Winter Solstice Gift Giving Shenanigans

[Squeak]

Just a random thought that I had last night while grinding in front of the solstice tree in Shagard's town commons.

What if, with the gift boxes for sale in the solstice tent, characters can buy a box, fill it with a little trinket, and PLACE BOX TO <character> while in the commons (or Halloween Town's equivalent) to place the box under the tree. Where they stay, the pile getting ever larger, until the Winter Solstice (12/21). When that lovely day comes, people can CLAIM whatever was left for them under the tree. Maybe, just maybe, we can all have a fun, lovely little event to go with it.

Edited to add: If there are any left over presents not claimed, helpful post workers will collect them and MAIL them their intended person free of charge since it's the season for giving.

[Xanthe]

I love this idea myself!

[Zeldryn]

Such a solid idea. Totally about it.

[Adresin]

Omg I love this idea!

[Rias]

Per the changelog: "It is now possible to LABEL a gift box with a recipient and PUT it under the Winter Solstice Tree! (Only a gift's recipient or sender may retrieve the gift box from under the tree.)"

Thanks for the great idea! The label specified must be another PC's coded name, and the sender's name will also automatically be added to the label as well. A gift box must be labeled, actually have something in it, and be closed before it can be put under the tree. Both the recipient and the sender can GET the box from under the tree at any time. Happy Winter Solstice gifting!

Hmmm, I'll run over and add a few customization options to the gift boxes so we can have a little more variety. And I'll see what we can figure out for any spooky Corvites who want to get in on the gift-giving in their own little part of the world.

[Squeak]

Hahahahaha.

Thank you. RIAS! It's always appreciated when you take an inane, sleep-deprived suggestion and make it realized.

Now to continue planning the Solstice Party I thought of while making the suggestion. Open to one and all (except those that follow Lich Daddy)!

[Lysse]

Hmmm, I'll run over and add a few customization options to the gift boxes so we can have a little more variety. And I'll see what we can figure out for any spooky Corvites who want to get in on the gift-giving in their own little part of the world.

I don't know what the current leader of Corvus is like in terms of personality, but I think it'd be pretty great if there was some kind of like, scraggly, Charlie Brown looking tree put up in their town square, like a Blackthorn plant without it's flowers, called the Nondenominational Gifting Tree to "appease those few who wish to engage in this silly custom".

[jerc]

the sender's name will also automatically be added to the label as well.

Any chance we can make this not automatic/a requirement? Secret Santa could be fun and it's definitely not because I want to anonymously send soap to every character I've passed who's been smelly at some point.

[Rias]

Any chance we can make this not automatic/a requirement? Secret Santa could be fun and it's definitely not because I want to anonymously send soap to every character I've passed who's been smelly at some point.

I considered an option for anonymous sender, but I worried about the increased potential for mean-spirited gifts! Pbbtbtbtbt.

[Vazbol]

I don't know. I don't see it as a proper Corvus winter solstice tree unless the tree literally walks in and takes root for the month.

Though joking aside, it'd be nice to have some small things for the winter holidays. Being a band of outcasts, criminals and afflicted, some probably still hold some regard for any old traditions they used to have. And can take anything, no matter how minor it might be.

[Rias]

After some pokes about it, it's now possible to specify some prominent named NPCs for the gift box labels. Mostly the ones that you can regularly see in the game and ASK about stuff with dialogue, as well as a few others that seemed well-known enough to include. If your favorite NPC isn't available for this but reasonably should be (that is, they actually live in the town and would be able to notice and retrieve the gift, so NOT NPCs that are more behind-the-scenes or live out somewhere unknown or beyond civilization), feel free to request them here in this thread! On the other hand, please don't overdo it and try to send something to every NPC, we don't want a bunch of fluff that's not going to be received by actual player characters. Only do this if you have one, or mayyyybe two, very specific NPCs your character feels a particular desire to give a gift to.

[Rias]

This has been a lot of fun, hooray for the holiday spirit! Though the holidays tend to the busiest time of year IRL for myself and most (all?) of my fellow GMs, some of us are going to TRY to bring around some item customization providers before the Winter Solstice date to add some personalization to gifts for you all. Please understand that they will be providing minor customizations, not complete transformations or upgrades (whether mechanical or implied by a description change). As an example, a tailor might show up to do some custom embroidery on cloth or soft leather items to add a little decorative design to the short and/or long description. The tailor would NOT however be adjusting the look or feel of the items beyond that.

In anticipation of the typical kinds of requests that come up when we offer these sorts of services, I want to remind everyone again that we have really cracked down on the feel of the setting and I've already laid down some very strict laws with the rest of the GM team about not providing any further fancy-luxury-feeling stuff. We won't be studding items with gems or engraving them with elegant gold filigree or making a plain dress into an elegant frilly ball gown with intricate lace and seven different layers of ... fancy ... dress ... ness. Again: Personalization of what the item already is, not upgrading or transforming it.

Things can look fun and interesting without looking luxurious or posh! Just point your creative imagination in a direction that's more about the unique personality of an item appropriate to the Lost Lands setting where resources are scarce and advanced crafting techniques/tools are unavailable, and humanity is just trying to hack together a semblance of civilization as best they can from the post-apocalyptic ruins they find themselves in.

[artus]

I know some people have this thing where they'll find gems from somewhere, like boxes or whatever, and want to add said gems to the clothes or whatever else they find. If, by the law, no fancies, I wonder if this can still be done.

[Squeak]

We won't be studding items with gems or engraving them with elegant gold filigree or making a plain dress into an elegant frilly ball gown with intricate lace and seven different layers of ... fancy ... dress ... ness. Again: Personalization of what the item already is, not upgrading or transforming it.

By what Rias specifically put in there, I'm going to hazard a guess that putting gems onto clothes would be a no. And after seeing what was available previously, by looking at legacy character's items, I must say that I'm a huge fan of this. You can still have nice, custom items, it's just not going to be anything fantastic. A leather-trimmed wool shirt embroidered around the hem with vines, for instance. A rugged fur-collared rust leather coat. Simple, beautiful in their simplicity.

[ydia]

can any interaction commands with the tree be added to the exam command. like put item under tree etc.

[ydia]

I imagine on the solstice gathering it will be nuts as people try to get their gifts and not what they gave to others. What if everyone's gifts were moved into one bag or something like the day of or something, so it is easier? Maybe I'm missing an easier command to just get gifts addressed to you rather than anything with your name on it, but just a thought.

[Squeak]

Something like this would lower the bloat under the tree a good bit.

But, it's pretty easy getting boxes out of there with this syntax: "get TO:<character name> box"

[jerc]

Protip for those with clients throwing errors when looking under the tree:

The ContainerLists option (number 18) puts each item on its own line so your client will be able to process them one at a time rather than attempt to parse the MEGA LINE.