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Mage Kit


Caedwyr

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I've got another kit coming along (one of several) and I'm trying to find some appropriate drawbacks that fit the kit.

 

Right now, here is what I have

 

 

Celestial Mystic

Mage kit

Requirements: Lawful Good

(use virtue check and/or reputation check depending on if it is present or not)

 

The mysteries of the seven heavens are unplumbed by even the archons who inhabit Celestia's lower layers. Tales say that those who enter have their inherent goodness magnified until their essence joins with Celestia itself. Celestial mystics strive to attain this ultimate unity with the perfect good. By contemplating the mystery of the Illuminated Heaven, they believe that they become more pure, more good, and more perfect. Celestial mystics are often loners, poring over cryptic manuscripts and practicing their meditative techniques. However, they have a strong ethic of involvement in the world even as they seek to transform it, and strive to live out their increasing goodness by helping the weak and helpless

 

 

(preceding chunk is probably going to get heavily re-written)

 

Blessing of the Silver Heaven: +10 electrical resistance, +2 saving throw bonus to poison, petrification, permanent protection from evil, 5% experience penalty (Level 2)

Blessing of the Golden Heaven: Immune to magical death spells and death effects, 5% experience penalty (Level 6)

Blessing of the Pearly Heaven: Lore bonus (+30), 5% experience penalty (Level 10)

Blessing of the Crystal Heaven: Lay on Hands at 3xclass level hitpoints self only, immunity to disease and poison, 5% experience penalty (Level 14)

Blessing of the Platinum Heaven: Bolt of Glory 1/day, 5% experience penalty (Level 16)

Blessing of the Glittering Heaven: +20 magic resistance 5% experience penalty (Level 18)

Blessing of the Illuminated Heaven: Permanent Aura effect: regneration 2hp/round for all nearby allies, repulsion on undead with level less than 10, 5% experience penalty (Level 20)

 

The thinking here, is that the closer you get to enlightenment, the harder it becomes to reach the next step (justification for the increasing experience penalty). I was also thinking of setting the experience of the player to 0 when they gain the kit as another possible drawback. However, I'm worried that just using experience penalties isn't enough or might be too much or might be too much of the same thing. So, I'd love to hear some suggestions as to what people think, and maybe something else that could be used instead.

 

Also, I'll probably just use the mage base HLA table, or a combination of the Refinements HLA table with the vanilla one, but if I can come up with something appropriate for the kit, I may create a new one, or throw a few new HLAs into the mix to pick and choose from.

 

So, balance comments about the kit (on paper so-to-speak) are very much welcome. I'd like to create something that will fit into the original game, though it is ok if it is slightly more powerful than some of the vanilla kits. Since this kit will be assigned in-game via dialog/script and is semi-hidden its one of the kits that I may include in a 'prestige kit pack' if I ever get around to creating enough of them.

 

One other idea I'll probably use is to rig up some sort of Fallen system similar to the Ranger or Paladin system. Icky Baldur.bcs script patching, but it should hopefully work.

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Perhaps restrict the spells that can be cast to only those that are blue or white. If it were possible (detect alignment-the 1st level cleric spell?), maybe allow the red spells to be cast only on creatures that are only evil (lawful, neutral or chaotic).

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Yeah, I had plans to limit the spell list to prevent certain spells from being cast, but since this is a general mage kit as far as I can tell I can only limit it to certain spell schools (like the specialist mage kits). Any hacks I can come up with so far for creating my own custom limitation is horribly incompatible with other kits/mods/the vanilla game.

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Yeah, I had plans to limit the spell list to prevent certain spells from being cast, but since this is a general mage kit as far as I can tell I can only limit it to certain spell schools (like the specialist mage kits). Any hacks I can come up with so far for creating my own custom limitation is horribly incompatible with other kits/mods/the vanilla game.

If it's just a Mage kit and not a Sorcerer, you won't have to worry about choosing new spells, and can give it every spell exclusion flag, and grant all spells via CLAB, or new items / dialogue.

 

Edit: The reasoning behind the new ways of adding spells is due to them not being able to learn from scrolls the normal way with this solution.

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Ok, that doesn't really help for this particular kit, since I want it to be a normal mage as far as learning spells, but that methodology makes another kit/class I want to make completely possible when I'd thought it was impossible before. Thanks for the idea.

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The benefits far outweigh the drawback of experience penalties.

 

Also giving all the bonus' by 20th level might be two early.

 

I'd stretch these out to 40th level and start the Silver heaven at level 5 or 6 so that at least you start SoA with something.

 

If it seems like there is too big a gap between abilities when stretching to 40th level then power up earlier abilities inbetween.

 

For example give an extra Bolt of Glory at level 25 or thereabouts.

 

If you think about it giving extra abilities to a mage immediately makes them more powerful than vanilla mages...regardless of the penalty.

 

A 30% penalty to XP at level 20 might seem like a lot but with the amount you need to level up after level 10 being around 375K (?) it's not really a lot.

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Agreed regarding the experience penalty not really meaning anything in the long run. I've made a few revisions with the addition of the HLA table:

 

CA#CMBTH :Blessing of the Glittering Heaven: +20 magic resistance (HLA, pre-req for everything)

CA#CMBIH :Blessing of the Illuminated Heaven: Permanent Aura effect: regneration 2hp/round, repulsion on undead with level less than 10 (HLA, pre-req for everything)

 

5% experience penalty per Blessing

 

Energy Blades (HLA)

Improved Alacrity: Requires Enlightenment

Summon Planetar (HLA): Requires Summon Deva

Enlightenment of the Seven Heavens: 1 Wisdom, 1 Intelligence, 15 points to lore

Bonus Mage Spells: Requires Enlightenment

Dragon's Breath (HLA)

Comet (HLA)

Summon Deva (Innate)

 

Mostly, its moving the level 18 and 20 kit abilities over to HLAs, but requiring them to be purchased first. I'm also investigating item usage restrictions to see if I can work something out.

 

More feedback is appreciated.

 

With regards to items, which item types do you find most useful as a mage?

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For mages, that probably isn't much of a drawback, since it just prevents them from using staves, and there are enough decent daggers in the game. Possibly you could restrict some of their proficiencies though, similar to how paladins and rangers don't get as many stars as fighters.

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Sticking an invisible, unremovable weapon in their off-hand should work, though there'd be a problem with the feedback message about not being able to equip an item because of one in the off-hand.

 

I was thinking of things like the Staff of the Magi and similar items when considering the drawbacks.

 

One thing I've also considered is a penalty to the number of spell-slots per level, but it strikes me as being somewhat difficult to implement due to the engine's like for resetting all those types of changes on level up, if I've read the Divine Remix threads correctly.

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If the offhand item disables some of the strings in question, it may work out a little more nicely.

 

As long as it's not a weapon you should be able to equip darts and slings normally.

 

If timing mode nine effects don't work for resetting spell slots (I'm not sure why they wouldn't) you can add timing mode one effects to the clab file at each level.

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It would make more sense to restrict this kit from using edged (bloodletting) weapons, rather than blunts. I don't know if you can use the cleric's usability flags though... that might actually make them more powerful, since it'd let them use maces, flails and the like.

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