The Carrion Fields - Viewing topic #2770 - Another New Class Idea: Enchanters (skillset is new, no...

Jagaub	Tue 28-Oct-03 06:00 PM
Member since 28th Oct 2003 59 posts

#2770, "Another New Class Idea: Enchanters (skillset is new, no..."

Based on some teasers I've seen in the game, it looks like you all may already have an idea for an alchemist class in progress. I thought a class like this might fit in well with your ideas, or perhaps some of the ideas could be used to fill in any blanks in an existing alchemist class plan. I know you all have plenty of projects on your hands as it is, but I just wanted to throw this out there.

Overview:
Enchanters devote their studies of magic on the makeup of magic itself regardless of its source, be it divine, planar or based on pure mana. They learn how to control the flow of such energies and are able to focus them into ordinary objects. There are three distinct paths for an enchanter; Most enchanters focus on only one path, but are generally familiar with the basics of the other two paths.

Alchemy is the study of the storage and releasing of magical energies via magical artifacts such as wands, staves, scrolls, potions and pills.

Enchantment is the study of focusing magical energies into ordinary objects.

The study of Charms and Wards relates to research into how some ordinary objects are able to act as a focal point for certain magical energies when in conjunction with each other and the proper arcane enchantments.

Mechanics:
The enchanter may choose only one path as his focus giving him access to the major spells of that path. All enchanters have access to the minor spells of each path.

Although most enchanters have no innate damage reduction spells or innate bash protection, they will potentially have access to an array of damage reducing spells from other classes and will have a much easier time with shield, aura and barrier. They should also have a good amount of hitpoints because of the 'Enchant Armor' spell which is available to all enchanters.

The balancing aspect of their wide array of spell access is that all wands/staves/scrolls/pills/potions created by an alchemist have a rot timer on them (more powerful spells will have shorter durations than weaker spells, though this also depends on the quality of the base artifact used), and certain spells are unable to be absorbed by the alchemist.

Basic blank wands/staffs/scrolls/pills/potions will be available for sale in guilds and more reliable artifacts can be found elsewhere.

Standard Skills:
Staff
Mace
Dagger
Hand to Hand
Staves
Wands
Scrolls
Pen
Meditation
Trance
Parry
Shield Block
Second Attack

Standard Spells:
Word of recall
Pass door
Faerie fire
Faerie fog
Invis	Standard invisibility spell, except that it can be cast upon items (temporary duration on items).
Detect invis
Detect magic
Dispel magic

Enchanter General Spells:
Assess Object	An enhanced version of identify which shows the rot timer, if any, and any enhantments.
Sense Enchantment	Locate object for items with a magical flag.
Absorption	3 round lag on casting. Once casted, it has a 2 tick duration. Any spell or commune which would hit the character gets absorbed and does not cause combat. Only one spell can be absorbed at a time. The absorbed spell remains in the affects list for medium-length duration marked as an absorbed spell for use with release or imbue. Only one spell at a time may be absorbed. Level of stored spell is the lower of either the spell level or the character's level. Spells much higher level than the character cannot be absorbed at all. Certain spells and communes will be deemed too complex or powerful to capture to preserve game balance and some of them will only be able to be released on oneself.
Release	Releases an absorbed spell at a target.

