Farming Expansion

Split due to the fact a healthy discussion was blooming for an actual idea.

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MorbiusMonster wrote:More allotment plants. It's a pain trying to get higher levels when the only allotment crops available don't award enough.

3mptylord wrote:They should just add husbandry already. Sheep, Cows, Pigs, Ugwhatsit Camals, and 90+ Pak Yaks (probably more). They'd function similar to trees in that "growing" them is worth xp, but you can keep them as a persistent xp source for other skills.

As a perk, dung would make super compost (if the minimum level requirement is above watermelon). Dung would randomly spawn inside their pens.

Not sure of a way to start "growing" though. Maybe 2 summoning pouches? Buy them or make them. Could be a way to add a demand to the more useless summoning pouches. It also gives summoning a profit potential, albeit at a farming-rate.

They could require feed while being reered which would be allotment plants, thus encouraging those to be planted alongside.

I'd be tempted to suggest hunting as a way to get the babies.

That might me a better skill to add a reward to.

Coupled with the ability to make your own hunter outfits, maybe? Rather than having to pay someone.

Actually, wouldn't having yaks, camels and sheep count as rearing livestock and thus be farming?

... duh, that's why I was suggesting it. You don't follow conversations in the same way as other people, do you?

Wait...as farming? I was under the impression you were saying this was a new skill. If anything I'd say it's more of a summoning add on than a famring one.

#reasonsmicroskillswouldbenice

Nah, there's no where near enough content to make a new skill... Well, there is, but you'd end up with another Summoning where each level offers something new but only 5% of it is useful 90% of the time. I mentioned farming requirements twice, I didn't realise no-one was following. My bad.

I don't see herding fitting with summoning's lore, unless you propose having the pens in the spirit realm.

I was wholly going to propose adding a pen to each of the allotment patches that become available for use after watermelons (buy them or rent them from the farmer who runs the shop, they look to be incharge). You've then got to put two creatures in the pen. Filling the trough is the equivalent of using compost in terms of successfully rearing a heard.

We could sorely do with Farming having a revamp so as to make power training at mid to higher levels more efficient. The efficiency of allotments and hops from earlier levels wears off once you pass a certain point, and training farming becomes really hard with the traditional methods.

At the moment, the practice of Farming is more like Gardening, since Farming implies that one is running a farm and allotments don't quite fit the bill, particularly since you get seeds from Master Gardeners.

You say "traditional methods"... what you really mean is "affordable methods". Power levelling is expensive in most skills... like at construction, prayer, herblore, crafting, etc. Farming has it's power levelling: trees.

But I will agree that there are no high-levelled "slow-but-affordable" methods, there's just keep-doing-low-levelled-stuff.

Herbs remain efficient, and are highly recommended to do alongside trees for their profit. A lot of farmers will grow watermelons alongside, also, for making super compost.

• Perhaps add fibres to allotments in later levels, and expand the tailoring section in crafting.
• Flowers desperately need a use.
• Husbandry for a later level alternative to allotments.

I think we need to add some new plants to the allotments. Hopefully, the combat update could see some new armours being crafted.

Here's what I thought of;

• Cotton - when woven, we can make materials used for clothing. A variety of this, Morytanian cotton, is used for batwing robes.
  
• Coffee - according to Legacy of Blood, coffee DOES exist in RuneScape. Coffee beans would be ideal for a foodstuff that increases energy or adrenaline.
  
• Cocoa - chocolate has to come from somewhere.
  
• Wheat - Farmers grow it along with everything else, so why can't we?
  
• Garlic - another oddity with no origin. It should see some more use.
  
• Other cookery ingredients - The Gielinor games show that we can get plums, raisins, paprika, ginger and lots of other ingredients for cookery; perhaps it is time we grew them as well for foods that restore energy or assist in combat?
  
• Equa leaves - a possible reward from Gnome Kitchen, the seeds needed to grow equa leaves, a key ingredient in gnome cookery.
  

Just a few ideas.

Also, we could work on special events with farming, like prize crops. Once in a while, a crop will grow that is far larger than any others; a prize harvest. Taking it to Draynor will see that it is measured up and a prize is issued.

This usually could be in the form of experience IN ADDITION to rare seeds or money.

Hmm...

