Lore, Gossip, and Research

[Lysse]

These are just a series of related ideas for IC lore purposes, as a way for people to learn more about their surroundings and the world of the Lost Lands. I've noticed there's a distinct lack, at times, of knowledge that should probably be generally known. While this can often be accounted for people traveling into the Lost Lands rather than being born there, I believe it would be beneficial to the roleplaying environment to have a series of commands that give players access to lore and knowledge.

In Character Gossip

Gossip would be a way to learn about general events happening around various towns in the Lost Lands, as well as about larger events happening in the Lost Lands itself.

A player would access In Character Gossip by entering taverns, inns, and any other place of gathering, including large enough guild houses such as the Rook Parlour, Church of Light, and Tse Gaiyan areas might offer. A 'talkative crowd' would be added to the areas in question, and a player would need to be in the same room as the crowd and "ask crowd about gossip <type>"; type being either Local (and pertaining to events in the immediate area) or Widespread (pertaining to large scale events throughout the Lost Lands, even Arad).

For example, Ardor of the Western Coalition is passing through the Coalition HQ, and notices wanton destruction, as well as bodies strewn about the area. He may ask over Esp if anyone knows what happened, but there is a strong likelihood that no one may know. He would then find the local gossip crowd for the Coalition HQ, and ASK CROWD ABOUT GOSSIP LOCAL. He then might receive a message regarding the events, or he may not learn anything. It would be dependant on the GM who oversaw the event (since in game environmental destruction is only available with the help of a GM) would write up a blurb for the local gossip. In this example, if a GM decided that there would be gossip, they may leave something like "Few people survived the attack, but the word is that dark beasts stormed the Coalition, breathing flame and shadow. Both Locke and Irwin were wounded heavily in the attack, but aren't saying anything to the public about it."

For an example of Widespread Gossip, Lysse may want to check up on recent events, to see if anything has been going on she should know about. so she enters the Dwaedn Vil tavern, and will ASK CROWD ABOUT GOSSIP WIDESPREAD. This would give her information on any large events in the Lost Lands region that happened recently, such as the disappearance of Sceptus Corvus, or the child missing from Mistral Lake Keep. Again, this would depend on the GMs to submit the gossip information.

However, Players could also have a hand in creating gossip. A command such as "gossip request <local/widespread> <gossip>" could be implemented to be used at gossip points, and set on a timer. The gossip request would enter a queue, and a player would have to wait a large amount of time played before they could request more gossip.


In Character Lore

In Character Lore is similar to Gossip, except that it is much more static, and typically more reliable. It’s also updated less frequently, and much harder for PC’s to submit to, requiring IC study and presentation typically.

In Character Lore is obtained from Guild Lorekeepers and Scholar NPCs, the former found at Guild Areas and the latter found in Libraries. These are NPCs that can be interacted with once every so often in order to learn information about areas, critters, specific NPCs, and even other Guilds. However, Scholars often cannot answer every question a PC may want to ask, and will only answer one of their questions every few played game hours. Guild Lorekeepers will answer one question every few played hours, but will answer another question before the timer resets at the cost of recognition points. The more questions a PC asks after the Lorekeeper’s answered a question, the higher the cost of recognition points per question asked, and a question unanswered will still cost recognition points.

These NPCs are accessed by asking them questions, just as one would ask most other NPCs. Ask “<Scholar> about <topic>” or “Ask <Lorekeeper> about <topic>”. The types of information available to the PCs would be up to GMs, and as always, anything learned from an NPC must be taken to potentially be at least partially wrong.

For instance, Nootau receives a task to study the waters of Red Lake, and would like to know more about Red Lake. He would approach the Elemancer Lorekeeper, and “Ask <lorekeeper> about Red Lake”. The NPC would then tell him whatever the GMs approve of, such as “Red Lake is home to the Hyra. It is home to a strange phenomenon, regarding animated water. This may be a form of hydromancy, and we would like to know if the waters of the lake influence the creation of these creatures” as an example.

Or Acarin may receive a task to kill an NPC on Vaelgraten road. He could approach the Claw of Shar Lorekeeper and “Ask <lorekeeper> about Vaelgraten road”. Something describing the origins of the name (presumably tied to the Fasa Li Nuam”, and mentioning that the road is near to Vaelgraten Forest. He could then “ask <Lorekeeper> about Vaelgraten Forest”, and he might learn more about that area, perhaps even some of the critters he could potentially run into; he would also be charged recognition points for this, however.

The majority of the information available through Lorekeepers would be written by GMs. However, a PC could undergo more intense research, and submit papers to either their Guild Lorekeepers, Scholars, or both regarding areas. As an example, Spearhead may have recently stumbled onto a new area in the Stone Canyon, previously undocumented by the Lorekeepers of the Coalition or the Scholars available in the Lost Lands. He brings Ardor there, and they discover a tunnel complex rich in iron deposits, and select gems. Ardor and Spearhead take the time to thoroughly explore the area, and write up a report detailing both the rewards and risks of the area. They then submit this report to the Coalition only, the Guru of which would get together with the GM that built the new addition. Assuming success, the report is submitted, and any information given out to PCs by the Lorekeeper will include the fact that Ardor and Spearhead compiled the information.

Conversely, Lysse, Skjotur, and Evelyn may perform their own studies of the area. After a similar amount of research, they compile a report, and they each submit it to their respective guilds. On top of this, Evelyn also submits it to the head Scholar of the Lost Lands (an NPC guild that could, perhaps, become a sub guild one day), and after deliberation by the respective Lorekeepers and Scholars, the information is either accepted or denied. If accepted by the Scholar, the information would become the “official” records, unless further research was submitted.






Overall, these are just some ideas I had that I thought might enrich the playing environment, and also may help out PCs both new and old in a number of things, including Tasks.

[Avedri]

I really like these ideas, in "that other game" we had escort guides who would give information about they area that was being traveled or could be asked general knowledge about well known noble houses etc.

But something I really like is the idea of player contributions being able to be submitted. The obvious concern is that these submissions wouldn't fit into the vision that the developers have, but I'd still love a way to submit suggested documentation for approval and if it didn't fit it could be sent back for suggestions/rewrites.

[Lysse]

That's one of the reasons I thought it would be nice to have an In Character means of submitting lore. That way, the PCs have to go out, explore, and actually have reasons for writing what they do. It would also allow multiple, possibly contested, points of views from Guild to Guild. The Church of Light Lorekeepers might have something different to say about Thaelsh than the Claw of Shar ones.