Racial Quests - AE

[Rashir Ajah]

How about a unique Saris tier VI ability based around the feline 'nine lives' concept. Saris are supposed to have an affinity with life magic anyway.

Imagine an ability with say... a 30 minute duration and a 1 hour cooldown. While the effect is on, if the Saris dies he or she has a 50% chance of being brought back at full health (though with the death point and penalty.) Obviously this would be a very powerful ability which would need to be balanced with the other races abilities, but I think it fits the Saris theme nicely.

A passive speed bonus, or a jump modifier which would be either passive or active would be nice for Saris as well. Unarmed attacks are more the domain of the monk though. (I would personally like to see the Saris unarmed attack animations be changed to have them swiping with claws as opposed to punching. There doesn't need to be any racial abilities based around this.

Other races...

Human:
Human Resourcefulness- +10 innate modifier to all skills,
Human Learning- Innate +1-2% experience modifer (very very subtle, but noticable in the long run),
Human Adaptability - Temporary moderate, or innate small bonus to all elemental resistances.

Sslik:
Sslik Sprint- In real life, lizards are fast little buggers when they need to be. An additional 'Sslik Sprint' wouldn't be out of place though perhaps a bit redundant.
Sslik Camoflage- Temporary percentile evasion boost.
Natural Healing- Innate small regeneration bonus, perhaps that works even in combat, OR healing spells and abilities gain an additional boost when used on the sslik.

Dwarf:
Dwarven Willpower- A dwarf's natural stubborness gives him or her an innate mind ward or temporary immunity to mind-based 'mesmerize/spellbind' spells.
Dwarven Constitution- Resistance or immunity to poison-based DoTs, or maybe all DoTs.

Half-Giant: (These ideas would mainly benefit warrior giants. Whether or not spellcasting or bow-wielding half-giants should be considered for abilities I'm not sure.)
Giant Might- Melee attacks temporarily gain a chance to stun the target.
Feat of Strength- An ability with a 5-10 minute cooldown, which when used automatically breaks all ice or nature based roots on the Half-Giant. (Perhaps lasting for an additional 30 seconds which would grant immunity during that period.)
Unstoppable- Temporary or permanant immunity or chance to resist nature or energy-based stuns.
Giant reach- Innate +5 modifier to all melee attack range (not sure about how useful this one would be.)

Gnome:
Gnomian Slipperiness- Innate chance to resist all roots and stuns. (Spellbind still works normally.)
Gnomian Observation- When used on an opponent, the next special attack, ability, or non-repeating spell that the opponent uses on the gnome is copied by the gnome and targetted on the original attacker. (A bomb-spell would be centered on the caster, for example, when copied.) If the attacker does not use an appropriate attack on the gnome in 30 seconds, the ability is wasted.

Elf:
Elven Artful Magic- The next spell cast gains an area of 10. This could also affect healing spells and heal all allies in the area.
(Sorry elves, can't think of any more.)

Fiend:
Fiendish Cruelty- Debuffs cast by the fiend have a longer duration.
(Fresh out of ideas [*-)])

Dryad:
Dryad Flight- As has been suggested before, a temporary flying ability would be kinda nice to see. Be careful to make sure Dragons are still the masters of flight.
(Blergh, more good ones coming up though.)

Satyr:
Satyr Virtue - Play the Melody- An AE spellbind racial ability.
Satyr Virtue - Eat the Feast- All food consumed by the Satyr has an enhanced effect. Perhaps this could even be a long duration area affect ability which would cause gifted to come from all around to feast with the Satyr.
Satyr Virtue - Master the Dance- Short duration group buff which modestly enhances all allies evasion.
Satyr Virtue - Enjoy the Revelry- Targetted dispel which cancels stat reducing debuffs. (Not dots, stuns, roots, etc.)

Dragon- Lunus
Fearsome Roar- An AE stun that includes mind damage, similar to the Ogre Cry ability.
Lunus Presence- An Aura which works like a permanant but lesser version of menacing presence, redirecting some attacks to the Lunus. Perhaps while the aura is active the Lunus takes 5% less damage. If the dragon doesn't want to tank in a group it can cancel the Aura.

