Adobe PDF Format - Why I Believe the Gaming Industry is a Good Fit

Transcription

(734) 536-7558 • Michael Patino’s Gaming Portfolio • [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. 2
DEVELOPMENT ...........................................................................................5
Development Highlights............................................................................................ 5
Hobby Experience ..................................................................................................... 5
Essays on Development ............................................................................................. 5
Design Concepts ........................................................................................................5
Design Docs...............................................................................................................6
Interest Groups/Associations....................................................................................6
Development Philosophy...........................................................................................6
The Future of MMOGs... what's next?........................................................................ 7
FPS Mods ............................................................................................................................................7
CRPG Mods.........................................................................................................................................7
RTS Mods........................................................................................................................................... 8
Scenario Example .............................................................................................................................. 8
RPing, MMORPGs, and my view of their Evolution ..................................................11
Monster Deeds ........................................................................................................ 15
Unique Item Names..................................................................................................17
Dynamic Spawns ..................................................................................................... 19
PvP and UO ............................................................................................................. 21
1. Magic Resistance...........................................................................................................................21
2. Special Moves & New Weapons .................................................................................................. 22
3. Spell Damage ............................................................................................................................... 23
4. Necromancy & Chivalry .............................................................................................................. 23
5. Factions........................................................................................................................................ 24
6. Current State of PvP .................................................................................................................... 24
7. Guild Warfare .............................................................................................................................. 25
8. Order vs. Chaos ........................................................................................................................... 26
9. Dueling......................................................................................................................................... 27
KAIMA MMORPG CONCEPT ..................................................................... 28
Introduction............................................................................................................29
The World of Dreams ..............................................................................................29
Kaima ............................................................................................................................................... 30
Dream Ether .................................................................................................................................... 30
Items .................................................................................................................................................31
Public & Private Areas......................................................................................................................31
Timeline ............................................................................................................................................31
Death .................................................................................................................................................31
Player Characters .................................................................................................... 32
Dream Shifting ................................................................................................................................ 32
Skills ................................................................................................................................................. 32
Languages ........................................................................................................................................ 33
Avatar Customization...................................................................................................................... 33
Items ................................................................................................................................................ 33
Race Shifting.................................................................................................................................... 33
Dream Perceptions .......................................................................................................................... 34
Gameplay ................................................................................................................ 35
Adventuring ..................................................................................................................................... 35
Dynamic Spawns ............................................................................................................................. 35
Establishing Player Housing & Settlements .................................................................................. 36
Online portfolio: www.gamingcv.info
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Expanding a Stronghold.................................................................................................................. 36
Town Residences ............................................................................................................................. 37
Housing Functions .......................................................................................................................... 37
Questing ........................................................................................................................................... 38
Guilds/Towns/Communities .......................................................................................................... 38
Player vs Player Combat.................................................................................................................. 39
Crafting ............................................................................................................................................ 39
Vendors/Selling ............................................................................................................................... 39
Exploring.......................................................................................................................................... 40
Private Dream Areas .......................................................................................................................40
Community Tools .................................................................................................... 41
Guild/Community/Town Website...................................................................................................41
Starting Town Options .....................................................................................................................41
Website AND In Game: Shard Based Map......................................................................................41
Website : Intelligent Permissions....................................................................................................41
Website : Character Building ...........................................................................................................41
Website : Customizable Layout/Banner ........................................................................................ 42
Website : Message Boards............................................................................................................... 42
Website : Guild Chat........................................................................................................................ 42
Website : Event Calendar................................................................................................................ 42
Website : Rosters............................................................................................................................. 42
Website: Map of Stronghold Location............................................................................................ 42
Website : Rankings.......................................................................................................................... 43
Website : Screenshots ..................................................................................................................... 43
Website : Personal Pages ................................................................................................................ 43
Vendor Auctions .............................................................................................................................. 43
Shard/Server News ......................................................................................................................... 43
Constant Contests............................................................................................................................ 43
Customs & Cultures.................................................................................................44
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................44
ENCHANTMENT CRAFTING PROPOSAL ...................................................45
Summary................................................................................................................. 45
Why bother?............................................................................................................ 45
Storyline..................................................................................................................46
New Items ............................................................................................................... 47
Codex of Enchanting ....................................................................................................................... 47
Scrolls of Enchantment ................................................................................................................... 47
Power Scrolls of Enchantment ....................................................................................................... 48
How does it work? ...................................................................................................48
Enchanting an Item......................................................................................................................... 48
Botching an Enchantment .............................................................................................................. 49
Pre-Requisite Skills ......................................................................................................................... 49
Skill Bonuses.................................................................................................................................... 49
Profession Specific Items ................................................................................................................ 49
Skill Advancement...................................................................................................49
The Math of it All.....................................................................................................50
Base Enchantment %....................................................................................................................... 50
Difficulty Modifier ........................................................................................................................... 50
Ancient Bonus.................................................................................................................................. 50
Property Modifier ............................................................................................................................ 50
Success Rate..................................................................................................................................... 50
Power Charts........................................................................................................... 51
Magery Properties ............................................................................................................................51
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Melee Properties...............................................................................................................................51
Stat Adjustment................................................................................................................................51
Spell Effects ......................................................................................................................................51
Resistances....................................................................................................................................... 52
Miscellaneous Effects ...................................................................................................................... 52
Examples................................................................................................................. 53
Test Source Items ............................................................................................................................ 53
Test Desired Items........................................................................................................................... 53
Test Enchanters ............................................................................................................................... 54
1. Adept Enchanter .......................................................................................................................... 54
2. Master Enchanter ........................................................................................................................ 55
3. Grandmaster Enchanter.............................................................................................................. 56
4. Elder Enchanter............................................................................................................................57
5. Legendary Enchanter .................................................................................................................. 59
ENHANCING BARDING ............................................................................ 62
Bardic Circles ..........................................................................................................62
Bardic Circle Bonus ......................................................................................................................... 62
Bardic Circle Chart .......................................................................................................................... 62
Circle Drawbacks ............................................................................................................................. 63
Creating a Bardic Circle................................................................................................................... 63
New Artifacts to Enhance Barding Abilities.............................................................64
War Drums ...................................................................................................................................... 64
The Heart of Battle .......................................................................................................................... 64
Felucca’s Tears................................................................................................................................. 65
Firehorn ........................................................................................................................................... 66
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................66
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DEVELOPMENT
Development Highlights
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12 years experience playing MMOGs, and 28 years playing Video Games
Vocal proponent of community development
Hobby level skills in scripting for various games
Extensive experience in simplifying complex work flows in web-based applications
Deep understanding of user objectives, user scenarios, key product strategy, point of
differentiation, usability principles, web applications framework, and the development of a
product road map
Expert understanding of methods for designing easy-to-use interfaces, including user and task
analysis, information architecture, interface design, heuristic evaluation, and usability testing
Strong communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills working within cross-functional
teams
Hobby Experience
Throughout my time as a community activist, I was a constant advocate for the development of
community specific features. I have dabbled with Torque, Ogre, NWN, and various FPS applications
over the years, in an attempt to better understand the development process. Though I would
hesitate to classify myself as a mapper or level designer, I believe that my skills are strong enough to
handle most basic scripting needs.
Essays on Development
While I do not expect to be hired on as a Designer, I am very passionate about what I believe is the
future of MMOGs, and have written extensively on the subject in various user groups, forums, and
email lists. Here are a few of the essays I have written:
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The Future of MMOGs... what's next? (click here for full details)
RPing, MMORPGs, and my view of their Evolution (click here for full details)
Design Concepts
These are stand alone concepts, either to enhance a specific area of game play or to add some
additional versatility.
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Monster Deeds (click here for full details)
Unique Item Names (click here for full details)
Dynamic Spawns (click here for full details)
PvP and UO (click here for full details)
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Design Docs
These are more complete proposals, the first a MMOG World concept I am puttering around with,
and the second a revision of crafting for UO.
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Kaima - MMORPG Concept (click here for full details)
Enchantment - Crafting Revision (click here for full details)
Enhanced Barding (click here for full details)
Interest Groups/Associations
As an advocate of community-centric development, I have been an active participant in several
online development communities, including the now defunct MUD-Dev List. Here are a few of the
forums, newsgroups, and email lists that I frequent:
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Mud Dev 2 List (web link)
Mud Dev List - now defunct, archive only (web link)
DIGRA - Digital Games Research Association (web link)
eludamos - Journal for Computer Game Culture (web link)
Eternal Gamer (web link)
Sirlin - Game Design, Psychology, Flow, and Mastery (web link)
Game Research - The Art, Business, and Science of Video Games (web link)
Games * Design * Art * Culture (web link)
Games and Culture (web link)
Digiplay Initiative - Understanding Digital Games (web link)
Game Studies - International Journal of Computer Game Research (web link)
Joystick 101 (web link)
Loading... (web link)
Terra Nova - Virtual Worlds Blog (web link)
Ludologist (web link)
Development Philosophy
I am well versed in game theory, especially in how it relates to the MMOG genre. I am familiar with
the application of Agile Software Development, Lean Software Development, Rapid Application
Development, Continuous Integration Development, Scrum Sessions, and Extreme Programming,
on a both theoretical and practical scale.
Though I do not believe I have the skills to become a Game Designer (yet), I am confident that my
experience and knowledge would be a valuable asset in scrum sessions and general round table
discussions. I believe that with the right guidance and instruction that my knowledge of game
development could be taken from the theoretical to the practical, and I am very excited to see that
happen. To quote Ken Levine, "A great idea is meaningless. A great idea that leverages your existing
technology, gets the team excited, is feasible to do on time and budget, is commercially competitive,
and, last but not least, floats the boat of a major publisher... Now you have something."
I know I have some decent ideas, now I just the experience, team, and technology to make them
feasible. Perhaps I will find those with your studio.
- Return to the Table of Contents
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The Future of MMOGs... what's next?
As an avid gamer and fan site reporter in the MMOG industry, I made my way to the 2002 E3
Convention to check out the next generation of MMOGs for myself... and I must admit, I was pretty
disappointed. Now that is not to say that the new MMOGs aren't beautiful, the advancements in
graphic and online bandwidth have allowed Developers to create richer and more beautiful worlds
with a striking level of detail... but there was something most definitely lacking. I couldn't quite
place my finger on it until Joshua Rowan (of UO Stratics) said something along lines of "there are
lots of evolutionary things here, but nothing really revolutionary."
Bam. Nailed on the head.
Basically, it seems that MMOGs are simply treading water with the current "mind set" behind
MMOG development. Sure, some have bells and whistles that others do not, but there has been
nothing that has truly pushed the envelope of what a MMOG is for some time. So I sat down and
began to think, what IS the future of MMOGs? Once we have reached the level where unique
character customization and development has hit as close to perfect as the industry can achieve
(which I believe is very close) where will we go from there?
People play MMOGs in particular for one main reason... to interact with other people. Of course, the
guiding motivations of these players is quite diverse, ranging from competitive sport, socialization,
a feeling of belonging, and even malicious intent behind an anonymous mask! Yet the one unique
bond that encompasses all players, be they PvPers or RPers, Socializers or Explorers, is the fact that
they have chosen to do so in a world where dynamic content is created via the very foundation of
the players themselves. Therefore, once players have achieved the ability to customize their
characters to their heart's content, does it not hold that they will seek to then personalize the world
around them?
We see this, to a degree, in current MMOGs. Quests, scenarios, plot lines... all attempts by the
developer houses to involve the players in the interactions that define those worlds. Yet they are
curtailed by their need to retain consistency within their world's history, fiction, development, and
background, ultimately resulting in interactions that always leave the players thirsting for more. So
where is the answer to this dilemma? Let's take a look at some of the existing gaming genres that
offer the ability for players to modify the very worlds they interact in:
FPS Mods
In the First Person Shooter genre, player crafted mods are a valuable asset. They allow players with
the skill, motivation, and creativity to expand the boundaries of what players can interact with. In
many games, player expansions have been so successful that they have spawned their own minigames within the greater rule-set. Even though the underlying structure of the game remains
consistent, the actual graphics, items, characters and even game-play can vary drastically. This
depth of creative customization has given the genre the ability to grow beyond the industry's
budget-based barriers, with the players themselves pushing the envelope on drafting new ways to
play, and new ideas that are implemented along their own schedule, without the restraints of a
development house's priorities and schedules.
CRPG Mods
Computer based Role Playing Games have jumped on the mod wagon as well, with titles such as
Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege, and Morrowind all allowing players to build the world around
them, and share it with others. In many ways, this is a foretelling of what I believe the future of
MMOGs holds. The basic principle upon which these games are built relies on players to craft new
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content to keep them interesting and dynamic. In fact, one of the NWN developers even stated in a
recent press release that they fully expect the players to build better adventures then the ones they
have included within the game's original content. This genre, with the unique ability to not only
create new superficial content, but actual stories, holds the most promise for what I believe MMOGs
could grow to achieve.
RTS Mods
Some Real Time Strategy games also allow the ability for players to craft their own modules, thus
providing new experiences for them to conquer and dominate in. New units, geographical land
masses, fortifications... they all add to help create a more compelling world that changes at the
needs and potential of the players who invest in them.
All of these genres began as static as the MMOG world is currently. They crafted games with frozen
content, and to expand their worlds a new title was released. Yet there was no true continuity, a
hallmark of the MMOG genre, allowing players to grow and expand WITH those new modules by
retaining their existing characters/armies/etc. I remember the old TSR/SSI boxed set of AD&D
CRPGs, which was one of the first games that allowed players to move their characters from game to
game... growing as the story line progressed through multiple titles. It was only logical that this step
would lead to the creation of tools where players could not only keep their characters alive, but
create the worlds in which they adventure. I believe the next step of MMOGs follows this same
pattern, by allowing players to build and create pieces of the worlds around them, and SHARE them
with others within the Massive Multi player environment.
Of course, this path does have its pitfalls. As I mentioned previously, MMOGs do have a vested
interest in keeping control of the fiction their world creates. If players decide to warp and influence
the world, say by creating a "Star Wars Rebellion Facility" within a Fantasy genre game world, then
of course it will dilute the effective influence of that world fiction. Yet these are not insurmountable
goals... they simply require the forethought to create these "World Building Tools" with these issues
in mind. The easiest path to this goal, in my opinion, is to keep each player created world-set local
only to the communities that build them. Let me give an example of how I see the interface being
used, in generic terms that should apply to any game.
Scenario Example
A guild in a MMOG decides they wish to host a quest/event. Their guild leader activates a feature on
whatever his guild interface is to "buy" a scenario section for 10 days. Now "buy" is a loose term,
and could be either for real cash (with the cost added to his account subscription for that month) or
in game assets, as a permanent gold sink. Once he has purchased the account, he sets who has the
ability to influence this scenario setting, choosing from his existing guild-mates. The Editor's
accounts/characters are then flagged and are allowed to enter and modify the scenario setting via
their guild interface (be it a guild stone, command, or whatever.)
The scenario setting is located on a separate server from the normal game, and is inaccessible by
normal means. All players flagged as Editors enter the setting area (via guild menu or command) in
Edit mode, with functions equal to what the Dungeon Siege and NWN: Aurora editor tools offer for
customizing the area and creating specialized items/NPCs. The main key here is to allow a huge
selection of options, but to keep them limited to the genre upon which the game is based. The full
capabilities of each scenario setting are dependent on what "level" of service was originally
purchased by the leader of the guild, thus allowing communities to create everything from
specialized one evening encounters to month long quests. Once there, they "build" the world, or
choose from pre-existing sets, placing monsters and NPCs for their community to interact with, as
well as setting out items and unique points of interest throughout the scenario setting.
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After building the setting and populating it, the Editors activate a feature allowing them to set
"portals" into the world. Then they re-enter into the normal game world and place the opposite side
of those portals in various areas throughout the world. These portals are clearly visible to everyone
in their community/guild, but completely invisible and undetectable by anyone else. From the point
when these items are placed, they can be toggled on or off by any Editor, allowing passage for
regular (non-Editors) within their community to participate within the worlds that they have
created. When the term purchased by the guild leader expires, an option to save or extend the
setting will be displayed the next time they log in... again, with additional fees attached.
This model allows the creation of new content within a local setting, but even more importantly, it is
a self-policing model. Giving players the ability to create monsters could very easily lead into a
situation where a player with less then honorable intentions creates death traps. However, by
making these features limited to only the communities that build them, you prevent that abuse from
becoming an issue. A guild that had a player who built such death traps would quickly either lose its
members, or get rid of the offending player. Thus, the potential for exploit is removed by making
each community responsible to themselves for the content they have built. Even more importantly,
it shares the responsibility of keeping players entertained with the players, not just the developers,
thus providing a more satisfying experience simply by the selfish nature of the players involved. If
they want the content, they can build it... or they can join a guild that builds it for them.
This does somewhat limit the ability for new players to get involved in community based
quests/adventures/hunts, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Promotion and encouragement of
group related activity via this sort of method is prime example of how MMOGs can stimulate
community interactions and promote additional methods for their expansion. I would fully expect
numerous meta-communities to develop specifically for special event creation.
