Planar Shift (740)/saved post archive
Posts relating to the release of Planar Shift (740) during 2005-2006. More recent posts.
Dec. 9, 2005 (1)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2508
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 9, 2005 at 00:17:28 CST
Subject: 740 Proposal: Planar Shifting
A long lost magic has resurfaced that allows sorcerers to contort the dimensional fabric of space within our world. A properly directed rift in space can be used to transport the sorcerer to any destination of his choosing within the known world. Woe is the sorcerer who does not properly protect himself from the ravages of such a violent shifting of physical space. A sorcerer desiring to undertake a planar shift must prepare a summoning circle, inscribed with the appropriate defensive runes, detailing his destination within the circle.
A sorcerer using this spell will be able to transport themselves to realms far away from his current locale. The difficulty of interrealm planar transference is such that the high quality chalk utilized for the protection circles often mitigates many of the risks associated with this highly unstable process. As a result, failure for interrealm transference is very low, but has a 50k cost attached to it, the market price of the chalk necessary for such a process.
Sorcerers using this spell to transport locally often choose to utilize a chalk whose cost is trivial as the process is somewhat easier than interrealm transport. However, cheap chalk often fails to mitigate many of the dangers and risks inherent in the process. As such, many casual observers of this powerful magic, have often commented that it seems intrarealm transportation is more difficult than interrealm transportation, unaware that this is mostly of the result of the vastly different quality of the chalks used.
Training in Sorcerous Lore: Demonology will make a sorcerer more adapt at using this type of magic.
Nilven
Dec. 9, 2005 (2)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2533
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 9, 2005 at 19:36:38 CST
Subject: Re: 740 Proposal: Planar Shifting
Group transport is not apporvable for interrealm.
Nilven
Dec. 10, 2005 (1)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2558
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 10, 2005 at 20:24:42 CST
Subject: Re: 740 Proposal: Planar Shifting
People have asked some more info about the process. I'd rather not give away too much since I think part of the magic of Elanthia involves the discovery of these kinds of things when attempting to do them for the first time. I will share the following bits about the process:
The summoning circle needs to have a rune within it that specifies the target location. Any room that doesn't have teleport restrictions will be able to be targeted with this spell. This will be accomplished with some verb such as, "draw summoning circle with my chalk" or just "draw summoning circle." Each room within the game will have a unique rune identifier that will be used by the sorcerer to specify which room he desires. This unique rune will be drawn within the summoning circle. SENSE is used to learn the unique room identifier of a given room. These runes, once SENSEd, will appear in a special book that can be purchased at the sorcery guild or alchemist. Before you ask, I haven't figured out if the Enchiridion Valentia can be used to store known runes. Once a sorcerer figures out where he wants to go, he'll likely use a verb like "draw rune 32 from my book" to place it within his summoning circle. The drawing process will likely involve some minimal RT (~10 seconds). After the circle is complete, the sorcerer casts his spell and hopes he doesn't die.
A sorcerer will be able to use the runes from someone else's book if he has access to the book.
Nilven
Dec. 10, 2005 (2)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2559
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 10, 2005 at 20:26:15 CST
Subject: Re: 740 Proposal: Planar Shifting
Chalk making can be part of alchemy, if you so desire, but it is unlikely that making the chalk yourself will be able to cut off a significant portion of that 50k cost. The 50k cost is essential to balancing the spell. Making the lower quality chalk will also not be something I feel too many people would want to do via alchemy since the cost for low quality chalk would be trivial and not worth the time involved most likely. This may change though for the chalks necessary for 750.
I am not worried about this spell becoming obsolete with the pegasus system. I do not know the specifics for the pegasus system as it is not being handled by Warden?s team, but it is likely that it will involve a cost and time investment. The pegasus sytem will not be providing instantaneous transportation as far as I can remember; this will. It is really hard to compare this spell to a system which does not yet exist. If it so happens that the pegasus system becomes a significantly more attractive/beneficial/easier choice for interrealm transport, then I will lobby to have this spell made commensurate with that. The most likely scenario, however, is that an analysis of this spell?s cost/benefit will guide the cost/benefit of the pegasus system since this spell will predate that system.
Range of failures: I actually have a pretty interesting failure concept in mind for this. Muhahaha. I'm not ready to discuss yet how various skills effect the success of the spell. Only demonology will be able to reduce the rather small failure rate (~10%) for interrealm transport. I'm not ready to discuss how demonology or other skill factor into the success of intrarealm transport.
