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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:24:22  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
So I've been thinking, because some posters were discussing it with me, what laborers would all of you like to see? Instead of me picking and choosing from my list.

Artists and musicians have been brought to my attention and I was pondering what other laborer NPC's people might want detailed for thier use.

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

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Edited by - Kuje on 23 Sep 2005 22:36:33

KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:28:04  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Horses are near and dear to many people in the Realms . . . stablehands, breeders and the like perhaps?
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Thelonius
Senior Scribe

Spain
730 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:32:21  Show Profile Send Thelonius a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I really would like to see archivist's, they way they handle the "official" documents and theyr similitudes with the wizard storing ones would be interesting, of course only an opinion.

"If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal." - Kreia
"I THINK I JUST HAD ANOTHER NEAR-RINCEWIND EXPERIENCE"- Discworld's Death frustrated after Rincewind scapes his grasp... again.
"I am death, come for thee" - Nimbul, from Baldur's Gate I just before being badly spanked
Sapientia sola libertas est
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader

USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:33:55  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
BTW, my suggestion in no way is meant to ignore Irymil . . . I was thinking of more mundane horses than Evermeets fabled steeds, lol.
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:43:51  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR

Horses are near and dear to many people in the Realms . . . stablehands, breeders and the like perhaps?



Stablehands and breeders. Got it and added to my notes. :)

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:45:03  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Thelonius

I really would like to see archivist's, they way they handle the "official" documents and theyr similitudes with the wizard storing ones would be interesting, of course only an opinion.



Not sure I know what you meant.... So like record keepers basically? :)

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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Thelonius
Senior Scribe

Spain
730 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  20:49:27  Show Profile Send Thelonius a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje

quote:
Originally posted by Thelonius

I really would like to see archivist's, they way they handle the "official" documents and theyr similitudes with the wizard storing ones would be interesting, of course only an opinion.



Not sure I know what you meant.... So like record keepers basically? :)


Scholars archive the documents abouts faiths, or the sages archive the ones about spells or arcane knowledge, but how about offical documents? Taxes, land deeds, fines... this informationis is about to be kept somewhere and by some specific laborers who don't work for clerics or wizard, do they?

"If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal." - Kreia
"I THINK I JUST HAD ANOTHER NEAR-RINCEWIND EXPERIENCE"- Discworld's Death frustrated after Rincewind scapes his grasp... again.
"I am death, come for thee" - Nimbul, from Baldur's Gate I just before being badly spanked
Sapientia sola libertas est
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  21:01:08  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Thelonius

quote:
Originally posted by Kuje

quote:
Originally posted by Thelonius

I really would like to see archivist's, they way they handle the "official" documents and theyr similitudes with the wizard storing ones would be interesting, of course only an opinion.



Not sure I know what you meant.... So like record keepers basically? :)


Scholars archive the documents abouts faiths, or the sages archive the ones about spells or arcane knowledge, but how about offical documents? Taxes, land deeds, fines... this informationis is about to be kept somewhere and by some specific laborers who don't work for clerics or wizard, do they?



Aye, so record keepers. :) But record keepers that keep taxes, deeds, fines, etc. :) Gotcha.

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36782 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  22:38:00  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sages are always good.

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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 23 Sep 2005 :  22:56:39  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

Sages are always good.



Noted. :)

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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ShadowJack
Senior Scribe

USA
350 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  00:12:35  Show Profile  Visit ShadowJack's Homepage Send ShadowJack a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Most Learned Kuje,

One of my favorite heros from early Ohio history is a frontiersman by the name of Simon Kenton... What about some info on a rough and tumble frontier (Silver Marches?) rancher/farmer/explorer/settler type of person... Just a thought, a small group of intrepid souls carving out there home in the wilder lands of Faerun...

ShadowJack
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  00:42:01  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ShadowJack

Most Learned Kuje,

One of my favorite heros from early Ohio history is a frontiersman by the name of Simon Kenton... What about some info on a rough and tumble frontier (Silver Marches?) rancher/farmer/explorer/settler type of person... Just a thought, a small group of intrepid souls carving out there home in the wilder lands of Faerun...



Added to my list. :)

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  02:08:23  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kuje

Artists and musicians have been brought to my attention and I was pondering what other laborer NPC's people might want detailed for thier use.
Actually, thinking about this... and given my work on a series covering art and music in the Realms for the Compendium... we might consider having some crossover between the two articles.

Perhaps, you could detail the NPCs, and I'd cover their perspective works in my article.

What do you think?

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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  02:44:03  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage

quote:
Originally posted by Kuje

Artists and musicians have been brought to my attention and I was pondering what other laborer NPC's people might want detailed for thier use.
Actually, thinking about this... and given my work on a series covering art and music in the Realms for the Compendium... we might consider having some crossover between the two articles.

Perhaps, you could detail the NPCs, and I'd cover their perspective works in my article.

What do you think?




I've been pondering that ever since one of the WOTC posters brought up artists and musicians but until you got your info from Ed, I wasn't going to ask if you wanted to do a joint article. :) Plus I didn't want to step on anyones toes.

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium

Edited by - Kuje on 24 Sep 2005 02:46:21
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Reefy
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
892 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  03:25:29  Show Profile  Visit Reefy's Homepage Send Reefy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Scribes in general could be interesting.

