Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Kagus]

...I present the jester.

This lovely idiot could come with your first baron, there to entertain him and his lovely wife (yes, I'm using sexist generalizations for the sake of simplicity.  Nyah).  He is simply referred to as a "Fool", and will do nothing useful aside from maybe giving happy thoughts to the people he interacts with (or not, depending on their personality).

As the barony upgrades to a county, the fool becomes a "Jester".  Really just a name change, since he does the same thing.  When the county turns into a duchy, he becomes a "Court Jester".  With the arrival of the king, he becomes a "Royal Jester".  Either that, or he keeps the title of court jester.  Room requirements may or may not be subject to change.  Either way, he expects a free meal and a relatively comfortable room, but not much in the way of luxuries (mandates).

Heavily dyed clothing might be nice to see, but could be difficult to put in (I really don't know what I'm talking about). 


So essentially it's a sociable philosopher who plays the part of a portable comedian.  He could be helpful/hurtful by relaxing a noble who's angry after a failed mandate and becoming a "tantrum bomb" by making lots of friends within the fort (I think that just about every aspect of Dwarf Fortress should have the ability to both help and hurt the player).  Or he could just be another useless hanger-on like the advisor and philosopher.

Comments, anyone? 

[Deathworks]

Hello!

Well, this does sound like a very nice idea. And it could yield one or more new happy thought and one new unhappy thought text ("... got entertained by a fool", "... entertained someone", "... was annoyed by a fool").

There is not much material or technical impact while it is centered around the social interaction of the dwarves and their society. So, I think it is a very valuable addition to the game.

So, you have my thumbs up for this.

Deathworks

[Neoskel]

He would have to train up comedian skill to control his impact on your dwarves.

When he just arrives and has low skill he'll be more likely to annoy your dwarves, but as he gains comedian skill (from chatting and from jokes) there'll be a greater chance of him entertaining even the most curmudgeonly dwarves with his jokes.

Maybe he should pull pranks too, would annoy all but the most fun loving dwarves but entertains everyone else (except those with high empathy/sympathy), those with grudges against those dwarves would benefit the most. He could put dead rats in their bed or a bucket of water over their door. It would have to be something that you won't need for something else, or he'll mess up the entire production chain and annoy you along with the dwarf victim.

Ooh, would be funny if he prefers to prank nobles, but that's not good job security i guess... He'll probably suck up to nobles by pranking dwarves they have grudges against.

And what if it was an alternate punishment to be subjected to 7 pranks from the jester instead of 7 hammer strokes from the hammerer.   

[Skizelo]

Jester noble? I thought that was the philosopher!
(take that Plato!)

[Pilsu]

Frankly, I'd want to tame a kobold for the job and have a dwarf with animal handling and a whip make the bugger sing and dance

Bonus points if you need a new one occasionally after he tells raunchy plump helmet jokes to the countess

[Granite26]

doesn't seem very dwarfy to me.

That aside, he could sleep on the king's (count's) doorstep...

[Tormy]

doesn't seem very dwarfy to me.

Agreed.

[Othob Rithol]

I like it. Mostly for the opportunity to design his/her icon.

Add another really bad thought "....was made the butt of a joke by the fool."

If I ever were to have the situation occur in which the son of a dead King sought out the jester's skull in a macabre mood, I would likely donate Toady the whole of my checking account.

Dwarfliness is a highly subjective concept. If they would be so dour as to scorn such a concept....why would they have a comedian skill?

[Mikademus]

If I ever were to have the situation occur in which the son of a dead King sought out the jester's skull in a macabre mood

Oh God, the sheer magnificence of this! This would elevate DF from game to true Art! Which dreams, indeed, are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun, it shines everywhere. Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!
I took thee for thy better.