Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-9601450-20131225183646/@comment-71.61.177.24-20140529011245

As in, portable alchemy tools?

Yes, I was thinking that. Bringing back the whole Oblivion alchemy shebang. Keeping the alchemy labs, though. I'm thinking they produce potions that are stronger than field-made ones, but take a higher skill level to be proficient with, or something.

Incorporating the different types of poisons and venoms that there are in the real world could be good. Not sure how to implement that exactly, though. Also, perhaps breaking down potions into individual, weak single-effect potions - at a high level. And combining potions. Initially just potions of the same type - around Apprentice level - but at something like Adept or even Expert, you could combine potions with the same rules as building spells - that is, nothing that both does damage to and repairs damage to the same stat(s), nothing that's extremely overly effective, and then some effects just kinda don't go together. So you could break down, say, a potion that increases all warrior skills, so that you instead have a bunch of weak potions of certain skills - say, if you only wanted the one-handed skill potion - and potentially combine it with other potions that increase one-handed or even ones that increase other skills that you want to use. And then sell (or recombine and sell) the remaining weaker potions. And then there's the fact that some ingredients seem like they would have to be processed before they could be used - a giant's toe, for instance. Like, how would you even go about making a potion with that? Do you puree the flesh? Make a broth? Perhaps grind up and incorporate the bone? What would you do with the toenail? Stuff that clearly needs to be ground up first could, perhaps, be run through an alchemy lab with no problem, since alchemy labs have equipment for most things you might need to do to make a potion, but if you've got all separate components, you ought to have to grind them up first. And then there's also the problem of "WHY NO CAN MAKE SKOOMA/ALCOHOL?" Because who doesn't want to be a skooma dealer? If I understand it correctly, skooma is distilled; most alcohol in the world of TES is either fermented or brewed, as far as I know. And from personal experience observing the production of alcohol, none of those processes require any amount of equipment that could be called "small" or "portable". They would have to be done at stationary crafting points - presumably some ruins that used to be residential might have them, although I expect they would realistically need to be cleaned (I have been wanting to implement a cleaning mechanic for so long), and naturally there ought to be some general skooma dealer hideouts where they're illicitly producing the stuff, because it can't all be imported, and even if it can, with the ability to go anywhere in Tamriel you'll have to run into the place it's being exported from. And of course breweries and the like. You could become an apprentice or something at a brewery. Do breweries do apprenticeship? Certainly you could get a job at one. Or you could just break in. Besides, I'm sure not all breweries, wineries, etc. belong to friendlies. If bandits can have a little inn/drinking stop, they can have a small brewery.

And as regards other crafting skills...Smithing might have to be replaced with something called Craftsmanship that includes Smithing, in the interest of preventing shoehorning things that aren't smithing into the Smithing skill, but also not creating a totally new skill. Also, specialized tools that you might need for smithing. Those would be great. And potentially having to maintain your forge; that would probably only be in "hardcore mode", though. I've also seen somewhere somebody mentioning that replacing the candles on an arcane enchanter to make the enchanter more powerful could theoretically be cool. Obviously, that would require some magical abilities or significance being attatched to the candles. Why even are there candles on arcane enchanters? Does heat have something to do with affixing magic to items? What sort of skull is that, and why is it there? (It looks like a troll skull, but it has horns!) What is the wacky green orb? What makes the magic school symbols glow? HOW DO ARCANE ENCHANTERS WORK, DAMNIT?!

Sorry, 'scuse me, I just had a lot of feelings.

- WorshipsMeridia