This is, of course, just one example of how such a setting could be created, yet with it one of the
most daunting limitations of MMOGs are surpassed, and the creative freedom of its players are set
loose to truly build. By limiting their influence to local communities they not only prevent mass
dilution of the game world's fictional content, but they also reinforce the draw of creative
communities to attract and keep player members interested and excited in their game... and thus,
the subscriptions that keep a MMOG running. The specifics on how this is integrated into a game
system are really immaterial, as long as it retains culpability via local community development.
Ideally, I would love to see the ability for cross community alliances to even allow
guilds/communities to "share" quests with each other. Particularly exceptional player modules
could even be submitted to the game developers and incorporated into the Editor tools as one of the
options, thus allowing players to help in the growth of the game world, as well as have an influence
that could truly make their efforts immortal. The possibilities are truly endless.
Of course, there are other revolutions that are on the crest for tomorrow's MMOGs as well.
Everquest Legends broke one of the first barriers in creating a personalized "character" web site for
each of their members, with customizable content allowing them to show their equipment, stats,
and locations. But I believe the next generation of MMOGs will take this one step further, by
allowing communities to create "fill in the blank" web sites for their guilds and towns, with
integrated news syndicates run by the developers themselves to make certain that new information
regarding the game is published universally. Furthermore, a locally integrated communications
network could very easily allow the creation of meta-communities for all the guilds on one server,
categorizing them together with common resources and contact methods, and thus enforcing the
community wide network not only via local communities, but on a more universal level.
Basically, it all boils down to community. The current MMOG industry stresses individualized
creativity in their gaming worlds, but has not yet seen the greater light of enhanced community
interaction, and even more importantly, community world development. Players do not only wish
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to just "live the life" of their characters, they want to be the heroes of the lands. They want to tell
their stories, and see the visible affect those stories have on the world around them. The 4th
generation of MMOGs, if they truly wish to be the revolutionary advance that Joshua and I were
speaking of, will embrace this concept and bring it to life. And I, for one, will be there creating away.
One of the responses on the MUD-Dev list from Raph Koster (original Lead Designer of
UO):
This was the topic of a panel at GDC this year. My answers were:
no, the next batch of games will not be revolutionary
yes, the next revolution will likely be user content
and it's probably five years away, really
(Gordon Walton of EA replied with, "stop depressing me and everyone here!")
I should note, it has been about 5 years since I wrote this. hah.
- Return to the Selected Section Essays on Development | Development Section
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RPing, MMORPGs, and my view of their Evolution
NOTE: This is a letter I posted on another MMORPG forum, that I thought directly applied to UO
as well. I attempted to clean it up to remove any references to the original thread it was crafted
for, but I might have missed something. It's late, I'm tired. *grins*
Let's set a foundation on exactly what I am attempting to discuss regarding Role-playing in
MMORPGs:
1. What are the different types of Role-playing currently embraced in MMORPGs?
2. How can we bring new types of Role-playing to the MMORPG genre?
3. How can we encourage Role-playing in such a fashion that it does not lead to abuse?
So let us take these in order.
1. What are the different types of Role-playing currently embraced in
MMORPGs?
We see three types of Role-playing in widespread use in the MMORPG genre (in my opinion).
A. Personal Role-playing - The development and personalization of one's character.
B. World Set Role-playing - The interactions and growth of a character as it relates to
world level events/scenarios, generally administered directly by the Development Team.
C. Group Role-playing - The evolution of a character within a closed community, be it a
guild/fellowship/party or some other mechanism.
Now all three of these interlap, but I think it is important to take a look at how the current
MMORPG Development Community allocates resources for each of them, and thus give us a better
idea of both what they consider priorities, and where there failings are.
In almost every case, HEAVY personalization of one's avatar/character is stressed as one of the
major selling advantages in this genre. This is only logical, as we don't like playing clones of each
other, and most players have an innate desire to be unique. But this is literally skin deep... apart
from clothing/equipment/facial sets, all we are really seeing is masked polygons. So do MMORPG
developers give us advanced customization beyond the superficial? Yes, to a degree, in the
archetypes, skills, or professions we choose. Some MMORPGs allow even greater expansion on this
model, by allowing you to "freeform" the design of your skill sets, literally creating your own,
specialized archetype.
Of course, this still leaves it up to the character to define their background history and other
intangibles, but this is something that I believe SHOULD be in the player's hand, so that is not
necessarily a bad thing. Could it be done better? Of course, but I think Development Houses are
already quite aware of the importance of this category and allocate considerable development time
to it's growth. One tangible aspect I would like to see developed more in MMORPGs is to make a
character's background history a more integral aspect of their "persona". In Dark Age of Camelot
and ShadowBane (and to a limited extent, the upcoming release of Star War's Galaxies), your race
and starting "kingdoms" have a very obvious effect on how you play the game. In some places, you
are shunned, in some hunted, and in others welcome. This is a very deep and immersive aspect of
their world sets, creating an identity bond between the player's character and other character's of
similar type, and that is something I would like to see explored more beyond the "race" issue.
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Why not have starting towns for all players? Places they call home where the NACs/NPCs recognize
them by name, give them discounts... and even perhaps offer specialized content/quests for their
"home town heroes". Why expend the effort for this? To bring people BACK to specialized places...
let them literally set roots within the township and let those static, empty NPCs and buildings take
on a community meeting area for players who have a similar background. If you encourage players
to continually return to these places, it is bound that they will meet up with others and form bonds
of friendship/community/fellowships that further emphasize on the GEOGRAPHICAL home base
they chose when they created their character.
On the other hand, I think it would be even better if you could literally move. Are you spending all
your time in new city ____? Then after X amount of time the NPCs in that city begin treating you as
one of their own... and when you return to your old city, you get the "where have you been?" script
set.
But beyond even this level of immersing your players into the geography of your world, I think it is
important to reward and encourage the development of their own communities with similar
systems... but I will cover that in point C "Group Role-playing".
The next category of currently embraced Role-playing is "world set", or ongoing world wide fiction
run and maintained by the Development Team. This is the Fiction that EVERYONE wants to be a
part of, but only a small portion generally feel they did much of account with. It is notoriously costly
in both manpower and development time, and despite all the effort expended there is always a
portion of the player base that ends up crying foul.. "What? When did that happen?!? No fair, I want
to save the world!"
In this scenario, I believe that the consolidated efforts of the MMORPG Development Community
have striven long and hard to find some balance. We have AC & AC2 epic story lines, utilizing
various levels of rather static quests and interactive Epic RP. We have Ultima Online's extinct Seer
system, and currently on hiatus Scenario Team, attempting to add interactive content and "quests"
to satisfy the player need for entertainment. DAoC, E&B, the list goes on and on with different
ideas, and generally... lackluster results.
The simple truth is, massive games do not lend themselves to massive quests/fiction. Now I DO
think that these are valuable additions to the community, and by all means PLEASE keep using
them to explain new introductions of classes/skills/land masses/whatever. They are a needed
aspect of developing the fictional consistency of the world, and setting the "stage" for all sorts of
things. But from a pure entertainment view, in attempting to directly touch as many players as
possible and let THEM feel like the heroes/villains, they fall significantly short of the mark. There
simply isn't a way for a handful of developers to offer true dynamic content to ten's of thousands of
players on a regular basis. It isn't economically or statistically feasible, or if it is, it is beyond my
humble imagination (though please enlighten me!)
And that brings us to type 3 of the currently enabled MMORPG Role-playing choices. Group Roleplaying. This is the RP guilds/communities, be they an Elven Town amidst the woods or a Vampire
Conclave deep in the Crypts. Here, this is where things start to get really interesting. This is where
epic quests where the players have a chance to MATTER become a reality, where battles are about
saving your town, not trying to find the next uber-l33t quest item.
And yet for all the potential this category holds, it is the LEAST enabled of them all. Sure, players
can generally participate in battles amongst each other, so combat merit and duress is always an
option. But how many of you remember the wonder you felt in pen and paper games as the
Dungeon Master revealed a new type of monster? Or item? Or a spooky
city/castle/dungeons/whatever? This is the category that holds the greatest potential in the
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MMORPG genre, though it is yet untapped. This is the genre where players grow from simply living
a story, to TELLING one.
Games like NWN have begun to expand on this with remarkable success, and I think it is no
coincidence that a significant percentage of MMORPG RPers play NWN regularly. In that world,
they ARE enabled to create the stories they are dying to tell, and the result is hundred's of
thousands of modules.... each of them with their own entertainment potential. But NWN lacks one
thing which MMORPGs have in spades... a massive populace of players.
Let's move on to the other two "important questions" I mentioned.
2. How can we bring new types of Role-playing to the MMORPG genre?
The key, in my opinion, is not allowing players to "rate" Role-playing merit, but rather in building
systems that ENCOURAGE Role-playing. The ability for players to create quests, program NPCs,
develop and own townships, be creative in new and fabulous ways with the way they decorate the
houses/characters... all of these lead to MORE Role-playing by building systems that promote it for
it's own sake. Let's look at the dinosaur of MMORPGs, Ultima Online. I have been playing UO non
stop for almost 6 years now, and in all that time I would say there is only ONE thing still holding the
doors open. COMMUNITY. Now most MMORPGs have some form of guild/fellowship option, but
UO has one aspect that most other's do not... houses. Lots of houses, and most everyone has one.
Sure, other MMORPGs have added housing as an option as well, but never with variety and
customization offered by UO (which is ironic, really.. I've never quite figured that one out), though
SWG is moving towards the same model (understandable, really, since Raph Koster, the current
Producer for SWG, had the vision that brought it all together for UO in the first place). In UO, when
you walk into your "guilds" house, you can usually tell by the decorations and choices of layout
exactly what sort of guild they are. With the new customizable housing recently released in the UO
Age of Shadows expansion, that capability has increased ten fold. In one of the communities I am
involved with, an Elven town, it is impossible to look at the area and not see the "theme"... the overwhelming stamp of community ownership and influence. And that, my friends, is what we call
MMORPG immortality, which is something most guilds strive for in one way or another.
But beyond that, we need to encourage new systems to allow players to TELL their stories, as I
mentioned in my quoted article. We need to encourage players to be Dungeon Master's again, and
in doing so entertain their communities without continual effort expended by the Development
Houses in the name of "entertaining the masses". And in so doing, it would open the door to an
entirely new pursuit of community level game play, thus further adding to both subscriptions AND
building their longevity as new content is continually introduced... by their own guild mates.
Basically, I want to see tools put into place that allow players to BE better Role-players.
OK, on to my last question.
3. How can we encourage Role-playing in such a fashion that it does not
lead to abuse?
This is, in my opinion, one of the paranoid dead horses of the MMORPG Development Community.
From my experience, Role-players tend to... eventually... find each other. And when one of them
turns out to be a griefer, the action is swift and deadly. Simply put, craft your "Role-playing Tools"
to be attached at the hip to each community using them, and THEY will police THEMSELVES. If a
guild pops up that is being abusive, they will be ostracized by the rest of the RP Communities. I have
seen it happen dozens of times, and likely will see hundred more.
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Now this does rely on the assumption that those tools added to encourage Role-playing are centered
on community level interactions. There are some who prefer to RP loners... but generally even they
seem to hover around the edges of OTHER communities. Lets face it, RPing by yourself is just
writing a story, and if we wanted to do that we would be playing a Single player game, not a
MMORPG.
In other words, don't worry about it. The players will handle it themselves, IF you build the tools
that keep such content on a community level.
- Return to the Selected Section Essays on Development | Development Section
Page 14 of 66
Monster Deeds
Everyone has always wanted to play a monster, or use one for a quest. Well what if you could? Even
if just limited to be able to negatively affect your guild, can you imagine the level of fun it would
inspire? Take a look at my proposal and tell me what you think:
Specifications:
1.
Monster deeds can only be purchased by a guild master, from the guild stone menu.
a. A new option will be placed in the GM menu, "Purchase Monster Deed"
b. Using this option will bring up a new menu, with 4 main options: Lesser, Standard,
Greater and Exceptional.
2. Click on each of these will bring up a sub menu with the following monster types:
a. Monster Types: Lesser - Cost: 10k
i. Orc
ii. Lizard Man
iii. Rat Man
iv. Brigand
v. Shade
vi. Wraith
vii. Ghost
viii. Zombie
ix. Savage
x. Mongbat Camp (5 Mongbats, 1 mongbat)
xi. Headless Camp (5 Headless, 1 headless)
b. Monster Types: Standard - Cost: 25k
i. Evil mage
ii. Orc Mage
iii. Elemental
iv. Gargoyle
v. Liche
vi. Troll
vii. Terethan Warrior
viii. Ophidian Warrior
ix. Savage Shaman
x. Orc Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Orcs, 1 Orc Lord)
xi. Savage Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Savages, 1 Savage Warrior)
xii. Lizard Man Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Lizard Men, 1 Lizard Shaman)
xiii. Rat Man Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Rat Men, 1 Rat Archer)
xiv. Brigand Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Brigands, 1 Brigand)
c. Monster Types: Greater - Cost: 50k
i. Drake
ii. Wyvern
iii. Titan
iv. Terethan Avenger
v. Terethan Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Terethan Warriors, 1 Greater Terethan Warrior)
vi. Ophidian Avenger
vii. Ophidian Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Ophidian Warriors, 1 Ophidian Warrior)
viii. Archmage
ix. Liche Camp: Lesser (3 - 5 Liche, 1 Liche)
x. Evil Mage Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Evil mages, 1 Evil Mage)
xi. Orc Camp: Greater (4 - 6 Orcs, 2 Orc Lords, 1 Orc Mage)
xii. Savage Camp: Greater (4 - 6 Savages, 2 Savage Warriors, 1 Savage Shaman)
xiii. Lizard Man Camp: Greater (8 - 10 Lizard Men, 1 Lizard Men Shaman)
xiv. Rat Man Camp: Greater (4 - 6 Rat Men, 2 Rat Archers, 1 Rat Mage)
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
xv. Brigand Camp: Greater (8 - 10 Brigands, 1Evil Mage)
d. Monster Types: Exceptional - Cost: 100k
i. Balron
ii. Dragon
iii. Liche Lord
iv. Kraken
v. Drake Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Drakes, 1 Drake)
vi. Wyvern Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Wyverns. 1 Wyvern)
vii. Titan Camp: Lesser (4 - 6 Titans, 1 Titan)
viii. Evil Mage Camp: Greater (6 - 8 Evil mages, 2 archmages, 1 Greater Deamon)
ix. Orc Camp: Swarm (12 - 16 Orcs, 6 Orc Lords, 4 Orc Mages, 1 Orc Captain)
x. Savage Camp: Swarm (12 -16 Savages, 2 Savage Warriors, 4 Savage Shaman, 1
Greater Savage Shaman)
xi. Lizard Man Camp: Swarm (16 - 20 Lizard Men, 6 Lizard Men Shaman, 1 Greater
Lizard Man Shaman)
xii. Rat Man Camp: Swarm (12 -16 Rat Men, 6 Rat Archers, 4 Rat Mage, 1 Rat Mage)
xiii. Brigand Camp: Swarm (12 - 16 Brigands, 6 Evil Mages, 2 Archmages, 1 Archmage)
Deed reads as "a deed for a Monster: type", where type is the Monster choice.
Monster deeds can be kept indefinitely until used.
Multiple Monster Deeds can be used at once, but then each monster leader will speak when the '
command is used.
Monster deeds appear as red hued money check.
Only the GM of the Guild that purchased the deed can use a Monster deed.
GM's are able, by using the ' command, to speak from the bolded monster leader. For example,
if a GM were to type 'Beware the black portal, the Monster would appear to have spoken the
words. Messages used in such manner are identical to group messages in that it cannot be seen
originating from the GM sender.
A GM can toggle the NPC monster's reactions between aggressive and non-aggressive by using
the following keywords. All keywords are invisible to players, and use the monster leader '
command first.
a. ‘ Name attack: The NPC's will insta-target the closest hostile player in range
b. ‘ Name peace: The NPC's will only respond defensively, and do not attack.
c. ‘ Name retreat: The NPC's will flee in a random direction, attacking only when
cornered.
j. All Monsters created via a Monster deed are considered guilded to the guild who purchased
them. They cannot attack anyone who is not green (guilded) or orange (guild enemy). Thus,
they CAN be used in both Trammel and Felucca, but can only affect the guild they were created
for.
Monster contracts can be used anywhere outside town limits.
a. A mount can be transferred to a monster leader if they are humanoid (Savages,
Brigands, & Mages), but they will not feed or do any upkeep on the mount after it is
given. Mercenaries automatically mount any steed transferred to them and stay
mounted until unhorsed or the steed goes wild.
With these deeds, it opens the door to a host of functionality. Guilds can make special "Guild
Hunts" and use the leader speaking commands to create interactive quests and story lines.
