Tactica Suggest a Skill

Tactica: Maiden of Faith

GothicGothicness

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I think a lot of people have been thinking, why does the game not have this skill, or it would be really cool if I could do this or that. This games is turn based, the characters are placed in a kind of grid.

You can suggest any skill you had ideas about. You can also suggest NONE COMBAT skills.

Here is an example of a skill the "Senior Guard" class has:

Skill Name: Guard

Allows yo to guard another character, the ability allows you to block 3 squares from ranged attacks according to the following : ( X is the char beinng guarded O is the char guarding o is squares being guarded)
oOo
_X

oO
Xo

There are two ways to guard, one way is the guard manages to block the projectile completely ( using a shield gives a bonus to this ), the second is he blocks it and takes damage.

It is also possible to fail the guard completely which results in X being hit.

You can also comment on this skill if you want. I will fill this thread with skills. Your skill idea can be very basic at first and we can work it out togheter. ( You can also suggest NONE COMBAT skills )

Thanks,
GG
 
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I'd guess you already have healing health, regenerating magic points or however you call it in the game.
Other suggestions might include pickpocketing, create diversion, ambush, hide in the forest/night/cave/... , potion making
More combat related: Shield bash, poisoning(losing health and/or abilities for a period of time/turns), bad/good luck (bad luck makes you lose your weapon, hurt yourself, or other things. good luck means you make a critical hit hurting the other more, make the other lose its weapon or break his shield...)

I'll be back later maybe ...
 
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Alchemy or some kind of create item skill. I love those in a RPG. Might be a pain in the behind to code, but you did say you're looking for suggestions :)
 
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Well as for skills in combat, I like positioning skills. Specially works if there's facing/orientation in the mix. Backstab if you're attacking from behind, Flank attacks from the sides.
There's also passive and active skills. Passive may be, you just fight better on sand, or grass. Active would be like, sprint for a longer move (losing stamina for example), or like the guard you mentioned.
Other type of skills would apply if there is height involved. Like climbing/balance, you would be able to move to an elevated tile for bonuses. Then you would have skills to push/pull people, possibly moving them from their advantageous position.
Obviously heals, but what about different type of heals. Heal over times (more health healed/less mana cost but heal happens over time), heal buffs (ignore first X points of damage), reactive heals (you get hit, you heal back an amount), health bonds (damage received is shared), etc.
There are also reactive skills. Those that happen when something else happens. For example, ready actions when something enters a tile (specially good for archers/ambushers), dispels when a enemy starts casting, etc.
And how about traps, invisible things that happen when the first creature walks over it (with the respective skill to detect traps). They can be damaging, weakening, snaring, holding, rooting, etc.
I also like skills that make you better against certain types enemies: animals, undeads, flyers, etc.

Someone mentioned pickpocket, funny that's one skill I never liked, simply because it's always too easy to exploit when you can save/load at any time.
 
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Good ides wolfing, and acctually you CANNOT save and load at anytime ( puh you did not get a hold of the design doc after all :D ) , hope it is not a game breaker for some. The game will always be "saved", and when you start you will begin where you left off. Making all C&C , skills attemp, etc etc final. Death will be handled in a very special way but you'll not have to restart from beginning as in ironmen mode.

Acttually there'll be a class kind of like Doctor, which have to use bandages, first aid, herbs etc, they cannot use magick, there'll also be some special chars who can use magic…. but magick is tough in this game, it is going to cost a lot of stamina to use it, and if your char is low on stamina, you could get in trouble….

Alchemy or some kind of create item skill. I love those in a RPG. Might be a pain in the behind to code, but you did say you're looking for suggestions

YEah it'll have this, but it might not be the most advanced system ever… :p

I'd guess you already have healing health, regenerating magic points or however you call it in the game.
Other suggestions might include pickpocketing, create diversion, ambush, hide in the forest/night/cave/… , potion making
More combat related: Shield bash, poisoning(losing health and/or abilities for a period of time/turns), bad/good luck (bad luck makes you lose your weapon, hurt yourself, or other things. good luck means you make a critical hit hurting the other more, make the other lose its weapon or break his shield…)

Will have most of those.... not sure about the luck thing though.
 
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The luck thing can be expanded to being a random factor in everything from conversations with people to all of a sudden notice someone trying to ambush you or getting lucky enough not to get hit even by by a much more advanced warrior.
It would be like a second check with a very low chance of success, which can maybe be very slightly changed.
 
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I'm pro for an alchemy kind of skill.

Creating potions is always a lot of fun for me. ;) (Had chemistry at school. ;) )

Dunno about its usefulness, but what about languages ? Depends, of course, inhowfar they are used. Ancient languages on inscriptions could be a way, then special languages of certain professions (mages, especially might have their own languages, or there might be special warfare terminology), and of course foreigners or simply dialects and other cultures. I think the dialects part would be funny. ;)

The only problem would be to implement them. In Beyond Divinity, one could not read texts without knowing the language. The graphical representation was so that without the proper skill, the text sheek (book page) remained in some sort of letters/runes one simply couldn't read.

The higher the skill value was, the more words were revealed.

With special terminology this could mean :

0 - dunno what they're talking about ???
1 - I vaguely recognise a few words … they sound faintly similar to other words I've heard before …
2 - I can pick up a few words (and sometimes even understand them !!!)
3 - I can put several words into their context
4 - I can understand complete sentences !!! YAY !
5 - In begin to understand the whole speech …
6 - I understand the whole speech !
7 - I not only understand the whole speech, but I can also put it into a global context !
8 - I can not only understand the whole speech and put it into a whole context, but I can also contribute to it ! (Should perhaps be linked to intelligence.)

