Of death and friendship

Suggestions
1

I got thinking. What if stonehearth had relationships. Said relationships would come in the forms of friendships, romantic, and such. A relationship would increase a hearthlings morale, socialibility, and even class options. Friendships would be more common among hearthlings of common/similar professions
NOW LET’S GET DARK!

In the event a heartling dies, anyone in a relationship of any sort with that hearthling would have a crushing morale debuff, as well as a constriction of class options. (and by that I mean a hinderance in experience gain and a almost complete deprivation of class options) Hearthlings get out of this mood after a certain time, which can be decreased by socialization (remember the topic on hearthlings talking to each other?) as well as bright decor and such. However, an event like this could have a benefit or two. For example, let me narrate the story of Bob the footman.

Narrator: Bob and his best friend Jim are out in battle.
Bob-We can make it!
Jim- Ack!
Bob- Jim? Jim? JIIIIIIIIM?

Bob returns from battle:
Bob and Frederick walk towards the elder
Village elder: what happened?
Bob: sob
Commander Mike: We were incredibly outnumbered. But the retreat went quite well! Casualties were about 1/10 of every man.
Village elder: So that explains Bob…

Bob is sitting on a bench at the park.
Bob: I can’t believe Jim had to die.
Enter Clara
Priestess Clara: So Jim died huh?
Bob: Don’t remind me
Cue Music
Priestess Clara: THEN YOU GOTTA RISE UP!
Bob: I do?
Priestess Clara: YOU GOTTA AVENGE YOUR FRIEND
Bob: I do!
Priestess Clara: I HEARBY PROMOTE YOU TO A AVENGER!
Bob changes costume
Bob: I’m coming for you Orcish scum!

Narrator: And so, he and the rest of the Ascendancy army did indeed, come for those orcish scum, and beat their butts.

So, as you can see from that dramatic script, Hearthlings could get classes from the trauma of a loss, although getting new, mourning-based classes would be somewhat constricted to combat classes.

Tell me what you think, and tell me if you think that the dramatic script I made has any future potential!

5 Likes
2

Ha! Wonderful creativity. Here’s another one- If and when merchants will become physical beings maybe the merchant will form a bond with a heathling. If the bond is strong enough the merchant would request to become apart of the town! And everything in his/her caravan of course…hehe

2 Likes
3

I love it. But, perhaps instead of a class, it could turn into a mini-quest or a very powerful buff.

The little side-quest could be something like killing the person or thing that killed the friend, or gathering flowers as personal items in remembrance and reverence. Maybe Jim was the victim of crime (ooh, that’d be a neat idea) and Bob would have a personal vendetta against criminals, working with all his 16-bit might to bring down heinous criminals.

The powerful buff could work with their profession - if they’re combat, they get a damage bonus against criminals. If they’re a crafter, they have an increased chance to craft fine items or even a superior item, etc. If they’re something else, like a worker or farmer (especially your idea of the priestess), they could get a buff to their line of work (increased speed or harvest) or be able to help others who have lost people.

Either way, 10/10 still a better story than Twilight.

4

So the hearthlings get a little more personality? Maybe this could more likely to occur in larger more populated cities for the chance of the classic “Back Alley Murder”

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I do like the idea of buffs, and, looking at how limited classes accessed by mourning would be, I think buffs would work better off in the end. Thanks for pointing that out!

6

@IvorySteam Yeah, perhaps the Safety stat (in Alpha 11) could not only describe how protected they feel from threats outside the city walls, but also inside! Crime would be virtually nonexistent in hamlets and small villages, but once you reach a population of 15-20 it becomes more active, perhaps? I wonder if there’s a suggestion thread for crime…

@Sandwitch Thanks to you, you had the basis for this idea! I would really like to see a little more personality in the Hearthlings as well, and I think it’d be a great way to add it. I’d like to see what they are going to do for the idling in future updates, maybe talking to eachother would be one addition?

7

Talking to each other would be just the begining of idle stuff. They could play games, have theatrical and sports-related events… the list goes on!

8

Omg, a theatre? That would be amazing!

Imagine the little Hearthlings running around a stage in goblin costumes.

1 Like
9

Year 3, Day 1 of the kingdom of Bobland
"We decided to have a play based on the founding of our town. The results were… disastorous, to say the least. Everyone started cracking up during Act 5 about the humorous quality of the goblin coustumes. The actor’s weren’t upset at all, infact, they were laughing as well. The tailors, on the other hand… not so much. Oh well, at least it was a step in the right direction. Maybe we could reuse those goblin suits for a comedy later…"

1 Like