Pottery Skill

Pottery

Class	Skills
Type	Skill
Skill Group	Crafting
Max Level	10
Total XP	32,775
Skill Books	Pottery Skill Books

The Pottery Skill governs shaping clay into useful objects. It covers bricks, tiles, shingles, molds, bowls, plates, mugs, crucibles and jars. It belongs to the Crafting group.

Pottery supports other crafts as much as it stands alone. Clay bricks feed Masonry, and clay crucibles and the glass blowing pipe make Glassmaking possible. Clay molds shape metal for Blacksmithing. Bowls, plates, pots and jars replace kitchenware once stores run dry. Many recipes need a pottery wheel or a pottery bench, and every item must be fired in a kiln. A higher level unlocks better items. The Artisan trait is the way to start with a level in it.

How to Level Pottery

Pottery experience comes from pottery recipes. Each pressed or sculpted item gives experience, and harder items give more.

Sculpting is the strongest early option. Bowls, clay pots, teacups, mugs, plates, pipe segments and a mortar and pestle each give a good amount at level 0. Pressing bricks, tiles and shingles gives less per item but uses up clay in small amounts. The blacksmith anvil mold gives a large amount for one recipe.

Crucibles follow at level 1 and give more. The glass blowing pipe at level 2 and the smoking pipe at level 3 pay better still.

Clay is the key material and can be hard to find. Foraging turns up clumps of clay, and forests give the best chance. Clay deposits show as lighter brown tiles than dirt. They often lie near rivers and small lakes. An empty sack and a trowel or other digging tool gather clay from a deposit.

The tapes Pottery for Anyone and Working Clay at Home each give a good boost. Watching only pays off in the first three levels, unless experience spills over from a level-up.

The Crafty and Fast Learner traits each raise the experience rate to 130 percent. The Slow Learner trait lowers it to 70 percent.

Gather clay before planning a big project. Riverbanks give far more than town streets. A full sack of clay supports a long session at the wheel. Foraging along forest roads adds a few clumps on the way.

The sculpting tool can be looted or carved. Carving makes a clay sculpting tool at level 1, so a primitive run can start pottery without loot. The pottery bench is built with Carpentry, and the pottery wheel turns up in the world or can be built.

Early training pays twice. Bowls, pots and mugs give good experience and replace kitchenware as stores empty. Crucibles and molds come next, and they open the doors to glass and metal work.

The XP each Pottery level asks for, with the running total from level 0.

Level	XP Needed	Total XP
1	75	75
2	150	225
3	300	525
4	750	1,275
5	1,500	2,775
6	3,000	5,775
7	4,500	10,275
8	6,000	16,275
9	7,500	23,775
10	9,000	32,775

Pottery Level Effects

Each level opens new clay work. Level 0 covers bricks, tiles, shingles, metal molds and simple kitchenware. Level 1 adds the crucible and the small ceramic crucible, which melt metal and glass.

Level 2 brings the glass blowing pipe, the key tool for glassmaking. Level 3 adds the smoking pipe. Level 5 opens the clay jar.

Some items can be glazed before firing to change how they look. Glazing may need extra tools or ingredients.

Level 1 is the most important early goal. The crucible melts metal for Blacksmithing and sand for Glassmaking. Many metal recipes stay out of reach until a crucible exists. A survivor who skips pottery often finds the forge useless for lack of one.

Level 2 matters just as much for glass. The glass blowing pipe shapes every glass item, from panes to jars. The clay jar at level 5 gives a second path to food storage alongside glass jars.

Pottery Skill Books

The Pottery Skill Books come in five volumes. Each volume speeds up experience for two levels. Pottery I: "Ancient Pottery" covers the first two levels. Pottery V: "Pyrometamorphic Process of Ceramic Materials" covers the last two. Reading each volume just before its levels gives the most benefit.

The five volumes, the levels each one speeds up, the XP bonus while those levels are trained, and how long each takes to read. Reading times are game time at the default two minutes a page. Sitting down and wearing Reading Glasses each cut the time by a tenth, the Fast Reader trait cuts it by about a third, and Slow Reader adds a third.

Volume	Levels	XP Bonus	Pages	Read Time	Spawn ID
Pottery I: "Ancient Pottery"	1 to 2	x3	220	7 h 20 min	`/additem Base.BookPottery1`
Pottery II: "Build Your Own Kiln"	3 to 4	x5	260	8 h 40 min	`/additem Base.BookPottery2`
Pottery III: "Glazing Ceramics at Home"	5 to 6	x8	300	10 h	`/additem Base.BookPottery3`
Pottery IV: "Ming Chinese Masterworks: A Guide"	7 to 8	x12	340	11 h 20 min	`/additem Base.BookPottery4`
Pottery V: "Pyrometamorphic Process of Ceramic Materials"	9 to 10	x16	380	12 h 40 min	`/additem Base.BookPottery5`

Set of Pottery Books bundles all five volumes in one item and unpacks into them.

Item	Image	Spawn ID
Set of Pottery Books		`/additem Base.BookPotterySet`

Pottery Starting Levels

The Artisan trait adds one level of Pottery at character creation. That level opens crucibles straight away, which speeds up the path into glassmaking and metal casting.

Artisan also adds a level of Glassmaking. The two skills share tools, so the trait gives a strong start for any character who plans to make glass.

These occupations and traits start a character with levels in Pottery.