This just as an idea.

Other ideas :

- negative values : could perhaps be the result from drinking too much ? Or severe illness ?

- the "bad attributes" of TDE … I really liked them, and I never found any game that had a similar thing … (greed, angst, fear of the dead, curiosity etc. …)

- of of course social skills ! TDE4 has (relatively new, because it was in optional rules for TDE3 already) a thing called "social status". There could be checks, of course. Like talking to upper class people. or when a person of lower status tries to impose [to be] someone of an higher status … The check would then show whether this "faking" of a higher social status is successful or not …

- What I also love if the knowledge of flowers/plants (herbs) like in Drakensang ! :)

So far now from my side …

Edit : You obviously see that I'm heavily influenced by TDE ... ;)
 
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Thanks Alrik, a lot of interesting suggestions there! Especially about language.... I'll have to think about that one!
 
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Well, since you didn't like my luck thing.
What about howling or terrorizing? A negative skill that some characters have. By using this skill enemies in nearby squares get pushed back one square or something similar.
 
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I am still thinking about the luck thing...... maybe in some way it could be there.

There is this kind of skill which will push enemies back, almost like howling :)

Keep the suggestions cooming!
 
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Well, more expansion on the luck thing then.

It could be a randm factor like I said that affects everything.
Examples:

Attack: Roll 1% good luck factor => Attack hits in critical spot, do more damage.
Roll 1% bad luck factor => Attack fails critically, you hit yourself for portion of damage and lose a turn

Conversation: Roll 1% good luck factor => The person likes you and gives you a special tip or better prices
Roll 1% bad luck factor => The person raises the prices and doesn't give you a piece of NON-vital information.

Random encounters: Roll 1% good luck factor => Your troops fight better
Roll 1% bad luck factor => your troops can't see as far, enemy troops fight better.
.
.
.
 
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The problem with luck is that it's not really a skill. If it exists (and, since it's a fantasy world, let's say it does), it's more of a passive thing. Like either a stat or a passive ability. Just as someone is stronger, someone is luckier. That can be reflected as simply as a +1 to 'saving throws', or a +1 on all rolls affecting the character, but not something that you consciously 'activate'.
 
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I think maybe you mean it should have luck as an attribute and if it is high enough you'd meet with something extraordinary..... like the ufo with the super weapon in fallout... I loved that one instant classic.... though I can assure you there'll not be space ships in this game..... if it is not very high it could still have some small influence on everything you do.
 
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Kinda hate to recommend pilfering another indie developer's good idea, but Eschalon's use of the cartography skill was brilliant.

I'll put in another vote for alchemy, too. I like searching the countryside for ingredients. While the Wiz8 system was a little out-of-balance (too profitable), a potions-for-profit structure is a nice reward for players that develop the skill.
 
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haha, well basically Eschalon kind a used something which have been in several games before including wizardry :p It is harder to implement in a party based game though, because if one person has cartohrapgy why would anyone else want to get this skill???

For alchemy do people want an advanced system or is quite simple enough... like found ingredients XYZ find recipe XYZ and you can mix potion X, or each ingredient has some special property... and you can mix as you want to achieve the effect of each items property?
 
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I vote for find ingredients XYZ and experiment/find recipe to mix potion X.

A system that makes sense is always best, imo. Take Return to Krondor as an example. You could use up to 5 different ingredients to make a potion.

One had to be 'essential salts'.
Second was either aqua fortis or water (Aqua for was for strong potions and water just for normal or weak.
Third was some kind of powder. This one was optional depending on what you were making.
Fourth a tincture or elixir like bloodwine or Tincture of Vitriol. Again optional depending on what your making.
Fifth was a metal one like gold or copper. I hate to say optional again, but it is :)

Each ingrediant did something for the potion. Like gold was needed for spellcasting type potions. It's a little complicated, but well worth the effort, imo. Just if you do decide to go with an elabrate alchemy system, please don't make it so you can't use it till the third act. I hated I had to wait so long to start brewing my own potions.
 
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For alchemy do people want an advanced system or is quite simple enough… like found ingredients XYZ find recipe XYZ and you can mix potion X, or each ingredient has some special property… and you can mix as you want to achieve the effect of each items property?
I thought the Might and Magic (MM7, specifically) system (colored potions and higher skill requirements to create more complex potions without blowing up) was intuitive without being overly simple.
 
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haha, well basically Eschalon kind a used something which have been in several games before including wizardry :p It is harder to implement in a party based game though, because if one person has cartohrapgy why would anyone else want to get this skill???

Why is this a problem? In real life it is also sufficient, if one in the group knows the way.
Also, it is sufficient, if one person is a good diplomat, can open locked doors chests etc.

So this is a normal situation for most skills. It is sufficient, if one in the group has it.

There are, ofcourse, other skills, which are necessary for the whole group: Everybody needs good sneaking skills, if the whole group wantsto sneak.

But why is it a problem that there are skills of both kinds?
 
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Yes I know what you mean bkrueger, like you have to be sure one guy has the cartography skill, one guy has the lockpick skill, one guy has the diplomat skill, etc etc. This is acctually realistic as in real person also complete each other. But what if two person has the same points in the skill? acctually I feel if two equally skilled people work togheter they would produce a better result than just one person who has this skill…. so I am thinking to combine the skills in some way ( to simulate the two skilled persons working togheter ).. how do you think about that ???
 
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