Curse

Cosmic Error · Jan 01, 2008, 11:57 PM // 23:57

This is my first CC, sorry if its crap.

Backround:
Pioneers are walkers of worlds, constantly shifting from one plane to another to gain knowledge and power. Pioneers have little influence on the worlds they inhabit, since they may leave within a few years, perhaps weeks. On the rare occasion that a pioneer chooses to make a certain world his home, he will generally become a scholar, sharing his otherworldly knowledge with others.

Unique abilities:

Beckoning: Beckoning spells are the opposites of Shadow Stepping or teleporting, as they teleport another ally or enemy to YOU. They usually have heavy drawbacks.

Teleports: While not exclusive to the Pioneer, the Pioneer is unique in that it specializes almost entirely in these warp skills. Teleports, along with beckoning spells, often have long recharge times and low casting times.

Role:
Pioneers specialize in movement and touch spells. A Pioneer is a melee spellcaster, they are supposed to teleport or run quickly to a foe or ally (or teleport that foe/ally to THEM) and cast a touch spell on that creature. Unlike assassins, Pioneers are a caster class, and have no attack skills. They cannot survive at melee range for long, so a pioneer must be able to flee back to safety, or die very quickly. Pioneers are also gifted with a variety of healing touch spells.

Attributes:

Relativity:
For each point invested in Relativity, your base walking speed is increased by 2%. Also increases the effectiveness of skill related to increasing or decreasing walking speed. (Few Relativity skills exist.)

Planetary magic:
Points invested in Planetary magic increase the effectiveness of linked Touch spells and Wards.

Example Planetary Magic spell:

Stunning Hands
Spell
Recharge: 10
Energy cost:10
Casting time:1

Touch target foe to deal 30..80..110 chaos damage. That foe is dazed for 5 seconds.

Time Magic:
Points allocated to Time magic increase the effectiveness of Touch spells, Teleports, and Beckoning spells that heal or protect allies.

Example Time Magic skill:

Opal Gate [Elite]
Beckoning Spell
Recharge time: 20
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 3

Lose half your energy. Beckon target ally to your location. If that ally was below 50...60...70% Health, that ally is healed for 50...100...150.

Space Magic: Invest points into Space magic to increase the effectiveness of
Teleports and Beckoning spells that deal chaos damage or put foes at a disadvantage.

Example Space Magic skill:

Blazing Rift
Spell
Recharge time: 30
Energy cost:5
Casting time: 2/4

Teleport to target foe. That foe is set on fire for 2..4..5 seconds.

Armor

Head: Glasses
Body: Shirts
Arms: Gauntlets
Legs: Leggings
Feet: Sandals

Max armor: 60

Insignas:

Unity Insigna
Armor +10 (while in range of an ally)

Fabric Weaver's Insigna
Armor +15 (While casting a Beckoning spell)

OVERALL STRENGTHS:-Highly capable puller
-Next to impossible to hit in melee
-Fastest walking profession
-Can both heal and deal damage (But not at the same time)
-Most powerful touch spells of any profession
-Beckoning is very useful in rescueing an injured ally from combat
-Spells have very fast casting times

OVERALL WEAKNESSES:
-Just as vulnerable to ranged attacks as anyone else
-If a Teleport spell used to flee an angry Warrior is interupted, you're pretty much toast.
-Spells have very long recharge times
-Not as capable a healer as a monk
-Few energy management skills, energy must be rationed.
-Weak armor

[M]agna_[C]arta · Jan 02, 2008, 12:38 AM // 00:38

I suggest looking at these CCs for inspiration^^, Sounds like just some ele who like to Tele People^^.

Chronomancer(Time Mage, For more Time Spells), Harlequin(Touch Fighter, for your Touch Skills), Minstrel(AoE Effect Fighter, might help in the Caster Fighter feel)

System_Crush · Jan 02, 2008, 09:48 AM // 09:48

So far I like it, the naming of attributes could use some work, but it is interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

They cannot survive at melee range for long
[snip]
-Highly capable puller
-Next to impossible to hit in melee
[snip]
-If a Teleport spell used to flee an angry Warrior is interupted, you're pretty much toast.