Alchemy Path:
Minor Spells:
There is no inherent bash protection in this path, however some bash protection spells and communes can be absorbed by the alchemist and released on himself or imbued in a staff or wand for later use.
Staff mastery	Lag reduction (only 1 round to use a staff). The character may also specify a mana amount when brandishing a staff. Depending on the random number generator and the amount of mana used, the character has a chance of increasing the level of the spell on the staff and has a smaller chance of not using a charge at all.
Wand mastery	Same as staff mastery
Scroll mastery	Similar to staff mastery, but allows user to recite scrolls in combat, has a lag reducation, and a higher chance of not destroying the scroll when not in combat depending on the amount of mana used.
Filter	Removes a specified spell from a pill or potion. Gives/decreases rot timer.
Reinforce potion/pill	Increases rot timer - can only be used once per pill/potion.
Syphon	Leeches mana and a charge from a wand, staff, scroll or potion (destroys scrolls and potions). Spell remains in affects list for use with release or imbue. Only one spell at a time may be absorbed, so when syphoning a potion, scroll or pill with multiple spells, you must specify which spell you want.
Major Spells:
Recharge	Recharges a staff/wand, but depending on skill level will reduce the maximum number of charges. There is a chance it will destroy the staff/wand. It always reduces the maximum number of charges by at least 1.
Replicate Scroll	Write a new scroll based on an old one without destroying the original. Spells on replications are always weaker than the originals and are prone to errors. Some spells may not transfer, and unwanted spells may be added. Requires parchment and a pen, the quality of which are a major factor in how well the spells are transfered.
Focus Charges	Removes a charge from a wand/staff, in return increasing the level of the spell on the wand/staff.
Disperse Charges	Adds charges to a wand/staff, but decreases the level of the spell on the wand/staff. There are diminishing returns on focus and disperse, so if you do one and then the other you'll be losing out.
Imbue	Imbues a blank scroll, staff, wand, pill or potion with an absorbed spell. The level of the spell and the number of charges depends on the quality of the scroll, staff, wand, pill or potion. Low quality pills and potions may also take on unwanted spells due to flaws in their base ingredients. If the absorbed spell can only be released on oneself, then it may only be imbued on a staff or wand and may only be used by an enchanter.
Destabalize	Can be cast on an object or on a victim holding a wand or staff. If cast on an object, it is essentially a timebomb. The object begins humming loudly to all in the room and after 1-3 ticks (random), it explodes, preferably after the caster has left the room. There is a long duration before it can be cast on an object again. It is an area attack and since it isn't directed at any person, it is much weaker than when directed at a victim holding the staff or wand. However, it can be placed in a person's inventory and cause the same amount of damage a directed attack would cause. Awake mobs will refuse to take such an item. If cast on a victim holding a wand or staff, the magical object immediately explodes. Damage is based on the caster's level, as well as the level and amount of charges on the wand or staff. There is also a timer for how often you can cast it when not directed at another character.

Enchantment Path:
Minor Spells:
Phosphorize	Makes a weapon or armor glow for a long, but temporary amount of time.
Enchant weapon	Similar to old school enchant weapon in that it increases hit/dam, except it can only be cast once, gives bonuses relative to the caster's level and the affects of it are temporary. It cannot be cast on an item which is flagged magical.
Enchant armor	Gives temporary AC and health bonus to armor. May only be used on non-magical armor. Bonuses are dependent on caster's level and wear location. It cannot be cast on an item which is flagged magical.
Neutralize Enchantment	Directed at victim. Each piece of equipment on victim gets a save. Temporarily negates any magical armor/weapon's bonuses and prevents their progs from going off. If it lands on an enchanted piece of armor, removes the enchantment completely. Progged items affected will also temporarily lose their progs. This spell causes light aggravation to the victim (scratch or hit) resulting in waking slept victims.
Squeeze	General damage causing spell - 2 round spell - a temporary shrink on all the victim's equipment causing him damage a chance of a 1 round stun. The stronger the material, the more damage the squeeze will cause. No maladictive affects and no lasting affects on equipment. Does damage to mobs even if they aren't wearing actual equipment.
Major Spells:
Imbue magic	Imbues an absorbed spell on a non-magical piece of armor with both a timer and number of charges. The more powerful the armor, the higher level the spell can be, however there is always a chance of reducing the effectiveness or destroying the armor. The more powerful the enchanter, the more often the spell will trigger (not more often than once every round) and there will be a greater number of charges. The imbuement expires after the charges are all used or the timer expires. Maximum possible charges: 8 Maximum timer: 16 ticks Adds magical flag to the armor which fades after twice the duration of the original timer. Imbued items often interfere with each other, making them less effective and less prone to activation when multiple imbued items are worn. It cannot be cast on an item which is flagged magical.
Reverse Enchantment	Temporarily reverses the enchantment or bonuses on a piece of magical armor or weapon. Does not affect progged items. This spell wakes causes light aggravation to the victim (scratch or hit) resulting in waking slept victims. Duration of reversal is much shorter than a negation. This spell does not completely replace 'Negate Enchantment' because it does not affect progged items and has a shorter duration than Negate.
Shrink Armor	Can be cast on a wear location on a person or an object itself. Shrunken objects cannot be worn (usually it would be cast on an object to get rid of an expansion spell). It causes damage (dependent on material) and the inability to remove that piece of armor for a temporary amount of time. You can specify any wear location to target the spell, each one having a different affect. Head = -int, Arms = -str, Legs = -dex, Feet = -moves, Body = -health, About = a little -dex, a little -health, ring = -hit, -dam and slight possibility of dropping weapon. Cannot shrink held objects. Each item may only be shrunk once (until the affect has worn off from the object). Items return to their normal size after a set duration.
Expand Armor	Can be cast on an object or a wear location on a victim. Causes the object to become loose on a person and have a high chance of falling off during combat. If a person is slept and this spell is cast upon their equipment, they will not wake up. However, nothing falls off until they are in combat. Cannot be cast on held or cursed items. Cannot expand held objects. Each item may only be expanded once (until the affect has worn off from the object). Items return to their normal size after a set duration.
Construct Golem	With an entire set of metallic armor, they may construct a golem of metal as a pet. It is designed as defense for the mage rather than offense and therefore gets only one attack per round which is easily blocked. It has around a limited number of hitpoints for a mob (500-2000, depending on material used), but has excellent damage reduction (at most, the damage reduction of a crocodile - depends on natural AC of armor). It also serves as their bash protection, as it lunges its shield front of the enchanter when people try to bash him. He cannot rescue, but he will sometimes absorb attacks and spells meant for the enchanter. The more powerful the armor used, the more effective the golem. It also does not heal on its own, but requires to be fed metallic objects. This makes him not so useful for looting, as he's likely to eat armor he picks up to heal himself. Both expand armor and shrink armor cause heavy damage to the golem. A large hollow interior filled with air give it enough bouyancy to travel on or under water, and he is capable of flight if casted upon.
Golem Meld	The caster can meld with his golem giving him the golem's hitpoints, significant damage reduction and lag prevention inherent to the golem, but at some penalties. With the additional weight of the caster and reduction of empty hull space, the golem is unable to fly or move in/on water. The caster is also unable to cast any spells or manipulate his own inventory. He can pick up a limited number of objects which act as the golem's inventory and may only be healed by eating metallic objects. Walking also becomes a chore, and he has a one round lag as he moves between rooms. He cannot flee, but does not need to as he can easily shrug off combat and simply walk away from a fight, taking an additional hit from each attacker in the process. The golem may also knock his way through many doors (those which allow passdoor). Using the command "deconstruct", the caster may remove himself from the golem, but the golem will be destroyed. He won't be able to create another golem until the Construct Golem timer has worn off.

