Should Tradeskillers be required to be Adventurers also

[Cyrus]

Hey you guys think a tradeskiller or a diplomate should be required to be adventurers. Or should every class be excusive?

[Slash]

Definitely be allowed to do what they want. They said the whole game is freedom... how does it go along with what they say to limit a class to strict adventuring, or strict tradeskilling... kinda kills it for me

[DivineCT]

They will be dependant on adventuring as well. They will need harvestables to craft stuffs!

[Cyrus]

You guys think thats a little retarded though? Unless it's like the most minimal amount of adventuring.

[Nil]

Originally Posted by Cyrus

You guys think thats a little retarded though? Unless it's like the most minimal amount of adventuring.

Crafters don't have to be adventurers, though. You can buy your stuff off of players if you're hardcore about it.

Harvesters, on the other hand, probably have to be a-sphere folks as well.

[Coinspinner]

You shouldn't need to advance other spheres to advance the one you really want. And a crafter's path to max level should be as rich in story and lore as an adventurer's.

[Nil]

Originally Posted by Coinspinner

And a crafter's path to max level should be as rich in story and lore as an adventurer's.

Not that I don't agree with you, but how would you go about doing that? I can see questing for strange recipies and such, but that'd pretty much require adventuring to get the information.

I guess reading manuals or ancient tomes from a library could contain the information in story form, but really, most items won't have stories behind them of interest.

The Rusty Iron Sword - Scholars believe that the rusty iron sword was first created when a drunken adventurer left his regular iron sword outside in the rain one night. The next day, it was covered in rust and while it was certainly less effective for stabbing things, he found that it could give his opponents a bad case of tetanus 3-4 weeks post-stabbing.

To create your own rusty iron sword, follow these directions:

1) Craft a regular iron sword, generally, you will want to craft fine details into the sword so others will think it is perhaps a great sword of legend.

2) Get it wet but don't clean it off. Depending on the quality of the iron you use, rust could form in as little as 24 hours. Generally, submerging the blade will cause it to take longer to rust, but will form more rust when it happens)

Yes, my story is stupid, and not even funny, but I'm bored.

I've been in guilds in other games where those who loved crafting were given materials by the rest of us - they never had to adventure if they didn't want to.

If you're one of the few who has no interest in adventure, but loves crafting, you should be set, as many guilds would love to have you.

[FEDS-91]

I don't think they should be 'required' really. But, I know as a weaponsmith in SWG I didn't have enough skill points to do much if any adventuring at all and would have loved to.

[Coinspinner]

Originally Posted by Nil

Not that I don't agree with you, but how would you go about doing that? I can see questing for strange recipies and such, but that'd pretty much require adventuring to get the information.

I guess reading manuals or ancient tomes from a library could contain the information in story form, but really, most items won't have stories behind them of interest.

Not soooo! It's easy. Take typical RPG situations and reverse the roles. For example, in Star Ocean 2 you need a merchant sponsor to enter a tournament. The merchant supplies arms and potions, you do the fighting. Another of your party members helps her friend also enter the tournament - none of the shops is to his liking and they have to find a smith to custom forge a weapon for him. They cross blades in the final round.

Reverse the player's role. You are a smith and recieve a work order from a merchant whose usual smith has been ill. In the process you discover what you forged will be used in the tournament by last years champion. You also hear word of a newcomer searching desperately for a sponsor but turning down every shop. Next quest in the chain: forge something that man won't scoff at. Maybe you speak with the various shop owners and find out what he turned down, what he's looking for. He's impressed and you contract with him for the rest of the kit. Perhaps, based on your knowledge of what you were ordered to make for the other guy (and what you get if this guy wins) you create a set to beat that one. If the newcomer wins you get some major props with the local smithing groups and a share of the prize.

Perhaps a tournament doesn't quite work for an MMO without cutscenes. The scale can be smaller-- two men are fighting a duel. Rumors about town will tell you of their strengths and weakensses so your specialization (weapons or armor) may influence who you decide to back. Maybe it becomes a branching quest chain. Perhaps it affects faction. Another example.

Say there was a famous swordsmith-- even his mass produced blades were exceptional --and you can try to replicate his technique through careful observation of one of his pieces (admittance to the castle museum: 10 silver; see the famous "Heaven's Cloud" and gawp at the stats of a mastermastermasterpiece with no less than seven "positive accidents"!), clues you can find in texts, and your own knowledge of the crafting system. Maybe not even as a quest, but something you can chance upon while experimenting that has some clues pointing towards it. At the end of it you may not be able to match that old smith but you can add X damage and subract y delay from any sword or knife you make for some meager amount of action points.

Smith examples are easiest, but replace the crafter and you replace the client. Someone knowledgable of the lore and workings of the cities should be able to put things together easily. The point is you get the crafting player involved with the current events and lore, crafter style. No need to leave home for that; there's lots happening in the cities or else diplomacy wouldn't exist. Find the niche the crafter fills, find his clients, find their needs. Then make a story.

[Cyrus]

Great Ideas