More trades and specialties questions
192 Posts
Ooc — Chishio
Away
#1
I have read the guidebook area on them multiple times and am still not entirely understanding how things work. So i've got a couple of questions to ask about it before I go about trying to get my character into a trade/specialty. 

Is the general name of the thing the trade, or is it the specific things under the general name? (as in Mercenary is the general name, and for example Tactician being the specialty) Or does the character just go right into one of the branches of said thing? (as in the areas of major focus) 

How far in a thread do I have to go mentioning that certain thing before it is considered able to be used for that specific trade/specialty? (As in can i mention it in a post, that he is interested or training in said thing, or does every thread specifically have to be working for that specific thing. Like if I wanted to get into the Tactician area, having all threads about it with planning for dangerous situations, or if mentioning that he planned things in their free time was enough) 

When it mentions unique threads, does every single thread have to be about different things, or can it be about the same general thing and take place in different threads? Is there a minimum post count per thread to make it even count for the trade/specialty?
I've learned to lose you, can't afford to
813 Posts
Ooc — hela
Warrior
Offline
#2
hi!

so some rules regarding trades are put in place by your pack manager. how many posts need to be in thread, how many posts with your character performing the desired trade, if it needs to have a logical ending, and what can be used towards your trade are some of the things left up to the discretion of the PMs. 

the site-wide rules only pertain to the amount of threads needed for the base trade, specialty, and mastery. 

the base trades are mercenary, scout, caregiver, naturalist, chronicler, counselor, hunter, and spiritualist; these all require five unique threads and can have your character performing anything from any of the specialty categories. for example, a base trade for mercenary could have your character patrolling, sparring, fighting, escorting important pack members, or discussing large conflict scenarios. you would complete five threads, performing any of these things. they could also all five just be your character sparring or just be your character patrolling; for the base trade, it doesn't really matter. 

once you're awarded your base trade, then you focus on your specialty. so that's when you would want to make sure your threads all focus on one of the sub categories like tactician, guardian, or warrior if your base trade is mercenary. for a specialty, you need ten unique threads performing something that pertains to your chosen specialty. for example, if your chosen specialty was warrior, then you would need ten threads of your character fighting or sparring. 

once you've been awarded your specialty, then for your mastery, you repeat the same process as your specialty but for twenty more unique threads. so if you're working towards a warrior mastery, you would need twenty unique threads of your character sparring or fighting. 

some PMs are more lenient about what they will count, so when in doubt ask your PM!

so it would basically look like this:
base trade: 5 threads
specialty: 10 threads performing in area of desired specialty
mastery: 20 threads performing desired mastery

you can't move to a specialty without the base trade, and you can't move to the mastery without a specialty. 

does this answer your questions? lmk if not!
Inuttuk
Common
.
186 Posts
Ooc — mercury
Offline
#3
Pack managers are the ones that award trades and specialities, so a lot of that is up to the individual who is judging your threads. Generally speaking, though, I've noticed some general standards that seem to be upheld mostly across the board:

- Trade threads must have at least 10 posts
- Trade threads must have at least 3 posts by you that are related to the trade

"Related" is relative. Most PMs I think would count a thread talking about training for combat, rather than training itself, as a trade thread, as long as it meets the above requirements. 

The general name is the trade and the offshoots are the specialties. You don't even have to specialize in anything, though most players do.

Whoops, Hela got in first and covered it much better than me. Still, hope this helps!
english | hindi
192 Posts
Ooc — Chishio
Away
#4
You both helped quite a bit yes! Thanks sm!