Blacksmith

Career

Qualifications

A profession that can hardly be self-taught, becoming a blacksmith requires years of apprenticeship under a master blacksmith.

Career Progression

Blacksmiths start their career as a protégé of a master blacksmith, should their potential skill and passion as a craftsperson be noticed. After several years of fiery learning and working, novice blacksmiths who prove their competency would finally be acknowledged as an independent smith by their masters, after which they would go on to work in their settlements or embark on a journey to find a new place to make metallic items.

Payment & Reimbursement

Blacksmiths are rare and highly valued craftspeople, naturally being handsomely rewarded for most of their products.

Perception

Purpose

Craftsperson

Social Status

While highly regarded, blacksmiths can come from people of any social status, although the specialization of choice can be influenced by the smith's social group.

Demographics

Blacksmiths are a fairly rare and prized occupation, less than one hundredth of the population becoming master blacksmiths. There would generally be a master blacksmith or perhaps two in any good-sized village with a few hundred villagers.

Operations

Tools

Hammer, anvil, tongs, forge

Materials

Metal ingots, wood, leather, cloth

Workplace

Forge

Dangers & Hazards

Burns, toxic fumes from furnace, cuts from flying shards

Alternative Names

Smith, metal-crafter

Type

Artisan

Demand

Various, ranging from simple spoons to tools for field work or even elaborate decorations.

Legality

Legal, although there are generally very strict laws controlling the types and amounts of items that each smith may craft.