If you have tried to build castles in the air, your work need not be lost
- that is where they should be.
Now put the foundations under them."
– Henry David Thoreau
Carpenting is the skill required to make any furniture or house add-ons you can think about. It is also the skill required to become a stone crafter. Just like smithing, this one is a pain to raise. You should start off with 50 skill. Not only is it difficult but also requires A LOT of wood.
Before starting a carpenter, make sure you have a large amount of wood handy, i.e. you better have a lumberjack or a lot of money to buy boards. Make sure you always have a minimum of 4,000-5,000 boards before starting. I repeat boards, not logs. Those are too heavy to carry. Have about 15 carpenting tools because they will break often (preferrably scorps as they are lighter and only take 1 ingot to make with your tinker), and about 15-20 empty bags or boxes.
Put an empty pouch or container in your backpack. Put as many boards as you can carry inside that pouch. Double-click your scorp or carpentry tool and select the item to make. It will automatically be created inside that pouch. That way, when you get too heavy or your backpack cannot hold anymore items, it will take a lot less time emptying it.
| Skill |
Item to Make |
| 0.0% |
Buy Skill from NPC Carpenter |
| 30.0% |
Chairs, Medium Ccrates |
| 50.0% |
Wooden shields, Large Crates |
| 65.0% |
Writing Desks |
| 73.5% |
Quarter staffs |
| 85.0% |
Gnarled staffs |
| 90.0% |
Gnarled staffs, Easels |
I don't find easels to really help gain that much, and considering the resources required, it's fairly expensive. I prefer to keep on making gnarled staffs and throw in an occasion easel from time to time.
If you're going for the perfect mule, you throw in other types of items to create that will use those skills, hence you end up raising 2 skills at the same time. It isn't really more expensive than working both skills separately while at lower levels (below 60) in the secondary skill. For instance, to raise Tailoring, you could be making fishing poles. It will use cloth on top of boards, but you will get significant Tailoring gains. Making chests will increase your Tinkering as you attempt to make them lockable. You will also get blacksmithing gains (higher level though) when trying to make forges and anvils.
There isn't much more to be said about raising that skill. It's hard, it's slow and frustrating, but you'll get there if you stick with it. Once again, like for any other skills, try making other stuff once in a while if you've gone on a long stretch without a single gain. It somehow seems to jolt the skill gains back on track.
Some people make their carpenter a lumberjack, considering the number of add-ons a carpenter could make with other skills, I wouldn't waste a skill slot over lumberjacking and keep it rather for my warrior who could put it to better use.
Once you achieve GM level, you can become a Stone Crafter (masonry).
