Master smiths who aren't Dwarves or Kobolds?

[Vrykolas2k]

Is it possible for a smith of some other race, say a human named Masamune, to create weapons of superior quality, or is it only two races in the world that can do so?

[kiralon]

You might want to check out the blacksmith in the northern hinterlands.

[zyanitevp]

I would say they would have to be trained by dwarf or kobold, but I would allow it. Nothing in canon says they can or cannot.

[The Dark Elf]

I would say they would have to be trained by dwarf or kobold, but I would allow it. Nothing in canon says they can or cannot.

Ditto. Up to GM but a very plausible possibility. There's no physical restraints.

[Soldier of Od]

Yeah, Kiridoi barbarian humans can learn to create superior quality weapons, so I don't see why another human couldn't learn the same thing (see Hinterlands). Would have to be a Blacksmith O.C.C. though to gain access to the metalworking skill. And would need a cool back story to have learned the skills off dwarves or kobolds (or Jotans!) explaining why they chose to pass their coveted skills onto a mere human. Also presents an opportunity to roleplay jealous kobolds and dwarves not happy with the human butting in on their territory!

[Vrykolas2k]

I would say they would have to be trained by dwarf or kobold, but I would allow it. Nothing in canon says they can or cannot.

Why?
Masamune wasn't trained by a dwarf or kobold... nor were Gassan or Masazani.
Just seems arbitrary that only two or three races can produce master smiths, or their trainees.
I ask mostly because I was thinking of having a remote, small, elven kingdom where masterwork blades are made, and the players have no idea where these blades they have recently found have come from...
But if only those races can have master smiths, and these elves would have no reason to have contacted them, then that idea is kind of moot.

[arouetta]

I would say they would have to be trained by dwarf or kobold, but I would allow it. Nothing in canon says they can or cannot.

Why?
Masamune wasn't trained by a dwarf or kobold... nor were Gassan or Masazani.
Just seems arbitrary that only two or three races can produce master smiths, or their trainees.
I ask mostly because I was thinking of having a remote, small, elven kingdom where masterwork blades are made, and the players have no idea where these blades they have recently found have come from...
But if only those races can have master smiths, and these elves would have no reason to have contacted them, then that idea is kind of moot.

It sounds like you are GMing. In that case go with the storyline you proposed. There is nothing in the books that says it can't happen, and even if there is something somewhere, it's the GM's right to toss stuff out the window for the sake of an entertaining storyline. That kind of twist, coming from a possibility the players wouldn't likely suspect, would create the game campaign that would be talked about for years.

[The Immortal ME]

I always figure these races have a strong cultural tradition and history which makes them able to reliably train master smiths. Nothing precludes someone from being trained by (/steal the notes from) a dwarf or kobold to learn their racial secrets. It would probably invoking the wrath of every other member of the race (which would find it equally taboo to write them down as to teach them)). Someone could also master the art themselves. Maybe a small community with a strong metal working tradition which has developed a local tradecraft. Maybe someplace that has exceptionally well balanced natural ore which makes it easier to work into fine weapons; none of that high fluting "developing just the right balance of additives to the alloy," just dig it out of the ground, smelt it down, and beat it into shape! Maybe a lone master who has spent a lifetime learning, mastering, and eventually improving upon the art of his master before him, generation to generation, back through the centuries. As long as they are special, swing whatever story about it you want.

[Hotrod]

There is canon precedent for this. As stated, the Kiridin Barbarian smiths (who can be of any race) craft superior weapons. They can also work with special types of iron that can offer additional bonuses.

In Heroes Unlimited, the Hardware character can make ancient-style weapons with bonuses. In Rifts, both the Scathach and the Kynzya Mystic Smith (England and Warlords of Russia, respectively) can make ancient-style weapons with bonuses.

That said, the "awesome weaponsmith" trait seems to be driven by cultural traditions in the world of Palladium Fantasy. Such a character ought to have an appropriate background, and knowing the secrets of dwarven or kobold metalworking might not sit well with many members of those races. Your most-plausible approach would be a Kiridin Barbarian, and there should be some interesting backstory as to why a blacksmith would leave their tribe and lands, since blacksmithing work tends to require a proper shop, and smiths are so highly-valued members of most communities.

So yeah, it's plausible. That said, I don't find the concept very compelling. Given the time investment outlined in Northern Hinterlands for making a weapon, it's not like your character will be cranking out masterpieces by the dozen while living a life of adventure. Compound that with the additional drawback that blacksmiths don't have a lot of useful skills or abilities, and I'd say that they're a class best-suited for a low-power campaign.

[kiralon]

I am currently GM'ing a group that has a dwarven smith in it, I had to convert him back to first ed, and of course I changed the smithing rules as they seemed as basic as the ranged combat rules. One of the problems with being an adventuring smith is the time it takes, so i designed a runeforge who's special power wasn't making uber magic items, all (all huh) it did was increase the speed time passed in the forge. For 1000 gp a day in a certain type of gem 3 days would pass in the real world. for 10000gp a day a week would pass in the real world and for 50000 gp a day a month would pass in the real world. This meant if he really wanted to make something he wouldn't leave the adventuring group for 6 months at a time.

The Item creation came down to the materials being used had possible max bonuses, ad negatives, and he would use his smithing skill to (hopefully) remove the negatives and get as many bonuses in as possible. This gives the character incentive to go find odd elements minerals and other things to try to make things out of, and as he goes im developing a matrix of effects. Sort of like a combination of Ultima7's magic and morrowind's potion making with other stuff mixed in.

[Hotrod]

That's a decent way to work around the limitations of the class. Of course, it's also crazy expensive, but I like the idea of a party that outfits itself.

[Hotrod]

I ran across this yesterday:

9. Weaponsmith: A very famous human named Horon is the master of this establishment. He has somehow learned the kobold art of making weapons with bonuses to parry, strike and damage. All weapons cost double the normal amount. Within some of the upper classes it is a status symbol to own one of his weapons.

I would accept this as canonical proof that smithing skills are fundamentally cultural, and that other species can learn them.

A changeling or dwarveling could learn such skills directly from a dwarf blacksmith without a particularly creative or contrived background.

Beyond that, though, it could be interesting to make a character whose motivation is learning tricks of the blacksmithing trade or collecting rare/unique metals and gems for his/her creations, as opposed to the more standard rewards of money, power, fame, magic knowledge and schnazzy weapons. There are a number of interesting materials to play with in Palladium Fantasy without even having to come up with your own.

Nifty metals you could play with:
Black and White Iron from Northern Hinterlands have some nice properties for making weapons/armor.
Korobite from Northern Hinterlands can make a good weapon against the supernatural.
Gantrium from Northern Hinterlands is fantastic for magic users.
Draqgonwright God-Dragon blood has awesome properties for weaponry (Auto-penetrate armor, do more damage, etc), and is (I presume) inherently magical.

Nifty gems you could play with:
Fire Ice from Northern Hinterlands
Xanthine from Northern Hinterlands

Of course, as mentioned previously, the Blacksmith's creation times are very, very long, too long for practical use. There may be an underlying presumption here that the blacksmith is doing everything himself: smelting, forging/welding/alloying/refining, shaping, grinding, making the hilt, wrapping the grip, making the sheath, polishing, engraving, setting decorative stones. With some division of labor (and appropriate skill selection) within the party, and by buying the necessary components already-made, I reckon you could cut the actual blacksmithing down to a fairly small fraction of the timeframes listed.