Battle Afflictions: Gimp Gods

[RedRover]

This is a bit of thinking out loud, as I collect information and sort out this issue on my own. Still, I think the conclusions add something to the discussion that hasn't been there before, so others might find it interesting as well.

The Issue:
It is a real pain to have a pretender crippled by battle afflictions, especially if you are new to the game.

It is odd that you can be brought back from death fairly easily, once the "Call God" command hits your radar, but battle afflictions seem much more persistent than getting killed.

Most of the fixes and work-arounds (other than straight suiciding and being Called back) just aren't available if the crippling happens early in the game. And not only is suicide aesthetically displeasing, but because suicide must take some time (at least another move), it can be even worse than being killed outright.

On the other hand, such afflictions control the rampaging battle-god types and prevent this approach from dominating play. The case has been made so strongly that IW regards this as a highly valued core design feature, that any suggested change should be considered quite carefully.

NEW*Game Stage is Important:
There are work-arounds at the mid- to late stages of the game. It would be a great mistake to replace or cheapen these with a better or faster fix that is available in the early game.

However, afflictions also seem to be a big enough fun-spoiler for we newbies that maybe we could use a slightly bigger carrot on a slightly shorter stick to get us past this issue.

With deference to previous Posts on the topic, I find the case for the "Call God" prayer mechanic unconvincing. While it looks reasonable for an early-game solution and gets high marks for rules consistency, it seems to me to fail the balance test by out-powering the middle- and end-game fixes.

The greater part of the concerned mail seems to me to be focused on the early game at the newbie experience level.

I favor actively dealing with the issue at this level of play, if only to kill off threads like this for good.

Considerations:
A solution should keep the new player engaged. It also needs to be inefficient on two counts: 1) It needs to keep the player seeking better solutions by the middle- and end-games, 2) It mustn't kill a player's incentive to take a regenerating pretender as a starting option.

My perception of the balance issues is hampered by not having the regeneration chances from the special pretenders, the exact effects of the healing entities (Arcoscephale priestess; Tien Chi hero; Faerie Queen from the Faerie Court spell, Con 8), the Gift of Healing spell (Enc 5), and the Chalice artifact (Unique).

How many game turns, on average, does it take a regenerating pretender to recover from an affliction?
Can afflictions be directly Wished away by spell (Alt 9)?

Any options made available in the early game must be calibrated against these later effects, so it would be really helpful to have the exact mechanics of their resolution.

The only fairly firm number I have found is the "about 20%" success that the Arcoscephale Priestess Heal has against each affliction in her province(see thread "Some technical questions, and some answers") So let's work with that.

Idea--Timing Out:
This suggestion, which would allow an afflicted god to retire to a private sanctum out of play and heal, may be the best one I've seen so far. In other words, by using a special command, enabled by having a battle affliction, the pretender disappears from play for some months. Perhaps one battle affliction disappears each time this command is used.

This gives the newbie a comforting level of control and some choice in the matter. It also relieves the sense of frustration as you realize that there are solutions out there, but you can't learn enough about the rest of the system fast enough to avoid getting squashed before you get there. (Your worry becomes getting your pretender back before you get squashed.)

Since it takes 6 months to enable a new prophet, this seems a reasonable time penalty to look at for getting rid of one battle affliction.

Comparing this with the Priestess, the latter has a roughly 75% chance of healing at least one affliction in 6 months. So 6 months is too short for a 100% fix. It's roughly 12 months before the priestess success chance gets to around 95% (although a pretender with multiple afflictions theoretically might luck into multiple cures).

Giving the pretender a 25% chance to return each turn starting with the sixth turn off the board seems pretty close to me, and about where I would start testing.

Consider disabling the "Prophet" command while the pretender is recuperating--the pretender is using that power to heal (but, if so, tell the newbie in both command descriptions that this happens--no sense in adding another frustration source).

Anyhow, someone picking up a lot of afflictions by stomping around isn't using any tactical finesse. This strongarm approach needs enough drag so that thinking players will be discouraged (but not prohibited) from using it. Besides, it's fun to stomp around every once in a while, even if the approach is not optimal.

Idea--A New Ritual Spell:
A fast fix might be to introduce a special "Heal God" spell. This would get more into the mid-game region, but its title makes it easy for a newbie to find, and gives an immediate goal to work toward. Since it is for newbies, more hints would be provided in the description. Since the time lost in the first option can really stack up, the newbie might be ready for a (painful) quicker fix.

My take looks something like this:

Heal God
Thaumaturgy Level 3
Any Path 1
Ritual
Cost: Two magic ranks, 30 astral gems

Only the pretender who benefits from this spell can cast it. Casting the spell removes one battle affliction currently affecting the pretender. The pretender decides which ranks are lost. A pretender with less than two spell ranks total can't use this spell. (Note: You can use the free "Alchemy" command to change other gems to astral gems in a laboratory.)

(I like this one because it maximizes newbie player decision points. Since I am free to cast it at any time I can afford it, I can choose whether my afflictions are bad enough to warrant the path hits. If I can't afford it, it's because I'm a newbie and haven't learned to run an economy yet. Likewise, it's possible to be caught on the dilemma of choosing between a really expensive rank and a cheap rank that immediate tactical need makes highly desirable. This is better than a straight random result, which erodes that player control that is so comforting to newbies. It does render a deliberate suicide strategy less viable, since you lose only two ranks total rather than one rank in each path, and a no-ranked pretender can't manipulate this. For me, that's a definite plus.)

