We built this settlement: Craft and Profession skills

[George Velez]

I have been reading the various crafting & harvesting related GW blogs and forum posts, the Crafting and Harvesting wiki entries, the Craft and Profession skill sections and I am reasonably sure we will see a deep and varied crafting system put in place for both casual and dedicated crafters; with weapons, armors, gears, spell books/components, clothing, gears (kits/misc.), potions, scrolls, food and similar items being available by launch.

I am wondering about people who want to contribute to their settlements not by manufacturing (craft) but with knowledge based skills and services (professions). For example the PFRD lists the following as examples of Craft and Profession skills:

Craft: You are skilled in the creation of a specific group of items, such as armor or weapons. Like Knowledge, Perform, and Profession, Craft is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Craft skills, each with its own ranks. The most common Craft skills are alchemy, armor, baskets, books, bows, calligraphy, carpentry, cloth, clothing, glass, jewelry, leather, locks, paintings, pottery, sculptures, ships, shoes, stonemasonry, traps, and weapons.
A Craft skill is specifically focused on creating something. If nothing is created by the endeavor, it probably falls under the heading of a Profession skill.

Profession: You are skilled at a specific job. Like Craft, Knowledge, and Perform, Profession is actually a number of separate skills. You could have several Profession skills, each with its own ranks. While a Craft skill represents ability in creating an item, a Profession skill represents an aptitude in a vocation requiring a broader range of less specific knowledge. The most common Profession skills are architect, baker, barrister, brewer, butcher, clerk, cook, courtesan, driver, engineer, farmer, fisherman, gambler, gardener, herbalist, innkeeper, librarian, merchant, midwife, miller, miner, porter, sailor, scribe, shepherd, stable master, soldier, tanner, trapper, and woodcutter.

Now from the second list I gather that baker, brewer, driver, farmer, fisherman, innkeeper, merchant, miner and solider are the most likely to get some development as they each have direct impact on one of the four pillars of game design. That still leaves the possibility that other profession can have an impact on a settlements development for those players interested in going to a narrow or specialized area of focus.

For example, there can be Architects & Engineers who can participate in the design, construction, upkeep, repair and upgrades of walls, fortifications, siege weapons, structures, housing, production facilities and that can influence what settlement options might be “unlocked” due to their combine skilled level/power. We can have barristers be a vital part of any player made contract/bounty system and in the creation, implementation and modification of settlement laws, we can have gardeners & herbalist create/gather rare herbs, spices and ingredients of great use to other crafters and alchemists, stable masters & breeders in charge of “creating and housing” the various mounts, animal companions, pets and animals that many player would like to have, and surely a librarian path would appeal to many lore seekers, distributers of knowledge, and be invaluable in magical research among many other possibilities.

I bring this up because I haven’t seen a dedicated blog or post with regards to these skills outlined in more detail (if there is, please let me know I must have missed it), and the game is in early development so I would like so some discussion on this, as I am sure I am not the only one who wants to see what new options PFO brings to this area of game development. :)

Thoughts?

[LordDaeron]

I would like to see an NPC option to that kind of professionals in settlements, so they could join the settlement and add to the building capacity of the place. But with restrictions on skill level and/or they should be expensive to make it more interesting to have real players working for the settlement than NPCS.

[Snowbeard]

Just finished reading the Roles and Capstones thread and I had some nifty capstone ideas in mind for crafters. But the capstone idea is gone and replaced by dedication bonuses. If the same system is used for crafters, (ie they could get a dedication bonus for slotting skills that only apply to their archetype) AIUI, they could be one of the fastest "leveling" classes, (and possibly even when it comes to crafters haveing multiple professions, a "multi-crafter" if you will) since the skills/items they needed to slot might not require ever looseing the dedication bonus. They would always equip the right items slotted and never have a pick slotted when all they needed was a needle. 'Course if it took longer to earn crafting "badges" and skill up I could be way wrong.
And I'm wrong more than I'm write. :)

[LordDaeron]

