COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
Should NPC's be in store?

During the last KSV we saw items that could only be used by bloodline and above, therefor this post.

should NPC's be a thing in the promo store? it has been said that NPC's bought in the EP store will assume the form of the tribe of wich the population is most abundant in your domain, so basically the same with some mounts that will have their own biome specific form.

why should NPC's be in the promo store or why shouldnt there be NPC's in the promo store?

(to make this post easier please like if you think that NPC's should be in the promo store or dislike if you think NPC's have no place in the promo store.


10/18/2019 10:23:50 AM #16

We know they will be in for exposition and some basic pricing. Its going to be critical to round out and balance a lot of places as the NPC's listed are almost random or incredibly niche. Exposition is about setting up the world for play in the game and the NPCs aren't cheap (3 non specialised professions like farmers for 400 EP) so you really don't want to get a lot. From memory, I have no one either in notable or normal professions related to running, defending etc etc my border capital - I however have a LOT of animal related professions! On that basis to make it even vaguely normal I'll definitely need to get quite a number to flesh out the place. Of course that also means I need more parcels (and farmers) to support those new people. ;)

Limitations on the NPC's by account just make no sense as whats unbalancing in a hamlet is a drop in the ocean in a capital.


Count Darothar, Bleak Ark

10/18/2019 10:26:12 AM #17

There is a fundamental difference between the store and the EP store, what you buy in the store wont "poof" into existence after launch, you will need to go with your token to the appropriate vendor and exchange it for the thing you want, if they do not have the thing you want in store, you will either have to select an equivalent thing they have or wait for the thing you want to actually be available.

If NPCs were to be sold into the store it would mean first that a character vendor exist. At best what they could sell in the store is NPC employment contracts, appropriately used they would at some point bring an NPC to sign it and work for you according to the clauses of the contract.

Anything beyond that has to be done during expo and as such point toward the EP store and not the store. I also hope, like Huntsmaster pointed at, that there will be "rules" and limits. For example there should be constraints to at least how many NPCs you can add to a place, probably tied to the number of available housing and to the "control" one has over the place or the profession options available.... but that is a bit of a chicken/egg question, do i need an extra forge to recruit a blacksmith or do i need an extra blacksmith to build a new forge, or are those even related, i could want to build a new forge for me or to attract an existing blacksmith and want to grow a crew of blacksmith in an already existing forge....

But, one thing is sure is that NPC do not have their place in the store or if they really were to go there they'd need to be gated at bloodline and limited to be used during expo.


10/18/2019 10:30:44 AM #18

I personally am not sure what to think about NPC's in the EP store.

The settlements we have are meant to have been running before we even get into exposition.

What I would like is, however is to be able to buy a family (tribe) from outside of your kingdom and plop them down... So you can start the game as a member of that family....

I.e buy a Dras family for your settlement Far north and then pick to start the game as the head of that family to takeover as your mayor or whatever.


10/18/2019 10:58:44 AM #19

Posted By markof at 07:26 AM - Fri Oct 18 2019

If NPCs were to be sold into the store it would mean first that a character vendor exist. At best what they could sell in the store is NPC employment contracts, appropriately used they would at some point bring an NPC to sign it and work for you according to the clauses of the contract.

I really like that idea, and perhaps you could even use it in combination with the second part. Meaning, you have to have a forge available before you can create a contract for an NPC blacksmith to fill, but just because you create the forge doesn't mean you have to create the contract.

That would potentially give a settlement owner the ability to really influence the development of their settlements, by deciding what they want to build, and also limit (somewhat) the ability for some to buy like crazy and over-balance. Want to buy a soldier? You can offer a contract, but first you need to put a bunk in the barracks. Want more bunks? Need another barracks, which needs more land/parcels, etc.

And if the contracts were filled by available NPC's, maybe in a certain range, it could potentially draw the overstock off from other settlements. So if you have 5 animal trainers, and you really only need 1, somebody opening a contract in the vicinity might draw off one of your surplus.


10/18/2019 2:25:10 PM #20

Posted By Coinmail at 12:58 PM - Fri Oct 18 2019

Posted By markof at 07:26 AM - Fri Oct 18 2019

If NPCs were to be sold into the store it would mean first that a character vendor exist. At best what they could sell in the store is NPC employment contracts, appropriately used they would at some point bring an NPC to sign it and work for you according to the clauses of the contract.

I really like that idea, and perhaps you could even use it in combination with the second part. Meaning, you have to have a forge available before you can create a contract for an NPC blacksmith to fill, but just because you create the forge doesn't mean you have to create the contract.

That would potentially give a settlement owner the ability to really influence the development of their settlements, by deciding what they want to build, and also limit (somewhat) the ability for some to buy like crazy and over-balance. Want to buy a soldier? You can offer a contract, but first you need to put a bunk in the barracks. Want more bunks? Need another barracks, which needs more land/parcels, etc.

