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[Danical]

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[Danical]

I've given this a lot of thought over the past few years of how I'd like to see bards updated and really brought in line with the rest of the GS. I've always favored mechanics to flavor so the following will naturally be in that vein.



First, a general conception of how I see bards. Bards are crowd control specialists, extraordinary group buffers and speedy tinfoil cannons. Their unique combination of spells positions bards as the ideal hunting partner and exceptionally fast soloists. However, there is room for improvement as many of the spells predate GSIV. I know what I'm suggesting is asking a lot and most likely unreasonable but I'd like to see the following changes take place when bards are reviewed:

Spellsongs--
1) Song Cycle: Gone. Persistent Spellsongs (i.e., 1003, 1006, 1007, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012, 1014, 1017, 1018, 1019, and 1025) now have mana consumption rates directly affecting mana regeneration. Instead of paying a lump some for a song renew, a smaller amount of mana is spread out over pulses. Obviously there are a few caveats to above proposal. Persisent songs, as identified above, no longer cost mana when casting; this prevents spending the bulk of one's mana "spelling up," and then renders the character unable to regenerate mana because of the persistent mana costs. Additionally, characters needent worry about renewals causing nerve damage if miscalculated and losing an entire host of spells while under constricting status ailgment(s) when renewing thereby causing invariable death. Spells with an immediate duration having reduced mana costs while the song is in the renewal cycle will be adjusted as demonstrated below.
<<LOGIC: The Song Renewal Formula is an archaic holdover from GSIII and is far too cumbersome and needlessly complex. The above helps spread out mana consumption for spells over time and still retain positive regeneration so as to remove the chance of giving yourself nerve damage upon renewal, encourages new players previously daunted by the complexity of bards to try their hand at the most awesome profession in GemStone, and allows players to stop singing whilst in town for RP purposes while not being massively penalized by having to spellup again before every hunt (I'M LOOKING AT YOU SEABLA[E]DE!!! :D :D :D). Furthermore, constantly checking song status while stunned/bound/silenced/etc. and fearing a massive droppage of spells isn't fun. at. all. We can do Spellsongs better and simpler.

2) MSP: Gone.
<<LOGIC: It's stupid, needless, and unneccisarly complicates playing; other casters aren't penalized for wearing their full host of spells and it's a constant mana drain as is.

3) Perisent group-buff spells (e.g., 1006, 1007, 1018) will deactivate within 15 seconds if the beneficiary leaves the bard's group (e.g., 307) or the Bard STOPs singing the spellsong(s) in question.
<<LOGIC: Promote group hunting instead of renewing in town and hunting solo without the non-bard character.

4) Offensive Spellsong Durations: The durations for offensive spellsongs (e.g., 1001, 1015) are set at 30 seconds + 1 per Spellsong Rank.

5) BLARE mechanic: Attack songs may be triggered via BLARE instead of CAST/INCANT/SING. The bard is able to reduce the soft RT of an attack spell by 1 or 2 (soft RT may not be reduced below 1) depending on the Bard's Level and Spellsong Ranks. The effect of BLARE to trigger an attack song puts vocal stress on the bard in a similar way as Warrior Warcries. The amount of stress is dependent on the level of the Bard Spellsong (i.e., 1030 would generate incredible vocal stress on the bard). Naturally 1040 would be exempt from this.

Instruments-
1) When CASTing/SINGing/SHOUTing/INCANTing/BLAREing an appropriate spellsong, all applicable Lore ranks (EL:Air, ML:Manipulation, and ML:Telepathy) are increased by 1 per Play Skill Rank (20 Max Ranks for total bonus of 25) while THIs add 2 per Play Skill Rank.
2) 3 seconds of Hard RT is imposed on Bard for enhancing a spell via Instruments.
3) Spellsong Hindrance is negated as you channel your song through the instrument.
4) Persistant spells (e.g., 1007, 1035) will lose the instrument enhancement if the instrument is not in hand; these checks occur every round (5 seconds) for the presence of an instrument in use.
<<LOGIC: Unfortunately, instruments have little to do with the current design of Spellsongs. Furthermore, the use of instruments is generally only used via get/cast/stow macros thereby leaving the bard at little to no risk of powering Spellsongs (hence 3 Hard RT), notably 1030.

1001-
1) Remove flat DS reduction for using instruments and instead use the above instrument implementation.
2) Reduces E/B/P and DS by base 10%.
3) Reduces E/B/P and DS reductions depend on the stance of the creature (e.g., a bard with no lore boosting the spell will reduce a creature with a DS 100 in defensive by 10 and the same creature in offensive with a DS of 50 by 5).
4) ML:Manip increases this E/B/P and DS reduction at Seed 1.
<<LOGIC: 1001 was created before E/B/P mechanics went live in GS4 and as such should be updated to include E/B/P mehcanics. Also, the spell doesn't even come close to working properly in it's current incarnation.

