Mass produced products are a relatively recent phenomenon, but the evolution of the elfgame has resulted in Spell Lists and Magic Item Catalogues. It’s all very Sears, or very American Western Expansion or maybe just very industrial revolution. While it makes it easier to run an elfgame with a catalogue, it’s also just super boring, in my opinion. I think it’s more interesting for my pre-industrial fantasy to be pre-industrial.

So, how were items of quality identified before industrialisation? Googling suggests three ways: Guild marks, Master’s marks, and skilled inspection. Let’s break these down.

Guild marks

Guilds were professional organisations that monitored their members for minimal standards of quality. Items with a guild mark always met those minimum standards, but marks from different guilds would represent different standards, and different cities (typically) each had their own guild. This lead to location-based expectations. A local guild might look like this:

The Society of Heptamite Thaumaturgists. Shield, filled by a seven-pointed star. “Heptamite gear lasts forever”. All master-forged items self-repair if doused in water that has been charged with the light of the full moon.

Artisan’s marks

Artisan marks were how artisan’s indicated a work was theirs — like signatures on a painting. This could be a literal mark or signature, or a signature style, which could potentially substitute for a mark. Certain artisans also would’ve been better at certain things: da Venti makes the sharpest swords, but Angelus makes them unbreakable. An example artisan might look like this:

Van Gorgoa. Sinuous designs and a hidden gorgon. Whips, chains, chandeliers. Bonus to grappling or capturing.

Pallazzo. Red tassels. Swords and cooking knives. Bonus to behead or dismember.

Ignix. A lowercase “I” with a flame substituting the dot. Fire-based powers gain +1d4 to damage and always light nearby flammable materials.

Buyer’s Inspection

Finally, we have the buyers inspection of the product. This is how you determine an item is actually what it says it is. The only way to determine this is if the buyer (or thief) examines the item and knows enough about it to be able to tell. Hence, examining these objects was a skill people were taught.

This is obviously best represented by a check, where success is knowing the truth of the matter, and failure is thinking it is something it isn’t, modified by specific expertise in that type of item. Use whatever works for your system, but skills that are relevant are things like sword or painting appraisal, not just “proficiency with heavy weapons”. And I’d suggest, the more specific the appraisal, the better. “Warhorse” is better than “farm animals” or “animal handling”. “Late Waterdeep Painters” is better than “Art History”.

This tells you whether you recognise any flaws in your item. What could be wrong (or right) with the item you’re checking, though?

2. It’s a forgery, but one that’s hard to pick. It’s nothing special, and doesn’t have the artisan’s special quality.

3-4. It’s a genuine work by that artisan, but flawed in a critical way that isn’t apparent until used

5-6. It’s an average work by that artisan, seen heavy use, and won’t have as many charges or stand up to damage well

7-8. It’s an average work by that artisan

9-10. It’s an experiment by that artisan, something that guided them on their way to making their master work. It’s a degree better than anything else they have made.

12. It’s their magnum opus, the best the artisan has ever made, and unique in some way

A good salesman knows their stuff, and puts it in the sales pitch. A shady one knows their stuff and lies about it in ways a good player might be able to pick up “Oh the seven pointed star is a mark of Simeon Star-forged, it mean they’re very effective against extra-planar beings”; you don’t get to roll for that information, you need to know he’s lying and it’s really the mark of the Heptamite Thaumaturgists. It’s also worth considering a roll that would indicate whether the seller knows what it is; they might be convinced by the forgery, or they might not be aware that it’s the Inexhaustible Wand of Ignix, not just any old wand of Ignix. They can be fooled as easily as any player.

What’s in stock

The final thing to consider when you’re looking to make your magical item production pre-industrial, is what actually got made? Google tells me that most smiths only made about 15 different items, split between weaponry and armour, agriculture, everyday tools, and household items, and while I don’t trust google, that scans to me. And anime and Tolkien would have me believe that masters focused exclusively on one type of item altogether — typically swords or rings in those cases. So, a brief rule, relating the range and quality of the items to the mastery of the artisan. I attributed the mastery to the “range” they have, rather than give them a title.

Journeyman. All four item types, 4 items each. On 1-5, no bonus. On 6, a small and specific magic.

Master. Three item types, 3 items each, On 1-4, no bonus. On 5, +1 bonus or equivalent. On 6, a small and specific magic.

Specialist. Two item types, 2 items each, On 1-3, no bonus. On 4, +1 bonus or equivalent. On 5, +2 bonus or equivalent. On 6, startling magic.

Sage. One item type. On 1-2, no bonus. On 3, +1 bonus or equivalent. On 4, +2 bonus or equivalent. On 5, +3 bonus or equivalent. On 6, startling magic.

That’s my take on how to make magical and other items more unique and a little less industrial in their presentation. I refuse to do any more work on this right now, but you could totally apply Treasure Squares to these concepts to interesting effect. Let me know if you do!

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