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[Fossaman]

I think that some social skills should be eligible for strange moods. A comedian would create the world's funniest joke, a flatterer an extravagant compliment, a consoler a memorable eulogy...The thinking behind this is that our culture has a number of 'legendary' speeches, that have influenced culture and politics long after their delivery.

Social 'artifacts' shouldn't have a physical item attached to them (until books and such are in, I guess), but they should have a permanent or semi-permanent on the happiness and behavior of the dwarves in your fort. A consoler's artifact might reduce the level of grief from deaths and loss, for example. I was thinking a dwarf might require a meeting area and idle dwarves present to deliver his 'artifact' to.

I don't really have much to flesh out this idea with, but I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

[Neonivek]

I don't know.

Poems, Joke Books, Books on Social Graces can all be artifacts that could come dirrectly from social skills.

When an artifact is held within a person it is more of a spell or epiphany.

[Grek]

I can see a legendary/famous speech, but not really an artifact speech. What would the materials be?

[Amalgam]

I like the sound of a sudden burst of inspiration leading to a famous speech, this would tie in well with diplomacy and inter-personal interactions. I imagine a comedian would search for an audience and do a legendary performance. A consoler/pacifier would probably cure an insane dwarf (legendary shrink anyone?), an inspired conversationalist could make a lot of very close friends in a short span of time which would make them more influential. All the other social skills would be most relevant to diplomacy, the dwarf could be able to pull some strings he wouldn't normally be able to.

[KenboCalrissian]

Good idea, but I see the permanant positive effects on behavior causing problems with long-term forts.  Over the years, you accumulate so many good mood bonuses from 'artifact speeches' that it becomes downright impossible to lose a fort to tantrum spiral, even if you try.

The first logical conclusion that comes to mind is that if there are perma-buffs, there should also be perma-penalties (for example, your legendary fisher got dragged into the river by a now-named carp.  Tragedy engulfs your denizens, and now they're all afraid to go near water!), or even some neutral effect that causes a behavior change that's neither inherently good or bad.  It seems really interesting, but it throws consistency into question.  Too many changes could present the player with a combination of bonuses/deficits that their dwarves become totally unpredictable, which gets in the way of things like megaprojects.

Of course, that's the worst-case scenario.  If the likelihood of these changes is rare, and the changes aren't so drastic that it breaks the game over time, I think it could work... however, I'd want to explore other possibilities of game effects before settling on it.  Maybe it could effect the number of migrants you get per year - I'd find it especially useful for offsetting the "Nobody even considered settling in such a death trap this year" message in a terrifying biome where I need as many dwarves as I can get!

[Konpeito]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gpjk_MaCGM

This is what happens when you mood Comedian.

[Pilsu]

I'd rather see legendary speeches being a matter of an exceptionally socially gifted dwarf. They'd be pretty useless unless you put him into a position of power which would leave you vulnerable to losing said dwarf and incurring a devastating morale hit unless his replacement could muster a sufficiently bad ass revenge speech. Or console the masses. Whatever works. Socially insensitive dwarves might even crack jokes and lose friends over it

I'd prefer legendary social skills actually live up to the moniker and not be available for many dwarves. Something truly exceptional

[Fossaman]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea of legendary speeches etc. being the product of the mood system as it's implemented now. Conditions in your fortress need to be the trigger, not a random timer.

[Amalgam]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gpjk_MaCGM

This is what happens when you mood Comedian.

What's weird is that I knew what that link was before I even clicked it.

 

[Halmie]

It's not weird at all. I knew what the link was before I even read the second post. It was bound to be dropped in at least the first 8 posts.

Legendary speeches might be ok if started with an event. Say if half the fort dies the speaker might stop tantrum spirals.