All the cool kids are designing guild houses, so we should, too.
Peer pressure aside, I have actually been pondering this off and on. What sort of communal house/hall/space would Flinterforge have? Contribute your thoughts so we can engineer the coolest guild house ever (obviously).
Well, first of all: workspace galore (Iām thinking the whole basement probably). Thereās definitely rooms for magiq experimentation, as well as rooms with tools and equipment for other sorts of work (Iām thinking 3D printer, laser cutter, and general woodworking tools and the like). Like most machine shops then, thereās an assortment of well-intentioned storage space that is rarely ever used or properly organizedā¦which then leaks into the rest of the house. Thereās a communal kitchen/pantry space that has a seemingly endless supply of coffee/tea and quick ācollege foodā (instant noodles, protein bars, etc) for when you just canāt break away from a project but need to refuel. The Flinterforge house also has the best first aid room of the guilds. Closets full of bandages and immediate medical care for lab mishaps (though the big stuff still gets you sent to the Gossmere infirmary).
Edit: Having more thoughts, and I didnāt want to leave out other types of creativesā¦there would also be a room, probably on the top floor with big windows, thatās more studio space than workshop. Thereās big tables for sketching and painting and other creative work. Some people bring laptops and others bring big notebooks full of plans.
For Flinterforge, Iāve been thinking about itā¦and I think something like a Makerspace would be fitting?
At first I was thinking of almost like a blacksmithās workshop, or maybe something steampunky, but the whole thing about Flinterforge is doing things efficiently and better than before. Having Ye Olde Forgery would be too anachronistic. In our time, theyād have everything top-of-the-line, better than anywhere else. Something sleek and modern.
So my image is just this big open space, thereās lots of tables pushed together - the kinds that have whiteboard surfaces. Honestly, whiteboards are probably everywhere, ready to have new, better ideas written on them. The whole building is just built to facilitate creation, and thereās different floors geared towards various fields - computer labs, art studios, garages - if it can be built, then the Flinterforge house has the tools to do so.
I donāt think there would be a sleeping area, at least not with beds and such, but there would be a napping space. Futons and bean bag chairs and such where you can veg out and take some time to recuperate your energy. But then itās right back into the thick of things. After all, thereās only so many hours in a day.
As far as location - I imagine it would be somewhere lively, like a city. Somewhere where Flinterforges can see the problems people have in their lives so they can come up with ideas to fix them. And especially with cities being centers of industry, I think it would fit pretty well with the guild.
But yes, this all sounds amazing. I sort of see it as everyone having their own drafting space in the communal room? Like, you can chill with headphones on and work out your plans at your table, or you can bounce ideas off of everyone else and get inspired by what theyāre doing.
I love the idea of having a napping space! I do feel like maybe there should be a few rooms off the main area with actual beds, just for those of us who want more privacy, or are wary of invading pranksters striking during our well-earned naps. (Iāve heard a lot of things since I got here about someone called āSteveāā¦Iām not sure if heās ever gotten into the guild hall, but Iād rather be extra cautious.)
The pantry could be like a huge self-serve cafeteria, with magiqal coffees/teas, sodas, snack foods, cup noodle, etc. And I think, while The Dayās Work would happen up above, the basement could have some sort of entertainment or rec room, for those of us who want to do something more active with our downtime? Iām thinking video games, board games, maybe a pool table?
I think we three are all sort of going the same place: the ultimate Makerspace, plus amenities. If anyone has more ideas, or name suggestions, Iāll be upstairs doodling Hermans on all of the whiteboardsā¦
Hey, do we have a name for it? I think Vic suggested the name Flintershop a while ago, but itād be nice to have a more formal name, in the same way Gossmere have Rhythmās Hearth and Weatherwatch have the Ascension.
I tried to brainstorm some things, but itās been really difficult because a) the space is so multipurpose, and b) itās not a home or a resting place so much as a group workspace, and people donāt really do creative formal names for group workspaces, which is sad.
