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[Demivrgvs]

Staff of the Woodlands

So what are some ideas for improving the SotW?

 

These are just random and probably no good, but it's a start:

 

(1) Increase enchantment level by one;

(2) Add an effect on hit (is this possible or are we at some limit on the number of effects?);

(3) Add some elemental protection;

(4)Increase the number of Shambling Mounds available per day.

(1) I don't think it would make it much more appealing, and +4 is enough to hit any type of creature

(2) yeah, its melee potential probably is its less appealing aspect. Item Upgrade simply added a small chance to cast Creeping Doom on hit (though Summon Insect may be enough imo), but I'd like to know players opinions on this matter.

(3) surely an easy way to improve it, but far from being "unique" as many items already does that.

(4) I wouldn't like it, as the Shambler is so powerful I put it as a 7th level spell in SR (IR shambler is a little weaker in its current version but I'll make it as powerful as in SR asap).

 

Staff of the Magi

And regarding the Staff of the Magi, I saw some discussion about you possibly removing the Protection from Evil effect as this is simply the same as if the spell had been cast on the wielder of the staff (and a lot of people like to cast Protection from Evil 10' Radius). Have you had any further thoughts on this?

I'm not working on IR right now (unless it's needed to check/correct issues) as my few little spare time is devoted to work on Familiars for SR, thus I haven't thought about it anymore. Anyway yes, I don't like too much this feature on this particular item, but if I ever remove it I'd probably replace it with an equivalent effect. Do you have any suggestion on this matter?

[Guest Dirty Uncle Bertie]

Staff of the Woodlands

I've had a look at the Shambling Mounds described in the "Plans for future releases" topic and they are indeed powerful. One thing I didn't see was how long the summon lasts. Are you including this information in your descriptions for summoning spells?

 

So an increased number of summons is not an option, nor is making it a +5 weapon.

 

With the Staff of the Ram (eventually) granting physical resistance, I suppose you could argue that the +4 bonus to AC granted by the Staff of the Woodlands is comparable to this. Regarding the staff's Barkskin effect, which isn't cumulative with the spell of the same name, by the time you get the staff and are a high level, won't the spell actually grant you a better AC than the staff? I mean, if you get the +5 AC bonus at level 12, then you're better off using the spell than the staff, right? If so, maybe the staff should grant a +5 bonus instead of +4.

 

I find myself wondering about what type of druid will be using this staff. I see two types: keep-your-distance-and-cast-spells druid, and fighter/druid. For the former, additional protections (elemental or whatever) would probably be nicest, but the fighter/druid will perhaps want some juicy "on hit" effect. I think that whatever is done, the staff needs to be made at least as, if not more so, appealing a choice for a druid when compared to the Staff of the Ram (maybe a like-for-like comparison isn't possible because the Staff of the Ram has two versions, but I'd at least like to see an attempt to do this).

 

Staff of the Magi

Is a flat +2 to AC and/or +2 to saves too much? At least then Protection from Evil would still grant a benefit to the wielder.

 

I've asked about altering the Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr before, and although I appreciate that IR isn't your concern at the moment, I'd really like to discuss them now, if I may.

 

I'd asked previously for you to consider upping the Shocking damage on the CF to 1D8 instead of 1D6. This was because I feel that, as things stand, I'm not convinced that the CF is better than separately using the items needed to construct it. But I've released that what really "bothers" me about the HoT vs. the CF is that the HoT has the Thundering ability but the CF doesn't. Sure the CF has Thunderclap, but how many people are likely to use the CF as a ranged weapon? This leads on to my next request:

 

Please, please, please add the Returning ability to the HoT (so it works just like the Crom Faeyr). With it the weapon would be perfect for someone like Viconia. So I'd like to see both the HoT and the CF have the Returning ability (I do think both should have it, regardless of my doubts about how many people would use the CF as a ranged weapon), and would also like some consistency with regard to Thundering and Thunderclap. In other words, I'd like both the HoT and CF to have one or the other. Personally, I'd prefer that both weapons have the Thundering ability, with Thunderclap done away with altogether. If you think this would be overpowered, though, by all means give them Thunderclap and do away with Thundering.

