Making writing tables useful instead of being just decorative!

Suggestions
1

You know what, that empty+unused writing table is the most “sad looking” furniture around. I know, it is just a decorative item but I was thinking how to make it useful. So I thought about it and came up with this:

New class: Writer

A writer? What can a writer do in a game like stonehearth?
Let me answer these questions in details:

Writer’s Job?
Ans: Writing(crafting) books and biography. Crafting paper and ink.

What kind of books?
Ans: Different kind of Books. For example,

  1. a food related recipe book for the cook,
  2. a medicine related book for the herbalist,
  3. a furniture catalog for the carpenter,
  4. a stone statue catalog for the mason,
  5. a physics related book for the engineer,
  6. a fashion catalog for the weaver
  7. a general knowledge book for the farmer, trapper and shepherd.

Biography?
Ans: Yes. its the job of the writer to write a biography when someone dies. It should be made automatic (just like smart crafter mod works). A biography of a past hearthling will be treated as a honorable token/thing of the town. A biography can be sold worth high price.

How will the writer craft paper and ink?
Ans: Paper can be crafted using wood and ink can be crafted using coal.

How many workshop will the writer need?
Ans: The writer needs 3 workshop. One for crafting paper, one for making ink and one special writing table for writing the books+biography.

What is the benefit of having different kinds of books?
Ans: Huge benefit. As we can see that, whenever a hearthling levels up he learns to craft new things or new food items. So, have you ever thought about from where does his learnings come from? …no? you haven’t? Well, now you will. This is where a book comes in handy. What I am trying to say that is, books will unlock new craftable itmes/recipes.

The process is like this:
Level 1 : no book is needed.
Level 2 : Hearthling can now be able to read a book (process1) and unlock lvl2 items. For example, a furniture related catalog book for carpenter.
Level 3 : Hearhtling can now be able to read another and same category book (This is just a repeat of process1) and unlocks lvl 3 items.
Level 4: Repeat of process1 and unlocks lvl4 itmes.
Level 5: Repeat of process1 and unlocks lvl5 items.
Level 6: Hearthling reads his last book and then he becomes a master of his profession and unlocks lvl6 items.

So, whenever a hearthling levels up he will go to the stockpile, take a specific book (just like he takes his tool) and come back to his workshop walking+reading at the same time. The moment he takes his book from the stockpile he unlocks the new level items. The walking+reading at the same time is an extra animation feature, which I think would look just awesome and realistic.

So, a book can now play a very important role in hearthling’s professional life. If we see that a hearthling is already leveled up but there is no book in stockpile then he is unable to craft new items. The basic concept is, he needs to study first and then craft the new items.

Anything else?
Answer: Yes. In stonehearth we see that all hearthlings (cook, carpenter, weaver, mason etc) work in their workshop while standing. But in this Writer Class, a writer needs to sit down in a chair and write his books. So the design of special writing table workshop will be different from all other workshops. This writing table workshop will have an adjacent chair along with it. Which is I think something that is new in stonehearth.

…Anyone interested in making a writer class? And what do you think about my idea? …tell me if you have any comments about it. Thanks

10 Likes
2

I do like the idea of a baldheaded old hearthling scribbling away by candlelight, fits the medieval theme very well!
I also really like the idea that books could aide in the levelling of other crafters, although my personal suggestion would be that books become a kind of luxury item. They take a long time to craft, and there are books specified for every crafter. The effect of the book would be that it boosts XP for that crafter, resulting is quicker leveling.
That’s my 2 cents, I tip my hat at this suggestion none the less.

1 Like
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This would also be a great way to expand upon the lore of the game!

4

My suggestion is that as the crafters level up, they write in their book, so that if one of them ends up wolf food or killed by something (gasp), another crafter can read that book and their xp would level up quicker after reading that book. Or we could create a jack of all trades with the books so that some of the ones that enjoy crafting (Good use of Heart of a crafter trait) can end up using all 8 crafting stations.

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I feel like rather than a class, writing tables should just have an effect on nearby herbalist?/engineeer?/whatever makes sense? crafting stations. Nearby items affecting crafting speeds like this has been mentioned in stream - I believe @Brackhar was working on the writeup recently - so I think this makes more sense than adding a class.