Charms/Wards Path:
Charms/wards are placed in a room. For a short duration they may not be destroyed. After that duration, they remain effective for a medium duration but can be sacrificed. They may never be picked up once used. Any person in an adjacent room can detect the presence of a ward (though they cannot tell which), and can scan for a ward. Only one ward may be placed in a room at a time. The strength of charms is dependent on the caster's level and the amount of mana put into the charm. Certain ones may also be held and will have longer duration than those which are activated in a room, and some of them may only be held by the enchanter who created it. There is also a timer on how often you can create each type of charm/ward, dependent on each one.
Minor Spells:
Skill: Activate	Activates a ward in your inventory, placing it in the room. On failure, a chance that the ward may be destroyed.
Dazzle Charm	All those entering the room will be blinded by a flash of light for a single round (12 pulses). When held, a similar affect may occassionally hit the target of a fight.
Charm of Life	Boosts health and stamina regeneration on tick for all in room (not as much as a slow). Communes and songs are boosted a little as well. When held, it occassionally casts a healing spell, the power of which is dependent on the rank of the enchanter (from light, to serious, to critical).
Regeneration Ward	Regeneration of health and stamina each reduced. Healing communes, songs and spells are also reduced in effectiveness by half. When held, the victim that the holder is attacking will suffer the affects of this ward alone.
Major Spells:
Deathbane	Undead creatures cannot enter a room with a deathward. Liches may force their way past it, but it causes them a small amount of lag (2 rounds). If used in a room where undead already are, they will flee into adjacent rooms. If they cannot move, they simply do not heal during ticks. When held, it occassionally does damage to the undead.
Tainted Charm	Focuses negative energy into its surroundings, occassionally causing light damage with a potential to curse its victims. In function, it works like existing tainted rooms. It can be removed before its invulnerability timer is up by sanctifying a room. When held it has a chance of directing a more significant amount of damage and a curse towards the target of the holder.
Divinity Ward	All communes in a room with this ward are reduced in effectiveness. When held, the victim that the holder is attacking will suffer the affects of this ward alone.
Mindbane	Everyone entering this room (including the enchanter) has a small chance at getting one of the following effects - confuse, muddle or insanity. Spells cast in this room have a chance at failure, even if they are perfected. When held, the victim that the holder is attacking will suffer the affects of this ward alone (only spell failure part, not the rest).
Sound Ward	All those in a room with a sound ward will be unable to communicate with those outside of a sound ward. They will be unable to hear others and unable to speak to others who are not in the same room. This cannot be held. This ward is also useful for privacy from easedroppers, such as conjurers.
Disorientation Charm	Everyone in the room has a more difficult time of landing bashes and trips, and instead of hitting their intended target, may occassionally hit someone else in the room, be it friend, foe or observer. When held (enchanter only), it serves as bash protection, making it unlikely (but not impossible) that any lagging skills will hit the user and adds a chance that the person targetted by the enchanter will miss his attack.

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