GreatWizard

Item breaking and repair should be here if it adds to the experience. This is an RPG with emphasis on story and tactics, so break mechanics need to tie in with one of those in a fun way. So either you add some random events which can break or damage some items (ie a ghost that makes all swords that strike it, rust) or you make it part of the tactics (with spells, abilities or items that damage equipped items). The important thing here is that those mechanics should be tied into the gameplay, and not a chore which doesn't depend on the gameplay and skill of the player.

To make crafting cool, I think you should really consider each item, and make it's creation story-book unique. It can involve the need for the blood of a dragon, or it has to be made at midnight, during a thunderstorm. Or a demon summoning ritual, in which you actually arrange the candles (a'la Ultima 7/8) and if done incorrectly it could have some interesting consequences (an escaped demon storyline). a virtual amount of time has to pass ( ie the character spent a day in the ruined temple), and seeing related descriptive text can certainly add to that experience. I, like some of the previous