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Messages - langwiz

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1
Wish list / I personally
« on: November 07, 2002, 05:08:49 pm »
Am pretty sick of kill, kill, kill, gain stat.  And I\'m sick of produce x 2000, gain stat.  Kinda makes it painfully obvious what the game designers want you to do.

2
Wish list / skills could be like muscles
« on: November 07, 2002, 04:59:29 pm »
Use em, or they atrophy.  That might make someone stick to something a bit better than otherwise.  Then maybe you were a grandmaster swordsman but you started studying magic, so your ability with swords slowly degrades, representing a limited supply of time.  But then, some skills are like riding a bike, and others are like weight-lifting.  So the designers would have to figure out which ones would lose a more permanent sense and which ones would lose a more temporary sense.

3
Wish list / the problem isn't the ability to steal...
« on: November 07, 2002, 04:49:27 pm »
It\'s the size of the object stolen and the person from whom it was stolen.  Theft could work as long as there are limits.  Master thieves shouldn\'t be concerned with the new guy in the corner hoarding his 2 gp.  Those guys are small potatoes.  Thus a level limit on the low end would protect newbies from master thieves.

Ok, here\'s what you need if you include pickpocketing.  

#1.  A Fence.  Someone who buys stolen goods and sells them at a profit.  He pays the theives (or the Guild Master for being able to run his business).  Fences don\'t care who they sell to and usually don\'t care what the item is.  Although if the item is too hard to get rid of, the fence won\'t buy it.  Leaving the thief with...an item he doesn\'t want?  Sure that leaves room for griefers, but what if after a certain period of time, news leaked out that you had something that was stolen?  With something small like, say, an amethyst, it\'s no big deal.  Probably about to be used in a tradeskill.  But the sword of Uberyleetness is gonna stand out.  And the item should stay in the database for a while as being stolen.  The fence can\'t take an item that\'s worth more than a certain amount, because he can\'t sell it, because there aren\'t many buyers for rare items other than players.  And if the rare items have a flag for stolen on them, certain authorities should find out and start asking questions.  (aka possible GM intervention?)

That brings me to my second point.

#2.  A rumor monger.  That\'s right, this guy loves to get the dirt on everybody.  Including PCs.  So Mr. Thief comes in with that sword of Uberyleetness and wants to sell it to the fence.  The rumor monger sees the fence turn the thief down, and rats him out for a fat tip.  And possibly the gratitude/protection of the person the thief stole from.

Which brings me to number three.

#3.  A code of laws that penalizes certain actions.  This could include jail, possibly pillory time (getting stuck in a wooden[stone?] contraption while everyone sees who you are and knows what you did), or maybe more drastic measures.  Of course when you have people carrying out those laws, you come to:

#4.  A couple of corrupt people who are carrying out the law, but are also on the take.  They periodically let important people out of jail, for reasons they probably better keep secret.

Still, to avoid all that time and effort being gruesomely stripped from him by a potential competitor (nobody said the rumormonger couldn\'t also be a thief), he\'s prolly not going to grab the biggest, most expensive item he can find.  Probably the smallest, most expensive item he can find.  It\'s a lot easier to sell something small and turn a profit than to hoard something big and hope for a buyer.  

4
Wish list / More items
« on: November 07, 2002, 04:20:48 pm »
I\'d just like to see some of this stuff in a game.  If it\'s too hard to code, oh well.


Signet Ring

A ring worn by a noble ( or someone who could afford it) in order to prove his identity.  Interesting idea for patterned seals comes to mind.  See Animal Crossing for ideas on pattern creation. Uncommon to Rare.  Made with wood/stone/metalworking.

Fake Signet Ring

A ring a scoundrel might produce by taking a waxed imprint of a ring, making a mould, making a mould of that mold, then casting the ring.  Would be useful in intrigue plots.  Would require high intelligence or agility to create (or tradeskills based on those attributes).

Slaver Cuffs

See Morrowind cept add your own twist.  Make them only usable on a PC by GM.  These could be a punishment system for bad acts.  Uncommon.  Made with metal/stoneworking.

Lockpick
To get into places other people don\'t want you to get to.
Or to retrieve items others want to protect.  Certain restrictions would need to be placed on this item so it could not be exploited.  Uncommon to Rare depending on need/use.  Made with metalworking and honed with weaponsmithing.  Law abiding citizens will probably not help you make this item.

Signal Whistle
For when you just don\'t wanna move/leave that hiding place but you want your ambush to go off right now.  Would emit a high pitched (maybe birdlike) noise.  Uncommon.  Made with metal/wood/stone?working

Rope
How all these other MMOGs forgot this I\'ll never know.  This has many many uses.  Could be tradeskill item for catching rabbits/squirrels.  Could be a way to climb trees or buildings.  Add grappling hook to make really interesting.  Could also be made into a fishing net to catch fish.  Could also replace ship\'s mooring if a line broke.  Horribly common.  Rope is soo cool!!  :D Rope would be made with weaving or leatherworking.

