Perfume Questions

I know perfuming isn't implemented, and at the moment, I'm not even concerned about that. However when it is, what sorts of scents are available? Since St Loomis and the Sirdabi Caliphatehave different climates. So what scents would be common in each climate? What scents would be unheard of in these different places or all together Are there any particular forms of perfumes, eg oils versus those distilled in alcohol? What might reasonable prices would be understood for such perfuming? For example oil based perfumes would probably fetch a higher price than those otherwise made? Thanks as always. 

Hi! Good questions...

Ideally, once perfuming is implemented, any sorts of scents from the things that you can SMELL might be implemented. Like, the flowers that the forager sells -- they have a scent -- so you could make perfume out of them. There should be various things from plants that can be foraged and harvested to make any sort of scent. (The climate of Ruvera is analogous to that of Europe.) There's mint and pine and so on around. Scents that might be considered foreign in St Loomis but familiar to Fadila would be those from plants that are not native to Ruvera (like analogous to Africa and Eastern Asia), and maybe many people haven't heard of them, but the very upscale denizens of St Loomis would potentially still have had imported goods from the Kalentoi Empire, and thus been exposed to a variety of different things. 

Any "New World" plants would be totally unheard of, though, for anybody. This includes an actually surprising variety of things we take for granted. No potato, tomato, or pumpkin perfumes, sadly.

This is a good topic for it, so let's also discuss the eventual implementation of the Perfumery craft. My plans are this, so far (but I'd welcome feedback):

• Herbalism will allow people to press oils out of mashes, along the same vein of powder/boil/dehydrate types of abilities. These oils might have various uses aside from perfuming.
• Glassworking will allow for the crafting of small perfume bottles, using glassworking tools and forageable beach sand.
• Perfumery will allow for the combination of 1-3 "notes" of scented oils, along with alcohol, into perfume bottles that can be 'use'd to make scents happen on people. The price would be dependent on the skill of the perfumer, along with the value of each utilized oil, and the value of the bottle.
• Your question about oil-to-alcohol ratio makes me think that it'd be useful to have multiple classes of perfume, and have the price also dependent on the ratio of oil to alcohol. That concentration could also impact the potency of the scent. So maybe... a mist, a cologne, and a perfume.

The idea of having different perfume classes based on concentration would make a lot of sense, especially if scent availability is tied to climate and trade. A warmer region could reasonably have stronger traditions around concentrated oils, oud, resins, woods, herbs, and other materials that hold up well in small quantities, while alcohol-based perfumes could represent a different production tradition or a more accessible everyday option.

Pricing could also reflect rarity and preparation rather than simply the amount of fragrance used. A locally available floral oil might be inexpensive, while an imported or labor-intensive material could become a luxury ingredient. Concentrated oud and other traditional perfume oils are a good real-world illustration of this distinction; anyone interested in the range of oud-based oils can learn more about how these concentrated fragrance products are offered commercially.

For the game, it could be interesting if imported ingredients created recognizable regional scent profiles. A perfume containing several common local oils might be inexpensive and familiar, whereas one combining rare imported oils could become a status symbol among wealthy characters. That would give perfumery an economic and cultural dimension beyond simply making an item that produces a pleasant smell.