[CF-Devel] Suggestion for new skills

Thu Oct 9 00:13:22 CDT 2003

  I'll first note that the skill and spell code that is currently in place is 
really my first pass.  I certainly expected some adjustements would be needed.

  For example, all skills contribute exp to your overall exp total.

  I should note that as I think about it right now, this is the only thing your 
overall level is really used for:
1) max hp.
2) item power totals
3) saving throws

  So it doesn't play a whole bunch into the game.

  And also note, in the current system, it isn't a case of 'all or nothing for 
skill exp contributing to overall exp'.  You can set it anywhere from 0->100% 
(actually, you could probably go above 100%, but that would be a bit odd).  So 
you could say 'these skills are relatively safe - we'll give 20% of exp you earn 
in them to your overall level, but not the full 100%'.

Andreas Vogl wrote:
>

      Nicolas Weeger wrote:

>

     >

      I did not suggest to merge bowyer or punching with weapon

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      combat. What I suggested is to merge the four wizardry, and

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      eventually one/two-handed weapons.

     >

     >

      It may be realistic, but what I'm more concerned

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      about is the balance between classes and strategies.

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      In the new system, I'm happy to play a fighter or priest,

     >

      but I would not want to play a wizard. - Would you?

  I've done it.  It certainly is more difficult, but probably really starts to 
become more so at a bit higher levels (after all, most low level monsters don't 
actually have any resistances, so whether you blast them with fire, lightning, 
or cold, they die equally well).

>

     >

      While wizardry was still a single skill, I did not have

     >

      the feeling that wizards had an unfair advantage.

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      Now they need to collect four times the experience to

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      get as strong as before.

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      This may not occur as a big problem while using wizardry

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      as "supporting art", but when trying to raise a true wizard-

     >

      based character, I believe it hurts.

  I agree it hurts.  IT doesn't take quite 4 times the exp as before, as the 
table isn't linear.  Eg, 5 million in a single skill would be 16.  1.25 million 
in 4 skilsl would be level 10 in each of them.

  It may be that 4 wizard skills are too many.  It may also be that the way I 
split them wasn't the best method (spell type).  One could certainly do 
something like have 3 schools of wizardry, red, blue, green, and more or less 
randomly distribute the spells across them.  red school may have small and large 
fireball, but never did medium fireball, which the blue school has or whatever.

  However, I did perceive a problem in that more and more spells kept getting 
added, and it seemed a bit absurd to me that if you start as a wizard, you 
suddenly have the potential for 150 spells or something.  Plus, the different 
spell classes really meant nothing, except for attunement of your talisman, 
which you could toss as soon as you found one that was better or learned the 
skill natively.

  In the current system, if you choose the summoner class, it really means 
something.

  That said, I'd probably be happy to just split wizardry into two skills, but 
in that case, have them be opposing schools (eg, the black school is secretive 
and does not let its members join the white school and the white school 
similarly does not let its member join the black school).

  Something like that could also add some nice background to the world, toss in 
a couple guild buildings for each school, etc.

  Also, in the translation of the spells, I basically kept them the same as they 
were before.  It'd probably also be nice to scale them up a bit, eg, after level 
15-20, you basically know every spell, even though your skill goes up to level 
110 (or higher).  It'd probably be nice to toss some level 20, 30, 40 etc spells 
in there - maybe not a lot, but at least something so that wizard has something 
to look forward as they gain levels (ooh, at level 40, I get fireball of mass 
destruction or something)

  Even 2 skills would allay my concerns about a wizard just getting tons of 
spells, as well as reducing a little bit of wizard getting more and more spells.

>

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      If we leave the wizardry skills seperated, I think the

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      following will happen:

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      Over time, new spells will be added that outweigh the

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      disadvantages but also disturb the idea behind the diversion.

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      For example, someone adds a cold spell to pyromancy, because

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      he is so tired of raising both pyromancy and evocation

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      for that purpose.

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      The next step is that one of the four skills becomes the

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      "main stream" wizardry skill, like pyromancy for example,

     >

      and the other three skills degrade.

  Well, that is an issue of watching checkins/balance, just any new archetype. 
We have to watch that some weapon that gives immunities to everything isn't 
checked in for example.

  Certainly some skills will be better than others, and that holds true for 
skills.  I think that summoning might not be on par as pyromancy for mass 
destruction, but lets face it, there are certainly times where having 
golems/elements are useful, and people will probably use it.

  Also, as I played it, I find that being somewhat limited to spell types means 
that things like wands and rods looked interesting again.  When as a spell 
caster I had every attacktype available, I'd pretty much never touch those items 
(why use them if I have spells). And IMO, having people use wands/rods again 
certainly isn't a bad thing.

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