The BIG archery change

[Revelations]

Not really big, but I still think it's big enough to change how archery would be looked at. I don't know how strong of a skill archery is currently, and with all the talk of pulling out arrows, I had an interesting idea suddenly.

Firstly, I'd like to see continual effects after getting shot by an arrow such as slow blood loss (or major) and a dip in total stun points. You wouldn't really need to pull out arrows codedly, since it would already be factored in with the other effects.

Now, alot of people are going to say this makes archery a heck of a lot stronger. Not necessarily if it's toned down in a certain aspect.
By seperating the SHOOT command into two seperate syntaxes, AIM and SHOOT, you make shooting an arrow a longer ordeal. But AIMing would have a certain twist. Instead of simply having a set amount of time before you release the arrow, there is a certain scale that is proportional to the amount of time that you are AIMing. So the longer that you AIM at your target, the more accurate your shot will be. Veteran archers will have a shorter AIM time to get as accurate as possible than new archers. When you reach the full possible accuracy, you automatically release the arrow. If you don't have that time, you simply type SHOOT and it releases the arrow before full capacity, but with less accuracy. It could work with all archery tools, and not just the bow and arrow. [edited to add] (Of course, new archers wouldn't be able to shoot as accurate as a veteran might, but still have a decent chance to get good shots off.)

By having AIM and SHOOT, you not only decrease the rate at which you inflict the (realistically crippling) damage that an arrow has, but the target also has a more realistic chance to get at the archer before getting shot too many times.

I simply don't like being able to get shot 5 times with an arrow and still being able to walk around perfectly. In RL, a single arrow in the leg would drastically slow you down, and with three arrows in your back you aren't going to live very long.

Happy hunt'n.  :wink:

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

Revelations wrote:

I don't know how strong of a skill archery is currently

It's supposed to be quite strong, once you're skilled enough. I've heard stories of good rangers killing beefy mul warriors in two shots and such. And then there are always poisons...
With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing those new to the skill do more damage in general (since they miss so often anyway), espicially to those poor saps using slings. But as far as the max damage goes, I'd say it's about where it should be.
Revelations wrote:

Firstly, I'd like to see continual effects after getting shot by an arrow such as slow blood loss (or major) and a dip in total stun points.

Why just arrows? If the staff were to implement blood loss, I'd prefer that they'd put it in for several types of damage, not just the magickal arrow. Isn't a knife wound an awful lot like an arrow wound? And wouldn't the massive gash from a half-giant's warsword cause just a little bleeding?
As for AIM/SHOOT... meh. It'd be an interesting little addition, if it can be done. I'm not sure if timers and such, though, are really Arm's style.
Revelations wrote:

I simply don't like being able to get shot 5 times with an arrow and still being able to walk around perfectly. In RL, a single arrow in the leg would drastically slow you down, and with three arrows in your back you aren't going to live very long.

Yeah, well, in RL, you can die from a single punch to the head. And in RL, you wouldn't be able to survive a fall from the Shield Wall. And in RL, a kank would be about as mobile as a beached whale. And in RL, taking a nap wouldn't cure getting mauled by a wild animal. It's a game. And in Armageddon, like in so many other games, the power of archery has been reduced for the sake of playability. If changes were to be put in place to increase the power of archery (even at a decrease of its speed), you'd have to increase the power of melee just to be fair. Why would some one risk getting close to the target, then spend ten minutes hacking them to death with their wooden swords, when they could just fire one super-arrow at them and finish it like that?
If you're looking for an IC explanation for being a pincushion and surviving, keep in mind that Zalanthans are made of "tougher stuff". Also, keep in mind that half-giants, muls and dwarves could probably take much more punishment than the average Earthian human. Also, just because the code says you're not injured doesn't mean you can't pretend you are. You can limp home and pretend you had a near-death experience even if your HP is full. That's the beauty of Armageddon. Roleplay around the code.

[Assassin]

No I did not like the sound of this idea.

After all, the skill backstab is not as realistic as it should be.  It should be far very much easier to kill someone, than the coded backstab.  And the same things penalties apply to the skill backstab as well (that aim and shoot delay).  And throw is similar as well.

But I myself, see these skills being powerful enough, I think it would hurt the game if there were any addditions to their efficiency.

[Swordsman]

I genuinely applaud the thought that has gone into the first post in this thread, even though I disagree with the suggestion overall. A few thoughts:

(1) As others have said, any major wound should, realistically, incur blood loss (even a bludgeoning hit would, presumably, cause internal bleeding), so there's no reason this shouldn't apply to all weapons if introduced.

(2) As others have said, poison in the game can already have a similar (if not worse) effect to the blood loss suggested.

(3) A few times during my playing career here, I've seen people shoot arrows into the middle of a battle involving their friends ... and as far as I can see, there's no chance of accidentally hitting a friend; the worst that happens is that they miss their intended targets (the enemies). When you consider that this is shooting from some distance (another room, code-wise) with 'primitive' bows, this is a pretty good safety feature (i.e., not being able to hit your friends accidentally). If archery is made more powerful, then I'd like to see this weakness introduced in balance.

(4) Having said all of that, I like the basic idea of additional control that was part of the original suggestion (i.e., let the player decide how long a delay to use, with added effect if a longer delay). If the imms did decide to do something like this, then other skills like backstab should probably have it, too ... and there should certainly be an upper limit so that you can't engage someone in conversation for 20 RL minutes and then backstab (or have your friend, hidden in another room with a bow and arrow, shoot) them. But maybe all of this would just overpower those skills ... who knows?

All IMO.

Swordsman

[Yokunama]

(1) As others have said, any major wound should, realistically, incur blood loss (even a bludgeoning hit would, presumably, cause internal bleeding), so there's no reason this shouldn't apply to all weapons if introduced.

Thats basically whats going to be brought up, if that idea was accepted.

[Rhyden]

AIMing would have a certain twist. Instead of simply having a set amount of time before you release the arrow, there is a certain scale that is proportional to the amount of time that you are AIMing.

I like the initial idea.

A problem with the 'aim' command might be that PCs like to move around rooms pretty quickly when they're being shot at. As well, I think the actual aiming part can be RPed using emotes. Whether you want to aim at something for a minute or just a few seconds, I think RP might be the best solution here.