Suggestions

[Hughes]

agreed. what i've seen (not that gentle Puck gets into many fights) is a very realistic behavior. gnolls that run away when he's in a group have come after him when he's alone; when they flee they don't stop running til they're well out of range of a bowshot; i've even seen them flee into another group of gnolls, where they then regain their courage (their numbers having increased) and turn around to fight again. very cool guys.

[oldgrayrogue]

I had a gnoll flee from Thoron through a map transition the other night, and there he was on the other side. Very cool indeed.

[Brother Humphrey]

I realise Rivermoot's the armpit of the silver marches, but shouldn't the tavern have more selections of potables than the priest of tyr? even settlestone's got over a dozen types of wines and such, while myrtle's only got three.

[White Warlock]

I realise Rivermoot's the armpit of the silver marches, but shouldn't the tavern have more selections of potables than the priest of tyr? even settlestone's got over a dozen types of wines and such, while myrtle's only got three.

That's a "merchandising" opening for a PC, don't you think? {wink}

[Brother Humphrey]

I realise Rivermoot's the armpit of the silver marches, but shouldn't the tavern have more selections of potables than the priest of tyr? even settlestone's got over a dozen types of wines and such, while myrtle's only got three.

That's a "merchandising" opening for a PC, don't you think? {wink}

It would be if A) you could buy low elsewhere & sell high to myrtle or B) a DM came along and allowed you to RP this situation with him, manually, as it were. Otherwise... fergit it

[AsuraKing]

I realise Rivermoot's the armpit of the silver marches, but shouldn't the tavern have more selections of potables than the priest of tyr? even settlestone's got over a dozen types of wines and such, while myrtle's only got three.

That's a "merchandising" opening for a PC, don't you think? {wink}

It would be if A) you could buy low elsewhere & sell high to myrtle or B) a DM came along and allowed you to RP this situation with him, manually, as it were. Otherwise... fergit it

Or just buy wines and stuff Myrtle doesnt have and sell them to people in RM at the time...

[White Warlock]

BUGS

Rivermoot - Interior - Temple - Gelodir is nowhere to be found. Reboot doesn't bring him around, so nobody killed him. He is associated with the static Wynna recently made, initiated by an NPC in the magic shop. I'm thinking Gelodir might be in one of the three "locked" buildings, inaccessible to PCs. Another temple perhaps?

Rivermoot - Cemetary - Temple of the Judged - Priest Aaron Ra wants bones dropped from skeletons, but "none" of the skeletons drop bones, ever (anywhere).

SUGGESTIONS

Random Drop Suggestion
Change random drops, so they are dependent upon level of PC (or average of group) vs CR of creatures. In this way, drops decrease when Level of PC (or group average) is higher than CR of creatures. Drops increase when they are lower than CR of creatures. This approach rewards higher level PCs for mentoring lower level PCs and significantly decreases the motivation for higher level PCs to run about killing lower level creatures without lower level PCs in tow (thus, leaving them intact for lower level PCs to kill).

Change XP, so that xp is dependent upon level of PC (or average of group) vs CR of creatures. XP decreases when Level of PC (or group average) is higher than CR of creatures, XP increases when they are lower than CR of creatures. This approach rewards higher level PCs for mentoring lower level PCs and and significantly decreases the motivation for higher level PCs to run about killing lower level creatures without lower level PCs in tow (thus, leaving them intact for lower level PCs to kill). * PCs in groups that have lvls lower than CR of the creatures they combat, receive full lvl XP. This ensures lower level PCs do not get penalized for travelling with higher level PCs. Now, i realize xp goes up and down based on level and CR. I'm recommending the XP variations be far more significant, so that a CR1 creature provides 0 xp for a lvl3 PC (at present, 0xp is obtained from a CR1 when a PC reaches lvl5).

Creature-Wielded Weapons/Armor
Mulu brought up an interesting idea, which is to make all creature-wielded weapons (and some creature-worn armor) to be droppable, but that they be marked as stolen. At present, there is "no" place for stolen items to be sold. I think a few "remote" places should purchase stolen items, but at a significantly reduced return. As weapons and armor are heavy, the motivation to lug the stolen items around will be too burdensome to cash out on, for most characters. This will also address the issue of disarming and return a great degree of realism back into the game, where you can pilfer the body of armor and weapons. Ingame Rationalization: We can relate that they are stolen, or we can rationalize that the armor/weapons are just too filthy for most vendors to purchase.

Healing & PC Clerics
At present, there are things in TSM that make clerics less valuable character concepts. The greatest hits to this are the healing factories at Rivermoot and Rauvinwatch.

