Posted by Stahlhagen on October 25, 1999 at 11:06:36:
In Reply to: Idea for Perfection ..Imms - Check this out, please. posted by Someone on October 24, 1999 at 23:34:14:
Most (if not all) skills should retain intelligence as at least part of the ease of learning. Some trivial examples: Dodge: [(Int + Dex)/2] While smart people are more likely to observe the finer points of dodging, having the fast reflexes and coordination necessary to master effective dodging should factor in as well. So a felar (Int 17, Dex 23) would learn dodge as if he had an Int of 20 under the current system. Haggle : [0.4*Int + 0.6*Chr] Same idea, with a different weighting scheme. Most spells would remain purely a function of Int. Most communes would become a function of Int and Wis. Most bard songs would be a function of Int and Chr. These sorts of changes would primarily effect physical and/or social skills. So how would this effect game balance? Well, it would make Int a less attractive attribute for non-mages. But to some extent, this has already happened because of the prevalence of intentional practicing. For example, a player with a duergar warrior can negate one of his char's natural drawbacks by simply practicing like a madman. Eventually, he'll have all of the relevant skills mastered anyway, and one of the drawbacks of having a low int has been nullified at the cost of the player's free time. If there was no 100% "cap" on knowledge of a skill, this would not be the case, but under the current system there is a level of skill which even an elf tops out at, and it is the same for all races. Which leads me to..... > Greets. Just was thinking about the various races and intelligence and the perfection of skills. In my opinion, I think mastering spells/skill should be a little more dependant on race than int. > For instance, take giants and gnomes for example. Yes, a gnome is 'smarter' but are gnomes known for their combat ability? Yet their int is higher so they learn skills faster. Giants are known for their physical combat prowess, yet they learn things like the use of weapons, etc. slower than the other races. Why? Doesn't it make sense that a giant would find fighting techniques easy to comprehend, therefore giving him an edge over the tiny gnome who might not understand the intricacies of bashing someone.. or doing a 'brutal' attack.. or whatever else. > Here is what I propose: (Edit and change as you see fit) > Mainly, I may have made this more complicated than it should be, but I mostly wanted to focus on giants, as i find it strange that just because they are not the smartest of races, do not learn fighting skills as fast as other races merely because of their int, but when looking at it realistically, you'd think that a giant would excel as a warrior. > Some thoughts.
As you have it stated, it would involve a -lot- of coding decisions. Every skill/spell/cabal power would have to have a "learning level" set for each race, instead of just one. Obviously, the code already allows for a "difficulty level"- compare assassinate with hold person if you don't believe me. What might be easier is to change some of the skills so that the statistic of merit is no longer solely intelligence. (Note: I know squat about the actual code, so this may already be the case for certain things for all I know.)
> Giants - Learn spells and communes slow. Fighting skills fast.
> Elves - Learn magic and, depending on alignment, communes fast or slow. (Drows would find the dealing of pain involved in being a shaman natural, but the healing and aiding of others less.. common. Elves excel at healing) Warrior skills moderate for both races. Ranger skills fast for elves.
> Gnomes - Spells and communes all fast. Warrior skills slow.
> Svirf - Spells slow, communes and warrior skills moderate.
> Felar - Fighting skills fast. Spells slow. Ranger skills fast.
> Arial - All moderate.
> Human - All moderate.
> Dwarf - Fighting and communes fast.
> Duergar - Fighting fast. Spells moderate to slow. Communes moderate to slow.