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[S] New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:55 pm
by Mad P
We've been talking a lot about useless skills, and even have a poll going on right now.
I thought about logical high level uses for the - shall we say - not that highly valued skills.

My first idea is something with Failure Mastery:

Harakiri (or should that be Kamikaze?) - high level skill, requires at least level 3 Failure Mastery
When you die in combat, all monsters you were fighting die also (dropping any loot they carry)

Opens up new strategical options for dealing with (boss) monsters that are beyond your power to defeat :mrgreen:

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:00 pm
by nether
Good idea... put those useless skills to work.

Even if that skill was available though, I don't think I would take it. Enemies as they stand are easy enough to kill with the proper leveling, and I'd feel cheaty if I used that move on a boss or something.

Maybe the reverse could work? at 10% HP or lower you get like a full restore, then an actor condition that cancels the move for an exorbitant number of rounds.

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:01 pm
by Taledus
Intriguing idea for modifying "useless" skills.

+1...I'd like to see where this goes.

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:29 pm
by Sarumar
Taledus wrote:Intriguing idea for modifying "useless" skills.

+1...I'd like to see where this goes.
echoing +1 ... really creative topic. My2cents.. How about if this skill is something like "last stance" and it gives you 33% chance to get status "minor berserker rage" (AC+60, BC-90, DR-1, HP+35) for five rounds instead of death.

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:43 pm
by fiernaq
Mad P, just to expand on where I think you were going with this:

Defer Death
Condition - You are hit for a killing blow.
Actions - You stop at 1 HP, lose all actor conditions for 1 round, it becomes your turn but you only have 6 AP (just enough for one flee action or possibly a couple of hits).
Prerequisites - Failure Mastery (3), Evasion (2)

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:07 pm
by Mad P
I like Fiernaq's idea of Defer Death, it may put an end to my endless saving habits!

it needs to be tuned somewhat to avoid complications:

It should somehow be made impossible to depend fully on this skill, I mean like getting the first killing blow, striking back with the newly gained 6 AP, getting a second killing blow, striking back once again - that would be an invincible chain. So it should only work one time in x (10?) rounds.

Furthermore, I would keep the level requirements at 3 FM, not the evasion although it fits into the theme - I think 3FM 3 is far away enough, most players will find that cost too steep already (especially as FM has no other use now than free teleportation at level 5)

I also second the Last Stance skill Sarumar suggested, some combinations could create whole new build ideas. What about the Berserker build :twisted:

Let the ideas flow, we'll make something exciting with those formerly useless skills!

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:13 pm
by nether
Don't forget that rounds are changing to work during combat as well, something important to remember...

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:21 pm
by Mad P
One more:

Trusted Friend (level 1) - high level skill requiring Merchant level 1, Treasure Hunter level 1 and Magic Finder level 1
Shop merchants offer you one extra item (rare) for sale

Trusted Friend (level 2) - high level skill requiring Merchant level 3, Treasure Hunter level 3 and Magic Finder level 3
Shop merchants offer you one extra item (extraordinary) for sale

The extra items should be well balanced of course, maybe offering small effects normal items can't provide (like gloves with 10% resistance against blood disorders)

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:53 pm
by fiernaq
Mad P wrote:It should somehow be made impossible to depend fully on this skill, I mean like getting the first killing blow, striking back with the newly gained 6 AP, getting a second killing blow, striking back once again - that would be an invincible chain. So it should only work one time in x (10?) rounds.

Furthermore, I would keep the level requirements at 3 FM, not the evasion although it fits into the theme - I think 3FM 3 is far away enough, most players will find that cost too steep already (especially as FM has no other use now than free teleportation at level 5)
Ha ha, yeah... apparently I didn't think that one through all the way :lol:

If there's a combat end marker I would suggest linking the skill to that so that it can only happen once until you leave combat then it would start from scratch. That way you can't get it again until you either kill the monster you were fighting or successfully flee from it. Also, in this frail state you should be unable to consume potions or food. In other words, your options are attack or flee because you can't just sit there and gain health back.

I like the idea that Defer Death requires both a mastery of failure and an uncanny ability to evade that last attack. In fact, I was considering adding Combat Speed (1) as part of the requirements or maybe Dodge (1). At the same time, DD is not that powerful a skill that its requirements should be very high so we do need to limit them. How about the following requirements:

Failure Mastery (2), Evasion (1), Dodge (1)

We could add more than one level of Defer Death too... level (2) for example could be: gain 5% of max HP, lose all current actor conditions plus become immune (can receive them but they don't have any effect) for 1 round, 75% of AP back (7 if you only have 10, 8 if you have 11, and 9 if you have 12). Requires Failure Master (3), Evasion (2), Dodge (2).

Re: New high level skill for 'useless' skills

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:57 pm
by Sarumar
Mad P wrote:One more:

Trusted Friend (level 1) - high level skill requiring Merchant level 1, Treasure Hunter level 1 and Magic Finder level 1
Shop merchants offer you one extra item (rare) for sale

Trusted Friend (level 2) - high level skill requiring Merchant level 3, Treasure Hunter level 3 and Magic Finder level 3
Shop merchants offer you one extra item (extraordinary) for sale

The extra items should be well balanced of course, maybe offering small effects normal items can't provide (like gloves with 10% resistance against blood disorders)
+1 another great opening. How about if:
- this "rare" items is just opportunity to buy earliers in the storyline some of the most powerfull items awailable in the game. Excamble you can buy some of the Remgard stuff in the shop in yours hometown.
-those "extraordinaly" items are onetime drops and other current extraordinary items.

?