Pottery

[Hoxard]

After a discussion in global involving bulls in china shops, it came to my attention that this game does not have a pottery skill, and that a pottery skill would be super cool.

The only pottery products I can think of that would have a real use would be dishes and figurines. The figurines would just be a way to get favor with NPCs who like them as gifts. I can't think of anything else they might do without stepping on the toes of blacksmithing's statues.
The dishes would be the real meat of the skill. The idea is that dishes could be used with foods to extend food buffs and possibly enhance them.

The workflow would look something like this:
Use mining to collect raw kaolinite. A quick wiki says that although kaolinite is very common, it is found most readily in hot, moist climates, like Sun Vale. Kaolinite is a fairly useful rock, but making porcelain is its primary use.
A potter would then use raw kaolinite to make unfired dishes and figurines.
Optionally, a glaze would be crafted to improve the item, using the pottery skill. There are a dozen different ways to make and color glazes, but the classic blue and white porcelain look seems to come from a tin based glaze with cobalt for coloration. Porcelain does not need to be glazed to be waterproof though, so the glazing process could technically be skipped altogether. Maybe the quality of glaze would determine the overall quality of the product?
The potentially glazed pottery would then be fired, again with the pottery skill.
Finally, the completed dish would be used by a cook to plate food, increasing the duration of the buff in the same way a meditation stool or calligraphy bench would. I can see large plates being used for meals, small plates for snacks and tea cups for drinks.


I don't know, maybe it wouldn't be super useful and would just complicate cooking more than it needs to, but I thought it was a cool idea at least.

[cratoh]

Great idea! As housing is intoduced as well I would imagine this could be very in demand. Something tells me this is going to be the sort of game where peopel spend a lot of time and money decorating player housing.

[Eachna]

I love this suggestion.

[Tsugumori]

I really like this idea - not to mention it would mean getting the chance to survey in Sunvale. (Sunvale is kinda noticeably smaller than other maps though - so maybe speed bonuses would have to be altered or just left as is to encourage it?)

Adding on to your suggestion, if I may, Citan mentioned there being defensive earth magic. The pottery skill aspect could maybe tie into being able to create golems as well through this medium in combination with possible earth magic?

[Greyfyn]

A previous suggestion along these lines was glassmaking. People were looking for a way to make bottles.

There are those odd articles in Rahu--pottery shards, or what not. And there are the dishes that are currently vendor trash, with a hint of an unseen collectors market. Maybe a hint of something to come?

[srand]

I love these suggestions! And one of the great things about PG (if I may say so myself) is that this kind of stuff can be added relatively easily. Citan built the tech framework and content pipeline with the live game in mind - so stuff like this can make it into beta updates or the ongoing updates after release.

... which is why I keep a long, long list of suggestions for the future. And all the little details you can think of to help these skills fit into the world are absolutely wonderful - you think of a lot more cool stuff than we can.