You disagree with yourself

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

-Fastest walking profession
[snip]
-Just as vulnerable to ranged attacks as anyone else

Moving helps you dodge arrows, spears and spell projectiles, moving quickly twice as much.
This was the whole point [skill=text]Crippling Shot[/skill] or [skill=text]Muddy Terrain[/skill] are supposed to counter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

Beckoning: Beckoning spells are the opposites of Shadow Stepping or teleporting, as they teleport another ally or enemy to YOU. They usually have heavy drawbacks.

Opal Gate [Elite]
Beckoning Spell
Recharge time: 20
Energy Cost: 15
Casting Time: 3

Lose half your energy. Beckon target ally to your location. If that ally was below 50...60...70% Health, that ally is healed for 50...100...150.

The drawback on this ain't bad, I guess. Teleporting foes into traps or allies into lava can be really pesturing at times. The drawbacks would have to be kinda strong to make sure you can't chain warp someone into the lava.(while you keep yourself safe from the burning with [skill=text]Avatar of Melandru[/skill])
The skill reads "Beckon target ally to your location" not "target other ally" so you can beckon yourself too right? Is it supposed to be a self heal like that or is there something other about beckoning yourself?

What if beckoning had a per person lock? Like if you beckon some1 for 15? 20? seconds nobody can beckon them again.
It would limit the ability to exploit it and also provide a good conditional for the skills of this class to work with, like:

Disorientation Jolt spell E10 A1 R15
Target touched foe takes 10...31(38) chaos damage, if that foe is 'Jet Lagged' it takes an additional 20...71(88) chaos damage.

Don't stick to the therm jet lagged its not a good name, just couldn't think of anything better on the fly.

Another bad thing about teleporting foes is: you can put the enemy monk inside a circle of warriors.
Perhaps there should be some condition under which foes teleport back so it can't be abused like that, or they take reduced damage because they are still in a planar shift and not all there so they can't take all the damage dealt
Hey, 'planar shift' is not a bad name for the jet lagg thing.

All in all teleporting others is a real big pain to balance, perhaps it's just the lack of a skill teleporting foes in this concept, but I feel this is somewhat more balanced that the previous suggestions in that field, perhaps you can think of a way to make it work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

Relativity:
For each point invested in Relativity, your base walking speed is increased by 2%. Also increases the effectiveness of skill related to increasing or decreasing walking speed. (Few Relativity skills exist.)

Like I said I don't see the link between relativity and increasing Movement speed, but this is the first time I've seen increased movement speed without 70AL or a base dodge chance, so I guess it would not be severely unbalancing.
Possibly annoying for AI foes that don't stay near their group, H/H's that rush out too much then warp back, constantly mobbing their team.
Also as speed doesn't stack beyond 33% except from a single skill it would make the skills in the attribute kind of useless if you ask me.

Lastly, I don't get the numbers on your example skills.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

Stunning Hands
Spell
Recharge: 10
Energy cost:10
Casting time:1

Touch target foe to deal 30..80..110 chaos damage. That foe is dazed for 5 seconds.

Logical would be at attribute 0...12...16
Relatively being 1%...75%...100% (or 1%...100%...133,3333%, same difference) of the numbers of the skill.

Also daze is one of the most powerful conditions, it's duration should always be affected by an attribute level, otherwise its just too easy to apply.

All in all, this could be good.
The saving allies and warping around to use touch skills sounds like a fun and useful profession, while it has issues with balance I hope you can solve those.

Cosmic Error · Jan 02, 2008, 11:27 PM // 23:27

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

The names of the attributes are most likely a result of the bizzare train of thought that led to me thinking of this profession.

"Space" and "Time" in this case refer to the space-time fabric, which Pioneers are skilled at altering. Space magic does not refer to outer space, but to all of existence, and the distance between objects in the universe. By tearing holes in space, you could imagine Space magic being quite damaging. The whole idea of "weaving" Space-Time fabric is the reason I named one of the Pioneer insignas the "Fabric-weaver's Insigna".