Roleplayers can use singled monster deeds to create speaking roles for Monsters, effectively
allowing them to play a liche, deamon, or creature like a puppet (though they could only harm those
in the same guild).
- Return to the Selected Section Design Concepts | Development Section
Page 16 of 66
Unique Item Names
Here is a quick and easy proposal, specifically oriented on crafters, but with fun possibilities for all
playing styles (though not much practical use for PvP). Currently, every item in the game is pretty
much identical, in name, to every other item. I suggest allowing GM Crafters to have a bit more fun
with the system, at the same time adding in a nice little gold sink. The basic premise is built on the
fact that MOST players would like to have their own "a evil viking sword of darkness" or "a mystical
shield of light", or some such. Here is a way that OSI could implement such a feature, and still
retain creative control to prevent abuses.
Implementation
An "item name change" deed. These deeds are sold at professional NPCs of all types, and cost
10,000 gold. They allow the addition of special name change features to be added to existing items
by GM crafter's for one item per deed.
Use
When a crafter uses an "item name change" deed a targeting cursor appears, allowing the crafter to
choose any item they can create (that they are GM in). After selecting the item, a gump appears with
the following:
Customize this Item
Select Prefix - ||drop down menu||
Name of Item - Fixed and Unchangeable
Select Suffix - ||drop down menu||
OK || Cancel
Hitting OK will cause a new gump to appear:
Confirm Selection
You have chosen to rename this item:
(Prefix) Item Name (Suffix)
Is this correct?
OK || Cancel
Choosing cancel, anywhere during the process, will close the gump and return the deed to the
crafter. Choosing OK on both screens will rename the item.
End Result
This would allow crafter to create unique items with special names... old "tags" would still be
attached, so "Crafted by (player's name)" would still appear below the item, but now it would sport
a brand new name for just that item. For example, lets say someone has a weapon constructed with
a shadow runic hammer, by a GM smith by the name of "Valtos", and chooses the "sorcerous" prefix
and the "of darkness" suffix, the new weapon would read as:
a sorcerous katana of darkness
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Crafted by Valtos
A crafter could choose to keep the exceptional title, if they desired, by selecting that as the Prefix for
the item. Let's look at another example, this one from a GM tinker by the name of "Lady Caramilla",
on a valorite star sapphire necklace (jeweled), with the "ornate" prefix and the "of roses" suffix:
an ornate star sapphire necklace of roses
And of course the possibilities are endless. All OSI would need to do is create a list of Suffix and
Prefix's that fit into their "acceptable" range, and then create gold sink item to actually implement
in the name changes.
Here are a few of my own suggestions:
Prefix:
sorcerous || mystical || magical || virtuous || powerful || evil || good || tainted || burnt || ornate ||
beautiful || hideous || ugly || beneficial || and so on...
Suffix:
of the damned || of the forsaken || of the forgotten || of the blessed || of the abyss || of evil || of
darkness || of damnation || of death || of sin || of power || of benevolence || of virtue || of Middle
Earth || of (insert name of all towns) || of (insert name of all dungeons) || of Sauron || and so on...
Think about, you could rename a set of deamon bone armor to:
a mystical deamon bone helmet of the forsaken
or WHATEVER... the choice would be up to you. And that is really what it is all about, isn't it?
- Return to the Selected Section Design Concepts | Development Section
Page 18 of 66
Dynamic Spawns
What if monster spawns were truly dynamic, growing and expanding unless countered by the
militant or political might of the player population?
Basically, I would like to see the creation of "Mega Spawn Bases" through out the lands, each of
which is capable of hosting a Mega Boss. Mega Bosses are the top of the ladder for each monster
species, and should require at least 40+ plus players working together to defeat. With that Mega
Boss will be a host of Bosses, Mini Bosses, and regular monsters of that variety, making their
"camp" one of the most deadly adventuring environments in the lands. The makeup and graphical
representation of each Spawn will vary drastically, from underground caverns, keeps, fortress',
bunkers, flying citadels, towers, and more, but the mechanics of their expansion will all work
identically.
After one week of survival (without the Mega Boss being killed), the "Mega Spawn Point" will spawn
a handful of "Super Spawn Bases" in a radius surrounding it. Super Spawns will be based on their
Mega Spawn point, with similar architecture and monsters, but will instead be overseen by a "Boss",
requiring the coordination of roughly a dozen players to take down. If that "Boss" is left alive for a
week, then the "Super Spawn Bases" will create a handful of "Spawn Bases" in a radius around it.
The new "Spawn Bases" will have a Mini Boss as their leader, which should require half a dozen
players to defeat. If THAT Mini Boss is left alive, then a new radius of "Outpost Bases" will be
created, which have no leader. The only way to stop a cycle completely is to kill the Mega Boss,
which will halt all expansion efforts but will not destroy lesser bases that have already been created.
Furthermore, if a Mega Boss, Boss, or Mini Boss monster survives for one month, they upgrade to
the next level of power. For Mega Bosses, they grow even more fierce and powerful (though their
strongholds all remain the same). Leaving an enemy sleeping nearby can truly be dangerous!
The intent is to create an environment that embraces the wild nature and chaotic nature of a world
under siege. Forces are always on the move, attempting to conquer more and more territory. When
the radius of these Spawned Bases crosses over an established community, town, or player
settlement, the fun really begins. The monsters will begin "sieging" the establishments, plaguing
their day to day activities until the players (at the very least) kill off the Bases in their immediate
area. The only way to be truly free of them is to group together a small army and attack the
controlling Mega Boss leader, thus halting their advance.
This would also be an excellent place for in game events to cross over into a more localized
community. Official GMs or Customer Relations staff could step in when a community is close to
winning, or losing, in one of these grand battles. They could buff up the spawn, take control of the
boss monsters and RP with the players, and in general make the event something special that the
entire community will remember for years to come.
Now the idea could be taken even further. What if it was possible to establish new
communities/homes by carving them out of the wilderness? In other words, what if a group of
players were to usurp one of these spawn bases and take it over as their own? The size of a potential
establishment could be based on the size of the Spawn base. Obviously, Mega Spawn bases will
allow players to establish the largest of player strongholds, and after they have held it for a time,
even place medium sized and smaller dwellings in the area surrounding it. Super spawns will allow
a large stronghold, with a radius of smaller establishments. Spawns will allow a Medium sized
stronghold, and Outposts will allow only a single small residence.
Ownership of a building is based on the players who defeated it. Mega Boss and Super strongholds
Page 19 of 66
can ONLY be owned by a Community or Guild, so the game engine calculates which guild did the
most cumulative damage in defeating the Boss monster and awards ownership to that
establishment. Anyone in the leadership hierarchy for that community (see guilds below) can access
the Housing functions (see below). When a stronghold is taken over, it is in the form of the original
enemy base. Players can hire player crafters to alter aspects of the architectural layout, but it will be
prohibitively expensive in Dream Ether, thus giving communities yet another reason to band
together and adventure to further customize their realms.
Furthermore, we could apply the same expansionist mentality to the player communities as well.
After possessing the area for 1 month of RL time, what if the community was then able to develop
one new establishment in the area immediately surrounding them, and another with each
consecutive month. The size of these establishments would be based on the size of the stronghold,
and they would still require the communities to purchase the services (or have their own) crafters to
actually create the establishments. Who gets to own these establishments is determined by the
community/guild leaders who run the stronghold, and they can only select from people who are
actually members of the said community.
So what happens if a group of players defeat a spawn, but nobody wants to claim their base? After a
Mega Boss has been defeated, if the stronghold is NOT taken over by a player community, he will
re-spawn in the same area in approximately one month, starting the cycle all over again. Once a
stronghold has been taken over by players, it will no longer spawn a Boss Monster, though
neighboring spawns might siege it if they are close enough!
- Return to the Selected Section Design Concepts | Development Section | Table of Contents
Page 20 of 66
PvP and UO
I would like to steal a few of your minutes to go over some of my concerns in AoS PvP. As I know,
you are all working on balancing out the situation for Publish 18, so I felt it would at least make ME
feel better to tell you of my concerns while you deal with the current situation. *grins* Quite a large
exodus of senior PvPers have been leaving Lake Superior, my main shard, and while Red vs. Blue
Yew Moongate fighting is still alive and well, I took it upon myself to interview about 20 of the
leaving players and find out what was making them leave, and what would bring them back. I also
interviewed several dozen current players, as well as participating myself, to get as firm a feel for the
pulse on what is developing in AoS PvP as possible, as well as what is unbalanced. This is the result
of my efforts, and I hope they are useful in your development plan. For organizational purposes, I
have divided this into sections, dealing with each specific area.
1. Magic Resistance
While I feel the need for MR in current PvP is still irreplaceable, a large percentage of PvPers feel
that this skill was nerfed with AoS. Considering it is by far the most difficult PvP skill to acquire,
they were quite annoyed at its seeming diminishment. The average PvPer has no desire to farm
magic items or hunt at all, and their inability to build high end resist suits without literally millions
in gold is a very serious hamper to their ability to continue playing. I read in the recent Ianstorm
chat of your current plan to allow Magic Resistance to set a minimum resist skill level, with the
figure given out at that time at 40 points at GM level. I did a bit of study with this, and I see some
potential problems, although I DO feel that this is most definitely the right track. Lets look at some
scenarios:
Dragon Scale Warrior Suit:
Non-Exceptional Black Dragon Scale Suit = 5 pieces with 65 total phy resist
Non-Exceptional Dull Copper Plate Gorget = 11 phy resist
Non-Exceptional Dull Copper Shield = 6 phy resist
Total Phy Resist = 82
Now take that suit, with 100 MR, and cast Magic Reflection. Suddenly the Warrior has resist scores
of 67/50/50/50/50. Here are more examples, with plate mail.
Plate Warrior Suit:
Dull Copper Plate Suit = 5 pieces at 55 total phy resist
Dull Copper Bascinet Helm = 13 phy resist
Dull Copper Shield = 6 phy resist
Total Phy Resist = 74 phy resist
With 100 MR, and Magic Reflection, that would give a resist suit of 59/50/50/50/50. Now the same
suit, assuming all pieces are exceptional with at least half their bonus in phy resist (+3%).
Exceptional Plate Warrior Suit:
Exceptional Dull Copper Plate Suit = 5 pieces at 60 total phy resist
Exceptional Dull Copper Bascinet Helm = 16 phy resist
Exceptional Dull Copper Shield = 9 phy resist
Again, with 100 MR, and Magic Reflection, giving a resist suit of 70/50/50/50/50.
Page 21 of 66
Now this is a GOOD thing, as it removes the need for magic item hunting to assemble a suit that will
allow a PvPer to competently compete in the AoS PvP environment. But lets take a look at the
closest comparable mage suit to see the problem:
Mage Suit:
Spined Leather Suit = 6 pieces with 42 total phy resist
Dull Copper Spell Channeling Shield = 7 physical resist
Thus allowing a 100 MR with Magic Reflection to have a suit at 34/50/50/50/50. Now lets assume
that the crafter ONLY took exceptional pieces with at least half the exceptional bonus in physical
(+3%):
Exceptional Mage Suit:
Spined Leather Suit = 6 pieces with 60 total phy resist
Dull Copper Spell Channeling Shield = 7 physical resist
Again, with 100 MR and Magic Reflection netting a resist suit of 52/50/50/50/50. I think you know
where I am going here, the new resist changes, as I understand them from the very little
information released so far, will unfairly weigh into the warriors armor aspects. They will be able to
build simple GM or even plain armor that nets them competitive armor resists, while mages will be
forced to still rely on magic item farming to be able to build comparable suits.
My suggestion would be to increase the physical protection offered by spined leather from 5 points
in physical, to 8. This would change the standard mage suit (non exceptional) to a total phy resist of
67, and the exceptional suit to a total resist of 85, allowing comparable suits to warriors at
52/50/50/50/50 and 70/50/50/50/50, respectively. Thus, the top end GM crafted mage and
warrior armors would be, generally speaking, comparable in the protection they offered for PvP
purposes... not to mention PvMing or anything else, although it would create a new demand for
spined leather. *grins* This would also balance out the benefit of your changes to Magic Resistance
for both warriors and mages equally, not giving any one template an unfair advantage in assembling
decent resist equipment.
2. Special Moves & New Weapons
I am sure this is already on your list, but double strike, especially with the double axe, is the new
gimp weapon of choice. It just does entirely too much damage. It seemed, from my tests and
interviews, that the second attack ALWAYS hit, doubling damage every single time. I would suggest
two things to balance out this situation.


Make the second attack have to roll to hit, just as the first. This would provide an element of
randomness AND defense into each potentially devastating attack. By the way the UO.com play
guide is written, this is what was supposed to have happened. But it isn't.
Set a maximum damage limit on every single weapon, to balance them out for devastating
single attacks. I would suggest 2.5 x unadjusted Maximum Damage, which would give a
maximum range of 23 (for a dagger) to 58 (for a halberd) thus removing the potential of the one
hit kill. Damage Modifiers would obviously still adjust the average damage done by a meleer,
and having full modifiers (STR, + Anatomy, + Tactics, + Lumberjacking, + Weapon: Damage
Increase, + Items: Damage Increase) would increase their overall damage potential greatly, but
they would not be able to kill in ONE hit, as they often do now. Double Axe strikes are
commonly seen at 80-100 pts of damage.
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
Also, there seems to be a problem with Lumberjacking not adding in its bonus with the double
strike. While this is a hardly a problem with the current out of proportion damage figures, if
they were moderated this should be fixed as well so that lumberjackers would see an increase in
average damage for their double strikes also.
Lances are a bit overpowered. With their ability to dismount PLUS damage potential, especially
with the best weapon skill, they are a favorite item of first attack. I am a bit at a loss as to how to
successfully balance this item, but I'll throw out a few thoughts.




Lances only dismount, and do zero damage.
Lances cannot have the use best weapon skill (if bows can't, to keep archery from being too
easily acquired, so to should lancing).
Using a lance slows the attacker's speed while mounted, and cannot even be used while on
foot.
Lances dismount % should be reduced.
3. Spell Damage
In the current PvP scenario, Spellcasters are severely hampered in their ability to drop any player
with high resists. Considering your current scenario in allowing Magic Resist to set a minimum
elemental resist skill, this issue takes even more importance then it does now. At 70 elemental
resist, I rarely take more then 20 points of damage from any one hit. Compared to the maximum
damage a melee attack can do against me (80-100+), again at 70 physical resist, this is grossly
disproportional. I would suggest the following to rectify this matter:


Decrease the resistance potential of 50-70 resist to allow spellcasters to at least come close to
30 points of damage, on the average, for offensive spells.
Increase the effectiveness of Spell Damage Increase Jewelry, in my opinion to 1-30%. Currently,
Spell Damage Increase items spawn with a minimum of 1% and a maximum of 12% in
effectiveness, thus meaning even the BEST Jewelry combination gives only +24% Spell Damage
Increase. Consider this when compared to warrior combat, where they have 1-25% Jewelry AND
1-50% Weapons, thus netting them a potential +100% in addition to their skill and STR
modifiers. It is no wonder that Warrior damage has far surpassed Spell damage for its "dump"
potential.
4. Necromancy & Chivalry
Currently, most players are at a loss as to what spells are affected by what resists. This is really for
everything, both regular mage spells as well as the new spells, but necromancy in particular is quite
confusing. I spoke with Sannio regarding this, and Kerowyn is looking into updating the playerguide
with all spells, and what they are resisted by (what element, etc). This is really an integral aspect of
developing proper PvP strategy, so it would help us players out quite a bit.
However, from what we do know, it seems like Necromancy powers are a bit stronger then they
should be. The gimp "combo" of choice these days is a Double Axe strike followed by Pain Spike,
which kills just about anybody. Pain Spike's MINIMUM of 30 points of damage, regardless of resist,
is a bit overpowered. I would suggest just dropping it to 20 points + (Spirit Speak - MR) / 10. The
low requirements in Pain Spike make it common for mages to take JUST enough Necro to utilize it
for the extra damage punch. Raising its skill requirement to a more substantial level would go a long
way to curing its unbalance as well.
Chivalry also has its unbalanced, as currently you can cast any area effect Chivalry spell
concurrently with any mage spell.
Page 23 of 66
5. Factions
Factions has a very nasty bug, though I am not sure how to create it. Right now there are quite a few
players riding bonded faction horses who are already dead. When killed, there is the bonded ghost
of the faction horse standing there. This in itself is bad, but even worse is the fact that these steeds
can be INSTANTLY remounted if their riders are dismounted by bola/lance/wand. Also, being able
to log out in any Faction Stronghold lets a thief log in and reset sigils while the rest are out there
fighting. That should be tweaked as well. Minax needs to have the holes fixed in its stronghold,
being able to gate blues in or run through a hole in the wall is a bit silly.
But regardless of bugs, the real problem is that there is no reason to fight in factions right now.
