Material- Hemp is the primary material from which rope was traditionally made. It grows well in temperate climates, and can easily be incorporated into a standard crop rotation. There are other fibrous plants that can work as well. Flax makes pretty good rope, but is not quite as good as hemp, it is more valued for cloth, and grows less abundantly than hemp. Cotton can be used, but it makes weak rope, and is generally more needed for clothing. Jute is another option, but it grows only in limited climates and "burns" the land of minerals where it grows very quickly. The husks from coconuts can also be used, but they grow in very limited climates and don't produce much material. For these reason, Hemp is the ideal material from which to make rope commercially or on a large scale. This in mind, players may opt to use Hemp, Flax, Jute, or Cotton to fashion rope products from.

Tools - A rope maker's tools are very important. Though a rope maker can easily wind and braid most types of rope, cord or twine by hand, the right tools will improve his efficiency. Any rope winder you have who has a set of "Rope Winder's Tools" can make rope products at much faster than his normal speed.

Rope Units - When rope products are referred to, a single unit represents a 10 ft length. Hence 10 units of rope would be 100 feet of rope. When discussion the various fishing nets, one unit is a single net.

Twine- There is some ambiguity as to the difference between thread, yarn and twine. Some suggest that the difference is in the material used. In our system, twine can be made of any of the basic fibers. It is generally thicker than thread, though not as meticulously well spun. In general, twine is made with more fibrous material, more loosely braided and twisted.

Cord-Cord is the stage between twine and real rope. Cord is generally little more then three strands of twine which have been braided and twisted together. Cord is used to bear medium weight loads which need more support than twine but for which rope is over doing it. Cord is generally about the same diameter around as a pencil.

Rope- Rope has countless applications and is a fundamental building block of early civilization. Standard ropes are braided and twisted together from three cords. There general thickness is about as round as a penny or nickel.

Great Rope- These are very thick ropes used for the largest industrial needs. Generally not needed for anything but pulling great weights. Often used by ships to tow other boats, or cranes to load cargo.

Small Fishing Net- A simple net made from many strands of twine. Generally about 6 ft. on a side and having small weights along the edges. Used by individual fishermen to bring in fish from shallow waters.

Fishing Boat Net- These nets are generally made of cord in the area of 12 X 10, or 120 square feet. They are designed with riggings to be run off the side of a small fishing boat.

Commercial Fishing Vessel Net- These massive nets are 24 by 24 ft, or 576 square ft in size and made from rope rather than cord. They and their riggings are designed to be drug along by a large commercial fishing vessel in deeper water to bring in much larger amounts of fish.

As with most products in this system, the amount which is produced is determined by how many workers of what rank you have. For this craft, we will measure production capacity in RWUs; "Rope Winding Units". Determining your civilization's capacity to do rope winding work can be calculated with the table below.

The ranks required to make twine, cord and rope seem backwards

It is correct that a new rope winder can make rope yet not twin or cord. It is also correct that a poor rope winder can not create twine even though he can make cord or rope. How can this be when the rope the new rope winder is making is composed of twine and cord that he technically is not able to produce? Let me explain how this has been reasoned out. A new rope winder does make many lengths of twine, which he then makes into a few lengths of cord, which he works into a single length of rope. The new rope winder lacks the skill to wind rope well enough that his twine or cord would be able to bear the appropriate amount of weight. Only when they are all lashed together are they adequately strong enough because the individual lengths of twine and cord likely have many small flaws. Adept rope winders can make more fine lengths of twine, which can be relied upon to bear weight without need to intertwine it with additional lengths of twine for additional reinforcement. Because rope is so thick made from so many strands, it has more of a margin of error for flaws, Twine leave little room for mistakes and thus requires a more skilled hand.