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Old 05-13-2008, 07:40 PM   #33
Bakha
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Join Date: Apr 2008
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Re: Quick, short descriptions

Additional thought:

Assuming you have multiple cultures and centers of civilization here.

Work with a culture skill. Skill is based on native culture and can gain through spending time in other cultures (exposure to language, time spent in city, commerce conducted within other cities). To use Threshold terms, one could be well-versed in Thracian culture but ignorant of Sablean culture.

Items would work the same way as characters. An item would be assigned a dynamic cultural value. As an item is traded and used within other cultures, it can gain value within that culture.

Now you combine the two. A person versed in Thracian culture would recognize an item with a high Thracian cultural value by its proper name. They might even have additional insight into its uses and properties. A Sablean, looking at the same item, might see a very basic item description without any additional information provided. Now, as an item gains in it's Sablean cultural value, the Sablean cultural expert might start to see more. At some value, you allow an item to cross over from its generic descriptive form to its proper name that the designer intended.
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