v32, innate sequencers and contingencies

[subtledoctor]

I'm curious about the design intent here, and how it works. There's not much written about it. I assume the following:

- Sequencers and contingencies are innate abilities now

- This effectively makes them "free;" you don't have to use a 4th/6th/7th/8th/9th-level slot to use the ability and "fill" the sequencer or contingency

So far, simple enough the glean from the one-sentence component description. But I'm curious about details:

1) Are they traditional innates like the Bhaalspawn abilities, usable once per "day" between rests? Or is it an at-will capability you always have?

2) Does it still discharge the memorization slots for the spells you put into the sequencer? I.e. that side of things is still not "free?" 

3) How does this affect the AI - if at all? This is a clear bonus for players; do AI mages get a similar bonus? Or is the idea that AI mages have always used these abilities "for free" in a sense, and this evens the playing field for players? Or is it just something for convenience and fun, unrelated to the AI?

(Note, this is not a PM to DavidW, I'm curious to hear from anyone playing with this in v32.)

[DavidW]

1) once per day

2) not free in that sense. (Is that that even possible?)

3) SCS assumes enemy mages cast their sequencers/contingencies a while ago and have since rested, so this doesn’t give the player an advantage. Still, I think of it more as a convenience tweak than a playing field leveller, since in most circumstances nothing stops the player from setting up their contingencies and then resting. (I guess there’s a significant concrete advantage to sorcerers, but in general that seems like a good thing here).

[subtledoctor]

Huh.  Interesting.  So if you don't use a sequencer, and you sleep, you might have the "create sequencer" and "use sequencer" abilities next to each other?  Meaning you could use it twice the next day.  (Of course, you would still have to spend the slots on the spells you put into the 2nd sequencer, so I don't think this is a problem.  Just wondering.)

1 hour ago, DavidW said:

2) not free in that sense. (Is that that even possible?)

Theoretically, maybe...  though only in the EE 2.0+ engine since it involves the UI.  I'm looking into it now.

[DavidW]

I wondered if there might be some UI trickery available.

[kjeron]

I'm sure you could setup the UI to allow sequencers/contingencies to store any known spell, without affecting memorized spell counts.

[DavidW]

I feel the risk of distraction returning...

[subtledoctor]

Frankly I think it works better as it is here: to have the sequencer itself be "free," and have the spells you put inside it cost slots. I allow the sequencer to be created at-will, as soon as you discharge the last one; its use is limited by your lower-level slots, and by the fact that it is tagged as non-combat-only. It plays very nicely, super convenient without unbalancing anything. 

Unfortunately it cannot work with my spontaneous casting system. So it is of necessity that I am investigating an alternative version, in which the creation of a sequencer costs a high-level slot, but the spells you put into it are "free."

EDIT - oh, I see where you went with that. Nice. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by subtledoctor