Hello everyone,
Long time fan of the game but only just getting into the forums. With the new artifact update and the magic and myth one to come I thought I would just hop on here and just suggest a few things I've been begging to see enter the game but still haven't made it. As far as I can tell, I couldn't find most of them on the development page but please let me know if they have been suggested / planned before. Sweet.
Property
Being able to own a house in npc cities, such as towns, villages, hillocks etc. It would become a base of operations of sorts, somewhere I could always return to after a long quest to drop off items and loot. Maybe we could purchase it (though money supposedly isn't coming until the economy update?), inherit it from a companion's death or with improved starting conditions, or earn it through completing a dangerous quest.
This could branch out into productive efforts, such as taverns, dyeworks, libraries, breweries etc. and could even serve as a base of operations for adventurer parties (below).
Hero Immersion
Commissioning artisans for particular items, such as asking a smith to forge you your very own weapon/armor, or a gem setter to encrust your favorite weapon with a ruby you found on your travels etc. This would make interactions worthwhile and each item you own feel more genuine and styled to your liking. You would have to wait until the work was done, and I even imagine a mini-cutscene similar to the opening of the game where the craftsman hammers the steel, purges the burning hot metal in water and holds it into the light. Higher skilled crafters would make you higher skilled items.
Reading a book - If anyone has played their other game Liberal Crime Squad (LCS), they'll remember how a newspaper would flash up with certain words and pictures telling you how you were going. Reading a book could pop up a screen similar with different styles - A map book could have a condensed picture of the world / certain regions, Chronicles could list their respective data, Manuals on knowledge (such as bird migration) could have small images articulating the point. This could even work with spellbooks / scrolls where incantations, ritual processes, magic etc can be seen. This is something that I know would turn books from items that are somewhat not useful in adventure mode to interesting and unique items that immerse a player as a hero.
Being able to form and name Adventurer Parties - Once you have enough in your group, (say anywhere from 2 up), you should have the ability to form an adventurer party (much the same as a performance troupe). This would then allow the sharing of experience and glory between the members of the party. Reason: quite a few times I've taken on an adventurer apprentice with me to prevent !fun! in the night time, but when it comes to the big show down and they're the one to give the finishing blow (sometimes even just a punch) to the legendary dragon and they get to brag about the kill, that's a real bummer. In this way one hero wouldn't claim all the glory for themselves but inform others that "The Fiery Fellowship confronted the dragon Flarrgh in the midsummer of..... Urist the axedwarf struck the killing blow." The feeling of being in a group is somewhat more appealing to me than simply dragging along mindless followers. There could be discussions about where the party should venture to next, if they should expand if they are in need of certain roles, you could seek out specific heroes and ask them to join you, some could wholeheartedly accept whilst you might have to barter with others by splitting certain percentages of any profits, get petitions from wandering mercenaries and peasants alike all seeking glory. Hell adventurer parties could even show up in your fortress looking for monsters to slay. They could petition to stay and roam the caverns below or train your military dwarves or go treasure hunting off in the world.
More nuances with lairs and caves. Right now they all feel relatively the same and are fairly devoid of loot and treasure. Small lairs dug by were-afflicted peoples are currently the same as the lair of a dragon, or a giant/cyclops or a hydra. I would love to see bigger and more expansive lairs for megabeasts and semi-megabeasts, ones that could be unique to each creature. E.g. A dragon covets gold where a cyclops kidnaps sheep. A horde of treasure against piles of animal bones. I have a feeling this been suggested.
Backstories - You could do this by selecting already existing historical figures as your parents, or the game could generate a family for you. It could be completely randomized or you could influence it. It could include your parents' professions, your status in society, your migration between cities and adventures in your youth, wars that occured or the flattening of a city by a megabeast could all influence your pre-history. Your brother could have been killed tragically in the war, or you could be an orphan raised by dwarves, or the fifth child of minor nobles with no inheritance likely. You could even begin the game married and with children. It would also be fun to begin the game without any weapons as a budding adventurer, where you could join the local city guard and get your first arms and training. It means you could start the game with a home and recognizable characters that ground your story in truth. Your parents could be proud of their child rising as a hero, or curse them as a brigand.
Refined Quests
I think that there could be a system implemented into the game where you choose an active quest and tell people about it. You would first ask about any trouble as normal and then decide from there which beast you are to hunt. There could be then be a dialogue option where you physically tell someone "I, Urist McAdventuredwarf, am hunting down the mountain titan Scaryname. Is there any aid you can render a soldier of fortune?" Or something. Or certain individuals could ask you for help directly where you have to accept or decline. By telling people this, they could relay any relevant information to you regarding their calamities, such as to approach from the west, or use steel weapons, or attack under cover of darkness, or a lord could lend you several soldiers / grant you weapons. Upon announcing your quest, you might have to complete it under a given time otherwise people think you are lying or not a capable warrior. It would then introduce a reward system to the game, where killing a great beast actually will give you something tangible other than fame and reputation. You could haggle with a quest-giver - much the same as you do with an elven diplomat - about a reward; such as a large sum of gold, a certain position in society (a baron maybe or high priest of a faith), a house / residency in the city, even gifting a successful adventurer an artifact. And then returning to a civ successful could give you civ specific titles. For example, being elevated to a thane (honorary warrior) within society. The lord/lady could say: "Urist, for your heroic deeds in completing your noble quest, I hereby bestow upon you the title of "Manos", meaning 'hero of men' in our tongue." Therefore, you are more exalted in a particular civ as you undertook the quest in their name.
Quest ideas:
Dwarves that have had to leave their fortresses because of an unexpected guest could petition adventurers to kill the beast and help them reclaim their home. They could offer a reward straight up (gold or items), or upon completion, or a shared amount of the treasure, or even long term residency and friendship at the fortress-to-be.
A scholar or poet could ask to be escorted through the wild places of the world. They could have a destination in mind, such as "the Library at Seatangled" or simply to roam the wilds and explore. They could compose a work of your adventures and spread your fame.
Acting as a diplomat between factions, either to incite war or to enter peace negotiations.
These are all my ideas compiled over the years of playing. I'm hoping adventure mode gets the attention it deserves with the next update because I love roaming my worlds as a single character. Let me know what any of your thoughts are, if any of my suggestions are too far-fetched or unlikely, but also if you like any ideas to tell me so!
Cheers