Saltspar

[Quidix]

The new Saltspar area is fantastic! It looks great and well thought out in terms of design, it has a lot of amenities that will encourage use, and I really like the new henchmen.

I have two points:

1) 3/7 henchmen require Noble - I'm all in for restricting use, but could it not be Noble OR high Leadership? Or, adding 1-2 epic henchmen that are leadership specific? (say a hard rank check of 20 or 25?)

2) I tried portalling to Saltspar from Threadstone Locks, and I couldn't (it gave no message). I tried relogging, didn't help. I could portal to the Hub, and then to Saltspar (so not a server issue).

[Skarain]

1) 3/7 henchmen require Noble - I'm all in for restricting use, but could it not be Noble OR high Leadership? Or, adding 1-2 epic henchmen that are leadership specific? (say a hard rank check of 20 or 25?)

Well, Noble means any who is either Reward noble, Landed noble or a minor noble.

Landed Noble system: (Arelith Updates, 1st of Sept, 2020)

- Landed nobles have to be in the settlement faction. Are granted by the settlement leader
- 4 Nobles Max. Can remove 1 noble once a year.
- Landed Nobles have 1 extra vote if citizenship count is above 50.
- Landed Nobles cannot be exiled/evicted from the settlement.
- Landed Nobles receive 5% of tax revenue.
- They can grant minor forms of nobility (akin to the reward) by owning special nobility property (4 slots, via faction menu).

Andunor have 3 districts. Each have 4 landed nobles. Each can give minor nobility to 4x different persons. So at any given time, there can be 4 landed noble + 16 minor nobles. Across the whole Andunor that makes 12 landed nobles + 48 minor nobles. That's a total of 60 "noble" characters in the Underdark, on top of Noble Awards, which is a Minor award.

My opinion is biased, since one of my characters is a reward noble. That's also specifically why I defend the current order of things. The benefits of noble award are minor, a small skill feat and some NPC recognize your nobility. There henchmen are specifically that recognition.

Leadership gives benefits to Henchmen to those who invest into it, noble or not. If you unlock all Henchmen with a skill alone, that waters down the supposed benefit of nobility, no matter how acquired.

[Quidix]

To your points:

1) I'm fine for there to be noble-only henchmen..
2) ... but why does it need to be close to 50% of them that are noble-only? (and 3/4 of the high-level ones)...
3) ... and there are many nobles who haven't invested in an award - actually, for many non-award nobles this is another material perk (beyond getting tax income and more voting rights)
4) Why can't there be some henchmen tied to leadership too? For most characters investing in leadership it is a pretty big investment (more so than non-award nobles that only come with benefits and no drawbacks)

[Skarain]

Well, let us go through it this way.

If the Henchmen found in Saltspar was increased from 7 to 10, adding 3 more, what level henchmen would you hope them to be? Is your primary concern specifically around the availability of epic-level henchmen?

Reading the OP, I 'think' that is your primary concern.

And yes, landed nobles and their minor nobles get only perks and no downsides, but they are bound to the settlement system. They are important only as long as they remain on top of the hill. Anyone can climb there, given sufficient time and effort. To elaborate, i think its cool that their nobility is also recognized, but your concern of epic-level henchmen in general is a valid one.

[Quidix]

Is your primary concern specifically around the availability of epic-level henchmen?

Yes, that's mainly it. For support-oriented characters they are very nice and powerful tools. As mentioned, I'm all for it to be somewhat tied to Nobility, but I think a more balanced approach is nice.

[Skarain]

Well, I can understand why most of the noble henchmen are either high level or epic level. Most nobles are landed nobles and minor ones, and they are by nature higher level due to the involvement of politics. 20-30 is definitely the longer treck with the absent of writs (past lvl 25, where shadow plane writs end).

Another interesting though, actually. -WHAT IF- Saltspar becomes the place to hang out among PC's when they are planning to venture somewhere. People can go there and recruit "PC Henchmen". That'd be cool. The new Restful Mind is a neat, convenient tavern for such for sure.

[Drowboy]

How can you tell what level they are? Am I missing something obvious?

[Itikar]

Stepping aside a moment from the noble and henchmen matter a thing that was noticed in game, and that perhaps we may have missed, was the absence of an altar to raise dead pc's, which was a very popular function of the previous Outpost.

Maybe I missed it, and so did the others, but I think an altar to raise people was very useful.

I liked in particular the area with the altar just outside the gate that was made for the temporary under construction Outpost, but now it seems that section still exist but is empty. I believe there was also a small cemetery there.

Well, I would certainly restore a shrine somewhere, if possible, this would be a huge quality of life for people doing writs around the Outpost by all means.

As an aside I also think that if the Outpost becomes a more popular hub to meet people a speedy messenger may be another nice quality of life addition.

[Batrachophrenoboocosmomachia]

(A speedy messenger is currently a perk in one of the district land bid properties, and an altar was brought to my attention and was re-added for next reset.)

[Quidix]

How can you tell what level they are? Am I missing something obvious?

At low level it will state in the conversation what the requirements are if you cannot meet them (eg you must be level 21-30 and a noble)

[Irongron]

Eagerly awaited fantastic update. I'll write up a proper news article later.

Regarding henchmen, we've also been preparing a great many for low level surface additions, with different leadership requirements. Unless specifically set up differently henchmen will not join a PC that falls outside of a 5 level range compared to their own.

Once these have been rolled out elsewhere I suspect it should all become clear, while feedback on the leadership/henchmen system will have raw data to work with.

In the meantime I'm eager to explore these areas as a player. Huge kudos to ba..bat..(okay, I'm not typing out that name ever again) for getting this live this side of the new year)

[Exordius]

I must say the changes done to the outpost and especially the great scar are just insane. Explored much of it last night, (in disguise obviously), and its just that damn good.

[WaldoT]

Feedback on Mystefixzis Kobold Henchman Saltspear:

Spells that I've seen it cast: Regenerate on self, undeaths eternal foe, freedom of movement, cure wounds when low health.

In comparison to the other henchmen available the kobold is probably the worst choice. I am unsure if they are supposed to cast more spells but compared to the Trog and the Duergar they have about 20-25 less AB, 20 less damage, and less ac than the duergar by about 18. It took the kobold about a minute to go through and kill a spawn of driders alone. If they are more of a caster henchmen then maybe the AI is having a hard time using spells. It took a kobold about two minutes to kill a Crinti swashbuckler alone.

https://imgur.com/a/s4vTDOO