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Greater than the Sum of Their Parts
Crafts are how you take a bunch of raw ingredients and make them into finished products. A cook can take raw broccoli and a pot, and get cooked broccoli out of it. A seamstress can take 4 yards of silk and some thread, and get a skirt. An apothecary can take aloe oil and glycerine and come out with a salve for burns. Almost every character will have reason to use a craft at one time or another, though some will use them much more than others. Even a mercenary may find himself polishing his shield or making torches. It's not a bad idea to review the commands for using crafts. Ingame, see "material" and "craft" helpfiles. Once you have a finished object, often that object can be sold or used profitably in some way. Very seldom will a craft be written that is purely for performance (we expect our PCs to do their own dancing, singing, playing, and storytelling), though some crafts will allow for "practice" in various fields such as writing and projectile throwing. However, check with local law before you actually sell something; some areas ingame have restrictions on who may sell finished goods to the public. If there is something you'd like to see a craft to make, please contact the staff ingame or via email! We'll be happy to talk to you about it. If you have a hankering to help us by writing crafts, talk to Caris.
The goal is that no craft category will be opened to players until it has adequate support. In other words, no glassblowers will be allowed into game until that category is full enough to allow someone to make a living at it. If you have a category you'd really like to see supported, please talk to us! We're happy to discuss your ideas. Currently we are planning for cooking/baking, clothier, ironsmithing, pottery, and chandlery to be supported by the time the game opens for testing.
When you pick your skills, initially you will be granted certain crafts to start. As you use your crafts, you'll automatically pick up new ones if your skill level allows for it (you'll pick up the lower-level ones in that category first, and usually ones that relate to the craft you're doing at the time first). We also assume the "every fool should be able to X" model of crafting, so quite a few crafts will land in our "general" category if we think "any fool should be able to do it." Your macaroni & cheese may really suck, but at least you can get something edible produced if you make it. A real chef, though, probably makes really great mac&cheese with truffle oil and god knows what! So there may be two versions of the craft, one for "any fool" and one for trained people. "Branching" is the process of spontaneously picking up a new craft while you're doing another one. For example, while you're sewing a silk skirt, you might branch silk-shirt. You'll only branch crafts within the same category, meaning you won't ever branch a cooking craft while sewing, and there's a time limit on how often you can branch. The "general" categories of crafts are always opened completely to all PCs. Learning a new skill will often break you into a new category of crafts, but you may have to log out of the game and then back in again to see them in your pfile.
Teaching a craft is easy in terms of mechanics (see the "teach" helpfile ingame), but we do ask that you use discretion when teaching someone what you know. Depending on what's being taught, a period of instruction may be in order; for example, teaching someone to boil peas might not take more than one session, but teaching someone how to write in Sutalan might take an IC month or more. For languages, chemistry, and other advanced topics, we ask that you spend 5-10 sessions of roleplay (of 20-45 minutes' duration for each session) over an IC few months before you actually use the teach command. Use your discretion. Talk to a staffer if you have questions about how long we'd like to see the lessons go before the other person gets the craft opened. The exception here is if the PC needs the craft opened in order to even start learning. Throwing things and archery currently would be an exception. Teach the craft, then OOCly ask the PC not to use it except during teaching till you two agree you're done with the teaching sessions.
"Spamming" a craft means to do it over and over again. People do this for what may sound like a good reason. Cooking crafts, for example, can get tedious enough that someone might spam them (if you find yourself here, contact the staff for a bulk-cooking craft for what you're making). Turning rings for chain mail and making shingles for roofs are other places that staff won't care about. What will make staff upset is seeing someone spam crafts like gathering herbs or making high-end finished goods (like one person elsemu* who made dozens of suits of fine chainmail and sold them for a fortune). If you have questions about whether or not your crafting is bothering someone, or if staff might feel you're going overboard, talk to us. Our usual way of responding to spamming is to set a timer on the craft so nobody can do it over and over again, or to make the yield less--or to make the value of the product less in the case of someone who's spam crafting a finished product like wooden spoons. When people won't respond ICly and self-regulate, we will force regulation with code. If PCs self-regulate, there is no reason for us to regulate excessively through code. Simple, no?
Pick a place to craft in that makes IC sense. For example, tanning is hugely stinky and smelly and makes a horrible mess. You wouldn't do it in a house or anywhere else people will object to smells and messes! You wouldn't sew a skirt in the middle of Steelcat's Lounge, nor would you make a wedding cake in the woods. Some crafts are actually proscribed to do (you'll know which these are most of the time, but ask if you're not sure). The best bet for doing a craft is in your own workshop. If you're wanting to do a craft in someone else's shop or home, ask first!
If there's a craft you'd like to see, please email us or contact a staffer ingame. Especially for custom crafts for ingame crafters, we're happy to try to accommodate your ideas (such as a clothier asking for a special appliqued bag for her to give out finished goods in). Please don't be shy about asking for something you don't see. Crafts aren't usually hard to whip up. Caris is a very old hand with this crafting code. Therefore, she can be particular about what a craft looks like and how it works. That said, she's thrilled to teach others how to craft, and will happily work with you if that's what you want to do. Contact her if you have questions about writing crafts for this mud or for any other that uses an Argila-style codebase.
