Give until it hurts.

And then add one more large jasper.

- Illcram The Evil Empath

<<If I see your wearing perfect firecat leathers, polo cloak, and the skin of a GM I would be insulted by a topaz or two.>>

This makes very little sense. Put simply, the outfit of a character does not necessarily imply the wealth of the character.

<<Something more along the line of 4-5 gold and I would be very happy. I would be content with 1-2. If you are severly hurt, dying, and/or diseased and I save your life at least 3-5 gold would keep me content.>>

It's odd now that Empaths seem to want more money from healing that many characters make hunting. Why might that be?

Drongol's Player


PC also stands for "Paying Customer."

>>This makes very little sense. Put simply, the outfit of a character does not necessarily imply the wealth of the character.

In a way it does. Most people who roll up new characters will outfit them with alot of high end items because they can afford to and bring in plats per hunting trip. They way I look at it, if someone is going to outfit a new character to look like they've got the extra plats and they're still hunting in goblins then maybe they should also outfit them with the means to properly tip an empath. Pre-made gem pouches that appraise at around 5 gold. A few extra plat.

While I myself am not a "true" novice, my character was a novice when I came back. I had friends who offered to outfit me and get me all that nice stuff. I declined because of this very reason. While my friends might give me fluffy goodness I wouldn't feel right asking them to give me the means to tip an empath, so I choose to go with cheap Crossing gear until I had saved enough money to go buy some wolf clan leathers. Doing this I don't feel bad when all I have is a pouch full of gems from the lowest tier. I just pick one type of gem and give all of them to the empath. Of course after about 6 gems I usually have to argue with the empath to take the gems since I know they aren't worth alot.

Just my two cents on the subject. I'm not saying tip an empath everything you have, I would say tip about 50-60% of what you bring back from a hunting trip. Some will argue against this, either they haven't played an empath as their main character for awhile or they're just greedy. While it may take an empath less than 5 minutes to brink you back from the brink of death and heal all your bleeders it will take them at least 20-40 minutes to completely heal up again. If you stop and think about it, they may take 5 minutes to heal you but they'll spend probably as much time as you spent hunting just to heal up from one person who might have tipped them. That is why it makes sense to me to tip at least 50% of the funds I bring back from hunting. Then again I've also played an empath as my main character and I know how frustrating the subject of tipping can be.

River

Curiousity killed the cat....but satisfaction brought him back.

Personally, I try to give 10% of my hunting trip, unless I'm dying or close to it then I try to give 20-25% (coins, skins, boxes, and gems all toghether) so an average healing tip for me might be 35 coins, 5 skins, 3 boxes and 5 gems with hopefully one better than a small crystal. I've never had an empath unhappy with that and most of them try to turn down some of the stuff before I'm done.

Megan

>>So what is a good tip? I want numbers.

If you want a number, 5000 is a pretty good one. It's how much you pay for a vault each month, and moreorless about what you pay for citizenship (this, I believe, depends on where and when you join, so it could be as much as double or more or close to half as much). If it's a POS, you might pay that each month for the smaller versions but for galleons you are paying at least a plat (12 gold if I recall?). It also happens to be a significantly smaller number than the cost and/or actual value of whatever weapon, piece of armor, or other useful item you "mistakenly" gave to the empath.

The best thing about that number is that it's still low enough that most non-empaths of any level are going to think it's reasonably low yet empaths are still able to get rich without doing so too quickly or having to be one of the select few.

J'Lo, no that other one
The Manipulation List -- http://symphaena.com/index.html

<<As an empath, and as a fighter, I say wow to that amount. That's a bit much in my opinion. Heal 2 people and you make a plat? I don't think fighters my level can make a plat in 1 minute...and besides! My 50th fighter would go bankrupt paying 5 gold a heal...and I like to think I tip well when not playing the empath.>>

Considering WHEN I go to see an empath, I have no problems tipping between 2 and 5 gold. Especially when they are keeping me from having to give it to a cleric for a rezz


Gahlron Dragon'Claws
Ranger
~Mors ante dedecum
Nihil ante coffeum~

I play a 45th circle empath. I like skins and boxes I learn disarming off of, which is rock troll at the bare minimum, I really don't even take tips from anyone who struggles with less.

A pretty good rule of thumb I follow on the fairly rare times I take my non-empaths to visit an empath (Because I spend all my time on my empath) is 1 silver per circle of the tipper. This is assuming you've got a lot of wounds, I don't expect that much just for some nerve wounds.

My personal rule is no tips from the obviously young or those who are obviously poor (or clueless, a good sign of newbieness), and I don't take tips from fellow clerics or empaths, or single spot things like nerve wounds or replacing a severed hand, or poison, disease, vitality, just one cast gets that stuff

I also look at you at least once, always, if to judge wounds if nothing else, if you tip badly for what you're obviously capable of giving (Some mid-high circle rangers have been noteable culprits before in this group, one I healed twice in about an hour and didn't get so much as a thank you, with the Ranger title, another one two days ago with the Sniper title gave me a medium diopside worth 319 kronar, you CAN'T tell me you can't at least come up with a decent tip and have me believe it, go spend 15 minutes if you have to, that's about how long it takes for me to completely heal myself with my script.)

Again, I prefer boxes and skins, no one can give me enough of those. 10 rock troll/gargoyle boxes is about 1.5-6 gold, and makes me happier than just about anything else.

<<It's odd now that Empaths seem to want more money from healing that many characters make hunting. Why might that be?>>

Because a Polo cloak is what, 1-2k plat, perfect firecat leathers 200 plat? If you're able to support a n income to buy that level of things, a plat or two isn't going to break your bank for a tip.

