[Resting system]

Maybe in some of the slummier parts of town, if you had little or no coin, you'd have the option to "sleep on the line" ?

 

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sleep-on-a-clothesline.html

[pack animals or beasts of burden]

I like the idea of bringing back realism to a cRPG, even if it means hiking back and forth between the wilderness and "Ye Olde Adventuring Shoppe" to sell all the crap I just looted from my vanquished foes.

 

But I was just reminded of the aggro that BG1&2 created with their no-matter-what-we-do-we're-gonna-cop-flak-for-this inventory system, which quickly led to community mods increasing the stacking properties of items and basically creating an unlimited inventory space despite the gameplay value of the OC.

 

One of the modders said the game shouldn't be a quest to manage your inventory. And he had a point. But there's a fine line here that should be considered. Realism, or abstract for the sake of immersive gameplay.

 

I don't think anyone will really know which way to go until the game is play-tested and results are published.

 

Maybe if there was less loot to fill up my inventory, I would no longer consider it a major problem.

 

I still like the mule and cart option though.

 

EDIT:

 

My point was, the inventory system should work well enough from scratch to disincentivize modding to circumvent perceived design flaws.

[pack animals or beasts of burden]

I like the idea of a mule, or even a horse and cart. It's very nostalgic and hearkens back to the days of 1st edition D&D, when all you had to worry about was whether your DM was cruel enough to have orcs attack and kill your travelling beast while you were dungeon delving.

 

And whilst the bag of holding is the modern answer, the pack animal could be implemented as an option for those who want it.

 

It might mean an additional (and fun) task of clearing the area of monsters before you go loot gathering. Either way, you'd still have to surface once in a while to empty your inventory and check on the animal's wellbeing. As I said, maybe if there was a cart (or wagon), it would provide more incentive. Maybe you have to keep an eye on the length of time you've been away after clearing the area in case wandering monsters respawn and become a threat again.

 

As an option, I like it.

[Crafting mechanics: Lessons learned from prior games?]

As to the weight thing, perfect opportunity for me to plug my old thread, which solves the "realism" problem: http://forums.obsidi..._+pack +animal.

"Trusty mule, Munchy". I like that.

[Crafting mechanics: Lessons learned from prior games?]

We, sometimes, also carry 5 full sets of plate armor, in addition to a bundle of 900 arrows.

 

Seriously though, games are made to be fun. Like books--an escape, so to speak. Some systems aren't about being realistic. Most systems are an abstraction of reality, like landing a hit with a sword being a dice roll, rather than a meticulous calculation of striking angle, character background, skills, training, fatigue, weather conditions, and what ground cover you're standing on...

 

If we wanted all the tedious details of real life in our game, we could just go fill in our tax papers in real life instead

 

Oh, I wasn't complaining. There's so much that needs to be abstract for the game to work. Combat and healing for starters. Anything they can do to streamline gameplay is good.

[Crafting mechanics: Lessons learned from prior games?]

Going with that theme, I'd like to see "gold" being much rarer than in your average CRPG, so it would make sense for your party to provide for themselves.

Gold. The most precious of metals on Earth. But somehow, the most common metal found in Fantasy games everywhere. I wonder why the pro-realism people never argue this point?

 

It's also very heavy. And yet we walk around with half a million gold in some games, with no encumbrance. How does that work?

[Crafting mechanics: Lessons learned from prior games?]

Crafting vs Character Professions

 

Hey gang, I'm new to the forums and am looking forward to contributing to the awesome discussions here. I've read a fair bit already, but there's so much on here that I hope I don't cover old ground. You'll let me know if I do, won't you? So with that, here's my two coppers.

 

In my experience with crafting, it seems it comes down to two obvious but fundamental scenarios:

 

·

Forging new items from exotic base materials (e.g. Mithril, Dragon Hide, Treantwood etc.)

 

and

 

·

Bestowing/Upgrading magical properties upon existing items, regardless of their base material.

 

The first option demands moderate to high level blacksmithing skills for arms and armour. For other items such as boots, belts or gloves, a leathersmith might be more appropriate. And a jeweller or silversmith for all your amulet, headband, and ring crafting requirements.

 

The second option calls for moderate to high level magical ability, with the likely addition of alchemical skills. Maybe that powerful item you wanted has ingredients such as Lich Dust or Scorpion Venom that need to be distilled.

 

Now, here's the thing.

 

Why not assign Professions at Character Creation that help solve some of the plausibility problems with crafting in the game world? There have been many comments about character starting age, and that the default 18-21 year old human with no life skills is an outdated concept. Why not have the option to play an older character who has already completed his or her apprenticeship in one or more professions?

 

Maybe they could choose one primary and one secondary profession.

 

- Hunter

- Healer

- Herbalist

- Alchemist

- Blacksmith

- Soldier

- Jeweller

- Leathersmith

- Seamstress

- Scribe

- You can see where I'm going with this.

 

Maybe your 30 year old ranger's primary profession was as a hunter, who then acquired skills in leathersmithing.

 

Or a fighter who served with the local militia, but ended up repairing armour on the side. (Soldier / Blacksmith).

 

Or the seamstress turned healer, who can sew beautifully tailored capes, cloaks and tabards, but also concoct basic curative potions and poultices.

 

Hopefully, you can see where I'm going with this too.

 

So both primary and secondary professions award respective bonus points towards appropriate skills. But more importantly they have some effect on your roleplaying and crafting options, and they allow you to grow as you gain in levels.

 

It's likely you'll still need to visit an accomplished blacksmith for all the high end expensive items. Or other crafting experts for non-combat items. But at least entertain the idea that the characters would have most likely had some type of profession in which they were capable of crafting basic items.

 

And in the case of upgrading magical properties, as long as it scales appropriately with say, the average party level, then you shouldn't end up with overpowered items. Remember: you're not competing with the in-game items, you're just tailoring them to suit your play style.

 

NWN2 had some interesting crafting ideas, but was somewhat frustrating. If you wanted to look at crafting in detail you had to consult the wiki and draw up a spreadsheet of who had what skills, feats and spells to craft certain items, not all of which were possible.

 

Whatever method the devs choose, I just hope it's intuitive and mature, and understands that people are resourceful when a need arises. Just because someone was a carpenter or wagon-maker years ago doesn't mean they couldn't craft a shield today. Similarly, an ex-jeweller should be able to combine a silver nugget, a mold, a coal fire, and a gemstone, and at least roll to see their chances of crafting an amulet successfully.

 

Ok, that was more than two coppers, but there you go.