Crafting in crafting games is a terrible experience, but it's actually quite good in the updated Dungeons and Dragons rules.

I agree with Lauren Morten who wrote that the crafting is the worst part about crafting games. I've never used a crafting table and didn't think it was a good use of time. And punching trees is boring. I bailed out of Valheim when it asked me to make roof tiles in the right shape for my drafty hovel.

But, after reading the recent explanations of the crafting rules found in the 2024 Players Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons 5E I think that they are actually good. The new downtime rules are a huge improvement over the old D&D rules that required so much time to make things, I could see my players' eyes go dim as I explained them.

Anyone with an herbalism kit and a relevant proficiency can now craft their own potions of medicine. It will take "a full-day's work" and 25 GP for each, but it's a more interesting way to use the tool proficiency. They can now make antitoxins, healer’s kits, and even candles.

As a sidebar: Drinking those potions now costs a bonus instead of a full action. This was a house rule that was so common, it was used in Baldur’s Gate 3 and it's nice to finally see it adopted by the core rules.

Painter's supplies can be used by adept users to create their own holy symbols or druidic foci. Crafting armor is twice as fast and cheaper, and crafting spell scrolls will be cheaper. The Crafter feat, one of the new origins feats, can be taken at level 1, and it allows you to make useful items over night, such as grappling hooks and nets.

The tool proficiencies are now more useful, with suggestions for actions such as using mason's instruments to sneakily peek into a secret chamber before you crack open the door or using alchemist materials to start a flame. It's the kind of thing a generous Dungeon Master might let you do, but it's nice that they're codified and have a DC to avoid having to decide on the spot. The 2024 rules give you an advantage if you are proficient in sleight-of-hand.

I may ignore crafting systems in RPGs such as Fallout 4, but in my next D&D game I will use these rules. I know that there will be players who want to find "raw magic goo", and I will make them go through ooze hell in order to find it. And I will then remind them of where it came from whenever they need 2d4+2 hits points in a hurry.