Quote from: Norcal on Today at 12:36:43 PMWill GMH operations be limited to the Expansion Divisions and hunting for metal?  Will there still be room for artisans and crafter types to move into merchant positions?

If so, who will do the hiring?

GMH Operations are beginning play at launch with Expansion Division (House Salarr) and Mobile Operations (House Kurac). Both House Salarr and Kurac will hire crafters; they will start in those respective organizations, likely assisting with whatever tasks need doing. As they show more proclivity for crafting, they can be transferred to the Mercantile Branch.

From there, the Merchant Branch of each House can organically grow around player interest/interaction. A crafter can eventually become a Junior Merchant, a Merchant, and so on.

In this way, we are beginning play focused on the Agent Branch and politics and all that goes along with that; however, we are aware many players of the game enjoy crafting and the merchant side of things, so we are leaving that door open for people who want to engage with it.

Quote from: flurry on Today at 02:34:16 PMIf a player wants to be considered for a sponsored role but has a different special app in mind if the sponsored role app isn't selected, can they apply for both starting today? Or is there a different way you'd want them to proceed?

Yes.  Special Applications are good for 6 months, meaning once it's approved you don't have to start right away, you have up to 6 months to start it.

Quote from: Trevalyan on Today at 03:46:38 PMI think you're excessively worried about weapons getting to the same point in Seasons.

No, not really.  Rather I dislike the fact that even the crack dagger or ragtag armors you pick up off the floor will last forever, limiting the demands for anything but the absolute best and dimisnishing the need for crafter all together.

Conflict and war should be more expensive and I dont believe players are entitled to good or even decent gear without the right skills or a steady income.

I hate a strong dislike for things that needlessly complicate or increase the time and material demand on someone who is just trying to pretend they're making a cheap piece of <thing> here. I've seen people needlessly complicate to the point it's made something I really loved for a long time into something I'm indifferent to at best. (Crafting)

I miss when I didn't need to spend 2 RL hours finding pieces of shit or wood because that's common in the south for my character to make something barely more complicated than travel cakes without going to the Gaj cooking pits to sit where everyone and there brother goes. I remember using a torch and a creative ldesc to /roleplay out/ the things that are now locked into things iterated to be much more difficult than they reasonably would be IRL.

Please don't ask them to keep fixing crafting into shittier items that take more work. I want to not go from indifference to active dislike. No one's making you not go to a crafter. That's a choice on the part of the player. I'd love to see it be easier to actually get custom crafts in game myself. God knows I'm a -0- successfully implemented in 15 years of me playing this game. Something that didn't see someone micro critiquing like 'no use the word box' 'no, that's not a big enough loom' Charlie what? What big looms do we actually have that aren't special room tools for Kadius. I just... Please don't ask for things for people crafting to be changed. I can't imagine the direction which will make the role better. And people already complained so much about playing even a GMH merchant as if the role of a trader for one of her three biggest trade organizations in (IC) existence shouldn't - as a measure of common sense - one shouldn't be expected to spend a great deal of time doing that, like it was their actual job.

First to the point that they got special extra craft roles regardless of what their guild choice, now to the point they're looking for Agents but not Merchants for all the GMH roles. I loved the analyze change because it made crafting more egalitarian and fun and allowed people more ability to customize what they were making. But so many changes have been the exact opposite of that (as regards crafting and crafts specifically) - that the odds are that anything you spur people to change is going to make it more, not less, unenjoyable. Cool, another disposable 8242 tool that's going to work 5 times and be worthless. And the guy's gonna buy the items that come from it for now 10% less (to encourage PC PC interaction! don't sell to shops! spend your time hawking stuff that's not written super well in public like people enjoy a never ending Tupperware party). I just... I have a lot of optimism about a lot of things I've seen, but I've also seen a lot of things that didn't. And only a few times in a decade and a half have those been stuff that I've liked, with crafting. Where it has systematically changed to the point it went from one of my favorite things to do in game to... literally something that makes coin. (I admit part of my bitterness is my track record with attempts at making something new)

I think you're excessively worried about weapons getting to the same point in Seasons. I could trace at least one very-good quality weapon back to the Masterless, and it lasted for some time IG before finding its way into the hands of someone in Tuluk. Then again, you could have found many good-quality weapons in the lockers and storerooms of the different clans. Hoarding mentality was a major contributor to this issue, and now the slate is clean.

With the reset, all of the high-quality weapons IG will be gone, except for ones in the hands of certain roles. It might be some time before your character even sees an amazing quality weapon. It's very smart for most organizations to keep at least one person around who can produce average or good-quality weapons. It will be pretty easy, even outside the GMHs, and even easier to say no to people insisting on VG quality only. And the GMHs will all be trying to develop high-tier crafters again. That's a lot of pressure to develop successful crafting, you don't need to revamp the weapon system to increase the need for PC crafters. Yet.

I think the repair skills would work better of they were simplified, basically only requiring you buy or make general repair kits or use whetstone instead of needed different sorts of materials.

But the need for some finite supplies no matter how simple is important as it adds to the need of preparation in longer excursions plus adds to the hidden costs of war and conflict.

Additionally repairing gear at the shop should be made more convienient (eg. Repair all) and time efficient. In exchange, cost of this should go up a bit more, especially for quality gear, allowing those with the skill provide a cost effecitve aproach to repair.

Anything above average quality should require a PC craft. Also, I'd rather repairing just scale off the related skills like sword making and club making, repair skills are incredibly unenjoyable to raise and they don't even make much sense to be a seperate skill. Otherwise I agree with all of this, crafters always need more love.

If a player wants to be considered for a sponsored role but has a different special app in mind if the sponsored role app isn't selected, can they apply for both starting today? Or is there a different way you'd want them to proceed?

I don't think we need to limit shops of quality stuff, but perhaps average and lower quality gear might need to disappear more quickly or just be less available. Overall, it is more important to make buying from crafters or crafting it yourself more feasible whenever possible, whether that be of quality stuff or average gear. This will improve the value of coins across the board as well and make its demand more influential.

Not to mention the fact that, within the scope of the idea, all those amazing armors eventually need to be replaced so you could imagine most people saving up the 'good' gear in lockers for situations that call for it or preferring to settle for average quality gear due to their budgets.

Weapon and Armors should be like water and food to people who may face combat, its just a question of how much is your character's life is worth to you.

Would it be better if there were LESS items in NPC shops, and that they were only filled by PC crafters? Or is it better to be the way it is now, where most NPC shops are going to carry basically everything on offer?

Because I do agree, crafting PCs need some love. Not just in "amazing" rapiers, but in making decent armor. Food with actual benefits. Clothing that people may actually want to buy.


I would vie for more 'custom clothing' like custom tattoos, but I don't know how to make that available to PCs.