Français:
L'Epreuve du tatouage rituel
This is a proposal for a new test in the Human Body discipline.
Background
Written records, physical remains, and works of art relevant to Egyptian tattoo have virtually been ignored by earlier Egyptologists influenced by prevailing social attitudes toward the medium. Today however, we know that there have been bodies recovered dating to as early XI Dynasty exhibiting the art form of tattoo. One of the more famous and written about mummies is that of Amunet, a priestess of the- goddess Hathor, at Thebes. This female mummy displayed several lines and dots tattooed about her body.
http://whitton.members.atlantic.net/body/tattoo_history.htm
The Goal
The goal of the test is to gather the resources needed to allow the tattooers at the university of the Human Body to create 7 tattoos on your body. Two tattoos on the ankles, two on the wrists, one around the belly button, one on the chest and one on the neck. One after the other, the tattoos will be visible on your avatar (don't know if this part is doable, but it would be cool if it was).
The Design
When you start the test at any UBody, you receive a list of 7 different pigments necessary to make the first tattoo. You also learn how to make a Pigment Mortar and Pestle. You need one piece of Oyster Shell Marble to make 4 Mortars and Pestles.
Every Ubody in each region will give you a different random list of pigments, and the list changes every Egypt month. This means that if you don't like the list you are given, you can try to get another one in a different region (works like the banquet menu)
Each pigment requires 3 ingredients: one herb, a certain amount of a tree resin, one medium gem.
In addition to the ingredients, each pigment can only be made in a specific location that has two characteristics.
An example for a pigment could be:
"Mix Katako Root with 7 debens of Ash Palm Resin and 1 powdered Medium Sapphire, on sand at least 280 feet above sea level"
The pigment is mixed in the Pigment Mortar and Pestle. First you need to add the herb, harvested fresh from the ground (not taken from a chest). Once the herb is added, it stays in the Mortar and Pestle until the pigment is made, or until the crushed herb is cleaned out. After the herb you add the resin (which can be taken from a chest). There is no time limit between the time you find the herb and add the resin. After that you need to find a suitable location to add and powder the required gem. At that point the mortar is sealed and ready to be presented at any UBody.
The 7 pigments on the list require each a different gem (this means that a 7th gem should be added to the game, I propose Opal). Once you have 4 sealed Mortars containing any 4 of the 7 pigments on the list, you present them at any UBody, the tattoo is created on your body, and you receive the list of 7 pigments for the next tattoo.
Passing the Test
To pass the test you need to have all 7 tattoos on your body.
Reward
Upon passing the test, the player can choose among 3 possible rewards:
1- a permanent 50% increase (rounderd down) of the yield when harvesting herbs.
2- the ability to injure trees without a resin wedge.
3- the ability to make a huge gem out of 7 large, or 49 medium, or 343 small gems of the same type. You can only use this ability once, ever.
Additional details
Examples of location for mixing the pigment
Any combination of two of the following:
- soil: sand, grass, mud, clay...
- elevation: above x feet, under x feet...
- proximity to resources: less than 50 feet from sulphurous water, with no trees in view, within 100 feet of at least 2 cactii...
- proximity to infrastructure: at least 500 feet away from roads, next to a university of Art...
Mortar and Pestle
Mortar and Pestle are one item. They are made out of OSM marble. Once sealed they can be turned in at any UBody and are not returned. Until they are sealed they can be cleaned out (if any ingredient had been added) and used again to mix another pigment. This means that a minimum of 28 Mortars will be needed to pass the test, corresponding to 7 pieces of OSM marble. When in the inventory, Mortar and Pestles appear as one item with both weight and bulk of 1. Within the test menu, a list of the Mortars carried by the player is displayed, with 3 options:
- Clean out (to reuse the Mortar for another pigment)
- Look inside the Mortar (when ingredients have been added)
- Add Ingredient (to complete the pigment)
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Thanks to Kyline for the brainstorming that lead to this idea.