Opcode 301: Critical Hit modifier

[kreso]

I've done some more work on this. After some playing the game with it, I found one thing that annoys me - these effects aren't lethal enough. One round of some ill effect isn't enough to dedicate an item to immunity to those effects, whichever they may be. So I tweaked most of them. They now either last longer, do more damage, are more debilitating etc.

Example: Spear critical (Leg Swipe) now will decrease movement rate by 50% for 5 rounds (watch out when Mellisan slaps you, since running away from her will be impossible!).

Thrown spear will inflict 100% spell failure in the first round, followed by 30% in 2nd and 3rd round. Flay will do ongoing 1d6 damage/round for 5 rounds.

As a balancing factor, probabilities will be tweaked slightly (3-5%, depending on the weapon.).

I'll upload my work on this as a proper mod next week.

[Grammarsalad]

How about multiple possible effects for each weapon? Also, what about 'natural'attacks, and 'elemental' damage.

 

And, what about 'critical misses' and flubs?

 

For example, it seems that all edged weapons, and all teeth and claws should pose a bleeding risk. It should be possible to trip someone with a spear *or* a staff *or* any polearm, really. Thrown daggers and axes should have a chance of hitting with a blunted part of the weapon dealing only non lethal damage. Axes can get stuck into the ground, or a wall requiring critical seconds to dislodge. A fireball might have a small chance to temporally blind as the fire singes the eyelids, or similar... A mod like this has so, so much potential!

[kreso]

How about multiple possible effects for each weapon?

I tought about that; but haven't done anything about it. Idea overall is ok, but I need ideas for effects. And effect names....If you've got any, share.

 

 

Also, what about 'natural'attacks

They "inherit" the effect depending on how the "hand" item is flagged. If it's flagged as fist, they'll use fist's effects.

 

 

And, what about 'critical misses' and flubs?

Not doable I think. A roll of 1 is always a critical miss, I cannot think of a way to change it. If you're thinking about making an effect that triggers x% of time with a specific weapon, it would still require a hit to trigger...mmm. "Axe got stuck in orc's head, apr=0 for next round 'till you pull it out"....

I'll think about it.

 

 

For example, it seems that all edged weapons, and all teeth and claws should pose a bleeding risk. It should be possible to trip someone with a spear *or* a staff *or* any polearm, really. Thrown daggers and axes should have a chance of hitting with a blunted part of the weapon dealing only non lethal damage.

True.

 

A fireball might have a small chance to temporally blind as the fire singes the eyelids, or similar... A mod like this has so, so much potential!

Auff... yes, that'd be great.

[Grammarsalad]

I think that you have plenty of effects already. I was thinking about something like this:

 

A staff is a blunt weapon that you can use to (occasionally) hit people in the head. While it doesn't have the heft of a mace or club, it might still have a chance to daze an opponent. However, one can also use them to trip an opponent, or it might hit an opponent in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of them, disabling them for a painful moment. So, you might take that 7% to crack a rib and have it do (something like) this instead:

 

1% Daze

1% Low Blow

5% Leg Swipe

2% Cracked Rib

 

 

Anyway, it looks like this is the most recent version...I'll respond assuming this.

Jarnoooooo! I missed you . Well, here it is. Knock yourselves out. It may take a while to install (patching every creature takes a while), so be patient.

 

Readme:

 

1) base component - it strips away "natural" critical hit chance (5-10%, depending on weapon style) from all game creatures. You can no
longer get hit by double damage if you're not wearing a helmet/ioun stone or whatever you put on your helm place
Instead, all weapons have a chance to inflict additional effect. The effects are based on weapon type.

list of effects
(weapon type / chance for effect / what the effect does / additional info

large swords (all swords basically) - 7%, Flay - 1D6 slashing damage, -2 to damage rolls, stacks with itself, lasts 1 round
bows - 5%, Arm Hit - -10THAC0, does not stack, 1 round (generally, creatures which don't use weapons or don't need arms to attack you are immune)
daggers - 7% Daze - 3 seconds Feeblemind, duration can be refreshed on consecutive hits
axes - 7% Wide Open - -10 AC penalty, 1 round, doesn't stack with itself
crossbows - 10% Nailed - Movement disabled (only movement!) for 1 round, consecutive hits refresh duration
short swords - 10% Piercing Strike - +6 piercing damage, bypasses damage resistance. This is one of the very few effects that work vs Golems. Due to how this is implemented, it can also kill Trolls w/o acid or fire. I like that, tbh.
staffs - 7% Cracked Rib - -4DEX, -4STR, Movement Speed halved, lasts two rounds, doesn't stack
halberd - 7% Disembowel - -4CON, 2D6 slashing damage, lasts two rounds, doesn't stack (affects those with *some* kind of living anatomy)
flails - 7% Armor Dent - -4AC for three rounds, doesn't stack with itself (pretty much only affects creatures which can wear armor)
fists - 7% Terrible Bruise - 2D6 non-lethal damage
mace/club - 7% Low Blow - -2 penalty to *all* rolls, three rounds, doesn't stack with itself
sling - 7% Nerve Cluster - 1 round Stun, consecutive hits refresh duration (affects those with nerve system only)
dart - 5% Bleeder - 1D6 damage delayed for 1 second after hit lands (affects those with...blood to spill )
hammer - 7% knockback - pushed away for a small lenght (large & incorporal excluded)
spear - 10% Leg Swipe - knockdown (2 seconds) followed by two rounds of slower movement (75% of base) and -2 penalty to DEX. Doesn't stack with itself, creatures who don't depend on legs to move are immune (Dragons included).
morning stars - 7% Solid Blow - 1d6 blunt + 1d6 piercing damage (affects almost all creatures, only illusionary and incorporal are generally immune to this damage)

