Forging Revamp

Sarapis

The Forging revamp is nearly done and while I'm not going to answer questions about it here, I am going to ask for your input! 

In the new forging, you're not just going to end up with "a shining steel longsword." Instead, you (the forger) will choose up to two descriptors (adjectives) from a provided list of them, such as 'shimmering' or 'rusted' or 'fearsome'. Some descriptors will increase the comm cost of the weapon or armour in question, and some descriptors can only be applied to certain kinds of things - no "sinuous battleaxes". Some are only usable if you're in the correct organization.

In any case, what I need are more descriptors. I've got 100 of them currently, but wish to have more so thought I'd crowdsource suggestions here. The 'rules' are basically that the descriptor can't imply some kind of magical property. I also don't need location-based descriptors or House or Orders descriptors. If we choose to do more of those, we'll do so later. Also not looking for material-based descriptors. Suggest away!

What I have currently:

ugly

tapering

sharp

dull

small

pointed

lightweight

curved

straight

nimble

pitted

dented

ragged

worn

plain

ordinary

rustic

unadorned

primitive

Ashtani

Targossian

Cyrenian

Hashani

Mhaldorian

Eleusian

simple

devastating

overpowering

enormous

gigantic

grand

immense

colossal

extravagant

massive

barbed

stunning

fancy

flashy

costly

ornate

gaudy

grandiose

ostentatious

huge

barbaric

spiked

blackened

golden

diamond-edged

serrated

brutal

gleaming

shining

graceful

elegant

big

large

razor-sharp

keen

knife-edged

honed

jagged

bulky

lustrous

polished

sleek

sizable

ponderous

beefy

impressive

deadly

powerful

exquisite

indomitable

well-made

flawless

solid

sturdy

gilded

rugged

hardy

puissant

stout

mighty

sinous

serpentine

undulating

snaky

twisted

hooked

winding

supple

intimidating

slender

ominous

monstrous

grim

shimmering

fearsome

Tharvis

gilt-edged, maybe?

Ruth

Here are my suggestions:

shabby
traditional
ornamental
ceremonial
savage
cruel
brutal
training (I wanna make training shortswords!)
fencing (like a fencing rapier)

Eld

wicked
notched
grooved
sinister
hefty
needle-thin

Eld

Tharvis said:

gilt-edged, maybe?

He's already got gilded, and the edge is about the one part of a cutting weapon you'd definitely not want to cover in gold, I would think.

Eld

And @Sarapis, you've misspelled "sinuous" in your list.

Bluef

My apologies if any of these are repeats:

• unembellished
• barbarous
• baleful
• dark
• menacing
• begrimed
• sooty
• soot-covered
• malformed
• scarred

Syri

Input?

Fancy descriptors for blackjacks, please.

Addama

I know "vorpal" probably isn't an option given that there's already a vorpal (longsword?) but it would make an awesome descriptor.

Eld

Addama said:

I know "vorpal" probably isn't an option given that there's already a vorpal (longsword?) but it would make an awesome descriptor.

I think most people would count "vorpal" as implying a magic property, given common usage in D&D, etc.

Addama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal_sword

The term has been occasionally used in fantasy media, often referring to a sword with a wavy or unusually curved blade.

Eld

Addama said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal_sword

The term has been occasionally used in fantasy media, often referring to a sword with a wavy or unusually curved blade.

And if you read the rest of that section, there are several examples of it being used to describe particular enchantments, of swords and other things. I didn't say it's always used that way, just that it's used that way often enough that that will probably be a common interpretation, and since it's a nonsense word with no "correct" definition to appeal to, it's probably not a good choice for the desired goal.

Kresslack

For those interested, here's the alphabetized list that Sarapis provided, for easy comparison on whether or not your suggestion is already list:

[spoiler]
Ashtani
barbaric
barbed
beefy
big
blackened
brutal
bulky
colossal
costly
curved
Cyrenian
deadly
dented
devastating
diamond-edged
dull
elegant
Eleusian
enormous
exquisite
extravagant
fancy
fearsome
flashy
flawless
gaudy
gigantic
gilded
gleaming
golden
graceful
grand
grandiose
grim
hardy
Hashani
honed
hooked
huge
immense
impressive
indomitable
intimidating
jagged
keen
knife-edged
large
lightweight
lustrous
massive
Mhaldorian
mighty
monstrous
nimble
ominous
ordinary
ornate
ostentatious
overpowering
pitted
plain
pointed
polished
ponderous
powerful
primitive
puissant
ragged
razor-sharp
rugged
rustic
serpentine
serrated
sharp
shimmering
shining
simple
sinous
sizable
sleek
slender
small
snaky
solid
spiked
stout
straight
stunning
sturdy
supple
tapering
Targossian
twisted
ugly
unadorned
undulating
well-made
winding
worn
[/spoiler]

My suggestions:

archaic
balanced
banded
beveled
blood-stained
blunted
durable
heavy
molted
resilient
rippled
saw-edged
sharpened
tempered
thick
thin
weighted

Edit: Also, really excited about this.

Trey

I'd like a little freer of a hand with descriptions and shortnames. I always pictured the way this working would be most blacksmiths turning out the old, generic names,  with an option to pay for a custom sets of descriptions.  Once you'd made all of your choices, you'd be officially locked into your 'style', which would be neat because people with a keen eye would be able to tell walking into a room who made the weapon someone was holding.

