Should the blacksmith's masterwork dialog be changed into a real store inventory?

The blacksmith's masterwork item dialog was a workaround at the time, since a lot of the masterwork stuff wasn't available in the game, and modders didn't know how to do a real store inventory. Now, with Agetian's and dulcain's wonderful ToEEWB, this can be changed. So, what do you guys think? And should he sell ALL masterwork items, or just METAL ones (he is a blacksmith, after all)?

 

the idea here is also that we could then make a more logical (and practical) use of the other merchants in hommlet, since there's both a leather worker, a cabinet maker and a carpenter in the town.
the leather worker could sell masterwork leather goods upon completion of the giant's head quest, the cabinet maker could sell wooden items etc.
for exotic weapons, i think there should be an exotic goods merchant who specialises in oriental type weapons. i don't think it makes sense for the blacksmith to be able to forge masterwork katanas and shuriken for instance.

 

even better!

although, in comparison, the giant's head quest is a LOT harder than those other two...
but then again, metal items are also worth that much more, and potentially more efficient depening on the character.
and also, there would be a need for a relatively hard quest for the exotic merchant too.

 

Someone please remind me what the rationale is for not selling masterwork items before you complete a hard quest for the crafstman. Isn't he running a business? It makes a kind of sense if he's actually making the stuff for you as a special order, but not if he's got it lying around.

I guess what I'm saying is that dialog and quests go together better than inventory and quests

 

This idea has occured to me before, but IIRC Agetian warned again trying to moddify existing MOBs with WB. We might have to delete and then recreate the blacksmith and his whole inventory. I also think Agetian warned agaist MOBing stuff into the Homlett map. I could be wrong about all this, though. We'll have to ask Agetian himself. I'm also not sure if we can vary the inventory of a merchant based on quests. A simpler task would be to create a new merchant in one of the vacant house, a merchant that only sells masterwork items, and have him only give a barter option once a quest has been completed.

Oh, and I think it's a great idea, having a real shopping screen for masterwork items that is.

 

My vote:

All masterwork stuff should be available from the respective merchant(s) who might be expected to offer such items for sale. They should be expensive enough for the expense to be the initial limiting factor to their use. The screen idea is best.

 

I really don't see whats wrong with the current situation reguarding masterwork items. I like the giant's head quest myself. It should be difficult to acquire means of attaining better arms/armor that best suits who or whom ever. As far as his buisness goes..........maybe he might have these stored for a rainy day (remnants from the battle of Emmridy Meadows).

 

how I see it - In Hommlet each trader should specialise in their trade, be it leather, metal, wood, gems or arcane. because its a "hick" town then the quality of goods might not be very high, but then again brother smyth might be very skilled but lives in hommlet because he likes the fresh country air - same goes for the leather worker who has a family in hommlet...

also there are caravans the come to hommlet meaning the traders could just be on selling goods.

then I get to Nulb, the run down cess pit build on a swamp. no one has anything thats very good there, well the chick in the pub has some stuff but I think that its probably hot. Otis makes good stuff that none of the locals could to pay for - come on you've seen the stuff those pirates carry, alittle coin and shit weapons, so he seemed alittle dodgy to me from the start.

like any artist these trader probably don't want to see their hard work go to waste but they also want the coin, else why would they sell it. I've never sold any of my art because I like what I paint to much, altho I have given some away to people I like. I relation to the giants head quest - I'm not sure what I think of it to tell the truth, I like the quest but I don't really like what its for, I'd like customers to keep coming back and trading with me which means keeping them alive, also if some one came up to me and asked to buy my stuff for 3 or 4 times the price I paid for it and I knew I could easily buy or make a new one then I'd sell it - unless it wasn't in my interest to sell it eg selling a gun to my enemy. meaning if they'er going to pay who cares who they are or what they've done. the only reason I've never been able to buy all the things I wanted in a shop was lack of funds, no giants head club in my town - where they give you the stuff to kill the giant after hes dead.

that said, before I patched the game I found getting cash to buy what I wanted from traders to be really hard, now it doesn't seem to be a problem to be able to buy whatever I want at point X in the game.

I've gone alittle off my own topic, anyway back to the giants head quest - you'd want the masterwork weapons before you went to fight a giant not after. I almost think the reward for that quest should be for something else - maybe a Huge Cash Reward so then you could afford to buy all the things you wanted - that he already had, but you couldn't buy cos you were broke and they were so expencive. there has to be some restriction to access to masterwork weapons but I think that the head quest is a silly way to do it - I just doesn't make sence to me. don't get me wrong I love the quest and I like the masterwork weapons but I just feel they don't belong together

well thats my rant, to stir up the shit, to make you think, to imspire other ideas, whatever...

 

Masterwork items being available as regular store inventory items makes me wonder about spawning and regen-time complaints where as it now is there are no issues with buying 5 or 6 of the same masterwork items and coming back the next day to buy 1 or 2 more of the same masterwork items with zero waiting for anything to regen and be spawned.

 

i kinda like cujos take on this..

its silly but entirely in keeping with the whole history of fiction/sf&f/movies lit..etc...back to homer and plato etc that the items thing etc you most would like is granted after the task for which youd most want it up to that point


so why not make master works avalible from the begining.. but prohibitivley expensive...
some where in the ..(if we dont buy anyting else except basic arms/armour at allyxs shop map we might be able to pool our money and get one dagger... or maybe if lucky a short sword..
provided we dont buy any scrolls or potions.. or pay for an inn.... type range...

and make giants a LARGE cash reward..so you could actually buy a second or maybe two more pieces... or make it goodwill..

youve proven you know what to do with the arms you have..so i know my work wont be going to a bad home.. and done a good thing so Im gonna lower my prices to only"very...expensive" instead of mortgae the house and kids..

 

Interesting ideas, I voted for store inventory only metal items..but has anyone ever considered this: making masterwork items should require a lot of special attention and dedication. If I'm a blacksmith and so and so wanted me to make them a masterwork weapon, why would I go out of my way for several extra coins? Perhaps this person should prove himself worthy of my craft and only then will I consider it worth my time to make him the item. Perhaps a Giant's head might be exactly what I need to convinve myself?

 

I was thinling of that, now I don't know about the rest (but looking at the standard of work here you lot are the same) of you but I always try and work to the best of my ablity - meaning if I could make masterwork weapons or armour then I'd try to make them all the time, non-masterwork would be testing or fuck ups.

and I'd just be a little concerned if I sent those people with all that money for me to their deaths before I could relieve them of it.

btw so and so with the few extra coins - that might be 250 pound cheif muppet of high blood pressure - that'd be alot of extra coins in my book.

 

Well of course this is all hypothetical. In the d&d world, at least when I DM'ed, there were hardly any merchants who sold masterwork weapons. It took a lot of work to make one and not everyone had the skill. Maybe in the time it took someone to make one masterwork weapon you could make 10 of the same regular weapon..or more, who knows. It doesn't really matter. My point is I have no problem and actually find it kind of reasonable to have to bring a giants head back. At least in ToEE...bringing a Giant's head in the table top version would require you to be really high level and you'd most likely be marching towards your death.

 

Well, perhaps if we're talking about King Snurre's head, then yes.