@Snowberad I totally support bonus for "pure" crafters

[randomwalker]

i haven't thought enough to have a firm opinion, but i see possibilities for professions like:

-the settlement "chief engineer" must have ranks in prof:architect/engineering to construct upgraded city walls, town halls.
-unit commander with ranks in engineering give bonuses for siege warfare

-the settlement "chief magistrate" must have ranks in prof:barrister to unlock some advanced laws or settlement contracts
-individuals with ranks in barrister get more options (variables, conditions) for contracts

-prof:stable master is for breeding horses
-prof:driver and stable master could be for upgrading 'fast travel'
-prof:merchant is for trading with npc's, or could unlock benefits for player shops (npc assistants, better market info, etc)

-several professions (and crafts) are "obivously" tied to resource gathering, refining and crafting (farmer, miner, baker, brewer, tanner, woodcutter, etc)

[randomwalker]

Snowbeard wrote:

If the same system is used for crafters, (ie they could get a dedication bonus for slotting skills that only apply to their archetype)...

I'm not sure this is relevant, for two reasons:

-"cross-over slotting": a rogue needs a reason not to slot healing spells, but a smith would never equip a needle anyway, making dedication bonuses sort of meaningless

-dedicated crafters will mostly go for specialization anyway. A smith should not waste time becoming an apprentice tailor if the same training time/effort can make him a slightly better smith than the competition. "Best swords in town" is probably better business than "second-best swords in town, come with a free pair of socks"

In a (safe) workshop, a crafter will gear up and slot abilities 100% for the chosen job. When wandering between settlements, he will gear up and slot abilities for 100% adventuring. Mixing crafting and adventuring is very different from mixing different adventurer archetypes.

[Snowbeard]

randomwalker wrote:

Snowbeard wrote:

If the same system is used for crafters, (ie they could get a dedication bonus for slotting skills that only apply to their archetype)...

I'm not sure this is relevant, for two reasons:

-"cross-over slotting": a rogue needs a reason not to slot healing spells, but a smith would never equip a needle anyway, making dedication bonuses sort of meaningless

-dedicated crafters will mostly go for specialization anyway. A smith should not waste time becoming an apprentice tailor if the same training time/effort can make him a slightly better smith than the competition. "Best swords in town" is probably better business than "second-best swords in town, come with a free pair of socks"

In a (safe) workshop, a crafter will gear up and slot abilities 100% for the chosen job. When wandering between settlements, he will gear up and slot abilities for 100% adventuring. Mixing crafting and adventuring is very different from mixing different adventurer archetypes.

As I said, I'm wrong more than I'm rite, so it wouldn't surprise me if your thoughts are correct. Re crossover, exactly my point, there is no need. Re dedication, you might be correct,- it will depend on how much time it takes a smith to skill up. We don't know yet, so it is possible that a pure smith might hit 20 in a year, In which case it might be smart to multicraft. If no one can use his lvl 20 works why make em? As for a pure crafter, he might never need to go outside of his settlement. Plus wouldn't training in "adventuring skills" take time away from his dedication (following, not the bonus) to crafting?

[Hardin Steele]

I am hopeful that crafted items are not commodities, meaning a crafted "Haywagon" made by my wainwright is somehow different from Snowbeard's crafted "Haywagon". We would have different skills and experiences,, and one of us may have crafted hundreds or haywagons before and the other is making his first one. Who do you think would make a better haywagon?

There should be some way to differentiate crafted products (even the components to make finished product should be different). Superior lock parts should mean a skilled locksmith should be able to make a better lock than one with average or poor parts.

I know this will create a lot of extra spreadsheeting for the team working on ingame items and inventory, but it would sure be nice to make the same item differently, rather than different people making the same item.

[theStormWeaver]

@Hardin Steele, I agree wholeheartedly. I craftsmen should be able to distinguish himself from the competition with the quality of his work.

In your example of the Haywagon, a superior Haywagon could be more durable, lighter, faster, made with fewer materials, or some combination of these modifiers.