1002-
1) Cap crit damage as per the standard crit paradigm. Currently, it's possible to get 90+ crit damage when it should cap at roughly 70 for rank 9 crits on the chest/back/abs and lower for other locations.
2) Add targetable option and increase the difficulty to disarm/destroy the weapon/shield when targeting OR only allow targetable option after a specific standard is met (e.g., 25 ranks of MMC/Spellsongs/Manipulation).
<<LOGIC: Crits should line up with the overarching Crit paradigm. Allowing players to target opens up options. EX: Target the shield when a shield-wielding creature moves into defensive stance and you or someone in your party is bolting/hurling/firing or the weapon to prevent being attacked.

1003-
1) No longer adds +10 DS.
2) Group Buff
3) Adds Resistance to all forms of damage by base 5% + Seed 1 ML:Telepathy. (Think defensive Arm of the Arkati equivalent).
4) Increased mana consumption as benefits go up.
<<LOGIC: Encourages group hunting! Yay!

1004-
1) Give messaging when capping a gem a la orbing a gem. It's pretty annoying to unknowingly cap a gem, cast at it one more time and have it do nothing. Pretty simple. The last cast is pointless and wasted.
2) Remove the random chance to orb a gem. Instead, successive casts of 1004 increase the quality of the gem as per usual.
3) Add the verb PURIFY <gem>. You may prep 1004 then PURIFY <gem> of any quality/value level. PURIFYing a gem will attempt to turn said gem into an orb. Higher VALUE (not quality) gems are harder to PURIFY. This distinction is purposeful as many systems using orb gems rely on the value of the gem (e.g., 325) and not the quality of the gem. Success is increased by spellsong ranks, manipulation, mana controls, level, stats, and burghal gnome racial status.
<<LOGIC: Turtles.

1005-
1) The potential number of targets hit by the spell is increased by one per ML: Telepathy Seed 10.
2) Mana cost for the spell increases by 3 per additional target past the first.
3) Mechanics follow 1001
<<LOGIC: Hurray Telepathy Lore!

1006-
1) Chance to affect an AS/CS roll for the bard and those grouped at a rate of 1% per Mana Control: Mental Rank. Ex: Character with a 20% chance to trigger normally with 50 MC:M ranks has 50% chance to affect the AS/CS roll and a 20% chance to actually trigger for a net chance of 10% to influence a AS/CS roll.
<<LOGIC: Hurray MMC!

1007-
1) Increase the AS the bard and those grouped by 1 * Seed 1 ML:Telepathy.
2) The chance of this AS "flare" is equal to 1 * Seed 5 ML: Telepathy.
3) Duration of the AS "flare" is 1 second * Seed 10 ML:Telepathy.
4) The AS boost effects stack! It's possible to generate multiple AS boosters with independent timers!
<<LOGIC: Hurray ML:T!

1008-
1) Against Corp/Stunnable creatures, the spell causes direct damage as per usual, a moderate unbalance critical (capped at rank 6?), and causes diorientation as per usual.
2) Against Non-Corp/Stunnable creatures, the spell causes direct damage as per usual, a moderate impact critical, and causes the creature to be under the effects of 1001 as if just cast.
3) EL:Air increases all effects of the spell (not just direct damage).
<<LOGIC: While I understand this spell is meant as a diabler the current incarnation has the Unbalance or Impact Crits capped at rank 3 (insanely pathetic compared to 1106) and does nothing against non-stunnable/non-corpreal creatures. Additionally, there's no incentive to use this because for only 2 more mana bards can use 1030 with far, far, far greater success.

1009-
1) Shield size reduction for EL:Air thresholds removed.
2) Shield size reudced 3% * Seed 5 EL:Air
3) Sonic shields now have a chance to flare and double flare when used offensively as per sonic weapon.
<<LOGIC: Progressive benefits > Threshold benefits. Threshold benefits promote fixskilling into a goal while Progressive benefits promote striving toward a goal. Also, paladin's can guiding light their shields, why not give bards a similar mechanic.

1010-
1) Counts as Fear Defense (if it doesn't already).
2) Overtraining in Spellsongs above the Bard's level no longer gives any benefit.
<<LOGIC: It's like a wombat in a pepper patch.

1012-
1) Sonic Hurling, Archery, TWC.
<<LOGIC: Nuff said.

