The reasons you can't learn Nova while wielding an axe is because you're trying to focus on two very different tasks.

Given how easy it is to have 90% in a weapon, your system would amount to giving everyone in the game a bonus to learning every skill, for nothing. I think we're pretty happy with the current learning rates.


Well, "nova" would have to be practiced with a weapon that an invoker
can use. The point is this: If you have a chance to improve some ability
(spell or otherwise) while wielding a weapon AT ALL, wouldn't it make
perfect sense if your chances improved as your skill in that weapon did?

For an example, I did Kenpo for quite a few years, and I remember being
an unrefined fighter in the early days. That is, I would have to spend
more time thinking during the fight instead of acting. As time went on
and I sparred more and more, the things that I once thought complex
became easier, which allowed me to focus more on different aspects of
the fight. You can apply the same logic to anything. Take writing, for
instance. A third-grader will spend a lot longer writing a paragraph
than a senior in high school, and that's because they are focusing
hard on the technique of writing, rather than "what they want to write
about."

If this doesn't make sense to you, I'm baffled. But I think it does
make perfect sense.

Also, to clarify things a little more here...this should only work
on abilities that are less than 90% trained. This might counterbalance
some of your concerns. The reason it would work this way is that once
a character gets something to 90%, he's basically hammering out the
last little details of the ability, so that would require greater
concentration.

And if THAT doesn't make this more appealing, then how about...

-------------------------------------------------------------------
FOCUS

syntax: focus (melee/abilities/none)

Every character can choose what they would like to focus upon while
fighting the denizens of Thera. Fighters may desire to choose the
"melee" focus, which would allow them to learn basic weaponry better,
while mages, bards, and communers may desire to choose the "abilities"
focus, which would lessen their fighting skills, allowing them to
learn better from whatever other abilities they might use during a
battle. (communes for priests, spells for mages, songs for bards.)
"FOCUS" only works when fighting npc's, and is treated as non-existant
when fighting other players.
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P.S. Yes, I would rather you put a "No, this idea sucks" than to
leave no response at all. Neglect is the silent killer.

Bizarro I'm helping!