D&D 5e – Questionable Arcana – Crafting: Tinker’s Tools

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Although this crafting system leverages many existing mechanics published under the 5e SRD and OGL, the final product is completely home-brewed. The finer details of this system are still being revised, and those changes will slowly be introduced into this document. However, the system as a whole is totally functional and ready to be used in any campaign. Furthermore, the rules and concepts discussed are intended to work in-tandem with the expanded artisan's tools rules found in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. If nothing else I hope this document and its siblings can be used as a source of guidance and inspiration for whatever crafting system you decide to go with.

I actually had a bit of trouble figuring out what direction to take the tinker’s tools initially. My first thought was to treat it as a World-of-Warcraft-esque clockwork item creation kit, and have it be used to create all manner of mechanical contraptions. After-all, there is already precedent for this type of setup in the rock gnome background. However, before going down that route, I decided to pull the oxford dictionary definitions of what a tinker is:

NOUN
Definition 1: (especially in former times) a person who makes a living by travelling from place to place mending pans and other metal utensils.
Definition 2: British derogatory A Gypsy or other person living in an itinerant community.
Definition 3: British informal A mischievous child.
Definition 4: An act of attempting to repair something.

VERB
Definition 1: Attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way.

This was not what I expected. For starters I didn’t know that a tinker was already a profession in former times. Secondly I wasn’t really excited with the idea of turning what could be a really fun and interesting tool, into the metallic equivalent of the cobbler.

In an attempt to try and broaden the description I pulled the Merriam-Webster definition of what tinkering is:

Intransitive Verb
Definition 1: To work in the manner of a tinker; especially : to repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner : fiddle always tinkering with his car

Transitive Verb
Definition 1: To repair, adjust, or experiment with

This was more in line with what I was hoping for. I think it is wise to include all of the above definitions when describing a tinker. What this gives us is a toolkit that allows you to repair and modify all manner of metal contraptions. Satisfied with this modified definition I moved forward.

The Broken Road – A History of Tinkering

In the grand scheme of things, the tinker is actually a fairly new profession. The first tinkers didn’t enter the scene until around the 13th century. Originally tinker was a term used to describe a Scottish or English metal worker who would travel from town to town offering their services. For a time the term tinker was somewhat of a racial slur, however eventually the word tinkering was appropriated to mean “the process of adapting, meddling, or adjusting something in the course of making repairs or improvements”.

Over time this profession that was originally focused on fixing metal utensils broadened in scope to fixing… well mostly anything. Eventually tinkers became a travelling handyman of sorts who would go around fixing all manner of objects and contraptions.

Now days anybody who is handy with a toolkit can be considered a tinker. For example Rosie the Riveter, the cultural icon who worked the factories and shipyards in World War II was by all standards a tinker. Although the tinkering profession has for the most part died off, the essence of what it is to be a tinker lives on today in all manner of engineering professions.

Creating Contraptions – Crafting Items

As I mentioned earlier, a tinker is someone who is very proficient in the art of repairing objects. However, when it comes to creating items from scratch they are somewhat limited.

Mechanically this means that a player with Tinker’s Tools proficiency is able to assist in the creation of a huge number of items, but can only lead the creation of a few.

As you can see the tinker’s tools essentially turn a player into the ultimate assistant. However, the tinker’s tools are able to stand on their own in a couple of scenarios. First off a tinker is able to create any item that can be created via casting(pouring molten metal into a mold) such as spikes or ball bearings. On the other end of the spectrum the tinker’s tools are the ideal kit to assemble complex items that require the assembly of individual parts such as the various kits, or engineered items such as a crossbow.

This ability to lead and more importantly assist in the creation of such a wide range of items also means the tinker’s tools allow a player to work on a massive number of magical items.

So while the list of magic items this kit can lead the creation of is somewhat limited, the overall number of items it can potentially help create in the game is the largest in 5th edition.