With Item insurance, Stat Blessed items are no longer a lure, and with Stat Loss still in place, there
is most definitely a drawback. There needs to be something to entice PvPers back into Faction play
beyond the current status rewards. I would suggest something along the following list:







Goal: Make being in a Faction a privilege PvPers want to do again, for their
own gain
Make Faction Vendors sell their wares ONLY to Faction members. This would not only stop
the flood of those players eBaying resources, but also allow Faction members a new strategy
in attacking Faction players who are there to purchase goods.
Add Leather and Necro Faction Vendors.
Have Faction Smiths/Tailors create armor/weapons with an additional bonus in their
resists/properties, thus funneling more people into joining factions to acquire better
weapons/armors. These items would, like all faction craftables, be unusable by non-Faction
players.
Goal: Add some special loot to Faction Playing.
Where most of Factions has always been about killing other players, not NPCs, there has
always been a part of PvM tagged in, be it in silver gathering or in Faction Guards. Give
Faction monsters an enhanced loot distribution, to further help the casual PvPer in their
accumulation of magical items particularly suited towards their trade. In fact, instead of
tying in quality loot on Faction monsters to luck, instead tie it into their Faction standing.
The higher ratings = a bonus proportional to higher luck in magical item's quantity and
quality.
Goal: Make being in Factions less annoying.
Allow pets to be ressable at any Healer Shop/Wandering Healer/Shrine. There are few
things more annoying then having a bonded horse you can't even res, because nobody
knows a Faction Tamer.
Dying to a Faction Monster in Trammel/Malas/Ilshenar will not put you into Stat Loss.
While in Trammel/Malas/Ilshenar (but only in Trammel/Malas/Ilshenar), Faction players
can be healed and ressed as per normal blues.
6. Current State of PvP
PvP is currently, at least on LS, revolving solely on the Yew Moongate in a Red vs. Blue conflict. The
under staffed Red's hide in their houses and launch attacks, and the Blues fight until they come
close to dying, and then run back into town. Guild wars are pretty much something only even
bothered with in Trammel and Malas, and Faction/Order/Chaos fighting is pretty much dead.
While there is nothing WRONG with Blue vs. Red fighting, it seems a shame that these other
systems are largely being ignored.
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Considering the new laws allow players to recall between facets, I don't particularly see why there is
any reason to keep Reds out of Fel towns now. Allowing them in without Guard attacks, and
applying the same rules to them that Blues deal with, where going criminal WILL provide a Guard
attack, would provide a needed balance to the current situation, and likely pull PvP out of the Yew
MG rut, as I call it. I still think Murderers should be ignored by NPCs, and unable to use NPC
shopkeepers or bankers, but otherwise allowing them full reign to chase down their prey seems only
fair.
On the other side, house hiding is still a pain in the arse. OSI has prevented players from being able
to "flee in the midst of battle" using spells, but not when using a house. With this one I am also at a
bit of a loss as to how correct the situation, but perhaps preventing players who are aggressor
flagged from entering a house would at least moderate the issue. It would allow fleeing victims to
seek safety, but not their aggressors, which does make sense.
While on aggressor flagging, death should end the flag. Being unable to even access a Moongate as a
ghost is a bit silly. The battle is over, you aren't really fleeing anymore. *chuckles‡
7. Guild Warfare
Even beyond the band aid of the Blue vs. Red issue, I feel that Guild battles need some overdue
attention. Specifically, Alliances. This is something that ALL PvPers, be they Trammy or Fel, have
been wanting for many years, and I have always wondered as to why it is so difficult to move into
place. Perhaps you can add some illumination in this matter? What exactly is the impediment
preventing Guild Alliances to simply view allied guilds as members of the same uber/meta guild? If
you WERE to implement it, I would love to see something along these lines:
Guildstone Option
War Guild
Target player
Ally Guild
Target player
Pop Up Gump (same for warring and allying)
Looting? yes/no
Blue Healing? yes/no
Stat Loss? yes/no
Scoring? yes/no
Capture the Flag? yes/no
Pop Up Gump for Capture the Flag
Target Flag Item
Receiving Guild master Pop Up
(when they touch their guild stone)
Accept War/Alliance? yes/no
-Conditions Looting Blue Healing
Stat Loss
Scoring
Capture the Flag
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Pop Up Gump for Capture the Flag
(receiving guild master)
Target Flag Item
Scoring is simple, let the uo.com guild page keep a record of players killed on each side of the
engagement. Instead of UO.com scoring "warring" guilds by how many guilds they are warred with,
it would instead use the kill ratios with a Faction like statistical page to show off their leetness.
Suddenly, warring another guild has meaning again.
Capture the Flag is simple as well, the "flag" item becomes something like a sigil, which cannot be
brought into a private house. All rules pertaining to carrying a sigil apply to carrying a flag. The goal
is simple, to capture the other guilds "flag" and return to your guild stone. Touching the guild stone
certifies as successfully retrieving the flag. This would give yet another active PvP pursuit to keep
everyone entertained.
As for the blue healing issue, I'd stop stressing on it and let the guilds themselves choose whether or
not to have it as an option. For some guilds, they will always select no, others will want the greater
freedom of selecting yes for Trammel/Malas situations... but either way you have empowered the
guilds to choose for themselves.
8. Order vs. Chaos
A possible alternative to coding an entirely new Alliance system (though I feel it would most
certainly be an effort well invested), would be to convert the Order vs. Chaos to a non-branded
system. Fictionally speaking, there is absolutely no reason for O/C to still even be around. But it
does allow a meta-guild opportunity for mass combat, without the bite of Stat Loss, which could be
quite a draw, if done properly. I would suggest using something like this system, expanding on the
current Order vs. Chaos system slightly, and creating something that would see a LOT more use.
Here is my suggestion:
Create a new item named a War Stone. Upon purchasing a war stone, it must be named, an
abbreviation chosen, and placed. Clicking on a War Stone gives only 4 options:
War Stone Options
War another War Stone? target player (who must be a member of another War Stone Guild)
Cancel a war? target player (who must be a member of another War Stone Guild)
Rename War Stone
Rename War Stone Abbreviation
Guild masters who click on the war stone will be prompted with the following:
Pop Up Gump for GMs
(receiving guild master)
Join this War Stone? yes/no
By accepting yes, their guild becomes a member of that War Stone. A new abbreviation will be
added to their overhead display, and their guild page will list that they are now a member of ___
War Stone.
That's it. Effectively, this is identical to Order vs. Chaos in all rules and warfare, but instead of being
branded with Order or Chaos, it allows the player to choose their OWN conflict titles. It could be
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used for Town Stones, multi guild battles, whatever. Suddenly, a system, which already exists, but is
woefully under-utilized, becomes some thing MUCH more desirable to every aspect of the PvP
world. If you wanted to take it even further, you could add yet another PvP statistic page to uo.com,
this one specifically oriented on tracking War Stones, though again I would suggesting using kill
counts in a Faction like system over simple numbers of guilds warring.
9. Dueling
With Item insurance you have instituted a mechanism to Duel another player, and not loose your
valued items. However, you have NOT created a system to encourage it. PvP is all about image, and
one of the best ways to beat your chest is to beat people in a fair duel. I would suggest implementing
a simple Dueling System, something like follows:
1. Dueler 1 issues a challenge by typing =challenge, and targeting a player.
2. Dueler 2 receives a message, similar to party accept messages. By typing =accept they enter
into a Duel. Ignoring the message auto =declines, again as per the party system.
3. Dueler 1 and Dueler 2 are now, too all coding purposes, temporarily in the same guild.
4. They fight, and whoever wins gets points added to their "Kill Score", as per Faction
calculations.
5. If ANY outside interference, as in aggressive or beneficial spells/aid is tendered to either
Dueler, the Duel is automatically canceled (with a message to that effect) and no kill points
are awarded. Since both players are in a new, temporary "guild", this should be easy to
control.
6. Similar to Faction statistics, top Duelers receive both unique titles AND their name on the
UO.com shard Top Duelers list.
Sweet and simple. Loot isn't a problem, insurance takes care of that. Suddenly, dueling other
players takes on a whole new meaning. If you wanted to, you can even start another shard wide PvP
tourney, similar to the one you ran ago, with the requirement that you had to be in the top 10
Dueling List to even compete.
- Return to the Selected Section Design Concepts | Development Section | Table of Contents
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KAIMA MMORPG CONCEPT
Introduction
The World of Dreams
 Kaima
 Dream Ether
 Items
 Public & Private Areas
 Timeline
 Death
Player Characters
 Dream Shifting
 Skills
 Languages
 Avatar Customization
 Items
 Race Shifting
 Dream Perceptions
Gameplay
 Adventuring
 Dynamic Spawns
 Establishing Player Housing &
Settlements
 Expanding a Stronghold
 Town Residences
 Housing Functions
 Questing
 Guilds/Towns/Communities
 Player vs. Player Combat
 Crafting
 Vendors/Selling
 Exploring
 Private Dream Areas
Community Tools
 Guild/Community/Town Website
 Starting Town Options
 Website AND In Game: Shard Based
Map
 Website : Intelligent Permissions
 Website : Character Building
 Website : Customizable Layout/Banner
 Website : Message Boards
 Website : Guild Chat
 Website : Event Calendar
 Website : Rosters
 Website: Map of Stronghold Location
 Website : Rankings
 Website : Screenshots
 Website : Personal Pages
 Vendor Auctions
 Shard News
 Constant Contests
Customs & Cultures
Conclusion
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Introduction
The night seems colder as you slip into bed, shadows dancing across your bedroom walls. The glow
from your computer, left on over night as you macro some obscure skill, seems to only intensify the
depths of blackness surrounding you. Slowly, you drift to sleep, thoughts of your online character's
exploits wandering through your consciousness.
Within your dreams, a black whirlpool appears… a deafening roaring filling your ears as you feel
yourself drawn forward. Spiraling into darkness, you find yourself lost and disoriented, nausea
ripping through your stomach as you feel yourself plummeting as if from a tremendous height.
Below you, the darkness spreads to reveal a wild and jagged landscape, with lights from as far as the
eye can see peppering the ground with signs of habitation. For long moments, you contemplate
those lights… some of which seem to be the work of man, and some of which seem far stranger,
residents of fantasy and dreams brought to visible life.
It is then that you recognize that this IS no dream, the experiences too real, the feelings too genuine,
the air too cold as you descend as if from the heavens. Terror flows through your body as you
recognize the ground growing ever closer, yet you cannot look away. As you peer against the
whistling wind to what must surely be your death, you notice that your fall is leading you directly
towards a figure lying upon the ground. A figure that looks exactly like…
Darkness. There is nothing but darkness. Opening your eyes, you peer forth at a landscape both
horrible and yet strangely familiar. That tree there, it looks exactly like the one that was behind your
childhood home… yet, different. Twisted somehow. You lift your body from the floor, looking down
at your hand. Yes, it is your hand, there is that scar from the skateboarding accident. Shivering a bit
in the evening cold, you stand, looking about you in a mixture of wonder and fear. A scream unlike
any you have ever heard roars through the evening, and you cringe in spite of yourself. In the
distance, you can see a light shining from over the trees. Wrapping your arms about your body, you
set off on your course… a course that leads you through the wonders, dangers, and mystery that is
Kaima. A course through the World of Dreams.
The World of Dreams
There are many worlds in the megaverse. Many people, many places, many possibilities. Yet all
come together in the World of Dreams, the crossroads where all paths pass. Sometimes, that
passing becomes rocky, and Dreams become more then Dreams, and it is there where the place
called "Kaima" resides. Where Dreamers from lands beyond count become trapped in a land that is
as variable as the imaginations of the Dreamers who inhabit it. And that is where our story lies.
Kaima is an unnatural place, yet it is bound by the laws of the universe in it's own ways. A cycle
exists, where worlds grow closer to Kaima's reach… and when that happens, Dreamers break
through the barrier in increased numbers. As our tale begins, Earth has just begun to walk that
cycle, and you, as a player, have been pulled from your world to it. A place where your Dreams ARE
reality, and nothing is quite as it seems. Where Dreamers from other worlds are as real as
breathing, and even your own body changes with passing of the Dream.
But Kaima's wonder is not simply it's own. Dozens of races, cultures, languages, alphabets,
societies, technologies, magics and more exist. All for the player to explore, destroy, learn, or
embrace… as they see fit. Everything that exists is part of the Dream, but only the Dreamers
themselves have a truly permanent existence. The items, the landscape, the buildings… all were
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born of images that lived within the Dreamers mind, and invested a form of semi-permanence by
their belief in them.
Kaima, a land of never ending conflict, endless possibilities, and absolute uncertainty.
Kaima
The world of Kaima is the megaverse melting pot. Creatures, societies, technology and magic all find
their way to it's strange stage. Right now, mainly humans are Dreaming their way into the world,
but for eons other races and cultures have done the same, and the newcomers will find themselves
hard pressed to mark a claim in harsh lands that surround them. Literally anything could exist here,
and at some time probably has, so there is no limit to the depth of content that could be imagined
up.
Due to the nature of the Dream, the land is as variable as the Dreamers themselves. Players will find
that owning a home in an area for a prolonged period of time will cause the land itself to morph to
match his own path, with that evolution accelerated if there are many in the area with similar
backgrounds. An evil character will find the grass dying, the trees withering and twisting, and eerie
music taking over the normal soundtrack. Should a player choose to Dream Shift into another
"race" type, then he will see that natural landscape for the environment of his abode changing to
that of his adopted people.
Technically speaking, would be done by having multiple tile sets for each item. For example:
Item: Bush
1: Normal
2: Crystal
3: Decayed
4: etc...
Depending on where the bush was, it would have a filter telling it what variable to attribute. So
although it is a bush, it could appear... and change (over pro-longed times)... to another graphical
shape. But it's still just a bush:#.
Dream Ether
Dream Ether is the by-product of the player's influence on the dream. Everything that IS Kaima is
composed of Dream Ether, and characters skilled in certain areas can harvest that Ether and use it
for their own purposes. Some players will learn to harvest it from the trees, plants, destroyed items,
and the surrounding environment. All players will be able to pull the Dream Ether out of
vanquished foes (both players and monsters). Other sources of Dream Ether will also be available,
and the longer one spends ACTUALLY online, the more Dream Ether they naturally accumulate
(though this is minimal compared to the other forms of harvesting Ether). Ether is used for reviving
one's character, manufacturing items, powering spells and weaponry, executing advanced combat
moves, creating housing, trading for currency, paying for apartment or town residences, and just
about everything else you can imagine.
In form, Dream Ether can vary drastically, but all Dreamers instinctively know if an item is shaped
or raw Dream Ether. In it's raw form, Dreamers will know it's "power level", but only a Dream
Shaper (crafter) or the owner can tell such in it's shaped manifestation. Some characters will even
possess the ability to take shaped Ether and unravel it down to raw Ether, destroying whatever item
was created out of it originally.
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Items
Items are just as variable. Crafters in Kaima will create items by literally building them out of their
own Dream Ether, though some cultures might require "tools" as catalysts for that creation. But just
as the players themselves change, items that are kept on a Dreamers person and used continuously
will also find themselves growing in power over time. It is entirely possible that a player could keep
a weapon from the early days of his campaigning in Kaima till he leaves, with its power matching
the player's progression as they grow together. On the same hand, if he were to leave that weapon in
his vault or home and not use it for a lengthy period of time, it would lose it's "gained" powers one
by one, and eventually disappear completely!
Public & Private Areas
There are basically two types of areas in Kaima, the public Dream (which everyone shares - the
public world as it is known) and Private Dreams (which require membership in an organization of
some sort to access). Private Dreams offer players a level of freedom in expressing their
communities, quests, battles, and interactions that has never been seen before in a MMORPG, and
we believe it will revolutionize the industry standard.
Timeline
The timeline of Kaima is really unlike that of any other game. Since ALL residents are Dreamers
from other worlds, cultures have combined to create something that is a slapped together rig of
their past societies. Swords & Sorcery reside next to Machina and "aliens", and since the nature of
the Dream allocates power to people on things based on their "time" spent within the world, they
are all comparable to one another. History of those cultures, as it existed before the Dreamers
appeared here, has been accumulated in some places… but most consider life before Dreaming
irrelevant. All that matters now is the Dream, and each cultures fight to carve a place for themselves
within it.
Death
Death does not exist in the Dream. When a player is "killed" they dot not lose skills or possessions,
but they must reform themselves out of the Dream Ether. A player can choose to reform for free at
their last bind point (normally located in towns, player communities, or housing), or instead to
reform at the site of their death (which costs in Dream Ether). The reasoning behind this is simple,
areas where the player has a stronger "Dream" connection are easier to rematerialize in, whereas
reforming yourself out in the field expends more energy, as the surroundings are unfamiliar.
The only way for one to TRULY die is to give up the desire to pursue the Dream, in which they
simply fade away (or cancel their accounts). What happens after that is unknown to residents of
Kaima, but most believe that they simply cease to exist. Entire cultures have, over the eons, faded
from existence, and with no one to support the buildings, literature, and items they created out of
the Dream, they too have eventually faded away. Occasionally, an artifact that was imbued with
tremendous power will be found from one of those past Dreamer Societies, but these are rare and
mysterious objects, with many dangers ascribed to their use (not the least of which is strange
mutations and Dream Shifts)! Everything changes in Kaima, nothing stays the same.
