Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

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Karris the Anarchist
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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Karris the Anarchist » Sun Feb 14, 2021 1:01 pm

ReverentBlade wrote:
Tue Feb 09, 2021 11:38 am
Faerzress-Adapted

Require Neutral or Evil
Requires Minor Award

A character with Faerzress-Adapted is able to cast without additional penalties in Faerzress-influenced zones. Additionally, they may utilize the portals in Andunor proper.

Faerzress-Adapted can be seen on the character examine page with a DC (whatever) Spellcraft check.

Most Underdark races are Faerzress-Adapted by default.

Retires Outcast system.
I think an even cooler solution could be to make it a ritual of a kind to be performed IG by one (or more) arcane casters already attuned to the Faerzress. Sure, there will be those OOC player gangs gaming it in their own circles, but the RP potential for this is vast.

Also means it could be an actual character development arch rather than an OOC choice made before character creation.

Or hell, let it be an award choice while retiring the outcast system, but also let it be a thing you can do later on.
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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Aren » Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:18 am

Careful bump. : )

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Tabby » Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:15 pm

-XXX- wrote:
Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:40 am
Why only evil PCs?

There's a vast difference between hanging around Andunor and ejoying the PvE content. There are no mechanical walls that'd gate the UD races from going to the surface dungeons, why should the reverse be the case?
This i agree on aswell

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by malcolm_mountainslayer » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:33 pm

-XXX- wrote:
Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:40 am
Flower Power wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:10 pm
One potential solution could be to simply only allow Evil-aligned PCs to go down into the UD
Why only evil PCs?



There's a vast difference between hanging around Andunor and ejoying the PvE content. There are no mechanical walls that'd gate the UD races from going to the surface dungeons, why should the reverse be the case?
there kind of is

if your a monster.. you get hunted if your an outcast or slave you have a tag. Meanwhile surfacers have no tags going to underdark.

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by AstralUniverse » Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:03 am

So I read this in the OP...
Having played a villainous warlock on Skal, and not wanting to participate in the kind of RP that the surface offers (no hate, just not my cuppa), I naturally chose to go to the underdark. The first many RL-days of my characters underdark career, were spent making sure I had the accept of the powers that reigned at that time, to stay. Then I spent a few more days learning enough Undercommon to get by without running into the whole "You no speak language, collar now or die" spiel, every time I went somewhere.
After a week or so of situating my character, I finally start making allies for grinding and such. Huzzah! My villainous warlock has found his place in the world!
... and this actually makes me want to try that as well. Seems like an interesting place. I never played in Grayport so what the heck.

But then I read this...
Now imagine my dispair, when almost every zone that has any worthwhile XP for underdark characters of late teen levels / beginning epic levels, also has a very high chance to be affected by the Faerzress. Now, I don't mind when the volcano spawns, or the random stuns, imprisonments or losing half your coin - that's all part of the charm of wildmagic. However, another system was put in to act as an extreme deterrent for surface casters going to the UD for grinding. Every time you proc a wildsurge as a surface (non-shadowmage) arcane caster, which is quite often as a warlock, you have a 50%? chance to take roughly 60 damage of non-mitigatable damage, that also stuns you. My 300+ HP warlock, almost killed himself on the first pack of Crinti when trying to help someone complete their writ. While I understand that the Faerzress SHOULD wreak havoc on non native UD characters, completely barring migrating surface arcane casters (by making them take immense damage and a stun) from doing anything in the underdark does not, in my opinion, do anything good for anyone. The crazy randomness of wildmagic is dangerous enough.
and I'm trully left wondering why casters got screwed so hard while mundanes basically dont care about this. My supposedly mundane character can just ignore the second paragraph of the OP and go along his day. Seems strange.
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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Aren » Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:02 am

AstralUniverse wrote:
Fri Jun 11, 2021 2:03 am
So I read this in the OP...
Having played a villainous warlock on Skal, and not wanting to participate in the kind of RP that the surface offers (no hate, just not my cuppa), I naturally chose to go to the underdark. The first many RL-days of my characters underdark career, were spent making sure I had the accept of the powers that reigned at that time, to stay. Then I spent a few more days learning enough Undercommon to get by without running into the whole "You no speak language, collar now or die" spiel, every time I went somewhere.
After a week or so of situating my character, I finally start making allies for grinding and such. Huzzah! My villainous warlock has found his place in the world!
... and this actually makes me want to try that as well. Seems like an interesting place. I never played in Grayport so what the heck.

