Storekeeper Quest

Female Orc:


Male Orc:


More attractive than average, but not unreasonably so. Looks, much like intellect and a number of other things, is one of those areas all of the races are on pretty much even footing. You can have attractive orcs just as easily as ugly elves, for example. Or slender dwarves and dumb fox-chimera.
You're dealing with people, not stereotypes.

What games are those from?

Karogas wrote:What games are those from?

Lineage 2

Looks like the Hulk, only smaller.

Alright, calling it for a male, dwarven alchemist with a shop in a rural village. I'll get started on writing the update later, when I'm not feeling so worn-out, though you can already get started on suggesting and discussing some potential names for your character and shop.
(Note that if the character's name contains anything along the lines of "beard", "axe", or the like, I'll hit you with a week-old fish. Try be creative, please. )

Can we be a clean shaven dwarf Kelenas? As one would think having a epic beard would lead to so problems real quick if one's main job is playing with acids, chemicals, potions and explosives. As I for one don't want to have the cause of our death by bread caught on fire then set off powder.

Adran Tethras: Entrepreneur, Alchemist and Merchant.

Ironforge wrote:Can we be a clean shaven dwarf Kelenas?

Of course you can.

Kelenas wrote:

Ironforge wrote:Can we be a clean shaven dwarf Kelenas?

Of course you can.

It's called "A Female"

So the name Skeggox Havamal is good, right?

You are a dwarven alchemist, which is somewhat of a rare profession amongst your people. Not because it isn’t well-respected, but because the necessary materials are usually hard or expensive - or both - to come by in your homeland.
You solved this problem by learning from an alchemist in a neighboring kingdom, and after your studies were complete and you got your license, opening a store in a rural village on the edge of civilization. The surrounding wilderness should be able to provide many basic materials for your work, with adventurers (hopefully) dropping off more exotic reagents now and then. And the adventurers should also provide a fairly constant demand for your goods in addition to the villagers themselves, while still leaving enough time for you to pursue your own projects.

What is your name?
[x]_______________

What is your shop’s name?
[x]_______________



Now, though most people will immediately think of potions to cure wounds or restore physical or mental fatigue when thinking of alchemy, the possible applications are actually much broader than that.
You obviously know all the bread-and-butter recipes most alchemists make their day-to-day money with, from pills to dull aches or alleviate hangovers, over solutions to help remove rust from metal or dirt from clothing, all the way to salves helping with “problems of an intimate and embarrassing nature” (as your master bemusedly put it), but if you were content with just that you’d have become an assistant in one of the larger workshops or guilds.

What areas of alchemy did you focus on beyond the basics?
[x] Pick three. You can select the same area multiple times to further improve your skills in it.

GM-Note: Well, this was supposed to be part of the initial character-creation post, but I guess that would have been too many variables at once.
So, again; the skills are fairly free-form but should be neither too specific nor too general. As a general frame of reference, an alchemist is like a mix between a chemist and an apothecarian; you could make bog-standard healing potions, or potions that explode when thrown and cover everyone/thing nearby in magical napalm or acid, elixirs that create thick smoke, cause plants to grow rapidly, or release gas to confuse enemies with hallucinations. Be creative, and don’t be afraid to ask.

Drunkbeard McBeardaxe

It's a proper dwarven name!

(X) Adran Tethras: Entrepreneur, Alchemist and Merchant.

(X) Focus:
1) Herbology Concoctions: magical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, etc.
Reason: because we're in a rural area and all the farmers should go to us if they want their crops to grow really well
2) Medicines: better medicines than the normal alchemists can make; as well as something like magical viagra, wit potions, vitamin potions, etc.
Reason: everyone should be going to us to get their fix or cure their ailments
3) Bombs: all kinds of bombs; lethal, non-lethal, distracting, etc.
Reason: this is just the something extra that adventurers want

Name: Skeggox Havamal
Shop Name: Havamal's Solutions
Focus:
Medical - Healing Salves and Potions. Potions for curing of disease or skeletal healing.
Explosives - Small or large, purpose specific or all purpose. Also, think of explosives for mining and road making. Possibly extending into black powder for cannon or long gun.
Biological Transmutations - Potions that transform you into the form of another thing. If you need to get somewhere fast, turn into a horse. If you need to be stealthy, turn into a cat. Also, partial transformations, long distance viewing, "the eyes of a ----" or night vision, "the eyes of ---", "strong as an ox" and so forth.

Militia Productions wrote:Focus: Medical, Explosives, and Biological Transmutations

Considering that the skills are freeform, it would be nice if you gave some short explanation(s) what they're supposed to do.