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Player Characters
You, are you. A human of whatever age you happen to be, knowing whatever you happen to know.
Your initial skill selections will be fields and technology that that is native to earth, set at a
moderate level that assumes you have completed some level of expertise on Earth. You are not a
"newbie" as most MMORPGs begin their players, but fully accomplished in whatever you choose
your "Real Life" profession to be.
But in Kaima, nothing stays the same for long… and that is even more true for a Dreamer, which
you have now become. As time passes, you will find your form changing, both physically and in
other ways, all of them dictated by the strange laws that govern the Dream. You will gain strange
powers, some which you have always dreamed of possessing, and other which you never dreamed
could exist. You will find opportunities to learn new skills, both of human and otherworldly nature,
from every conceivable source imaginable.
Your life as a human is over, now the Dreaming begins.
Dream Shifting
The longer a characters has spent in Kaima, the more he will "Dream Shift". This is not time spent
in game, but actual real life time spent with an open and paid for account. A player who plays once a
week will dream shift along the same schedule as player that is online 4 hours a day. These
mutations take on a myriad of forms, but all are influenced by the following:
1. Companions
2. Citizenship Town/Area
3. Moral choices
4. Skills
From a technical standpoint, your character just gains extra-meshes, similar to those used for
clothing or armor.
In the World of Dreams, everything you do influences who you become.
Skills
Characters will be free to choose from a plethora of skills, many of them VERY similar, but different
in background. For example, a human warrior with the "marksman" skill might be almost identical
in profession skills to a Vlet'ish Wethtar (figure an Elven like Archer), but their
application/tools/methods would vary drastically. Of course, considering the variable nature of
Dream Shifts, no two humans and Vlet'ish would really be the same, no matter what profession they
chose. Weaponry and items would be drastically different, from modern and sci fi weaponry to
magic and potions, but all would be balanced to be comparable. After all, in the world of dreams,
everything and nothing is equal.
Skill gain will be relatively fast, based on the actual use of the skill. The more one use's a skill, the
more you gain in it, though there will be a daily cap on skill gain for any ONE skill such that it will
require at least one week of powergaming to maximize it's effectiveness. A player may know as
many skills as he chooses, but skills that go unused for a period of one week will begin to slowly
decay (roughly 5% a week). To keep the skill "fresh", players have but to use it once within that
week's time.
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Keep in mind that players begin the game already "accomplished" in an Earth based profession.
While these skills might be of only limited use in Kaima, and fade as their interest's focus in other
directions, our intent is to allow players to never feel like they are helpless or puny. Lost and
confused, perhaps, but not a newbie.
Languages
Each race will have their own language and alphabet, which players can learn from exposure to the
culture and people. A toggable setting will allow players to "speak" in that language, which will
convert everything other players see into a unique racial font for that race unless they too have
acquired skill in that language. Normal speech is considered "common", and all players will be able
to speak it. Some monsters and NPCs, however, will ONLY speak in their racial tongue.
Developed language resources, as in dictionaries, will also be developed for any of the currently
existing races, to foster more involved roleplaying… though we fully anticipate most to just use the
racial automatic font converter.
Avatar Customization
Players would have a developed palette to create their original avatars from, with the intent to allow
them to literally build "themselves" in game, if they so desire. Again, the nature of Dream Shifting
will change your starting form drastically as time passes and you gain experience, but I feel it is
important for players to really feel like they are starting AS themselves to gain the full experience
Kaima offers.
Items
Items, as I stated in the skill blurb, would vary drastically. Many would have almost identical
effects, but require different skills to operate and control. A Dreamer from another world might be
an expert hand-to-hand fighter in his own form, but completely lost in intricacies of Kenjitsu, yet
both will have relatively similar effects. The key is to balance game play so that a player is never
penalized no matter what "path" he chooses, be it in the more human forms or something more
exotic. As mentioned previously, items gain their existence from the Dreamers themselves. If an
item is left unattended, it will decay based on the length of time and age of the Dreamer who
created/possessed it.
Race Shifting
Which brings us to another aspect of Dream Shifting. Just as humans will change over time, they
can CHOOSE to change in ways that will eventually morph them into a copy of creatures from
another race. If a player finds he likes the Vlet'ish, prolonged exposure to their company, skills, and
home town/environment will guide his Dream Shifts to turn him into exactly that. His choices and
Dreams will guide him to that which he desires. He could just as easily move to a completely
different races environment, and change in even more bizarre manners there, this combining his
possible mutations endlessly based on his decisions. Anything is possible, even mutations into
things which do not currently exist within Kaima.
Once you have Dream Shifted in certain obvious ways, races will consider you a member of their
own community. That can be good and bad, depending on where you happen to be, so choose
wisely.
As part of this, I would love to run a weekly contest for skilled player artists who would like to
submit their own meshes and polygon models of mutations and new races, thus allowing the players
with the right skills the opportunity to literally change the path of their Dream Shifts to what they
REALLY ARE dreaming of.
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Races I would like to see at the game's publish are still being determined. A rough list of examples
based on how long they have been living in Kaima (newest to oldest) would include:
1. Humans (of course) though they wouldn't stay that way very long!
2. Xyvelsti - Energy creatures who manifest in this world as amorphous light. Their powers are,
obviously, based on the conversion and manipulation of energy forms. Their original form was
3. Creatures from a Crystal based world.
4. Creatures from a Demon like world
5. Creatures from a "standard RPG" world (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs… but drastically changed)
6. Machina
7. Insect
This list is far from complete, and will be dealt with extensively as development continues to create
a selection of races that is both unique and interesting from anything known before in the MMOG
world.
Dream Perceptions
But the variability of players is not limited to just their forms and abilities, it also applies to their
perceptions. Players who group together in like-minded combinations will find that their overall
"Dream" has an influence on the land around them. More Evil groups will notice that the day is
never quite as bright, the dark is always darker, and shadows always deeper. The larger the group of
similar players, the more pronounced the effect.
This is less of technical matter then one might first assume. All of the perception level effects are
very subtle. Lighting, shadows, music... all easily controlled by setting various "templates" and
applying them as needed when a group of significant size gathers.
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Gameplay
In this manner, Kaima would be very similar too most existing MMORPGs. Players would be able to
adventure against the strange denizens of the world, guild together in small or large groups, fight
each other, participate in grand battles (such as race wars/guild wars), craft new items, sell such
items, and wander about exploring.
Unlike most MMORPGs, the existing cultures that have developed on Tariet are not meant for
simple background, they are there to CHANGE the players. Players will be able to adopt their forms
through Dream Shift, learn their skills, and even explore merging technologies and magics into new
and bizarre forms.
Furthermore, the nature of the dream allows a depth of creative control that no MMORPG has ever
offered. Communities and Guilds will be able to craft Private Dreams just for their members, where
the leaders use a NWN Solstice/UO House Customization tool to create areas to their own
specifications. Battle Grounds, Questing Areas, Dungeons, even Towns will all be possible, with the
size and limits of the Dream Area defined by the size of the guild/people who are a member of that
organization.
Adventuring
Kaima would include a diverse quest selection, with the main emphasis on introducing players to
new cultures, history, items, and skills, as well as providing the "moral choice" selection of the
Dream Shifting. Based on a character's choices, they WILL change to become in a very physical way
exactly what they are acting out in gameplay.
Dynamic Spawns
The monster spawns in Kaima will be as dynamic as the rest of the world. Basically, there will be
"Mega Spawn Bases" through out the lands, each of which is capable of hosting a Mega Boss. Mega
Bosses are the top of the ladder for each monster species, and should require at least 20+ plus
players working together to defeat. With that Mega Boss will be a host of Bosses, Mini Bosses, and
regular monsters of that variety, making their "camp" one of the most deadly adventuring
environments in Kaima. The makeup and graphical representation of each Spawn will vary
drastically, from underground caverns, keeps, fortress', bunkers, flying citadels, towers, and more…
but the mechanics of their expansion will all work identically.
After one week of survival (without the Mega Boss being killed), the "Mega Spawn Point" will spawn
a handful of "Super Spawn Bases" around it in a radius. Super Spawns will be based on their Mega
Spawn point, with similar architecture and monsters, but will instead be overseen by a "Boss",
requiring the coordination of roughly a dozen players to take down. If that "Boss" is left alive for a
week, then the "Super Spawn Bases" will create a handful of "Spawn Bases" in a radius around it.
The new "Spawn Bases" will have a Mini Boss as their leader, which should require half a dozen
players to defeat. If THAT Mini Boss is left alive, then a new radius of "Outpost Bases" will be
created, which have no leader. The only way to stop a cycle completely is to kill the Mega Boss,
which will halt all expansion efforts but will not destroy lesser bases that have already been created.
Furthermore, if a Mega Boss, Boss, or Mini Boss monster survives for one month, they upgrade to
the next level of power. For Mega Bosses, they grow even more fierce and powerful (though their
strongholds all remain the same). Leaving an enemy sleeping nearby can truly be dangerous in
Kaima.
The intent is to create an environment that embraces the wild nature of Kaima. Forces are always
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on the move, attempting to conquer more and more territory. When the radius of these Spawned
Bases crosses over an established community, town, or player settlement, the fun really begins. The
monsters will begin "sieging" the establishments, plaguing their day to day activities until the
players (at the very least) kill off the Bases in their immediate area. The only way to be truly free of
them is to group together a small army and attack their Mega Boss leader, thus halting their
advance.
Here is where it gets REALLY interesting. The only way for players to establish new
communities/homes is to carve them out of the wilderness. In other words, it requires a group of
player to kill of one of these spawn bases and take it over as their own. More to follow in the next
segment.
After a Mega Boss has been defeated, if the stronghold is NOT taken over by a player community, he
will re-spawn in the same area in approximately one month, starting the cycle all over again. Once a
stronghold has been taken over by players, it will no longer spawn a Boss Monster… though
neighboring spawns might siege it if they are close enough!
Establishing Player Housing & Settlements
As previously stated, players will have to TAKE housing spots from active monster spawns to
actively settle the lands of Kaima. Our intent is to really recreate the mentality of what humans
what strive for, as aliens in this strange new world. Creatures and cultures have laid claimed to
various aspects of the lands for eons, so if Human's want a piece of the pie, they are going to have to
cut it out for themselves.
The size of a potential establishment is based on the size of the Spawn base. Obviously, Mega Spawn
bases will allow players to establish the largest of player strongholds, and after they have held it for
a time, even place medium sized and smaller dwellings in the area surrounding it. Super spawns
will allow a large stronghold, with a radius of smaller establishments. Spawns will allow a Medium
sized stronghold, and Outposts will allow only a single small residence. Our intent is to create a
world where carving out a true community REQUIRES a community to bring it into being.
When a stronghold is taken over, it is in the form of the original enemy base. Players can hire player
Dream Shapers to alter aspects of the architectural layout, but it will be prohibitively expensive in
Dream Ether, thus giving communities yet another reason to band together and adventure to
further customize their realms.
Ownership of a building is based on the players who defeated it. Mega Boss and Super strongholds
can ONLY be owned by a Community or Guild, so the game engine calculates which guild did the
most cumulative damage in defeating the Boss monster and awards ownership to that
establishment. Anyone in the leadership hierarchy for that community (see guilds below) can access
the Housing functions (see below).
Expanding a Stronghold
Mega Bases and Super Bases both allow the controlling communities to eventually develop
residences around the stronghold. After possessing the area for 1 month of RL time, they will be
able to develop one new establishment in the area immediately surrounding them, and another with
each consecutive month. The size of these establishments is based on the size of the stronghold, and
they still require the communities to purchase the services (or have their own) Dream Shapers to
actually create the establishments. Who gets to own these establishments is determined by the
community/guild leaders who run the stronghold, and they can only select from people who are
actually members of the said community.
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Town Residences
Players are not limited to carving out a realm of their own in Kaima. If they prefer a more peaceful
approach, they can purchase housing within an established town, or live in apartment like
complexes. Housing is VERY expensive in Dream Ether, and requires a monthly payment to be
given to the town coffers. Furthermore, if that town declares war on another
community/town/guild, there is the possibility that your abode could be damaged in the fighting,
requiring you to expend yet more Dream Ether to rebuild it. They can not, however, ever be fully
destroyed.
Apartments are much more affordable, and allow players a single room within each town to claim as
their own (much like Anarchy Online). The Dream Ether "rent" for such apartments should be easy
for any single player to manage payments with only light adventuring.
Housing Functions
Strongholds, Establishments, Town Housing, and Apartments all allow a player to customize their
abode. For those who are not Dream Shapers (or who have not hired the use of one), that
customization is limited to decorations and furniture, but with a Dream Shapers help they can
actually change the appearance as well. It is entirely possible to create a "room" that appears to be a
calm wooded glade, or an underwater grotto, or lost in the reaches of space. In effect, Dream
Shapers have many of the same powers used in the Private Dream areas for changing the
environment (although not for the placement of spawns/items), thus giving players a huge amount
of versatility in their abodes.
The purpose of housing has multiple applications. From security of one's gear, personal decoration
and beauty, quiet places to get away from the world on, or perhaps even to preserve a memory of
some place far away by rebuilding it within your own domicile.
All housing is automatically set to private, allowing only the owner to access the area (in the case of
Strongholds, this includes the entire guild/community). Players can choose to open their housing
to:
1. Public (anyone can access)
2. Their own guild/community/town (if they are a member of such)
3. Individuals they have specifically targeted using their house menu
Player's may also set Dream Shapers, individually, to be able to customize their home. There are
three levels of options in doing such.
1. Environment Only - the Shaper cannot touch or alter objects, which automatically move
themselves to a Customization Storage container while the Dream Shaper is designing the area.
2. Full Control - the Shaper can access the Customization Storage container after customizing the
environment, thus decorating as well.
3. Limited Control - the Shaper can add NEW objects to the layout, but can not access the
Customization Container or in any way effect objects that existed before he was hired on.
Players also have the ability to BAN specific people from their homes, even if they are a member of a
guild/town/community that has been granted access. The ban exists until removed by the owner.
Access to Private Dream Areas can ONLY be placed within a stronghold or town residence (not an
apartment) owned by a community/guild/town. Anyone who has been granted access to the abode,
can also access the Private Dream Area.
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Questing
There are two types of Quests in Kaima, player generated and game generated. While we will
provide a plethora of quests that show of the variety and diversity of Kaima, it's many cultures, and
strange history… the player's themselves will be able to create their own within Private Dream
Areas.
Guilds/Towns/Communities
Player groups will have a lot of versatility. On a simple level, they will be divided into three groups.
1. Guilds
2. Towns (holds sworn guilds, single members in neutral guilds, players without a guild affiliation)
3. Communities (groups of multiple guilds, and players without a guild affiliation)
Guilds will be able to choose an affiliation by subscribing allegiance to a particular town or
community. This allegiance system will be used to determine PvP rights (see below) as well as
sharing in the Private Dream Areas of Towns or Communities. For example, if a guild or player were
to swear allegiance to a Town of Vlet'ish (those were our Elf like aliens) then they would be able to
participate in that Town's Private Dream, as well as enlist in their military PvP force, if they were
currently at war with anyone else. Guilds, Towns, and Communities are all run politically, as
follows:
Guilds choose their own leadership structure from a list of choices, such as Democracy, Republic,
Council/Aristocracy, Monarchy, etc. The originator of the guild sets the starting political structure
and appoints his leaders, but unless he chooses a monarchy, the guild CAN vote him out and change
it. In the case of prolonged absence from the game (one month not logging in), leadership in a
Monarchy will automatically pass to who ever they have proclaimed as heir.
If a guild chooses to swear no allegiance, then it's members may choose a Town or Community to
swear personal allegiance to (assuming that Community allows such).
Towns are pre-placed in game, and all have a pre-existing racial background, but still possess the
possibility of being run by the players. For other race towns, many will require the player to Dream
Shift to a compatible level before they are allowed to join, and will require a high percentage of a
guilds players to have similar levels. Once accepted, though, they will have the ability to run for
offices within that town (only other players can vote for offices), and if they win the equivalent of
the mayor's seat, they gain the ability to access and customize the private dream of that town…
which could conceivably be huge. A mayor (or equivalent) may also declare war on another town,
though again every member of that town must vote (and it must pass simple majority) before it is
official.
Communities are created completely by the players, and are run by them as well. For communities
that allow anyone to join (not just guilds), then every month, every member of the community will
be given the option to vote for a Leader. That leader can then appoint a staff, optionally giving them
all the ability to access and customize the community's Private Dream Area. For communities that
only allow guilds to join, then only the top guild leader votes for the community leader each month,
who can also optionally grant customization powers to every Gm or specific people. Communities
may also declare war on other guilds, towns, or communities. It IS possible to have a Community
comprised of Communities to create a huge inter-guild network, but in that case ONLY the
Community leaders of each community have political power. Any community council member can
call a vote of confidence (but no more then once a week) to attempt to replace the current
Community Leader, which follows standard voting procedures for that Community type.
