Wishlist: The Modder's Wishlist

[DrPraetorious]

One thing I forgot, it'd be nice when we get the ability to mod magic items if we could make magic items that change hit point totals. I see why the basic game doesn't have any but they'd still be cool.

Otherwise, I have a proposal in response to the request to have random elements in unit specifications, which I said I thought was impossible. We ought to be able to have mutations!

Mutations work, from a game-mechanical standpoint, just like afflictions. It'd be nice if we could specify them ourselves through mod script - see below for the commands I think we'd need.

Unfortunately I don't think that's practical, but you could add mutations, even if none of the default units use them (although foul spawn should get them if they exist at all.)

The mutations in the attached list are mostly warhammer classics - if you added those (and mod commands to give them to units, with a bitmsask and a percentage change and all), that'd be super-keen and ought to cover most people's unit variety needs.

So, you'd need:
#mutation <bitmask> <chance>
-- Self explanatory, goes on units.
#spreads_mutations <bitmask> <chance>
-- So that we can add sites which mutate people that stay in the province with them.
-- Plus a spell effect that gives mutations! Chaos Channels! Huzzah!

If, on the other hand, you want to go nuts:
#attribute_pool <pool_number> <icon file>
#attribute <pool_number> <position>
-- Attributes, of which mutations are one type you could make, would appear in different types, each of which would have its own icon (and pool #), and each of which would have a, say, 64-bit bitmask. Position is the place in the bitmask, so a number from 0 to 63.

#require_slots (bitmask)
-- This attribute requires the combination of slots specified.
#no_mindless
-- Mindless units cannot get this attribute.
#no_mounted
#no_inanimate
#max_size (size)
-- You get the idea.

#stacks_to <position>
-- If you get this mutation, and you already have it, get this mutation isntead.

-- Other than that, each mutation would need the same stuff that units would get. You'd need a way to *modify* stats rather than just changing them, and you'd need a command to add or remove slots rather than just specifying which slots a unit would have.

-- Finally, for units
#attribute <pool> <bitmask> <chance>
-- And for sites.
#spreads_attribute <pool> <bitmsask> <chance>
-- And an effect for spells.

[UninspiredName]

Ooh, I like that one. Would really open up spell and site modding.

As for me, I'm having some serious issues creating combat summons that I have reason to believe aren't user error. You also can't boost the gem cost without boosting the fatigue cost for combat spells, which means if you wanted a barrage of fireballs that costed 3 gems to cast, it would most likely kill the caster, causing him 300 fatigue.

[Endoperez]

UninspiredName said:
Ooh, I like that one. Would really open up spell and site modding.

As for me, I'm having some serious issues creating combat summons that I have reason to believe aren't user error. You also can't boost the gem cost without boosting the fatigue cost for combat spells, which means if you wanted a barrage of fireballs that costed 3 gems to cast, it would most likely kill the caster, causing him 300 fatigue.

The latter is, unfortunately, pretty much unavoidable. Except for the killing part; casting spells doesn't kill the caster. And if the spellcaster has even one more level in the chosen path, he only gets half the fatigue, so he "only" gets 150+encumberance points of fatigue. You'd need 3 extra levels to get the fatigue down to 75 (300/4), though.

[FrankTrollman]

A high gem cost spell is pretty much uncastable by a character with the minimum path to cast it, casters won't use more than 200 Fatigue on casting a spell by choice, so they'll skip over even a scripted 8 gem spell.

But a character with an extra 3 path skill casts a spell at 1/4th fatigue - so they will cast that 8 gem spell.

So weirdly, if you want to have a spell that costs a lot of gems and is usable in combat, set the path requirements really low. A 1 Nature 800 Fatigue spell is theoretically castable by a Dryad, but actually it is only available to seriously badass Pans.

-Frank

[Endoperez]

FrankTrollman said:
A high gem cost spell is pretty much uncastable by a character with the minimum path to cast it, casters won't use more than 200 Fatigue on casting a spell by choice, so they'll skip over even a scripted 8 gem spell.

But a character with an extra 3 path skill casts a spell at 1/4th fatigue - so they will cast that 8 gem spell.

So weirdly, if you want to have a spell that costs a lot of gems and is usable in combat, set the path requirements really low. A 1 Nature 800 Fatigue spell is theoretically castable by a Dryad, but actually it is only available to seriously badass Pans.

-Frank

I just had an Air 3 mage cast Living Clouds. Living Clouds is 200 fatigue, 2 gems. The mage in question had 3 Air gems, total. He summoned 4, and only 4, Air Elementals, and because Living Clouds summons 4+ elementals, he would've had 5 if his skill was above 4. He has spellcasting encumberance 3. After casting the spell, he had 200 fatigue and had taken no damage.

If Living Clouds is modded to require Air 3 and take 3 gems (300 fatigue):
the caster can cast the spell with the same three gems; summons only as many elementals as the spell description states (curiously, 3, and description had changed to 3+, to match the #pathlevel 0 3!); and the caster ends up with 200 fatigue.

Further testing:
I changed Master Enslave to Thaumaturgy 0. I created an S9 Wyrm. I sent the Wyrm to fight against the biggest indeps I saw on second turn, after I had gotten enough pearls. I gave him *9* pearls. He cast Master Enslave and won the battle after the enemy routed. He had 200 fatigue after casting the spell, but didn't lose any hp.

This matches what I thought was stated on the forums: that no spell can kill the caster directly through fatigue.