Done: Magic Upgrade

I've just started working on an upgrade to the Player Item Enchantment System. Yay! More delicious PIES! Not sure when I'll be finished, but I'll probably roll this out in stages as I finish each part.

Planned:
- scroll scribing with selectable caster levels
- potion brewing with selectable caster levels
- wand enchanting with selectable caster levels
- player enhancement of existing items
- - - limited to non-DM-modified items
- - - there will be a limit on number (as yet undecided) of enhancements on a single item
- - - DMs will still have a much, much larger selection of item customizations than this system will allow

To Do:
- rewrite/recode VC commands for enchanting items
- - - shorten ";;enchant " to ";;mi " (short for magic items)
- - - add ;;mi cl x command for pre-selection of caster levels for wands/scrolls/potions
- - - make all-new coding for level-selectable casting items
- - - simplify spell entry commands (to work with capitalization differences and some common spell name alternatives)
- - - expand/alter commands for other item enchantment
- create base scrolls for every spell
- create base potions for every eligible spell (up to 3rd level spells, single target)
- - - exception: cure critical wounds (4th level)
- create base wands for every eligible spell (up to 4th level spells)
- recode spell resistance checks to account for selectable caster levels
- edit every spell script
- create new potion item icons

And yes, this does mean that I figured out how to:
A) get spell scripts to recognize that a spell is cast by an item (and not a spellcaster)
B) get spell casting items to properly store PC-selected caster level
C) prevent items (such as scrolls and potions) with different caster levels from stacking in inventory (and losing caster level info)
D) allow PC creation of casting items with selectable caster levels without adding 40 of every item and without adding 40 entries for every spell into iprp_spells.2da (the item's name and description will show the "true caster level")

Note: scrolls, potions, and wands will not increase in value at shops based on selectable caster level

Oh, my! Much deliciousness!

Oh my goodness..... casters with Scribe Scroll everywhere in Aenea will rejoice!

Ad, you have done it again

I'm missing out on so many new goodies
*shakes fist*

You aren't the only one

WOOOOooooOOOOOOooooo!

You guys aren't missing it yet, since I'm just starting work on this.

For player enhancement of existing items ... will that PC have to be in a specific area? Will it be the current workshops, or will a new type be added? And will the PC have to take a feat for this, or will it be like those goofy boots?

Eric of Atrophy wrote:For player enhancement of existing items ... will that PC have to be in a specific area? Will it be the current workshops, or will a new type be added? And will the PC have to take a feat for this, or will it be like those goofy boots?

Magical Laboratory (existing).

Enchant Item, Forge Jewelry, and/or Enchant Arms & Armor.


( is typing while holding an infant)

Possible player-made potions preview...

I think I remember reading a post from once upon a time ago that said the reason Pale Masters couldn't be made to gain actual caster levels was because it would basically require editing every spell in the game; since this is on the To Do list already, is there any possibility of PMs getting the hook-up?

Those potion bottles look ace by !! ... And that would be cool to see an update of the PM caster abilities added whilst goes through them all anyway... ... however with the recent overhaul to the various "Raise/Control Undead" abilities would this not tip the balance of power for the PM class ...

And yes RustyDios is posting whilst on holiday, much to the annoyance of the wife who has "ruled" the holiday is to be NWN free... yeah right, the game is as much a part of my life as she is... I don't think I could function correctly without it

Wow! Those potions look really nice.

I guess I need to make a mage now.

With the exciting news that crafted items will now be able to store caster level, would it be possible to give the spell trigger spell the same capability? Would go a LONG ways toward making that spell as nasty as it should be when cleverly set up with effective spells. I would love to tag a white dragon with three silverblade searing strikes

Wow ... , you are truly a craftsman, breathing new life into this old game with every stroke of your keyboard!

Those bottles look helluva cool! And with a new feat, I can see me needing some releveling scales, as well!

RustyDios wrote:I don't think I could function correctly without it

I don't think that we could function correctly without you, RustyDios!
Hope the vaycay is wonderful and refreshing!

Eric of Atrophy wrote: And with a new feat, I can see me needing some releveling scales, as well!

A new feat?

All the enchantment feats have been in for...checking old forum posts...over a year and a half. Wow. It doesn't seem like that long since I added the current enchantment system.

