[CF-Devel] Alchemy fiddling

[Yann Chachkoff]

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     ===== Original Message From Tim Rightnour <
      
      root at garbled.net
      
      > =====
     
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     Basically, I would like to break alchemy up into smaller skills, but still 
     
     keep
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     the engine how it currently works.
     
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     For exmaple, right now, you can throw arrows and stingers into a pot, and 
     
     make
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     poison arrows.  Instead, I would like to break the arrow and bow formulae, 
     
     into
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     the "fletcher/bowyer" skill.  So rather than using alchemy on a cauldron, you
     
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     would use the bowyer skill, on a workbench.
     
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     I would like to split the formulae, into bowyer, smithery, jeweler, alchemy 
     
     and
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     thaumaturgy.  Each one getting the appropriate formulae.
     
     
I'd suggest a design allowing *any* skill to be used, instead of just those. 
So, if we later decide to create new skills, we'd just have to add related 
formulae into the formulae list. Probably each formula should schematically 
look like:

[skill] [formula] [effect]

instead of the current [formula] [effect] pattern.

Maybe we could add some kind of tag for 'alchemical tools' (Cauldron, 
Worbench, etc), marking them as suitable for a specific alchemical skill. (For 
example, it could be something like "alchemy [skillname]" in the object 
archetype). This too would result in an easily customizable system.

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     The idea of this being:
     
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     1) It makes the individual skills more useful, and slightly more interesting.
     
     Indeed true.

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     2) Alchemy is no longer a big create-all skill.
     
     Again true.

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     3) More complex formulae, may require ingredients that are created using 
     
     other
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     skills.  For example, a special arrow might need a water of the wise, which 
     
     you
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     might create via alchemy.
     
     Could also force more players to work together somewhat - a Wizardry 
specialist could make the Water of the Wise, and a Smithery specialist could 
then make the arrow.

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     4) It wouldn't affect how alchemy currently works really, it would just
     
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     distribute it around to other skills, which are all under mental anyhow.
     
     The only difference would be that some formulae would go under another skill 
instead. Besides that, nothing prevents you to keep the 'alchemy' formulae as 
they're, and add some new ones for the other skills.

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     5) It just makes more sense.  Making arrows with alchemy when you have a
     
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     fletcher skill is kinda silly.
     
     
Well, it depends... If you consider those as 'magically created' arrows, it 
does make some sense to be able to produce them using alchemy. On the other 
hand, it is indeed silly not being able to create 'manually created' ones 
using fletching.

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     8) You would have to know the skill, to perform whatever thing it is you are
     
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     trying to do.  Unlike now, where you just need the spell.
     
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Definitely true; plus you'd be able to get experience points in mental more 
often than before, which isn't a bad idea IMHO.

So I globally agree with the idea - Just be careful doing a sufficiently 
flexible system.

Y. Chachkoff
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