Helena has been involved in careers since its inception. She will be our facilitator for this seminar.
Jeremael is heading up careers development. Careers will act to give commoners a place in the game. The different crafts will be separated mainly along the same lines as the mech lore breakup, and then specializations within them. There will be different crafts in each "hall." Development is just beginning. Tentatively, they will include Metalsmith (within that, blacksmithing, which includes weapons, armor, and jewelry), Stonemason, Woodworking, Husbandry (including gardening and herbalist), Justice (city guard, bounty hunters, debt collectors), and Academic ("geek stuff," bookbinding, alchemy. Career training points will be earned from ranks and from career tasks. The tentative lore skill list is Artistry (the effectiveness of other skills for an aesthetically pleasing result), Alchemy, Metalworking, Stoneworking, and Woodworking.
As an example, take the Husbandry Hall. Join, and you receive specialization. Herbalists include vintners and brewers. Animal hubandry has tanning and taxidermy. Textiles includes weaver and tailor. You earn points for doing jobs. Once you achieve mastery in in a hall, you can join a new hall. But you can only achieve journeyman level in any secondary hall, and you can gain skills in only one secondary hall at a time.
Q: Can you give up your mastery in order to gain mastery in a different hall?
A: No.
Q: How would you change your active secondary?
A: You are locked in until you're a journeyman in it.
Q: How will the forging counter be applied?
A: We don't know yet.
Q: Will there be some way to leave your primary specialty?
A: Haven't thought about it. It's an interesting, valid point.
Q: Will all guilds be equally good with creation systems?
A: Some races or guilds may get small bonuses.
Q: What's the benefit of mastery?
A: Skills and abilities. Creating new types of items. Greater bonusing.
Q: Will the skills be teachable?
A: All the new lore skills will be teachable.
Q: Will commoners have titles through this?
A: Yes, there are upcoming skill-based titles.
Q: Will commoners have a bonus in career advancement?
A: Don't know.
Q: Wait, do you master a hall, or do you master a specialization?
A: You can master multiple specializations in a hall.
Q: [Elriic and Jolebin] Wait, what? You seem to be using the same words to mean two or three different things. We still don't understand the secondary hall, journeyman thing.
A: Oh, that is kind of confusing, after all.
Q: When I convert mech lore, will I get career points?
A: Possibly. The mech lore split mechanics will be separate from careers, though.
Q: Will there be drawbacks for professional failures?
A: Yes.
Q: Will the halls be released together so that people can figure out which one to join?
A: There will be lots and lots of documentation. Don't worry.
Q: Will you be able to know in advance all the skills you can learn from a profession?
A: Lots and lots of documentation.
Q: Will the creation systems still be available outside of professions?
A: Yes.
Q: Is there a risk that players will depend on other players for advancement?
A: We hope to avoid that. There will be more effective NPCs.
Q: Can I just pick up a pickaxe and try to mine?
A: Yeah, sure, you can dig around if you want.
Q: Currently, Traders already recognize certain Barbarians as master forgers. Will the new system take that into consideration?
A: It will be taken into account, but it is unknown how.
At this point, the seminar was adjourned to allow setup for the career fair, which included an array of players and GMs demonstrating RL versions of some medieval professions that might be reflected in the careers system.
Sincerely,
David (Jolebin Swordstaff, Elemancer of Riverhaven)