Crafts and Craftmastery

[Arcane]

WHAT ARE CRAFTS?

Crafts are the professional organizations of Pern. Each Craft has a Crafthall, located within or adjacent to a major Hold, and many Crafters—though not necessarily all—are trained there. Others are trained by masters at one of the other major Holds or Weyrs.

All Crafthalls on Pern follow the same basic ranking system and organizational structure. There are three degrees of rank in this: apprentice, journeyman, and master.

Apprentices begin their education as early as eight turns of age and usually no later than fourteen outside of Weyrs, and are instructed by one or more master craftsmen on a regular basis, with journeymen teaching them the basics on a personal, small-group or one-to-one basis under the rather broader supervision of masters. They graduate starting at eighteen to twenty four, with those who started late often skewing older. Due to needing to start older for size reasons, Smiths rarely graduate before twenty. Healers have significantly higher expectations of their journeymen, and won't graduate any before their twenty-first nameday due to concerns about maturity.

Those who have spent time as Candidates can expect to graduate considerably later, if at all; few if any will walk the tables during their time as a Candidate.

Journeymen continue to receive instruction from masters if they wish to work towards their mastery, unless they choose to journey to other holds or halls in order to study different techniques or look at improving the base of knowledge their craft is built on. The majority of a craft's members are journeymen, and many will never advance beyond this point. If they are not planning to work towards mastery, this is the point where they can travel elsewhere and actively practice their craft. The bulk of a craft's labor is typically done by journeymen. Even Journeyman who continue their studies are full members of the craft, able to work without supervision. Becoming a journeyman is a big step and most candidate-crafters will not reach it, as most Impress before finishing the necessary training.


Masters have attained the highest rank and title in the practice of their craft, which denotes the ability, right, and responsibility to pass the ways of the Craft on to apprentices and journeymen.

Mastercrafters are the head of an entire Craft, and in charge of all things relating to it. Each crafthall selects a leader from among their masters. At the death or announcement of retirement from a former Mastercraftsman, all Craftsmasters of a craft congregate to elect a new Mastercraftsman from their numbers– a process that usually takes months, and can sometimes take multiple turns. The Mastercraftsman has the right to speak for all members of their Craft across Pern, and while they are greatly respected, are far from being seen as an ‘ultimate authority’ in the way that a Lord Holder or Weyrleader is. Rather, it is their skill as an artisan and experience with guiding others to improvement that is valued, but even then, even with decades of mastery and self improvement, it’s generally recognized that no craft has a single ‘best’ method to practice in order to perfect one’s craft.

Hall-Crafts vs Hold-Crafts

The crafts are divided into separate halls, which act as both places of work and learning. They range in size from the largest, three-craft hall at Fort Hold, where Healers, Harpers, and Scribes congregate to smaller Crafthalls that are oriented towards the pursuit of only one Craft.

There is a distinction between the major Hall-crafts, and the Hold-crafts. Several crafts that have designated Halls and knots, while they do have structure, are so necessary for basic Hold life that no Hold could possibly do without them. These are Herding, Farming, Fishing, Weaving, Tailoring, and Tanning/Leatherworking. Those who do not have formal training by a master, and have not been recognized as having the equivalent training and experience to a Journeyman, generally refer to their vocation and not the ‘craft’ element. For example, a trained Beastcrafter will call themself that, but a simple herder will call themselves just that: a herder. Many will wear a thread of their craft’s color, but not the component knots and loops that a trained journeyman would, because they are not formally-qualified themselves.

There are also several Hold-crafts that have no Hall-craft equivalent, including pottery, cooking and baking, and net- and basket-making.

[Arcane]

HARPERCRAFT

Part of the largest crafthall on Pern, which is located on the outskirts of Fort Hold, Harpers are arguably the most versatile and varied of Crafters, with people filling roles as teachers, musicians, actors, diplomats, orators, spies, and artists. Most children learn their songs and their knots from a Harper, and they are present in every major hold and many minor ones, every weyr, and every crafthall across the continent. Beyond just music and basic teachings, Harpers are generally somewhat well-versed in history, and many act in advisory roles for Weyrs and Holds alike.

As part of their training, they are musically-skilled and -trained, fully-literate, and capable of memorization by rote– Journeymen must be able to recite and teach children the teaching songs and their letters in order to graduate, and most are trained in the composition of ballads, though innovation and invention is valued as highly here as at the Smith-hall, and the two crafts have a good-natured sort of rivalry. Their craft color is a rich blue.

