Ok, here's what I think would be interesting:
  • The skinned leather should retain the level of the mob/player it came from as well as the race.
  • The AC of the leathercrafted product should be dependent primarily upon the level of the skin used. The AC would then be modified slightly based on what it came from (like a seraph skin giving improved holy defense with disruption weakness as mentioned above.)
  • The level of the skin would determine the level of leathercraft required. For example, you could require 5% of leathercraft for every level of the skin, so 100% skill would be required to work with a lvl 20 skin.


The advantage of this system would be that the quality of leather products increases with skill, but there is a relatively low maximum "level" placed on the leather armor. Therefore, leather armor might be competitive with some mineral armors at lower levels, but leather armor would never be ideal for very high level players. The problem with leather craft currently is that it is never a useful product. I don't see a need to make leather armor something desirable to a high level player.

And some variations:
  • Instead of having a skin level, have a skin grade. Each grade would have a minimum leathercraft requirement. For example:
    • Rough leather sheet -- min 0% LC
    • Fine leather sheet -- min 25% LC
    • Carefully cut leather sheet -- min 50% LC
    • Masterfully cut leather sheet -- min 75% LC
    • Perfectly cut leather sheet -- min 100% LC
  • Instead of having different skins for each race, maybe make some general types:
    • Scales from dragons/reptiles
    • Fur from mammals
    • Hides from humanoids
  • And I sorta like the idea that leather armor could give a bonus to dodge, thanks to lighter weight/improved flexibility.


!!EDIT!!
I've seen people say on chat that leathercraft's advantage should be its "quick to make" nature. I strongly disagree. If we were trying to recreate modern Chinese industry, then maybe, but as a leathercrafter I am dedicated to my craft -- I spend time on it; put effort into it to make something that will endure. I don't want to see leather armor go from mostly useless to a mass-produced, disposable piece of junk.

Similarly, I don't like the idea of reduced speed runing/enchanting on leather.

Edited by Llygoden (12/12/07 06:19 PM)
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Llygoden, Organic Tinker