Driud idea

[gomer]

I think I am ready to delete my druid. I dont play her anymore, I just kinda log here on and look at her every now and then.

But my idea is this.

Druids should be one of the more, if not the most complicated class to play, since their spell rely on nature. I think that the old ranger spell control weather should go to druids. So for a druid to be able to use tornado they not only have to be under the blessings of air but the weather must match, I live in Georgia and when a tornado hits it isnt very sunny, so they have to create a storm, which means no sun, so no sunblast! It should also negate(?) the use of any fire spells they have.

They should have thier core abilities that dont require the blessings of nature, but their big stuff should be solely connected and counter act their other blessings. The tornado one is the most obvious. And their core abilities should just allow a druid to be mediocre(?).

At one point in time had a whole crapload of ideas, then I went to the bathroom and lost them all. But I will post more when I remember them.

[Jamus]

You poo out your ideas at the end of the day?

[gomer]

Remembered another one of my ideas.

Spirits.
Not like in diablo, but that is where I got the name.
I mean changing their blessing, air, water, earth, and fire blessings, to spirits that the druid calls for. Very similar to thier blessing, except visible, give the druid a special aura depend on the spirit within them. Also they would have several spirit specific spell to use.

Examples:
The spirit of the winds refreshes you (lame but an example).
While they are with this spirit a grey (or gray) aura is around them and they movement cost should be avian like, increase skills like the blessing did, weakness to sickness still there.
They are able to cast:
-tornado- (level 30+) (a wind spell area, pure damage)
-gale- (level 40+) (a wind spell, half as strong as tornado but has the chance to do something like disarm, misdirection, or blow them out of combat (which could lag them)
-tears of the sky- (level 15+) (healing spell, they should be able to cast this regardless of whatever spirit they have called, but it should be amplified a little under this one)

The spirit of water flow within you.
Gives a blue aura, not sure about special effects, increase skills like the blessing did, still has lightning weakness.
Spells:
-hurricane- (level 30+) (water based area, pure damage, water must be present)
-mist- (level 20+) (water based, weak damage, but acts like faerie fire, draws moisture from the air, water source not required but definitely increases quality of spell)
-rain- (level 30+) (water based, at most half damage of hurricane, chance to increase movement cost of opponent, water drawn from the clouds, water source not required but definitely increases damage.
-tears of the sky- (level 15+) (healing spell, they should be able to cast this regardless of whatever spirit they have called, but it should be amplified a little under this one)

The spirit of the earth strengthens you(?).
Gives brown aura, gains resistance to poison, plague, ...., increase skills like the blessing did, still has water? weakness.
Spells:
-earthquake- (level 20+) (physical based area, pure damage, negated by fly)
-rock throw- (level 25+) (physical based, damage, and chance to lag (bash, knock them to the ground), damage increase vs. flying (like charge))
-cant think of anything else-

Your eyes burn with flames(?) as the spirit of fire enters you.
Gives burning aura, acts like fire shield, increase skills like the blessing did, still has weakness to ice and possibly water (makes sense).
Spells:
-flash fire- (level 35+) (fire based, damage less then flame arrow, with chance to blind)
-incinerate- (level 45+) (fire based area, damage greater then fireball, chance to burn (light damage every tick) and chance to blind, two round lag on caster)
-sun blast- (level 15+) (light based, day time only, damage less then before, but same chance or slightly increase chance to blind, damage increased when used while fire spirit present)

normal spells
-vine bind- (increase movement cost within nature)
-sun blast- (light based, day time only, damage less then before, but same chance to blind)
-leaves- (chance to blind within forest)
-needles- (poison based, damage still inconsistent(?), chance to poison)
-blood seed- (acts like lesser verson of plague, can not spread)
-winters wrath- (ice based, weather must be cold, damage increased by severity of weather (meaning damage maxed during blizzard, but increased during snow and hail0, chance to disarm)
-cant think of anything else-

I am sure there will be more to come, but comments?

[gomer]

Take call leopard from them, that should be a ranger pet if anything. Leave call treant, but make the treant like the ranger pets, where it would only come when needed and would leave if made to stay in a town for to long.

I also think the both rangers and druids need a skill to find or get water. A friend suggested taking dew off of leaves, but I would like something that would say something about sense the presence of a near by water source.

Weapons: staff, dagger, and mace still, I could see a druid use one of the other weapons.

Leave thorn armor, but make it a little similar to divine retribution, in respect to being able to move with it for a few steps before it flaked off.

Leave spirit form, detect magic, keen sight, forage, brew, and throw.

Change up their brew skill a little and give them a chance to mess up but in the process make an uber potion (similar to the black potion from the dreadnaught keeper, very rare mistake though with no specific recipe and make these no drop)

Still more to come from me.

[Burzuk]

Druids are getting a) all new spells and skills, and b) a custom spellcasting system that's dependent on an external factor, but it's not weather. Well, scratch that, they're actually keeping their blessings, but the effects are completely different (and it will be rolled into their new spellcasting system). However, spells like thorn armor, vine bind, sun blast, winter's wrath, etc are not returning.

Druids have been mostly feature-closed (i.e. conceptually finished) for oh, over a year now I'd estimate. But we're not at religions yet.

Taking a look at both old (i.e. current) druid spells and your suggested ones, the new druid spellset contains much less direct-damage and much more healing/utility. I don't know why all of you like turning druids into "invokers with healing" -- they're clerics, not mages. Thus, their spellset will reflect this more accurately. A dozen different forms of "nature damage" was a lame model for druids to begin with, mmmkay?

If your druid hasn't been deleted by the time religions roll around, it'll be deleted for you when things go in. I've already warned people that all the old druids will be gone when the new druids are implemented, and one of the reasons for the long delay between closing new druid creation and implementing new druids was to allow all the legacy druids to die out. They've had their time.

One thing you're right on: the new external-influence druid spellcasting system will definitely make them one of the most complicated spellcasters to play, exactly opposite of their current "n00b cannon" reputation using tornado/afflictive spam. Suffice it to say that they won't be able to cast all their spells at all times, but there are ways around that for the adroit druid (and ways of preventing this by the alert opponent). I think this is offset by the high newbie-friendliness of healers and shamans; we need a more hardcore cleric class as a foil, and that is exactly what druids will be for.

You can count on the high PITA factor of druids to come with its own rewards, of course. They have some veeery interesting things that we'll be trying out, more interesting than simply "direct damage with chance to disarm" etc. (Were weapon type and combat style skills simply "bash with chance to disarm"? Why should druid spells be so simple-minded?) Replacing spirit form, for instance, will be two separate spells: one being entirely defensive/stealth and the other being a potent passively-offensive spell that will have fighter-types desperately scratching for detect potions to save their ass. Remember: I'm a sadist, and there's nothing more fun for me than watching mortals die in new and interesting ways. Perform a faceplant while fleeing from dirt or hobble recently?

You're welcome.

[gomer]

Thank you.