Nilven
Dec. 14, 2005
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2600
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 14, 2005 at 13:09:57 CST
Subject: 740: More Information
If such a spell existed in Elanthia, one would imagine that sorcerer spell ranks, discipline, aura, wisdom, elemental and spiritual mana control ranks would determine the success rate for the intrarealm version. Demonology ranks would allow a sorcerer, should he be willing to grace others with his skills, the ability to allow multiple people to use his intrarealm portal.
The success factosr for interrealm are as previously stated. Alchemists around Elanthia (outside of New Ta'Faendryl) have speculated in the past, that should they have reason to stock magical chalk, which they have not because no spells known to magi at large require it, that they might allow their customers to specify how many uses they want their puchased chalk to have.
Nilven
Dec. 19, 2005
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2690
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 19, 2005 at 17:00:00 CST
Subject: Re: 740: More Information
The intrarealm portion of the spell will have the same success/failure rate as Familiar Gate with the exception that I won't be including a level-based component into 740, which currently exists in 930. However, this level-based component in 740 has been replaced with a Mana Control factor that is equally weighted with the wizard's level factor.
To translate: a level 40 sorcerer that is 1x in Elemental Mana Control and 1x in Spiritual Mana Control will receive the same bonus from those skills to the success formula that a wizard at level 40 receives towards 930's success formula from his level. Any Mana Control above 1x in each lore (or any combination thereof that equals 2x, such as 1.5x and 1x or 2x an 0x) will grant additional help with success that is not achievable via Familiar Gate.
Some of you may have issues with this discrepancy. I will not be adding a level based component to the spell as I don?t believe in granting ability just based on level.
Nilven
Dec. 20, 2005
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2700
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 20, 2005 at 17:01:48 CST
Subject: Re: 740: More Information
>Am I to take this to imply that a level 40 (with 1x in both controls) Sorcerer who is otherwise trained similarly to a level 40 Wizard will have basically the same capabilities with the spell that the Wizard would have? Because in that case, this spell doesn't sound daunting. Wizard Gate was starting to get decent around that level from my readings.<
Yes, exact same success rate.
>Oh, will Encumbrance hinder this spell, if that is even askable at this time?<
No, encumbrance will have no effect on this spell.
Nilven
Dec. 21, 2005 (1)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2707
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 21, 2005 at 00:50:35 CST
Subject: Re: 740: More Information
The impact to wizards from level, and the impact to sorcerers from mana control, is small. Wizard and sorcerer spell ranks play a much greater role, respectively.
Nilven
Dec. 21, 2005 (2)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2715
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 21, 2005 at 16:05:14 CST
Subject: Re: 740: More Information
Just to clarify another misconception that I've been seeing around here, is that 930 becomes fairly reliable at level 40. For the typical wizard, 930 becomes fairly reliable around level 60. I think most wizards would concur with that. Someone posted that he's read that wizard claim 930 is reliable around level 40 and that got kind of taken up as the baseline expectation. For as long as I've been on the wizard/sorcerer team, wizards have always claimed level 60 as the critical point at which they can use 930 without really any chance of failure.
Nilven
Dec. 27, 2005 (1)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2745
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 27, 2005 at 22:15:34 CST
Subject: 740: Additional Developments
People were somewhat excited about the prospect of opening up runebook shops. We believe that the gathering of runes is a process that every sorcerer should undergo for himself. Therefore, we will be seeking to cultivate a closer bond between a sorcerer and his runebook by requiring him to bond to any book that he wants to use for recording purposes.
I want to foster a sense of trust and cooperation amongst sorcerers. As such, bonding will only be required to record runes within a book. Although a sorcerer can draw runes from any book he desires. As such, sharing your runebook with someone else will be an act of sincere and extreme trust. Pity the sorcerer who foolishly lends his book to an untrustworthy fellow, if said person should decide to steal the entrusted book. The lending sorcerer will then have to bind to another book to rebuild his repository of runes or obtain someone else's book for use (in which he would not be able to scribe). The thief will be able to make use of the book that was lent to him but will not be able to scribe any additional runes within the book. If the sorcerer should later retrieve his stolen book, he will be able to make use of it, but will not be able to scribe in it if he has already bonded to another book. If he does not break his bond he will be able to continue scribing runes in the stolen book should he retrieve it.
The bonding process will be relatively simple and painless. We don?t intend to make you go through a lengthy bonding process, we only intend to make the act of providing another sorcerer with runes an act of trust. There may be a short wait involved between the time when a sorcerer breaks his bond to a book and the time when he can bond to another book.