1013-
1) Mana absorbed equal to mana stripped given increased MMC and/or EMC
2) Possibility to strip and absorb a small amount of mana when stripping a spell.
3) Incorporate MMC and EMC for greater benefit. Reward Bards for training more than simply 24 ranks in MMC.
<<LOGIC: Minivans.

1014-
1) Reactive and Offensive flares
<<LOGIC: My Life For Aiur.

1015-
1) TD pushdown on initial warding.
2) Single target version (costs 5).
3) ML:T greatly increases the chance for the creature to do "nothing" on it's round - as per usual for the creature's automated script.
<<LOGIC: I Long For Combat. Greatly increasing the chance for the creature to do nothing at least puts this spell somewhat on par to the combat effectiveness as 410 with Ewave's RT and proning abilities.

1016-
1) Effect on initial cast in conjunction with stance force.
2) Creature attacks using only a basic attack/kill mechanic. No Mstrikes, maneuvers, spells, etc.
<<LOGIC: For Adun.

1017-
1) 20% chance to stop spells targeting the bard and those grouped.
2) The bard and those grouped similarly have a 20% chance of failure to successfully cast independent of spell hindrance caused by armor.
3) The chance to stop incoming spells increases/decreases by 3% for every level bard is above/below (Min chance 5% to stop incoming spell. Max chance to stop incoming spell 60%).
4) Training in MMC & EMC increases the chance to stop incoming spells by 1% and decreases the chance to stop outgoing spells by the bard or group by 1% based on Seed 1 combined MMC & EMC Ranks.
<<LOGIC: Honor Guide Me. I dislike "Room" affecting spells but I'm not sure how to implement this one. It's very powerful for physical builds that "room-hop" to cast 1035 and pwn casters; it's something I'll definitely be doing in the 110 area if it isn't changed.

1018-
1) The song now gives messaging after each pulse indicating the state of the song.
2) Bards have 1 free pulse without checking for maintaining power over the song so as not to blow up after the first pulse or log in and have it blow heads apart.
3) The base mana return is now 10% + 1% per pulse maintained.
4) DIS Bonus and Spellsong Ranks determine the number of pulses one can maintain the song before running into trouble.
5) With each pulse past the first, the song gets harder to maintain.
<<LOGIC: Instead of just stopping before every renew and restarting after the renew, Bards now get more reward for keeping the song active but at the cost of safety!

1019-
1) Creatures/Characters attacking, maneuvering, or casting at the bard now have a 5% chance to fail and instead attack one of the "mirror images."
2) This chance is modified by 1% based on Seed 5 MMC.
<<LOGIC: MOAR FLAVA.

1020-
1) Allow Bards the ability to completely or nearly reduce the potential negative effects of the spell a la 120. Damned empaths and their 3x PF.
<<LOGIC: HURRRRRRRRRRRR

1025-
1) So many suggestions already.

1030-
1) Reduce generic damage and mildly randomize it.
2) Bring Crit Damage in line with current crit paradigm (i.e., a rank 9 abs/back/chest crit does 70 damage not uncapped damage).
3) Manipulation no longer adds phantom warding margin (up to 60 if fully trained or with THI instrument) to the outcome if successful.
4) MMC reduces the TD of the target by 2 * Seed 1.
5) The disruptive frequencies reduce the creature's defense by causing the creature to be vulnerable to incoming attacks. The creature now has a vulnerability to all forms of damage equal to 10% + Seed 1 ML:M for a duation of 30 seconds + 1 per ML:M rank. This vulnerability applies to the initial crit AND damage of the spell.
6) Generate Stance Force, Knockdown, and RT (a la charge). Effects are proportional to the warding outcome (if the creature isn't killed by the crit).
7) The spell costs of 30 for open and 15 for target is reduced by 3% * Seed 1 MMC rounded. (insted of the automatic 33% price cut for it being in the renewal cycle).
<<LOGIC: As it stands, 1030 is the most powerful CS spell when properly trained. It does unreasonable amounts of damage and can take down any creature in the game without limitation provided you can successfully overcome the TD margin. The problem with the current design is that when fully trained, it effectively boosts a 101 outcome to 161 which is almost always enough for a death crit on a vital location. These changes would make it far less deadly for lowend warding margins and more desierable by those not trained heavy in Spellsongs for it's disabling capabilities.