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6

Something else for your mind to think about

New Class: Cartographer

A Cartographer? what use is a map maker in such a game?

What kinds of ‘map’

a) treasure maps leading to a chest guarded by some giant zombie
b) map of the mines of mor… the halls of Mori… oops wrong place :wink:
c) map of the town for a minimap?
d) map of some ancient kingdom (decorative)
e) map of some fantasy world (decorative)
f) map of what the world may look like (decorative)
g) information map on places with fertile soils, ample wild life, etc for farmer and trapper and shepherd

Uses the same requirements of the paper and ink

Similar process to the above original suggestion

Let your mind travel in the adventures of a Cartographer HAHAHA :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

1 Like
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I’m with you here - I have enough trouble with the number of current classes and having to choose between them to get things done. Making a new class for every single new idea makes it hard to include any of it because a class is kind of a big deal in this game.

I’d like it if everyone used Writing Tables as a “side workshop”. For example, crafters could write manuals that would allow a low-level member of their class to instantly gain a large XP boost, which helps you late-game if you need to replace them.

Of course, whenever it is we get magic, I suspect libraries will be a bigger deal…

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8

Reading could maybe function to go get an hearthlings mood up a little bit aswell. Also defeating a monster or goblin camp could spawn in a special item that could be crafted together with a book for a town global booster of some sort. Like global strength or speed boost for a couple of minutes. These special items could also be found mining, chopping trees, you name it.

I see some potential in the books idea

2 Likes
9

Great ideas in this thread! There are some things that turned on the red light in my mind though :forlorn:
If the reason for the books is so the crafters can level up and learn new stufff… Where do the writter get this knowledge from? Furthermore, the system already makes hearthlings level up and learn new stuff by “experimenting with crafting”, so would this not just be more code to aclompish the same result?

The number of workbenches… why could the writter not use the same workbench to create paper and ink at? (teasing: oh we could have another class to make paper and one for making inks?) I hope my way of pointing out the weigth in the subject is received positive as i intended :merry:

BUT, i do like the idea of a writter, and certainly books, my favorite class token are the clerics!
The idea with the xp boost from a book that took a long time to make and that could be sold instead for a good amount of gold, seems very usefull to me.

On the matter of ink… Could the herbalist not make it? It would just be adding a new recipe to that class? The paper could maybe be made by the carpenter or even the herbalist aswell? Then the writter could just use any writting table in the city when scripling down those books :content:

If the developers dont pick this up im sure a modder will… there even was something along these lines a while back if i remember correctly… well not quite the same, but there are some books haha :jubilant:

2 Likes
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You are absolutely correct. Where do the writer get these knowledge from? When I was creating the post I thought about the Writer’s background but had some issues for not explaining it. I knew someone might come up with the question and I waited for that moment. And the moment has arrived and here it goes:

From my point of view the Writer is not just any hearthling. He is the most special among all. He gives guidance and teachings to all hearthlings through his books. Because, by nature he is a SAGE (a profoundly wise man who knows almost everything, especially one who features in ancient history or legend).

So, I wanted to represent something new and add some Indian flavor to it. I don’t know what you’re thinking but after all hearthlings are now considered human …right?

I totally agree with you. It was really uncomfortable and contradictory for me to think that a Writer(Sage) is crafting papers and inks. But then I thought a Sage do his job by himself, so what’s wrong about it !!!
But now you just gave me this wonderful idea. Now, the herbalist/carpenter/or who ever crafts the papers and ink can be the Writer’s(Sage’s) disciple.

…My imagination is running wild…

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hmm…Interesting idea.

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I think this is brilliant! If they don’t add this to the base game I would love to see it as a mod!

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I think the Hearthlings should be able to use the writing tables in order to relieve their stress instead of sitting around the campfire when they’re idle, idk XD just seems cool to go in building vision mode and find some Hearthlings writing poems or whatever.

2 Likes
14

Taking some time to vent by writing down their gripes/praises for the Town Overview Journal. In effect, giving an animation to a function we already have in game.