Feedback:User/Kristov/Personal Lore Diary

Personal Lore Diary
User	Kristov
Categories	World Mechanics

Personal Lore Diary

What is it?

The personal lore diary is a proposed user interface element (or an addition to the My Story UI panel) that would contain the writings of our characters and detail the personal story of our character's adventures throughout their career.

It would hold a personal narrative with links to detailed information about:

• A bestiary cataloging the creatures they had encountered
• A record of personalities the character was involved in
• Notes about the geography the character had uncovered
• What contributed to the events our character's had personally seen unfold

Why do we need it?

Tyria has a rich and diverse history that is in constant flux. The world moves on whether our characters are active participants in it, or not. Things happen that we, the players, don't always understand. We may wander along scratching our heads wondering how the forces of Zhaitan made it so far inland, why we're escorting these Asuran around with their floating artifact, or who is this Ogden fellow anyway?

A single convenient UI element could provide an elegant way to fill players in on parts of the story they previously witnessed.

It also makes a lot of sense.

Think about it, these heroes are seeing crazy things.

Example: A bunch of other heroes firing catapults at an undead living galleon, I think odds are pretty good one would have a few questions about what they heck just happened once the action died down. If they kept a diary then at the end of the day (you know, while we're at work or sleeping) they'd probably write it all down.

What would it contain?

The personal lore diary could simply contain the written story of our characters, but it could also contain much more. Some possibilities are listed below:

• Daily writings made by our characters in the general tone of our own character's personality at the time the entry was made.
  • Detail the events our character participated in for the first time on the previous day.
    • Include the lore behind the event, so players could understand what was going on even if they missed how the event was started
    • Exclude following events to avoid spoilers in case the player later returns to the event and discovers the follow up story
  • The game already knows our character's general tendencies, why not put it to use right?
    • "How?" you might ask.
    • Because often when our character interacts with an NPC, they must choose whether to be ferocious, charming or dignified.
    • A brute, noble or honorable character's tone showing up in the daily notes would be a nice touch.
  • Links to entries within the Atlas (Zone overview), Bestiary (Creature overview), Portfolio (NPC overview) for relevant topics would exist in each entry.
    • ie. After slaying Issormir, Beigarth mentioned that the famous Eir Stegalkin wanted to speak with me. (then either "I wonder if that old scoundrel is trying to make me look like a fool? I suppose I should visit her lodge tomorrow, just to be sure." or "She has chosen to stand with me against the Jotun. I will feel much better facing down that threat with her at my side." depending on whether the character chose to continue the next day or met with Eir before the entry was written.)
• Atlas containing lore related information known by the character about each zone
  • Paged and cataloged by zone and then areas within the zone
  • Navigated by paging through entries in order, or using links within each entry (ie. Snowden Drifts would contain a link pointing to Dragon's Rising, assuming the character had discovered the area)
  • Only known areas would be included in the Atlas, to avoid spoilers
• Bestiary containing lore related information about each creature type the character has encountered
  • Paged and cataloged by creature type in alpha order (ie. Bat, Branded, etc... if a character turned to the Bat page there would be a general description and direct links to cave bats, cliff bats, etc. or the option to simply page through to each entry if desired)
  • Only previously encountered creatures would exist in the bestiary to avoid spoilers
• Portfolio containing notes about the NPC personalities our characters have previously encountered
  • Paged and cataloged by race and class, where appropriate
  • Links to other personalities, the area the NPC resides in, etc.

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