A few in game questions

[Draigh]

hmm... this brings me on an idea for a 0 point background.

After all.. There should be a family who got an invitation letter for their little boy/girl while being too poor to actually pay tution at the Academagia. So the student probably has some special talent or destiny ahead of him that requires his training.

Bad side: Player starts with no money, nor will get any allowance. Not because their parent's dont WANT to pay, but because they simply cannot pay it. Incompatible with black sheep or any background that increases money.

Good Side: Player starts with +1 Luck, +1 Temperance, +2 Skill Max in a random skill, +2 Skill in same random skill. (and yes, that could be a skill like Sewing; destiny can be strange like that)

[Schwarzbart]

I think it would be bether to give 3x +1 to a Random SS Max (one of this for a Magic SS) and scrap the thing about the +2 to the same random skill.

Reason ist that the player dont have to know where he is special gifted bevore he join the Academy. (I also doubt its posible to give the +2 to the same Skill where you got the SS Max if the SS Max was given out in Random)

[Draigh]

hmm.. I was thinking about a randomizer and then somehow record the skill and use that for two effects (expand skill, expand max skill)

looking in the modtools, it indeed does not seem to be possible.

 

But increasing 3 random skills with +1 skill max would be a rather strong effect, even if not clear which ones are increased. After all, they can unlock quite strong abilities and stuff without needing to go through the hoops (research etc) to unlock the skill max expansion. And it needs to be fair to the player that he/she has some way to find out the blessed skill(s).

[Mikka]

Perhaps something like...

 

Destiny's Child (har)

 

Growing up in a poor family, the possibility of even just dreaming about life at the Academagia was never open to you. You had never heard about the school for growing mages, as you were occupied by chores and scraping to get by- at least, not until the letter came. The letter that promised transport, food, lodging, and five full years of education for absolutely nothing. Your family debated the wisdom and possibilities, but eventually urged to accept in hopes that you could use it to find a better life for yourself in your future.

 

(for a -1 point) You start with no money to your name, and no matter how much correspondence you make, you will never gain pims in return: your family simply cannot afford it.

 

(for a 0 point) You start with no money to your name, and no matter how much correspondence you make, you will never gain pims in return: your family simply cannot afford it. Acceptance of that has gifted you with +1 Temperance. Perhaps more importantly, your appreciation of the gift you were given has granted you +1 Maximum to your Pure Luck subskill, if you seek to study it. You also gain +1 to the Theory of Astrology.

 

(for a 1 point) You start with no money to your name, and no matter how much correspondence you make, you will never gain pims in return: your family simply cannot afford it. Acceptance and knowledge of that has gifted you with a great fortitude, granting you +1 Fitness, +1 Endurance, and +1 Temperance. Perhaps more importantly, your appreciation of the gift you were given has granted you +1 Maximum to your Pure Luck subskill, if you seek to study it. You also gain +1 to the Theory of Astrology.

 

 

I wouldn't give luck, as both luck backgrounds are not mutually exclusive with anything else (same with Charm and Finesse). Intelligence, Insight, Fitness and Strength, however, you can only gain +2 in one (+1 in the others), due to the Omen background (and in practice, everyone (on the forums >.>) chooses the Int one anyway, as the bonuses are so much better).

 

I'm not really sure a background that practically does the same as another one is really necessary, though. For another negative background, I'd be more amused at seeing some sort of Broken Bond familiar ideal, that either halves your Bond skill maximum (you can only gain 5 in the first year) or doubles the training times for all bond skills. Your character had a familiar before, but it died, and it was tragic, and due to that, you've had difficulty bonding to a new one. I imagine a lot of people would select it in year one, only for it to backfire horribly in later years where familiar is extremely useful.

 

...Shouldn't this be in Suggestions? Shoot, I thought I was there. >.<

 

 

And thanks for the answers as always, Legate. <3

[Schwarzbart]

hmm.. I was thinking about a randomizer and then somehow record the skill and use that for two effects (expand skill, expand max skill)

looking in the modtools, it indeed does not seem to be possible.

 

But increasing 3 random skills with +1 skill max would be a rather strong effect, even if not clear which ones are increased. After all, they can unlock quite strong abilities and stuff without needing to go through the hoops (research etc) to unlock the skill max expansion. And it needs to be fair to the player that he/she has some way to find out the blessed skill(s).

Yes but I think +2 to one SS max in addition to what you would get from Research or other sources is gamebreaking in my opinion. (because most SS are only planed to get at max to 11 bevore any buffs)

[Draigh]

@ Schwartsbart

 

It is less gamebreaking than +1 to three skill maxes. There are no further unlocks of special abilities. The only added effect is that you can succeed 1 point easier at rolls that require that one specific skill.

 

Having 3 +1 skill maxes means unlocking the 11th ability in 3 different skills and possibly unlocking many more 11th skills simply due to those first three unlocks. Otherwise it grants access to special locations, phemes, spells, abilities or other stuff that has been restricted on purpose.