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Many of these guild/community ideas take their incentive from Shadowbane and Star Wars
Galaxies, both of which have done an excellent job in this area.
Player vs Player Combat
Player vs. player combat is a valid and integral aspect of the MMORPG world, and in Kaima that
has not been forgotten. Many of the races are at perpetual war with each other, and the path of the
new humans who arrived on Kaima has yet to be determined. Players can participate in the massive
ongoing battles between these cultures, and possibly even change the already variable history of the
world by utterly crushing and exterminating them. Should such happen, only the players who had
already learned the knowledge of that culture would exist to pass it along.
But not everyone likes PvP, and I understand this as well. As such, there will be very clear "switch"
for players who wish to compete in such battles. Basically, you enlist in the militia force for your
political favorite without your guild/community/town. Some races will require that humans be
Dream Shifted to a form comparable to their own before accepting such contracts, though it WILL
be possible to sign up for mercenary contracts for any town/guild/community that is willing to
accept you.
Players who are not enlisted into their applicable military branch will be unable to affect players
who are, be it harmfully or beneficially. However, Enlistment can be renounced or declared once
per day to allow players to actively participate in non-PvP activities, by simply clicking on their
profile and selecting such. A mercenary contract that is reneged before the end of its term provides
no reward to the mercenary, so if they choose to drop out of the fight they gain nothing.
Guilds/towns/communities will be able to set the terms of a war with another entity, be they
loot/no loot, entrance into each other's private dream areas (for private battles), immediate re-entry
(for those who rez and return to the fight immediately)/or one death per day, and other such
options.
Player can optionally choose to challenge ANYONE to a duel, which they may of course refuse if
they wish. Statistics for duels will be recorded and posted on the shard/guild/town/community
websites for everyone to see. Rules will be definable by the players when they submit and accept the
duel.
Crafting
Crafting is similar to most MMORPGs, in that there is a "recipe" of items + skill = desired item.
However, due to the varied nature of Kaima there will be many branches of crafting that are race
specific. To the enterprising player willing to think out of the box, it will even be possible to mix and
match items from DIFFERENT cultures to attempt to create something startling new (much like
AC2's spell system). Some of these experiments will be repeatable, with the possibility of the player
passing on the knowledge or monopolizing it for themselves, and some of them fluke hybrids to
create artifacts of mysterious powers.
Vendors/Selling
Players who are members of a Town may set a "vendor" in the town bazaar. Each player may have
only one vendor, which can hold a high # of items. Players within a Community or Guild can only
place a Vendor IF their Community/Guild has established a trade bazaar (an expensive housing
structure). Items can also be placed on the AUCTION vendor for that guild/town/community,
which operate differently. See the Community + Vendor Auctions option for more details.
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Exploring
Like most 3d MMORPGs, there will be lots to see and explore. But in Kaima, exploring can be
dangerous beyond the more apparent physical effects. As previously stated, prolonged exposure to
an area of racial bias WILL result in your character gaining qualities unique to that race.
Private Dream Areas
Private/Guild Dream Areas will ONLY be accessible to the players of those communities (or
individual players that have been added to the stronghold/town residence's admittance list), thus
allowing a form of self-policing for potential abuses. Players would gain nothing from skills used in
these areas, though the Area Creators would be able to "seed" monsters and items in the area, which
the players could take and use as if they found them in the game world proper. In this manner,
players will be unable to create areas for abusing in skill gain & monster loot accumulation. If a
guild is creating death traps for their own members, well it won't take long for everyone to quit, and
we all know how quickly bad guild reputations seems to flow down the grape vine.
In function, this would be very similar to adding a "private NWN" shard just for your
guild/town/community, but with the possibility of being accessible to the entire MMORPG player
base. Unlike homes, anyone who is in the leadership structure of the community/guild/town who
owns a Dream Area can Shape the area. It requires no skill in Dream Shaping, as it normally would
for a private residence or item crafting.
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Community Tools
Communities in MMORPGs suck. Well, that is a bit harsh, but I think they have a LONG way to go
before they are where I would like them. So here is my proposal of ideas that would help ferment
community both in game, and out.
Guild/Community/Town Website
Every guild/town/community will have a website off the Developer website. These sites will feature
various assets that link the in game and out of game community, as well as provide a direct pipeline
of information from the Developer to the Players. My envisioned features are as follows:
Starting Town Options
Players will be able to choose from a variety of "established" spawn points when they join the world
of Kaima, much as other MMOGs. However, they will ALSO be able to select from any established
Guild Strongholds/Town Residences. Doing so allows the player to begin the game as an Applicant
to that community, immediately putting them in communication with the organization. Guilds can
choose to automatically deny Applicants, thus removing them from this option. Communities,
comprised of multiple guilds., do not have this option.
Website AND In Game: Shard Based Map
A map will be available either off the paper doll in game, or via the shard "news page" on the
website, showing the locations of all established towns or communities/guilds with an established
stronghold or town residence (similar to Shadowbane's territorial map).
Website : Intelligent Permissions
The game knows what guilds/towns/communities you are a part of, and so does the website. When
you login with your account name/password/character and visit the Developer site, access to all
your member communities are clearly listed on the main menu right along with the developer
pages. That way, players are encouraged to continually access the developer web site on route to
their guild pages.
Website : Character Building
Activities on the official website (as well as the Guild sites attached to it) will have an effect on the in
game world personas for the players as well. In effect, players will be able to build and cultivate
their characters by participating on the site/forums, EVEN BEFORE THE GAME GOES LIVE. Just
as one gains Dream Ether for passively being online in the game world, players would ALSO gain
Ether for posting and replying on the forums (more for the official forums, standard for the shard
based ones, and less for the guild/community), thus encouraging this vital aspect of Community
Development.
Furthermore, anything the player character has in game, they will also have in their "forum"
incarnations, and vice versa. Items, powers, even physical representation... all will be replicated
within both worlds, to provide a seamless persona from one to the other. Players will even be able to
participate in battles against monsters and other players on the forums, gain items and gear, and
those items will ALSO appear on their in game avatars. In this manner, it will be entirely possible
for players to build accomplished characters BEFORE THE GAME IS EVEN RELEASED, thus
providing the most effective form of pre-release publicity ever developed (in our opinion).
Of course, game play on the forums will not be anywhere near as detailed as in game activities, but
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it should still prove an interesting and exciting dynamic to the world of Kaima. We believe it will
provide a medium for players to get to know the world, the monster, the items, and how everything
fits together before release, thus preparing our customers for an experience like no other they have
ever seen. The quests will be specifically oriented on teaching players more of the pre-existing
Dreamers (NPC Monsters & Races) and their cultures, providing a fun, interactive tool to educate
the players in what has come before, so that they might be better prepared for what has yet to come.
Website : Customizable Layout/Banner
Guild/town/communities will be able to select a color scheme for their website, as well as upload a
banner image and limited bbcode like tagged text (to prevent javascript exploits, and identical to the
code used in the forums), thus customizing their online presence. The layout choices will be applied
through the entire guild/town/community site, via CSS.
Website : Message Boards
Each guild/town/community would have an in game message board at their headquarters that is
synced with an out of game message board on the Developer website. Posts made to one, appear on
the other. Players reading a message board in game "disappear" until they exit the forum interface
in game, and board names are identical to in game names. Announcements from the Developers are
featured on the top of every forum, to make certain the players stay informed of new items of note.
Guild/town/community leaders will also have the option of selecting a post as "shard news". See the
Community + Shard News + option for more details.
Website : Guild Chat
In game, all players will have access to a guild/town/community chat box. However, there will also
be a page OUT of game that is linked to that chat, much like an IRC network. This would allow
players, even when they are NOT in game, to stay in touch with their communities.
Website : Event Calendar
Each guild/town/community will have their own "Event Calendar" in game, again at their
guild/town/community headquarters, which is also synced with a web interface. Any
guild/town/community leader or council member can post a new event, and post it as public or
private. Public events will automatically be listed on the main event calendar for their shard (after
passing through moderation via the Shard Moderator, a staffed Developer position).
Guild/town/community members, if logged into web chat/boards or in game, will receive a
notification of the coming events 30, 15 and 5 minutes before it begins.
Website : Rosters
Each guild/town/community will be able to setup a page to show all the members of their
community, with each player having the option to "hide" themselves, their paper doll, or other
statistics. Through the roster, it will be possible to send individual players a message, which will
appear in it's own pop up the next time they log into the game. Player's personal pages will be
accessible here as well.
Website: Map of Stronghold Location
For guilds that have an established Stronghold, or Town Residence, a "map" page will automatically
be added to their Guild Web Site, showing the location of their abode. Furthermore, if they are a
member of a community, the will also be able to pull up a world map with all allies clearly listed (if
they too have a Stronghold or Town Residence). Organizations at war can also show their
enemies/allies.
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Website : Rankings
For guild/town/communities who are involved in race wars or inter-guild wars, statistics of their
progress would be displayed on this page for every one to see.
Website : Screenshots
Any guild/town/community leader will have the ability to take screenshots via an in game
command built into the client. The last 20 (4x5 thumbnail rows) will automatically be displayed on
the website. A guild/town/community can only take 4 screenshots while in game at any one time (to
cut down on clipboard lag) and they are saved in a queue on the server until they log out, when they
will be shown a sample of collected screenshots and asked to approve/disapprove them.
Website : Personal Pages
Every player will have a personal page that they can toggle visible/invisible to the public. This page
will list their affiliations, dueling record, quest record, character profile, their paper doll with worn
gear/equipment, and even have a web log like journal page for players to keep records of their
exploits in. The journal will have an in game version as well, which players can lock down in their
houses to provide a sync between the content. Players can also store FOUR screenshots on their
personal page, saved via an in game command (maximum of one screenshot uploaded per day,
newest replaces oldest), which are shown in thumbnail form until clicked on.
Vendor Auctions
Players in a guild/town/community who have placed an item on an Auction vendor in their
guild/town/community will automatically have the item listed on the Developer Website Auction
page. From here, players can bid on items using wealth from their game accounts. The player, when
he places the item for sale, has the option of setting a reserve price, but that will result in a 10% cut
being "swallowed" by the server (gold sink). Other players can bid on the auction for the length of
time set by the selling player, at which time the winning player will automatically have the funds
withdrawn from their bank and transferred to the winning player, and the item deposited in it's
place. Optionally, players can access the Auction page for an item by clicking on it in game, off the
Auction Vendor. Auctions vendors share their inventory, sorted by category, with every other
Auction Vendor on the shard.
Shard/Server News
All guild/town/community Leaders can select an optional "Shard News" button when posting on
their message boards. This sends the post to a Shard Moderator, a Developer Community Relations
person for approval (same guy approves events for that shard), and if approved, gets posted on the
shard news page. In this way, players can easily promote themselves and their activities to the entire
gaming community from a comfortable interface they are already familiar with.
Constant Contests
Players will ALWAYS have more time to develop new features for a game then the Developers
themselves do, as the existence of countless 3rd party applications can attest to. Instead of ignoring
that asset, I suggest that Kaima take advantage of it, by running contests for players to submit new
meshes, polygon skins, races and cultural assets, even quest ideas! By funneling their creative
efforts into areas of specific need, a Developer House could exponentially increase manpower while
at the same time allowing the players to feel like they truly ARE contributing to the development of
more then just their Private Dream Areas.
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Customs & Cultures
This is one of the features I consider most important. To really make this concept work, there need
to be a myriad of cultures that have Dreamed their way into Kaima over the eons, each with their
own diverse skills (though most will be comparable to similar skills in every other race), language,
alphabet, history, lore, culture, everything. If this idea carries over well, it will also be the aspect I
need the most help for. I would very much like to assemble a group of players who are willing to
write up unique culture backgrounds for strange and interesting new races, and include at LEAST a
two dozen if this MMORPG were ever to ship…. with more constantly being released as the game
continued.
I have more then a few ideas about some of these myself, but the very nature of the world is strange
and clashing concepts, so it only seems right that I get a few people who think DIFFERENTLY then
I do to help expand that vision. If you are interested, feel free to message me at [email protected]
with your own concepts for a particular race/world. The sky is the limit!
Conclusion
And that's my idea. I feel something like this has the pieces to call to ALL types of players, be they
RP, PvP, PvM, Crafter, whatever. Its base in using you yourself as the foundation of your character
is something that is unique in most parts to MMORPGs, though existing in small ways in CRPG
medium. It gives more creative freedom to players with the desire to expand the universe, both in
Private Dream Areas, their personal Dream Shifts, and more. The variability of perceptions is
certainly achievable in today's game engines, and I think this really gives a reason to pull out all the
graphical stops. Of course, I am biased. hehe.
Feel free to comment freely on what you like, what you hate, what you think would work, and what
is far out there. At this stage, it is nothing more then a dream composed on one night's worth of
double espressos, and a lot of unfulfilled desires in the current MMORPG world. If you are a
Developer and want to introduce me to some nice publisher with money to throw at the concept,
feel free to email me at [email protected]. *grins*
Honestly, I am amazed you made it this far! I can be one long winded SOB.
- Return to the Selected Section Design Docs | Development Section | Table of Contents
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ENCHANTMENT CRAFTING PROPOSAL
Summary
Enchantment is a new skill (replacing Arms Lore, which currently does absolutely nothing) that
allows the creation of magical items with specific attributes. With Enchantment, players can use
existing runic, magical items and artifacts as a power source to create their own new items with
specific properties (such as SDI, FC, FRC, LRC, LMC, Skill Bonuses, etc.) The power, quantity, and
type of properties available are all scaled by the Enchanters skill, meaning that the most powerful
properties (such as SSI, FC, Super Slayers, etc.) will only be available for GrandMaster to Legendary
Enchanters.
For each property, a new artifact (or loot item) will be introduced into the game. Each of these
artifacts will work like a Tome of Stonecrafting, opening up the potential to "craft" items with those
properties as they are placed into the player's Codex of Enchanting (an item similar to a Magery or
Necromancy spell book). Note that the Enchanter will not be able to USE those abilities unless their
Enchanting skill is high enough (see Power Charts). Adding skill bonuses to items is an exception to
the general rule, and will require the Enchanter to actually have the skills to be imbued (see Skill
Bonuses).
Basically, this gives the ability to create custom items with the specific attributes required. The
"cost" for crafting such items will ALWAYS be a more powerful item, but the end result is likely
something more useful then the random property dispersion in loot and runic items. The
Enchanting process is never completely safe, and even with relatively easy Enchantments there is
always a small chance that the process will destroy the raw materials and/or source items without
producing the desired item, and even damage the Enchanter with a magical catastrophe!
Why bother?
One of the most annoying aspects of the current AoS item based system in UO is trying to assemble
a suit that is worthwhile to YOUR character. For example, just recently I was trying to grab the
right jewelry and armor for my Mage/Bard. It's been quite a while, and I am still not even close to
done. Making high end items difficult to achieve is a worthy endeavor, but making it next to
impossible is not. This is an attempt to create a system that still depends on finding or using runic
high end items to "power" your Enchantment attempts, but lets you convert useless items (for you)
into something useful. Furthermore, I fully expect to see vendors begin to carry specialized goods
with this sort of system, allowing a very user-friendly benefit for crafters who can establish
themselves as "Mage Enchanters", "Bard Enchanters", "Tamer Enchanters", and so on.
Some might argue that this sort of system would devalue artifacts or runic items, but I do not think
it will. The maximum powers available for enchanted items are ALWAYS lower then the maximum
intensities of monster loot drops, and not even close to artifact levels. If you spent 200 million gold
on an "uber-suit", it should still be uber. But for those of us casual players who can not afford the
time or money to create such incredible combinations, this would allow us a method to at least be
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able to compete, even if we can't compete as well. In the end, this should make the item based
nature of AoS more tolerable, as players will be able to assemble suits for specific needs without the
mindless drudgery of the current system. Or that's the plan. Let's flesh it out a bit more.
Storyline
Thomas wiped the sweat from his brow, peering down at the finely crafted blade still cooling from
the forge's fires. His maker's mark, a crescent moon framing a rising star, stood proudly on the
pommel of the sculpted gold wire hilt. With reverent care, he placed the runic hammer he had used
to imbue the sword down on his workbench, then walked out to his store front.
"Well, she's done..." said Thomas as he placed the blade on the counter, "but it won't be cheap! This
beauty cost me quite a bit of my most powerful runic's power."
A hooded stranger emerged from the shadows, gliding before Thomas and nodding as he answered,
"Yes, quite impressive, Smith Thomas. Your reputation is truly deserved."
Tom nodded with a grunt, "So where is the check?"
The cloaked figure stood silent for a long moment, one finger reaching out to trace the blade's
length lightly. "I have heard rumors that before you took up the Smith's Hammer, you were a
Wizard of the Council of Mages in Moonglow. Is this true?"
