Ideas on Clan hall upgrades?

[The Messiah]

Actually, I like some of the concepts there, Syl. 50-100 might end up being a little much for the normal world, but this is something to think about.

[tetheral]

About the army scripting thing, there was a module called "Good vs Evil" where you commanded an army and the objective was to control certain points on the map. the more points you controlled, the more resources you had with which to purchase additional units. You could control the army really well as well (well pretty well) telling them to stand their ground or (if I remember correctly), defining how the mages / clerics should interact with your units. I don't know if it would be worth maybe downloading the module and browsing through it's scripts (if you wanted to implement such a thing that is).

PS: I had the module on my old PC (and have the module... In SA. Which doesn't help me... In the UK). But it should be somewhere on the net.

[sylvantis]

well I realize the numbers are pretty big, but I think the fact that it comes in waves rather than one big spawn will really keep the clutter and lag down because even with a max army size of 100 from the low rank armies that still only 20 npcs a minute and to be honest in attacking any clanhall, goons will move the low rank stuff down as fast as they're coming even I imagine. course I'd recommend they army npcs not leaving and drops or corpses as that could get ugly. I also think it could make for soem interesting tactics in for clanhall attacks and defenses...trying to assasinate the opposing general before he czn be used to summon defenses. the only time even if maxxed out army sizes do i see it becoming really laggy/crowded, is if two clans try to jump one clan while that clan uses it general to defend all using the low order armies(ugg about 6-12 player -5 goods and 60 incoming npcs coming ian minute)

[sylvantis]

Another idea to make clan halls more appealling, especially with all the attention spell casters have been receiving lately. Consumable spell componets for clans. Used primarily with summoning spells, while you have one of these items in your inventory and cast a summoning spell, its summons a creature not much more powerful than current summoning but more recognizable as a clan summon.

Icons could come in 5 levels for summoning.
-flawed(10% chance of your summons being clan based)
-lesser(25% chance)
-normal(50%)
-greater(75%)
-flawless (100%)

makes these icons(gems whatever) stackable but fairly pricey:
flawed 500gp, flawless 5000gp.

mostly a fun kinda add to the rp flavor of clans thing and gold sink.

Another thing that could be done in the same vein is have transmution icons that change the dmg type of spells(icons being consumable after 1 use still).

the 5 basic dmg types would be fairly cheap
sonic/cold/fire/acid/electric maybe 100-500gp a icon

physical/magical types would be next jump up at maybe 1000 an icon

neg/pos being extremely pricey at 2-3k each

and holy(being so far unresistable but any item, spell, or remort(other than spell immunities) would be top dog at around 5k a shot.

I know this so far has all been caster junk Ill try thinking of soem cool sounding stuff for melee next.

[Blocker]

I LOVE those spell ideas, I think they'd have to be more pricey though or casters would have huge advantages in being able to use whatever element is good against the monster / remort.

[MarkhamOkhotnik]

Sylvantis,

Your ideas are great! Keep 'em coming!

I would like to again put forth the idea of a forge. The "clan oriented" forge could be tailored to allow melee types to upgrade their armor and weapons to reflect their clan affiliation. i.e.: Clan Eclipse could have modifiers vs. evil, negative, undead, etc... added to their weapons; Chimaera could have bonuses that favor their saves or something similar; Clan Kindred could receive modifiers that allow extra damage to good aligned creatures and provide certain immunities to positive and/or holy damage types.

Obviously, there would need to be a limit on how many enchantments an item can receive, and the character desiring to take advantage of such would need to come up with significant gold, as well as very rare items of the right type to provide the modifier they seek to add. Example: Jodo Kast, world-renowned monk and smartass extraordinaire has recently returned from a quest, where he sought the tailbone of a dracolich, the corrupted heart of a pit fiend and a piece of an ancient golem. Approaching the Clan Smith, he hands these precious items over, along with a large amount of gold to procure the necessary reagents to facilitate the smith's labors and increase the likelihood of success. Toiling away, the smith takes one of Jodo's weapons and slowly chants words of crafting over it, hammering the reduced components into the metal. Eventually, the metal is fully suffused with the eldritch properties of the components, and takes on a new aura.

After quenching the kama's blade, the Clan Smith studies it intently, and proudly announces that the endeavor has been successful. Jodo is now the owner of a kama that gives him additional resistances to the life-draining attacks of the undead, can more easily damage evil outsiders, and can even pierce the dense matter of an adamantine golem.

Smiling, Jodo walks away, polishing the blade and is already making plans on who gets to feel its touch first...

[The Messiah]

I choose Sigrania!