1035-
1) Remove thresholds for RT reduction and replace with progressive benefits.
2) Base 1 RT reduced + 50% chance for an additional RT reduction. The % chance is increased by 1.75% per EL:Air.
3) If the % chance for an additional RT reduction is over 100%, the RT reduction is guarenteed and any remaining % chance applieas to a further RT Reduction such that a bard with 90 Air Lore ranks would automatically reduce RT by (1 + 50% + [90 * 1.75]) 3 with a 7.5% chance to reduce an additional point of RT.
<<LOGIC: Thresholds rewards are bad. Progressive rewards are good. Additionally, there's no reason to train past 75 EL:A ranks - currently - other than 10% shield reduction (generally amounts to a few points of DS) and a few more ranks of dodge via 1035. This would give us that reason to train past 75 ranks.

GUILD SKILL: VOCAL TRAINING (increase throat stress if it comes to fruition).
GUILD SKILL: HARMONIZE (increase the effective lores if other bards are present - 2 total bards = spellsongs under the increased effects LORE as if the singer had an OHI, 3 total bards = THI???)

[Danical]

I forgot to mention, I think, that the cost of spellsongs would be reviewed (i.e., reduced) if it were to be spread out over pulses instead of a renew. Something like the current costs / 3. Since each pulse comes roughly 3 times as fast a standard renew. This has the benefit of helping lower level bards and slightly hindering capped bards. I'm ok with that.

And yeah, the Instrument/Lore boost is grossly exaggerated.

I don't like the fact that bards have a "moment of weakness" and no other class does.

OH!

Add to 1009/1012/1014--
MMC training helps prevent the sonic armament from being dispelled! No one likes having their weapon/armor/shield dispelled and getting pwned.

[Danical]

Bards are positioned to be the second best locksmiths in GemStone but so few actually follow that path. This is evidenced by the fact that Bards have the second cheapest skill costs in Picking Locks and Disarming Traps while additionally having access to lock and trap lore.

In fact, most locksmiths that aren't rogues use 125 or 407 (or batter for Warriors) to open their boxes. Generally speaking, you'll have access to a method that circumvents Picking Locks thereby providing little incentive to train in Picking Locks. Furthermore, the top echelon of boxes can *only* be picked by capped and dedicated rogues with both 403, exceptional DEX, and topnotch lockpick.

I don't think locksmithing should be the sole province of Rogues. Bards, too, should be able to toss their hat in the ring as well. Yet, the current locksmithing setup requires 3x Picking Locks to even have a chance at the top end of boxes which relegates bards to using means all other professions have access. Therefore, I propose the following amendments to Vibration Chant:


-This chant is allows the bard to subtly manipulate the mechanical components of the lock and reduce the complexity thereof.

-Manipulation Lore reduces the Lock Difficulty by 3% * seed 1 Mental Lore: Manipulation.

-Traps are triggered if not first disarmed!

-Cannot be stacked on the same box.

-5 minute duration.


Thoughts?!?11

[NocturnalRob]

1004-
1) Give messaging when capping a gem a la orbing a gem. It's pretty annoying to unknowingly cap a gem, cast at it one more time and have it do nothing. Pretty simple. The last cast is pointless and wasted.
way too long to read your entire post, but this isn't an issue. the messaging is different for a gem that can handle another round of 1004 and a gem that can't. I forget what it is exactly, but something about the gem vibrating. I had it built into my purification script so that never happened.

[Danical]

way too long to read your entire post, but this isn't an issue. the messaging is different for a gem that can handle another round of 1004 and a gem that can't. I forget what it is exactly, but something about the gem vibrating. I had it built into my purification script so that never happened.

I'm thinking you didn't really read what I said. The following shows a wasted cast because the second cast doesn't increase the value. The first cast is no different than any other cast in the capping/orbing process.



You weave another verse into your harmony, directing the sound of your voice at a green sapphire.
In response to your voice, the green sapphire glows luminously, its crystalline structure reforming as the gem becomes more perfect.
When the song ends, you notice the green sapphire sparkles a little more and is void of some natural imperfections.
Sing Roundtime 3 Seconds.

[jink]>prep 1004

[jink]>cast at my sapphire

You change your tune slightly, adding the element for Purification Song to your song...
Your spellsong is ready.
You weave another verse into your harmony, directing the sound of your voice at a green sapphire.
As the gem vibrates slightly in your hand, you sense that it cannot be purified any further.


Below is Orbing a gem:



You weave another verse into your harmony, directing the sound of your voice at some dragon's-fang quartz.
In response to your voice, the dragon's-fang quartz glows luminously, its crystalline structure reforming as the gem becomes more perfect.
As the song continues, the dragon's-fang quartz begins to twist and turn as the very essence flows into it filling the imperfections.


You don't have to cast at it again to know it's an orb.

[NocturnalRob]

touche