The Amethyst Dragon wrote:Enchant Item, Forge Jewelry, and/or Enchant Arms & Armor.

Enchant Arms & Armor are in already? Must the PC be a magic-user to select these feats? (Could explain why I don't remember seeing those feats before ...) *wanders off to feed restless 2-year-old and look up PIES*

Yup, magic-users only ... bummer.
Wait, now ... multipass! Oops ... I mean multiclass!

Hush, Leeloo. She knows it's a multipass.

Hush, Leeloo. She knows it's a multipass.

*Lauralai hits the buzzer* "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
Answer =The Fifth Element
I love that movie

You've gotta love a nicely orchestrated threadjacking!

But I digress ...

Do the enhancement/enchantment feats have any pre-reqs to them? I don't recall seeing any, but then again, I didn't recall that they were in in the first place ...

Eric of Atrophy wrote:Do the enhancement/enchantment feats have any pre-reqs to them?

Just minimum levels in spellcasting base classes.

Scribe Scroll:
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 1

Brew Potion:
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 3

Enchant Focus (formerly called Craft Wand, now for rods and staves as well):
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 5

Enchant Arms & Armor:
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 5

Enchant Item: (for miscellaneous items that don't require the other feats)
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 7

Forge Jewelry:
Bard/Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Sorcerer/Wizard 12

And on a side note, wizards gain the scribe scroll feat for free at wizard level 1. For tinkering around with this stuff, wizard is probably the way to go as well as the feats are included in their bonus feat list (levels 5, 10, 15 and 20), as well as the ability to have every spell in their spell list.

Something that came to mind; how will this play into Custom Items?

The enhancements will be reasonable with some limitations (which I haven't finalized yet), so custom items will be eligible for in-game enhancing.

I've got all the "base" potions made (and the base scrolls, and the base wands), and today I was going to do all the scripting for brewing the potions (with selectable caster levels), then remembered that I need to redo the spell scripts first.

I've got about 1/2 of the "functions" I need scripted (for properly calculating save DCs and caster levels, and for determining spell school for things like Spell Focus feats and later additions). I'm working in ways to support future expansion (such as adding items that can affect caster level, save DCs, etc.) without having to rescript or even recompile every spell script again after these changes are made.

Have you by chance included proper calculation of palemaster levels for the spell scripts while you were poking around in them?

MannyJabrielle wrote:Have you by chance included proper calculation of palemaster levels for the spell scripts while you were poking around in them?

That's one of the things that goes into proper calculation of caster levels. Plus, if in the future I add a prestige class that adds to caster level (even though it wouldn't be able to add to spell slots or spells known), it'd be easy to work into the code.

Ranamed the thread, since its ending up more than just improving some magical item options.

Here's another teaser for yas:

Metamagic Magical Staves! Yes, since I'm rescripting every spell in the game , I'm adding in the option of casting spells with an extra layer of "behind the scenes" metamagic by wielding a special magic staff during casting. These won't use up higher spell slots, but will be very expensive and must be held to be used. No staves will have more than one metamagic effect. And no, this property won't be available for custom reward items.

What could this mean? Well, some extra goodness for spellcasters (this means all spellcasters), of course.

A) Combination of different metamagics. Want to both empower and maximize a fireball? Just prepare a fireball spell with one metamagic feat, then be sure to wield the proper staff when casting to apply the other.

B) Additional non-feat metamagics. Yup, it's a way for me to add new types of metamagic to NWN, just for Aenea:
Examples:
- staff of steps I: when held, 0-8th level spells cast are considered 1 level higher for purposes of save DCs and passing spell resistance.
- staff of steps III: when held, spells cast are considered 3 levels higher for purposes of save DCs and passing spell resistance (max. 9th level).
- staff of expansion: when held, spells with a spherical/circular area of effect have their radius increased to the next size upward
- staff of the necromancer: when held, +2 to save DC and +2 to caster level for bypassing spell resistance when casting necromancy spells
- staff of icy substitution: when held, a spell's "elemental" damage type (acid, electricity, fire, or sonic) is changed to cold...it won't change visual effects, just damage type.

* sets out a mop and empty bucket for Crideas and his fellow spell-slingers before wandering back to the toolset. *

That's just plain awesome!