Marking Chalk
Something to help others figure out which way you went without having to sniff the ground.  Also something to mislead others when you don\'t want to be found.  Also could be used in creation of decorative items or in magical rituals.  Common to Uncommon, depending on need/use.  Made with stoneworking.  Low skill required to make.

Polished Amber Collar
For when you want to look stylish and protect yourself too.  This collar would be worn on the neck and  would help protect your head.  Would have either an affinity or an emnity with treefolk.  Would also help protect against some elemental attacks.  Rare. Jewelry crafting.

Cloak of Leaves/Grass/Marble
Other methods of concealment without having that complete invisibilty tick.  Maybe makes your name not show unless someone clicks on you.  High weaving/leatherworking skill to make an effective one.  Very Rare. (especially the stone cloak)

Mica Bow
A light longbow capable of being worn and used by even the weakest of characters.  Very fragile and prone to breaking if handled without extreme care.  A good way to be able to fire ballistically.  Perhaps some other gems might have the right qualities for the bending and shaping of a bow.  Rare.  Good masonry skill and some weaponsmithing to be able to create one.

Rapier
A weapon more for style than for damage potential.  When mastered it becomes dangerous.

Mushroom Salve
This nifty little item cures some hp just by putting it on your wounds.  (Must cut down time  :D )  Common.  Not as good as a healing potion.

Glow Rock
Sometimes even magical light can\'t reach everywhere.  That\'s when you carry one of these.  It\'s a torch.  Common to Uncommon, depending on need.

Null Sword
Just a sword that\'s completely devoid of magic.  In fact, if you get a hit off with it, you might temporarily knock out some of the magic effects your opponent has.  Or maybe damage his magic reserve.  Very Rare.

Null Ring
A ring, that when used, removes hostile magic cast on you.  It could also be a magic barrier that would knock off some magic damage.  Very rare.

Tuning Fork
To maintain instruments.  May also be very dangerous in certain areas.  Unsure as to if this even has bearing on the game.   :P

Musical Instruments
These are here for atmosphere and as alternative ways of making money.  They could be interfaced with a keyboard with the proper parameters.  Uncommon to Rare.  Made with metal/stone/wood/leather/clothworking.  Could also be imbued with magical affects to calm, enrage, confuse, or drain targets.

Ways to code would be to include all the chromatic notes (or certain ones if all remove from the mood of the game) and hold note buttons and breathe(no sound) buttons.  Would add a lot of fun to the game.  Especially with macros so a performer doesn\'t have to be musically inclined.

Divining Rod
In case you don\'t have a friend who can tell good rocks from bad ones, this rod\'s for you.  Use it to tell if you\'re at a good place to start mining or not.  Created with a rod and certain magics.  Uncommon to Rare.

If I think of any more I\'ll be sure to post em.

5
Wish list / A Game Master's wishlist
« on: November 07, 2002, 03:29:54 pm »
Seems like what you\'re asking for are the core things that makes RP RP.

You want to be able to interact with a world that interacts with itself and others.  You want to be able to change that world, either in a beneficiary or detrimental way.  (Maybe the new trees are causing difficulties for certain races/animals and now need to be cut down!)  You want to be able to make choices that positively affect your status.  (\"I made this pattern of silk just for you\" as opposed to \"hey look, another brown leather armor\").

I too would love to see those things happen.  But I think it might be difficult to implement without a huge number of GMs.

I personally think that the world needs conflict, which may or may not be severe in order to feel real.  There need to be NPCs that maybe can\'t pay you for the services they desperately need, but offer to do something else for you in return for your help, etc etc.  Then maybe you can ask the NPC for a few eggs or something else to help you complete a potion or a cake for the baron.

I also think that within that conflict, limits need to be set on who can do what quest when and why.   Yet again, I see need for a lot of GMs to implement this idea.

I also think NPCs that are important should have color and flavor.  But also, NPCs that aren\'t that important should have those elements as well.  Rather than Joe Farmer who just stands in the same place all the time, waiting for something to happen, he needs to be looking after his fields, or chasing after that chicken that\'s trying to get away, etc.

Thus, I think that the NPCs need to have an economy between each other, and that the characters should compete for resources just as these NPCs would.  There\'s only so much space to plant that field.  This is where leader types could become important (and possibly PCs as leaders replacing NPCs).

I\'d also want to limit the number of characters per account to maybe 2-3, that way that the worlds only have to support a certain amount of PC living space.

The unfortunate part of all this thought is that it requires a time component.  It sets new players at somewhat of a disadvantage because they weren\'t there for part of the story.  But this could also be an advantage, because the \"older\" gamers could tell the newer ones about what had been going on and why things were the way they were.

A possible solution to this would be to open a new server a few months after the release that would start where the old one started, so players wouldn\'t miss the story, or old players could try to influence it differently.

I better wrap this up...it\'s getting long.   :O  

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