Better castaways

[Tr0xic]

This is part 3 of things at sea that could be improved. I’ve had this laying around for a while but didn’t feel like posting it because I think it’s the worst out of them all. But I think it is good enough to post and I have to finish my promise of 3 things.

Castaways are a cool idea and make the world feel more alive. However they lose their novelty very quickly and become as forgettable as crates (especially as a criminal where they literally are comparable to crates). Some possible variations to castaways:

• Hungry castaways. These castaways are very sick from being at sea. You can rescue them, but they will be on a strict time limit if you can’t give them hunger. Their hunger requirement ranges from 60-120. They might also ask for specific nutrients, like citrus fruits if they are dying of scurvy (it cures scurvy). If they die then you don’t get anything from them. This idea will probably work better if you could add cooking cauldrons to your ship.
• Castaways with a specific destination. These guys will ask for a specific destination. You don’t have to go there, they’d be fine with any. If you bring them to the wrong destination they will accept it, but will ask for some galleons to hitch a ride to where they want to go. These guys will give bigger rewards than normal castaways to make up for their picky nature, though if you pay for their ride part of the reward is lessened.
• Ambiguous castaways. These are castaways with an ambiguous nature (it is stated as part of their title and you are warned when you encounter an ambiguous castaway). They may be a wanted criminal, or they may be a random chump, or even part of the navy. You will have to take the time to sort of negotiate or question them to find their true identity. If you think they are criminal you can choose to plunder them, and if you think they are truly innocent you can save them like normal. You can also choose to leave them alone, which isn’t good or bad. Something to note is that if they are part of the navy or assassins, you might receive some… unwanted attention based on your decisions. You don’t want to wrong the assassins or the navy after all. This will probably be more fun if you had a time limit, such as in rough seas or the dark sea, as now the time it takes to interrogate them actually matters. Also these will stop players from always choosing the same button on a castaway.

There are probably more castaways variations you can add, such as ship crew castaways or castaways with quests or drifting/sinking castaways. I just think they are kind of boring right now, as you just pick them up and forget about them (at least until they nag you about going closer to the shore). The only fun part about them is the comically large fish you get from them (sometimes).

[Beam]

This is the best suggestion I have ever seen

[Monoclinic]

If I rescue a castaway with scurvy and they die is it morally alright for me to plunder their bodies and not lose fame since I technically didnt kill them (they were about to die anyway)

[Misinput]

make the bloody castaway platform thing not destroy my ship when i ever so slightly touch it

[aH_nO]

They should be thankful when they are the ones being saved, maybe have their desperation depend on where they are. Like ones near the dark sea border will be very desperate and ones closely near an island be annoying and demanding.

[TPT]

just use :fly me h

[Dr.Archipelago]

@Tr0xic

Hungry castaways.

Will work well as “silent lore” with that castaway from Sailor’s lodge

@Tr0xic

Castaways with a specific destination

Oh god yes, pls. Imagine sending guy who lives on Frostmill to Shell island

@Tr0xic

Ambiguous castaways.

Too complicated i think.

[anon1944624]

ya did good bub

[Gamehero14]

I don’t particularly like the current castaway system, so I’m on board for an update to them. I do think the ambiguous castaway is too complicated, though. Instead, I’d have the occasional castaway be very distinctly from the navy or assassin’s guild. Saving a navy member gives less rep, but more galleons. Whereas an assassin causes you to lose rep if you deliver them to anywhere other than Whitesummit. (If you’re of positive rep when you speak to the assassin, they will acknowledge that the player likely shouldn’t be seen taking them into good towns, as so that new players don’t make such a mistake.)

A few more ideas for castaways:

• Group castaways. When a normal castaway would spawn, there’s a 1/10 chance of it being a group of two. A castaway group gives the reward of two castaways.

• Vengeful castaways. Grants the player tripled galleons if they sink a pirate ship prior to being dropped off. They state that their ship was sunk by some nearby pirates.

[Lowlife-Schmuck]

Very good idea. At this point castaways are just 300 free fame/bounty.

[RippleScript]

some even more ideas:

• Deckhand Castaways that will become available at a reduced requirement once you drop them off at a town, maybe even throw in some flavor text (“You saved my Life! I’ll gladly join you, Captain!”)
• Ambiguous castaways could have a chance of being Order members and the best choice then will be to plunder them or leave them to die.
• Merchant Castaways that need to go to a Specific Location but will give you some Items instead of a Fish (like lost cargo but better)

[Jared]

I was also thinking of something like this but I thought of pirate and land castaways. Great idea though