Hrm, I get along moderately. I'm not a trans herbalist yet, I'm a bit above master, almost at the next level, but I manage. Flax and galingale are hard, this is true. I've only been able to get about 18 galingale in my harvesting career. But here's my concept on trade skills:
don't take them away from novices, the point of the skills in Lusternia is that it's customizable and you get to be what you want, or so it definately seems and is definately played as such. If I want to be a Paladin who harvests herbs and won't bash and do proper things at whenever I should be able to.
HOWEVER, why not put them on a probation period with the skillset? You can only go to 100% adept (or whatever) until you're out of guild novicehood (if applicable), have taken some sort of test on the proper ways of harvesting, been monitored, an interview or something of that nature, and have been harvesting for x time (2-4 years maybe)?
We currently have a clan for alchemists and herbalists, but they have no authority really. And it's a bit of a power struggle at time, small factions within it. An organization (or clan), I feel, should be created and run by a divine of any sort and should work in a fair manner etc. Organization would be nice, I just worry it might slide over to the stick in the arse Achaean Harvesting Manner.

You are a comedian. I think that the only real solution for the herb problem would be a semi-Oakstone working on Lusternia... but I can picture the lot of you shacking on your boots and cursing at Oakstone and my proposal. So, let us say you let overharvesting continue, few years from now you'll have something like this

Public News # xxxx
Date: Near Future
From: Anonymous
To: Everyone
Subject: I want my herbs

To those whom may concern, from this day forward in representation of the deceased Mother Nature, I annonce to you that herbs will grow no longer to amounts capable of satisfying the public demand. Harvesters don't bother on trying to upkeep any balance on your tradeskill, it will now be futile. The lot of you who wish for herbs, go ahead and pick-pocket the gluttonous bunch whom have grown fat from hording the herbs for centuries depriving you from satisfaction to your needs. Herbs have been seized and there will be no ransom.

Concerning the existing Herbalist/Alchemist clan, I have no idea what has been of it nor what path are they trying to reach towards... It was my intention to join it, but seeing how I am constantly going inactive, decided not to. Though, I can only hope that they aim to become organized not only in seeking ways to coordinate for replanting but also to try stop overharvesting/stripharvesting, etc. The fun part is, that even when there could be a thousand harvesters even with a few herbs to sell each harvester would be able to make a good amount of gold, but normally I think people have been constantly aiming to make much more to their convinience, and pay no expense for it.

I still rally behind an IC solution rather than a change to game mechanics. It kinda defeats the purpose of having an IC market if you are going to go and adjust it with OOC means.

I've just done what I could to adapt to the market demands and the short supply. Sure, it means that I spend most of my time searching out herbs and harvesting what I can find, but I've always been that way in these games.

If the herbs dry up too much, though, us herbalists are going to stop selling them and just eat 'em all ourselves! Heh heh...

of all the herbs that I can harvest I'm trying to build up a personal supply of 1k each, many people tell me this is what's ruining the market, oh well. I have to look out for myself, I'll rally behind you *hoozah*

Some herbs have already been over harvested to the point of extinction (or close to it) like merbloom and sparkleberry which had to be "fixed."

Meh, doesn't bother me. As a herbalist I like to have a supply behind me in the few hundreds. You never know when yourself needs them. Plus if you have enough that you are happy with you are not going to overharvest, just harvest what you are low on and maybe a few rooms at that.


What is with the swamps now, feels like horehound is the major herb for healing again.. Just stop it..

Let them get overharvested. The simple fact of the matter is most of the people playing Lusternia are not -newbies- They know damn well what they are doing. Yes it screws us all and I am an herbalist (again), so I am screwed too, but in the end people who overharvest are stuck with exactly what we are stuck with. Nothing.

For those that are newbies, each guild that can learn herbalism needs to set up a Novice scroll on herbs and enforce the reading of it. So if that novice chooses Herbalism they are aware of what that choice means.

As a former Hierophant of Oakstone I have one thing to say on that matter. Do not bring Oakstone to Lusternia.

I would have let them go extinct for a long while and then done a quest around them, like the adder thing *shrug*.

Merbloom was once down to one single plant for a few days but that was all and since the first herbalists were able to get to Astral sparkleberry was always available. I heard that in the beginning some people liked to taint astral but thanks to Val's efforts this changed and since then sparkleberry is always available.

Explain this? Wasn't exactly clear to me. As I see it, those who overharvest/strip harvest end up with everything stuck in their inventories, sell/use and are still likely to have bulk in their inventory. In my opinion, a harvester that is overharvesting/stripharvesting doesn't have a real clue what they are doing, just knows that herbs are always in demand.

