Crypt Cleanser
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Joined: Saturday, 5th December 2015, 06:56
God Proposal: Liatrix the Shapeshifting God (2nd Draft)
Laitrix the Shifty
"Never show them your true face."
Liatrix is the sly and chaotic god of many forms. Liatrix's followers are encouraged to polymorph and transmute themselves, and gain augmentations that make them more formidible while polymorphed. As they progress in their faith, Liatrix's followers gain the ability to morph into specific forms, as well as summon shapeshifters to their aid.
Appreciates:
Killing living, undead, holy or demonic enemies while polymorphed or transmuted.
Depreciates:
Inaction.
Harming a shapeshifter in any way (penance).
Abandoning her/him/it.
RANKS/ABILITIES:
Piety Level -: Shifty [species name]
* All shapeshifters turn neutral. (passive)
* The player retains the ability to cast spells and evoke items even when polymorphed. (passive)
Piety Level *: Two Faced [species name]
* Tree Form: This gives the Tree status effect, exactly like quaffing a potion of lignification. Cost: 2 MP, 1 Piety.
Piety Level **: Sly Devil
* The player's unarmed combat is boosted to the same level as his highest weapon skill whenever polymorphed or transmuted. (passive)
* Unmask: Instantly cancels all of the player's active polymorph and transmutation effects. Costs 1-2 Piety, 2 MP, Exhaustion.
Piety Level ***: Role Reverser
No new abilities.
Piety Level ****: Impersonator
* Wisp Form: This gives the Wisp status effect, exactly like that bestowed by a wand of polymorph. Cost: 2 Piety, 6 MP, 100-200 Food.
Piety Level *****: Agent of Alteration
* Summon Shifters: Summons 3-6 allied shapeshifters to fight alongside you.Their duration increases with Invocations (6-9 turns at minimum invocations, 18-24 turns at maximum invocations). (8 MP, 100-200 Food, 5-6 Piety)
Piety Level ******: Harbinger of Change
No new abilities.
GIFTS:
Piety -:
You are granted 1 fully charged, identified wand of polymorph the first time you join Liatrix.
Piety **+:
Wand of polymorph. Comes fully charged but not identified. Gift timeout is 24 to 36.
Piety ****:
1 randart spellbook with 4 random transmutation spells. You only receive this once.
PUNISHMENTS:
Randomly polymorphs you with zero chance of acquiring a good form.
Randomly polymorph enemies in your line of sight into higher HD enemies.
Your transmutation spells have their durations lowered by a random amount.
Summons 4-8 hostile shapeshifters to your vicinity.
Random transmutations miscast effect.
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NOTES:
This new draft draws on many of the criticisms given in the previous draft. Rather than giving many new, unique forms, I tried to make it so polymorphing itself becomes a more viable option for all character types. Removing the restriction on casting/evoking makes it possible for non melee characters to truly benefit from all the different "bad" forms, while the boost to unarmed skill makes it so non-unarmed melee characters can benefit as well.
Because there are no more random polymorphs, this god now feels very different from Xom. In fact, there is no more empahasis on polymorphing enemies at all, making this a purely disguise/deception/shapeshifting god, rather than a "polymorph everything" god.
This god does synergize fairly well with transmutations due to the piety gain, being able to insta-cancel all morph effects, as well as the boost to unarmed. This doesn't feel OP to me, because a transmuter should ideally be fighting unarmed anyway... so at most, this lets your non transmuted form be slightly more robust, while still being weaker than blade hands, dragon or statue form.
Also, this god enables a somewhat different playstyle from ordinary transmuters because most of the "bad forms" are about increasing mobility and utility (flight, blinking, various immunities, stealth boosts, increased move speed) or tradeoffs (HP boost + resistances at expense of movement for lignification)... while transmutation abilities are more about offensive power.
Hopefully, the final ability (panic summons) + the fact that wisp form provides almost every immunity in the game with mininal drawbacks (thanks to the passives) makes this god sufficiently powerful, without being too powerful.