diff --git a/src/crafting.lua b/src/crafting.lua
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+++ b/src/crafting.lua
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+-- Deterministic gear crafting, layered on top of the loot-rolled affix
+-- system (affixes.lua). Killing monsters earns essence; essence forges tier-1
+-- gems; two matching gems merge into one gem a tier higher; a gem sockets
+-- into gear for a guaranteed on-hit rider alongside a flat power bump;
+-- tempering spends essence directly for power at rising cost; disenchanting
+-- strips a rolled affix back into essence. Nothing here rolls dice - a build
+-- is entirely a function of the essence spent on it, distinct from the luck
+-- of what affixes.lua hands out on drops.
+
+local Items = require("items")
+local Status = require("status")
+local Affixes = require("affixes")
+
+local Crafting = {}
+
+Crafting.FIRE = "fire"
+Crafting.FROST = "frost"
+Crafting.SHOCK = "shock"
+Crafting.VENOM = "venom"
+
+Crafting.elements = { Crafting.FIRE, Crafting.FROST, Crafting.SHOCK, Crafting.VENOM }
+
+-- SHOCK's duration is 2, not 1: Status.tick decrements duration before
+-- skipsTurn is ever checked (see status.lua), and a hit landed during the
+-- player's own turn ticks the victim's status for the first time on that
+-- SAME round, in the victim's own upcoming takeMonsterTurn - a duration-1
+-- stun would already read 0 and be gone before skipsTurn ever saw it,
+-- silently never stunning anything. 2 survives that first tick with 1 left,
+-- which is exactly enough to skip the one turn immediately after the hit.
+Crafting.riders = {
+  [Crafting.FIRE]  = { status = Status.BURNING, duration = 3, potency = 2 },
+  [Crafting.FROST] = { status = Status.SLOW,    duration = 2, potency = 1 },
+  [Crafting.SHOCK] = { status = Status.STUN,    duration = 2, potency = 1 },
+  [Crafting.VENOM] = { status = Status.POISON,  duration = 4, potency = 2 },
+}
+
+Crafting.tierNames = { "chip", "flawed", "perfect" }
+Crafting.MAX_TIER = #Crafting.tierNames
+
+Crafting.FORGE_COST = 6
+Crafting.ENCHANT_COST = 10
+Crafting.TEMPER_MAX = 5
+
+local function isElement(element)
+  return Crafting.riders[element] ~= nil
+end
+
+function Crafting.gem(element, tier)
+  return {
+    kind = Items.GEM,
+    glyph = "*",
+    element = element,
+    tier = tier,
+    power = tier,
+    name = Crafting.tierNames[tier] .. " " .. element .. " gem",
+  }
+end
+
+-- A kill's essence scales with the monster's own xp reward, so the crafting
+-- economy tracks the game's existing difficulty curve instead of needing a
+-- second balance table.
+function Crafting.essenceFor(xp)
+  return math.max(1, xp // 3)
+end
+
+-- Spends essence to forge a fresh tier-1 gem of the given element.
+function Crafting.forge(entity, element)
+  if not isElement(element) then return false, "no such element" end
+  if entity.essence < Crafting.FORGE_COST then return false, "not enough essence" end
+  entity.essence = entity.essence - Crafting.FORGE_COST
+  return true, Crafting.gem(element, 1)
+end
+
+-- Combines two gems of the same element and tier into one gem a tier higher.
+-- Mismatched pairs are rejected untouched, so a misclick costs nothing.
+function Crafting.mergeGems(gemA, gemB)
+  if gemA.element ~= gemB.element then return false, "elements do not match" end
+  if gemA.tier ~= gemB.tier then return false, "tiers do not match" end
+  if gemA.tier >= Crafting.MAX_TIER then return false, "already at maximum tier" end
+  return true, nil, Crafting.gem(gemA.element, gemA.tier + 1)
+end
+
+local function socketable(item)
+  return item.kind == Items.WEAPON or item.kind == Items.ARMOR
+    or item.kind == Items.BOW or item.kind == Items.RING
+end
+
+-- weapon/armor bake their equipped power straight into attack/defense
+-- (see items.equipWeapon/equipArmor), so any crafting action that edits
+-- item.power after the fact must apply the same delta to the wielder to
+-- avoid a stat that only updates on the next re-equip.
