A tregil smirks as you miss an uppercut

[SMuz]

Hey, when we're done with talking about this, maybe we can talk about how some other things cost way more than it takes to make too

[HavokBlue]

This is one of those things I just try to ignore and OOCly accept as a way of maintaining game balance while allowing for all these codedly-cool items to be somewhat available to players.

That said, I've never played a merchant so I can imagine it gets tougher from that point of view.

[Bebop]

I think the weapon-bracer/gloves are a little bit too common in game (there are cheaper alternatives out there).

All sheath items should be WAY more common, and WAY less expensive than they are now, imo.

[Majikal]

I've played a merchant for Salarr and had to explains to a high profile client why I couldn't make him a simple sheath, then, once it was approved that he'd have to wait for over a year to receive said order. The sheath was two straps and a pocket of black leather with a sexy factor of zero.. meanwhile I'm shitting out dragon-engraved serrated war-axes and ruby-studded prism-tipped quartz-hilted broadswords to every amos in the world, one being a high end item (400 sid) that a single amos order 10 of because he was scared they'd break.

What would be really cool is a whole bunch of generic sheaths beings sold in shops. Back-sheaths and wrist-sheaths and strap-sheaths for all!

As for the fighting script bracers, the echoes definitely need to be tweaked but then you still end up with a spiked leather bracer that for some reason is being sold ig for the same cost as some items that have METAL in them. I wish I had a log of one of my pc's wearing that bracer just so I could paste what it really is. There are a few noble-class wrist razors out there but a majority of them are just as mean and crude looking as I wish all of Zalanthas was. Spiked bracer was salt worm hide with spines left in or some such. I understand it's a cool super-1337 item and you have to price it that way so it's not so common and neater than it should be but saying it's priced that way for game balance is ridiculous, this game isn't about balance. 30day ranger vs 1 day mage, how many folks have seen that turn out assbackwards from what a newb would expect?

[HavokBlue]

Back scabbards would be really really cool, although I doubt they'd get a lot of use because they'd occupy the pack slot (and everybody knows it's perfectly normal to wear a pack everywhere you go!).

[Coat of Arms]

Sheaths: should be way more common. Should be the norm if you're using any kind of sharp weapon. Running around with your jagged, curving, shatter-prone obsidian sword with a spiked hilt just shoved into your belt is ridiculous, and I'm pretty sure most people just RP having their swords in a sheath anyway. It's an absurd notion that a sheath is some kind of rare, highly valuable commodity that you must wait in line for months in order to get.

Wristblades: get rid of them or make a universal 'strike' command that is enhanced by wearing such an item, in which case they should be much more common. It's silly that you can't even attempt to punch and jab during combat unless you're wearing something with spikes on your wrist or hands, in which case you suddenly become capable of slicing and uppercutting and high-fiving people for potentially lethal damage. You gain additional damage output by putting this item on that grants you additional attacks, regardless of whether you're wielding a seven-foot pike, carrying a shield on that arm, or whatever. Players go so far out of their way to acquire these and are so OOC about it that it really is about time that something's done. It's not so much that a non-weapon item can improve your combat prowess, but rather that it magically creates combat maneuvers that you can't even attempt without them. They also interact poorly with the combat code, and I remember seeing stalemate fights decided by wristblades that were merrily cutting through the otherwise impenetrable defenses of opposing fighters. Finally, it's awkward and weird that the proc is automated rather than voluntary - who hasn't been in the sparring hall for a friendly match with your buddy, but you had to take your spiked bracers (but not your spiked breastplate, helmet and codpiece) off so that you wouldn't feel compulsively compelled to uppercut him and shred his face? And you get to do it more frequently the more articles of spiked combat-wear you're using? What do these things do, slow down time? It just feels really 1995.

Suggestions:

- get rid of them

- make it a strike command that punches if you don't have one, spikes if you do

- make it a feature exclusive to one-handed combat, a style that could use some encouragement

[Feco]

We need some merchant PCs out there mastercrafting simple sheath designs.

0.0

[Pale Horse]

Back scabbards would be really really cool, although I doubt they'd get a lot of use because they'd occupy the pack slot (and everybody knows it's perfectly normal to wear a pack everywhere you go!).

They already exist IG.

And are just as hard to come by as all the other sheaths.

[Xeran Van Houten]

I've seen, I think, 5 different sheathes in-game.

Never had a problem getting the one kind I prefer to use.

However, while all this is out here, why not also restrict the sheath items to only holding one item. Realism and all.

[FantasyWriter]

Make ALL items IG craftable.
Problems solved (except the no IC script echos, that is).

[Marc]

Remove the spiked bracer script.  Tell the playerbase they have to rp the spike usage.  See how many of those items are still worn in a few months.

