A magical direction indicator.

[thandar]

Firstly, Kayruu, I know there is a thread about non-combat uses for magic so if you feel it would be better off there, feel free to move it.
However, as things get lost in long threads, please can you leave it for a couple of days before moving so people get a chance to shower me in praise or cast me to the fires?

Thanks.

On to business.

I would like to see a spell added that can be used to indicate the direction of things or people. When cast it would simply appear as an arrow pointing the the direction of the object named in the /cast.

This is bourne out of my desire to give Mages spells that make them useful in their own right rather than as a side-line occupation when the fighting is a bit slow. It would be great to see parties of people heading out to adventure with the mages giving direction, warriors providing muscle etc. Smiths to repair the weapons etc.

Its visibiltity would be the same as any normal spell. It's duration would be about 5 seconds so as to avoid litter and also to add some sense or urgency about things and its range would depend on the abilities of the caster, so that a newbie could find a rat in the next tunnel and a higher rank could find someone on the road out of town.

The target would be named in the /cast and in the case of PCs and NPCs this seems straightforward. In the case of places I'm not sure but there should be some way to fix a name to a place. I know the maps don't all line up and so it would either not work across maps or just point to the portal that leads to the map concerned.


What do you think Folks?

[Valbrandr]

Yeah depending on what you were doing, WoW had something like this (Hunters can track monsters and PCs, miners can track where gold and whatnot is) Though I dont know how RP oriented this idea is, If nothing else it would be a long way off I would think if anyone even would want this in the game. A minimap would be needed first wouldnt it? Hmm nevermind just noticed you said an arrow pointing you in a direction.. I would rather there be maps to buy or something to that nature first.

[Zarquon]

I think the pointer spell is a good idea...
- it seems to be technically possible (within reasonable efforts from the DEVs - at least as far as I can tell )
- it is a piece of useful magic, that fits in a world where magic is common but within limits (keeping the balance of the game)

Perhaps you can make the time it lasts depending on the spellcasters skill. Would it be following/turning if the target moves for the time of the spells duration?
Maybe it would be nice if there was an indication how far the target is away (like darker color is near, lighter color far away)

Regarding maps...
I think automaps are for sissys only... it makes the place feel bigger and more real if you can get lost.
Maps as static items are okay - this is also realistic for playing in a medieval setting.
Knights using GPS and a navigation system (with 7" LCD and subwoofers after they visited MTV (medieval tuning veterans?) pimp my ride) - are yet unheard of.

[DaveG]

A tracking spell is farily simple, and probably done before.  Nevertheless, a good idea, and something to probably add to the list.

[thandar]

A tracking spell is farily simple, and probably done before.  Nevertheless, a good idea, and something to probably add to the list.

Thanks Dave. Glad you like it. 

Would it be following/turning if the target moves for the time of the spells duration?
Maybe it would be nice if there was an indication how far the target is away (like darker color is near, lighter color far away)

I think it shouldn't track the target, just indicate where it was when the spell was cast. I like the idea of distance too. I think grading distance should be simple though so you would have it graded up a hundred yards or so and then becomes "too far to mater".




Cheers.

[Colinb]

Itd be very useful on quests for sure..... I always get lost and i usulay know which way to go.