 

Let's say we go with this for both weapons:

 

Shocking: creatures struck suffer 1D6 additional points of electrical damage

Thundering: 20% chance to inflict 2D4 additional damage and deafen the target for 3 rounds

Returning: returns to the wielder's hand instantly after an attack is made

 

Maybe you'd want the HoT to have less than a 20% chance for Thundering to happen, or perhaps instead the Shocking damage on the CF could be upped to 1D8. There are plenty of possibilities, but what I'd like to see can be boiled down to two things:

 

1. Add the Returning ability to the HoT (so it works just like the Crom Faeyr)

2. Make the abilities of the HoT and CF consistent e.g. if the HoT has Shocking, Thundering, and Returning, so should the CF. Like I said, if you want these abilites to be less powerful on the HoT, that's fine with me.

 

I hope you don't mind me suggesting such radical changes to your mod, Demi.

 

Oh, and one last thing, looking in the Item Index topic, I'm confused by the two Purifier entries. They are now quite different from one another, but used to be very similar I thought. Are there typos there, or is the +4 supposed to be so different to the +5?

[Jarno Mikkola]

Oh, and one last thing, looking in the Item Index topic, I'm confused by the two Purifier entries. They are now quite different from one another, but used to be very similar I thought. Are there typos there, or is the +4 supposed to be so different to the +5?

It's the same weapon, the Cleansing effect hasn't just been said twice... What would be the point in it, as it has this:

Notes: upgrading the sword improves all its effects. I've changed Mass Cure with Greater Restoration and Dispel with Draw Upon Holy Might.

[Guest Dirty Uncle Bertie]

So how much are its effects improved by? Please, do tell.

[Demivrgvs]

Staff of the Woodlands

I've had a look at the Shambling Mounds described in the "Plans for future releases" topic and they are indeed powerful. One thing I didn't see was how long the summon lasts. Are you including this information in your descriptions for summoning spells?

It currently last 100 seconds (a quite unsual duration) if summoned via staff, but I'm planning to make it last much more adding a feature previously used by aVENGER, Shambler will be unsummoned if the player unequip the staff.

 

With the Staff of the Ram (eventually) granting physical resistance, I suppose you could argue that the +4 bonus to AC granted by the Staff of the Woodlands is comparable to this. Regarding the staff's Barkskin effect, which isn't cumulative with the spell of the same name, by the time you get the staff and are a high level, won't the spell actually grant you a better AC than the staff? I mean, if you get the +5 AC bonus at level 12, then you're better off using the spell than the staff, right? If so, maybe the staff should grant a +5 bonus instead of +4.

I actually used +4 on purpose, as I like to give players non-obvious choices to make. Anyway having it via item has some advantages like being undispellable and permanent, leaving the druid to either use the slot for another spell or use the spell on another party member.

 

I find myself wondering about what type of druid will be using this staff. I see two types: keep-your-distance-and-cast-spells druid, and fighter/druid. For the former, additional protections (elemental or whatever) would probably be nicest, but the fighter/druid will perhaps want some juicy "on hit" effect. I think that whatever is done, the staff needs to be made at least as, if not more so, appealing a choice for a druid when compared to the Staff of the Ram (maybe a like-for-like comparison isn't possible because the Staff of the Ram has two versions, but I'd at least like to see an attempt to do this).

I don't know which type of druid should use it, I've proposed an "on-hit" effect to make it appealing to both, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

Staff of the Magi

Is a flat +2 to AC and/or +2 to saves too much? At least then Protection from Evil would still grant a benefit to the wielder.

Staff of Power already has the very same bonuses, thus I'd prefer to have these two staffs have different abilities if possible.

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

I'd asked previously for you to consider upping the Shocking damage on the CF to 1D8 instead of 1D6. This was because I feel that, as things stand, I'm not convinced that the CF is better than separately using the items needed to construct it. But I've released that what really "bothers" me about the HoT vs. the CF is that the HoT has the Thundering ability but the CF doesn't. Sure the CF has Thunderclap, but how many people are likely to use the CF as a ranged weapon? This leads on to my next request:

 

Please, please, please add the Returning ability to the HoT (so it works just like the Crom Faeyr). With it the weapon would be perfect for someone like Viconia. So I'd like to see both the HoT and the CF have the Returning ability...

