In my opinion, the path of crafter and gatherers shouldnt be the same as the path for warriors and wizards...
The crafters and gatherers quests should resolve around their attempt at making a new weapon, or the vital job of exploring the lands for a rich ore mine or a never before seen tree type.
If later on we are even going to escalate into a war with the empire... I would very much like seeing the crafters of all nations have a meeting to try to develop a weapon as a countermeasure for the invasion.
So, yay or nay to crafters/gatherers having their own story line to follow?