I find I like all of the suggested changes. Some ideas I find more appealing than others, but overall I like what I am reading. Like MetalTree, I am excited. Regarding the purely mechanical changes and tweaks, we will never know whether the impact on gameplay will be good or bad until the changes are implemented and people get some time to test it all out. Sometimes what may initially sound like a bad idea can turn out to be a positive surprise and vice versa. Having said that, I do have a couple of questions/concerns I would like addressed:
1.) If not elemental damage, what can we expect in terms of rewards from the Elemental Quest? Are we going to be able to pick from a list or will the choice be a default one? I have always liked that many quests on Thain give you a set of items/bonuses from which you can choose.
2.) Regarding "pulling items from thin air", surely this can be negated if the PC roleplays it properly? With my Druidess, I always RP gathering herbs before concocting any remedial potions. Speaking of which, perhaps the solution could be to go out and gather components which can then be traded for /craft items? Belladonas for herbs and poultices, exotic mushrooms for stimulants etc.
3.) I don't think portals ought be so difficult to come by. I do agree that you can now buy them for a pittance, but they are useful when you cannot simply take a caravan home, and Thain has really many areas that require lots of spelunking. Perhaps an alternative solution could be to only have a single merchant or two sell them, and for higher prices?
4.) If the imminent merchanical changes are intended for balanced gameplay, I seriously think you ought to take a close look at the Wizard/Cleric spell list. I find there are many spells there that are either too overpowering or too easily exploitable.
Registered Member #23774
Joined: 10:02:38 pm GMT 01/31/14
Posts: 163
My only concern is if you take the elemental damage from arrows, AA will not benefit in the long run with the +4 bonus that might be added to the arrow. Since they make there arrows magical already. Perhaps instead of removing such, Have a grandfather clause on the older items.
Registered Member #1593
Joined: 12:25:12 pm GMT 06/30/10
Posts: 451
I think it would be nice to still retain some kind of an elemental bonus in the temple quest as thematically it fits the area and Aspects. If the reward becomes plus four attack bonus or something similar, that isn't nearly as shiny as still being able to have glowing awesome. If there is worry about the damage value, drop the damage die to a lower value. In all honesty though, I would rather just see it stay as is. I am the only person I know to have taken the raw power option instead of an armor buff or weapon buff. I have used it very little but haven't minded that. I have more or less pretended it was an extraordinary ability due to enchanted tattoos or what have you. I don't typically play melee or projectile characters as of now, but do people really think 2d4 is dealing too much damage when elemental resist armors and rings already provide resistances easily knocking off five points of elemental damage?
(Writing all this from a phone so apologies if my communication is coming off chunky right now). Edit for word choice.
Moo Registered Member #1327
Joined: 2:14:55 am GMT 07/27/08
Posts: 1718
Katana3DG wrote ...
If we are going to add CEP, can we please only add and/or limit the options to the good stuff and leave out the absolute crap. i.e. No lightsabers.
If CEP is added then yes, only select content will be used. CEP has a lot of rubbish in it, but it's a bit more convenient than custom hakpacks since it's already packaged up and so many people already have it and are familiar with it.
Life is full of disappointment. Registered Member #1570
Joined: 9:27:59 pm GMT 04/12/10
Posts: 950
1. Congrats Gerbo
2. I don't care about the elemental damage. However, I like the "glowie" effect for weapons for specific characters. Thain has a dearth of "glowie" weapons that are available through non-DM sources.
There use to be a fair number of "glowie" weapons hanging out in differing areas of Thain, if you knew where to look for them. But, the decision was made to eliminate most of them (which I was not happy about, but the Elemental quest made up for it, mostly). how will this be handled? (I want to keep my "golwies" damn it. it's a cosmetic that I like to have for certain toons).
Registered Member #2049
Joined: 12:00:00 am GMT 01/01/70
Posts: 0
Was about to complain that yet another server makes AA a completely useless class, but does the AA attack/danage bonus really stack up with arrow enchabtment bonus? If it does, then never mind. If it doesn't, then I demand another option for the +4 bonus.
Moo Registered Member #1327
Joined: 2:14:55 am GMT 07/27/08
Posts: 1718
Dontella wrote ...
Change of Elemental Rewards
Will this be a player option as to what they pick or will it be automated? (I.e they could pick a +4 or they could pick a form of lesser damage.)
Changing Weapons and Ammo, will Armor and the 'Raw Power of the Elements' be effected as well? Any notion as to how or is it still being contemplated?
I almost forgot about the armor upgrade and raw power item. I'm actually okay with the armor upgrade. The Raw Power has always been garbage and I meant to change them to apply a temporary damage shield but never got around to it. Perhaps those two options will be left in as the reward.
Dontella wrote ...
I would remove the 'Gold Chests' entirely. The items dropped in them are ridiculously overpowered on a whole.
They are overpowered! But fun, also. And they only spawn randomly when a party is present so they haven't got out of hand. Some of the more overpowered ones could be changed or removed.
Dontella wrote ...
What of the 'PC crafting' menu? (The one requiring tokens) Will this be adjusted to come inline with the rest of the standards?
More "recipes" will be added to allow creation of +4 and +5 items. This may be one of a few ways to obtain such gear.
Dontella wrote ...
I always thought 2d10 massive crits was a bit excessive. But the small boosts to elemental damage that can be crafted now would be nice to keep especially if they removed from the temple (and as a variation). Plus the items are capped at 3.5 for power as it is.
2d10 massive crits is a bit silly and very much undervalued in terms of GP cost.
I think you are talking about the ammo crafted by NPCs, possibly with the help of a PC's craft roll. Those can probably stay as well, they're not bad. I was going to add a source of lightning ammo too, I just haven't figured out where yet.
Dontella wrote ...
Are we going to be seeing spell nerfs? I've already gotten PM's from other players with this concern, so I am presenting it here so they can get a better answer.
I honestly hope not, especially if there is going to be an introduction to higher powered itemry for the other classes.
Very few, and quite minor. The whole idea is to bring gear closer to par with caster buffs. The alternative is spell nerfs across the board and or capping caster levels at 12 which is a lot of work and just no.
Dontella wrote ...
I also hope we don't remove the crafting system, honestly it was one of the better additions to the module., especially if someone RP's a crafter character. But I agree that pulling items from the air, especially in say a dungeon, has always been silly. I would downsize some of the healing herbs, +4 regen for a mere 350 gold has always seemed like another one of those excessively silly powered items.
Collecting components would be a great reason to go adventuring or hiring others to do some work and give people other reasons to travel about.
Crafting won't be removed at all, just made less convenient. For example, a healing poultice may require a gathered component or two and an alchemy table to craft. Part of the challenge of a dungeon crawl should be managing your resources, and having an invisible merchant with healing items and lifestones kinda detracts from that.
Dontella wrote ...
I know this is all still probably being discussed, so I'm just tossing this out here to get a feel for things. I know that changing the elemental rewards and the like is going to be a massive undertaking when it starts.
Thanks for the questions and keep em coming if you have more.
[ The Island of Thain ]
A Vision of the Future
I'm actually okay with the armor upgrade. The Raw Power has always been garbage and I meant to change them to apply a temporary damage shield but never got around to it. Perhaps those two options will be left in as the reward.