[MUD-Dev] RP thesis...

[Adam Wiggins]

> On Mon 19 May, Jon A. Lambert wrote:
> 
> > Why 100% fluency in their native tongue? *grin*  If a character
> > wishes to start as an uneducated street urchin, they might find
> > themselves with a 75% fluency in their native tongue.
[Marian:]
> Yes, depending on their early history (as set up by the character
> creation) their fluency may vary. In fact they may well learn a
> different set of words. A noble is unlikely to know the same words
> as the street urchin, simply because they live radically different
> lifes. The first uses all kinds of words for phrasing things politically
> but is unlikely to know the street language which talks about guards,
> fencers, thugs and so on.

Yes.  I think it's ridiculous to start someone off with less than 100%
in their native language unless they are either very, very young or
retarded.  If you get two street urchins together and they start talking,
are they going to not understand each other 25% of the time?  Of course
not.  This is where you break it into seperate skills - you have
'noble french', 'street french', 'common french' etc, I would assume
all branching from the same parrent skill.  Thus two street urchins
can understand each other as well as two nobles, but mix and match
and things start to get difficult.

> > I have a reading skill also.  I assume a literacy rate of not more 
> > than 10%.  Player characters may or may not have reading initially
> > depending on social/cultural background options.
> 
> Very nice idea that. Being unable to read initially and having to
> consider to spend time (and resources) learning to. And in medieval
> settings reading (and writing) were rare skills typically reserved
> to (higher) clergy and to secretaries. Common people didn't need to
> because that is what towncriers and minstrels are for. And the nobles
> don't need to because they have their personel to do their reading and
> writing for them ;)

Yup.  And if this sort of thing is useful, then choosing to have spent
your childhood in the library instead of picking pockets on the street
or lifting heavy rocks at the quary is actually a good choice.

> It also allows people to set up a shop as a writer for those who can't
> but need some official document to be drawn up. Or to read letters to
> those who can't read.

Absolutely.  It's amazing how far you can take one little concept, as long
as you make the specifics of it detailed and interesting enough.  I
see no reason that the same can't be done with other seemingly useless
concepts such as eating and drinking.