Name: Grimson Ironhold

Shopname: Poundland

Focus: Weapon Salves (Enhancing Weaponry), Restorative (Health, Mana) and for the final one should be Enhancement Potions.

[x] Atri's List

[x] Shop Name: The Adventure's Solution

Edited my post. I figure since you are skilled in the basics, you should sorta "over-specialize" in your focus, without truly overspecializing.

Hence you can be "better" in healing.

You can be an explosives expert for both adventurers as well as miners or builders.

And last, you have an open ended shop bonus. You can supply these types of potions to anyone with the money to spend. It will be useful to the public across the board and also a novelty item to the basic customer. Want to fly like a bird for an hour? Want to spy on your neighbors as a cat? Wait, you need to be stronger to pull that stump out of your new field?

(x) Focus
[x] Alchemical Weapons. Or in sense, ones with more magical effect and not smithed through normal means. Getting the materials and all is a bitch. Never mind that it could go wrong and net you something else entirely. That and basic stuff is less efficient than regular blacksmithing.
[x] Alchemical Attire. Attire made with alchemy that can vary from intended combat use or civilian attire. Though, generally, the material issue is much like weapons, and it itself is more complicated than not, while on the other hand, is not the typical armor sort that blacksmiths do, but the more comfortable cloth sort while being effective.
[x] Alchemical Accessories. Accessories made from alchemy that have nifty purposes and effects, though are generally far more difficult to gather materials for and difficult to learn how to create. They can range from eye candy to elegant and wonderful to... downright strange.

ReinZero wrote:(x) Focus
[x] Alchemical Weapons. Or in sense, ones with more magical effect and not smithed through normal means. Getting the materials and all is a bitch. Never mind that it could go wrong and net you something else entirely. That and basic stuff is less efficient than regular blacksmithing.
[x] Alchemical Attire. Attire made with alchemy that can vary from intended combat use or civilian attire. Though, generally, the material issue is much like weapons, and it itself is more complicated than not, while on the other hand, is not the typical armor sort that blacksmiths do, but the more comfortable cloth sort while being effective.
[x] Alchemical Accessories. Accessories made from alchemy that have nifty purposes and effects, though are generally far more difficult to gather materials for and difficult to learn how to create. They can range from eye candy to elegant and wonderful to... downright strange.

Yeah, no. What you want here would fall either under Smithing or Magic, not Alchemy.

For the Character-Name, "Adan Tethras" seems to be in the lead, if only by a single vote.
For the Shop-Name, three are available but none with a lead.

As for the character's focus, I'd sum the current ideas up like this;
Destructive Formulae - meant to cause harm and damage, usually using fire, acid, poison, or the like. Either as thrown, grenade-like weapons, or as salves/oils applied to weapons. (from; Bombs, Weapon Salves, Explosives, Herbology Concoctions)
Restorative Formulae - meant to heal wounds and injuries, cure sicknesses and poisons, remove fatigue, etc. (from; Medicine, Medical, Restorative)
Alterative Formulae - meant to change the properties of someone/thing; increased strength, speed, durability, growth, etc. (from; Enhancement Potions, Biological Transmutations, Herbology Concoctions)

Alternatively;
Agricultural Formulae - meant to improve crop-yields, combat pests, keep lifestock healthy, etc.
This would be a mix of the above three categories, though with a distinct focus on this area of application. For example, you could make poisons or the like, but mostly ones specifically tailored to vermin and pests, or healing-potions made for lifestock, or fertilizers to improve plants, etc.

There's advantages and disadvantages to both, so I'll let you perhaps discuss this a bit further. I'd also prefer if there was more of a consensus regarding the names.

Discussion.

Destructive Formulae

I'd rather focus on the use of explosives. This covers both offensive, defensive and industry use. I'd like more to focus on industry uses than others simply for mining, quarry use and road building. More sales in this focus than the others, imho.

Restorative Formulae

Again, we are choosing a focus and it seems to me that he'd already be well versed in the standard healing potions and salves. Hence I'd want to focus on disease and skeletal issues. A healing potion or restorative draught might be able to heal wounds and might cure illness. True disease or birth defects should be the focus, or intensive wounds like missing limbs or shattered bones.

Alterative Formulae

I simply like the idea of transforming ones self into or partially into other creatures for a short time. I'm not TOO attached to the idea, just thought it would be a money maker like the explosives focus.

Name for a shop?

I based it on my name for the character, the last name, which means "Sayings of the High One" Hence "Solutions as told by the High One" Havamal's Solutions.

Militia Productions wrote:Discussion.