I don't understand one thing, you're complaining about Crom Fayer being not enough more appealing than its components, but then you're suggesting to make one of its additional abilities available to one of its components. My first suggested revisions of HoT actually had the Returning ability instead of either Thundering or Shocking, but some players complained about it being a not appealing effect for this hammer (on the other hand Crom Fayer Returning ability is extremly powerful because of its Thunderclap effect). The problem is that the three effects together are really too much for a hammer which can even be obtained before Spellhold.

 

I'm sympathetic to something you've pointed out, namely that Crom Fayer doesn't have the Thundering melee ability. I think this "issue" can be solved in two ways, either adding it to Crom Fayer's melee abilities (leaving Thunderclap superior effect ranged only), or having both weapons use only one of these two abilities.

 

Purifier

Oh, and one last thing, looking in the Item Index topic, I'm confused by the two Purifier entries. They are now quite different from one another, but used to be very similar I thought. Are there typos there, or is the +4 supposed to be so different to the +5?

Sorry, my mistake, I fixed the description on the topic.

[Guest Dirty Uncle Bertie]

Staff of the Woodlands

Making its Barskin effect grant +5 to AC is one way of improving the weapon. And if you have a staff that grants +4, who is going to cast the Barksin spell just to get +5? Would there be much point in that? I imagine that most people would just use the staff, even though they lose +1 AC by doing so. I don't see how this benefits the staff, regardless of your decision to have players make non-obvious choices (which I agree with in principle).

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

Let's not ignore the fact that I said "...if you want these abilites to be less powerful on the HoT, that's fine with me". I would prefer both weapons to share the same abilities (Returning etc.) but the CF to have more powerful ones than the HoT. And I'm not complaining about anything, just offering feedback in a thread called "Feedback".

 

If, though, having three abilities on the HoT makes it too powerful, then I guess we could just have Returning and one other, with Returning and two others on the CF. I'm very keen on Returning being on both weapons because it really does add a great deal of versitility. So I suggest we either have this, or we have three effects on both weapons but tone down their power on the HoT.

 

Purifier +5

I see that everything other than the Cleansing % chance is improved. Could you tell me why this is (and not, say, upped to 20%)?

[Demivrgvs]

Staff of the Woodlands

Making its Barskin effect grant +5 to AC is one way of improving the weapon. And if you have a staff that grants +4, who is going to cast the Barksin spell just to get +5? Would there be much point in that? I imagine that most people would just use the staff, even though they lose +1 AC by doing so. I don't see how this benefits the staff, regardless of your decision to have players make non-obvious choices (which I agree with in principle).

Let's see it in another way, +4 to AC would normally be a +4 enhancement bonus, but I considered it "only" +2 just because it prevent the wielder from being completely buffed even more with a Barkskin spell. I'd prefer another effect rather than increasing the already high AC bonus, but I may be wrong.

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

Let's not ignore the fact that I said "...if you want these abilites to be less powerful on the HoT, that's fine with me". I would prefer both weapons to share the same abilities (Returning etc.) but the CF to have more powerful ones than the HoT. And I'm not complaining about anything, just offering feedback in a thread called "Feedback".

I didn't mean to offend sorry, when I say "complain" I just mean "don't like", feedback is always welcome even when I don't agree.

 

If, though, having three abilities on the HoT makes it too powerful, then I guess we could just have Returning and one other, with Returning and two others on the CF. I'm very keen on Returning being on both weapons because it really does add a great deal of versitility. So I suggest we either have this, or we have three effects on both weapons but tone down their power on the HoT.

Different players have different opinions, I'll think about it unless many players clearly indicate one preference.

 

Purifier +5

I see that everything other than the Cleansing % chance is improved. Could you tell me why this is (and not, say, upped to 20%)?

Cleansing effect is improved too, as it can affect more powerful creatures once impreved. Only playtesting can really help to refine these things, as tuning such powerful items and effects isn't easy at all.

[Guest Dirty Uncle Bertie]

No offence taken, Demivrgvs. I'm enjoying having this discussion with you.

 

Staff of the Woodlands

I think removing the need to cast the Barkskin spell (by giving the staff a +5 AC bonus) would be a nice perk for a druid, but if you think +4 is more suitable then I’m sure you know best (your game knowledge is much greater than mine).