Dragon- Helian
Primal Infusion- A short duration group buff which enhances damage done by all spells by 150%.
Helian Teaching- An Aura which increases the accuracy of all spells cast by allies and increases their magical evasion.


That's all I can think of at the moment... maybe I'll add more later.

[Marco]

Dragons:
A real armor boost, to match the lore of dragon scales surpassing the greatest biped

Actually that is "Dragon Scales provide excellent defense in physical combat." and "A Dragon?s skin is covered with thick scales, offering better protection than the majority of the armors the Living Races use."

Still, I would like to see that "excellent" defense.... 421 < all armor

[metagruen]

I really like the idea of Sslik haveing a temporary "no drown" ability.
I would not go as far as say a permanent no drown, but an ability like..let's say Sprint thar lasts for a specific amount of time and can be activated.
The length of the "water breath" would raise with levels.

I would strongly suggest to better have one / two abilites that get better with each quests (such as Power Strike / Multistrike) than haveing lots of mediocre abilites you only use rarely.

So. let's say for the first level of water breathing you get a 60 second boost. next level you get 90 second and if you have like 4 levels you can get up to a3 min ability.

BUT: and here comes the important thing. your movement speed would not be reduced. so when you hit a river or small pond you can actually activate the ability and cross the pond as if you were a dragon flying over it.

In the spirit tower swamps for example you could reach the other sides by that instead of using the bolders / rocks.

This would be a nice gimmick. Only usable on specific locations but useful and fun.

[Felinor]

Saris-
Lvl 1-20: Saris Sprint/Life bonus- Need I say more? No quest required.

Lvl 20-40: Feline Reflexes- Gives the Saris player a passive +20 evasion +10 Dexterity. The quest could require the player having to killed a named mob with high evasion. Perhaps a wolf?

Lvl 40-60: Blessing of Life- 1 minute timer, 30 minute recycle. For the next 1 minute all heals heal for 150%. The quest could require saving an important Saris cleric accolyte from the hands of a nasty myoc queen.

Lvl 60-80: Spirit of the Panther- Gives the Saris player a passive +5 speed, +5 dodge, +5 chance to hit with melee, ranged, or spells. The quest could require a deeper understanding of Saris heritage through a journey to speak to 10 well hidden Saris scholars.

Lvl 80-100: Holy Flames of Kion- Instant ability, 1 hour recycle. The Saris player calls upon his/her ancestors in the form of holy flames to deal 150-150 life damage to all enemies in a large area of effect. The quest would require killing a very corrupt Saris ghost turned by the Withered Aegis hundreds of years ago.

Lvl 100-120: Spirit of the Lion- Gives the Saris player a passive +30 strength, +50 armor, and 2% chance to deal double damage. This quest would have to be long, deep and involved. Killing multiple named mobs and talking to a number of NPC's, each quizing you on information from the previous ones. Upon completion you gain this wonderful bonus and a title in Kion as a Legendary Saris. Perhaps a herald in town will shout your deeds for the next hour.

You said wild or conservative! I added a little bit of both :) Hope this helps Dave.

[Dragoniade]

Actually that is "Dragon Scales provide excellent defense in physical combat." and "A Dragon?s skin is covered with thick scales, offering better protection than the majority of the armors the Living Races use."

Still, I would like to see that "excellent" defense.... 421 < all armor

Actually, I'm refering to the real scales of dragons, not the equiped scales dragons can add later (which are locked per Tier).
Kind of like saying a monk is the best hand to hand combatant, but it need a dagger to deal any descent damage at all.

[Safire]

I will agree with dryad flight IF saris are able toclimbwalls and mtns and treesand it is still not as good as dragon flight

[Phillip]

Current Racial Abilities should be reworked before adding further racial quests.

[imported_Onnidrah]

Great hmm lemme get a good Half-gaint ability :P

[Marco]

Actually, I'm refering to the real scales of dragons, not the equiped scales dragons can add later (which are locked per Tier).
Kind of like saying a monk is the best hand to hand combatant, but it need a dagger to deal any descent damage at all.

So am I.