Thomas raised a surprised eyebrow, leaning back on his heels as he looked the stranger over with
interest. "I'd like to know where you heard that, but yes... it is true" answered Thomas, "I gave that
life up long ago, and good riddance to it!"
A low chuckle was the stranger's only response as he lifted a heavy tome from underneath his robes,
placing it on the counter. Strange runes decorated the borders of book, and despite the bright
illumination of the forge behind Thomas, it seemed to emit an eerie glow.
"What's this? I told you I gave up the path of the Wizard. Take your trinket back and show me
some gold!"
The Stranger shook his head and opened the cover, pointing to the page. "Read, and then perhaps
you will choose otherwise."
Thomas eyed the stranger once more, his distrust evident, but picked up the tome and began to read
where indicated. His eyes widened as he flipped the page, everything forgotten as he delved deeper.
"Do you know what this is?" said Thomas with an incredulous stare, "What this means?"
The stranger nodded, "I believe so. I take it this will be sufficient payment?"
With a snort, Thomas nodded, "I would make you a hundred blades if this is genuine! With this
tome, I will be able to imbue my creations with the magical powers of my choice, not the whim of
my runic hammers!"
"Then I have chosen my Smith wisely. I would suspect there are more of these Tomes hidden across
the lands... perhaps you should seek them out."
"Who ARE you?" asked Thomas, "Where did you find this?"
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With a wry chuckle, the cloaked figure collected his sword and left the shop, Thomas' unanswered
question left hovering in the air. For a moment, Thomas almost followed behind him, but the lure
of the hidden knowledge revealed in the Tome was too great. The fires of Thomas' forge died, the
moon rose, and dawn spread itself over the horizon before he stood from his reading, but by then it
was finished. He had learned how to merge his past skills in magery with his smithing, and nothing
would ever be the same again.
New Items
Codex of Enchanting
This spell book like item functions like a mage or necro spell book. The individual artifact scrolls
for each magical item property are dropped into the book, adding that ability to their repertoire
(assuming they have the Enchanter Skill to actually use it). Graphically, it appears similar to a hued
spell book with a hammer on the cover. Empty Codex of Enchantments are craftable by Scribes,
and purchasable from both Smith and Mage NPCs. All Codex items are blessed, and can not be
looted/stolen.
Scrolls of Enchantment
Each scroll is an artifact of varying levels of power. Scrolls should occasionally appear as loot on all
magic using monsters (Fel & Tram) with a Fame level of 5, level 5 treasure chests, and as BOD
rewards.
Artifact
Enchantment Scroll
Level
hit spell effect
3
area damage
hit stamina leech
4
best weapon skill
hp increase
5
cold resist
intelligence bonus
1
damage conversion
lower mana cost
7
damage increase (jewelry)
lower reagent cost
9
damage increase (weapons)
lower requirements
7
def. increase
luck
8
dexterity bonus
mage armor
3
durability
mage weapon
5
energy resist
mana increase
4
enhance potions
mana regeneration
9
faster cast recovery
night sight
10
faster casting
physical resist
5
fire resist
poison resist
8
hit area effect
reflect phys.
9
hit chance increase
self repair
7
hit dispel
skill bonus *
7
hit dmg. spell
spell channeling
8
hit life leech
spell damage increase
6
hit lower attack
stamina increase
6
hit lower defense
stamina regeneration
9
hit mana leech
strength bonus
8
hit point regeneration
swing speed increase
10
hit slayer
* See below for further requirements on Skill Bonus Items.
Enchantment Scroll
Artifact
Level
10
9
5
8
10
10
4
10
7
8
5
9
2
5
5
9
2
7
9
10
9
7
8
10
Page 47 of 66
Power Scrolls of Enchantment
+5 to +20 scrolls should be available as rewards from the BOD system. Their difficulty will be
roughly equivalent to Blacksmithing Power Scrolls.
How does it work?
Enchanters use a menu system similar to the crafting menu.
Enchanting an Item
1. Click on their "Codex of Enchantment", which brings up a targeting cursor.
2. Click on any crafting tool, which brings up a modified crafting menu.
3. Select the item to be crafted (the makers mark
preference is auto selected and cannot be changed, due
to potential Naming abuses), material to be used, etc. If
an EXEPTIONAL item is successfully crafted (using
your standard Crafting skill check only) you proceed to
the Enchanter Menu. If you fail, the Enchantment ends
with whatever the Crafting result was (nothing,
materials wasted, non-exceptional).
Roll
1-10
11-40
41-55
56-80
81-100
Failure Type
lowered intensity (50%)
materials & items survive
materials destroyed
source item destroyed
materials & item destroyed
4. Target the existing artifact, magical item, or runic item to be used as a "power source" for the new
enchanted item. You can only add as many properties to the new item as the source power item
possessed, and to which you have the skill to handle (see Skill Advancement), and there are
negatives to your skill check if adding more then three properties. (In other words, you can never
create a more powerful item, only a more focused item for your needs).
5. Select from the properties the Enchanter has acquired scrolls for, and the levels for each item
(remember, the higher the desired value, the more likely to fail!), then click next. If the item is
successfully crafted, continue on to step 6. If the success check is failed, then skip down to
"Botching an Enchantment".
6. For extremely powerful items (PL of 400 ^), Enchanters will be given the option to name the
item, with a 30 character fill in the blank slot, passed through a filter to prevent naming an item to
mimic an artifact. Default will be (an enchanted _______). Typing in a custom name will result in
a pop up gump warning the Enchanter:
WARNING
Abuse of the naming feature is a direct violation of your Terms of Service (link to ToS on website).
Naming your items with an offensive name, as stated by ToS, will result in action against YOUR
account.
* Optionally, if fill in the blank naming is deemed to potentially abusive, players will be given a
large selection of drop down prefix and suffix choices to “personalize” the item. See my design
concept “Unique Item Names” for more details on this.
7. Click done and enjoy your custom crafted _____!
Page 48 of 66
Botching an Enchantment
Assume our Enchanter has a 75% Success Rate in creating his desired item. Let's cut up the failure
%'s for the various possible outcomes.
1-75% = succeed, 76%-99% = fail (check on failure chart), 100% = fail disastrously!
Failures (other then disastrously) are all calculated with a new roll (no modifiers) as per the list:
Results of an Enchantment attempt can vary from:
1. Creating the desired item (with material bonuses)
2. Creating the desired item at less then desired intensities.
3. Failing at the creation of the item but the power source item and materials survive.
4. Failing at the creation of the item but either the power source item or materials are destroyed.
5. Failing terribly and both the power source item and materials are destroyed.
6. Failing disastrously and not only is everything destroyed, but the Enchanter is actually damaged
with a random offensive spell effect (Lightning, E-bolt, Flame Strike, etc)
Pre-Requisite Skills
Enchantment requires the use of a crafting skill (Smithing, Tinkering, Bowyer, Tailoring), and
Magery at GM or higher levels before you can even begin the development of the Enchantment skill.
Skill Bonuses
For enchanting an item with a skill bonus, the Enchanter must also have the required skills at a high
enough level to imbue that bonus. The maximum skill that an Enchanter can add to an item is
determined by the following equation:

Max Bonus = Desired Skill / 10 (rounded down)
For example, if the Enchanter had Provocation at 100.00 (GM), they could imbue an item with +10
to Provocation. At 120.00 (Legendary) they could add +12 to Provocation (maximum). The
Enchanter MUST have the skill being imbued to add it to an item.
Profession Specific Items
Please see Addendum Three for the optional inclusion of new items specifically slanted on each
profession.
Skill Advancement
The Enchantment skill gains only from the actual Enchantment of
items. Therefore, it will be a slower skill to raise then your typical
skills, and require significant effort on the part of the players. I would
anticipate that this would be the most difficult of all skills to gain in,
which is only fair, considering the potential pay off! 8x8 and EUO
scripting should be relatively ineffective, since it requires the targeting
of individual items for each Enchantment attempt.
Enchant
Skill
1-50
51-80
81-100
101-119
120
Max # of
Properties
1
2
3
4
5
Page 49 of 66
Just as certain properties can not be used until the player reaches a certain level of Enchantment
(even if they have acquired the Enchantment Scroll for their Tomes), they are also limited in how
MANY properties they can enchant on an item. As the Enchanter grows in power, so does their
ability to channel the magical energies, which results in the scale listed in the table along the right
hand side.
An Enchanter can always choose to create an item with LESS properties, and in fact items that only
have one or two properties actually receive a bonus, since their creation process is much more
straightforward. For more details, see the Property Modification section in "The Math of it All".
The Enchanter's profession title will be (obviously), Enchanter. Guildmaster Mage and Blacksmiths
will teach newbie Enchanting (to roughly 30).
The Math of it All
Base Enchantment %

{[Enchantment + (Magery + Crafting Skill) / 2] x 4} / 10 = Base Enchantment %
For example, at Legendary Enchantment, Magery, and Crafting skill
((120 + (120 + 120) / 2 x 4 ) / 10 = 96%
Difficulty Modifier
From there, the Difficulty Modifier of the Enchantment is calculated by the Power of the desired
enchanted item (multiplied times the Enchanters skill level modifier) subtracted from the power of
the Source item. Thus, the higher the players Enchant skill, the less power is wasted in the
conversion.

Difficulty Modifier = Source Item Power Level - (Desired Item Power Level x Skill
Modifier)
Ancient Bonus
There are some minor potential bonuses, based on the type of tool used to create the item. Using
an Ancient Smith Hammer will add 1/10th of the ASH's bonus to the success rate (and any other
Ancient BOD items later created). So an ASH+60 will add +6% to the roll.
Property Modifier
Success Rate is further modified by the NUMBER of properties on an item. Only one property adds
+10%, two properties adds +5%, three properties has no penalty or bonus, but the fourth property
will subtract -10% from the success roll, and the fifth will subtract -20% (these are not
accumulative).
Success Rate
The maximum Success Rate % is 96%. If your calculated score is above 96%, it will be dropped to
96%, as there is always SOME chance of failure. 97-98% is always a failure, and 99-100% is always
a disastrous failure. See "Botching an Enchantment" for specific details on normal failures and
disastrous failures.
Page 50 of 66

Base Enchantment % - Difficulty Modifier + Ancient Bonus - Property Modifier =
Success Rate %
Power Charts
Magery Properties
Magical Property
faster cast recovery
faster casting
lower mana cost
lower reagent cost
mage armor
mage weapon
spell channeling
spell damage increase
Quality Range
1–2
1
1–5
1 – 15
n/a
1- 10 (-30 to -21)
n/a
1–5
Power Multiplier
x50 (50 - 100)
150
x15 (15 - 75)
x5 (5 - 75)
50
x7 (7 - 70)
50
x20 (20 - 100)
Req. Skill
100
120
90
90
70
90
100
110
Quality Range
n/a
1 – 20
1 – 40
1 – 10
1 – 10
2 – 40
2 – 40
1 – 10
5 – 25
Power Multiplier
25
x5 (5 - 100)
x2 (2 - 80)
x7 (7 - 70)
x7 (7 - 70)
x2 (4 - 80)
x2 (4 - 80)
x10 (10 - 100)
x5 (25 - 125)
Req. Skill
70
110
70
90
100
100
100
10
120
Quality Range
1–5
1
2 – 40
2 – 40
2 – 40
1–5
1–5
1–5
1
1–5
1–2
1–5
Power Multiplier
x10 (10 - 50)
60
x2 (4 - 80)
x2 (4 - 80)
x1.5 (3 - 60)
x10 (10 - 50)
x10 (10 - 50)
x10 (10 - 50)
60
x15 (15 - 75)
x30 (30 - 60)
x10 (10 - 50)
Req. Skill
90
100
110
110
100
70
90
70
110
100
100
90
Quality Range
2 – 40
2 – 40
Power Multiplier
x1.5 (3 - 60)
x1.5 (3 - 60)
Req. Skill
70
90
Melee Properties
Magical Property
best weapon skill
damage increase (jewelry)
damage increase (weapons)
defense increase
hit chance increase
hit lower attack
hit lower defense
reflect physical
swing speed increase
Stat Adjustment
Magical Property
dexterity bonus
hit point regeneration
hit life leech
hit mana leech
hit stamina leech
hp increase
intelligence bonus
mana increase
mana regeneration
stamina increase
stamina regeneration
strength bonus
Spell Effects
Magical Property
area damage
hit area effect
Page 51 of 66
hit dispel
hit damage spell
hit spell effect
2 – 40
2 – 40
2 – 40
x2 (4 - 80)
x3 (6 - 120)
x3 (6 - 120)
100
110
110
Quality Range
1 – 10
1 – 10
1 – 10
1 – 10
1 – 10
Power Multiplier
x6 (6 - 60)
x6 (6 - 60)
x6 (6 - 60)
x6 (6 - 60)
x6 (6 - 60)
Req. Skill
50
50
50
50
50
Quality Range
n/a
10 – 90
5 – 20
n/a
n/a
10 – 90
1 – 90
n/a
1–5
1 – 12
Power Multiplier
25
x.5 (5 - 45)
x2 (10 - 40)
50
150
x.5 (5 - 45)
x1.25 (2 - 113)
15
x6 (6 - 30)
x8(8 - 96)
Req. Skill
70
50
70
100
120
50
110
30
70
100
Resistances
Magical Property
cold resist
energy resist
fire resist
physical resist
poison resist
Miscellaneous Effects
Magical Property
damage conversion
durability
enhance potions
hit slayer/regular
hit slayer/super
lower requirements
luck
night sight
self repair
skill bonus
Page 52 of 66
Examples
Test Source Items
1. Magical Jewelry = 120 (3 slots)
Magery +5 (40), Healing +7(56), Energy Resist +4 (24)
2. Magical Sword = 145 (4 slots)
Are Effect Cold 33% (50), Energy Resist +5 (30), Swing Speed Increase 15% (65)
3. Runic Tunic = 178 (4 slots)
Fire Resist +5 (30), Energy Resist +8 (48), Stamina Regeneration 2 (60), Mana Increase 4 (40)
Evaluate Intelligence +9 (72), Provocation +7(56), Fire Resist +7(42), Night Sight (15)
5. Runic Valorite Sword = 350 (4 slots)
Area Effect Fire 40% (60), DI 45% (90), Spell Channeling (50), Repond Super Slayer (150)
Fast Casting 1 (150), Fast Cast Recovery 2 (100), Magery +10 (80), Fire Resist +12 (72)
7. Spirit of the Totem Artifact = 565 (4 slots)
Strength +20 (200), Reflect Phy +15% (150), Hit Chance Increase +15% (95), Phy Resist +20%
(120)
Test Desired Items
1. Enchanted Leather Tunic = 60 (2 slots)
Poison Resist +5 (30), Fire Resist +5 (30)
2. Enchanted Taming Jewelry = 108 (2 slots)
Taming +12 (72), Animal Lore +6 (36)
3. Enchanted Training Dagger = 195 (2 slots)
Swing Speed Increase 25% (125), Hit Chance Increase +10 (70)
4. Enchanted Warrior's Shield = 250 (4 slots)
Spell Channeling (50), Def Ch Incr +10 (70), Hit Ch Incr +10 (70), and Energy Resist +10% (60)
5. Enchanted Fencer's Dagger = 325 (3 slots)
Swing Speed Increase 25% (125), Hit Spell Effect - Lightning 40% (120), Damage Increase 40% (80)
6. Enchanted Bardic Jewelry = 469 (5 slots)
Provoke +12 (72), Discord +12 (72), Fast Cast 1 (150), Fast Cast Rec 2 (100), Lower Reg Cost 15%
(75)
Page 53 of 66
Test Enchanters
1. Adept Enchanter
Enchanting 60, Blacksmith 100, Magery 100
Base Enchantment = 64%
Skill Modifier x 3
Max # of Properties: 2
At 60 Enchanting, our test player can only enchant a maximum of 2 properties, and has a skill
modifier of x 3. We must also take into effect the required skill level for the desired properties (see
Power Charts). As such, only the first item is even possible for our Adept Enchanter. Let's run the
numbers.
1. Desired Item Power Level = 60 x 3 = 180
Which gives us the following Difficulty Modifiers:
Enchanted Leather Tunic - Poison Resist +5 , Fire Resist +5
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
- Desired Item Power
-180
-180
-180
-180
-180
-180
-180
= Difficulty Modifier
-60
-35
-2
+5
+170
+222
+385
So Base Enchant (64%) + Difficulty Modifier (-60 to +385) + Ancient Bonus (no ASH or equiv.
used) + Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 9%, 34%, 67%, 74%,
96%, 96%, and 96%. As long as you have the required skill and powerful enough source items, you
can create anything in your Tome of Enchantment. If you wanted to burn an artifact or high end
item to create a perfect resist piece, then you could. But it's costly!
As you can see, the power costs at low levels are VERY high to make "max quality" items. This was
intentional; so that people weren't making low level Enchanters just to mule enchant their gear.