[sylvantis]

I'd like the thought Markham, but as an additional suggestion this could be the stepping stone between boss and normal gear that seems to be lacking. I'd say only nonboss gear should be able to be enchanted or if you allow boss gear to be enchanted make it have a fairly high fail rate(30-60%). But for the most part i belive only normal unenchanted gear should be allowed to be forged with enchantments. I still think boss fights should be the main supplier of the regs required for these craftings but perhaps drop in a decent quantity(enough to enchant 5-10 items perhaps..just of the one reg), while upper echelon monsters should have a small chance of dropping these items (1% or so) which would encourage a clan to go to harder zones in force, even without the incentive of a boss at the end.

I think enchants should be very limited though no more than +5 enhancement to armor and weapons, 1d8 of a damage type, with perhaps 1-3 addition affects(resistances vs spefici creature types, extra holy dmg vs undead etc). I also dont think would should just stop at weapon and armor with this system but allow other items to be enchanted, 1 property only on a item with +3 stats, +10 skill, +4 armor, 5/- resist, SR, or spelleffect(haste). This allows our lower rank players to be equipped with gear taht while not on teh godly scale of a boss drop, at least allows the the might to be useful ina boss battle.

[Hecate]

admin said:

I choose Sigrania!

Why do I feel like a pokemon right now?

[havarti]

I absolutely adore the army idea. Great bonuses to clans, tons of PvP fun, and gives a chance to wage TOTAL WARFARE! Must . . . level . . . to . . . farm . . .

The forge idea is fair, but I've played on a server called Stormnexus where they had a forge, and all the weapons became uber very quickly. I think that IF a forge is added, it should be limitted to 1 forging per item. Being capable of adding damage multiple times onto our already powerful gear would be a bad idea. Even if it is quest only items, imagine a darkblade given 2d6, or even 1d6 positive damage. Then magic. Then divine. Then imagine it with GMW and Darkfire. Not very balanced at all.

I like the idea of making a clan blacksmith with a much lower gold cost, though. 5 million for an item which you already spent a lot of time gathering ingredients for? As for memorizing the recipe, what clan doesn't share its recipes?

[MarkhamOkhotnik]

There is already a built in limit on how many properties can be given to an item through use of a forge, or at least it was limited in HotU. That is to say that items that already have properties may not even be able to have any additional properties placed upon them. I found this to be the case with the Custos of the Dawn, which I tried to 'upgrade' in the Drow city in HotU, and was not able to as the weapon had already reached its maximum potential.

Cheers!

[The Messiah]

This belongs here. I've had a creative spark and have started writing my ideas down. I hope to integrate some of the ideas posted in this thread already into my own raving, but, well, we'll see when I finish!

[The Messiah]

CLAN HALLS REDUX

Over the years players have came up with suggestions for new additions to clan halls. I’ve considered a few myself, and Helm (among others, including myself) have wanted to make the halls feel a little more like a castle or fortress. So, here’s my input, with some of the guts filled in and plenty still lacking. I’m torn on adding a castle village to each hall, mainly because I’m not convinced there is a use for them.

GENERAL CLAN HALL FORMAT

Clan Area Entrance: A clearly marked entrance to a clan’s God-given territory. This area leads into the Clan Village (if applicable) or the Clan Outer Moat.

Clan Village: As I said, I’m not sure this one needs to exist. It would consist of commoners that follow the clan, allied merchants, and clan guardians (think Knights of Shandalar). The Village would then lead to the Clan Outer Moat.

Clan Outer Moat: The Outer Moat houses the clan’s most defensible positions from attackers. The old “Goons” no longer guard the Outer Moat, but several new additions do.
- Clan Guardians engage attackers in melee around the outer gate.
- Clan Archers provide ranged support around the outer gate area from specially designed towers or inaccessible areas. They can only be vanquished by other ranged attacks.
- Clan Artillery bombards attackers every so often with a variety of different types of ammunition. The various types of artillery are placed in hardened positions in the Outer Moat and must be destroyed by ranged attacks.
- Lesser Clan Statue Effects (explained in detail later) bestow certain special magical effects in the Outer Moat.
- A single Clan Goon is placed in the Outer Moat. This Goon is separate from the old five goons but follows the same upgrade mechanic. It holds the key to open the gate to the Outer Moat. This leads to the Inner Moat.

Clan Inner Moat: The Inner Moat does not have Clan Guardians, Archers, or Artillery. The Inner Moat is essentially the moat that exists at present. There are one or more tower points where PCs can pop in and sling their ranged attacks. The Inner Moat houses the five Clan Goons, with one (usually the most powerful) designated as the Key Holder. The key opens the Inner Moat and allows entrance into the Clan Hall proper. In addition to the current setup, Lesser Clan Statue Effects bestow certain special magical effects in the Outer Moat.

