Animals

[O]

Hello. Some animal questions:

Are there cocks in Zalanthas? (As in a-doodle-doos?)
If not, how does the average commoner wake up in the morning?

We must have bees if there's honey....right?

What do gortoks eat when they can't catch people?

I know of falcons and erdlus, but what other birds might there be that cross from real life? Are songbirds nightingales or canaries etc or just Zalanthian songbirds - a breed of their own?

I've seen an image of a cat but does this mean they're common in cities? Feral or domesticated? And dogs?

[Tamarin]

A gortok is kind of a mangy, wild dog.  Not big enough to eat humanoids in my opinion, but I've been wrong before.

[Anonymous]

Hrm.  Let me take a stab at this and hope I don't come off as a RP Nazi.

I know where some (if not all) honey comes from, but I'm not going to tell you.  Let me explain.

There have been several times that I was searching for information - whether is was a safe route from Tuluk to Allanak, the history of a particular PC (of minor importance) or whether a certain commonly seen and available item was poisonous.  

In each of these cases (in particular these three) it was through IC experiences - either wishing up with a question after doing some IC research or following through with some imm-assisted plot the answer was not only informative but fun to get.

So, while I could tell you where honey comes from (and someone might on the board or through IM), I want to strongly encourage you to take your character and ask someone who might know.

Even if it means walking up to th nearest honey vendor and saying "Hey, where the Krath do you get that stuff?"

Good luck and Safe Travels!

[ashyom]

Hello. Some animal questions:

Are there cocks in Zalanthas? (As in a-doodle-doos?)
If not, how does the average commoner wake up in the morning?

The sun does a good job.  Most people have internal clocks and assuming they keep regular sleep schedule, will wake at a regular time.

We must have bees if there's honey....right?

Previous post is a good response to this.

What do gortoks eat when they can't catch people?

Other critters.

I know of falcons and erdlus, but what other birds might there be that cross from real life? Are songbirds nightingales or canaries etc or just Zalanthian songbirds - a breed of their own?

I imagine the songbirds to be similar to RL birds, but not 100% same.  Difference shape or sound.  Sky's the limit with our imagination.

I've seen an image of a cat but does this mean they're common in cities? Feral or domesticated? And dogs?

An average commoner would know that domesticated pets larger and more exotic than a rodent or insect are rare.  Additionally, there are no domesticated dogs and cats in Zalanthas, but rather there are (larger) wild variations.

[Anonymous]

You're right, my logic of 'if there's honey there are bees' is irrelevant here, and the thought of honey as a delicious mystery is really quite nice, but my question was meant to ask 'Do bees exist?' rather than 'where does honey come from?'. I'm trying to think of ways I could find this out realistically IG without resorting to very unusual actions but i'm not finding it easy.

I was thinking gortoks might eat carcasses? Being scabby bastards...but this I CAN find out IG.

Thanks.

[O]

Oops that was me. And I didn't see Ashyom's post before I sent it. So that explains gortoks.

I imagine the songbirds to be similar to RL birds, but not 100% same. Difference shape or sound. Sky's the limit with our imagination.

I was wondering more about different names of species and whether they'd crossover at all from real life.

[Larrath]

There are no regular bees in the Known World.
Honey exists, but is rather rare in most places, and is green instead of golden.

Songbirds do exist, but I don't know about breeds.  There aren't any parrots as far as I'm aware.  There are also the winged barakhan lizards, who chirp pretty nicely.

Always remember that most Zalanthans are unedcuated.  It's very possible for a fully functional Zalanthan to live up to age 35 and never learn where honey came from, or what silt looks like, or how much wood would a gwoshi chuck if a gwoshi could chuck wood.

[moab]

If I were an Imm and read Larrath's post, I would write up and script some bee mobs.

[Bogre]

A buzzing yellow bee stings you in your hand!

(An Imm) says, "Hold on, I forgot to code in the allergy reaction. Let me roll some dice."

:wink:

[Bestatte]

I don't know why everyone's being so secretive about the origins of Zalanthan honey. Yes, it's information you'd learn IC, but it's also right there in the help files:

Kank     (General)

These large insectoid creatures, resembling giant ants, are one of the standard mounts of Zalanthas, and are available in the stables of most cities and villages. They are both strong and quick for their size, eat relatively little, and tend to be hardy. Some are kept for the honey that they produce, although these are a somewhat different breed from the riding kanks, being generally smaller and darker of chitin. In the wild they form loose clutches, but survive well independently.