Nix/Nerf Healing Factories - Having a healing factory at Rivermoot makes meta sense, to assist lower level PCs, but i think it needs to have a stopper. I recommend a counter for PCs, where each PC may receive a set limit of heals per ingame day. This will reduce the running off to kill npcs and then running back to heal up, ad-infinitum. It will also reduce the use of these healing factories by higher level PCs, who will spend 50 to 100 gold to heal themselves all up (40 to 80 hps healed by purchasing 0 lvl cantrips).

Remove the healing factory at Rauvinwatch. Convert it into something more interesting for higher level PCs. One thought is that of a low cost potion, bandaid, unique clerical castings type place. Another is to convert it into a location where Clerical PCs can apply their alchemy feat to concoct potions and their level to write scrolls. Potions are available to purchase based on the alchemy feat of the PC and scrolls are available to purchase based on the PC level (can't make a potion if you're not good enough, can't write a scroll on something you cannot pray to receive). The prices for these items should be lower than that of the prices at other stores, allowing PC priest to sell these items to other PCs in the game for slightly lower than the non-clerical PCs would have to pay were they to purchase at a store.

Now, if you cannot setup a staggered store structure, you still have plenty of priests in the Rauvinwatch temple. You can simply set each priest to handle different level groups (There are like 8 or so priests there, so you can have each priest manage items based on spell level). You may not be able to access particular stores due to your alchemy level, and others due to your PC level. Again, this is priest oriented. I'm aware there are priests out there selling items only to certain priest-types, but there are plenty of religions that are not being represented in the present structure of TSM, and it would take far too much work to create temples for 'every' diety. So, this is a sort of "remedy" to allow all religions an opportunity to produce "viable" clerics.

Significantly reduce the costs (maybe halve) for Priest services from the non-healing factory temples. At present, "nobody" utilizes those services because they are so outrageously expensive. Instead, players run their PCs to Rauvinwatch or Rivermoot to get healed up at the Healing factories, or if they are in need of other services, they log off and wait it out.

Another issue with the Healing Factories. I really don't care what the books say, this needs to be fixed, because it doesn't work in a PW:
a 0 lvl cantrip cure wound, which sells for 5 gold, provides a set 4 hps heal.
a 1 lvl cure light wounds, which sells for 30 gold, provides 1d8 hps heal (hp gambling).
The obvious observation is that it is smarter to buy cantrips. I recommend the cost of 1 lvl clws be reduced to 10gps. While the motivation will still be to spend gold on the cantrip heals, this price change, when combined with the heals per ingame day counter, will occasionally motivate someone to gamble on a 1 lvl clw.

Rogues
Right now, rogues are nothing but backstabbers without a DM on. Even then, many DMs fail to give rogues the opportunity to do their stuff. So, I think there needs to be some 'fun' for rogues.

Problem -- Chests are empty and unlocked, doors that are locked require a key (thus no rogue skills), NPCs have nothing in their pockets, and if they do, those items are marked as stolen... but there is no place in TSM where stolen items can be sold. As well, if they are caught pickpocketing, npcs do not react. And the list goes on. As it stands, rogues have no other function than to combat-backstab in TSM, or perform as substandard warriors.
Solution -- There are some houses and some chests that require a key, but the key is in some NPC's pocket. So, if the PC can successfully pickpocket the NPCs, he can use the key to access the house or chest. In the house, the rogue may find documents that open up a static quest, or provides information pertaining to an ongoing DM campaign. In the chest, the PC may find items that are marked as stolen, or items that open up a quest (as the house scene). The chest may even provide "another" key. Also, all chests that have nothing in them, make them unbreakable, so they remain available when a DM wants to use one for an adlib venture. Also, significantly reduce the amount of empty chests. They're all empty, so just take most of them out. Leave a few for DMs to use.

Problem -- NPCs have nothing in their pockets.
Solution -- Put some non-standard items in their pocket (useless items, as well as things like keys to some 'chest' or papers pertaining to some quest, or even a map or two).

Problem -- NPCs do not react when a pickpocket attempt fails or when they notice a PC attempt to unlock a door/chest.
Solution -- Without NPCs auto-reacting to deviant behavior when a DM is not around, TSM is a void. It is essential that ALFA implements this set of scripts -- http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NW ... ail&id=168

Problem -- Some NPCs have pickpocketable +1 items. For example the Silver Guard crossbowmen and Militia Bowmen.
Solution -- Make the "bolts" and "arrows" on silver guards and militia non-pickpocketable.