[imported_Onnidrah]

David maybe just a idea but like u have race abbilty's we should get em Tierd like when ur highest lvl is 20 u have ur race ability T2

[Marco]

Nother nogard
Some adult ability:
(increase modifier for ancient)
#define MODIFIER 1.1f
void OnDamage(float& dam)
{
dam/=MODIFIER;
}
void OnAttack(float& dam)
{
dam*=MODIFIER;
}

[Steele]

David - thank you for listening to us! This is VERY encouraging to me personally, and I know to many others. I have a few ideas:


Dwarves have traditionally had a love of axe- and mace/maul-class weapons. They are highly effective with them due to generations of honing their wielding techniques. As a result, they should be able to quest/train to gain up to a passive +5 damage when using axe- and mace/maul- class weapons.

Dwarves, due to ages and ages of abusing harsh alcoholic beverages have developed a hardiness to most toxins. This should grant the race a natural resistance versus sicknesses and poisons, manifesting itself in a passive +20 resistance and ward to Blight-based attacks.

Through their culturally advanced armor and weaponcrafting lore, theDwarven race has empowered itsmelee fighters to become more proficient in the use of weapons and armor. Dwarves who prove themselves ready for this additional knowledge should be granted a passive +7 bonus to their BASE 1- and 2-hand slashing and crushingskills, as well as an additional +5 bonus to BASE armor use. (This would allow a 9AU/level adventure class to wear second step Tier5 armor at Adventurer level 100, when they would finally achieve 910 AU).

If you're accepting craft-related ideas, Dwarves for generations have been driven by their love of gems, stone and metal. They have spent long generations gathering these materials for their crafts and thus should be able to seek outancient Dwarven masters to learn how to gather more than 1 raw material per gathering attempt. Allowing the race an ability to gather a minimum of (base skill / 200, rounding down) per strike for mining and quarrying would be fitting for the race, and allow gradual progress as they level their crafts. Notice: this shouldbe based off of base skill, NOT level, so as to offer Dwarven miners more of a tangible benefit earlier in their class's career.

[Steele]

I just thought of an idea for Sslik that was kinda mentioned earlier, but I wanted to embellish.

Sslik, as reptiles, are a cold-blooded race and LOVE basking on a hot rock under the harsh afternoon sun.Well, I think they should be able to train an ability that allows them to on demand, when assaulted by harmful fire spells and effects, harness that warmth, temporarily channeling some of that heat into their blood, granting them a temporary haste to their attacks and footspeed. While opening themselves up to the benefits of this ability, it also opens them up to a vulnerability to ice attacks - and if they are caught by surprise their blood may be chilled by ice-based attacks, causing their attacks and movement to becomeslowed.

[Annick]

In addition to racial traits, choice of race should affect stat gains when advancing. If humans were considered a 'neutral' race, meaning when advancing a level they would gain 'regular' stats associated with their active school, a half-giant might gain 2 more strength, but take a -1 penalty in dexterity and evasion, a dryad might gain +1 power/focus, but take a -2 strength penalty, etc.

[Glocaug]

have seen a lot of great ideas in here.... would be assume to see a satyr pull out a flute and play it to make a monster or some monsters fall asleep. I thing that i would like to see is that the abilities that add to statistics like health, evasion, strength and so on to be a percentage so that the ability doesnt become useless as on gains lvls.

[Ellah]

Hmm, I really think a "Racial Ability" should do something the Race is inherently good at. It should not be something to even out the non Cookie Cutter Combo's.
We are after all talking about a Species Ability, not the odd Individuals.

I play a Dragon and a Human, and what I would like to see is a way to go more "Lunus" or more "Helian". How this could work is by actually giving up unused abilitys, such as giving up Primal Roar in a Melee Dragon, or Determination in a Magical Dragon. Something along those Lines would be really nice. Basically a way to specialise more and more, the higher Level you go. This might not be a preference across the Board, but I like Specialising in what I do.

Also I agree with the 105% increase instead of the +5. It makes more Sense, since a Character will always be able to apply a certain Knowledge, not just once.
The Idea for a Half Giant having an AE Attack also would make Sense, because with their large arms they can threaten a larger area.

[Thorgat]

Here is what the user at Horizonsempire brought up (just summarized translation, no weighting or so):

Takora: Claw Slots for Dragons like monk hand wraps, more breath attacks or spells, etheral armor or a scale tech and the ability to put gems in the hoard again.