The only thing Iāve come up with so far is Makerās Place, which sort of sounds like an ill-conceived pun on makerspace, soā¦yeah. Other ideas would be awesome.
Maybe not the most exciting, but The Forge sounds cool. We have a couple collaborative spaces near where I amā¦most are just named after the town thoughā¦
I agree with the name The Forge, also I always imagined the Forges as an archetypal intelligence that works with us rather than for us, kind of like Daeldusās labyrinth, it grows and expands to fit our needs but doesnāt like getting rid of older parts in case we need them.
So, I canāt believe I never added my extra thoughts about the Flintershop here!
I also prescribe to the belief that the Flintershop is kind of sentient? The building itself has a kind of āsoulā or magiqal core that makes it an almost life-like structure. I see it in the same way as Hogwarts, how the staircases are always moving around and the paintings have sentient people in them. Except, instead of being random, the Flintershop holds the same working spirit as its inhabitants. Itās always working in the background, making little fixes. That squeaky desk table that is suddenly quiet? Thatās the Flintershop. The leaky pipe thatās suddenly looks brand new? Flintershop. The Flintercatās rusty leg is sparkling? Flintershopās got your back, kitty.
Every so often, however, the Flintershop goes through a big overhaul in its layout. In order to be on the cutting edge of design, the best of the best (things like adding heating and cooling, enhancing rooms to be better suited for their purposes, etc), the Flintershop will have these periods where it works around its residents to make these changes, but itās impossible for the shop to be subtleā¦so things get a little wild. Iāve actually been working on a story about one of these periods in time, and the way the Flinterforged reacted to it. Itās a once in a lifetime event for most Flinterforged, and those who experience it never forget the change.
Of courseā¦the downside to all this is that we know that Neithernor is kind of a sad place. Everythingās worn down, like a grave almostā¦ I donāt know if the Flintershop would be ādeadā because it is a building, but it would be very weak. The core would be almost in a resting phase to conserve its energy. Because the Flintershop needs magiq to really function, you know? It needs the Flinterforged to be creating to be really healthy. Since everyoneās goneā¦ itās been all alone, fixing the abandoned things until it couldnāt any longerā¦
Ok, I meant for this to be cute, but now Iām all sad. Brb, gonna go cry for a bit.
That made me think of the Mindflame with no minds to surround it. Did it shine over the sea alone for a time? Did it wink out the moment the last person connected to it left? And is it aware of its condition and isolation? The irony of that is awful. The Mindflame used to shine over the sea of Neithernor showing ships and Thornmaw alike that they werenāt alone and now the Mindflame itself is alone, burning dimly for no one.
Here is a quick sketch of Flintercat, who is the shop cat that wanders around, keeping on eye on the Flinterforged and occasionally delivering messages from the Flintershop to the guildies.
I love this space already. The idea that the Forge or Flintershop is sentient is incredible. As you say if Neithernor is a grey place of somewhat slumbering death maybe the Forge itself has developed eccentricities in its isolation and would there have been Flinterforge that elected to remain and fade with the forge rather then leave it to wink out alone. Maybe the sacrifice and nature of those that remained echo in the forges choices when it remakes itself. As if sentimental to artefacts and artifice touched by its fallen?
Iām wondering since Flinterforge is a site of innovation and science or construction. A place for alchemists, artificers and craftsmen should the force be centred in a town; or remains of a town. Wouldnāt it make sense that like the ideal of the apple stores or google that it be a marketplace for invention I think it would maybe be connected to a heart of civilisation now crumbled away such as a market. I apologise if jumping the gun Iām still trying to power my way through the readings to catch up. I would love to see the Flinterforge shop returned to splendour. I hear its crafting again.
I know Iām a bit late but I saw the idea of calling it The Forge and it got me thinking about having an actual forge area in the house as well. As an avid blacksmith hobbyist it would be awesome to have such an area to make/repair any metallic magiqal items when and if the need arises.