Last night a guild member and myself took a trip to Yew. We were discussing detective work and forensics which led to the subject of our journey. Back around Christmas, Edwin and the donations for the poor of Yew disappeared. I don't remember if there was any sort of follow up on this, but a small party recently discovered his remains along with the empty donation box. I had attempted to use the forensic skill at an earlier time, hoping to get some information on his killer. With 20 points of JOAT skill, I wasn't able to gather any information. My companion however was a GM detective, and we were hopeful that he may have better results. No such luck. Yes, there was an orc helm and weapon nearby, so it's seemed like a pretty cut and dry case; ho red herrings or anything. We were still anticipating the possibility that the skill would reveal even the obvious. This is when we agreed that the devs had passed up a golden opportunity to add a whole new level of intrigue to the game. And thereafter followed an idea that we thought might work to both make the forensic skill attractive to players as well as adding a greater level of storytelling detail.
What if you could take a normal item in game, such as a bottle, a scroll, a item of clothing and relabel it with a tag that also allows you to gather more information from it depending on your forensic skill? Say for example, that a tinker can either copy an item(and recolor it) or retag an existing item with a label tool that functions like a sort of invisible book that other players cannot see once it's crafted; where the title is the new label that will be applied to the item, and the limited(10?) pages are the details that will be revealed at certain designated levels of skill. So, if I wanted to make a faded scroll such that a novice of 20 skill could hardly make out, but an GM could make out in its entirety, I would take a normal scroll, use the tool on it. I would then change the title to 'a faded scroll." I would designate 0 skill with the text "The scroll is too faded to interpret"; at 20 skill the text would read "When you reach...............remember.............conceals........the passage." And at GM skill, the entire text would be readable. Imagine laying out a crime scene for players to investigate where they find a potion bottle labeled as a "Rheumatic remedy take 3 times daily after meals" A player of lesser forensic skill examines the bottle and notices a small content of liquid. Another player of mid level skill detects an almond-like aroma. The highly skilled investigator will be able to reveal the contents containing a portion of cyanide. Wouldn't this be an interesting addition for certain EM events or player hosted scenarios.
But, consider the other possibilities. Turn a colorable goblet into a 1st place trophy for the best monster hunter in your guild's special PVM event. Restyle a simple ring into a "Heirloom family signet" that reveals a hidden runic script when closely inspected with the forensic skill, or add a bit of color to your veteran warrior by giving him a "battered shield" and "bloodstained surcoat". Or you can furnish your well stocked apothecary with strangely labeled bottles of "lich ichor" and "eye of newt." The possibilities are endless for creating provocative tableaus that tell a story and provide greater levels of detail; providing a greater reward for those who develop the forensic skill.
If the developers are concerned about the possibility of these items being used to scam other players, then it could display "Suspicious Trade Item" in the trade window, on a vendor, or just prohibit any item exchange by the recipient for the relabeled item.
Would this be particularly difficult to implement?
What if you could take a normal item in game, such as a bottle, a scroll, a item of clothing and relabel it with a tag that also allows you to gather more information from it depending on your forensic skill? Say for example, that a tinker can either copy an item(and recolor it) or retag an existing item with a label tool that functions like a sort of invisible book that other players cannot see once it's crafted; where the title is the new label that will be applied to the item, and the limited(10?) pages are the details that will be revealed at certain designated levels of skill. So, if I wanted to make a faded scroll such that a novice of 20 skill could hardly make out, but an GM could make out in its entirety, I would take a normal scroll, use the tool on it. I would then change the title to 'a faded scroll." I would designate 0 skill with the text "The scroll is too faded to interpret"; at 20 skill the text would read "When you reach...............remember.............conceals........the passage." And at GM skill, the entire text would be readable. Imagine laying out a crime scene for players to investigate where they find a potion bottle labeled as a "Rheumatic remedy take 3 times daily after meals" A player of lesser forensic skill examines the bottle and notices a small content of liquid. Another player of mid level skill detects an almond-like aroma. The highly skilled investigator will be able to reveal the contents containing a portion of cyanide. Wouldn't this be an interesting addition for certain EM events or player hosted scenarios.
But, consider the other possibilities. Turn a colorable goblet into a 1st place trophy for the best monster hunter in your guild's special PVM event. Restyle a simple ring into a "Heirloom family signet" that reveals a hidden runic script when closely inspected with the forensic skill, or add a bit of color to your veteran warrior by giving him a "battered shield" and "bloodstained surcoat". Or you can furnish your well stocked apothecary with strangely labeled bottles of "lich ichor" and "eye of newt." The possibilities are endless for creating provocative tableaus that tell a story and provide greater levels of detail; providing a greater reward for those who develop the forensic skill.
If the developers are concerned about the possibility of these items being used to scam other players, then it could display "Suspicious Trade Item" in the trade window, on a vendor, or just prohibit any item exchange by the recipient for the relabeled item.
Would this be particularly difficult to implement?
.