Revised Potions

[yarpen]

Potions vs. Green Scrolls

So mr. Demi what are you going to do with this fact? I hope that Scrolls are going to be far more powerfull, hey, it's magic at all! In comparison to them potions should be cheaper, weaker and last shorter amount of time. Proposed changes are

 

Potions of Fire/Acid/Lightning/Cold resistance: 50% resistance and immunity to additional elemental effects of 1-5 level spells. Acid/Lightning/Cold should cost 200, Fire 300 because it's most popular one.

Potions of Magic Shielding: should protect against 1-5 level spells (it's still powerfull because it's near to simulate Spell Shield, 8th level spell!) as you stated it for 5 rounds only. Mhm, not sure about that. Or maybe should protect against 10 levels of casted spells you know, like Spell Deflection?

Holy Water: any idea about this one? +2 AC/Saves vs. Undead is the most appropriate one with addition of using it on weapon to have 1D6 additional damage vs. undead and chance for turn/destroy undead. But then there's scroll of protection from Undead which is in my opinion very weak in IR. Anyone will buy for 2000gp something which grants minor bonus vs. specific type of creature? Even Protection from Evil is better.

[Demivrgvs]

Potions vs. Green Scrolls

So mr. Demi what are you going to do with this fact? I hope that Scrolls are going to be far more powerfull, hey, it's magic at all! In comparison to them potions should be cheaper, weaker and last shorter amount of time.

I think I'm going in that direction or something similar, though I'm not sure about scrolls (in general) being necessarily more expensive to purchase. For example I actually think a scroll of Invisibility (which is a useless piece of paper for non-spellcasters, and that can be scribed by any 3rd lvl mage) should cost less than a Potion of Invisibility (which is a hard to brew mixture of probably rare recipes and can be used by anyone). I do agree instead that these scrolls can have more powerful and/or more lasting effects.

 

P.S Effects from the "Green Scroll" will be dispellable.

 

 

Potions of Fire/Acid/Lightning/Cold Resistance

50% resistance and immunity to additional elemental effects of 1-5 level spells. Acid/Lightning/Cold should cost 200, Fire 300 because it's most popular one.

Yeah, I think I'll do with "Green Scrolls" what I currently have done for potions (100% resistance a la SR), and switch back potions to 50%. This solution may actually be better for non-spellcasters because "damage animation" is less problematic for them and reaching instead a value higher than 100% (impossible with the other method) let them heal from such damage. These potions won't have 'immunity to secondary elemental effects' because it can't be done in a consistent way.

 

P.S There's no Potion of Acid Resistance, should we add it? In that case I'd need a bam...

 

 

Potions of Magic Blocking

Should protect against 1-5 level spells (it's still powerfull because it's near to simulate Spell Shield, 8th level spell!) as you stated it for 5 rounds only. Mhm, not sure about that. Or maybe should protect against 10 levels of casted spells you know, like Spell Deflection?

In a word where Spell Deflection protects from AoE spells (like NWN) I'd love such opcode, but as it works now I find it much less appealing. Despite that I like your idea and it would keep the original concept almost intact while allowing Protection from Magic scroll to be more unique and more powerful, but amongst the "counter-indications" one alone is enough to stop me from working on such direction: spell deflection hardcoded animation. I don't want a potion to create a scintillanting globe around the imbiber, and making the imbiber immune to the animation wouldn't be issue-free (e.g. mages using the potion and then casting Spell Deflection/Trap).

 

The scroll can work as per vanilla though I have few doubts:

- aren't 10 turns really too much? (this also depends on the following two things imo)

- should it be undispellable? (it currently is)

- SCS makes it removable by Spellstrike (I actually don't know how it handle this though). I can do a similar thing, or simply make it work as a 9th lvl spell protection (thus removable by RRR and Pierce Shield too).

 

 

Holy Water and Scroll & Protection from Undead

Holy Water: any idea about this one? +2 AC/Saves vs. Undead is the most appropriate one with addition of using it on weapon to have 1D6 additional damage vs. undead and chance for turn/destroy undead. But then there's scroll of protection from Undead which is in my opinion very weak in IR. Anyone will buy for 2000gp something which grants minor bonus vs. specific type of creature? Even Protection from Evil is better.

Actually Scroll of Protection from Undead not only grants +2 bonus to AC/saves but also immunity to level drain, and that alone is a 4th lvl spell. Within v2 the base price for such scroll is 600 (thus 900-1000 in most stores, before charisma's discount kicks in), but a base price of 400 is probably enough.

 

Your suggestion about doing something with Holy Water is indeed good but it's not a priority imo, especially because of "plot issues". I'd deal with this only in a second time.

[Ardanis]

P.S There's no Potion of Acid Resistance, should we add it? In that case I'd need a bam...

I could suggest to go and rob Sikret for a bam, but something tells me you won't like the idea Neither do I think it's needed - iirc only the black dragon in Suldanessellar deserves it.

 

The scroll can work as per vanilla though I have few doubts:

- aren't 10 turns really too much? (this also depends on the following two things imo)

- should it be undispellable? (it currently is)

- SCS makes it removable by Spellstrike (I actually don't know how it handle this though). I can do a similar thing, or simply make it work as a 9th lvl spell protection (thus removable by RRR and Pierce Shield too).

As there are but TWO ones in BG2, I think it's effect should be unremovable by any means.

[yarpen]

I think I'm going in that direction or something similar, though I'm not sure about scrolls (in general) being necessarily more expensive to purchase. For example I actually think a scroll of Invisibility (which is a useless piece of paper for non-spellcasters, and that can be scribed by any 3rd lvl mage) should cost less than a Potion of Invisibility (which is a hard to brew mixture of probably rare recipes and can be used by anyone). I do agree instead that these scrolls can have more powerful and/or more lasting effects.

