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Article template for a type/class of item

Content Addition · Articles & templates · Created by Vibeca

closed

What functionality is missing? What is unsatisfying with the current situation?

Currently it seems to be impossible to create an article for a certain type of item or thing. This could refer to for example a musical instrument or a type of clothing worn by a specific group of people. The two templates closest to encompassing this would be either "item" or "technology", but neither really reflects what I mean. If there is any way to do this that I'm not aware of, please let me know.
As an example, if I wanted to write an article named "the Lute", I wouldn't be referring to one specific lute but rather the type of musical instruments. If you look at traditional european lutes, they are not all the same, in some cases not even close, as the vary widely in size, shape and number and type of strings.

The "item" template wouldn't be able to encompass this wide variety, as it refers mostly to one specific object. As for the "technology" template, it gets a little bit closer to what I would envision here, but it's not quite there either, as I would not necessarily classify a type of musical instrument or clothing or something along those lines as a technology, so it feels strange to put it there.

How does this feature request address the current situation?

I think that a template for this might help us to go into the social, cultural, religious or simply practical relevance of a type of thing without needing to create a specific item or a technology for it. I don't know what one should name such a template, so, since "Type of Item" is kind of an awkward name and doesn't really sound all that great, feel free to suggest something more suitable and/or concise.

don't read this part, if you don't care about random historical stuff -

In medieval Europe (or at least Germany), trumpets were used to represent nobility and/or royalty. They were expensive and difficult to make and were therefore both a status symbol and had a representative function. It was common that it was forbidden to play music for long periods of time after the death of a ruler, but to still represent that there was a ruler somewhere, the trumpets would then be carried around by the trumpet players to visually, if not acoustically represent the importance of the person. Something like this could be reflected by a template like this without having to refer to a specific item.

random historical intermission over -

What are other uses for this feature request?

I can't think of any.

Thank you for your consideration.

Follow up

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions. As people kindly pointed out, the item template already kind of does this, so I was probably just asking to much. I will look into it and maybe make a new suggestion soon.

The Team's Response

Hey there :) The ITEM template is already the template that can be used to create ITEM TYPES, the same is true for the VEHICLE template :) If you have any specific ideas about prompts that are missing for your own case, please make sure you write a new suggestion with your ideas! I will be refunding you your points so you can go ahead and do that ;)

Current score

5/300 Votes · +400 points

Votes Cast

-300

by UnknownWriter88
on 2023-01-18 02:55
item types is already possible. Look at the very top of an item template right next to Item title and pronunciation
+100

by BloodsireArchitectGM
on 2023-01-18 02:50
Great to have this for TTRPG players to read up on a number of homebrew items and such. For example Elder scrolls and the Lizard folk or Argonians have a fun large wind instrument that has frogs inside that harmonize with the instrument to create music. This would be a neat way to create Cultural Items for Different Societies or even equipment of a kingdom that differs than another, perhaps there are devices or gear that was made only in the Ancient days and is being dug up by Archeologists or a similar role. Would love to see this!
+100

by Tijmuhn
on 2023-01-17 15:53
+300

by EleKTriiK
on 2023-01-17 13:39
-100

by A Adorable Orc
on 2023-01-17 12:14
This is what the Item template is used for. Under the "Categorization" tab, you can pick what item it is a subtype of. The accompanying text describes outright what you're asking for: the ability to create more generalized item classes, which specific items may fall into. An argument can be made about potentially expanding it with more prompts, like you're asking for (social, cultural, religious, practical) instead of simply history and significance, but that will likely require a different suggestion.
+300

by Vibeca
on 2023-01-17 00:17

Hello! <3 I hope you are having a nice day!

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Community Suggestion: Article template for a type/class of item