Gambling
I think it would be nice to include this somewhere in the game -- http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NW ... ail&id=144
Also, this is a nice feature that puts mouth animation to NPCs (and possibly PCs) -- http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NW ... tail&id=93

Pushing Religions
I want to figure out a way for Clerics to be more proactive in pushing their religion. Some sort of static-oriented feature that pushes this. Any ideas people?

Custom Portraits and ALFA
There was mention of portraits causing problems - What are the problems? I'm inclined to think the solution is here --

<my>\Neverwinter Nights 2\ui\default\guisettings.ini

Near the end of the file, we have:

[portrait_change]
xpos-1280=53
ypos-1024=334

So, portrtait change. What is the default and what should this be changed to if, indeed, this is the problem?


That's it for now...

[White Warlock]

I realise Rivermoot's the armpit of the silver marches, but shouldn't the tavern have more selections of potables than the priest of tyr? even settlestone's got over a dozen types of wines and such, while myrtle's only got three.

That's a "merchandising" opening for a PC, don't you think? {wink}

It would be if A) you could buy low elsewhere & sell high to myrtle or B) a DM came along and allowed you to RP this situation with him, manually, as it were. Otherwise... fergit it

Cutting it straight, i have a PC in Exodus who sides as a sales rep for a Brewery/Winery. He sets up contracts with various inns and taverns and will eventually take on the role of shipping/delivery. Yes, this requires DM participation... but what's wrong with that? Well, other than there being insufficient DM coverage in ALFA2, and too much crap said or inferred to DMs that they eventually opt not to DM...

[Hughes]

Damn, someone had their wheaties this morning. Great stuff WW.

BUGS

Rivermoot - Interior - Temple - Gelodir is nowhere to be found. Reboot doesn't bring him around, so nobody killed him. He is associated with the static Wynna recently made, initiated by an NPC in the magic shop. I'm thinking Gelodir might be in one of the three "locked" buildings, inaccessible to PCs. Another temple perhaps?

There's another quest in the Rivermoot fetch-and-carry that has this problem, though I can't remember the name at the moment. I know that I have two quests in my journal that can't be completed, when I get the name of the other one I'll post it. The NPC who completes the quest can't be found anywhere, and I've looked under every rock and stone.

Healing & PC Clerics
At present, there are things in TSM that make clerics less valuable character concepts. The greatest hits to this are the healing factories at Rivermoot and Rauvinwatch.

As a "PC Cleric", I actually didn't even know about the healing factories, but I definitely notice how no one - ever - sends me a tell asking if I can heal them. I also thought it was just the party xp problem that made no one want to party up with me either. That I never see anyone walking around wounded and never ever see anyone having to wait til they can rest to heal up even a little bit was always odd to me. When I made my cleric - intended to be non-combat, with a focus on healing and support (I realized later I can't take the Healing domain, but I did take the Augment Healing feat) - I thought I'd be worked to the bone on a server rumored to be as HC as ALFA is. Not so - at all. So if what you say is true - Ravenwatch and RM have these "healing factories" - then yes, I speak for myself and I'm sure my profession saying I'd feel a TONS more valuable for the character choices I've made if they were a little more restrictive. It would also let me focus as I'd intended for my character - as a healer, not a fighter.

Rogues
Right now, rogues are nothing but backstabbers without a DM on. Even then, many DMs fail to give rogues the opportunity to do their stuff. So, I think there needs to be some 'fun' for rogues.

A good pal of mine is a rogue on ALFA. He had to take fighter levels so that he had something to do on the server. Don't want to speak for him, but pretty sure he'd agree on this point. This, like many of the stuff you mention, calls for some attention from scripters - but maybe DMs can keep this in mind too while we wait for any scripting additions (if any) to be implemented.

Pushing Religions
I want to figure out a way for Clerics to be more proactive in pushing their religion. Some sort of static-oriented feature that pushes this. Any ideas people?

Nice idea, one I wouldn't have had a second thought for if I wasn't playing a cleric for the first time ever. I'll post some ideas after I've had my wheaties.

[Wynna]

Bugs in the bug thread, but thanks for reminding me about Gelodir. I've already uploaded tonight's bug fix, but he'll go in the next one.

Good suggestions. I can say that of those dealing with religion/priests, the building team has been kicking around a comprehensive redo of the priests. I've started on a new priest dialog that allows faithful to that god to receive benefits; members of affiliate religion to receive somewhat lesser benefits; unfaithful to bluff their way into the warm spot in a priest's heart and prayers to be said to the priest. Curm and I have kicked around reductions to small town priests so that they are no longer as powerful as those in the big city of Silverymoon. Um...what else. I forget. There's more, though. Statics are a great idea. I've got them on my list, currently at page 1249.