Or you can change the duration of potion from ridicolous 8 hours to 1 Turn. Or even less than that. I don't like the idea of expensive potions of invisibility, my asassin loves them. It's the only way to make your rogue a bit more offensive. Let's say it's a sort of "tools of trade" for them.

 

P.S There's no Potion of Acid Resistance, should we add it? In that case I'd need a bam...

Just gimme some time. I'd also love to work on total revision of Item Revision item graphics, if you're interested, just say that and I'll start the topic. Because personally the only thing which is current drawback of IR is using IWD/BG1 BAMs which are completely inconsistent. I don't like this mix and I think that I'm capable of fixing most of BG2's flawed icons with a bit of help.

 

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/237/previewxdj.jpg

That's the example of my work. But now I've found a proper company of Tieflingz, who's awesome at making sketches so description sketch would also be covered.

 

spell deflection hardcoded animation

Any chance for help from awesome Taimon? ;D

 

As there are but TWO ones in BG2, I think it's effect should be unremovable by any means.

I also agree. These aren't so easy to obtain, so they should be powerfull enough.

[yarpen]

Potion of acid/cold/electricity resistance

[Ardanis]

Potion of Magic Blocking

Any chance for help from awesome Taimon? ;D

He said no further requests (for a while?).

spell deflection hardcoded animation

Hm, but why not, since the effect lasts for 5 rounds? Or even 2 turns?

[Demivrgvs]

Potion of Magic Blocking

spell deflection hardcoded animation

Hm, but why not, since the effect lasts for 5 rounds? Or even 2 turns?

What do you mean? Having the imbiber immune to such animation wouldn't be a problem?

[Ardanis]

Having them shining like a fantasy plasma ball. If it affects magic it qualifies as magical, and those may have fancy visuals. I guess.

[yarpen]

Instead of re-making all resistance potions, I've done Potion of Acid Resistance only, based on fire's one.

Today I'll also post my proposed changes to graphics of Item Revision.

[Ardanis]

Beware, for BWL will now sue you for stealing their patented ideas.

[yarpen]

Potion of Acid Resistance comes from natural train of thoughts so I hope that situation from Item Randomiser mod won't be back here, because it's sad to say, but after polish modding/translating scene which is full of conflicts, I'm a sort of veteran. What about a BAM, I've slightly edited potion of fire resistance.

[Demivrgvs]

Potion of Magic Blocking

Having them shining like a fantasy plasma ball. If it affects magic it qualifies as magical, and those may have fancy visuals. I guess.

Well, conceptually I really don't like the idea of a potion that once imbibed creates a plasma ball 3-5 feet away from the imbiber, do you?

 

 

Potion of Acid Resistance

Instead of re-making all resistance potions, I've done Potion of Acid Resistance only, based on fire's one.

I don't want to be annoying, but the other Potions of Resistance use three different bams, thus if we want to keep such pattern you may use instead Elixir of Health's bam as template, or another bam not used by the other three potions. Just my two cents, because if I was a developer I would have probably used the same bam for these 4 potions.

 

Beware, for BWL will now sue you for stealing their patented ideas.

Any sane person would be able to see how this idea came out (by comparing green scrolls of protection to these potions), thus if they want to say we're stealing ideas they're welcome.

[yarpen]

I don't want to be annoying, but the other Potions of Resistance use three different bams, thus if we want to keep such pattern you may use instead Elixir of Health's bam as template, or another bam not used by the other three potions. Just my two cents, because if I was a developer I would have probably used the same bam for these 4 potions.

You're not annoying. Just tell me: which colors should I use?

Fire: red I hope.

Cold: light-blue or white

Electricity: light-blue or white OR brown (when it's potion of grounding)

Acid: green

[Demivrgvs]

I don't want to be annoying, but the other Potions of Resistance use three different bams, thus if we want to keep such pattern you may use instead Elixir of Health's bam as template, or another bam not used by the other three potions. Just my two cents, because if I was a developer I would have probably used the same bam for these 4 potions.

You're not annoying. Just tell me: which colors should I use?

Fire: red I hope.

Cold: light-blue or white

Electricity: light-blue or white OR brown (when it's potion of grounding)

Acid: green

I've used vanilla's Potion of Absorption's bam for Potion of Insulation (and vice versa). It's too late to make them all use the same bam imo, most players (me too) are too accustomed to the old bams, and they would feel such drastic change as "unwelcome".

 

As Ardanis says Potion of Acid Resistance is not so important (works against two spells, and an extremely limited amount of creatures), but if we all wish to implement it I'd go with a different bam. I'd also point out we have a cloak of fire/cold/electric resistance, similar rings and similar boots, but in all cases we don't have an anti-acid version of these items.

[Ardanis]

Potion of Magic Blocking

Well, conceptually I really don't like the idea of a potion that once imbibed creates a plasma ball 3-5 feet away from the imbiber, do you?

Is Potion of Barkskin going to change skin color? If it does, thus indicating a certain change of matter, then I'd say a ball can appear as well. Perhaps those visuals are merely perceived as fancy magick, while in reality they're a sort of magnetic (magical) field which distorts the light (magic)?

 

Potion of Acid Resistance

if I was a developer I would have probably used the same bam for these 4 potions.

If the bam in question is the Fire Res one, then I welcome the idea wholeheartedly.

 

Any sane person would be able to see how this idea came out (by comparing green scrolls of protection to these potions), thus if they want to say we're stealing ideas they're welcome.

Evil corps of EA caliber are ruled by mad AI harsh market laws, not by sane people. We're in for big troubles here, guys, so we better ready Teleport Without Error spells