Bags of sand

[Pibemanden]

Well I just found out that the ox system didn't support bags of sand the hard way, lost 7 bags of sand .
I searched the forums to find an explanation and found that you can make bits of sand from a bag of sand.
The tread I found suggested that this feature should be removed because it was too slow and there already is cnr-spawns that give bits of sand.
I have another suggestion, because being a mage with 10 in strength I can't drag much sand from the deposits to Hlint, I would remove the option to make bits of sand directly from the bag of sand. Instead I would have one of the crafting stations offer the opotunity to do so. I undestood from the tread on the subject that you could gain 20 bits of sand from a bag, then make the crafting option look like smashing gems, if you fail you get 10 bits and succes makes 20 bits. The exp should of cause be low and so should the dificulty. You might say that dividing sand should be easy and always succed, but I takes some skill to divide a bag of sand in the right proportions to make you able to cast a spell.
Anyway I would really want this change to be made, because it would make the ox system more logical, after all a ox should be able to carry sand for you.

[vgn]

Changes to the bags of sand have been asked for before as you mentioned. They have been turned down before and will likely continue to be turned down. The bags have charges for the bits of sand and "crafting" sand to remove a sprinkle of sand from a bag doesn't make much sense.
While logically you should be able to put a bag of sand on an ox, I would imagine a good portion of the reason this still is like this is for balancing to slow down the glass making. If it is hard to gather materials then it is harder to craft.
On a final note. You say you are a mage with 10 strength and I'd say you aren't using your full potential. A small spell or two and you can have a 50% increase in strength and easily carry double or more your normal load.

[Pibemanden]

Well that 50% bigger strenght depends on luck, and I have tried during my stuck-in-Hlint-because-of-orders-time to roll a one r two time and again, and bull's strenght doesn't stack...
And for slowing down the production? Well the other craft are quicker than glassmaking on low levels, I know that the higher levels require some hard to get components, but come on; basic glassvares are 1-10gp in the vendors around town. You really don't gain anything making glass on low levels but save a couple of gp.
Compared to making molds I could make many times the molds compared to glass I have made, and I have only spend half an hour making molds, and considerably longer making glass.
Besides molds are very easy to make, I think that is strange I am currently lvl. 1 and can be lucky to craft all of the molds at 60%. Couldn't there be some kind of advancement here?
Well back to subject, there are plenty of clay near Hlint but little sand there isn't protected in some way. So basicaly you can't get more sand than you can carry and you have to fight to get it... That would slow you down consideraply, unless there wasn't a second problem... How can you dig sand and clay invisible, I would notice if someone was digging a hole right next to me, but either the mosters are too dump to notice, or they're both deaf and blind.
I really love the crafting system, but this is a part of it that doesn't make sense...

[Ar7]

Your proposal makes sense and I have thought the same way myself. Two things are overlapping, like you said, one can get bits of sand from a deposit and from a bag of sand. So it would be logical to remove the charges from the bag of sand. It shouldn't be a big balance issue, as an ox can carry 40 items ( not sure here, haven't used an ox in a while ), such an amount doesn't make a lot of glass.

Though I must mention, that an arcane spellcaster can carry a lot, more than many fighters will ever be able to. But I will leave that for you to find out.

[Pibemanden]

Ar7 - 8/23/2005  12:36 PM
Though I must mention, that an arcane spellcaster can carry a lot, more than many fighters will ever be able to. But I will leave that for you to find out.

Well maybe then it's just me running around with some equipment and 5-6 boxes of stuff may be a bit too much for anyone...
Or then I just have to think hard on how to carry around loads of stuff on my own:), and I can reveal now that the answer isn't multiple bull's strenght spells they overlap eachother...

[aragwen]

There is other places close to Hlint where more sand could be found.
  I can think of least two more places, but will keep the location hidden for now. Explore and you might find them or ask and someone might show you.
  mmmm....where would one find a lot of sand?