Players get over 350 recipes to create. There are a ton of articles and homebrew rulesets on how to create magic items. What makes Tool Craft so unique is it allows you to use the basic tools you acquired at character creation and promptly forgot all about.

I wish I could take some credit for this, but the series is all Stephen (well, I did harass him into doing the Kickstarter, so there’s that). He’s written mechanics and recipes for over 40 tools to date. It includes not only every ‘official’ tool, kit, and supplies but several homebrew ones. He’s worked tirelessly on them over the years, tweaking the mechanics and creating new items for us to make. What’s excellent about Tool Craft is we are fine-tuning the mechanics and adding even more recipes. I even get to teach Stephen what an Oxford comma is since I am doing most of the 2nd round of editing.

There’s a lot of emphasis on downtime days nowadays, which is good because it fosters player interactions. Tool Craft gives players something constructive to do instead of harassing NPC (looking at you, bards), picking pockets (that’s you, rogues), or getting drunk at the local tavern (everyone). You can now create items with literally every tool in existence. Some have special properties, but with the good comes the bad and a few adverse effects. Others are mundane items you’ll need somewhere down the line. None of them in any way game-breaking creations. GMs don’t have to worry about us crafting a sword that could kill Tiamat or attempt to build mighty siege weapons and invade the closest city.

For example, let’s take a Cobbler’s Tools. If you slay the dragon, save the city, and become the protectors of the realm, there’s a good chance they will throw a party in your honor. Finding a dress is hard enough, but good luck finding shoes to accompany it. With your Cobbler’s Tools, you can make your own! They don’t do anything special, but they’ll sure look amazing with your outfit.

Other shoes have unique qualities that can come in handy when trying to clear a dungeon. For those of us who like to use the Dash movement, whether to run into battle or to run away and hide, sprinter’s shoes could be for you, as they add 10 feet when you Dash. It does have a minor penalty. Creatures tracking you will have advantage when following your footsteps. Sure, it’s nothing that will blow your mind. To a wizard, however, it could be the difference between reaching the closest boulder to hide behind or being within reach of the creature trying to kill you.

Check out the links above to see all the wonderful things you can use with your tools. Or better yet, head over to our Kickstarter page and pledge. I know, I know, another shameless plug, but trust me. It’s worth the money.

If you’re looking for other worthwhile Kickstarters, we suggest checking out
The Game Master's Compendium of Explosive Creation!
It is a fast, fun way for players to add depth to characters and GMs to build adventures that connect to those characters so backstories and world-building feel relevant to everyone. It's also a ton of random tables organized by archetypes so they interact and build on each other, so everyone can feel confident they'll never run out of creative ideas to fuel their imaginations. The book is system neutral so you can use it with 5E, PF2E, OSR games, and whatever fantasy TTRPG we'll all be playing next year.