Planetary magic refers to the fact that planets are relatively small in comparison to the rest of the multiple universes that Pioneers travel, and the range of these spells is small as well.

Relativity refers to an object moving faster than another object relative to its environment. (Yeah, I know that's really not what Relativity is, but bear with me.)

System_Crush · Jan 03, 2008, 10:00 AM // 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cosmic Error

The names of the attributes are most likely a result of the bizzare train of thought that led to me thinking of this profession.

"Space" and "Time" in this case refer to the space-time fabric, which Pioneers are skilled at altering. Space magic does not refer to outer space, but to all of existence, and the distance between objects in the universe. By tearing holes in space, you could imagine Space magic being quite damaging. The whole idea of "weaving" Space-Time fabric is the reason I named one of the Pioneer insignas the "Fabric-weaver's Insigna".

Planetary magic refers to the fact that planets are relatively small in comparison to the rest of the multiple universes that Pioneers travel, and the range of these spells is small as well.

Relativity refers to an object moving faster than another object relative to its environment. (Yeah, I know that's really not what Relativity is, but bear with me.)

You know, if you add a phone booth that is a space-time-ship you have the Doctor Who TV series.

Which is actually not what you'd want, the idea of a scholar/magician that travels many planes of existence and has seen the land on the other side of the mists, would have to have this magic'ish flair about him.
In which case you'd want to pick 2 to 4 themes that sound the part and base around them.
While not of a direct effect, the naming of ones abilities and the flair with which executed have a psychological effect not to be underestimated.

========================================

So instead of Stunning Hands;
Which is a therm for an acupuncturist class or something, one that relies on his knowledge of anatomy and hand eye co-ordination to achieve his means, not on magic. There by using naming that disprove magics, glorifying their skill and knowledge over the mystical power of foes they might face, as a boost of self confidence.

So a 'scholar/magician that travels many planes of existence and has seen the land on the other side of the mists' might chose to name the ability 'Thoughtless Touch' linking it to (what is presume is) the source of the ability, a plane they have been to where the mind or body cannot function normally, by bringing foes into contact with that plane they causes the effect.

========================================

Are you (remotely)familiar with the therms Subspace and Hyperspace?
In sy-fi those are about the most common reference to other dimensions.
(you said they travel between universes, as the universe is endless I figure you cold only fit 1 into each dimension, so another universe is in another dimension)
The sub and hypers space rely on there being infinite dimensions each a little different than the next.
Subspace and hyper space are shadow dimensions of ours, the idea is if theres infinite ones if you look long enough you can find one you can send messages into or even send people trough(without killing them because certain laws of nature happen work differently in that dimension)
Sub is small each step you take in it moves you a billion times that far in our dimension, and hyper space has no limit to the speed a object can have.

With infinite dimensions each with their won effects you have a infinite amount of effects the skills could inflict right? To inflict them you need to pass on the effects of the dimension to the target, done by touching them and opening a rift or transferring the effects of a partial plane shift.
I imagine that is what planetary magic does, inflict the effects of dimensions where humans can not live onto foes.
So I'd name it 'Rift Magic' or 'Planar Channeling'
See that is a name far more fitting to a scholar/magician.

I'm not saying "Use this name or else!" not at all, I'm showing you how bizarre the train of though has to be to be to come up with a good attribute name. Cuz yours train seems to be too straight forward.

========================================

Typing that down takes too long, I'm going to do only that attribute, though I have a useless fact that might get another rolling.
In early RPG's(many of those tabletop at the time) before sy-fi had come up with the ripping a hole in space, magical teleportation was at times placed in the same magic area as telekinesis, the reasoning was that a master telekinetic could take himself apart into molecules/atoms and put himself together somewhere else.
An example of this is Arcanum by Troika Games, it has teleportation in the magic school that can push foes back with unseen force and magically kick in doors.