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[Chagen46]

Right now, as long as you have ONE skill level, you can read any book without difficulty. I don't know about you, but I find that it strains credibility that a novice reader could understand a tome on incredibly debase and secret dark magic written by a Necrourge* hermit enough to actually make use of the magic it teaches.

If reading books on necrourgy* actually took a high amount of skill in Reading (I'm not sure how high it should be...), not only would it be more logical, then you'd actually have to sacrifice points in other areas instead of just dumping ONE point into reading and all of a sudden your boneheaded hammerman adventurer can read necrourgy books.

*: Also, can we please stop using the incorrect term of "Necromancy/Necromancer"? "-mancy" means "divination"--the correct term would be "Nercrourgy/Necrourge". In a game as linguistically accurate as Dwarf Fortress, this is a really mystifying oversight.

[10ebbor10]

*: Also, can we please stop using the incorrect term of "Necromancy/Necromancer"? "-mancy" means "divination"--the correct term would be "Nercrourgy/Necrourge". In a game as linguistically accurate as Dwarf Fortress, this is a really mystifying oversight.

We don't want another cheap fantasy universe, we want a cheap fantasy universe generator

Cheap fantasy says necromancer => Df says necromancer

As for the actual suggestion, I was under the impression that the entire necromancer, werebeast and vampire system was temporary, and will be replaced with random generation soon. This'll probably include different methods of becoming one

For now, this suggestion has little value though, as there isn't much to read.

[ShadowLop]

This would be a lot more viable if there were other things to read besides necromancy tablets.

Having a way to raise your reading skills post-gen would be required before you can set high reading requirements on anything.

[Bumber]

This would be a lot more viable if there were other things to read besides necromancy tablets.

Having a way to raise your reading skills post-gen would be required before you can set high reading requirements on anything.

Reading shop signs would be a good idea for dabbling readers (the adventurer correlates the picture with the text.) Engravings Memorial engravings would follow that, followed by short written books, followed by longer ones, ending with magic tablets.

[ShadowLop]

This would be a lot more viable if there were other things to read besides necromancy tablets.

Having a way to raise your reading skills post-gen would be required before you can set high reading requirements on anything.

Reading shop signs would be a good idea for dabbling readers (the adventurer correlates the picture with the text.) Engravings would follow that, followed by short written books, followed by longer ones, ending with magic tablets.

I like this, actually

[Neonivek]

Because literacy was so uncommon during this time period even signs that had the name of the shop would tend to also have a symbol that gave away its function as well (So a bar would have a picture of beer or a keg or something like that)

So reading for signs isn't exactly needed for that job.

[Bumber]

Because literacy was so uncommon during this time period even signs that had the name of the shop would tend to also have a symbol that gave away its function as well (So a bar would have a picture of beer or a keg or something like that)

So reading for signs isn't exactly needed for that job.

Which makes them a great starting point for training Not Reader/Dabbling Reader to Novice Reader.

There's a picture of a keg. Adventurer thinks, "This letter combination has something to do with booze." Adventurer gains reading skill points.

Scratch engravings, though. They don't actually have any text, do they?

[Loud Whispers]

Scratch engravings, though. They don't actually have any text, do they?

They sometimes contain dates and names which is most likely not illustrated but simply inscribed. Same with signatures in masterworks.

[Bumber]

They sometimes contain dates and names which is most likely not illustrated but simply inscribed. Same with signatures in masterworks.

Now that I think of it, wouldn't memorial engravings contain text? I think that's what I was originally going for. The warnings in tombs and stuff.

[ScegfOd]

I like the sound of Necrourgy and Necrourge more than Necromancy and Necromancer, so I hope Toady would like to change it.

[Kazymir]

I like the idea of someone with a low skill completely botching reading a tablet. Can you imagine the hilarity of only getting a small part of the secret? "Oh, I can TOTALLY raise hordes of the ravening dead... I just can't get them to do anything other than stand there and drool."

[Neonivek]

I like the idea of someone with a low skill completely botching reading a tablet. Can you imagine the hilarity of only getting a small part of the secret? "Oh, I can TOTALLY raise hordes of the ravening dead... I just can't get them to do anything other than stand there and drool."

Honestly I don't think it would quite work like that. I bet the revelation is a bit more obvious and instant.

A "Know it or don't know it" skill so to speak. Binary.

[Matoro]

It wouldn't add anything new to the game - just some boring reading-training what nobody would do otherwise. As long as reading is slow and hard (interfacially, like it is now), and there is really nothing interesting to read, demanding high skill for reading slabs - honestly the only thing reading is for - would be just waste of time.

[Bumber]

It wouldn't add anything new to the game - just some boring reading-training what nobody would do otherwise. As long as reading is slow and hard (interfacially, like it is now), and there is really nothing interesting to read, demanding high skill for reading slabs - honestly the only thing reading is for - would be just waste of time.

If there were books of lore in libraries and such (plus a way to access your known lore) the skill would be more useful. The whole menu interface needs reworking anyways, in both Adventure and Fort modes.

[Mel_Vixen]

Ability to read != Ability to understand a text/theme.

So if you get the secret tought/read by a god/necro-mancer/-urge/whomever you should be able to use that knowledge if you are intelligent enough. Learning to read and write shouldnt be to hard althought you would find someone/something that gives you a how to which can be very hard.


Btw. Necromancer is actualy more right them most -mancers, some old european text divide necrourgy in two disciplines. Working with dead things and working with ghosts and souls. The later was used as a form of divination.