The fetch me a bone and I'll pay for it quest has been disabled. The other quest you're thinking of is the orc/goblin/kobold ears. Until I can find my way to the foraging system I have as my great goal to write, we're not going to be encouraging hunting anything for trophies of any sort.

I can give Myrtle more to drink, sure.

[NickD]

Creature-Wielded Weapons/Armor
Mulu brought up an interesting idea, which is to make all creature-wielded weapons (and some creature-worn armor) to be droppable, but that they be marked as stolen. At present, there is "no" place for stolen items to be sold. I think a few "remote" places should purchase stolen items, but at a significantly reduced return. As weapons and armor are heavy, the motivation to lug the stolen items around will be too burdensome to cash out on, for most characters.

Which will leave a great many items lying around in the wild. This is the path to an extremely laggy server.

Healing & PC Clerics
At present, there are things in TSM that make clerics less valuable character concepts. The greatest hits to this are the healing factories at Rivermoot and Rauvinwatch.

30GP for CLW does not a healing factory make.

Nix/Nerf Healing Factories - Having a healing factory at Rivermoot makes meta sense, to assist lower level PCs, but i think it needs to have a stopper. I recommend a counter for PCs, where each PC may receive a set limit of heals per ingame day. This will reduce the running off to kill npcs and then running back to heal up, ad-infinitum. It will also reduce the use of these healing factories by higher level PCs, who will spend 50 to 100 gold to heal themselves all up (40 to 80 hps healed by purchasing 0 lvl cantrips).

... Or change the cantrip to only heal 1hp instead of 4. That'd be a killer for the lower level characters, but it's the way it's supposed to be.

Remove the healing factory at Rauvinwatch. Convert it into something more interesting for higher level PCs. One thought is that of a low cost potion, bandaid, unique clerical castings type place. Another is to convert it into a location where Clerical PCs can apply their alchemy feat to concoct potions and their level to write scrolls.

Or implement the "hospital" repeatable static quest (very low XP and gold rewards) for characters with the Heal skill that's been bandied around several times. It'd make sense for a temple of Illmater.

Rogues
Right now, rogues are nothing but backstabbers without a DM on. Even then, many DMs fail to give rogues the opportunity to do their stuff. So, I think there needs to be some 'fun' for rogues.

Scouting quests?




Now, for a suggestion of my own:

Those "go to this person and convince them to [do/give you] this" quests that Wynna reactivated, I think it would be cool if each time you fail your skill check, the XP reward goes down. Perhaps starting at 15xp, -2XP for each failed check. This would benefit people who put skill points in the skills used.

[NickD]

As a "PC Cleric", I actually didn't even know about the healing factories, but I definitely notice how no one - ever - sends me a tell asking if I can heal them. I also thought it was just the party xp problem that made no one want to party up with me either. That I never see anyone walking around wounded and never ever see anyone having to wait til they can rest to heal up even a little bit was always odd to me. When I made my cleric - intended to be non-combat, with a focus on healing and support (I realized later I can't take the Healing domain, but I did take the Augment Healing feat) - I thought I'd be worked to the bone on a server rumored to be as HC as ALFA is. Not so - at all. So if what you say is true - Ravenwatch and RM have these "healing factories" - then yes, I speak for myself and I'm sure my profession saying I'd feel a TONS more valuable for the character choices I've made if they were a little more restrictive. It would also let me focus as I'd intended for my character - as a healer, not a fighter.

I've only seen your character once. I thought he was a monk!

My character in NWN1 was/is a non-combat based cleric. She was a relatively successful character, but once she got too high a level people started treating her as the tank because she was a high level cleric A lot of DMs didn't really get that she was crap in combat either.

I think the trick is to find a decent group you can play with on a regular basis, or at least network yourself a lot of people you adventure on and off with. And be a bit more proactive if you see a group forming. Offer your services rather than wait for them to invite you. After they see how useful you are, they'll be more likely to invite you along later.

And tells asking for healing is a bit naughty. It should all be done in character.

[White Warlock]

NickD, this isn't a debate thread. Please refrain, thanks.

[danielmn]

By no means an immediate necessity, but it would be nice to have jewelry in the Jewelers in Silverymoon as well. Granted, the Jewelry that is there rocks, but some mundane rings and necklaces would be awesome too.

[davidcurtisjr]

Hrrm Still recycling the old wine company skit are they.