I like the elemental substitution a lot. It will make many of the acid and fire based spells very useful in the dark realm. Not to mention cleave health would also become very useful. I assume the staffs would not be able to effect epic spells.

__Ua__ wrote:I like the elemental substitution a lot. It will make many of the acid and fire based spells very useful in the dark realm. Not to mention cleave health would also become very useful. I assume the staffs would not be able to effect epic spells.

The idea behind the elemental subsitution ones is exactly that. Take that fireball and instantly turn it into a coldball, without having to prepare a casting of glacius' breath of winter, or change that cone of cold into a cone of fire while in the Icereach.

The elemental subsitution ones would have no effect on cleave health, since it's not an "elemental magic" spell.

And correct, the metamagic staves will not have any effect on epic spells.

Wow.... thats freaking hawt!

So... any chance of different flavors of the elemental substitution staves? If one can be made for cold, it would seem to follow that fire, acid, and shock would also be possible?

daveyeisley wrote:So... any chance of different flavors of the elemental substitution staves? If one can be made for cold, it would seem to follow that fire, acid, and shock would also be possible?

Of course it's possible. They're already made and can be purchased in-game (just check out that one place where everything is magical). They just won't do anything until I get all the spell re-scripting done.

daveyeisley wrote:So... any chance of different flavors of the elemental substitution staves? If one can be made for cold, it would seem to follow that fire, acid, and shock would also be possible?

Bust out the Bags of Holding! It's time for the Aenean version of Hoarders! First stop, Crid's sanctum!

*Don't worry, dave, I will personally make up your membership card for the Pac-ratter's Guild!*

heh...

I'm not much for the packrat syndrome, but I just had a thought.... this really rocks for sorcs... the ability to have a diverse range of elemental damagers, but no need to devote precious spells known slots to 4 or 5 different spells.

Amen.

.... Amen.

Progress Report: Nov. 6

Finally finished with the function coding and the development of a "generic spell" template, which I can now use to rather quickly create brand new spell scripts.

I'm going to start with just a few spells for testing purposes before rescripting the rest. I want to make sure the new coding will enable the spells to still function normally, while at the same time be able to be used from "caster-level-selected" scrolls, wands, and potions with the correct caster levels.

A note on elemental substitution staves: These will work only on direct-damage spells that start with acid, cold, electrical, fire, or sonic damage types. This will not include damage shield spells such as fire shield or mestil's acid sheath or spells with a lasting area of effect (such as wall of fire or acid fog).

On environment affecting spell output: Different environments will (or already do) affect certain spells' damage capability:
Underwater:
- acid: -25% damage
- cold: +10% damage
- electrical: +25% damage
- fire: -50% damage
- sonic: +50% damage
- bludgeoning: -50% damage
- slashing: -25% damage
Hot Areas (such as Calithia in summer):
- cold: +10% damage
- hot: -10% damage
Cold Areas (such as Icereach):
- cold: -10% damage
- hot: +10% damage
Dark Realm:
- positive energy: -25% damage ("good" magic just doesn't work as well there)
- negative energy: +25% damage ("evil" magic works better there)

Nov. 8. "Boring..."

I've been making progress on coding for the magic update. Today I've become stuck in Boringland. Data entry. Manually typing in the name of every spells, along with spacing/punctuation/grammar variations on many of them, plus the spells' ID numbers. My brain is failing me, and I haven't even gotten to the Aenea-specific spells yet. I've actually fallen asleep at the computer tonight (I should stop typing while sitting on a comfortable sofa).

I'd like to just skip this step, but it's necessary for the new scripting for enchanting scrolls, wands, and potions.

I will get through this part in the next day or so...just in time for my NWN time to be curtailed by a visit from my parents from out of state. They haven't seen the twins in person yet, so it should be fun.

i feel for ya .....ive done extensive 2da modification myself...and that can cause your eyes to cross afterwhile...specially when the damn thing wont act like it should

* sigh *

I've learned my lesson (maybe). Perhaps I should refrain from making any more new spells that include the Aenean creator's name. Sure it makes for some interesting history for me to sometimes add into the gameworld, but it's a royal pain in the posterior when you have to type in spell names (and variations) twice as many times just to account for anyone that might or might not include the apostrophe when trying to scribe a scroll of glacius' breath of winter or silvania's blood of holy fire.


