Recent Posts

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Bug Reports / Re: Exploit: UMD is only checked on gear equip

« Last post by Madame Trousers Son on Today at 12:11:30 AM »

Yes, removing UMD equipment would mean having to give everyone a relevel to be fair...

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Bug Reports / Re: Exploit: UMD is only checked on gear equip

« Last post by Krosenq on Today at 12:08:51 AM »

One fix would be to restrict UMD to skillranks/attribute modifiers only, removing all UMD items from loot pools, and editing any spell/supernatural sources. Not a fun option of course and certainly not retroactive (removing restrictions from item design becomes an issue of balance/gp values) but is the scriptless solution... all presuming this is a problem the community believes deserves development time to enforce.

This would make it impossible for some people to reliably use scrolls, even with heavy investment.

I don't think this behavior is a huge problem, so I would hesitate to call for actions that would have a negative impact on other aspects of gameplay.

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Crafting Feat Idea

« Last post by EarlofEtheria on November 28, 2022, 11:38:36 PM »

While I am thoroughly in favor of reducing the grind further, to increase CXP and to lower the amount of components required to level up in a craft, it is imperative that it also come with a drawback to limit the speed of progression. Balance is the key here.

Tricky when the factors which limit crafting are typically supply, distance, sometimes gold. Beyond great upheavals these limiting factors are (sometimes literally) set in stone.

Smithing and its company are probably the most egregious in how high levels can collect super quickly while a rookie has just one low damage pick swing against the vein. Strength also scales carry weight exponentially, lbs is the second big factor for smiths (22 str against 17-19 is a big deal) and higher levels have an advantage here too. Woodworking shares the same conundrum, where high BAB classes massacre trees and leave a region barren, going from 0 to mastery in a pinch (comparatively).

I don't see lowering attack damage, carry weight or travel speed being acceptable trade-offs for a character, so... is there way to make things easier but with drawbacks to collection speed? Upturning all the whack-whack gathering? Iron runs away from Barovia if chased by certain characters with particular investments? Would that make someone upset that they're ruining the ore spawns and griefing them?

Alchemy has natural limits through dungeon timers, and especially distance or season like Herbalism. Maybe an over-kill drawback where you're just too dang eager to collect them plants you tear some up, unusable? Collect less, but with some XP boost? I feel like such a drawback would be overtly uninvited and complicated for alchemy ingredients however (given how they are typically found by the party, but this extends to herbalism and the party's travel too).

Maybe some sort of mist traveling material collecting minigame, relatively random but reliable to a point where you can earn crafting/gathering traits?

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Markovia Feedback Thread

« Last post by Kaninchen on November 28, 2022, 11:26:48 PM »

I rather like the fact the domain, and various dungeons don't play 100% nice with ninja-looting strategies. Means investing in some amount of Remove Curse effects, or having friends able to do the thing.

If design philosophy does shift to having more curse effects on chests opening, I'd suggest altering the general feat "Expert Dungeoner" to also include an amount of saves vs curses.

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Crafting Feat Idea

« Last post by KovosDatch on November 28, 2022, 11:10:55 PM »

Feat: Strange Mood
Requirements: Dwarf
Description: Withdrawing from society, the dwarf may feel a calling within their soul to pursue the creation of a great masterwork. Described as feyish or secretive, those struck with this peculiar affliction are compelled by the toiling nature within their blood to seek out workshops, fashioning craftsdwarfship of the highest quality. Every day a random crafting material and template will receive a +10 bonus to crafting rolls when used together, with a further +5 bonus to gilding items of matching material or template. The material and template for each day is known intuitively by any dwarf with this feat.

I appreciate the Dwarf Fortress references.

===
Here is my two cents on the whole matter:

I do not believe feats are the way to go about this.

I would rather pick a craft as my trained/given profession similarly to the different background choices in the POTM lobby when spawning in a new character. Picking a craft line (like leatherworking covers boiling and curing) would instantly jump the level of those crafts up by a few levels. Either that or make background picks that add crafting profession bonuses instead of skill bonuses.

Then a person wouldn't have to sacrifice feats for feat-starved classes. Sure you may miss out on 4-6 skill points if backgrounds are added for crafting, but that isn't going to make a build completely nonviable.

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Crafting Feat Idea

« Last post by MAB77 on November 28, 2022, 10:59:48 PM »

The problem I see with these feats is that they merely serve to help mastering a craft faster. While a valid idea on its own, we already acted to reduce the grind significantly recently and thus made mastering a craft much faster than it used to be. While I am thoroughly in favor of reducing the grind further, to increase CXP and to lower the amount of components required to level up in a craft, it is imperative that it also come with a drawback to limit the speed of progression. Balance is the key here. Not to mention the fact those are the kind of feat that would invariably be removed with impunity during a remake/relevel after they outlived their usefulness.

