The Potter's Rant

[Darkdoll]

Okay...so after making many useless vials...poisoned and sealed...I at last reach the level of 188. I take a look at the assorted recipes and trivials now at my disposal and map my way to 250...

Let's see...we'll go advanced poison vials to the bands...blue, black, green, white, red....and then we'll take the unfired idol with the imbued opal. I wasn't too concerned about the ingredients at first. My husband's cleric imbues opals...and I have an enchanter that can enchant clay, purify and crystallize mana. I winced at the thought of having to purchase all of the gemstones required...but I have a GM Baker with a Trophy and a GM Brewer with a Trophy...and cost sort of comes with the territory.

The celestial essence required didn't even bother me...runes, words and other components were rather plentiful...how hard could it be to make up what I would need. LOL!!! Yeah...a bit naive of me...since I didn't realize that not ALL runes or words could be used...

So of course I did the silly thing and ran around to various vendors purchasing reasonably priced runes and words...only to have to sell about 66% of them back since they wouldn't combine. Once I had the list pretty much figured out...I then spent a lot of time finding the right runes, words and items such as tears of prexus...making about 100 of these celestial essence vials. I did this with my wizard...she generally does all my shopping since she's got the best mode of transportation.

Once I had these...I then passed them through the bank to my pottery crazy necromancer...but on second thought...I only gave her about half of them to make the purified water she would need for the advanced poison vial. She only needed 8 more points...and then I'd need those celestial solvents for the bands. If she needed them...I'd pass them through afterward.

The necromancer...needless to say, didn't get 8 points with 50 purified waters...she didn't even get ONE...ARGHHH!! Okay...so this was going to take a LOT longer than I thought...and a lot more runes and words.

But wait...what's this...an alternate way to make purified water with a purification tablet, tracker's water extractor...and one other foraged component? Hmmm....okay. I had a couple of lichenclover sitting in the bank...I'm sure I could buy some in bazaar (like I did with vegetables for baking)....in fact I HOPED I could purchase some in the bazaar since I was not a forager.

But maybe...maybe...if I went to a zone where they SOLD this tracker's water extractor...and the purification tablet...then maybe one of the NPC's would also have these additional items even if it had been sold to them by a forager.

Being of "good" alliance...I went to one of two zones that sells the tracker's water extractor...Fungus Grove. I think the only time I'd ever been to Fungus Grove before was to do the turn in for the earring of solstice and true to form...I was the only one there. I passed a small crowd of younger characters in Echo Caverns...but there's no mistaking it for one of the less popular zones.

While I actually enjoy exploring these areas alone...if you are looking for it to be useful...forget it. I found the vendor with the extractor...purchased it...and then went to buy the purification tablets...err...TABLET. Seems these are lore items and you can only have one on your person or in the bank at the time.

Hmm...well maybe...maybe they are like a Brita water filtration unit...you put one in the extractor and it lasts a while...

NOPE.

You put a lichenclover and a tablet in..you get 3 purified waters...and both of your original items have poofed. So now what do you do? Well, as a wizard...I could bind myself next to that particular NPC until I get past the need for purified water tablets....or you put every single one of your alts on celestial essence duty.

I chose the latter..and went to buy my wizard a bowl from the dear little halfling that I'd originally met during my solstice earring turn in. Just one problem...it was a container...and my last container slot was taken up by my water extractor. Okay...no problem...I'll buy the bowl...mix up some more celestial essence and then buy another one of those extractors sometime in the future...just in case I should stumble into an entire surplus of lichenclover one day. (Note: I use lichenclover a lot...but there are several other options for that last ingredient).

The next day...I started my wizard off in the bazaar once again, buying runes, words, etc....and then decided to run over to Fungus Grove quickly, pick up that water extractor thing and another purification tablet. When I got to the NPC that sold me the original extractor...he didn't have one in his inventory. WTF??? LOL!! Okay...hmm...did I buy the only one? Who the hell did I sell it to again?? Ahh...the halfling with the mixing bowls...

Sure enough...the extractor was right where I had sold it...

Has anyone else felt like beating their forehead against their keyboard while trying to skill up on pottery? If so, misery would sure love company

In the meantime, I've put ambitions of becoming a GM Potter on hold until I gather as many vials of celestial essence as all of my alts can make during their med time I figure...about 1000 should make a dent. Hope none of those researchers needed those runes or words....

So after this rant...do I have any suggestions?

1. Water purification tablets should be STACKABLE and not a lore item. Either that or they should last for a few stacks at the very least!

2. If you can dissolve one rune or word...you should be able to dissolve them ALL!! (insert evil maniacal laugh here)

3. I'm really beginning to despise foragers (read that as I'm insanely jealous of that ability). Never mind people who tell you that an enchanter or a cleric should be rolling in all the plat with all the buffs that they can cast for donations...I think it's a misdirection on the part of the foraging classes that slowly whittles away your funds 1 - 5 plat at a time for every lichenclover you need (IF lichenclover were actually that cheap in the bazaar) )

Sure...this is a rant...but at the same time, at least I can see the sick humor of it all!

