A simple and great initial approach to this entire idea (probably even moddable by a good modder, right Basil? :P ) I can imagine, is this:
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:::
Paper & Parchment
As we all know, during the Ancient time and Middle-Ages, not only
paper was used but also parchment (leather). Now since
Paper was known at various areas (e.g. Asia) already while others still used parchment (e.g. Europe), and LiF does not resemble a particular time or area, I suggest to go down the simple way at first and focus only on introducing
paper, excluding parchment. Since my post here shall show a simple way to initially introduce
paper and books, I will work with flax
paper only, no parchment.
::: General Idea
Differenciate between sheets of papers and books. A book is obviously manufactured from sheets of papers. The difference would be that a book can hold much more text than a single sheet of
paper but is more complex to make.
Book-wise I can imagine 2 different book types: Simple books, where anyone owning it can write in (so can be manipulated) and decorated books with a simple lock (creator writes in and locks it then, so it's read only for others).
::: Making sheets of papers & books:
- To make a sheet of
paper you need at least level 30 of "Arts" skill. - You boil flax stem into flax fiber like we already do now.
- The extracted flax fiber can now be dropped back into the tanning tub with water and after 30 minutes it can be extracted into wet
paper (could even have to attach a new tool, a wooden sieve, for it)
- Now you hang the wet
paper sheets on a drying rack - let's say up to 10 sheets per rack at once. Just like with furs, after 1 hour of drying you can take it off and have finished sheets of
paper.
- To make a simple book you have to assemble 2 thin leather, 10 bone glue and 50 sheets of
paper via the jewlery kit. The skill needed could be the "Arts" skill, from level 60 up.
- To make a decorated, locked, book you need at least "Arts" skill level 90. To assemble one with the jewelery kit, you need to collect 4 thin leather, 20 bone glue, 100 sheets of
paper, one lock, 1 metal band and 5 of any gem type.
::: Using sheets of papers & books:
I imagine that to actually read and write a book or piece of
paper, you double click it like a backpack and get a similar popup window where you can either write in or, if it's a locked book, read the text. If you lack of the skill to read and write, then nothing happens on double click, since the right click menu does not give the option of the "Read & Write" Skill tree.
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Note to the end: Obviously in order to write you also need ink and a
writing feather. I have typed enough, however, so I will leave the ideas on that to someone else :-)