Whilst we are at it, let's add in another quest involving Farming. Remember the canoe system? Well, let's grow more suitable plants to be used as canoes. We use some decent trees in Ardougne for the quest, but we can also have optional after rewards where you can grow hollow trees for Morytania and cacti for the Kharidian Desert for one off exp rewards.

or even maybe herbs like basil, oregano, dill, rosemary, mint, parsley etc to boost the potency of foods and potions? of course the garnish will become available after the required level of said item.

like for someone with level 1 herblore (they can only make those awful attack potions), they cannot add a spice to the potion unless they have 5 herblore. these 'spiced' potions will become untradeable. like if the attack bonus is 3 + 10% of attack level, rounded down, then the 'spiced' variant will be 5 + 10% of attack level.

Maybe it'd be also in our best interests to introduce means of brewing plant cure and super compost potion.

M'yeah, I think the ability to make super compost potion would kill all use for existing allotment patches.

It's an interesting idea to be able to "garnish" food/potions. Perhaps for potions make it add a "flat" value, and for food a percentile one.

Garnished Sharks = 200 + 5% health.

But definitely, gardeners should have a right-click "Shop" option, as I have mentioned on Quality of Suggestions.

Tell you what, if I write a couple of Farming based quests, would you like to package this together and put it on the actual forums?

Sure.

Yeah, that sounds better. They can't be too big or else they'll become OP, but still a little boost couldn't hurt.

Uh sure. Make sure you give me credit. I am "Overand Ev" on the RSOF.

I'll draw up a basic levels table for the new stuff, then.

Any animals that people particularly want?

I might do something for herbs.

Gnome food -> equa leaves/gnome spices
Fish -> Dill
Pies -> Cinnamon
Cakes and bread -> Cinnamon
Meat that isn't fish -> Rosemary
Pizza -> Oregano
Potatoes -> Rosemary
Juju gumbo -> Cumin

Attack potion (of any kind) -> Parsley
Antipoison (of any knind) -> Basil
Strength Potion (of any kind) -> Chives
Defense Potion (of any kind) -> Sage
Restore Potion (of any kind) -> Crushed ginger root
Energy Potion (of any knind) -> Mint
Magic Potion (any kind) -> Saffron
Ranging Potion(any kind) -> Cilantro
Combat Potion -> Basil
Weapon Poison (any kind) -> Mace
Prayer Potion -> Cilantro
Antifire potion (any kind) - Cumin
Saradomin Brew -> Saffron
Zamorak Brew -> Saffron

Overloads will not accept a 'spiced' extreme potions and overloads cannot be spiced.

These plants each have their own farming level to grow with equa leaves with the lowest requirement. You can grow these herbs in the herblore patch at an allotment. Their seeds can be stolen from farmers or sold by seed salesmen. The only potions listed can be improved. Saffron should be the most expensive and rare herb.

Mint on potatos? That was the only thing I found odd there.

Also, I think going over top on herbs might kill the point of it... unless you can plant "herb gardens" which gives you a bit of everything. Like, all barbarian potions use the same two fish offcuts (and if the upgraded potions weren't shit I see that having decent market value).

Cakes could always be sugar? Not everything needs to be seasoned with herbs.

you can add coriander to cakes; in fact i think it used for baking.

and I googled a good herb for potato and mint came up. got any other idea?

also, yeah, too many. I'll shorten the list.

I always put rosemary on roast potatoes.

wait I was wrong. Coriander is used like cilantro. I'll use cinnamon as a good spice for baked stuff like bread and cakes along with pies.

Livestock pens tend to be close to allotments anyway, so we'll put them there, plus a few extra ones. Construction will be used to build the homes, such as coops or barns, and then you have to choose the animals.

• Chickens - Provides eggs and feathers
  
• Sheep - Provides wool
  
• Cows - Provides milk
  
• Bees - Provides honeycomb and honey
  
• Yaks - Provides yak's milk and yak hair
  
• Camels - Provides ugthanki dung
  
• Giant spiders - Provides thread (why not?)

The livestock will be reared much like how plants are tended to, you prepare the food (luckily you can acquire this food from most sources, corn is needed for chickens, but most other animals just need grass, so you need to keep it fresh). If they become sick, you can buy medicines from nearby farmers or brew your own. Like trees, the produce remains permanent until you choose to sell them.

Of course, you'll need to work on specific "protection" to stop people trying to steal the animals; usually, this involves growing weeds like thistles, nettles or thorns; you can tell when a farm has been attempted, the homesteads will show early signs of damage.