Goblinworks Blog: Player-Created Buildings and Structures

[Elth]

The one thing I really want to see is the ability to clear out a dungeon and turn it into a hideout, shoring up passages and setting lots of traps and defenses. Is there going to be an option to make a dwarven city beneath a mountain somewhere? It could be a more defensible option but have more NPC attacks from tunneling monsters.

[Andius]

Elth wrote:

The one thing I really want to see is the ability to clear out a dungeon and turn it into a hideout, shoring up passages and setting lots of traps and defenses. Is there going to be an option to make a dwarven city beneath a mountain somewhere? It could be a more defensible option but have more NPC attacks from tunneling monsters.

Wow. I can't believe it hasn't even occurred to me until now that dwarves are a basic race in PF and they are probably my favorite race of any fantasy setting. I really hope we see some kinds of underground structures as a result.

[Mogloth]

Elth wrote:

The one thing I really want to see is the ability to clear out a dungeon and turn it into a hideout, shoring up passages and setting lots of traps and defenses. Is there going to be an option to make a dwarven city beneath a mountain somewhere? It could be a more defensible option but have more NPC attacks from tunneling monsters.

Sounds intriguing. After all, if dwarves are good at nothing else, they 'dig too deep'. Moria anyone?

[Obakararuir]

I believe Harrowspire isn't too far north. Gotta love fighting drow. The closest Darklands entrance is the Well of Sorrows in Lake Encarthan. This of course goes without saying that the Dwarven structures don't have to be connected to the Darklands... but like Mogloth said, Dwarves tend to dig deep. Too deep.

[Asfrithr]

I am going to be bumping this post, because I have an idea, and consquently, questions:

I intend to play an elven cleric called Asfrithr. This is a character that I played in Forgotten Realms pen and paper for years, taking him from level 1 to level 13, at which point the campaigns ended. My character was at that time made into an archpriest and given his own Temple, where he probably resides to this day. And this makes me want to create a temple for the PFO Asfrithr too...

Imagine that I've played for a while, and learned both spells attributed to healing (Cure, Restoration etc), and how to brew healing potions and even scribe scrolls. Then I become a member of a Settlement somewhere, and begin to build my temple. The temple will have two parts, one in which travellers and settlement dwellers can come to be cured, and one in which adventurers can stock up on adventuring supplies, like healing potions, all for a fee. That would be awesome!

I further imagine that such a building can employ some of the invisible commoners to administer healing and sell products whenever I'm not logged on, or am busy adventuring/crafting myself. I may have to create quests, or orders, to other PCs in order to supply the temple, ie. pay for new potions and scrolls, or the components thereof. Perhaps I won't make any money, but then again, NG temples should probably be non-profit anyway...

Will such a project be possible in the future? And if so, how much interaction would I need to make per week in order to make it float?

[Nihimon]

@Asfrithr, I can't answer most of your questions, but I think that an Inn would be a suitable starting point. Perhaps we can convince the devs to broaden the Inn category to explicitly include things like Temples and Libraries as well.

[ScoutmasterChip]

Very exciting read. I have been missing the builder/crafter experience since the demise of Star Wars Galaxies.

Can't wait to see how PFO continues to expand the crafter game.

[ScoutmasterChip]

Still, I think we need to wait for more info on this. I mean, if we're going off the Kingmaker rules, we could say each hex is 12 miles. Now if there are only a certain number of build anchors in the hex, then I'm wondering how they'll be distributed.

I would hope the ones for settlements are reletively close together. Historically, and just plain rationally, you don't see too many settlements where the breadmaker is 7 miles away from "town square".

I'm imagining settlements that grow to look like villiages and cities. Maybe even with later options to enclose within walls.

[Nihimon]

ScoutmasterChip wrote:

... if we're going off the Kingmaker rules, we could say each hex is 12 miles.

Introducing the Crusader Road talks about the map and its scale. The entire 256-hex area will be roughly 11 miles x 12 miles, so each hex is closer to 2/3 mile than 12 miles.

ScoutmasterChip wrote:

I'm imagining settlements that grow to look like villiages and cities. Maybe even with later options to enclose within walls.

I can't find it right now, but Ryan has previously linked several images of some Walled Cities in Europe that pretty much match his idea of a Settlement. Imagine a small, walled fort that gradually takes up more and more space, with additional walls being built around each new sprawl.

[Edit] Found the link: Nations: How big can they get? How will wars work? ... What about insurrections?

[Gloom]

I would really love to see underground structures made by dwarves and other races who are inclined to underground living. I would also love to see building decay.. but in a slightly different way than suggested.

Buildings should have upkeep costs that are in part paid to the settlement and in part used for the maintenance of the building. If the upkeep cost is unpaid then a timer begins, when it goes unpaid long enough the settlement then has the ability to "repurpose" the building by salvaging it for materials, using it as is by giving it to another resident, or building another building on top of it providing a large cut to the materials needed.

In this situation salvaging should get less materials than they would by building on top of it.. all in all I find that this would be a good way to keep the building in the community and provide them with some course of action to make sure they don't end up with a huge amount of abandoned buildings.