Be aware that when the forum gets finished up, this list will be going there, along with materials lists and other necessary info. This is just for your edification and amusement! Craft: athletics Sub: assembled-target Cmd: dismantle Craft: athletics Sub: brawling Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: crossbow-aim Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: hay-target Cmd: assemble Craft: athletics Sub: heavy-blunt-forms Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: heavy-edge-forms Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: longbow-aim Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: polearm-forms Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: shortbow-aim Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: sling-aim Cmd: practice Craft: athletics Sub: throwing-aim Cmd: practice Craft: baking Sub: cherrypie Cmd: bake Craft: baking Sub: pastry-dough Cmd: make Craft: baking Sub: starter-sourdough 36mCmd: mix Craft: butchering Sub: deer-carcass Cmd: butcher Craft: butchering Sub: medium-animal Cmd: butcher Craft: clothier Sub: burlap-bags Cmd: sew Craft: clothier Sub: burlap-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: chiffon-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: dulled-needle Cmd: sharpen Craft: clothier Sub: finelinen-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: finewool-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: linen-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: linen-tunics Cmd: sew Craft: clothier Sub: linen-yards Cmd: dye Craft: clothier Sub: silk-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: velvet-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier Sub: wool-bolt Cmd: cut Craft: clothier-trained Sub: fine-shirt-pattern Cmd: draw Craft: clothier-trained Sub: graceful-skirt-pattern Cmd: draw Craft: clothier-trained Sub: gradys-fashion-book Cmd: study Craft: clothier-trained Sub: halter-pattern Cmd: draw Craft: cooking Sub: 24eggs Cmd: hardboil Craft: cooking Sub: bacon-sandwich Cmd: make Craft: cooking Sub: baked-bulk-potatoes Cmd: bake Craft: cooking Sub: basic-small-meat Cmd: cook Craft: cooking Sub: caramelized-onions Cmd: cook Craft: cooking Sub: cheese-toast Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: dried-beans Cmd: soak Craft: cooking Sub: oatmeal Cmd: cook Craft: cooking Sub: raw-bacon Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: raw-fish Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: raw-garlic Cmd: roast Craft: cooking Sub: raw-pork-slices Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: raw-steak Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: raw-vegetables Cmd: boil Craft: cooking Sub: red-meat Cmd: roast Craft: cooking Sub: scrambled-eggs Cmd: fry Craft: cooking Sub: whole-poultry Cmd: fry Craft: general Sub: blindfold-strips Cmd: cut Craft: general Sub: long-stemmed-flower Cmd: snip Craft: general-fire Sub: aging-fire Cmd: stoke Craft: general-fire Sub: brewfire Cmd: light Craft: general-fire Sub: campfire Cmd: light Craft: general-fire Sub: dropwood Cmd: gather Craft: general-fire Sub: fireplace Cmd: light Craft: general-fire Sub: forge-fire Cmd: light Craft: general-fire Sub: group-dropwood Cmd: gather Craft: general-fire Sub: ovenfire Cmd: light Craft: general-fire Sub: stovefire Cmd: light Craft: general-food Sub: bagged-beans Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: bagged-food Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: basic-meat Cmd: cook Craft: general-food Sub: bread-loaf Cmd: cut Craft: general-food Sub: buttermilk-jar Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: flour-bag Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: garlic-head Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: head-lettuce Cmd: separate Craft: general-food Sub: lump-fat Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: peppercorn-vial Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: spice-vial Cmd: divide Craft: general-food Sub: whipped-cream Cmd: whip Craft: general-food Sub: whole-peppercorns Cmd: grind Craft: general-food Sub: whole-tomato Cmd: slice Craft: general-labor Sub: blazing-fire Cmd: fight Craft: general-labor Sub: city-fountains Cmd: tend Craft: general-labor Sub: dirty-floor Cmd: sweep Craft: general-labor Sub: empty-hayloft Cmd: refill Craft: general-labor Sub: empty-trough Cmd: fill Craft: general-labor Sub: firebucket Cmd: fill Craft: general-labor Sub: messy-shelves Cmd: arrange Craft: general-labor Sub: stabled-horses Cmd: curry Craft: general-recreation Sub: high-end-companionship Cmd: seek Craft: general-recreation Sub: low-end-companionship Cmd: seek Craft: general-recreation Sub: snowball Cmd: make Craft: general-serving Sub: roasted-meat Cmd: carve Craft: general-serving Sub: wheel-cheese Cmd: slice Craft: general-serving Sub: whole-pie Cmd: slice Craft: herbalism Sub: fragrant-flowers Cmd: dry Craft: hunting Sub: hiding-rabbit Cmd: flush Craft: jewelry Sub: bells-model Cmd: carve Craft: jewelry Sub: buckle-model Cmd: carve Craft: jewelry Sub: hairstick-model Cmd: carve Craft: jewelry Sub: ring-model Cmd: carve Craft: jewelry Sub: silver-ring Cmd: make Craft: jewelry Sub: tiara-model Cmd: carve Craft: medicine Sub: basic-bandages Cmd: cutup Craft: timberwright Sub: pine-tar Cmd: harvest Craft: weaving Sub: plain-inkle-belt Cmd: weave Craft: weaving Sub: plain-lucet-cord Cmd: weave |