by Dixie » Tue Oct 29, 2024 3:56 am 
I know it's a bit late now for suggestions being mere days before wipe and w16 Steam launch so I guess you can just file this one with future world suggestions, like for the shorter worlds 6 months down the line.
First is very brief and probably bad idea because it would mean H&H actually entering a new age and leaving the iron age behind, well actually building on it, but whatever. So the idea I immediately had upon hearing about the Steam release was the introduction of Steam power to the Hearthlands. Maybe it could start off very small and very limited. Like maybe just a steam boat. or just a steam powered windmill. IDK just spit-balling. On to my other idea which I've been thinking about for a long time.
Support for an alternative Hearthling lifestyle: NOMADISM!
There are already assets in place conducive to the nomadic way of life. For example carts and wagons can support a kind of caravan for when a whole tribe/village packs up and moves. Im not familiar with much that has been added since world 7 but I have been attempting to catch myself up over the past few weeks. So there may already be more things along these lines already implemented that I havent discovered yet. Anyway Aurochs seem to me the perfect candidate for a beast of burden. {BTW shouldn't they be the one's pulling the plows instead of weak little sprucecaps?}
I do not know if large saddle bags have been added yet but for the nomadic lifestyle they would be extremely useful. Aurochs could be equiped with cupboard sized saddlebags or cargo holds. They could be led along by a leash or tethered to a horse causing it to take a heavy speed penalty. Could have option to use a horse instead and have the horse adapt to its new role as a pack animal over time causing it to no longer be useful for anything else. Maybe it becomes a mule?
Yurts/Teepees. Nomads do not need permanent settlements. Either Teepees like the Native American tribes used or Yurts like the Steppe peoples of Eurasia used. They were sturdy enough to protect people and belongings from the elements through long winters but were designed to be able to dismantle and transport with relative ease and efficiency. Everything they built was easily deconstructed or folded up and packed up for when the seasons changed and it was time for the tribe to move on, following the migrating big game they hunted.
Naturally such a lifestyle would depend far more on the resources acquired from readily available wild flora and fauna than on any tools, facilities or goods that require considerably more time and effort to obtain such as permanent farms, domesticated animals and mining for metal ore. Nomadic tribes make the most of wood, stone, bone, hide, feathers, and wild plants and herbs. They would have access to a wider selection of tools, temporary constructed facilities, craftable goods and food recipes that all utilize those readily available resources out in the wild rather than any elaborate permanent farm and village setup or long term mining operations and all of the associated smelting and smithing works.
Everything set up in a temporary nomad camp would be easily dismantled, packed up on Aurochs, carts and wagons: Personal Claims, Village Claims, Yurts, Tanning Racks, Campfire and spit, Study Desks, lean-tos, etc. Perhaps there could be a nomadic equivalent of the study desk, feasting table, chair, cupboard thus providing the same functionality but in a more portable form designed for use in a Teepee or Yurt?
Maybe even more than one nomadic lifestyle could be possible. Land & River/Lake/Sea nomads for example. Those who travel over land and stick mostly to tracking and hunting big game on land already have horses, carts and wagons. Perhaps the criminal scents tracking system could be the basis for an animal tracking system for hunters. Sea Nomads too have all they need in the available river, lake and sea vessels. Those nomads who travel by river and sea would rely more on fishing, whaling and things related to a more aquatic way of life.
I haven't thought everything all the way through but it seems like a natural fit to me in the existing world of Haven & Hearth. At the moment everything is geared towards Hermits and Villagers, we need more support for Nomads and their hunter gatherer way of life! Both lone wolf and tribal nomads. Also some of the things that help Nomads survive without a permanent settlement could help all Hearthlings in general when they are just starting out from scratch and must survive on the move until they find a suitable place to settle down.
ADDENDUM
Just finished reading every post in this thread and just want to add that I agree with rainbow and overtyped about the bow issue. Back in legacy my favorite character/playstyle was Ranger and of all the PVE/PVP combat styles I believe ranged/archery is the best fit for the Nomadic hunter/gatherer play style. Bow and Arrow were the primary weapons of both Native Americans and the Scythian and Mongolian people of the Eurasian Steppe lands.
Out of curiosity is it not true that every Titan wears steel armor and steel armor is pretty much impervious to arrows? If so then all the more reason to make bow and arrow more not less powerful, no? Anyway, from a Nomadic hunter-gatherer perspective the ability to bring down large game with bow and arrow is essential for survival. Then again so is the ability to defend oneself and the tribe against raids from steel wearing titans so...
