| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
With all the inspiration paizo seems to be getting from eve, I hope for them to incorporate the contract system of EVE. For those who don't know what it is, it is a game mechanic in which players can post public contracts with X conditions that when fulfilled nets you Y reward.
For an example, a player in EVE might need a valuable item or group of items moved from one system to another - but either do not have the time to do so or don't want to take the risk losing their goods as they're traveling with valuable cargo/through dangerous space. What they can do to solve this is to put up this up as a contract, with a contract giver determined collateral so that the contract giver won't lose out in case the contract taker steals the items for themselves or fail the mission.
Implementing something like this in Pathfinder Online could be done through a "Notice board" set up in non-player and player created towns. There you would post up your contracts, making them available to any player passing by in need of some extra cash. But in Pathfinder Online, the contract could demand so many more things - in some ways, turning them into player created quests of some sort.
The contract would have X objectives, and list the reward for completing said fulfillment. Most of the time, I imagine the reward would just be a set quantity of gold - but there's no reason one couldn't attack items to the contract or perhaps guild membership if the contract has been created by one. The objectives would by wildly different, ranging from transportation from Y to Z, "kill ten boars", or assassinate a particular player outlaw or someone the contract giver is at war with(in order to minimize griefing, assassinations might only be permitted in this fashion and turn you into an outlaw yourself). Or it could be used for some items your local market do not permit, illegal goods and the like.
A guild might for an example be at war with another guild, but still need to defend their territory from a growing number of NPC bandits that has caused some disturbances in the area. This would enable very interesting player dynamics, as the guilds could set up a notice in the local noticeboard "Slay 10 bandits, get 10 gold" that would outsource an essential guild objective to non-members of said guild.
That's just one example of a guild to non-guild interaction that might be better enabled through player contracts, a guild might also for an example want a valuable shipment transported to another town they have presence in - and do so by hiring neutrals that the other guild they are at war with will not recognize.
So in conclusion, noticeboard would as you can see fill a number of interesting roles and add a lot to the game. It would add player-created content without resorting to generic mission builders and the like, it would foster player-to-player interactions regardless of guild membership, and it could even work to make for a more interesting economy.
"HI PLZ VISIT gold4sale@shady.com $10.00=100gp $50=1000gp"
Aside from that I think it's a brilliant idea.
Goblin Squad Member
|
I like this concept. Player-created quests. It could start with mere 'go and mine me 8 bags of ore, and gain x gold per ore' and end up "Guild Grand High Douchebags of Azeroth has been harrassing Towns A, B and F for the past two weeks, stealing crops, stampeding the NPCs, raping the livestock. 20,000 gold reward to burn their stronghold to the ground, plus permanent dwelling within any of the towns for those who strike the killing blow."
I also like the idea of player guilds being able to use 'neutral' characters to protect shipments or towns. It gives lower-level (I KNOW LEVELS DON'T EXIST IN PATHFINDER ONLINE!) Players a foot in the door to interact with the higher-level Players and can create networks of contacts, friends and rivals to create even more player-driven/created quests.
Well the town noticeboard is certainly a stalwart element of MANY fantasy environments. So I can see no reason (other than technical ones) for them not to implement such.
It is certainly always a better start to an adventure than having everyone meet in a tavern :D"The note pinned to the weathered trunk by a single bent and rusty nail looks to have been there for quite some time.
BRAVE ADVENTURERS NEEDED FOR A DARING QUEST.
REWARDS WILL BE COMMENSURATE TO THE RISK.Enquire at the sign of the Drunken Basilisk, ask for Vincent."
Yep, that's exactly what I had in mind. A player-contract system through a noticeboard would be a perfect fit for any fantasy RPG really.
Allow for contracts to contain more than just one objective and you could get whole quests from actual player needs and activities. A simple courier contract by a guild at war with another would turn into an adventure in itself as you navigate across the plains, forests, and underground to evade capture and do the delivery. If you're successful, said guild might even want to hire you or give you further missions - making it into what would just be a developer created quest chain in many games.
I very much hope there's a viable market where we can place orders as well as buy stuff that someone already has for sale. This sounds like a fantastic extension of that, where we can buy and sell services as well as goods.
I have a couple of ideas for a way to better incorporate individual player "shops" in the greater economy so that you won't end up with a situation where you have a diverse system that no one ends up because of the extra hassle.
Next thread up soon.
I'd be all in favor of a multiple front amalgamation of this approach and others suggested.
Well, latest update seems to pretty much fall in line with my request :D
I'm a happy goose.