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Crafting Feat Idea

« Last post by EarlofEtheria on November 28, 2022, 10:34:51 PM »

How about an amalgamation of suggestions:

Feat: Labourer
Description: Grants a +5 bonus to crafting rolls of the following crafts: Carpentry, Hide Curing, Leather Boiling, Smelting, Weaving.

Feat: Tradesperson (Craft)
Requirements: 10 ranks in a Craft.
Description: Grants a +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring a selected craft's favoured attributes, penalizing other crafting rolls as listed. This feat may prohibit the crafting of certain items if the total modifier for a required attribute becomes -2 or lower.

Alchemy, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Constitution or Intelligence, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Alchemy.
Enchanting, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Intelligence or Charisma, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Enchanting.
Herbalism, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Constitution or Wisdom, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Herbalism.
Gilding, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Constitution or Intelligence, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Gilding, Smithing and Smelting.
Leatherworking, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Dexterity or Wisdom, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Leatherworking, Leather Boiling and Hide Curing.
Smithing, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Strength or Dexterity, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Smithing, Gilding, and Smelting.
Tailoring, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Dexterity or Charisma, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Tailoring and Weaving.
Woodworking, +2 attribute bonus to crafting rolls requiring Dexterity or Wisdom, -1 attribute bonus for crafts other than Woodworking and Carpentry.

Feat: Strange Mood
Requirements: Dwarf
Description: Withdrawing from society, the dwarf may feel a calling within their soul to pursue the creation of a great masterwork. Described as feyish or secretive, those struck with this peculiar affliction are compelled by the toiling nature within their blood to seek out workshops, fashioning craftsdwarfship of the highest quality. Every day a random crafting material and template will receive a +10 bonus to crafting rolls when used together, with a further +5 bonus to gilding items of matching material or template. The material and template for each day is known intuitively by any dwarf with this feat.

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Module Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Crafting Feat Idea

« Last post by ZSRunner on November 28, 2022, 08:07:20 PM »

I'd ask, why shouldn't someone be allowed to master every single craft? If they're willing to put the time and energy into it, they should be allowed to master it.

Gating it behind lvl would be simple. It doesn't need to be policed if it's mechanical. It makes sense to me as a person grows in experience so too does their ability to master their craft.

The gate doesn't have to extend all the way to level 20. Perhaps it could be gated around lvl 15 or so to acquire mastery in any given craft skill.

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Setting and Lore Discussion / Re: Magic in Barovia?

« Last post by SardineTheAncestor on November 28, 2022, 08:06:07 PM »

It's my belief if the players that were so flagrant with magic on outskirts were willing to accept it came with the jackboots of the law on your neck, then it would be less of a problem.  However, a lot of them that are that blatant, are also the ones who tend to be unaccepting of said consequences.

I don't know that I have a good answer for that.

My answer is usually to just walk away. You have a choice to engage with, or not engage with, any kind of RP that seems like it's not your thing.

It's one thing to be patient and give people a chance, that's perfectly fine. You can try to teach them through positive reinforcement, or just ignore their character's strange behaviour and see if they do it again. Negative reinforcement on the other hand, as you've noticed, doesn't work out; spending your time actively trying to fight against people who don't care about the setting is going to burn you out.

That's the thing with hubs like the outskirts, you've got so many people there for so many hours on end, and sometimes the only excitement that happens all day is an outcast racing Radu, or someone leaving a door open. Eventually you are going to see someone slip up or act out, and the guards can only do so much, whether there's 2 of them or 8 of them, they can't do it all on their own. At the end of the day they are here to RP, not enforce the setting from an OOC standpoint.

You can try your hardest but sooner or later you will come to realise your energy is better spent rewarding the kind of RP you do want to see. Spend time around people who respect the setting - they're not being tangibly rewarded otherwise.

I don't stick around in hubs because of this. While they attract all kinds of activity, that doesn't mean they foster all kinds of RP. Another thing is the misconception in theory vs practice. In theory, sure, the outskirts should be a slice of Barovia, with some outlander vibes on the side. In practice, most days it's a slice of every approved D&D setting with a little Barovian on the side. You can passively respect the setting and hope it'll be the former all you like, but even if you put in active effort, the results will be temporary.

The dev team seems to be open to/looking into adding more stuff that will curb this kind of behaviour where it threatens immersion, by adding more mechanical consequences. I think this is where we'll see the most success and the most concrete change. It will never be beaten, it will just change forms, but it's a lot better than leaving it the way it is.

But from the player's side of things, I think our best tools are patience, the power of walking away, and reporting excessively bad behaviour. It is a rule here not to adversely affect the enjoyment of others, and it is not your responsibility to try and use tells to let people know they're out of line. If your character can't convince them via completely IC means, it is time to retire from that RP, take some screenshots or a video recording if need be and let the DMs have a chat with them instead.

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Bug Reports / Re: Aberrant Wyvern Scales

« Last post by MAB77 on November 28, 2022, 08:02:56 PM »

Actually. You acquired something that was not meant to be in-game yet.