I totally agree that asking for payment up front is an excellent idea. People can then choose if they want to pay and be healed or not and go elsewhere. Its when we getting into tipping that problems with how much is enough and how little is insulting start to happen. Back to my original comments of tip opinions differ. Also, Szrael's ideas of payment are also unique and can lead to some pretty neat RP I'd imagine. Since some people tend to take our guild as the walking talking autopaths, its fair to expect payment. Telling someone up front doesn't leave room for patient tip confusion and angry empaths.

That's so true


~Arwinia

Thieves will continue to be dominated by the awesome power of the perceive health ability - that which causes rivers to dry up, babies to cry, and the earth to shake.
Stand back mortal, lest ye health be perceived.
-Ssra

I really think its up to each Empath... I only accept tips because I think its rude not to, and some people can be very persistent in making sure you get the tip one way or another. But I would NEVER ask for or expect a tip. I constantly tell people that a "thank you" is sufficient. I don't even charge for shifting, though i'll admit that the list of shifts I can perform is fairly limited. Regardless, i don't ever plan on charging for it. I don't care if there is some list going around that Empaths are supposed to base their fees off of, my healing/shifting services only require a smile and a thanks as payment.

95% of the money I get I wind up giving away in the form of gifts anyway, so what do I need the coin for? I know of a few people who use their Empath's kind of like Traders, making a rather large amount coin they distrubute to their other characters. Nothing wrong with that, but thats not me, nor do I want people to assume that I am like that just because there are some Empaths out there who are.

While I'm on my soap box: Who put the notion into people's heads that they should just calmly walk into the room, not say a word, and expect to be healed? I'm sorry, but if you do not specifically ask for healing you will never get it from me. I would never assume just because you enter an area where Empaths gather that you want healing. Some hang out there for social reasons, or for the classes. There are also a lot of people out there that do not want healing for one reason or another. Maybe they don't like empaths, maybe they don't like strangers touching them, maybe they have promised to donate their wounds to a specific healer... who knows? Point is: speak up!

Murithi