Only about a hundred or so more spells to go before I test out scroll scribing code changes. After that, the potions and wands should be much faster to code (since I'll have all the spell names and IDs already available for copy/paste operations.

here this should help...*iggy rummages around in his bag of holding* take one of these and call me in the morning

The overhaul to all spells was kind of long overdue, I think.... but really, once it is done, I dont think you will end up having to go back through and redo any of what you are slogging thru now.... so its really a one shot deal for current spells. Adding new ones won't be nearly the same in the volume of work it entails..... so for the sake of 'awesome' keeping those spell creator names would rock. It add's depth, immersion, and 'D&D-ness' to Aenea

Yes, I'll still be adding NPC creator names to some spells. I think it helps tie spells together along themes and helps tie them into a game world's history.

I'm working on recoding more spells now. I'm done with most of the "duration area effect" spells (blade barrier, wall of fire, plus the ones that make fogs/clouds...pretty much the ones I made new visual effects for). I've gotta save the fix for incendiary cloud (silly me forgot to assign a number for the duration) and put it on the live server today.

The gust of wind spell will now get rid of fogs/clouds (the ones I've recoded, anyway), but not other area effect spells.

The delayed blast fireball spell now functions like in pen-and-paper D&D, with it being just a more powerful fireball that can be a delayed explosion from 0 to 5 rounds. You need the latest hak update to see the "timer" object the spell creates when delayed. Default delay is 3 rounds.

After I update the module later today, spellcasters will be able to tell which spells I've updated, since during casting an updated spell a white asterisk * will appear in the combat log.

Other spell changes coming. Ability enhancing spells such as bull's strength will no longer stack, but I will be adding in the 6th level "greater" versions of those six spells (which will give a 2d4+2 boost rather than 1d4+1). With the next tlk and hak file update endurance will get a minor name change to bear's endurance (since all the other ones have animals associated with them).

The next hak/tlk update should also include several planned new spells:
frostfall: 8th level (druid) - freezes a single targeted creature solid for 1 round/level
bone throw: 1st level (all casters) - 1d4/caster level (up to 5d4) on one undead target
water throw: 2nd level (druid/cleric of Aquar/Harcorth) - 1d8 damage to 1 target, +2d8 vs. fire elementals
earthen fist: 3rd level (druid/cleric of Terris) - 1d6/2 caster levels along a path (max 5d6)
crashing wave: 3rd level (druid/cleric of Aquar/Harcorth) - 1d6/2 caster levels along a path (max 5d6)
jade moon: 7th level (druid/cleric) - 5d6 slashing damage, +1d6 per 2 caster levels (max 15d6) along a path
grabthar's hammer: 1st level (sor/wiz) - 1d8+1 bludgeoning, ranged touch (yes, this one was named in jest)
tornado: 9th level (druid/cleric of Borzig/Typhis) - starts a small tornado that hits individual targets for 3d10 bludgeoning + 3d10 piercing, can cause knockdown and spell failure, stops flight in the area, destroys wind and cloud spells, can be directed by the caster to specific targets, blocked by tempest's stormshield...this one will be the hardest to code

...yup, showing some attention to druids and some clerics with this list.

Ability enhancing spells such as bull's strength will no longer stack

Not sure exactly how you are intending this, so I figured I would ask for more information/clarification?

As for the rest, awesomesauce.... druids needed the love, and the clerics definitely needed more deity themed spells. Tornado sounds ridiculously awesome

daveyeisley wrote:

Ability enhancing spells such as bull's strength will no longer stack

Not sure exactly how you are intending this, so I figured I would ask for more information/clarification?

Casting it a second time on yourself will remove the first casting before applying the second casting. I will let you know that multiple castings from more than one spellcaster will stack...a time when teamwork can pay off.

Bull's Strength and similar spells never stacked to begin with... so I'm not sure what's so different...

Multiple castings merely allowed you to try to get the +5 to STR (or whatever stat you're buffing) rather than a +2 or +3

What EKOD said... I can't see what the difference will be either, other that a second casting by the same caster would give a lower bonus. Currently if you cast and get a +3 bonus, recast and the roll would only give a +2, you wouldn't lost a point of bonus, the bonus just woudln't change unless you got a higher roll than on your previous casting.