This is a profession for DEDICATED crafters, with the rewards for everyone… not a skill the casual
player would likely pursue. The more powerful the source item used to "power" the Enchantment
process, the more likely it will actually succeed. Using Artifacts and powerful magical items will
allow the enchanter to create some very powerful items, specialized to their direct needs (assuming
they have the proper tomes and skill).
Page 54 of 66
2. Master Enchanter
Skill Modifier x 2.5
At 90 Enchanting, our test player can still only enchant a maximum of 2 properties, but now has a
skill modifier of x 2.5. Though our Test Enchanter has now passed the required skill level for many
properties (see Power Charts), they still are unable to complete many of the more advanced
enchantments. As such, our Enchanter can only create items 1 and 2 from our list. Let's run the
numbers.
1. Desired Item Power Level = 60 x 2.5 = 150
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-150
-150
-150
-150
-150
-150
-120
-30%
-5%
+28%
+35%
+200%
+252%
+415%
So Base Enchant (76%) + Difficulty Modifier (0 to +445) + Ancient Bonus (no ASH or equiv. used)
+ Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 51%, 76%, 96%, 96%, 96%,
96%, and 96%.
Enchanted Taming Jewelry - Taming +12, Animal Lore +6
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-270
-270
-270
-270
-270
-270
-216
-140%
-125%
-92%
-85%
+80%
+132%
+295%
used) + Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible), 0%
(impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), 96%, 96%, and 96%.
Page 55 of 66
3. Grandmaster Enchanter
Skill Modifier x 2
At 100 Enchanting, our test player can still only enchant a maximum of 3 properties, but now has a
skill modifier of x 2. Though our Test Enchanter has now passed the required skill level for many
properties (see Power Charts), they still are unable to complete many of the more advanced
enchantments. As such, our Enchanter can only create items 1, and 2 from our list. If item 4 did not
have 4 properties, our Enchanter could make it as well, but unfortunately he can only enchant up to
3 properties at this point of his development. Let's run the numbers.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-120
-120
-120
-120
-120
-120
-120
0
+25%
+58%
+65%
+230%
+282%
+445%
+ Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 85%, 96%, 96%, 96%, 96%,
96%, and 96%.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-216
-216
-216
-216
-216
-216
-216
-96%
-71%
-38%
-31%
+134%
+186%
+349%
used) + Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible),
14%, 48%, 54%, 96%, 96%, and 96%.
Page 56 of 66
4. Elder Enchanter
At 110 Enchanting, our test player can now enchant a maximum of 4 properties, and now has a skill
modifier of x 1.5. Though our Test Enchanter has now passed the required skill level for almost all
properties (see Power Charts), a handful of the most advanced enchantments (SSI, FC, Super
Slayers) are still beyond their abilities. As such, our Enchanter can still only create items 1, 2, and 4
from our list. If items 3 and 5 did not have the SSI property, our Enchanter could make it as well,
but due to balance it is restricted to Legendary Enchanters. Let's run the numbers.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
+45%
+70%
+103%
+110%
+275%
+327%
+490%
+ Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 96% for all test items.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-162
-162
-162
-162
-162
-162
-162
-42%
-17%
+16%
+23%
+188%
+240%
+403%
96%, 96%, and 96%.
Page 57 of 66
Enchanted Warrior's Shield - Spell Channeling, Defense Chance Increase +10%,
Hit Chance Increase +10%, Energy Resist +10%
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-375
-375
-375
-375
-375
-375
-375
-255
-230
-197
-190
-25%
+27%
+190%
used) + Property Modifier (4 items, -10%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible), 0%
Page 58 of 66
5. Legendary Enchanter
At 120 Enchanting, our test player has reached the pinnacle of Enchanting. They can enchant the
maximum of 5 properties, but now has the maximum skill modifier of x 1.25, allowing them to waste
as little power as possible in the conversion process. Our Test Enchanter has now passed the
required skill level for ALL properties (see Power Charts), allowing them to enchant any property
they have acquired scrolls for. As such, our Enchanter can create all of the test items from our list.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
-75
+50%
+70%
+103%
+110%
+275%
+327%
+490%
used) + Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 96% across the board.
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-135
-135
-135
-135
-135
-135
-135
-15%
+10%
+43%
+50%
+215%
+267%
+430%
96%, 96%, and 96%.
Page 59 of 66
Enchanted Training Dagger - Swing Speed Increase +25%, Hit Chance Increase +10%
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-244
-244
-244
-244
-244
-244
-244
-124%
-99%
-66%
-59%
+106%
+158%
+321%
used) + Property Modifier (2 items, +5%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible), 2%,
35%, 42%, 96%, 96%, and 96%.
Enchanted Warrior's Shield - Spell Channeling, Defense Chance Increase +10%, Hit Chance
Increase +10%, Energy Resist +10%
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-313
-313
-313
-313
-313
-313
-313
-193%
-168%
-135%
-128%
+37%
+89%
+252%
used) + Property Modifier (4 items, -10%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible), 0%
Enchanted Fencer's Dagger - Swing Speed Increase 25%, Hit Spell Effect - Lightning 40%, Damage
Increase 40%
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-406
-406
-406
-406
-406
-406
-406
-286%
-261%
-228%
-221%
-56%
-4%
+159%
used) + Property Modifier (3 items, no modifier) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0%
(impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), 40%, 92%, and 96%.
Page 60 of 66
Enchanted Bard/Mage Jewelry - Provoke +12%, Discordance +12%, Fast Cast 1, Fast Cast
Recovery 2, Lower Reagent Cost 15%
Source Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Source Power Level
120
145
178
185
350
402
565
-587
-587
-587
-587
-587
-587
-587
-467%
-442%
-409%
-402%
-237%
-185%
-22%
So Base Enchant (96%) + Difficulty Modifier (-467 to -22) + Ancient Bonus (no ASH or equiv. used)
+ Property Modifier (5 items, -20%) = our Success Rate, which comes to 0% (impossible), 0%
(impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), 0% (impossible), and 54%.
As you can see, even at the highest skill levels extremely powerful items require not only powerful
source items, but a degree of luck as well. As stated previously, this is NOT a replacement for
artifacts and runic items, merely a supplemental resource to allow players to use what they have to
create what they need.
Page 61 of 66
ENHANCING BARDING
While I feel that Barding is still an exciting and vibrant playstyle, it is generally left “out of the loop”
on extreme high end monsters… such as the Champion’s of Evil, Doom Bosses, and the upcoming
Paragons. Considering that Barding is the one template that is COMPLETELY PvM oriented, with
no realistic PvP use whatsoever, this seems to run against the grain of what Barding represents. This
proposal is an attempt to give Bards access to those “higher level” monsters while retaining their
intended purpose of requiring multiple players to defeat.
Bardic Circles
When 2 or more bards are in party with each other, they have the ability to create a “Bardic Circle”.
Bardic Circles increase the base success rates of existing Bardic Skills, including Provocation,
Peacemaking, and Discordance, for the Bardic Circle “Core Bard” (generally the most powerful Bard
in the group). The percentage by which the skills are enhanced is based on each Bards skill level,
the amount of Bards in the circle, and the instruments they are using.
Bardic Circle Bonus
[(Musicianship / 2) + Peacemaking + Provocation + Discordance + Instrument Modifier] / 10 + =
Base Circle Bonus
So a Pure Bard at Legendary level in all skills using a plain instrument would have a Base Circle
Bonus of 42%. Using a slayer instrument for the right monster would add a maximum Base Circle
of Bonus of 44%.
But this is not added for EVERY Bard in a Circle. Rather, there is a diminishing effect for each Bard
in the Circle. Since the maximum number of players in a party is 10, that is also the maximum
number of Bards that can contribute to a Bardic Circle. The scale of what percentage each adds to
the mix is as so:
Bardic Circle Chart
Circle Core
2nd Bard
3rd Bard
4th Bard
5th Bard
6th Bard
7th Bard
8th Bard
9th Bard
10th Bard
Adds nothing, but their skills are used as the “base” for bonuses.
Full Base Circle Bonus
3/4 of Base Circle Bonus
The server will automatically place the “best fit” Bard in each position except the Circle Core, so
players do not have to list out their skills every time they link up to determine who would be the
best 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Bard for the Circle. The Circle Core, however, must be chosen by the players,
and it WILL be possible for players to choose a Bard who is actually less skilled then one (or all) of
the Circle members. To some, this might seem like a possible training exploit, but considering it
would take the cooperation of at least one Bard, and most likely more, to make any sort of
Page 62 of 66
difference, I think that is actually a good thing. There is nothing more boring then working up skills
alone.
So assuming that somehow a hypothetical party was composed of NOTHING but Pure Bards with
EVERY skill at Legendary, with ALL of them using the right slayer weapon, there would be a +138%
boost to the Circle Core’s Bardic Skills. This is the maximum bonus possible through the use of a
Bardic Circle, and is the EXTREME case scenario. Most Bards are not Pure Bards, and thus the
potential bonuses would likely be much lower in your typical scenario. But if AoS has taught us
anything, it is to plan for the extremes, as SOMEONE is going to end up with 200 Stamina!
*chuckles*
Circle Drawbacks
While engaged in a Bardic Circle, everyone except the Circle Core can not use their own Bardic
Skills. Doing so will instantly remove their contribution from the Circle, and any current Bardic
effects they contributed to (including breaking an existing Discordance, Peacemaking, or
Provocation effect).
For the duration of the Bardic Circle, all contributing Bards will loose 1 point of stamina per second.
This can be negated with the Focus skill and Stamina Regeneration items.
While engaged in a Bardic Circle, all bards must remain in the Circle party and within relative close
proximity to the Circle Core. Leaving the party will end their contribution to the Circle, as will
moving outside of the Circle range. Tentatively, I would suggest using the maximum range from the
Tracking skill, but this is still up for suggestions.
Please note that the contributing members of a Bardic Circle are free to use secondary abilities, such
as Magery, Warrior and Taming skills. Their only limitations are based on their Bardic abilities and
proximity to the Circle Core.
Creating a Bardic Circle
Creating a circle is simple. When clicking on any instrument, any player with points in ANY Bardic
skill will see an additional option, “Link to Bardic Circle”. Choosing this option will bring up a
Targeting cursor, allowing the player to select another player. If they attempt to choose someone
who does not have points in a Bardic skill, it will spit out the error message “That person is
unskilled in the ways of the Bard, and can not link to you.”
It would be ideal to add an additional macro option to the uo client as well, that upon pressing
automatically brings up the Circle Link targeting cursor (assuming that an instrument is already set
to default, if not, it would ask for the instrument first).
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New Artifacts to Enhance Barding Abilities
While I am all for adding new skills to the game to enhance our experience, I think Barding is pretty
much at its limit with 4 skills. So instead of adding new skills to the Barding Profession, I would
suggest adding new items that use the EXISTING skills to accomplish new effects. Here are a few
items that I feel would expand the Bard’s effective influence without upsetting the balance of their
class. In effect, these are companion items for the Barding profession, similar to a Tamer’s Ball of
Pet Summoning, and Mage/Melee characters Artifacts. These item based abilities CAN be stacked
with other Magery, Necromancy, Chivalry, and similar abilities, but the SAME effect can not be
“added” by multiple bards. Please not that the use of a Bardic Circle WILL enhance all of the effects
and durations on these items!
War Drums
When played by a properly schooled Bard, the savage sounds of this instrument strike fear in the
lesser creatures of Sosaria. Those struck by its effects will flee from the Bard at great haste.
Requires: GM Provocation
Mana Cost: 30
Stamina Cost: 10
Effect:
When used, the Bards Provocation Skill is multiplied times 20, and all creatures below this fame
level will flee from him at their maximum movement rate for (Music + Provocation + Peacemaking
+ Discordance)/40 seconds.
General Summary:
This item will allow Bards to “scare off” low level spawns, so that they might concentrate on more
difficult prey.
Pure Legendary Bard Example:
At 120 in all Bardic skills a bard would be able to scare of all creatures with a Fame level below
2,400 for 12 seconds. This covers, approximately, creatures at the bottom range of Level 2 fame,
such as Orcs, but not quite Harpies.
Bardic Circle Adjustments:
When War Drums are used by the Circle Core, they gain a bonus to their Provocation (for the
purposes of determining applicable Fame level) equal to their Bardic Circle Bonus percentage, and a
bonus to their duration equal to the Bardic Circle Bonus/10.
Extreme Bardic Circle Example:
Using our hypothetical Bardic Circle of all Pure Legendary Bards, they would be able to scare off all
creatures with a fame level of 5,160 for 26 seconds. This covers creatures in the Level 3 Fame range,
such as elementals.
The Heart of Battle
This treasured musical artifact has seen more victories and conquests on the battlefield then any
one soldier or general, even Minax herself! Somehow, the knowledge of the tactics and courage it
has witnessed has soaked into the wood, allowing skilled practitioners to summon those memories
to inspire their comrades at arms.
Requires: GM Discordance, Peacemaking, and Provocation
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Mana Cost: 60
Stamina Cost: 20
Effect:
When used, all players in the Bards party will receive a boost to HCI, DCI, and SSI equal to
(Musicianship + Provocation + Peacemaking + Discordance)/50 AND a boost to their FCR of
(Musicianship + Provocation + Peacemaking + Discordance)/200 for (Musicianship + Provocation
+ Peacemaking + Discordance)/8 seconds. This effect does NOT stack with another Bard’s use of
the same item, but will stack with magical item properties. Players can not exceed the natural caps
for these abilities.
General Summary:
This item allows Bards to “buff” the players in his parties, adding to their offensive and defensive
abilities, as well as their speed of attacks and spells. While helpful for PvM, this would actually add
a useful trait for PvP as well.
At 120 in all Bardic skills a bard would be able to boost his party members HCI, DCI, and SSI by
10% and FCR by 2 for 1 minute.
When the Heart of Battle is used by a Circle Core, they gain a bonus to each of the buffs.



HCI, DCI, and SSI gain the Bardic Circle Bonus/10
FCR gains the Bardic Circle Bonus/120
Durations gains the Bardic Circle Bonus/2 seconds
All of this is added to the Circle Core’s natural enhancements and duration.
Using our hypothetical Bardic Circle of all Pure Legendary Bards, they would gain +24% to HCI,
DCI, and SSI, +3 to FCR, for 2 minutes and 9 seconds.
Felucca’s Tears
The soil of Felucca has seen years of strife and warfare, and it bleeds its sorrow into the trees of the
land. Some of these trees, through magic most curious, manifest the lands desire for healing by
imparting a restorative quality to the string instruments crafted from their boughs. It is said, that
when a skilled bard plays one of the magical artifacts, it is as if the wind were whistling through the
strings.
Requires: GM Peacekeeping
Mana Cost: 50
Stamina Cost: 15
Effect:
This instrument increases the Hit Point Regeneration and Stamina Regeneration rates of all players
in party with the Bard. HP Regeneration is increased by Peacemaking/40, and Stamina
Regeneration by Peacemaking/30, for (Musicianship + Provocation + Peacemaking +
Discordance)/8 seconds.
General Summary:
This item is purely defensive in nature, increasing the natural healing rates of players under its
influence.
Page 65 of 66
At 120 in all Bardic skills a bard would be able to increase HP Regeneration +3 and Stamina
Regeneration +4 for 1 minute.
When Felucca’s Tears is used by the Circle Core, they gain the following enhancements:



HP Regeneration adds Bardic Circle Bonus/50
Stamina Regeneration adds Bardic Circle Bonus/40
Durations gains the Bardic Circle Bonus/2 seconds
All of this is added to the Circle Core’s natural enhancements and duration.
Using our hypothetical Bardic Circle of all Pure Legendary Bards, they would be able to enhance
their parties HP Regeneration by +5 and Stamina Regeneration by +7 for 2 minutes and 9 seconds.
Firehorn
The Firehorn will remain the same, with the exception of increased damage when a Circle Core uses
the item.
When Firehorns are used by the Circle Core, they gain a bonus of 1/5th the Base Circle Bonus to
ALL skills for the purpose of determining damage.
Using our hypothetical Bardic Circle of all Pure Legendary Bards, they would be able to enhance the
damage of the Firehorn to:
Extreme Bardic Circle Firehorn Damage Range
NPC
Player
Average Damage
135
90
Damage, Min
121
81
Damage, Max
150
100
Range
121-150
81-100
NPC (60 R)
54
48
60
48-60
Player (60 R)
36
32
40
32-40
For those who think this might be a bit overwhelming in PvP, let’s remember how extremely
unlikely it would be to EVER see 10 Legendary Pure Bards PvPing together. Not to mention they
would totally get smeared, Firehorns or not.
Conclusion
It is my belief that this sort of system, which builds upon an existing linking system (party
grouping) and the introduction of new items to allow new abilities, instead of changing or adding
new skills, will facilitate a deeper level of interactivity for Bards in PvM combat. The idea is still
rough, however, and I suspect that many of the figures and calculations will be changed as it is
further refined (and balanced). If you have any constructive criticism or suggestions, I would love
to hear it!
Page 66 of 66

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