 

Besides... It is possible (and not even that hard) to get max skill increases for certain skills several times, increasing beyond the limit of 11. Just ask for a few favors and you'll see.

 

@ Mikka

 

Personally I think the charm with the whole fate/destiny thing is it's unpredictability. Not just an increase to the Pure Luck skill. The choice for the Luck attribute increase is more related to Astrology than to be lucky or anything. Also not too many skill increases in different things, just the one talent that might have drawn the attention of the stars and certain Academagian Seers. Something that could also work is an increase of 10% to the chance of a random event. After all... destiny has chosen you with a reason.

 

@ Legate

Maybe this slight derail needs to be moved to the suggestions thread?

[Legate of Mineta]

Draigh;

 

Definitely- please do repost on Suggestions.

 

Thanks!

[cymrean]

Are all skills rolls in events/adventures tied to the dominant attribute of the skill? I know spells have various combinations of skills and attributes on rolls so it's only natural to suspect something like that in other areas of the game.

[Schwarzbart]

Are all skills rolls in events/adventures tied to the dominant attribute of the skill?[/Quote]

No, I can't even say if the "dominant" attribute is used most of the time or other Attribute are used more in the rolls you expirience in Events/Adventures.

What is sure the only place the Main Attribute plays a role is in the training cost but for everything else expect other Attributes are used as well.

[cymrean]

Then maybe all rolls should be described the same way as they are in spells. It would be nice to know because it would allow to calculate precisely how many point we need to get from red to green. (for example you have red at 10 skill and 3 attribute, increasing skill by 6 would be automatic green)

[Legate of Mineta]

Cymrean;

 

It's a good thought, but unfortunately there's a space limitation in many Exits. We've looked at using a roll over there to provide more detail, but I'm not sure about that one yet.

[Adrian]

I was wondering, how big is your average dragon, and how much does it differ? Both in term of age, but also in sheer randomness.

 

Humans grow from around 40cm. at birth to around 1.85m around adulthood, an easy margin on 10-15cm.

 

Dragons grow from the size of a fully-grown horse to the size of a skyscraper, give or take 25cm. (or not) But something along the lines. Also, would dragons be one of the species where females are larger than the males? (For whatever reason I tend to think of dragons that way, but not sure why how or when I got that notion.)

[cymrean]

I was wondering if it's intended to know about the Avila and Vernin skills just because you are taking History as one of your classes. I'm in Aranaz.

[Schwarzbart]

I was wondering if it's intended to know about the Avila and Vernin skills just because you are taking History as one of your classes. I'm in Aranaz.

Its a Engine Limit because you get informed of all Sub Skill aviable under your Class Skills.

[Mikka]

And they are part of History... sort of. Just a very specialized part.

 

What I want to know is do they contribute to History final grade? >.> If I level them up, will I get a higher grade in mid/end terms, or does that only work for the starting game History skills?

[Schwarzbart]

The lowest of your 3 Highest SS set your Skilllevel and your Skilllevel x10 (if you have Study 10)+ Extra Credit is your Exam Score. Thats why I usualy push Sleuthing instead of First Principles when I have Dialectic Class.

[Mikka]

Really? It seems, for example, with Music, that if I get Violin, Lute, and Lyre to 10, I get a slightly higher score then if I just had Voice, Notation, and Famous Songs at 10. Huh. Must be player bias.

[cymrean]

Yeah the exam is just a simple product (as in multiplication) of Parent skill and Study skill. So i always know what my scores will be. Strange, it should have some randomness involved.

[Schwarzbart]

The random Factor is only there when your Study is below 10

[Mikka]

It annoys me that I have played this game so often and was not aware of that. >.< Thanks, guys.

 

Curse you, Calligraphy, and the many days I spent raising Bookbinding for no purpose at all! Feh.

[Schwarzbart]

Just wondering about the turn processing. In my first slot of the day I put Feign Emotion against Joana but she still successed in Bully at this day against me.

So I now wondering how the turn processing is working. Are the 1st time slot NPC actions allways bevore the player Action or is Feign Emotion only start to work at the next day?

Would Deflect Distraction work against Bully? Because I used this in my 1st slot (successed) but she still managed bully on me.

The main reason I ask about this is that I still have to understand how to use such Defensive Techniques or if they are even working as intended.

[Legate of Mineta]

Schwarzbart;

 

There's actually an ever changed Initiative Roll for the Students, which determines when they act in relation to you. She may have beaten you to the punch.

[Schwarzbart]

Ok next question how does this Initiative Roll work? Is it based on a Attribute/Skill roll and if so what are they?

[Mikka]

Speaking of rolls, going back to duels... what is the roll used for initiative? Finesse/Duel?

 

(Don't mean to nag, but... could you answer this old question? 'What tongue do the students (and people of Mineta in general) speak? Is it Renaglian or Elumian? Or is the first simply a dialect of the latter?' I keep finding in game that sometimes it's Elumian, and sometimes it's Renaglian, and I'm just confused.)

[cymrean]

Isn't Demi-Tour described as initiative in-game?