I think you may be misunderstanding this, which may admittedly be my fault. The categories I suggested are broad, and many of the things you want would fall under those.
Explosives? Part of Destructive Formulae.
Diseases or missing limbs? Restorative Formulae.
Fully transforming the user into something different? Alterative Formulae.

The difference is the level in skill. Basically, you have access to all categories or types of alchemic formulas and recipes and the like, but your skill-level dictates what you can do within a category. That's why you can;

Myself wrote:[x] Pick three. You can select the same area multiple times to further improve your skills in it.

For example, pretty much every alchemist can create a potion or salve to quickly heal minor scrapes or cuts you might get from simple physical work, or deal with minor sicknesses or symptoms such as a common cold or headaches. An alchemist more skilled with restorative recipes can create products capable of healing more serious wounds, from a sword-cut for example, or sicknesses like a fever. At the highest levels, you can re-grow lost limbs, remove ailments such as blindness or deafness, cure exotic and deadly plagues, and maybe even extend someone's lifespan.

I apologize if that was unclear.

Again, though, the categories I suggested are just that - suggestions. You can come up with your own, though, again; they should be fairly broad.

I see, so if I picked three, then Restorative might be skilled enough to heal sword cuts, but not be able to regrow limbs. But if I chose three points to Restorative, he'd be able to do so?

Militia Productions wrote:I see, so if I picked three, then Restorative might be skilled enough to heal sword cuts, but not be able to regrow limbs. But if I chose three points to Restorative, he'd be able to do so?

As an approximate example, yes. The basic idea is more or less that you guys get to pick whether you'd prefer to start out more skilled in one area but at the cost of versatility, or vice-versa.

Well, since no one seems to want to change votes or the like, I'm calling it.

Character-Name: "Adan Tethras"
Shop-Name: will be determined at random between "Poundland" or "Adventurer's Solutions", due to those being name-neutral

Focus will be on medical-potions (health, mana, sicknesses, etc), offensive potions (explosives, firebombs, etc), and enhancement-ish potions (strength, more yield, physical transformation, etc).
The first two being fairly clear if sometimes differently or narrowly worded, the third is a compromise between Atri's and Ironforge's agriculture-oriented herbology, Karogas' enhancement-potions, and Militia's transmutation-potions.

I'll get started on writing the next update either later today or tomorrow.

With a satisfied hum, you let your gaze sweep over the interior of your shop. Since arriving in the village a few days ago, you spent most of the time setting up your business; cleaning the building, arranging shelves, showcases and counter, sorting and stocking your inventory, and so on, and so forth.
You haven’t even really had all that much time to unpack your things, yet, most of it still stowed away in chests or bags, and spending time to explore the village in detail had been completely out of the question. While you are neither in debt nor exactly poor, opening this shop has taken nearly all of your monetary reserves, so you kind of need to start making money, fast. Hence the somewhat unseemly haste to set up your store.

You didn’t even have the time to arrange for advertisement through the market crier, but you don’t think that’s much of a problem. Hanging up the sign for your shop was one of the first things you did, and in a small community like Helverstedd, word will no doubt have gotten around by now, so people know about the shop, if not necessarily when it’ll be open.

With a last check to make sure your clothes are as well-cared for as your shop, you are ready to start the day.

GM-Note:
Alright, now basically starts the time-management aspect of the game, inspired somewhat by Recettear, and using Atri’s point-allocation system he allowed me to use.
For now, the segments are measured in days, though this will likely increase in the future. You have 100 points per day to distribute, and need to assign at least 1 point to each action you undertake. More points mean you’re less at the mercy of the RNG, since sufficient investment can negate the problems resulting from low rolls to a degree, but also mean less actions for you.
It is advisable that you invest about half your points into managing your shop each day, as you will need a total of ~600 points each week to cover your costs of living, running the shop, etc. though if you are lucky, you could, of course, invest less.

=====

Sorry about the delay; I wanted to write yesterday, but didn’t feel well, so I went to bed early instead. As usual; if there are any questions, feel free to ask.

Also, I’m giving you some more time regarding your shop’s name.

So, a suggestion for the day:

50 points: managing shop
30 points: going around town, getting to know the people (what do they want?, advertising, and arranging for advertisement through the market crier
20 points: unpacking


Hope you get well soon, Kelenas.

70 points - unpacking
30 points - managing the shop.

Would be a shame to not have that ONE thing we needed packed away and be screwed.

40 points: Managing shop
30 Points: Getting a feel for the town and it's people
30 Points: unpacking

Because this way we can have a nice balance list without having to worry to much that any of our actions will not at least get a 50 in them. Plus, even if we talk a hit here it would be that hard to recover from it since at most we will only be 9-19 points behind on something here.