But then I read this...
Now imagine my dispair, when almost every zone that has any worthwhile XP for underdark characters of late teen levels / beginning epic levels, also has a very high chance to be affected by the Faerzress. Now, I don't mind when the volcano spawns, or the random stuns, imprisonments or losing half your coin - that's all part of the charm of wildmagic. However, another system was put in to act as an extreme deterrent for surface casters going to the UD for grinding. Every time you proc a wildsurge as a surface (non-shadowmage) arcane caster, which is quite often as a warlock, you have a 50%? chance to take roughly 60 damage of non-mitigatable damage, that also stuns you. My 300+ HP warlock, almost killed himself on the first pack of Crinti when trying to help someone complete their writ. While I understand that the Faerzress SHOULD wreak havoc on non native UD characters, completely barring migrating surface arcane casters (by making them take immense damage and a stun) from doing anything in the underdark does not, in my opinion, do anything good for anyone. The crazy randomness of wildmagic is dangerous enough.
and I'm trully left wondering why casters got screwed so hard while mundanes basically dont care about this. My supposedly mundane character can just ignore the second paragraph of the OP and go along his day. Seems strange.
It was frustrating. I was really enjoying the character and the roleplay, but I felt kind of forced to roll the character due to the mechanic. Sad days.

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Itikar » Sat Sep 04, 2021 5:54 am

With the new warlock wave could perhaps this be a moment to look back into this thing? It feels a bit odd that arcane casters are deterred this way, especially when mundanes (and I take divine casters?) are not really affected.

I am all for the need to make the Underdark more deadly for surfacers, and to an extent even for Underdarkers alike, but the feedback provided in this thread does not really paint that portrait, but that of an unfun and disproportionate penalty to arcane casters.

The only thing that I saw in that direction is the bardsong Strings of the Weave, but to expect people to have a bard at hand every time they go with a surface arcane caster to a faerzress zone seems a little much. The consumable, with maybe also toning down a little some of the penalties, seems a fair way to move imho.

Also, to be a bit frank, I have to say, that if this system was thought as a way to deter surfacers from going too light-heartedly below, well it is not really working.

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Skibbles » Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:47 am

I assume this is still happening?

Might be neat to just go a very simple route of like a drow-only art or alchemy medium-DC object that can be made with somewhat easy to obtain materials to make like a magic rock that helps when it's in a character's inventory.

They'd quickly become available at an accessible price, assuming the materials aren't too crazy, and might make for some RP in obtaining them. I'm sort of comparing it to the Deep Wells rod of recall that isn't 'easily' available to UD characters - somewhat easy to get, cheap, but can require a tad bit of 'contacts' or smuggling roleplay which can be fun.

Drow might get a kick out of trying to figure out which of their kind are making Faerzress rocks, etc.
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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Aren » Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:04 am

I have yet to test if the new Eldritch Blast triggers wild surges.

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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Ebonstar » Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:13 am

why not use the same script that runs the death recovery timer , but have it as an adaption timer to the UD surges

say when you hit 6 months you begin to have partial adaptation then at a year and so on until you have fully adapted?
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Re: Leaving Skaljard for the Underdark.

Post by Dr. B » Sun Sep 05, 2021 4:37 pm

I'm in favor of mechanics that discourage surfacers from grinding in the UD. In fact, I think they're extremely important. Very few of the encounters I've had as an Underdarker with grinding surfacers have been enjoyable. They either culminated in immersion-breaking partying up, or the surfacers attacking so no one would blow the whistle on them and interrupt their grind.

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