SCRIBERCRAFT

Once considered a sub-discipline of Harpistry, Scribers have become a craft in their own right some centuries back. A craft comprised of scholars, bookkeepers and historians, scribers have been trained in the art and craft of information-keeping. They curate Pern's knowledge in the written form, preserving and copying information so that it is not lost to the ages, and as such are trained in the art and craftsmanship of everything to do with bookmaking. If it has to do with writing something down, a scriber is best, but they are far more than simple clerks and scriveners– they are the ones who keep record of history and encourage its study, and they tend to be some of the most politically well-versed people on Pern. They tend to fill roles as stewards and advisors at Holds, Halls and Weyrs.

In order to walk the tables as a Scriber, an Apprentice must exhibit the ability to make and repair books, scrolls, and other records, and must have legible and regular writing, and be adequately-skilled in mathematics. Extensive vocabularies and a good grasp on spelling and grammar are tools of the trade, and it's a common joke that washouts from the craft convert to Harpistry, and vice-versa. Their craft color is sky blue.

[Arcane]

HEALERCRAFT

Also part of the large, mutli-purpose crafthall at Fort Hold, they take residence in the Healer Hall, sharing space and knowledge with the Harpers and Scribers, and train and accredit people from all across Pern to practice medicine.

Surgery is rare, but there are a number of low-risk, routine operations taken: removals of ingrown nails, burn excisions, and removals of visible tumors are examples of commonly-practiced medical interventions. Elective and cosmetic surgeries do not exist on Pern– there is a cultural taboo against unnecessarily cutting into or harming a healthy body. As blood transfusions are very difficult to manage and blood cannot be typed or stored for long periods of time, major surgeries—including appendectomies and Caesarian sections—organ transplants, and the like are completely out of reach for today's Healers. Their craft color is green.

Dragonhealers, much like healers, focus their lives on medicine. However, instead of devoting their lives to the study of humans, they specialize on the health and wellbeing of dragonkind. This includes dragons, flits, and whers, and limited knowledge from this craft can be applied to tunnelsnakes or wherries. Their craft colors are purple and black.


Beasthealers tend to and ensure the good health of herds and livestock on Pern, as well as learning how to take care of whers and flits in a superficial capacity. They are also called in for matters of pest control. Their craft colors are purple and yellow.

Mindhealers are more involved in the care of the mind than they are the body, but generally have training in both. They ensure the mental well-being of Pernese residents.

[Arcane]

SMITHCRAFT

Workers of metal, wood, glass, and other materials all have one thing in common– they turn workable materials into necessary products for Pern, acting as blacksmiths, carpenters, glaziers, and more. From transportation to furniture to appliances, to contraptions, to prosthetic limbs, invention and creation are the focus of this craft. Starsmiths are the only ones to break this pattern: their craft largely revolves around study, rather than invention, making it by far the most scholarly of smithing pursuits… but don't say that anywhere near a Smith.

To gain accreditations as a Smith, one must know how to handle and forge metal into a variety of tools and items. The vast majority of Smiths will work their entire lives producing utilities, though hobby practice of leisure items or jewelry is commonplace. Their craft color is red.

Woodsmiths, or carpenters, build furniture, boats, and other goods from wood. A woodsmith generally specializes in either structure-, transportation-, furniture- or tool-building once they reach Journeyman status. Their craft colors are red and forest green.


Glasscrafters, or Glass Smiths, produce and grind glass for the production of shrinking or magnifying lenses, or for windowpanes, or as a storage container for volatile compounds that would otherwise eat through metal. Their craft colors are red and ice blue.

Starcraft, practiced by Starsmiths, revolves largely around the use of magnifying telescopes—generally worked on in collaboration with a Glasscrafter—for the closer study of the sky. Many reside at the Harperhall after they have gained their Journeymanship, so that they can partner with scribes to have better maps and historical accounts to help study and learn about the celestial bodies around Pern. Their craft colors are red and white.

[Arcane]

MINERCRAFT

Where there's smiths, there's metals. And if there are metals, there's a miner to thank. Practicing one of the most dangerous crafts on Pern, Miners unearth and refine precious metals, firestone, and needed minerals as raw materials for Smiths, Weyrs, and various other crafts. It's known for requiring both the physical rigors of drudgery and the mental demands of the more complex crafts. After all, mineshafts are no good to anyone if they're liable to collapse. Firelizards are popular trained pets for companionship, quick message-sending, and identification purposes in a Mine; they can instinctively tell the difference between the much-needed Firestone and it's lethally-explosive cousin, Flamestone, and are capable of warning miners when the air deadens, often saving lives, and leading to the saying that a flit is a miner's best friend.

Miners are generally sorted into two categories: Quarriers, who actually mine stone from mineshafts and quarries, and Refiners, who spend their days taking ores and extracting metal from them. Their craft color is a charcoal gray.