Darkdoll of Morrell Thule


Darkdoll (DE Enchanter) - 250 GM Baker w/ trophy
Snobird (Barb BL) - 250 GM Brewer w/ trophy
Finnyinye (HIE Wiz) - 200 Journeyman Jeweler
Septi (Hum Nec) - 188 Apprentice Potter
Abwa (Eru Mage) - 102 Apprentice Tailor
46 Smith
Banbilli (HE Bard) - 146 Apprentice Fisherman
(and really bad forager)

[fesc_necrado]

One thing that will help is an easier way to make celestial essences from all vendor purchased materials:

Celestial Solvent
Darius Gandril @ 50, 1530, Western trader building (PoK)

The Scent of Marr
Loran Thu`Leth @ -115, 1407, Western trader building (PoK)

Good luck on the pottery skill ups, they are PAINFUL from my experience.

[Sulkano]

Lichenclovers drop off Drolvargs in FV and the giants in to fort in FM at an acceptable rate. (you will also make a fair bit of cash from giant fort)

[Darkdoll]

Painful Pottery

One thing that will help is an easier way to make celestial essences from all vendor purchased materials:

Celestial Solvent
Darius Gandril @ 50, 1530, Western trader building (PoK)

The Scent of Marr
Loran Thu`Leth @ -115, 1407, Western trader building (PoK)

Good luck on the pottery skill ups, they are PAINFUL from my experience.

))

Big kisses to you!! I missed that this item was vendor purchased. Thank you !!

Darkdoll

[Rewde]

Just my opinion, but, I would skip the bands and do the unfired planar steins to 216. You can almost always find tainted planar essence on vendors for just a little more than 6pp a pop, and you have the enchanter to enchant the clay for you. Then do Opal encrusted steins. They can be sold back to the vendors unfired, for a loss of pp, or you can sell them in the Baz, or even use them for a small amount of tribute.

[Verdandi]

For the record, the recipe for purified water using the water extractor dates from Kunark, while celestial essence and all of its recipes date from much, much later, after Luclin and before PoP. When the Kunark purified water recipes were put in, they were probably just to give us something to do with some of the new forages, and to add a little flavor. Purified water had absolutely no uses (that I know of) except as a beverage itself until the tradeskill recipes with PoP. At that time I'm guessing that whoever put in the new recipes decided to use purified water to give it some additional value, but then also added the celestial essence recipes so we wouldn't be dependent on all those obscure ingredients. I still can't say why the tablets are lore, but at least we know that they were probably not made lore for any reason to do with tradeskills.

So if the whole water extractor system seems weird, it's because tradeskill use of purified water was not what its inventor had in mind.

[Darkdoll]

I still can't say why the tablets are lore, but at least we know that they were probably not made lore for any reason to do with tradeskills.

So if the whole water extractor system seems weird, it's because tradeskill use of purified water was not what its inventor had in mind.

Was doing a bit of research on that purified water tablet...and think I found the answer...which agrees with what you said. Seems that the water tablet was part of the Trep Thilcan "Shopping List Quest" and they had to make it lore so that you couldn't complete more than one shopping list at a time before turn in. Duh!

Darkdoll

[Verdandi]

Seems that the water tablet was part of the Trep Thilcan "Shopping List Quest" ...

The purification tablets have been lore since they were put in, in Kunark, several expansions before PoK.

[Elyssanda]

The purification tablets Also work with frost crystals found in EF Ldons. And you can usually pick them up for less than 5p in the bazaar. I have an alt bound right near a tablet vendor, and as I forage these lil things, I just stick em in the bank for her, she hits the vendor, makes the water.. and stores it.. I have about... 6 or 8 stacks of purified water... it's even taking up bank space on my vendor mule.

[Footsore]

About the purified water, if you know about the unlimited supply of components for the celestial essence, then the issue about conserving them is much less and you don't need to worry about the water purifier part.

Also, you don't mention it as being a problem, but in case any other aspiring potters wander by this thread, you also don't need to harvest tons of skins for the poison vials anymore. Crows special brew works as the skin component. (I guess it really IS special!)

[Darkdoll]

I have about... 6 or 8 stacks of purified water... it's even taking up bank space on my vendor mule.

LOL! If you were on Morrell-Thule you wouldn't have had those in your bank space for long! I would have been your most loyal customer hehehe!

I haven't had any problem locating a few of the components...lichenclover and frost crystals...in the bazaar (since I can't forage), but quantity is definitely an issue. Finding one or two on a single trader in the entire bazaar is a mere tease.

For now I think my best route is the one suggested by fesc...purchasing the scent of marr and combining it with the celestial solvent to get celestial essence...and then combining that with 2 flasks of water for the purified water. Quantity is my friend Well...that and a healthy dose of KEI to increase the chance of upping the skill level...

I agree with Footsore ... Crow's Special Brew is VERY special indeed