Thrown versions:
axe - 5% Flat Blade Hit - 3D6 non-lethal damage (this, like Solid Blow, affects almost everyone)
hammer - 5% Rattled - 1 round confusion
spear - 7% Puncture - 1 round 100% spell failure (creatures who don't breathe are immune to this, so no Lich spell failure and similar).
dagger - 7% Eye Wound - 1 round Blindness (creatures who don't rely on sight or are immune to Blindness won't be affected).

Moreover, HLAs "Critical Strike" and "Smite" are reworked. Instead of granting automatic critical hits, they add +8 to damage for one round.


...

 

 

 

A general point about the names. Some of them are a bit...visceral. Normally that's cool, but they seem to suggest much stronger effects than what they do. I know that you asked for suggestions--I'll see what I can do. I'll start with effects, and suggest weapon groups that should inflict them:

 

Note: As I'm doing these, I find myself asking 'what are we describing: the effect itself, a property of the hit, or the effect on the recipient? For example take 'Daze'. That describes the effect itself. But a hit from a weapon would be described as (something like) a 'dazing strike'. The text display, I assume describes the effect on the recipient e.g.: [some name]: Dazed. The description probably should describe the effect, either as a property of the strike, or the effect itself. The text display should describe the effect on the character.

 

Daze:

 

This is a great effect, but it doesn't seem very 'dagger-y' to me. Any bludgeoning weapon should have a chance to daze their target. In fact, this should probably be

So:

- Staffs (very low chance--no heft)

- Flails

- Fists (aka 'Sap')

- Mace

- Club

- Sling

- Hammer (hand to hand or thrown)

 

Bleeder: (maybe call it 'Bleeding Wound' ?)

Another great effect. While I think that any piercing or slashing weapon should have a chance to inflict a bleeding wound, I think that slashing weapons would have a higher chance to do so. Personally, I think that darts would have the smallest chance to do so. Also, morning stars should be able to do this due to the spikes (though again, this should be rare):

- Large swords

- Bows

- Daggers (thrown and melee)

- Axes (thrown and melee)

- Short Swords

- Crossbows

- Halberds

- Spears (thrown and melee)

- Darts

- Morning Stars

 

Piercing Strike: Yet another great effect:

 

- Bows

- Spear (ranged and melee)

- Short Sword (slashing, but why not?)

- Halberd

 

Flay: Cool effect, but I'm not fond of the name. I mean, who would survive a flaying? Who could flay someone that isn't strung up? What about excoriate? Excoriate connotes a less severe flaying. Actually, should this have anything to do with removing the skin? Perhaps it should have something to do with leaving a painful wound, perhaps called 'Wound'? In any case, it seems that creatures immune to pain (or at least creatures without skin) should be unaffected. Anyway:

- Large Swords

- Small Swords

- Axe (melee only)

- Dagger (melee only, and probably only if it 'wounds')

 

 

 

Leg Swipe: (trip?) Great effect. Any pole weapon should have a chance to do this:

- Staff

- Spear (melee only)

- Halberd

Pinned: Seems like a bow or crossbow thing. A bolt or arrow pierces the foot essentially nailing the person to the ground. Cool idea:

- Bow

- Crossbow

Arm Hit: Great effect, but I'm not feeling the name. I would suggest 'Hobbled' but that would only work for a 'leg hit'. I'll think about the name.

- Bow

- Crossbow

-

Okay, wife needs attention. More later

[kreso]

........................................More later

Fantastic!

[Grammarsalad]

Ilk see what I can do on my phone:

 

Wide Open: at first, probably because it is done with the axe, i thought it was taking about a 'wide open gash', but now I take it that it knocks opponents such that they can't properly defend themselves. Great effect, though it seems like a -10 is a bit high. I like the text displayed effect being something like 'knocked off balance'while the description in the item description says something like, unbalancing attack, with a smaller penalty.

[Grammarsalad]

A thought about saves: what about having some or all of these effects require a save vs. wand/staff/rod? It seems that there is little room for those saves in the world of IR/SR. IIRC, IR has all wands (rightly, IMO) casting spells, rather than creating their own special effects (with respective saves)? Why not use this essentially unused save for this fascinating mechanic?

