Species Proposal – Gnome
Posted: Thursday, 15th March 2018, 14:39
Purpose of Proposal
This proposal aims to introduce two things to the game:
Inventors at heart, Gnomes share a love for anything mechanical. Their stunted limbs and plump body afford little agility – instead, their keen minds turn to tinkering. Whether through metal, electricty or oil, a gnome's passion lies in creation.
Innate Abilities
Level Bonuses
Repurpose Wand Ability
When activating the ability, the player first selects which wand to repurpose, and then selects the type of the desired wand (from identified wands).
First, the game determines how many charges of the original wand are to be repurposed. Since not all wands are equal in strength, charge amount and conversion rates scale around the wand types' "max charges per individual wand on pickup" value (hereafter "max value"). Wands can have max values of 9, 15, 24 and 48. Determining the amount of charges to be converted is done using the formula (1-(random2(67,80)/100)*a, where 'a' is the wand's max value. This results in converting 20-33% of the wand's max value. For example:
A wand of Flame would convert 10-16 of its charges.
A wand of Disintegration would convert 5-8 of its charges.
A wand of Ice Blast would convert 3-5 of its charges.
A wand of Clouds would convert 2-3 of its charges.
Once the amount of charges to be converted has been determined, the game determines the result of the conversion. The conversion uses the following formula: a/(b/c)*0.67=d, where 'a' is the amount of charges to be converted (determined in the previous step), 'b' is the original wand type's max value, and 'c' is the desired wand type's max value. The output is then cut by 33%, representing the cost of this ability. In other words, the conversion operates at a 33% loss rate, sacrificing total charge in return for adaptability.
A few example conversions:
Converting 15 charges of wand of Flame would yield 5 charges of Disintegration, 3 charges of Ice Blast, or 2 charges of Clouds.
Converting 3 charges of Clouds would yield 3 charges of Ice Blast, 5 charges of Disintegration, or 11 charges of Flame.
Aptitudes
Design Notes
I hope you enjoy this concept. Any feedback is welcome.
This proposal aims to introduce two things to the game:
- A small species that doesn't rely on stealth.
- A racial focus on evocations beyond a high aptitude.
Inventors at heart, Gnomes share a love for anything mechanical. Their stunted limbs and plump body afford little agility – instead, their keen minds turn to tinkering. Whether through metal, electricty or oil, a gnome's passion lies in creation.
Innate Abilities
- Empowered Wands 1: Gnomes have increased power when zapping wands.
- Gnomes can repurpose wands into other types of identified wands. This consumes some of the wand's charges.
- Gnomes are small creatures, unable to wield large shields, bardiches, battleaxes, dire flails, executioner's axes, glaives, great maces, great swords, halberds, longbows, scythes, triple swords, giant clubs, giant spiked clubs, and javelins. One-handed weapons like magical staves, broad axes, tridents, demon tridents and double swords are two-handed weapons to them.
Level Bonuses
- +1 strength or intelligence every 4th level.
- 10% less hit points than average.
- 3 MR per level
- At levels 8 and 16, your Empowered Wands is upgraded to ranks 2 and 3, respectively
Repurpose Wand Ability
When activating the ability, the player first selects which wand to repurpose, and then selects the type of the desired wand (from identified wands).
First, the game determines how many charges of the original wand are to be repurposed. Since not all wands are equal in strength, charge amount and conversion rates scale around the wand types' "max charges per individual wand on pickup" value (hereafter "max value"). Wands can have max values of 9, 15, 24 and 48. Determining the amount of charges to be converted is done using the formula (1-(random2(67,80)/100)*a, where 'a' is the wand's max value. This results in converting 20-33% of the wand's max value. For example:
A wand of Flame would convert 10-16 of its charges.
A wand of Disintegration would convert 5-8 of its charges.
A wand of Ice Blast would convert 3-5 of its charges.
A wand of Clouds would convert 2-3 of its charges.
Once the amount of charges to be converted has been determined, the game determines the result of the conversion. The conversion uses the following formula: a/(b/c)*0.67=d, where 'a' is the amount of charges to be converted (determined in the previous step), 'b' is the original wand type's max value, and 'c' is the desired wand type's max value. The output is then cut by 33%, representing the cost of this ability. In other words, the conversion operates at a 33% loss rate, sacrificing total charge in return for adaptability.
A few example conversions:
Converting 15 charges of wand of Flame would yield 5 charges of Disintegration, 3 charges of Ice Blast, or 2 charges of Clouds.
Converting 3 charges of Clouds would yield 3 charges of Ice Blast, 5 charges of Disintegration, or 11 charges of Flame.
Aptitudes
- Code:
+0 Fighting
+0 Short Blades
+0 Long Blades
+0 Axes
+1 Maces
-1 Polearms
+1 Staves
-2 Unarmed Combat
-2 Bows
+2 Crossbows
+0 Slings
+0 Throwing
+2 Armour
+0 Dodging
+1 Shields
-2 Stealth
-1 Spellcasting
+1 Fire Magic
-1 Ice Magic
+2 Air magic
-1 Earth Magic
-1 Poison Magic
+0 Conjuration
-1 Hexes
+0 Charms
-2 Summoning
-3 Necromancy
+2 Translocation
-3 Transmutation
-2 Invocation
+3 Evocation
+0 EXP
Design Notes
- Despite their size factor, a lack of dex and stealth aptitude makes it difficult for Gnomes to go undetected. Fair weapon aptitudes and good defensive aptitudes lets them hold their own in combat.
- Gnomes' love for metal and machinery makes them especially interested in crossbows and armour.
- Though their magical aptitudes are less than great, their attunement with electricity, steam and explosions lets them dabble in air and fire magic with a bit more confidence.
- As scientist and experimenters, Gnomes pay less heed to the divine.
- Determining the amount of charges to be converted uses a flat (though variable) value based on the wand's type. This gives the player more control over quantity converted. If it was based on a percentage of the wand's current amount of charges, it would lead to situations where the player might be forced to convert more charges than intended, due to having a lot of charges on that wand.
I hope you enjoy this concept. Any feedback is welcome.