[MUD-Dev] In-game tailors, re-stringers, etc.

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

On 01:48 AM 7/8/99 -0500, I personally witnessed Eli Stevens
(KiZurich/GreySylk) jumping up to say:
>
>Instead, give the players tailors that can make an article of clothing
>look like anything they wish (almost, more on that later).  Each word in
>the description of the clothing has an associated cost or cost multiplier.

I *like* this idea. 

>An article of
>clothing worn around the shoulders and torso would have to have one of he
>following in its desc: shirt, coat, vest, blouse, mantle, jacket, sweater,
>tunic...  Etc.  This would help prevent players from wearing pants on
>their head.  :)

But what if I *want* to wear pants on my head? Certainly, it should affect
NPC reactions, but still -- if you wear gold-trimmed purple velvet breeches
on your head, then two things are almost immediately obvious. First, you
can assume from the gold-trimmed purple velvet that this person is wealthy
and probably of royal lineage (due to the purple). Second, you can also
assume from the breeches on his head that he's at least a little bit forked
up. Which, IMO, makes them someone you should probably treat well... if
only because it's very, very stupid to piss off royalty with mental
problems. Remember Caligula? ;)

>Another list could have disallowed words,
>like "nylon" (assuming a medival setting).

It's impossible to list all the disallowed words. Note also that many
people will spell them wrong. I don't think "nyoln" will be in your list,
but someone could certainly type it. ;)

>(As an aside, I am not fond of the "EQ scavenger hunts" that are necassary
>to be competitive on many muds.  Can you tell? :)

Scavenger hunts appeal to many people. They like slipping off to some
"secret" area to get things no one else can get. So here's a thought. 

Divide your words into categories, defining macros to refer to specific
sets of words. For example, "cheap" might include burlap and canvas;
"average" might include cotton and muslin; "expensive" might include silk
and velvet. Then you can classify your merchants... as a result, you would
need to find a merchant who can make blue velvet. Black and yellow are easy
to get, but blue and purple are more difficult. (Sumptuary laws *ought* to
apply in any halfway realistic medieval setting, anyway.) Merchants could
have their own multipliers, as well. 

-----
| Caliban Tiresias Darklock            caliban at darklock.com 
| Darklock Communications          http://www.darklock.com/ 
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