Crafting

[Angela Christine]

As a general rule of thumb when I try a new guild I set up my background so that my character is young and/or inexperienced.  That would also apply to new subguilds too, on occasions when I plan for the subguild to be an important part in the character's life.  


Example:  

No matter what guild you choose, you suck at first.  A newbie ranger isn't a great hunter, and will have real problems surviving alone in the wilds.  Those limitations will be magnified if it is -also- the player's first time trying to play a ranger.  It would be foolish for a newbie ranger (played by someone who had never played a ranger before) to buy a bow, a kank, a skin of water, and whatever else he can manage with his newbie money, and then head out the gates alone to try his luck hunting.  It would be foolish even for a player who'd played dozens of rangers before, though hopefully and experienced ranger-player would know better.   He will probably fail, and by fail I mean get eaten by something with big teeth.  It would make more sense for him to join a clan, apprentice himself to a more experienced hunter, or at least get a few friends to share the load.  

Later he trys another ranger, and since the player has knowledge about hunting and foraging, he makes his characater a mature, experienced hunter this time.  He knows how long it will take before he is able to forage well enough that food won't be a concern, so he hoards his newbie money more carefully.  Perhaps he puts off buying the bow and arrows for now, because archery is a very expensive skill to train (that goes double in the south) so he wisely decides to wait until he has an income from other activties before trying his hand at archery.  How does he reconcile his delayed archery with his background of being an experienced hunter?  Easy.  Bows are expensive, he doesn't have a bow because his was lost, broken, stolen (damned elves) or pawned, and he didn't have the money to replace it right away.  Losing a bow isn't a major event, there is no need to include it in your background.  How does he explain his lousy aim when he eventually buys the "replacement" bow?  Easy.  He is out of practice from not using a bow for a while.  

Does he have an advantage of first-time rangers?   Sure, a little.  Not as much as he'd have on a non-permadeath mud, where he'd be a 68th level ranger and the new guy would be a 1st level ranger, but still a little advantage.  That is inevitable unless long-time characters are willing to under go voluntary brain damage to prevent carry over.  So the experienced player can put in his background that his new character has a lifetime of experience hunting the Grey Forest, and he has some chance of backing it up.  An inexperienced player can claim that his new character has a lifetime of experience hunting in the Grey Forest too, but what he shouldn't do is ask for a map of the Grey forest, on account of his Character's previous knowledge.  

I'm sure all that could be applyed to tailors too, except that tailors don't usually get eatten by things with big teeth while practicing their proffession.  


AC

[Geekfreak]

This topic looks oddly familliar. I think it has been posted over three times in the past. This would be the easy way out I think. You should learn from experience which tools to use with what. Try different combos and keep mental notes to yourself.

[Miee]

Miee is currently using a spreadsheet for this purpose.  It's a good idea.