I was going to reply to this Player Housing Done Right about an idea I had for something I’d like for player Housing, but I haven’t made a proper post in a while so I want to put it here for my idea.
I’ve always been skeptical of player housing. I’m not completely sold on it because I know it would split the RP scene and people would be holed up in their homes and I feel it people might lean on that instead of learning how to navigate a public setting.
But I agree with something in Kirsy’s posts about not including big features like the AH to keep people from staying in there and giving people a reason to leave.
One thing I feel though, is that the design around a player housing system really needs to hit it out of the park to keep up with other games. For me, close to Sims level of ability to move things around and customize the floors, walls, windows. Access to new decor through reputation (NOT rep caches), rares, dungeons, achievements and…professions.
I’ve always been intrigued at customization being provided through an expanded means and professions is one of them. And right now I want to talk about the idea of a Taxidermy profession as a subset of Leatherworking for a hypothetical player housing perk.
Many professions could have unique items to add to like tailoring for drapes, cushions, rugs, bedding. Engineering could create fun little autmated coffee systems, security systems ect.
But to me, a big thing that would keep up a fantasy vibe is something related to Taxidermy. Play in this space with me, if you will.
Taxidermy should be able to create a static display of every animal in game, with some animals being opened up through experience. You start with small beasts and work your way up to unlocking access to larger animals like elekks, orcas and clefthoof. This includes head mounts.
NEW PROFESSION: TAXIDERMY
Reagents:
New reagents like wood, tanning solution, leather dye, degreaser and white bone cleaner. These would be used as ingredients for tanning specific pelts or cleaning an obtained skull.
Wood:
New NPCs for the items, and separate ones for wood. Wood from different places around the planet that can add a specific aesthetic to the creation. Grizzly Hills wood come in more rustic colors for that rough and woodsy feeling. Silverpine wood is treated with darker colors with more gothic designs for that witchy or dark aesthetic.
The dyes could be an unlock that can change the pelt to an unnatural color or lets you change it to look another model once.
Pelts:
Pelts can be harvested from a multitude of animals. Every fox and bear being able to be a wall hanging or a rug. Or a drape on a chair.
Leveling Up:
The quality of your pieces get better the more you create. Early on you may make a lot of poor quality pelts, that can still be displayed but the information will show “Elwynn Wolf - Ragged”. Where when you have pristine or professional quality pelts it’ll be in beautiful purple letters. As you level up your taxidermy skills, you slowly unlock the ability to go after bigger or more complected animals. With access to new ways to gain different items.
Skull Cleaning:
The ability to harvest bone, most notably skulls. Come in three different sizes of small, medium, or large and that will depend randomly on the animal you harvest. You should be able to display these on your wall, on a table, on a plaque, outside - ect ect. These can also be incorperated into special mog items for Leatherworking that may be a new set. Sets that would look good for hunters, witches, Laughing Skull or just wild characters in general.
New NPC quests:
Addie is back on the hunt!
Nesingwary is OUT. You’re set to him with hopes of learning how to taxidermy, but he doesn’t have the time to really get into with you. Instead, Addie the Gnome Hunter returns. Her passion to become a big game hunter has made her learn the art of preserving her trophies and can now help you expand your skills by providing you with new recipes, special house items and quests that unlock rare targets only Leatherworkers would be able to access.
These quests would include:
~ Addie has heard of large animal that was shot, but never harvested. Its up to you to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. You follow a trail of disturbance to see where the beast fell , kill some scavenger animals, then harvest the fallen animal that was ignored. The rarity of the animal will differ. From unique color patterns to wonky features or unlocking new display styles.
~ Addie has a tip that a weird body or bone pile was seen in a location, and thinks you should go look into it. This has a chance to be anything from gathering a large mount of common supplies (leather, bone, fur), to good quality items ready for treatment, to very very rare items such as dragon remains. This will determine where you’re sent. You may uncover a rare dragon skull if sent to the Twilight Highlands, Kraken remains off the coast of Booty Bay or gronn skull in Outland.
As you level up with Addie, she’ll be able to give you recipes on plaque styles, poses. Once you finish the main quest line with her to unlock the dailies and special monthly/weekly quests you’ll gain the item Framed Friendship, of a selfie taken with her just like old times as well an achievement and the title Furever Friend.
Now with Addie out of the way, and your Taxidermy unlocked at it’s fullest you can constantly make items for your home and others as well. These would not be soulbound, but things can be sold. (It could also a be a possible idea that people might get a drop for a pelt or skull that they can have cleaned by a Leatherworker.) This way, if you killed a special rare or animal YOU want in your home , you can harvest it and commission it from a Leatherworker!
Harvest Pelt and Bone could very well be a new side profession.
Now, all you have left to do is what any high level profession has to do. Start collecting recipes and unlocking achievements for new ways to preserve your kill.
Achievements such as:
~ [In the Dead of Night] Track and Harvest a Rare and Elusive creature - Vanity Award
~ [Friends with Blood on their Hands] Complete Addie’s Adventure of Preservation - Rewards: Friendly Photo, Title, Vendor Access
~ [Anxious Tiger, Hidden Dragon Corpse] Harvest a Dragon WITHOUT the rest of the Flight seeing you and trying to kill you: Ability to harvest Red Dragon remains.
~ [Shellfish] Harvest 100 Pandaren Dragon Turtles - Unlocks Pandaren Taxidermist daily and vendor to track down elusive creatures effected by the enchanted waters with chance of finding the Golden Dragonturtle.
And so on so forth.
Keep track of your kills in a log with that extra flair for collectors of being able to create all three qualities of specific animals. See when you made a the [Pristine Fox Pelt] for the first time. An artist first success is always memorble!
What can other Professions to do WITH Taxidermy?
Since Taxidermy isn’t -just- about pelts, it’s an art, and art has multiple supplies.
Jewelcrafters can provide cut gems to embed into the head mount plaques or skulls to give it a refined and expensive touch.
Blacksmiths can provide certain ores like Gold or Silver as accents for certain mounts.
Herbalists can provide plants for taxidermy displays, with area specific herbs adding to the quality of certain displays. A fox from Highmountain paired with Foxflower might give it a good quality!
Alchemist might be able to make better tanning solution.
Tailors can make a little suit for some of the taxidermy animals. Morbid, yet classy.
To me, I feel like Taxidermy as a new Profession makes sense in a realm of home customization. With Warcraft leaning toward fantasy and rustic, having this being a way to create player interaction is an added benefit. You become more involved with the environment, skinning has more meaning than just taking the pelt.
It makes me excited just thinking about this as a possible profession!