[subtledoctor]

+1 for saves vs. wands. My saving throw mod also puts all spells & effects into 4 categories, and leaves saves vs. wands unused. Something like this would be a good way to take advantage of that.

[kreso]

Great effect, though it seems like a -10 is a bit high.

It is. I've witnessed ToB enemies (Fire Giant Elite) litteraly scrapping a 120+HP fighter in seconds after this. I'll leave it this just as deadly but axes will have a low critical chance. (frankly, after this lands your best bet is to run away; it only lasts for 6 seconds).

 

Besides, PCs will have ways to "avoid" such stuff with few select items; provided Item Revisions is installed.

 

 

A thought about saves: what about having some or all of these effects require a save vs. wand/staff/rod? It seems that there is little room for those saves in the world of IR/SR.

I did ask Demi to use this particular save on weapon effects (where applicable); I don't know what he thinks about it. I could make 2 effects; similar to KR Called Shots thou - a "less lethal" has no save; while the "really bad one" allows a save...but I don't think Rod/Wand is the one I'd use - Breath (dex-based) or Death (constitution) would imo be more "realistic". Then again, these are overused in IR/SR already....

 

 

IIRC, IR has all wands (rightly, IMO) casting spells, rather than creating their own special effects (with respective saves)?

It doesn't I'm afraid. I mentioned the problems this leads to (ex: Wand of Fire Fireball bypasses Spell Deflection, while the spell Fireball doesn't; various discrepancies like Fireball from Wand requiring a Wand save while spell requires a breath save...etc.) but making wands cast real spells leads to Cowled wizards appearing if wand is used in city areas; which some (?) people don't like.

Mind you, I tweak all wands in my game to cast *proper* spells.

[Demivrgvs]

I did ask Demi to use this particular save on weapon effects (where applicable); I don't know what he thinks about it.

I don't know man, I'd love to find a role for them but 'save vs wand/staff' doesn't ring a bell. As you say yourself, Breath (dex-based), Death or Polymorph/Petrification (constitution), Spell (will) can be more easily associated to effects. If one wand releases a fireball and the other one causes poison, using save vs wand for both doesn't make much sense imo. :/

 

...making wands cast real spells leads to Cowled wizards appearing if wand is used in city areas; which some (?) people don't like.

IR V1or V2 wands were casting actual spells and I had multiple players complaining about that yes. IR wands now work via spl and it's easy to fix most of your mentioned issues imo (e.g. wand of fireball using save vs breath). Also, some wands don't even try to replicate existing spells.

[Grammarsalad]

Lol, shows how long it's been since I've actually played...

 

Yeah, I suppose then I'm just thinking about SubtleDoctor's mod

 

Edit: and any possible Demi changes (KR? IR?)

[Demivrgvs]

Lol, shows how long it's been since I've actually played...

 

Yeah, I suppose then I'm just thinking about SubtleDoctor's mod

 

Edit: and any possible Demi changes (KR? IR?)

I'm not sure what you are asking.

[Grammarsalad]

 

 

Lol, shows how long it's been since I've actually played...

 

Yeah, I suppose then I'm just thinking about SubtleDoctor's mod

 

Edit: and any possible Demi changes (KR? IR?)

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Not asking anything, really. I was just thinking about the possibility that (eg) kr introduces wand saves for weapon based effects, and conversely, if ir goes back to having wands cast real spells

 

Edit: or even if ir reduces the instances of wand saves by (eg) having the wand if fire require breath saves

[subtledoctor]

My 2 cents: saves should be determined by the *effect* - not by the *source* of the effect.

 

So:

- elemental/area effects = save vs. breath. (E.g. Fireball - whether from a spell it a wand.)

- mental or "pure magic" effects like Hold or Charm or illusions = save vs. spells

- transformational effects like petrify/polymorph = save vs. petrify/polymorph (duh)

- health effects like death magic or poison = save vs. death/poison.

 

I couldn't figure out what kind of effects to use saves vs. wands for... but in the back of my mind I was definitely thinking it would be nice to leave it open for some other mod to take advantage of. Using them for this kind of on-hit weapon effect fits the bill nicely.

 

Alternatively, it might make sense to use saves vs. breath for these effects. Something like dodging/twisting out of the way.

[kreso]

Fairly simple solution to all problems - change wands. Wand of Fire doesn't *need* to cast Fireball; nor does the Wand of Ice cast some kind of AoE frost ray. AI doesn't use them (iirc the only two used are Wand of Flamestrike; and code exists in SCS which deals with Paralyzation wand - haven't witnessed it's use by AI anyway...).

Make wands cast some new, single-target, unique spells, and have a save vs wands there.

Conversly, this will also have a neat side-effect - some people might consider memorizing Fireball on their mages in BG1.