OOC pretext for glyph availability

[bilbous]

Is it my imagination or is the availability of glyphs through predetermined channels completely against the settings? According to the settings glyphs naturally occur somewhat randomly in the environment and yet certain glyphs are ultimately only possible to acquire from specific npcs. I think it would be much more in line with the settings if they were randomly discovered.

For example picking up a 'saffron' bundle would have a chance of receiving 'saffron with fire glyph.' This item could be used as regular saffron converted to pinches with a scoop, one of which might retain the glyph modification if you were lucky, or used as a fire glyph whose strength was modified by the essence of the item it occurred upon. Thus a saffron fire glyph might be fairly strong due to its coloring and the strength of its flavor whereas a saffron water glyph might be relatively weak.

The process of purifying a glyph could then be something more than just a pointless extra step  as it would serve to separate the glyph from its carrier and make it more permanent and focused. Thus purifying the saffron fire glyph would result, if successful, in a purified fire glyph with the saffron base used up and silently discarded from the game.

The npcs that provide glyphs currently could still do so though, the glyphs would be in the purified form and usable right away.

Alchemy and herbalism could depend on these unpurified glyphs with recipes requiring specific combinations of glyph/item type. A fire resistance potion might require an ingredient of diced carp fish with cold glyph and extended alchemy skill could increase the odds of the glyph attribute being preserved and extreme skill might even allow for more than one portion of the subdivided fish retaining the glyph attribute.

Anyway more than I wanted to say so what say you?

[verden]

I've always wondered myself what "found in nature" meant when talking about glyphs. Does the glyph represent something that appears to have been fashioned, or is it more like a sliver of rock, or is more like a chunk of ore? Do they simply appear? What physical process creates them? I don't really understand how the concept should be visualized, so I cannot figure the settings compliant answer... but I like your treatment of the processes.

[Illysia]

I like the idea. To me it always seemed as glyphs popped up in odd places like the picture of Mary on a Grilled Cheese sandwich. Then somebody like Levrus had to extract it and put it on to a stone in order to be useful.

[Rigwyn]

LOL at the cheese sandwich!

I do like the idea of having an extraction process or something for making a natural glyph usable.

[Falcon Avian]

And I'm assuming dark way glyphs can be found in things like the death realm and grendols 

[BoevenF]

but there's no physical process. Talad forged the glyphs in the third epoch, so they are made by a god for his purposes.

[bilbous]

I guess it is just a case of outdated settings information I relied upon because they used to say (somewhere, a book, a web page, a help file I don't remember) that they occur in nature and indeed the existence of at least one predates Talad's awareness of them as revealed "He called it "Hydlaa", the name of the most powerful glyph, that Vodùl had revealed to Laanx " in the third epoch. Am I misinterpreting this passage

The fact that Talad created all the glyphs in the game does not necessarily mean that he issued by hand each individual glyph, he could have just created the archetypes for each glyph and a Godly magical process that distributed them in a natural seeming way. There may be some other reason why this would not work within the settings, hidden or otherwise unknown to me.

Another thing about my idea is that it would allow for glyphs that have no magical function at all but could be the base for superstitious beliefs, be used for coded messages or some other user defined role play purposes.

As there are effectively an unlimited numbers of glyphs as it currently stands, did Talad really create an infinite amount all in one shot? I suppose that is something that will get dealt with eventually.

Talad also created the Kran but I think there are a few more around now than when he did.

[Rigwyn]

Even worse, only a select few distribute these glyphs ...

Did Talad come down Levrus's chimney with a huge sack crappy noob glyphs?

"Here ya go lad, this is all I made. Don't just share them like a fool .. sell em!
I'll be back for my cut on the tria, so don't go spending it all or I'll kick your ass"

Someone would have robbed the old coot by now .. no ?

[khoridor]

Talad also created the Kran but I think there are a few more around now than when he did.

Did you just prove that glyphs are alive?

[bilbous]

no, neither did I prove kran were glyphs.