Nilven
Dec. 27, 2005 (2)
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2749
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: December 27, 2005 at 22:35:28 CST
Subject: Re: 740: Additional Developments
>If a sorcerer unbonds with a book after an untrustworthy fellow makes off with it... can the thief then bond with it and scribe new runes? In other words, will we be able to create runebooks, and sell them fully functional? Rather than just giving them to someone to use but not scribe in after?<
If a book has been unbonded with it, can no longer be scribed in by anyone.
>Also, if one was to steal, or buy a runebook... could they have more than one unbonded? Since I'd assume you can only bond to one at a time.<
You can have as many unbonded books as you want. But you can only bond to one book at a time.
Nilven
Jan. 7, 2006
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 2982
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: January 7, 2006 at 15:45:23 CST
Subject: Re: Very ...[NOT]... Disappointed
Interrealm teleport is something that has traditionally been off limits for teleportation spells. The 50k cost isn't going to be lowered because the alternative would be to make the spell very very unreliable.
A comparison of this spell to interrealm teleportation seems to indicate that the price is in line with what it should be. Those staves sell for a minimum of 100m silvers. Assuming your expected cost per teleportation is 55,556 due to the 10% failure rate, that means you would have to use this spell 1,799 times before you hit the current cost for interrealm transport ability. This is of course assuming you have no demonology. Finally, this spell has significantly more control over your final destination than the interrealm teleportation staves.
Food for thought.
Nilven
Jan. 20, 2006
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 3094
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: January 20, 2006 at 17:17:39 CST
Subject: Re: 740: Offensive Version?
The precursor to the Planar Shift proposal was a spell I called Planar Banishment. The idea was for a somewhat useful spell whose primary purpose was to stay true to the masters of destruction definition of sorcerers. Planar Banishment would send a creature to another plane, never to be seen again, akin to the 717 ?run into the distance? effect. However, for the spell (at 40 mana) to be preferential to 717, or outright killing the creature, it would need to be almost impossible to resist regardless of level. This presents a problem as it is highly unbalanced to design a spell that is impossible to resist. So my twist on this was that banishing a creature would provide no experience. It is not at all problematic releasing a spell that is impossible to resist if one garners no exp for doing it.
Basically, the spell could be used to get the sorcerer out of a jam with almost no chance of failure. Additionally, it would provide sorcerers a means to feel useful in invasions, because the CS/TD system is much more difficult to overcome than the AS/DS system. In an invasion, as a bolter/swinger, even if you are significantly younger than the invaders, if you can survive the onslaught it is likely you can do damage to the invading creatures because the older players doing battle will injure/stun/prone creatures (which will lower their DS) that you can then help with dispatching. This is not true for the CS/TD system. It also was not a huge concern for ruining invasions because using the spell would give the appearance of accomplishing something but in reality would do very little. A GM that encounters a sorcerer dispatching his masses of creatures in this manner can easily, and quickly, just release more creatures. So if a sorcerer uses 740 on 20 creatures he can't normally touch, the GM will just release 20 more. Mana runs out much quicker than creatures, so the net effect on invasions would be 0. A major concern, and one that Khaladon, brought up is sorcerers using this to dispatch boss creatures in invasions. This was a big issue for is but we decided to resolve this by allowing GMs an easy real-time modification to creatures, to be used expressely for boss creatures and main protagonist invaders, to prevent them from being banished.
The proposal, from a balance perspective, was acceptable. However, it didn't get approved because a level 40 spell that provides no exp and effectively does absolutely nothing isn't very useful. The response I got from most GMs who I tossed around the idea with was, ?Why??
Oh well.
Nilven
Jan. 25, 2006
Topic: Developer's Corner - Sorcerers (28)
Message #: 3124
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: January 25, 2006 at 19:01:49 CST
Subject: Re: 740: Offensive Version?
Demonology training will not be reducing the cost. It'll bring up the failure rate from a base 10% down to 0. In that sense it reduces expected cost.
Nilven
Feb. 26, 2006
Topic: Sorcerer Spells (21)
Message #: 2749
Author: GS4-NILVEN
Date: February 26, 2006 at 23:40:54 CST
Subject: Re: Where'd it go?
Any day now. It's been held up in QC. We've revamped failures slightly to make them more "interesting." We've also changed the cost to use the spell on interrealm basis in Platinum to 2k per use versus the 50k in Prime.
Nilven