I was wondering if someone could enlighten me on the general weaponsmithing/armorsmithing abilities of the various demi-human/humanoid races. Not counting humans, I would imagine that the bar is set by the dwarves and elves. How about the other following groups:
Without looking up the specifics, the broad consensus is that evil humanoids make weapons that are crude but effective, while small demihumans like gnomes and halfings are great at detail work and can be very fine craftsmen. All races tend to do better with weapons associated with their race. So, for example, halflings don't make a lot of longswords, but their slings are better than anyone else's.
But that's pretty cliche. There should be a few orcs, goblins, and kobolds producing masterwork items.
"The Gnoll skill at metal working is comparable to that of humans living in the Iron Age. Gnolls are just beginning to learn how to make steel. Their metalwork is plain and without ornamentation, but it is sturdy and able to withstand much heavy use." - Dark Folk from Mayfair Games.
"Unlike Dwarves, Orcs do not smelt any of the metals found in underground ores preferring to make their weapons and other metal items from refined metals taken in raids. The favorite weapon of all Orcs is the scimitar. The Orc scimitar, a wicked weapon, measures about 3' long and has the last 8" of the blade serrated like a saw; it does 2-9 [hp] damage... Orc-forged armor and weapons are of poor-to-fair quality; thus most Orcs prefer to wield captured weapons when they can. Orc blacksmiths receive training and can, if pressed, turn out mediocre weapons and items without help. Whenever possible, Orc blacksmiths use slaves to do the actual work, but this does not improve the quality of the items forged." - Dark Folk.
"[Goblins] manufacture leather goods of high quality, but do not decorate them with patterns or designs. Traders pay top prices for these sought-after items, and, through a number of intermediaries, sell them to unsuspecting humans... Unlike Goblins, Hobgoblins have never mastered the art of leatherworking, and rely on Goblin trade for their needs. In turn, they supply Goblins with weapons, primarily short swords, long swords, and spears. They also manufacture two-handed swords and halberds for their own use, and occasionally trade these items to other Dark Races. The quality of Hobgoblin workmanship is not very good, and the percentage of weapon breakage is high (2% per round). Despite this, Hobgoblins prefer weapons of their own manufacture." - Dark Folk.
"Despite their disinterest in monetary wealth, the brutish [bugbears] do have an innate sense for objects that terrify, often gathering fundamentally frightening or eerie items - bloodstained blades, yellowed bones, wooden fetishes - which they work into weaponry or armor. Thinking nothing of the inherent value of such accouterments, what a bugbear might view as nothing more than another spike on its armor might in fact be a dirty, but finely crafted dagger or other useful tool." - Classic Monsters Revisited from Paizo Publishing.
"Kobolds are surprisingly competent with math, masonry, carpentry, smelting, metalworking, and mining. They never create masterwork items, but the sheer size and volume of their warrens is rarely appreciated... Kobolds have an unhealthy fascination with traps and deadly devices of all kinds: blades, spikes, spears, darts, fire jets, crushing stones, and acid baths are all popular... Although all kobolds are adept at trapmaking, the elders are usually the ones asked to build the deepest pits or the deadliest poison needletraps... kobolds make excellent traps and devices, such as timers, clockworks, and even constructs. These devices rely on very small gears and springs that kobold claws and fingers can manipulate much more readily than the fat fingers of humans and dwarves." - Classic Monsters Revisited
"Beyond the working of stone, however, the gnomes are somewhat limited in the tooling of materials into useful products. As a general rule, gnomes find it hard to produce raw materials but easy to shape it." - The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings
"The quality of halfling work is very consistent. While rarely the equal of the greatest artisans in the world - dwarves make better axeblades, elves better wine - on the average it is better than the average available elsewhere... Halflings are ill-suited for jobs requiring size and strength, such as blacksmithing, ocean sailing, or cargo hauling. Though a halfling village will usually have a smith who makes nails and horseshoes, his or her work will not be up to the level of most human smiths and will probably be for local consumption only." - The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings
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