Just a quick update: I plan on releasing the mod on July 7th. If not, the week after.

The mod has expanded from my original vision and therefore will receive a name change. The following features are currently implemented and are configurable via the MCM:

Quick Question on Blacksmiths/Fletchers tempering gear. So will they need to level up in ussage? Like you have to keep taking gear to Blacksmith X repeatedly to eventually level them up from Fine to Legendary?

If so would it be possible to add in a option to have their skill "static" where each Blacksmith will only be able to level up your gear to that max level indefinitely? By that I mean if I go to Hadvar in Riverwood he is a simple blacksmith who really only deals with Iron and repairs on the mill, so someone like him would logically only be able to get Fine or maybe Superior. But someone like Eorlund Gray-Mane would be able to temper up to Epic or Legendary because they are extremely skilled and have the best forge in the land. The major difference between the two would of course be price.

Also would be interesting if Blacksmiths could only work with material within their skill range. For example most Blacksmiths will only be sufficient in Iron and steel where some blacksmiths have special knowledge of different materials. Like a Orc Blacksmith in a Stronghold will be able to improve Orcish items. Or for example Ghorza gra-Bagol in Markarth Could improve Silver (because of the silver mines), Orcish (because of her Stronghold heritage), and Dwarven because of dealing with the location in which she now lives in the game. If you ask a Blacksmith to improve something outside of their skill then they wont be able to do anything with it.

I think a system like that would bring a bit of realism, challenge, and a need to think about ones journey to the game, especially to players like me who play with survivalist mods and dont use fast travel.

I think charon711 has a point regarding static blacksmiths that have different skill levels and specialize in different materials. It would be more "realistic" because the blacksmiths do their job already for many years, some are even famous, so why would they suddenly start as beginners and become better only because our character appears? Also, it would make the mod much less script heavy.

An other thing, will it be compatible with the two most common overhaul mods, Requiem and SkyRe?

Yes, they will skill up from tempering your equipment and include a dialogue option to check their current skills. The point of this system is to provide an alternative to leveling up Smithing yourself while at the same time limiting the player from having Legendary tier weapons from day 1. I had an option to randomize blacksmith levels between the first two tempering skill levels but based on feedback I'll just make it the default option. All blacksmiths/fletchers will now be randomly sorted between the first two levels and Eorlund Gray-Mane will start off as Expert since he's considered the best blacksmith in Skyrim when you arrive. However, I'm still open to suggestions so feel free to make more if you think something else would make more sense (renaming to a "reputation" system?).

Nope. It would bog the mod down to have to add conditions for every single blacksmith/fletcher in the game, which is why it won't be happening (aside from Eorlund). The mod is currently quite simple and elegant and compatible with basically everything without the need for patches.

I'm considering it but it would be significantly more work than this current tempering system.

Having Eorlund as Expert and the other blacksmiths randomized between the first two skill levels sounds good to me.

Do I understand you right that this will also work on followers?

Oh yes, and many thanks for making this mod, it seems you have a 48 hour day!

The only thing I don't like about this system is that it encourages grinding just like the vanilla smithing skill. The difference is that you train the blacksmith instead of yourself but in practice you still have to acquire dozens and dozens of weapons so that the blacksmith can get better and supply the items you really want.

What I would suggest is a system where the blacksmith improves over time even without the intervention of the player. I think it's safe to assume that blacksmiths have more customers besides the player; if that's true, then it would make sense for them to improve at a constant rate even if we don't give them weapons to temper. Of course if we give them weapons they will improve faster.

I think this idea makes things more realistic, eliminates the grinding incentive and, also, doesn't compromise your decision of preventing players from getting legendary items from day one.

*edited for clarity.

Quick Question: Can't I just take like 1 iron ingot and bring everything iron to legendary whenever I please, likewise to other ingots and their counterparts? Or has upgrading all been changed to force the player to pay for repairs. Or is repair and upgrade (legendary) two seperate entities.

I personally prefer a percent near every item, if its at all possible to add (it would be great)

I think a mix of these two systems would be pretty nice. Why not a system where town blacksmiths will randomize between the first two levles, City blacksmiths randomize between the third and fourth levels and Eorlund will always be maxed out. My thinking is that town black smiths dont get a lot of variation in orders or work so they would not be as skilled. City blacksmiths would have more experience and there for should have a higher skill level.

Also having a system where they do improve over time (not based on player but can be influenced by the player) would be pretty realistic. I think a slow system where it would take a long time would be best but if the more the player interacts with them they get a little boost. Also I think that there should be a "cap" of how much they can improve their skill. Like town blacksmiths can only level up to the third level (again lack of variation and work), city blacksmiths can level up to the fifth level and Eorlund will always have the coveted Legendary skill (partially based on him having the best forge).

Of course this system should also bring some variation to the cost of these services. A town blacksmith who has leveled up to a skill equal to a city blacksmith would charge less for their services because they need that extra coin where a city blacksmith would be more inclined to charge more for there skill because they would be less likely to be hurting for money.

I'd be happy with just Loot, or just Degradation, if it means a sooner alpha build. Service tweaks can come later once the core player-centric features are solid. Self centred as that may sound

I'll be honest, I see this working great with a survivalist type playthrough, so I'm not fussed about blacksmiths because I'd want to do it myself. But you should probably make decisions based on your end-goal rather than my next character choices!

Edit: Will this work for every weapon added by mods? Seems like it would, based on your description, but I thought I'd ask.

Bump

Up: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/55677/?

Original post updated. Works with all weapon/armor mods.

I was already considering this but your post convinced me to implement it. Thanks.