It's dated as hell anyway and as others have said, they're just ooc status symbols.

As for those who think they are Shredder'esque bracers, keep in mind that the first spiked bracers "A spiked bracer" came from mantis (unless I'm totally misremembering.  They were at least one of the first.  Who else hunted mantis to farm bracers back in the day?).

It's not exactly intricate craftsmanship or super fancy, however useful.  So what?  Well, it means that anyone with some talent (armorcrafting?  Knifemaking?) would and could emulate them.  And with the IC price, you know people would.  Supply and Demand.  "But Marc.  Salarr wouldn't let others make them.  That's their business."  There are plenty of independent npc armor and weapon crafter/merchants in the game.  None of them would ever try to make something an insect could make?  That they saw selling for small fortunes?  That every mercenary/soldier in the known is asking after?

It's an OOC construct.  Remove them.

Remove any remaining mdesc masks too.  Someone tried to sell a character of mine "a tattered bag with holes" or something equally unimpressive (circa early 2000's).  But it hid your mdesc! So it was worth four thousand coins.  OOC construct.

Really, remove all the items with special scripts unless they are universally available or uniquely rare ala magick swords and rings and shit.  Eliminates a certain degree of meta-gaming which can only be a plus.

Drawbacks?  Some people would cry their toys stopped working.  It would all be forgotten in a month and there wouldn't be any more of this awkwardness.

All my opinion (could accomplish the same thing by making everything universally available but then everyone would wear the bracers, or the masks, or the sheaths, or whatever else had a cool script that they could get).

[Lizzie]

I'm pretty sure the only mdesc-hiding item left in the game is a kank costume. But the description isn't that of a face mask, it's intended as a full body costume.

I think it was Nyr (or maybe Senga?) who fixed all the mdesc masks back when I was playing a Kadian and saw that a bunch of them were still obscuring mdescs. Any of those that still do that, are bugs and should be bugrepped.

[Sokotra]

I put in my vote for maybe just changing the way spiked bracers and stuff work instead of getting rid of the script completely.  I think the script adds some flavor and variety to the game.  I'd hate to have less of that.  Either change the way they work during combat, if it is unrealistic, or just continue role-playing like they are made in a certain way that allows them to be more effective in combat than a regular bracer.  Seems that is what we always did in the past. 

Same sorta goes for the sheath... role-play like they are made to work, somehow, more effectively than your average "virtual" sheath I guess.  Making them more common may be a good option as well and maybe tweaking the way they work if necessary.

[Synthesis]

Get rid of the script altogether.

[BleakOne]

The spiked bracers seem fine to me, but if they cause problems removing the script wouldn't bother me at all. Don't delete them from the game though, I totally want to Shredder out one day with a future PC, even if it's only for cosmetic spikes.

[Delusion]

Dump the script altogether. How come someone who cannot get past their opponent's defenses with a sword/spear/whatever can still manage to use their wrists as a semi-effective weapon?

[Xeran Van Houten]

Dump the script altogether. How come someone who cannot get past their opponent's defenses with a sword/spear/whatever can still manage to use their wrists as a semi-effective weapon?

That's an issue of code mechanics that we can't discuss.

[Synthesis]

I think if your PC is strong enough, you should be able to rip someone's arm off as a critical reversal of a spiked bracer miss.  You could then use the resulting "spike-bracered severed arm" to *shlif* them to death.

If you do this enough, you can send in a request to have the "*shlif*fing weapons" and "smirking weapons" skills added to your list.

[BlackMagic0]

I think the weapon-bracer/gloves are a little bit too common in game (there are cheaper alternatives out there).

All sheath items should be WAY more common, and WAY less expensive than they are now, imo.

[Drayab]

More sheath. Less shredder.

[Nyr]

Moderated a post that had nothing to do with this thread; please keep threads on topic.

[Sokotra]

Maybe fix the bracer code so it doesn't ignore defense, etc... so it acts more like normal offense vs. defense like it works with regular weapons/combat.  Could change the text output a little bit as well.

[HavokBlue]

What about instead of hard-coded changes, people just play realistically/in-character and not use six inch wrist-spikes/razers/whatever when they're fighting with a 12 foot spear from the back of an inix?

[Saellyn]

What about instead of hard-coded changes, people just play realistically/in-character and not use six inch wrist-spikes/razers/whatever when they're fighting with a 12 foot spear from the back of an inix?

This. Although the word you're looking for is pike (not the FISH!), I think? I've never heard of 12 foot spears... 12 foot pikes, definitely.

[HavokBlue]

Derp. Not really the point. Seven foot spear.

This just seems like another one of those things that, just because the code allows you to do it, doesn't mean you realistically could do it.