And if the contracts were filled by available NPC's, maybe in a certain range, it could potentially draw the overstock off from other settlements. So if you have 5 animal trainers, and you really only need 1, somebody opening a contract in the vicinity might draw off one of your surplus.

heh, maybe an npc in each settlement called the import manager, he can import npc's with certain skills from places we never heard of :P


10/18/2019 6:33:04 PM #21

I am for Npc in the EP store as soon as possible. COE is a Sandbox and I think we should have as many way to customise our Domains. Buying extra Npc means that we need to provide food as well or they will leave for a better place. I think everyone need to be smart about this... Sustainability is the key I believe and if low you have to work it out to balance it.


10/18/2019 6:48:01 PM #22

Posted By markof at 05:26 AM - Fri Oct 18 2019

If NPCs were to be sold into the store it would mean first that a character vendor exist.

It doesn't mean that at all, actually. No such requirement exists. That they have done it that way for items doesn't require them to do it that way for everything they stock in the promo store. In fact, they've already deviated somewhat from past practices.

One of the main benefits of promo items was that they did not need to be placed in Expo, but the siege engines they added during the KSV promo required that you place them in Expo. The studio has changed enough things over the years that anything is really possible at this point.

At best what they could sell in the store is NPC employment contracts, appropriately used they would at some point bring an NPC to sign it and work for you according to the clauses of the contract.

I do like that idea, although you could rationalize NPC purchases as the existence of an NPC slave trade. But another idea that would be interesting is if they sold NPC baby contracts in the store so you could get a leg up on creating those much needed heirs. :)

that there will be "rules" and limits

Definitely agree and there have to be because there are certainly technical limits beyond which server performance can/will degrade. Based on their reaction to all the capitals that sprung up in D&SS, it's possible that we may be close to or have already crossed that threshold.


10/18/2019 8:53:49 PM #23

I’d personally prefer that purchasable NPCs be contractors that would walk into your town day 1 of expo, perhaps with their own land tokens to turn in, or profession stations.


10/19/2019 12:53:24 AM #24

No. Enough things are sold.


10/21/2019 9:49:52 AM #25

NPCs are your friends!

I don't fully understand the fear mongering about NPCs here and would hope some will properly explain, after reading these thoughts of mine.

Having 1000 soldiers is an advantage, but also has risks of them switching sides or becoming bandits.

With so many players wanting to adventure and do combat, the bandits would die out very fast, that's why more NPCs are good, even if they don't end up staying with the ones who poofed them into their settlements.

Not to forget that we don't know exactly how much easier NPCs will die off, if they are like animals and monsters that are gone after one kill or if there is a revival chance akin to astral walking back for players.

Lastly there are so many tasks that only a small percentage of players would truly enjoy, like fetching water all day, emptying the potty from feces, seed, plant and harvest huge acres etc.

Some tasks might be fun for players at first, but having played many such games myself, unless there was a way to improve and automate such tasks to be easier and swift, it would get mundane, repetetive and ultimately boring, a task for NPCs.

Now why is "too many NPCs" a bad thing again? Because that's what the topic implies, players buying too many in the store, since it was mentioned they will be available in EP store.

Worst case y'all can just go eat them.


Shroud to The Covenant of the Veil

10/21/2019 2:59:25 PM #26

Keep in mind that NPCs are going to behave as players, requiring the same basic needs as a person such as food, water, and shelter. If their needs are not met then they will turn to crime to meet them if they have to. So, if you buy too many NPCs you can screw yourself over here. Yes they should be available. No they should not be available before launch.


Kingdom: Blackheart | Duchy: Drakeolm | County: Hammerbull Dominion | Family: Stormrage | Role: Shaman

10/21/2019 5:16:14 PM #27

I can see how people would want to change the specialization of their settlements. So instead of buying NPC's maybe sell tokens that allows for existing NPC's to be rerolled with the desired skills.

Selling NPC's? I don't see that working out too well. People with the biggest wallets would only be further unbalancing the world and we already have too many capitals crowding some areas.


10/21/2019 5:25:50 PM #28

Not read the whole thread so I apologise if someone has already said this.

Imho, no they shouldn't be in the store. What's the point in building a system for npc migration just to have the players buy what they want.


10/21/2019 9:55:11 PM #29

Posted By Sir_Skylos at 7:25 PM - Mon Oct 21 2019

Not read the whole thread so I apologise if someone has already said this.

Imho, no they shouldn't be in the store. What's the point in building a system for npc migration just to have the players buy what they want.

after exposition - no - but before sure - since exposition is about building the world - doesn't make sense to build a brand new smitty and not having a smith

but having some kind of limiter based on what is built or availible would be prudent - like no sense adding more npcs without enough housing - (unless they are beggars/vagabonds/nomads i suppose)


FAA671

10/21/2019 9:56:26 PM #30

Posted By Ashina at 1:16 PM - Mon Oct 21 2019

I can see how people would want to change the specialization of their settlements. So instead of buying NPC's maybe sell tokens that allows for existing NPC's to be rerolled with the desired skills.

Selling NPC's? I don't see that working out too well. People with the biggest wallets would only be further unbalancing the world and we already have too many capitals crowding some areas.

That's actually a better solution compared to increasing server NPC population or moving NPCs from somewhere else. The settlement population would remain the same and people would not be able to go too crazy with NPC soldiers/guards. The problem would be which NPCs get converted. The settlement owner should have a say in which NPCs should get converted (x number of soldiers to farmers or something else).


Greybattle County