 

Elemental protection is indeed already present on a number of items, but with so many items in the game there’s bound to be some overlap. But let’s say we forget elemental protection for the time being. What, then, is a suitably druidic bonus? If there are no other suitable “defensive†bonuses to go along with the Barkskin effect, what are our “offensive†bonus options? Summon Insects has already been mentioned, but what about a powerful, single-target Entangle, or a reduced-damage Call Lightning?

 

Are there any other offensive druidic effects that would be good? Could the “on hit†effect be random, or would that be too hard to balance? Whatever you decide, the effect could be either 100% guaranteed on hit or a lesser % chance depending on how powerful it is. Again, whatever is chosen, I’d like the staff, when taking all its abilities into account, to have offensive power comparable to the Staff of the Ram, albeit with a druidic twist.

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

I know I’ve already talked about adding the Returning ability to the HoT, but just to explain further, I see a “tank†character as more likely to use the CF due to the +5 STR bonus, whereas the HoT could be equally likely used by a tank or a weaker ranged attacker.

 

Using Viconia as an example, the HoT would be a good choice for her to use as a ranged weapon, but the CF would probably be a waste, as the +5 STR bonus wouldn’t benefit her much. If Viconia were the only party member with the Warhammer proficiency, I’d have her use the HoT as a ranged weapon with the Gauntlets of Ogre Power and Girdle of Frost Giant Strength going to my tanks. If, however, a tank had the Warhammer proficiency, then I’d forge the CF and give it to them, with Viconia using another weapon (e.g. a sling) to attack from range.

 

Staff of the Magi

As previously mentioned WRT the Staff of the Woodlands, because there are so many items abilities are bound to overlap/be duplicated to some extent. However, I agree that having two staves with an identical AC/Saving Throws bonus isn’t desirable. Quite what to do with it, though, I really don’t know. What would a high-level mage want most from a staff like this?

 

Purifier +5

I see that the Cleansing effect itself is improved, and I welcome this. I may be wrong, but for the other upgraded items you’ve also upped any percentages, which is why I was expecting something like a 5% increase to the Cleansing % chance. Not a big deal, though.

[Demivrgvs]

Staff of the Woodlands

Elemental protection is indeed already present on a number of items, but with so many items in the game there's bound to be some overlap. But let's say we forget elemental protection for the time being. What, then, is a suitably druidic bonus? If there are no other suitable "defensive" bonuses to go along with the Barkskin effect, what are our "offensive" bonus options? Summon Insects has already been mentioned, but what about a powerful, single-target Entangle, or a reduced-damage Call Lightning?

I'd leave the 'elemental' sphere out of the equation (elemental staves should fulfill this "role"), and I think this staff powers should rely on 'plant' and 'animal' spheres. Entangle would be ok, but I already used it on two items, one of which is the other druid only item, The Root of the Problem club.

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

I know I've already talked about adding the Returning ability to the HoT, but just to explain further, I see a "tank" character as more likely to use the CF due to the +5 STR bonus, whereas the HoT could be equally likely used by a tank or a weaker ranged attacker.

 

Using Viconia as an example, the HoT would be a good choice for her to use as a ranged weapon, but the CF would probably be a waste, as the +5 STR bonus wouldn't benefit her much. If Viconia were the only party member with the Warhammer proficiency, I'd have her use the HoT as a ranged weapon with the Gauntlets of Ogre Power and Girdle of Frost Giant Strength going to my tanks. If, however, a tank had the Warhammer proficiency, then I'd forge the CF and give it to them, with Viconia using another weapon (e.g. a sling) to attack from range.

As I previously said I've nothing against your suggestion, though I wouldn't base changes around a single NPC proficiencies.

 

Staff of the Magi

As previously mentioned WRT the Staff of the Woodlands, because there are so many items abilities are bound to overlap/be duplicated to some extent. However, I agree that having two staves with an identical AC/Saving Throws bonus isn't desirable. Quite what to do with it, though, I really don't know. What would a high-level mage want most from a staff like this?

I think a good degree of protection from both physical and magical attacks is what high level mages want the most from their equipment, as for offensive purposes they can use their own spells.

 

Purifier +5

I see that the Cleansing effect itself is improved, and I welcome this. I may be wrong, but for the other upgraded items you've also upped any percentages, which is why I was expecting something like a 5% increase to the Cleansing % chance. Not a big deal, though.