Brunswick (plays dwarf only): Dragon should be able to transport people, elves get a bow bonus, dwarfes more berserk like ability, gnomes be better at raising crafting, half giants wear more weight and do more damage in fight, saris better nightsight and speed, satyr additional attack for horns and hoof, dryads get a bonus for evasion and higher speed, sslik should be able to swim or drown more slowly plus a speed bonus in jungle areas, human no specials bonus, fiends higher magic skills and int and better in enchanting.

sina: saris better dodge/evasion for melee but trouble in water, giants more damage for melee and more health and dexterity, dryads higher magic resistance and nature bonus, elves disease immunity and bonus for bow or bow-range or special elf-only bows, satyr maybe a flute of pan only they can use that envokes certain spells like charming, gnomes get a higher dex while crafting and less aggro-pull for mobs while gathering, dwarf: higher health and strength and being allowed to use mithril earlier or let equippment out of those get a bonus but slower than other races, dragon get higher flame ward / flame magic resistance, humans: undecided, idea to let the switch classes earlier/easier isn't really good too, sslik: faster regeneration and higher armor from scales and higher speed (in warmer regions would be better) and higher dodge chance but trouble in cold areas, fiends: summon bonus or magic skill bonus.

totalnut: what brunswick said, but for humans lower trade costs at consigner or pawn.

Slik Slak: Sslik can ride dragons, can swim and climb hills easier for their claws, thicker skin/armor, tail stun attack or claw attack, higher productivity or lower consigner costs in sslanis, debuffs in cold and snow if other races get this too.

[Gnort]

Gnome - Dex or Evasion bonus ability for a certain period of time. (since if it were as most gnomes in DND are we would have excellent evasion/dex skills). '

Also gnomes could or should have better skills for working metals, wood and stone (as gnomes are normally inventors)

[Hasai]

Okay Dave; you asked for it....

(I'll stick w/dragons: I'm an ignoramus re the other races)

Paw Smash - (Crush damage and stun) The adult/ancient dragon exploits its considerable mass to swat smaller foes.

AoE Tail Swipe - (Crush damage and stun) The adult/ancient dragon swipes with its tail, and all mobs within its effective radius who fail to dodge go down like tenpins.

Lift and Drop - (Crush damage and stun) The adult/ancient grabs its victim, lifts it high, then drops it. (P.S.: For more fun, make 'fat' mobs, like Aegrors (sp?) and Ruxus bounce on impact.)

Charge - (Stun) The juvenile/adult/ancient dragon lunges into its opponent, body-blocking it into the ground. Duration dependent upon the age of the dragon.

Dragon Freeze - (Mez) Stole this idea from a novel. A (thinking) mob, finding itself face-to-face w/an adult/ancient dragon, will "freeze" for either a duration dependent upon the age of the dragon or until the mob is injured, whichever comes first.

Ignite - (DoT) Much like Burning Embers, but w/a much higher possibility of igniting mobs who tend to be flammable or wear clothing. (Treants, mummies, reanimateds, zombies, etc.)

Primal Vortex - (AoE, DoT) Primal ability much like Primal Bolt, save the multiple bolts swirl about the target area for a period of time dependent upon the age of the dragon, impacting the mob(s) again and again.

Dragon Rescue - (Rez) Just one, little bitty rez? Only works on other dragons? Please?

Pounce - (Crush damage and stun) Adult/ancient dragon leaps upon its smaller opponent, smashing it to the earth.

Aerial Pounce - Same as Pounce, but initiated from flight and with higher damage.

Strafe - (Primal) Aerial bombardment, much like a fast-recycle Primal Bolt, but at only 1/2 the accuracy since it's launched from the air.

EtherealScales - (Ward?) Permanent boost to dragon's resistance to ethereal attacks.

Ethereal Claws - (T&C) Converts slashing attacks to ethereal damage.

Torn Roots - A cure for the rooted-in-midair nerf. When a dragon reaches a certain age, it becomes powerful enough to tear free of attempts to entangle it.