Although the tinker’s tools can be used to fix things on the road, a workshop is required if you want to use the tinkers tools to serve as the crafting lead on an item. This is because a workbench is require to manage the delicate construction process of these engineered items. However, as always at the DM’s discretion you may be able to create or purchase a mobile workshop that allows you to work on your wares on the road.

Crafting standard magical items is the same as most other crafting kits.

The mechanical nature of the items the tinker’s tools can lead the creation of allow for a more creative approach to home-brew than most kits. As alluded to in the intro you could allow the player to introduce mechanical components to existing items to create interesting effects.

From a crafting mechanics standpoint you should treat these engineered items exactly like magical items. This means you still need the base components of a recipe, materials worth the total cost of the item, and all of the usual means of production.

However I would recommend still these engineered items as “mundane” items for the sake of dealing damage. This means that creatures resistant to non-magical damage would still be resistant to these items, unless there are additional magical enhancements done to the item above and beyond the engineering work.

The Takeway: The tinker’s tools can be used to lead the creation of a handful of items, but they are able to assist in the creation of an immense number of items. At the DM’s discretion you could also use the tinkers tools to create home brewed mechanical equipment.

Clockwork Michelangelo – Engineering Artwork

If you have ever entered a toy shop you know that there is a market for all manner of mechanical toys and oddities. By tapping into the amateur engineer side of a tinker’s description, using the Questionable Arcana Artwork Crafting System or similar the tinker’s tools is able to create all manner of mechanical artwork.

There is actually already a precedent in the SRD for this type of item. The Tinker trait of the Rock Gnome background allows you to create similar items in the form of Clockwork Toys, Fire Starters, and Music boxes. At first I had concerns with this tinker’s tools functionality stepping on the toes of the Tinker trait, but there are some key differences between the tinker devices, and mechanical artwork.

1. Crafting Time: Tinker toys only require an hour to create, artwork requires 8 hours per session.
2. Crafting Cost: Tinker toys require an up-front cost of 30 GP to permanently have 3 toys that you can keep changing. Mechanical Artwork is a major coin sink.
3. Means of Production: Tinker toys can be created anywhere. Mechanical artwork requires a workshop.

Based on these differences I believe that tinker toys and mechanical artwork can exist side by side without invalidating the existence of each other. However, because of the experimental nature of the artwork, I would not confer any bonuses or penalties to creating or selling mechanical artwork.

The Takeaway: The tinker’s tools can create mechanical artwork in the form of mechanical toys and oddities. However unlike most kits there are no bonuses given to this kit in the Questionable Arcana Artwork Crafting System.

Tools For Every Task – Adventuring Utility

As you might have concluded, there is quite a bit of utility beyond item creation that the tinker’s tools provide.

For starters as the history of the tinker profession implies a tinker can repair all manner of items. There are actually some very good rules for making repairs in Xanather’s Guide to Everything that I would recommend using. However, in leiu of those rules another homebrew option for repairing can be found below:

Apart from repairing, proficiency in the tinker’s tools gives the player insight into all manner of mechanical contraptions. As a result you are able to look through the mechanical underpinnings of devices and figure out what the intended effect of the device is. For example you might notice an unusual turn style on a keep wall, and after investigation determine that it is used to raise and lower a nearby gate.

The Takeaway: The tinker’s tools can be used to repair all manner of items. Furthermore proficiency with this kit allows you to investigate all manner of mechanical contraptions, and determine what they do.

Conclusion

Unsurprisingly the tinker’s tools ended up being a very strong kit. The ability to work on nearly every item in the game coupled with strong home-brew potential make this kit a useful additional to any player character. This is especially true if the crafting “basics” such as the blacksmith’s tools and leatherworker’s tools are already covered by other party members.

It is really hard to make a case against selecting this toolkit. At worst you are able to maintain the party’s equipment on the road, and at best you become the right hand man of every artisan in your group.

The Latest G^G Articles