It saddens me sometimes that players and staff members are so quick to say "Find Out IC" when the answers are often right there in the official docs, which those very same players and staff members criticize others for not reading.

[moab]

Perhaps the player or staff (the anon post was me) didn't know it was in the help file?

[Bestatte]

I didn't know for sure either moab, but it seemed like such an innocuous thing, I wanted to just blurt out the answer anyway. So I checked the help files and there it was. I do that whenever I want to give an answer to someone and don't know if it's documented.

My post wasn't directed toward you specifically by the way (even though yeah your post prompted it). It was directed to a few folks who do this all the time, whenever anyone asks anything about some in-game thing. I've been the target of plenty of "Find out IC!" criticisms before. I've also been the target of plenty of "It's right there in the docs, you lazy player, you!" before. And often times, the docs are NOT intuitive (as in the kank honey thing, because there is no help file for honey - just for kanks), and often times, the stuff we're all supposed to covet as secret IC information is documented plainly.

It just really annoys me sometimes. Today's one of those times

[EvilRoeSlade]

There have been several times that I was searching for information - whether is was a safe route from Tuluk to Allanak, the history of a particular PC (of minor importance) or whether a certain commonly seen and available item was poisonous.  

In each of these cases (in particular these three) it was through IC experiences - either wishing up with a question after doing some IC research or following through with some imm-assisted plot the answer was not only informative but fun to get.

That's why.  Not because the information shouldn't be told, but it would be more enrichening if the person sought the knowledge on their own.  They would definitely come away with something, even if it's the ability to find what they are looking for in a help file.

[Bestatte]

Perhaps you're not understanding my words ERS. I'll try and make it clearer:

IF someone asks a question, and you want to tell them to find out IC (or to tell them the information), it is up to YOU to check that the information is (or is not) already documented, for public viewing, on the website.

If it is, then the staff has already determined that the player does NOT have to find out IC. And if that is the case, then it isn't my place, or your place, or any other person's place, including other staff members, to decide otherwise.

IF the information is available on the docs, then it is OKAY to tell people what that information is - or point them to the URL referencing the information.

[joyofdiscord]

IF the information is available on the docs, then it is OKAY to tell people what that information is - or point them to the URL referencing the information.

I have had a thread locked for pointing to a help file, so this is not always the case.  I'd say err on the side of "Find out IC."

[Anonymous]

IF the information is available on the docs, then it is OKAY to tell people what that information is - or point them to the URL referencing the information.

I just don't get you people who act like anytime someone says the equivalent of 'Find out IC' that somehow translates into elitism as if they think they are the sole holders of the sacred flame of knowledge.

It's just plain better to find out in-game period, with only a few exceptions, namely when you app for a specific role.

I always bring up the same example in these discussions, but I'll do it again.  I made a dwarven merchant with the background of being a wily trader.  Nobody would tell me on the old GDB how to get a merchant token, they just gave me subtle hints.  They could have just said 'ask templar, k' but instead they took more time trying to encourage and guide me.

I got pissed off and irritated but I kept at it and in the end that character had a job and contacts before he found out how to get a merchant token.

So when I encourage someone to find out the answer to a question in game it's not out of some misguided sense of superiority, it's because I want them to have the same fun I did discovering things in the game.

[Bestatte]

CRW - again, it sounds like my posts are being misread. I am referring SPECIFICALLY to information that is available on the official documentation of the game.

If it is in the docs, then it's in the docs. There is no reason to tell someone to find out IC, when they (just like you) can look it up for themselves.

Would you tell someone to find out IC if they asked what Allanak was? Would you tell them to find out IC if they asked you what a templar is? Or - would you refer them to the help files or other publically displayed official documentation?

A new player asks a question, and the answer is AVAILABLE IN THE DOCS. What do you do? Refer them to the docs. That's why the staff members (and players, through contributions) took the time to write them in the first place.

[Xygax]

Please, guys, derailing this thread with a discussion of the merits of "Find out IC" has been far less productive than simply answering the question (or not answering it).

Since it's already so badly derailed, I'm going to lock it.  The issue of "find out IC" has been ruthlessly rehashed in other threads, and so if it must continue, please find one of those threads and contribute to it.

-- X