[Jaraiden]

We've begun work on racial quests. We will be adding quests for six tiers of racial abilities per race. This will take quite a bit of time, and will be introduced as each quest is completed and tested. What I am interested in learning is what you believe appropriate racial abilities would be for each of the eleven races. Feel free to be as conservative or wild as you wish, since this is the place for suggestions.

David Bowman

First, finish the races . . . Ensure the current racial abilities match lore and some racial balancing. Also, no fixed ability bonus but a modest percentage of base skill without applied training points. Similar to how the dryads are if I understand it . . . can't test and create a new character, transport error.

Next, be sure to base if off of Istarian lore, as Dangit said in that chat in the Half-giant racial subforum. I am sure AE is making plans to expand the lore, hopefully to emphasize inter-racial conflicts.

Here is a link that may be of interest, I mentioned racial quests - http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=10713#10713

Dragons should have racial quests to fulfill AE's vision of the Dragon race in Istaria - http://www.istaria.com/page.php?pg=c...mp;mid=Dragons


* Adult dragon's natural armor boosted at levels 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 . . . at such levels a dragon's natural armor should match that of a full set of basic scalemail (thus that armor's name). Remove the armor bonus due to hoard (not per lore). It should be a simple quest (if not automatic).
- "Dragon Scales provide excellent defense in physical combat. Scales mature as dragons progress concurrently giving them more protection. This is an innate ability and requires no action."
- "A Dragon?s skin is covered with thick scales, offering better protection than the majority of the armors the Living Races use." (thus bipeds have an edge with platemail armor and are close in scalemail armor and jewelry teched with armor).


* Strength quests at 50, 75, 100, 120, and an Ancient boost so the strength of Adult and Ancient Dragons are comparable to that of Half-giant warriors.
- "Dragons are blessed with unbridled strength, making them fearsome Warriors"
-"the physical prowess of a Half-Giant is nearly unmatched amongst all the Living Races in Istaria" (as in matched by the larger, biggered muscled dragons).


* Spell knowledge quests at 50, 75, 100, 120, and an Ancient boost as the dragons of old were truly impressive by their strength and skills with magic (had lots more practice). Expand the Primal line for adult and ancient dragons or allow access to the schools of magic derived from Primal (about time is it not?).
- "ancient race whose existence predates the earliest of written records." Also, "many scholars believe were revered as deities in the times before the Age of the Gods. The enormous likeness of a mighty Dragon . . . is some evidence that Dragons held a place of reverence"
- Flying "motive force itself seems to be based more on the harnessing of external, mystical energies."
- "Dragons also strike a balance between power and focus, making them solid practitioners of the arts arcane." So, in line with strength boosting, add power/focus boosting.


* A quest to learn how to cast hoard powered spells - Prime Bolt and Improved Prime Bolt (perhaps multicast later). This could balance hoard powered melee attacks of Gold Rage and Silver Strike.
- "Dragons seem to feed (in the figurative sense) off of the size of their hoards, giving them added power."


* A level 10 crafting quest so dragons higher in crafting levels can get health and statistics based on highest of crafting level or adventure level, not be soley dependent on the adventure level. Can there be a pure crafting dragon without level 1 health and statistics?


* An adult level 40 and 80 (craft) then Ancient level 110 (craft) capacity quest to boost capacity over their smaller kin. The capacity should approximate that of similar level bipeds. An Ancient dragon should have the capacity of a biped in full cargo gear with satchel at level 110. Adjust downward for any cargo scales.


* Aerial breath attack - While the engine cannot support attacking while in flight, a no delay firey breath weapon attack (normal in other respects) would mimic it. Just has to be the opening attack before debuffs. Perhaps if an enemy has been selected, then it goes off when it senses the dragon has landed and is in range.


* Ancient dragon auras . . . Fear for Lunus and ?? for Helian . . . likely an area of effect super Snarl (Lunus) or longer Menancing Presence (Helian).
- Lunus fear aura (esp. against humans) as "the paragon of civilization" seeing "the other races should serve either to praise Dragon civilization (from a comfortable distance away), or they should simply get the hell out of the way".
- Helian ??? aura as "the protectors of knowledge and of the world at large" and "inform [the other races they] could learn much from their example" and desire a return to the reverence now lost.