Name	Image	Type	Levels	Points
Artisan		Trait	+1	-2

Pottery Recipes

At the lowest level, pottery covers building materials. Clay bricks, tiles and shingles can be pressed in molds or by hand. Molds for bars, ingots, sheets and the blacksmith anvil support metalworking.

Kitchenware also starts at level 0. Bowls, plates, mugs, teacups, clay pots and a mortar and pestle can all be sculpted. Pipe segments round out the early list.

Higher levels add crucibles for melting, the glass blowing pipe, the smoking pipe and finally the clay jar.

A clay tool is needed for most recipes. Wooden brick, shingle, tile and anvil molds shape clay into exact forms. Every finished piece must be fired in a kiln to set the clay.

The wooden molds come from Carpentry. A carpenter makes the brick, tile and shingle molds, and the potter fills them. Pressed bricks then go to Masonry for walls. Pressed tiles and shingles cover floors and roofs.

Firing turns soft clay into a usable item. A kiln can be built or found in the world. Larger pieces need a larger kiln.

Every recipe that asks for Pottery or trains it, one tab per level asked.

Name	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Clay Bar Mold (Unfired)	Press Bar Mold	1x Clay	Wooden Bar Cast Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayBarMoldUnfired`
Clay Blacksmith Anvil Mold (Unfired)	Press Blacksmith Anvil Mold	8x Clay	Wooden Blacksmith Anvil Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayBlacksmithAnvilMoldUnfired`
Clay Brick (Unfired)	Press Clay Brick	1x Clay	Wooden Brick Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayBrickUnfired`
Clay Brick (Unfired)	Press Clay Brick by Hand	1x Clay	Wooden Brick Mold	Pottery: 0	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.ClayBrickUnfired`
Clay Shingle (Unfired)	Press Clay Shingle	1x Clay	Wooden Shingle Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayShingleUnfired`
Clay Tile (Unfired)	Press Clay Tile	1x Clay	Wooden Tile Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayTileUnfired`
Clay Tile (Unfired)	Press Clay Tile by Hand	1x Clay	Wooden Tile Mold	Pottery: 0	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.ClayTileUnfired`
Clay Ingot Mold (Unfired)	Press Ingot Mold	1x Clay	Wooden Ingot Cast Mold	Pottery: 0	Hand Operated Press	No	`/additem Base.ClayIngotMoldUnfired`
Clay Sheet Mold (Unfired)	Press Sheet Mold	3x Clay	Clay Sculpting Tool	Pottery: 0	Pottery Bench	No	`/additem Base.ClaySheetMoldUnfired`
Clay Bowl (Unfired)	Sculpt Bowl	2x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayBowlUnfired`
Clay Pot (Unfired)	Sculpt Clay Pot	5x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayPotUnfired`
Clay Teacup (Unfired)	Sculpt Clay Teacup	1x Clay 1x Sack of Sand	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.CeramicTeacupUnfired`
Clay Mortar and Pestle (Unfired)	Sculpt Mortar And Pestle	2x Clay 1x Sack of Sand	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.CeramicMortarandPestleUnfired`
Clay Mug (Unfired)	Sculpt Mug	1x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayMugUnfired`
Clay Pipe Segment (Unfired)	Sculpt Pipe Segment	1x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayPipeSegmentUnfired`
Clay Plate (Unfired)	Sculpt Plate	1x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 0	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayPlateUnfired`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Large Clay Crucible (Unfired)		Sculpt Crucible	2x Clay 1x Sack of Sand	-	Pottery: 1	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.CeramicCrucibleUnfired`
Small Clay Crucible (Unfired)		Sculpt Small Ceramic Crucible	1x Clay 1x Sack of Sand	-	Pottery: 1	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.CeramicCrucibleSmallUnfired`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Glass Blowing Pipe (Unfired)		Sculpt Glass Blowing Pipe	2x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 2	Pottery Bench	No	`/additem Base.GlassBlowingPipeUnfired`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Clay Smoking Pipe (Unfired)		Sculpt Smoking Pipe	1x Clay	Clay Sculpting Tool	Pottery: 3	Pottery Bench	No	`/additem Base.SmokingPipeUnfired`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Clay Jar (Unfired)		Sculpt Jar	3x Clay 0.25 L Water Bottle	-	Pottery: 5	Pottery Wheel	No	`/additem Base.ClayJarUnfired`

Notes

Look for clay deposits near rivers and lakes.
Sculpt bowls and plates early for good experience.
A crucible at level 1 opens metal and glass melting.
Every clay item must be fired in a kiln before use.
Bricks from pottery feed straight into Masonry.

All Character Categories

All Skills

Skill	Type	Total XP	Spawn ID
Axe	Skill	32,775	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
Long Blunt	Skill	32,775	-
Short Blunt	Skill	32,775	-
Long Blade	Skill	32,775	-
Short Blade	Skill	32,775	-
Spear	Skill	32,775	-
Maintenance	Skill	32,775	-

Skill	Image	Type	Total XP
Aiming		Skill	32,775
Reloading		Skill	32,775

Skill	Type	Total XP
Carpentry	Skill	32,775
Carving	Skill	32,775
Cooking	Skill	32,775
Electrical	Skill	32,775
Glassmaking	Skill	32,775
Knapping	Skill	32,775
Masonry	Skill	32,775
Blacksmithing	Skill	32,775
Mechanics	Skill	32,775
Pottery	Skill	32,775
Tailoring	Skill	32,775
Welding	Skill	32,775