Also, I agree. Oakstone was a lame, just a bunch of forestal elitist screwing with their benefits. I am happy to see that herb/alchemy have been seperated and that at least herbalist hasn't been focused on a single group in Lusternia. It is thanks to this that Oakstone wouldn't be able to be such a nuisance in Lusternia. Heh, I could only picture myself a Mhaldorian harvesting... unless I were forest enemied, and maybe even joining Oakstone.

Why all the hatred for Oakstone? All we've done in the last few decades is enemy overharvesters and morons who inferno or holocaust.

And ban the whole Mhaldor for just the "crime" of a single few and generation feed prejudice against Mhaldor, and composing a rigid control over the herb/market often abusing the privilege that they are the only ones capable of really regulating elixir/herb consumption.

Take notice though, that my opinion is completely based from a Mhaldorian perspective... I was oft suspect of being a criminal for the sole fact of being Mhaldorian. even though I must say, I witnessed first hand how ineffective bans imposed by Oakstone/Eleusis/forestals were futulie. Though, I acknowlegde the fact of Oakstone being essential to be able to regulate harvesting, that is why I think an Oakstone here would be good with the added benefit it in no way could be an organization centered in a small group.

Edit: Made correction

In my entire memory of life in Achaea (91 years now), Oakstone has never banned Mhaldor, only the guilds. I was actually surprised by how little we DID do, once I gained entrance. We touched the price list by setting up the talks between the guilds, we get patrol reports from the guilds, we make sure our totems stay up, and then we enemy anyone who burns/exterminates the woods. It's rather boring.

The problem with implementing it here, is that Serenwilde doesn't even attempt to be neutral. And unless you have defenses in every natural environment to destroy enemied overharvesters, it'd be focused on the forest (bad), or have just as much power as the clan does now. And if you gave them the power to strip harvesting from people, we'd never hear again, our eardrums having burst from all the whining.

I don't even want to think about that..
Its a shame though I would like to see some control over herbs, but really the best you can do is educate and trust that it didn't fall on deaf ears. Still being a herbalist that tries to keep up with the market without going over the limits is a headache. Sometimes all I want to do its take out a whole herb to go 'HA, now do you know what it feels like?'
Right now in dormant stage for harvesting. Don't answer pleas for herbs, don't harvest. Just taking time off

Going back a little bit, Gregori is totally right. I would wager that most of the people who harvest to zero know exactly what they're doing. The only thing they care about is making a fast profit and they know other people will work their asses off to replant so in their minds there wont ever be a complete herb extinction, it will just mean they have to take a minute longer to find the newly planted rooms.

I remember the old "Alchemy" thread from ages ago, which contains many things that are surprisingly still relevant today (considering how the post was made around November, I believe).

In there, I remember some alchemists complaining how they depended on herbalists too much for their trade, how perhaps herbalist should depend on some other trade so they couldn't practice their trade so freely. Though, what can be seen right now, is that in my opinion, both trades are equally messed up in various aspects.

In any case, I am pretty sure that there are some alchemists out there still complaining how acquiring herbs may be a bit more difficult. Then again, maybe not, considering how probably the harvester community could've expanded. Though, the problem about harvesting remains the same: total dependance on random factors. There is no way to control the trade, without the implementation of some special commands. I think that even a group coordinated well enough working simply by patrolling and things like that can be rendered useless by a maverick.

Personally, I vouched for an alchemist/herbalist clan to try and gather-up both trades and try work out a solution to this problem. A similar clan exist now, I belive, but I am not sure how they have been developing. In any case, my idea for this clan was to amass as enough herbalist to try coordinate with alchemist, provide them with an steady flow of herbs, also increase the manpower available to coordinate with patrolling in replanting. Sooner or later, if the clan increased in size and influence, request a Divine to administer some special powers either refusing an "overharvester " to harvest, or at the very least see who had been harvesting in room allowing the clan to work as a whole in response to any sign of abuse of harvesting.

Anyway, I consider that such clan could remain neutral, seeing how it would be international and consisting only of harvesters/alchemists looking for a way to regulate their trades. Thanks to the fact that harvesters can be world-wide, there would be no way for this clan/organization to be "exclusive" to a sector. To say the least, my idea of such clan/organizaton was to make function as a pivot to regulate the correlated trades of herbs/elixirs.

Though, after falling inactive constantly I haven't done much of anything... but I still consider that this idea would be proper.

Just give Nature users last harvest... it will solve a -lot- of problems..,

Enlighten me, what does last harvest do? Let's you see who last harvested an area?... That appears to be the obvious