[Arcane]

VINTNERCRAFT

Responsible for all the alcohol on Pern, vintners brew and distill all manner of alcohols, from apprentices' experiments to proper wines, beers, meads and ciders, to distilled liquors and proper spirits. While most of these are brewed for the pleasure of drinking, many strong spirits are also sent to the Healer Hall, where they're known to have both mild analgesic and antiseptic properties.

Vintners may specialize to produce one specific kind of alcohol. Some find a vintnery or brewery somewhere and stay there all their lives or they may dabble, producing all manner of palatable alcohols for a Hold or Weyr. Their craft color is wine red.

[Arcane]

SEACRAFT/FISHERCRAFT

The ocean is the purview of seacrafters, with their boats and their nets and their knowledge of how the schools and shoals of fish that live in Pern's lakes and oceans migrate. They are sailors and fishermen, heading out to sea for long stretches of time to bring fish and commerce from port to port. Most, but not all, seacrafters are fishermen, though some are primarily traders and sailors that move goods from port to port—a much faster method of transporting goods than taking caravans between holds.

In order to walk the tables to become a Journeyman, a seacrafter must prove to be a competent sailor, excelling in at least one specific role in a ship, though they must also prove that they can perform several others adequately should the need occur. They must also master navigation by both the position of the sun and stars, and demonstrate the ability to read charts and plot a course. Their craft color is sea blue.

[Arcane]

FARMERCRAFT

While there are many farmers on Pern, few are truly farmcrafters. Those that are have spent several turns of their lives learning about crops, rotations, soil conditions and fertilizers, generally with the intent of providing consult to the plethora of farming cotholds that Pern has, or breeding a hardier or better crop. Botanists of all kinds are known as farmcrafters; little to no distinction is made between those who study the cultivation of medicinal plants and those who study farm blights.

In order to become a Journeyman, one has to prove that they can clearly identify local plants and are generally taken along to a number of farms or gardens to study natural problems in the field and offer advice. Their craft color is goldenrod.

[Arcane]

BEASTCRAFT

Dedicated to the study of animals, their health, and their behaviour, Beastcrafters breed, train, and heal nearly every species of animal that Pern has, although direct hands-on study of many vermin species is not advised. Herders, beast-healers, breeders and trainers, they focus on helping shape animals on Pern to be living tools and assets to Pernese civilization. They share the subdiscipline of Beasthealing with the healerhall, and while both have slightly different approaches to how to teach the discipline, both are individually able to accredit an individual as a Journeyman.

In order to be accredited as a beastcrafter, one must provide in-depth knowledge of at least one species of animal, usually more, as well as being able to identify the root causes of behavioral problems, identify sources of stress, and be able to handle the animal in question. Their craft color is yellow.

Beasthealers are given more of a formal training on treating animals, sometimes specializing on one type of herdbeast or other animal where those educated by the Healer Hall rarely do. Their craft colors are yellow and purple.

[Arcane]

TANNERCRAFT

Involved with the production of all number of items, tanners are taught how to take and treat animal skins to produce quality materials out of leather and hide. Leather is treated, cut, stretched, dyed, shaped, and sealed, and is one of the most widely-used materials on Pern. Saddles, harnesses, armor, tack, tool handles, skins, bags, satchels and more are some of the more commonplace products produced. The dyes and processing chemicals used by tanners are often considered fairly foul-smelling and acrid.

In order to walk the tables as a journeyman in this craft, one must be capable of turning a raw animal hide into a number of useful items. Good workmanship is a must; poorly-worked leather cracks and degrades quickly. Their craft color is leather brown.

[Arcane]

WEAVERCRAFT

Weavers create various types of threads and yarns, as well as the textiles that they are used to make. Most will specialize in spinning, weaving, or tapestry-making. Spinning is the creation of yarn and thread from raw fibers. Weaving is the creation of textiles from thread or yarn, both solid and patterned. Tapestry-making is the combination of weaving and embroidering in order to create scenes on fabric, often in collaboration with a Harper to depict some specific major event.

In order to become a Journeyman, one must demonstrate competency in their particular specialty, able to create goods in a timely manner without major flaws. Their craft color is lavender.

[Arcane]

TAILORCRAFT

Tailors specialize in the creation of finished garments from fabric, yarn, or leather. While most will generalize and work across several different disciplines, there are also those that may focus solely on dressmaking, knitting, knotwork, embroidery, or any number of other specialties. A garment created by a tailor master is usually an expensive purchase, and few people on Pern can afford them; most people's finest clothes are made by Journeymen, and occasionally even Apprentices with a Journeyman's stamp of approval.

Their craft color is dark plum.