Weaponsmith

“See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;"

ISA 54:16 NIV

Basic Information

A weaponsmith is a person whose profession is to make weapons. Considering that Smith means someone who makes things out of metal, one could certainly argue that a weaponsmith is someone who makes metal weapons, but the term is often used for the makers of weaponry of any sort.

Subtypes of Weaponsmith:

• Arrowsmith - maker of metal arrowheads
• Blacksmith - maker of items out of iron and steel, which can include weapons, but might be more mundane items instead
• Bladesmith - maker of swords, daggers, knives, axeheads, etc. All bladed weapons.
• Bowyer - maker of bows or crossbows
• Fletcher - maker of arrows
• Grinder - a sharpener of knives, swords, etc
• Gunsmith - maker of guns
• Gunstocker - a woodworker who makes the stock or butt of guns
• Knifesmith - maker of knives and daggers
• Lancier - maker of lances
• Poleturner - maker of polearms (spears, pikes, halberds, etc.)
• Scythesmith - a bladesmith who specializes in farming implements such as scythes. While not traditionally weapons, these often get employed like polearms in desperate times.
• Stringer - maker of bowstring
• Swordsmith - a bladesmith who specializes in swords.

See also:

• Armorer aka Armorsmith
• Scabbard maker aka Vaginarius
• Smith

Sources

Bibliography

1. Magic Jar's list of Medieval Occupations]]

2. Wikipedia

Game and Story Use

• The middle ages didn't really have department stores, so to gather an assortment of weapons, you just might have to pay a visit to several craftsmen.
  • Smaller communities might have just one type of weaponsmith, and thus a limited selection of weapons available.
  • This could be used to make different tribes, clans, or humanoid species stand out a little more. A particular village, dungeon or war party may be armed with only a handful of weapon types. In this way, two groups of orcs may be forced to use totally different tactics.
  • A village that never sees war and rarely peril will just have a blacksmith, and said smith will have only a couple weapons on his shelves amidst all the tools, horseshoes, etc.
• On the other hand, setting up a smithy can be expensive, so it's certainly possible that a group of weaponsmiths may have set up business together, and have a wide assortment of different weapons available.
  • This is particularly likely where a king or other magnate has deliberately gathered a group of weaponsmiths together to form a royal arms foundry.
  • In a realistic medieval community it's at least likely that the weaponsmiths will congregate in a specific part of town - the clustering of businesses into "quarters" was a fairly common phenomenon.
• Locating a master weaponsmith (traditionally a swordsmith) to make a weapon fit for a hero - or a special magical sword to kill the eldritch abomination may be a quest in itself… and possibly the start of a number of subsidiary fetch quests.
• Weaponsmithing is also a respectable occupation for retired heros - from the aged kensai who has settled down to apply a lifetime's experience to sword making to the former sergeant-major who hit compulsory retirement and promptly re-appeared as regimental armourer. Both are good candidates for the badass grandpa slot and potential trainers for rising heros.