A few new Ideas. (Cantrips and Sprinting)

[Anavriin]

Well, I'd like to say Hello with my first registered post. I've been around for about 5 years, and finally felt like putting some ideas down.

 The first, is a new speed of running, (ie. Sprint). I believe this command should allow the user to move with almost no move lag, but lose massive amounts of stamina (On the order of 15-20 pnts, or higher). To me, this makes sense, because currently, running in-game does not feel a whole lot faster than walking. A person can walk the 100m in say, 45 seconds to 1 min? something like that, anyways. I can sprint it in roughly 11, at least 3.5 times faster.
  This would allow for people to actually get some distance from a pursuing non-human assailant, at least. You could even set it so that flee automatically makes you sprint, as well. I know when I've fled for my life, I wasn't quickly jogging, which is what running in game feels like.

Obviously, different races could have different sprinting speeds and costs.

Anyways, moving along...

I also think it would be interesting to implement a new skill for all the elementalists, to broaden their role-playing possibilities. You might consider these hard-coded cantrips.

Ie.
 Suk-krath - A campfire started by a krathi could perhaps need no fuel.
They could also be good at cooking, and their torches could be permanently lightable. Or perhaps some form of crafting skill? Things do shape easier when heated....

 Whira - The skill listen? Or archery? Whiran's can control the wind, more or less, right?

 Drov - I'm not sure if Drovians can see in the dark, but if they can't,
 they should be able to, and if they can, they should be able to see -better- in the dark, (ie. 4 rooms?) Or possibly the skill hide? The hide skill might be redundant, but at least you wouldn't get crim flagged if you used it.
 
 Nilaz - hmm... hard to say, Increased resistance to magick? Ability to look dead while only critically injured? (Ie. A warrior hard-coded-ly would stop attacking a nilaz once they crumple to the ground, and the nilazi's sdesc reads 'The body of ~Void cleric is here, filling your nose with a morbid stench?' Perhaps while faking ones death, you could also be looted as well, to add to the subterfuge) Unless a warrior new about this ic-ly, you'd be able to sleep it off.

 Vivadu - Bandaging skill? Brew skill? These seem to me to just make sense
 
 Elkros - The Trap skill? "Implentation of force in a quick manner.." after all. Increased damage with arrows, if the sub-class archer is chosen?

 I've tried to suggest the most fitting things I can think of, but surely someone out their might have some better ideas. Perhaps these 'hard coded cantrips' would be brancheable skills, which I also think would be fitting.

In my mind, all of these skills would add incredibly to the elementalist's illusion that he or she is not a elementalist at all, If one is trying to hide that fact. (Or in the case of the Nilazi, possibly extend life, which in some places, is the same thing)

Some of these may already be implemented, and I wouldn't know, because my karma is all messed up (Mul, but no drov or suk-krath, go figure) So, if it is... Whoops  

 Obviously, the skill caps of all these cantrips don't have to be maxed, just a little something to help out.

    What do you guys think? Thanks for your time.

[mansa]

Right now, different races have different running speeds.

If they are to include a 'sprint' option, then the whole game's walking speeds would be slowed down.

Sure...it seems like you're not running fast, if you're a human, But an elf is much much faster than a human.

I know, for myself, if i wanted to run very fast, i would get a fast mount.  Like an erdlu, if you could mount it.

I remember one time.....

I had this kadian boy, who had an erdlu.  I used to park it outside the traders, and go inside and try and sell items, or goof off with some nobles and templars, and then i would leave, hop on my erdlu, and run back to the kadian estate.


And....some of your ideas for cantrips;  I'm not going to comment on them specifically, except say that some of those things -are- spells.

[Delirium]

I would rather see a slower rate of movement than a faster one.

Say 'pace' which takes more time than walking, but a little less stamina.

Or 'crawl', when you're incapable of walking, but you can still move very slowly.


Oh, and instead of extra skills for magickers, I'd rather see that they get ONE weapon to become semi-proficient at. Never good enough to really defend themselves in a pitched fight, but okay enough to maybe kill a weak critter without half dying themselves, or hold off an attack long enough to get away. The reason for that is because, whether right or no, people automagickally assume that if you can't use a weapon, you're a merchant or a magicker.. and if you don't pose as a merchant, you're dead meat.

