I remember reading here somewhere that one of the reasons forging is so difficult is that really good weapons should reflect a really substantial cost/effort, and not just be cranked out to be thrown into shop inventories en masse.

In this, I totally agree. The costs of the thing should be very substantal, and shouldn't be able to be resolved just by throwing gold at the thing or somesuch. On the other hand, the time involved in forging to get honestly useable, competetive weapons is pretty obscene. I mean, my script is running right now, while I get some work done, and check the forums. It will keep running, with me checking on it every so often, for who knows how many more real life days (compounded by the fact that I will have to shut it down when I leave for more than a short while).

This seems really, really excessive. A high effort/cost to make a good weapon is one thing, but the real life days of running a script is quite another.

So, we need a way to keep the cost very high, very tangible, and indismissable, without the obscene nature of the forging mechanic itself.

I propose that the cost be broken away from the forging process itself. Make it still be rather drastic, and make it so that forgers won't be putting out more than one of a good weapon for a long period of time, but don't make them sit there at the forge running a script and toeing, if not shattering, the afk rules.

Lets make it so that a forger has a choice. Either a weapon can be made the current way, and the forger can pay mostly in time (not including the initial investment of materials, lessons, and a mallet), or the forger can do this-

-For a single forging, stats can be directly assigned within certain bounds, or otherwise controlled during the forging process to an exacting degree.

-In exchange the forger pays 100% reserves.

-The forger is also put under the effects of something equivalent to a true/high/whatever disfavor for X number of days, representing the exhaustion and effort the task took. This would effectively put a real time cost on the forger, keeping them from combat and serious bashing, without making them effectively sit and watch scrolling spam for real life days. They would be able to at least interact and roleplay, instead of basically just not playing.

In addition, forgers would be more likely to actually feel the costs of their efforts, instead of simply have a period of days where they are effectively inactive. Reserves wouldn't be able to be used immediately, and would have to be built back up, and they would be severely hindered in most activities until they recovered from the disfavor-like-thing.

I like.

I like this idea, it's a pretty decent RP idea as well, really. Go for it!

This idea seems neat. I like the Rp ascpect of it as well.

He is a burly tae'dae and.... He looks worn out from forging.