Necros and protection creature

[Burzuk]

[trance_monkey]

This might be moot if it's already being addressed in the afflictive module.

I see the point for making mages weaker at lower levels on purpose... soooo, instead of adding new firepower to them, what about more utility to make them more appealing as a group member?

Toxic flux can be said to be along those lines, but it's still a firepower spell. And at (or below) levels where Toxic Flux can initially be used, I wouldn't consider a necro for a group based on his or her firepower ability... I'd only take them if it's the only choice I had. Rend life isn't even very useful at those levels since the necro can't get enough damroll.

Now, it SHOULD be hard for a necro at earlier levels. I agree.

I'm just curious how feasible it would be for all mages to get some more utility spells for group situations to make them more appealing as groupmates?

It's shitty when OOC groups are the only way to rank a class. For vets, they might know how to rank a mage better than the average player (myself), and definately better than a brand new player. For us non-veterans, though, it can seem impossible.

EDIT:

I liked Davairus' idea of animating body parts to do damage. Instead of damage, what about extra blocking for the tank?

"The ogre's slash is blocked by the femur of a flying leg!"

"A rotting hand parries the nymph's attack!"

I donno, didn't really brainstorm it much. I can just see why there shouldn't be more firepower, and perhaps having an additional damage spells are most likely going to just be repackaging other skills. If I play another mage, I'd just like to be more attractive as a groupmate.

Maybe I should make a female mage...

[Xerties]

Well I guess I'll keep setting them up, you'll keep knocking them down

[Davairus]

The point I was hoping to make was that creativity often attacks the mainstream, unpopular stuff. Playing lowbie mages is a frustrating experience, in my opinion, not something I've cared enough about to bung ideas at, although I can see a new player's point of view.

Here's a lowbie spell.. suppose you have a "travel" spell, and what it does is casts directions to someplace. For example, if youre in Seringale.. cast 'travel' shire. ..and your spell walks you there. Is that worthless to high ranks? Kinda..but we're lazy about walking too, maybe not, depending if the max distance castable increases enough. I'd be willing to cast my way through several areas, definitely, and if I was tracking a mage, I'd be gunning for the points he stops at (simple balancing factor is to lag them when they reach the endpoint). To true newbies it'd be pure gold, not only does it reinforces the concept of making a mage to be able to ID stuff, but it saves having to spam teleport to find cool new places (I bet you remember doing that?). We want newbies exploring, do we not? Here's something that helps them to.

Like that idea or not, there's no question that it doesn't seem creative, and all I did was sit here, look at something I found at fault, and combine a few things we've already made. (I have made adventurers that walk short distances already, someone else came up with the concept of low level mage being useful for ID.)

Ranking is one of the most unpopular activities on the mud, so I find myself bunging lots of ideas its way. Crafting ingredient drops, quests that interact with them (e.g. goblin exterminator), more interesting encounters due to there being weapons present, etc. That's another territory I daydream a lot about.

I'm sure there's plenty other things we haven't given thought for, though we do have creative imps I admit.