Cutting, Carving, and Creating(by The Bear - edited by Basara to include the Heartwood information)
In order to use the lumberjack skill you must double click on an equipped axe. That means your character has to be holding the axe in his hand to use it on a tree. You will get a crosshair which you will use to select the tree you wish to cut. Depending on the availability of wood, your skill and the weight and item limit of your backpack you will get one of the following messages:
- "You hack away at the tree but are left with nothing to show for it."
- "You put some logs in your backpack."
- "You have no more room in your backpack"
- "There is no wood left to be harvested."
Once you have your logs you can use fletcher's tools to engage the bowcraft skill. You will be given a menu to select the type of item you wish to try to create. The items get more difficult as you move right through the menu. You will not have the option to make all of the items until you have sufficient skill.
At the minimum skill level required to create the item in question, you will have a 50% chance to succeed. To become a grandmaster, you will need time, patience, and a lot of boards or logs.
It is in your best interest to do ALL of your training of the skill in Heartwood. Every step of the way, from 30 skill (Which you will buy your skill up to, or set it to at least that high if creating an advanced character), to Grandmaster, is one that you can earn Quest rewards from. The Heartwood quests give the recipes for the special and artifact Bows (at random), talismans for boosting crafting skills, as well as a slight chance for a Runic Fletching Tool.
In fact, you will probably continue to do these quests long after you reach Grandmaster, even after you get all the recipes (which you should get most or all of them by Grandmaster, through training in Heartwood with quests), specifically to get the Runic tools that are needed to craft weapons with greater bonuses than the base or special weapons!
If you are not immediately offered the quest for your desired step, continue clicking on the Bowcrafter NPCs until they offer the right one, for you to accept.
Step 1: Bows (the "A Simple Bow" Quest)
30-59.9
Uses 7 boards or logs per bow, for 10 Bows (70 per quest)
Step 2: Crossbows (the "Ingenious Archery 1" Quest)
60-79.9
Uses 7 boards or logs per crossbow, for 10 crossbows (70 per quest)
Step 3: Heavy Crossbow (the "Ingenious Archery II" Quest)
80-89.9
Uses 10 boards or logs, for 8 Heavy Crossbows (80 per quest)
Step 4: Repeating Crossbow (the "Ingenious Archery III" Quest)
90-100
Uses 10 boards or logs, for 10 Repeating Crossbows (100 per quest)
Often, it is easiest to train lumberjacking and bowcraft/fletching simultaneously so that the crafter can supply his own supply of wood. If you want your crafter to be able to turn the various new woods into boards, you will need to GM carpentry as well. See the Carpentry FAQ elsewhere in this forum for advice on Carpentry & lumberjacking (though as of August 2008, the FAQ is severely out of date)
Arms Lore Skill:
You may ask, "Do I really NEED Arms Lore?"
Well, if you plan to make any armor or weapons, the answer is probably YES. A couple years ago, Arms Lore was given a real purpose again. It is now an enhancer to crafting skills. When one crafts an exceptional weapon or armor item, one gets an additional bonus to the Exceptional bonus for that item type, for each 20 points of crafting skill. For weapons, this bonus is +1% Damage Increase per 20 points of Arms Lore skill, in additional to the Exceptional Damage Increase amount (or to the runic DI property value, if crafted with a fletching runic as exceptional quality, with a DI bonus higher than the base DI for exceptional quality). This is cumulative with the wood and item properties, when applicable - so long as the item is exceptionally crafted.
The Following Charts are a more visible breakdown of the skill's benefits for weapons.
Arms Lore Skill / Race / Exceptional Weapon DI
0-19.9 / Elves / 35%
0-39.9 / Human / 36%
20.0-39.9 / Elves / 36%
40.0-59.9 / Both / 37%
60.0-79.9 / Both / 38%
80.0-99.9 / Both / 39%
100.0 / Both / 40%
Because of the cumulative numbers, it is conceivably possible, with a Heartwood Runic, to craft an exceptional item with Frostwood, that has 67% Damage increase (50% from runic property, 12% from Frostwood, 5% from Grandmaster Arms Lore).