So I was talking with my buddy Nejii and we were thinking a bit about the Bookbinding tradeskill and a few changes that could be made to make it a more attractive, profitable, and useful skill for those using it and benefitting from it.

Gold Outlay

Gold outlay really needs to be lowered for some, if not all books. I realize we were in need of various gold sinks, but some of it even turns me away. Aside from making PrintingPress look awesome, I really don't see how the amount of gold in outlay is worth having.

Page Length

As I haven't used any of the books yet I'm not quite sure how long this is for some items, but I've heard that scrolls were holding huge amounts of information (As in various skillsets and explanations for each individual skill without running dry). Could we have a look at that?


Enchanting Scrolls

I'm pretty sure this might get a few evil eyes, but is it too much to ask to be able to enchant our own magic scrolls? (Nejii, they're gonna eat me alive!!) It's bad enough that we have a tradeskill that's one of the more optional ones (Yet holds a decent amount of roleplay value) and isn't necessary unless used through libraries, and this might be a nice change to bring business to the more casual users of the skill.

As of now, aside from scrolls, Bookbinding is really one of those skills driven by roleplay and not necessity as the other tradeskills have shown to be (Artisan aside) and could really use a push. Since I am on the subject I'd like to ask that Artisan have a look too, if not some suggestions from Artisans that frequently use the skill.

On another miscellaneous note, could clothing be worn with Great Robes? It seems in exchange for armor tailors must give up their normal business, unless that has been changed and I not notice it.

Feel free to throw in your opinions, as I'm interested in hearing them.

Bookbinding should really be a secondary tradeskill, a tradeskill that everyone can take up alone with one of the main ones.

Something I'd just like to add to this is that unlike forging/jewellery/tailoring, all of which offer products with (kind of) optional usage and long decay time (books have -none at all-, though that shouldn't be changed) 90% of the things we sell are really expensive and thus out of the price range of -most- of the people who would spend their money on small RP trinkets (one book isn't much of a contribution to a library, especially when if you buy an omnibus you're getting shafted compared to someone who buys 32 scrolls for about the same price). The exceptions are protection scrolls (and to a lesser extent healing and disruption scrolls, and to an even LESSER extent curse scrolls), but you can't really sell them consistently because after the first sale all the business goes to enchanters.

So we kind of get shafted. As has been mentioned I think artisans have problems too, but I'll let them comment on that. It's like they're the two least necessary trades. (The reason I think forging is so crappy for everyone, btw, is because it's not crappy, fieldplate rocks, so everyone gets it, and that means they can supply their own stuff.)

And I want a refund to get trans herbs again if they make bookbinding a secondary skill, which I think is avoidable with one or more of KidHendrix's suggestions.

If they ever do that secondary thing, I agree.

So apparently no one cares about thier cities power income?

Isn't being able to have mutiple langauges and reading divine script reason enough to be an exclusive book binder?

Honestly, with Celest pumping out all of their Aqua novice essays for power intake, it's pretty much pointless.

That's pretty much why I transed it.

Not really. (Well, maybe others do. I don't really care much for it)

And as for the languages, Corr, I still haven't bothered to learn mine yet and I'm Transcendent. I enjoy having the option, but I'm extremely picky in what I'd like to learn. Divine Script is nice, but it doesn't play an active role unless I decide to make some sort of ub... hmmmm.

You do realize, it is possible to critique published works? And if the critique is valid, it hurts the city that published it?

If you think the works Celest is putting out is bad, critique it, and let the world know what they publish is rubbish.

Divine script is really only for the one book. I can't see the point in having a language any scribe can read, because unlike a racial language or enchantedscript other orgs can read it as well so it's not like keeping any secret at all. It's just a nice twist. The other languages are okay, but they're barely used either, and it doesn't make the skill any more viable for money.

EDIT: Viravain, doesn't the file say that the critiquing is only supposed to be for grammar and stuff? Lemme get the other thread.

Pretty much discussed in here.

It's a bunch of rubbish, yea - but it's novice essays. They cover the topic, and a lot of the commune's administration says critiqueing is JUST for grammatical errors - which I think is, as well, rubbish. But, I'm not the librarian!

Read the other thread Shiri posted and what Viravain said, criqueing is not just for grammatical errors or the like

Edit: And personally I'm curious if encipher in rituals will work on journals or other books created with bookbinding, I know it works on the journal you get from coming through the portal, and on letters, but it doesn't on a bookbinding made scroll, not sure about the rest. That would at least allow you to encipher your writing so only those that have rituals (or later Sacrements or Necromancy) can understand it. Little to not used ability that I personally thought was rather nifty and had some potential but unused/unpractical, like nightsight

My suggestions, to cure the fact that bookbinding has barely any repeat customers:

1. Make books decay. Have it take a long time, but have them decay.
2. Have PrintingPress copy the contents of one book into another of the same type, instead of making a new book.
3. Lower the gold outlay on items.
4. Take away the need to enchant scrolls. Have it be 50 lines of magic text or something, and they disappear as used, Bookbinder has to rewrite them for you.

1. No. As much as I'd like repeat customers, I think a decay time would be kind of meh. Unless you mean only for books not stored in libraries.

2. Good idea. I mean, not that we should have all of these, just a couple.

3. Yep.

4. Yep.

Books in libraries obviously wouldn't, they're being cared for by librarians and archivists. Books being carried around in your pack? Much more wear.

I think we do need more ups, but taking away from enchanters definately isn't it. Sorry - I think scrolls of healing/protection/etc should remain as-is.

I'd rather just have bookbinding as a secondary skill, and everyone with bookbinding now gets 300 free credits

Sure, it's not like they get a whole skillset of enchanting things. They obviously need the extra business, because enchanters are lucky if they ever get business, and need a boost.

Why? They already have all of Cosmic/Elementalism + HighMagic for enchantments. It's only four scrolls, and just one is used frequently. Healing is like.. very secondary and mainly just for stacking another 60 or so health per scroll balance. Protection is the main item, while disruption anc curses are a very distant second (As curses takes EQ to read, I believe. Not sure about disruption, but most likely the same).