Clan Hall: The Clan Hall is essentially as it is now. There will be several changes to the Halls as applicable. Every hall will have:
- Rest Lounge. The lounge has several chairs or couches for members (or invaders) to rest their feet from battle. There is a Donation Pit and a Divining Pool as well. Every lounge is a Rest Spot.
- Merchant. It is an upgradeable NPC that sells the hard-earned scrolls, potions, and kits of the Clan. The merchant will be immobile, mortal, and upgradeable in a similar fashion to the Clan Goons.
- Healer. The Healer is like the merchant, but bestows a small list of divine spells upon clan members for a gold cost. The potency of the spell will now depend on the level of the Healer, but the gold cost will always be static.
- Portal Room. The Clan’s purchased portals will be housed here, with whatever appropriate labeling or organizing the leadership sees fit (within reason, one switch every once in a while).
- Throne and Meeting Room. If you’ve seen the setup in Eclipse Hall, you know what I’m talking about. A throne for a leader or higher ranking officials, a few luxurious chairs for officers, and normal chairs for others.
- Hall of Heroes. Purchaseable statues of the “Heroes” of the clan. Space will be limited, so the number of statues will be as well. Statues will receive descriptions by the DMs or the Leader must submit what they want (statue look, examine description).
- Keep. This is the innermost sanctuary of the Clan Hall. If invaders breach this area, they have truly won the battle. See next section.
- In addition, the Clan Statue Effects bestow certain special magical effects throughout the Hall.


Clan Keep: In hall attack and defense terms, the Keep is the heart of the Clan Hall. It is the command area for the officer in charge of defense (if there is one). It has several features:
- A second Divining Pool.
- The Clan Statue (explained in detail later).
- Greater Clan Statue Effects bestow certain special magical effects in the Keep.


THE CLAN STATUE
The statue is an important symbol of a clan’s strength, unity, and power. It is inherently magical, and can provide very powerful benefits to clan members if a Clan Officer (Leader or Recruiter) uses it wisely and during a siege, strategically. To reduce lag, many of the special effects mentioned above must be manually activated and have very limited usage. I’ll outline some of the uses:

Proximity Buffing: Triggered by the Leader or Recruiter, he/she can activate a single buff that affects anyone in the statue’s flame circle for 30 minutes. The buff ability resets every 60 minutes. Buffs must be purchased as Clan Hall Upgrades to be available (Bless, Aid, Greater Magic Weapon, Flame Weapon, etc).

Special Proximity Weapon Buff: Once every 3 hours the Leader or Recruiter can activate this special weapon buff to empower the weapons of clan members in the statue’s flame circle. The weapon buff adds a certain upgradeable amount of damage to everyone’s weapon, with the Damage Type dependent on the clan in question (let the debate begin). The weapon buff lasts for 30 minutes.

Clan Statue Effects: There are three kinds of statue effects, of varying power levels based on the area’s proximity to the statue (Lesser in the Moats, Normal in the Clan Hall, Greater in the Keep). There are some passive effects that are always on, but some require manual activation. The active effects can only be used every few minutes. While the type of effect is chosen by the clan officer, the targets are random. Examples: Ten Cure Light Wounds spells are cast in the Outer Moat on allied targets. Three Prayer spells are cast in the Inner Moat on allied targets. A Bestow Curse spell is cast on every enemy target in the Clan Hall. The possibilities are vast, but the statue’s power must be regulated.

DESECRATING THE STATUE
The Statue can be destroyed by anyone (though hopefully only ever by invaders). Due to the importance of the statue, there are negative consequences for all members of the clan online when the statue is destroyed. There are also positive consequences for all members of the enemy clan online when it is destroyed. The exact bonuses and penalties are up for discussion. I’m thinking full dispel of all clan members as a minimum. For enemies, I’m thinking of a Favor system…

CLAN FAVOR
A clan gains favor by killing enemy clan guardians, goons, merchants, healers, and for desecrating their clan statue. There can be a Point Scoreboard system for the clans, as a later development….

Favor generates credit that can be used towards Clan Hall Upgrades, giving a purpose to attacking Clan Halls slightly beyond bragging rights or hunting players. The favor number could be checked by anyone, but the actual credit can only be extracted by DMs at their discretion to the Clan Leader. The amount of favor that can be generated will be carefully measured so that it doesn’t completely outstrip PvM gold farming capabilities and maintains balance.

With these changes, I believe the Clan Hall and all its constituent areas can only be attacked every few hours (say, every 3), but the slain components (healer, merchant, etc) would respawn every 1 to 1.5 hours.

And there is a rough draft of what I would love to see the clan halls become! I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts and comments, and give myself some time to think things over and make detailed additions.

[Ael'Thas]

I love the ideas, especialy the Clan Favor system... but what comes to my mind in the start is, you said that the "enemy" clan gets bonuses... is that both of the other clans? or just the one who destroyed the statue - and if it is the one who destroyed the statue, what if the invading party is mixed up from two clans?

And im guessing that loners wont get anything from destroying statues?

[Pants]

I love those ideas messiah... That would be great for the village ideas... Would the merchant in the village sell for the same prices as tg? Would they be killable like the clan healer... And would you maybe be able to put in a haggle system to maybe haggle with the merchants and buy items for less or sell items for more. Great ideas id love to see them implimented..