<<empaths are people too, ask them, most will tell you if the tip you gave them is satisfactory or not. Chances are if you give any gem at all, it won't be the most insulting tip an empath has ever gotten. You'd be amazed the junk you get.>>

<<While it may take an empath less than 5 minutes to brink you back from the brink of death and heal all your bleeders it will take them at least 20-40 minutes to completely heal up again.>>

Amen to these two posts.

Honestly, the best tip in my case is intelligent and informed conversation while I'm healing you, seconded by a healthy respect for our profession which extends to not going out and getting your limbs lopped off for inadequate reason.

Gems and coin I can get more quickly and with less effort. When I heal folk, I want to hear about how they got the wounds, and I try to get some backstory on their characters to flesh out my own gameplay experience.

>>I'm always hesitant to offer boxes or skins because so many empaths have told me they don't like those kind of tips.

So ask. In my experience most empaths will be more than willing to tell you what kinds of tips they prefer.

---

Want to feel pretty, oh so pretty?
http://home.earthlink.net/~empathicshifting/
Simply enchanting, dahling!
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1o6qk/circleoftheserpent/id5.html

I would honestly just like to be ABLE to pay empaths. It bothers me so much that the majority refuse tips from me that I tend to go to Srela instead just to be able to pay for what I get.

Drex
---
Gyfford says, "Maulem your wife is giving me a headache."
Maulem says, "Well, at least I'm not th' only one she does that to then."
[Lystid] "do you know the two most important words a married man knows?"
[Maulem] "Itwasn'tme, IsweartoKuniyo?"

I was staying out of it, but I'm tired so what the heck. I generally look at about a gold as a decent tip unless I'm around an area like Crossing and the hunter looks small, at that time I'll acccept whatever they offer and don't take it personally if they can't afford to do anything. The only time small tips really bothered me is in a place like Ratha, where the smallest critters are sand sprites and you can easily come out of an hour of hunting with 2 plat or more. When you know how much the hunters are making in there and they tip you one small gem like a diopside or a crystal it makes you feel very underappreciated. That being said, Arwin tries to never accept tips from clerics, after all, they provide her with assistance as well, and she has never kept a "no-heal" list for bad tippers.


~Arwinia

It's mind over matter. I don't mind, because you don't matter.

<<If you cannot afford to tip 1 gold or more after being healed, and you are not just a newbie character, chances are you are not picking up your goods or hunting to level (including your skinning level).>>

Hon, I agree to an extent, but I'd also like to ask if you'd like to backtrain Drongol's skinning for me. If everything was primary, I'd almost be able to tolerate it, but backtraining a tertiary skill so I can tip Empaths will be excruciatingly dull.

Drongol's Player


PC also stands for "Paying Customer."

<<Other folks shouldn't have to suffer by not being paid for a service they provide for you due to your poor training.>>

If an Empath asked for payment for healing, that would be one thing. Payment is (typically) on a set schedule.

Instead, there is a tipping system set in place wherein the customer chooses how to reimburse the Empath. However, expecting a tip is rude.

Drongol's Player


PC also stands for "Paying Customer."

Not offering a tip is rude. I'm sure the waitstaff at the restaurants I frequent "expect" a tip without having to ask for it. And I tip them well if they do their job well. It's not that complex, really.


~Dulcinia

---

We don't rent pigs!

Since what is adequate will vary based on individual to individual seems to be a broad response, my thoughts on this are also broad, in kind. I believe it's based on intent of how you want your character to be portrayed. For instance, lets say I don't want my character to be seen in a positive light with a certain empath. Than I will not tip her at all regularly or tip him/her something very demeaning. However, lets say I want my character to be seen in a positive light with a certain empath. Well, I will try to tip him/her a lot of gems until he/she feels content or tip him/her a prize of some sort. I've found out that tipping someone with a prize is often better because it is more memorable from what is usually given (instead of coins/gems/boxes/skins). In the end, the objective is to show appreciation for that type of character because the empath has helped him live (something that is sometimes taken for granted). Even by mentioning thank you for the help is sometimes a very good tip when working towards an understanding of appreciation toward those who have helped your character.

So to sum up, what is an adequate tip? Well, that depends on what type of character you are trying to portray.

- Simon

>>The only time small tips really bothered me is in a place like Ratha, where the smallest critters are sand sprites and you can easily come out of an hour of hunting with 2 plat or more.

The smallest critter on Ratha is the ship's rat. Granted, it's only like a 2- to 4-room hunting area (they can also appear on the street in that area) and they only appear 2 per hunter, they still are by far the smallest huntable critters on that island. If you still have to hunt them or in all seriousness are nowhere near attempting even one sandsprite much less all that will inevitably appear, they make for a quick and easy tip source.

J'Lo, no that other one
The Manipulation List -- http://symphaena.com/index.html

>Also, as an aside, what is UP with people asking other folk to hurt them just so they can tend the wound and learn FA? Who're you trying to kid? Nobody in their right mind is going to make that kind of request IC; I am sick to death of witnessing it in one form or another, and I am especially sick of folk walking about with their guts hanging out and giggling like there's nothing wrong, then coming into the guild and whining like a baby when they get infected.

Until a way exists to train FA without tending wounds... get used to it.


Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

---

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die

>Leeches. It exists, tending wounds is just easier and more readily available.

Leeches are not a valid option for non-empaths.


Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

---

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die

>Nobody in their right mind is going to make that kind of request IC

Given that Elanthia is a magical fantasy world where wounds are cured with a snap of the fingers, death is a minor, temporary inconvenience, and people constantly train in combat arts and carry multiple weapons wherever they go, then no, I don't think it can be dismissed out of hand as OOC.

Having another player intentionally wound you so you can have a bleeder is, however, expressly against policy.

>Classes.

Valid, if impractical, suggestion.


Thrall of Dergati,
Heroiklim Zortal

---

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time
Lights down, you up and die