BTW, in the Thaumaturgy spell list, you might replace the the usual path symbol with a smiley face, since it is open to all...

A refinement
...would be to let the player also choose the affliction removed. More choices. For example, with two eyes gone and a chest wound, being able to cure one eye first gives my pretender the option to still act in a limited fashion until I can afford to fix it further. If a random result fixes the chest wound, I've just been hosed by the game system, which would be a major frustration. Besides, if I'm doing the healing, being able to focus makes a certain amount of sense.

The operative question is, of course, whether this is still too quick a fix, and would significantly disturb the mid- and end-game balance. I think it's close to OK. Testing should reveal if it slants too many players directly into the Thaumaturgy school (a lot of them may be going there anyway for the gem-finding spells).

It probably isn't going to help multiplay gamers, but then again the time drag of being killed or timing out at all is likely to be fatal against experienced opponents anyway. Most newbies will probably be sandboxing with solo play at least as much as experimenting with multiplay, IMO.

Why Thaumaturgy?
My thought is that this "healing" is essentially a "magic art & science" effect that is operating on the godlike aspect of the pretender rather than the mortal physical aspect. The spell would not affect normal mortals, but reconstructs and revitalizes a pretender specifically, along suprahuman lines, and Thaumaturgy is perhaps the closest of the schools to the wellsprings of magical energy. For common healing of mortals, there is no question that Enchantment is the most appropriate school. But perhaps the case can be made that this particular spell operates along somewhat different lines.

Incidently, I picked 30 gems because that's the number of gems a pretender can pack around on his person, and because I think a complete newbie could quickly learn to handle this amount by sharpening up his gem management just a little. It might get that part of the game on his radar screen a little quicker, too, and is a lot less intimidating than 40 or 50 gems.

Idea--An Item:
(This is not a primary fix for the issue, but is instead a special bonus item that a modder might place into a scenario as a special.)

Vial of Ambrosia
Very Powerful Item (Construction 6)
Any Path 12
Requires: 150 gems of the same type

A pretender personally distills and purifies his or her divine essence. Ambrosia may instantly remove one battle affliction from a pretender. This one-use item kills nonpretenders who use it, but it tastes really, really good.

(Note: The vial might take effect during the Ritual phase of the turn. If a pretender carrying this item has one or more afflictions at that time, then the item automatically operates and may remove one. It is a one-use item and part of its effect would be to remove itself from the pretender's inventory. The bug to avoid is having a pretender carrying two of these automatically lose both to a single affliction.)

I at first considered a Version of this that was not fatal to nonpretenders, but then thought about the potential bug of having the vial heal a nonpretender. Having it kill nonpretenders solves that problem neatly, and provides a very small chance for an inattentive or unlucky player to screw up by giving one of these to someone who will drink it and die. If even the unique artifact--the Chalice--has a downside, I can't resist putting a small one into this item as well.

Of course, there would be some informative pop-ups:"X has drunk Ambrosia of the Gods and is Healed", "X has drunk Ambrosia of the Gods and perished" and "X has drunk Ambrosia of the Gods and it Tasted Good".)

Yes, I know this item breaks a number of existing game conventions on how magic is structured, but the ability of godlike beings to bend the rules of the universe is the essence of fantasy, IMO.

The pricing is a guess, the intention being that Ambrosia fare badly in comparision to the Wish spell (Alt 9). After all, the vial is portable, storable, and lootable.

I don't know how it fares in comparison with the Chalice artifact--
* Is the Chalice also a 20% removal chance per turn?
* Does it heal the holder or the pretender first, or does it just strike randomly somewhere in the province it occupies?
* What is the chance and severity of the questing knight attack?

The other variable is the path level number. I wanted it high enough to be clearly beyond the reach of any mortal caster visible to a newbie. I picked 12 because it's 3 levels higher than the highest spell effect I've seen (the gem-finding spells at 9).

I'm not sure how levels high pretenders usually go in typical games (my personal high is around 14 and I recall somebody posting a 45), but I'd really like to see this item on the cusp of "if you can afford it, you're so far ahead you don't really need it." I could see an increase in the level number to 15, possibly even as high as 20, depending on where the cusp is (and it's probably a moving target--a function of map size, right?).

Ambrosia might also have different effects depending on the game Difficulty level:
Novice: 100%/All afflictions;
Normal: 75%/1 affliction;
Difficult: 50%/1 affliction;
Impossible: 25%/1 affliction.

Final Note:
As a final check, I searched the Boards. I was so impressed by the "Affliction Record?" thread...

...that I'm thinking maybe the Time Out and Heal God spell as presented here should be dropped at Difficult and Impossible Levels (too few newbies there, anyway). I'd still like to see them at Novice level, and I personally would prefer having the option at Normal.

Option Screen:
Perhaps the option to use or disable some of these elements for a specific game should be on a special set-up screen accessed from the Options Menu?
If so, consider putting everything on there and let the players decide.