+local function applyPowerDelta(entity, item, delta)
+  if delta == 0 then return end
+  if entity.weapon == item then
+    entity.attack = entity.attack + delta
+  elseif entity.armor == item then
+    entity.defense = entity.defense + delta
+  end
+end
+
+-- Attaches a gem's rider and power to a piece of gear, replacing whatever was
+-- socketed before - the old gem is pried loose and breaks, it is not
+-- returned. Rings and bows take the rider (for ranged/aura play) but only
+-- weapon and armor power feeds attack/defense; see socketPowerKind below.
+function Crafting.socket(entity, item, gem)
+  if not socketable(item) then return false, "cannot be socketed" end
+  if gem.kind ~= Items.GEM then return false, "not a gem" end
+  local previousPower = item.socket and item.socket.power or 0
+  item.socket = { element = gem.element, tier = gem.tier, power = gem.power, onHit = Crafting.riders[gem.element] }
+  if item.kind == Items.WEAPON or item.kind == Items.ARMOR then
+    local delta = gem.power - previousPower
+    item.power = item.power + delta
+    applyPowerDelta(entity, item, delta)
+  end
+  return true
+end
+
+function Crafting.temperCost(item)
+  return ((item.temper or 0) + 1) * 4
+end
+
+-- Flat, permanent power increase capped so tempering cannot out-scale simply
+-- finding better gear; each step costs more essence than the last.
+function Crafting.temper(entity, item)
+  if item.kind ~= Items.WEAPON and item.kind ~= Items.ARMOR then
+    return false, "cannot be tempered"
+  end
+  local level = item.temper or 0
+  if level >= Crafting.TEMPER_MAX then return false, "fully tempered" end
+  local cost = Crafting.temperCost(item)
+  if entity.essence < cost then return false, "not enough essence" end
+  entity.essence = entity.essence - cost
+  item.temper = level + 1
+  item.power = item.power + 1
+  applyPowerDelta(entity, item, 1)
+  return true
+end
+
+local function affixPool(item)
+  if item.kind == Items.WEAPON then return Affixes.weapon end
+  if item.kind == Items.ARMOR then return Affixes.armor end
+  return nil
+end
+
+-- Grants a guaranteed, chosen affix to gear that has none - the deterministic
+-- counterpart to affixes.rollWeapon/rollArmor rolling one by chance on drop.
+function Crafting.enchant(entity, item, affixKey)
+  local pool = affixPool(item)
+  if not pool then return false, "cannot be enchanted" end
+  if item.affix then return false, "already bears an affix" end
+  local chosen
+  for _, entry in ipairs(pool) do
+    if entry.key == affixKey then chosen = entry end
+  end
+  if not chosen then return false, "unknown affix" end
+  if entity.essence < Crafting.ENCHANT_COST then return false, "not enough essence" end
+  entity.essence = entity.essence - Crafting.ENCHANT_COST
+  Affixes.decorate(item, chosen)
+  applyPowerDelta(entity, item, chosen.power)
+  return true
+end
+
+-- Strips a rolled affix back into essence, worth more the stronger the affix
+-- was, undoing affixes.decorate's power bump and name prefix exactly.
+function Crafting.disenchant(entity, item)
+  if not item.affix then return false, "nothing to disenchant" end
+  local affix = item.affix
+  local refund = Crafting.FORGE_COST + affix.power * 3
+  applyPowerDelta(entity, item, -affix.power)
+  item.power = item.power - affix.power
+  local prefix = affix.name .. " "
+  if item.name:sub(1, #prefix) == prefix then
+    item.name = item.name:sub(#prefix + 1)
+  end
+  item.affix = nil
+  item.damageType = nil
+  entity.essence = entity.essence + refund
+  return true, refund
+end
+
+return Crafting