I don't think that's TRULY necessary though, because with a little creativity you can pose as anything you want, and pull it off as well. Actually, with a little creativity, you can be almost anything you want, regardless of whatever class you actually chose. And I'm not just saying that, because I speak from experience.. I've had character classes in some rather unexpected positions, and it worked.

</end ramble>

I like the cantrip idea because while alot of those things logically could be
done with a spell or just a cantrip they cant.

Like Id assume castng fireball on a pile of twigs would light it on fire... but
yet it cant

[Callisto]

Delirium has the right idea about giving magickers a basic weapon skill.

Not just because magickers who can't craft might as well have a big neon sign reading "I cannot fight or craft! I am a magicker! Twink me!", but because there's no reason to fear attacking a magicker.

Sure there are some defensive spells that make attacking dangerous but from what I'm told that takes an awful long time to get that powerful and a scant few ever make it. I'm talking 40+ days worth of play time, assuming you aren't a twink and sit and cast spells from log in to log out.

You want to kill a magicker? Fine. Draw your weapons, walk to where the mage is, drop an emote and attack. Odds are by the time the magicker has typed out the string to cast a spell, his character is a goner due to the immense attack bonus offered by the unarmed code. If the mage draws a weapon, no need to worry, because now he can't turn you into a human torch OR fight worth dirt, so the killing might take an extra round or two of combat to finish the job.

I would like to see them given a weapon skill, might be nice for merchants too. Not high enough to make them at all useful as fighters, just enough to allow them a chance to defend long enough to offer a chance of escape from attacking melee characters.

[Dan]

All I know is that every npc elementalist I have ever fought or seen attacked is damned good at hand to hand combat. I for one would like an explanation. Why is this? I doubt anyone can get their elementalist to the point where they can not get hit by a warrior who has a considerable amount of days on their character. I don't think anyone really knows what im talking about, but it seems npc's get a -major- advantage in this department.

[Kankman]

You want to kill a magicker? Fine. Draw your weapons, walk to where the mage is, drop an emote and attack. Odds are by the time the magicker has typed out the string to cast a spell, his character is a goner due to the immense attack bonus offered by the unarmed code. If the mage draws a weapon, no need to worry, because now he can't turn you into a human torch OR fight worth dirt, so the killing might take an extra round or two of combat to finish the job.

Sure its that easy when a magicker is only a bunch of skills coded in C on a computer in someone's basement. If only it were that simple.. The thing is, that's not what a magicker is. A magicker is beyond explanation. They are extremely rare and you can be damned sure that they can't be trusted. How in Muk's name do you know what they can do anyways? You saw one make some food once? Big freaking deal. What if it turned you into food? What if your swords were all of a sudden two big loaves of bread?

You mentioned that unless you're a twink who logs in to spam cast for the entire time they're playing it takes 40+ days to branch any useful spells to defend yourself with as a magicker.

I raise the point that someone could say, unless you're a twink, your character would realize that just hauling out the weapons and attacking a magicker is the STUPIDEST thing someone could do.

Magickers don't need any weapons skills. If you think your character does deserve them for some reason in your background, then its perfectly acceptable to send in a special application for one. However magickers on a whole only need to rely on the fear that they would cause in the average Zalanthian.

The only time I've witnessed the PC murder of a magicker, doing either the killing or being killed, was through a well played scene where it wouldn't matter if the magicker was a swordmaster. This might not always be the case, but the answer to any problem isn't give magickers weapon skills. Its raise awareness that just bluntly attacking a magicker is a BIG kind of BAD in the reality that we play in.

[Callisto]

I raise the point that someone could say, unless you're a twink, your character would realize that just hauling out the weapons and attacking a magicker is the STUPIDEST thing someone could do.

I'm not looking to debate someone's reasoning for attacking a magicker, that just seems like a means to sideline the point - that point being that when the time comes to do so, people, OOCly, don't have much to worry about as long as they can get the drop on them magicker. Not much reason to fear them escaping either, since magickers get annihilated in melee combat so quickly.

There's no reason a magicker or merchant shouldn't get a small weapon skill, and making everyone special app for something that minor is a waste of player and staff time.

[Twilight]

Hehehe, just keep propogating the rumor that magickers are weak.  That way, they will be that much more surprised when the run into the super sekrit evil killer super special magickers who aren't.