Barring that, hopefully it will be possible to abstain from adding them.


Edit: @Sarapis‌, I don't mean it to sound like I'm completely trashing your idea, since it's obviously something you've worked on. I'm just personally not a fan of limited word use and phrasing when it comes to customizing descriptions. 

Kresslack

I don't think they're going to let people set custom descriptions for weapons/armour without going through the customisation process. At the very least, an extensive set of generic variables which an possibly be combined to offer countless combinations would make for a unique and interesting result.

Cooper

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

Achilles

daunting
formidable
troubling
gruesome
nightmarish
appalling
grisly
threatening
unnerving
horrifying
intimidating
brilliant
glowing

Trey

Cooper said:

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

I more meant like, say, the difference between 'a slender, knife-edged dirk' (admittedly making assumptions about how descriptors will work), and 'a whisper-thin dirk with a razored edge'. One just looks prettier,  but I'm (again) assuming that it will be a very rigid format with no wiggle room to do what I actually want it to look like. 

Kresslack

Trey said:

Cooper said:

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

I more meant like, say, the difference between 'a slender, knife-edged dirk' (admittedly making assumptions about how descriptors will work), and 'a whisper-thin dirk with a razored edge'. One just looks prettier,  but I'm (again) assuming that it will be a very rigid format with no wiggle room to do what I actually want it to look like. 

As I understand it, this revamp is about adding a bit more flavourful variety to the final product rather than actual customisation, for which there is already a process in place for.

Also adding to my list:

rounded
single-edged
double-edged

Sarapis

Kresslack said:

Trey said:

Cooper said:

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

I more meant like, say, the difference between 'a slender, knife-edged dirk' (admittedly making assumptions about how descriptors will work), and 'a whisper-thin dirk with a razored edge'. One just looks prettier,  but I'm (again) assuming that it will be a very rigid format with no wiggle room to do what I actually want it to look like. 

As I understand it, this revamp is about adding a bit more flavourful variety to the final product rather than actual customisation, for which there is already a process in place for.

Also adding to my list:

rounded
single-edged
double-edged

Correct. You're free to pay for a customisation as always. This system, however, ensures that weapon names will be concise and that no admin approval is needed. Concise is important because weapons are typically wielded and what you're wielding shows up in room descriptions.

Sarapis

Cooper said:

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

Definitely not. Already something we rejected. We've considered things like short-term auctions where descriptors come up regularly for automatic auction, and the winner can only produce X quantity of items with that descriptor, then it's out of commission until it comes up for auction again, etc. 

But, we'll see. Got some other plans down the road to die in with another system.

Trey

Sarapis said:

Kresslack said:

Trey said:

Cooper said:

Offer unique, custom descriptors for a credit fee. Once someone buys a word, no one else can use it.

I more meant like, say, the difference between 'a slender, knife-edged dirk' (admittedly making assumptions about how descriptors will work), and 'a whisper-thin dirk with a razored edge'. One just looks prettier,  but I'm (again) assuming that it will be a very rigid format with no wiggle room to do what I actually want it to look like. 

As I understand it, this revamp is about adding a bit more flavourful variety to the final product rather than actual customisation, for which there is already a process in place for.

Also adding to my list:

rounded
single-edged
double-edged

Correct. You're free to pay for a customisation as always. This system, however, ensures that weapon names will be concise and that no admin approval is needed. Concise is important because weapons are typically wielded and what you're wielding shows up in room descriptions.

I understand the need for concise if you're going that route. I was just pointing out what about it I thought was a shortcoming based on personal preferences. Is there a possibility of anything like I described becoming available, I.e. paying a fee in credits for fixed descriptions of items forged? It may not have the alterability of the more concise system,  but the tradeoff of a more personalized end product seems worth it, to the point where I think more than just myself would pay something for it. Seems like easy revenue too.

Sarapis

Not in the current plans, no.

Czanthria

Sorry if there is any repetition -

bloody
mammoth
mountainous
agile
behomoth
brawny
rugged
bronzed
bowed
tarnished
pitted
mud-caked
pretentious
gilded
refulgent
lustrous
polished
charred
seared
scorched

Faur

I, for one, am glad I read the thread BEFORE I got my torch and pitchfork...

Nim

Way to nerf Blademasters T_T

More seriously:
engraved (with actual words too, maybe?!)
floral
iron
jewelled
pale
silver
steel
watered

Color adjectives might be cool too. The following can apparently be made just from heat:
blue
purple
yellow

And the following would likely be cool additions also:
brown
crimson

Also, having runic as a descriptor would be cool, even if it's automatically added for runeblades and not something just anyone can make. Aesthetic, nonmagical runes would be cool though.

Draqoom

terrible
ugly
shoddy
botched
misshapen
laughable
uneven
poor
blunted
opulent
polished
bejewelled
lack-lustre
broken
stone
ordinary


(And that's just what I think of the idea! XD)

Synbios

saw-toothed
matt
gem-studded
decorated
etched
chipped
slim
cheap-looking
weighty
wave-patterned

Kresslack

Nim said:

Color adjectives might be cool too. The following can apparently be made just from heat:
blue
purple
yellow

And the following would likely be cool additions also:
brown
crimson

This could probably be achieved by using hues as descriptors (e.g. crimson-hued, violet-hued, gold-hued, etc).

Sarapis

Ok, we're good, thanks!