Sometimes the upgrade improves the "%", sometimes the effect itself, and other times simply the save against the effect. I leave room for a little liberty on these matters because some players convinced me not so long ago that I was too rigid on standardizations, and that even on a quite simple effect like "elemental damage on hit" some variety can be better.

[Guest Dirty Uncle Bertie]

Staff of the Woodlands

Entangle is perhaps the most suitable, but if it's already been used on The Root of the Problem, then I dunno. Are there any new druid spells in SR that would be good? What about Faerie Fire?

 

Hammer of Thunderbolts and Crom Faeyr

I used a single NPC (in this case Viconia) to try and keep things simple. I was trying to show how versatile the HoT could be if it had the Returning ability. I'm glad you'll consider my request to add it.

 

Staff of the Magi

Would being able to cast some sort of long-lasting Improved Invisibility be an option (maybe so it lasts as long as the spell would if a level 30 mage cast it)? If it granted permanent Improved Invisibility when equipped (for as long as it's equipped) would that be good, or is it too exploitable? I'm really out of ideas here. Maybe Protection from Evil is the only choice, although not one that I really like.

 

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me.

[Shaitan]

Staff of fire

It seems a bit too cheap only selling it for 112 gp? Is that due to IR?

 

Cheers

[Demivrgvs]

Staff of fire

It seems a bit too cheap only selling it for 112 gp? Is that due to IR?

I'd define it a buf report rather than a feedback! I though the patch which set its charges to 1/day was enough, but it seems the price is calculated using the .itm file anyway. Fixed!

[Demivrgvs]

Sorry if I took so long to reply.

 

Staff of the Woodlands

Entangle is perhaps the most suitable, but if it's already been used on The Root of the Problem, then I dunno. Are there any new druid spells in SR that would be good? What about Faerie Fire?

Faerie Fire? I'm not sure how much it would suit this staff. Entangle surely is the best one, as I'm not too fond of Summon Insect on hit either, and we may even use it by moving the problem to the Staff of Earth. Is there something that could suit better the Staff of Earth rather than an Entangle on hit?

 

Staff of the Magi

Would being able to cast some sort of long-lasting Improved Invisibility be an option (maybe so it lasts as long as the spell would if a level 30 mage cast it)? If it granted permanent Improved Invisibility when equipped (for as long as it's equipped) would that be good, or is it too exploitable? I'm really out of ideas here. Maybe Protection from Evil is the only choice, although not one that I really like.

Permanent Improved Invisibility is really too exploitable, as it would be an effect renewable at will by re-equipping the item (as it was for vanilla SotM cheesy invisibility).

 

Thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me.

A pleasure.

[Guest D. U. Bertie]

Staff of the Woodlands

Yeah, I wasn't too sure about Faerie Fire (I was just taking a look at the new spells and thinking aloud), and Entangle is surely the best. Would it be enough to vary how Entangle works for The Root of the Problem and the Staff of the Woodlands? So the effect would still result in an enemy or enemies being Entangled, but the two weapons would do it differently (maybe a single target vs. multiples targets within a small area of effect). I really don't know, but since it's only you and I discussing this it wouldn't be much of a discussion if I didn't suggest things (even if they aren't great suggestions).

 

Staff of the Magi

So what do you think about being able to cast Improved Invisibility (30th level of caster or however it's described)? How many times a day I dunno.

 

Hmm, these are just ideas. Maybe it's time for this to be put on the backburner while the familiars are worked on.

 

Thanks again, and I'll keep an eye out for your Grandmastery tweak (I'm not planning on playing for a couple of weeks yet, so please don't rush if there are more important things to do).

[Guest Guest]

Hi, I have some questions:

 

1. Where in the game do I find the Mercykiller Ring? I'm a big fan of this item, even if it costs a lot.

2. Staff of Rynn - Am I right in thinking that you can only buy this in Chapter 6?

3. Heartseeker - I think it's a little strange having an ability that has the same name as the weapon itself (imagine Carsomyr having a Carsomyr ability). Perhaps change it to Heartseeking?

4. Suryris's Blade - I'm no English expert, but the name looks odd. Are you sure it shouldn't be "Suryris' Blade"?

 

Thanks.