Life is either daring adventure or nothing.
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Steven Schend
Forgotten Realms Designer & Author

USA
1707 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  05:36:40  Show Profile  Visit Steven Schend's Homepage Send Steven Schend a Private Message  Reply with Quote
How's about the folks who really know what's going on in any settlement of any size?

The lamplighters and "torch boys" who guide paying clients safely from tavern to tavern and home again, always whispering who said what to whom and how and whyfore....

The dungsweepers and refuse-collectors, who can tell you much of what goes on behind closed-doors merely by what they sweep and shovel out of the streets the next day...

The carriage drivers who see a lot more than the rear of the horses in front of them....

This ought to be an interesting read when it's ready...

For current projects and general natter, see www.steveneschend.com
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore

USA
1695 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  06:01:38  Show Profile  Visit warlockco's Homepage Send warlockco a Private Message  Reply with Quote
"newspaper" boys (or rather broadsheet hawkers?)

serving wenches, bartenders, information brokers...

News of the Weird

D20 System Reference Document
D20 Modern System Reference Document
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  06:11:03  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Steven Schend

How's about the folks who really know what's going on in any settlement of any size?

The lamplighters and "torch boys" who guide paying clients safely from tavern to tavern and home again, always whispering who said what to whom and how and whyfore....

The dungsweepers and refuse-collectors, who can tell you much of what goes on behind closed-doors merely by what they sweep and shovel out of the streets the next day...

The carriage drivers who see a lot more than the rear of the horses in front of them....

This ought to be an interesting read when it's ready...



I already made the first ten, if you didn't know. :) It's in Compendium 2 and I hope to make this a article for each Compendium. And thanks, I didn't think of lamp lighters or carriage drivers.

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium

Edited by - Kuje on 24 Sep 2005 06:24:30
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tauster
Senior Scribe

Germany
399 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  09:33:40  Show Profile  Visit tauster's Homepage Send tauster a Private Message  Reply with Quote
What I want to see? As a business student, all things about trade, of course!

a complete "value chain", take for example...
- what things farmers produce near waterdeep (and in another follow-up article, how it is produced - in detail please!)
- how a merchant collects that produce from individual farmers, making his round trip to several farms in the hinterlands,
- whom he sells that to (another merchant or trading company), or if he directly travels back to waterdeep to sell it to the ultimate consumer
- how it finally arrives on the cooks table in a tavern, or the kitchen of a noble/rich/well-to-do/poor household.

the same could be done for goods made of metal: a complete value chain beginning with the mine where the ore comes from, the caravan(s) which transports it to the next market, the smith who buys it there and makes it into a new sword or shovel.


even more interesting to me are material components for magic users:
- who collects them, and how? this alone is a huge field: some farmers might plant small patches of very rare herbs, or collect wild-growing plants in the near woods, mountains or "wilderness", or - my favourite and the variant iīm most curious about - small bands of "monster hunters" (adventurers) who "harvest" parts from monstrous creatures: beholder eyestalks, finger knuckles of archwizards, hairs from wraiths, dragon scales,... all those things donīt just lie about! (the "ecology of..." series featuring the monster hunters association in dragon went along that lines, but they used most things for themselves, so thereīs no value chain to speak of.)

- who buys those things from them? powerful magic using indivuduals (archwizards, temples) might directly hire those people to procure rare components for them, but I think most would buy them from middlemen. Iīd very much like to see such a middleman ("component broker/trader") detailed! take one small business in waterdeep or, say, arabel (any other sufficient large city is ok) and show us his customer base as well as his list of suppliers, some of his trading agreements, etc... not unlike edīs series about the sembian merchant...

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36782 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  18:43:29  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Kuje, it was volume 3.

Steven's idea is a good one. I also like the idea of the supplier of spell components.

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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Kentinal
Great Reader

4686 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  19:23:58  Show Profile Send Kentinal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not knowning whom the first 10 were it becomes hard to expand the list.
The list of trades that keep a realm working can be very specialised. A gold smith was not the same as a lead worker, though from the outside many would look at them the same (metal workers).

The base inductries include ditch digging, stone work, farming, fishing, boat building, net making, paper makers (or paracment), other tanners, glass blowers, gen cutters, ale wives or brewers, wood smiths, foresters, bee keepers, canal makers and so on though the many things that a PC looks to buy made by somebody. Some of the things I listed might more be secondary tasks instead of a primary one. Many people would know how to make a candle (at least I infer so) though fewer know how to make wax or wicks that burn well for the size of the candle.

As for a laborers of the realm, I am not sure any would make a dedicated effort to gather all of the posible compoents that might be desired. Some are very common items that a silver smith might throw away, bat dung could be collecte by others, and so on. The idea that a non spell caster even knowing what would have extra value is sold to a spell cater also appears unlikely for things that cost less then one gold and few could aguire the 5,000 gold items without themselves being an adventurer.

Clearly in the Realms are Wise women (people) Herbalists, Nuatral healers, woods people. Including carcoal makers and peat cutters.

All in all eery Craft (foo) and every Profession (foo) could be expended, with many Knowledge (foo) as well as a laborer. Many of them broken down into subcatagories as well. The focus I infer would be concentration of the more interesting ones first.

"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon
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Kuje
Great Reader

USA
7915 Posts

Posted - 24 Sep 2005 :  19:34:37  Show Profile Send Kuje a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

Kuje, it was volume 3.

Steven's idea is a good one. I also like the idea of the supplier of spell components.



Your right #3, sorry. :)

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium
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