Celestials

[bcadren]

A different species proposal; something I felt was missing. "Celestials"; which form a player equivalent to -a few- existing monster types. It's just a rough proposal;idea here is a little less experimental; trying to fill in the lack of a 'Holy' holiness level player race.

Celestials were originally a race of divine beings, created specifically by The Shining One for the holy crusades. Elyvilon saw their enslavement by their creator as detestable and asked the Shining One to grant them free will to choose a path of their own. The resulting race adapt far more to their chosen god than others, changing many of their abilities to uniquely suit the will of their master. This is due to a special 'holy' or divine energy found within their bodies. The primary uniquenesses about this race are that they are the only 'Holy' holiness level player race; they get more specialization from their gods and they have branded UC attacks (though you must overcome their abysmal -3 UC apt. to use them effectively).

Racial Abilities:
rHoly; rRot
Random Attribute increase every 3 levels.
+4 Magic resistance per level.

At level seven; their form becomes fixed. If they've chosen a god they conform to that god's vision through resistance and ability changes, otherwise they become [No God] Celestials, with their own unique bonuses. Unlike other races all Celestials actually become physically incapable of doing excommunicable offenses; such as a celestial who chose to return to TSO, being unable to handle demonic weapons without taking damage, despite using them effectively. Furthermore [No God] Celestials are permanently banned from joining a god. [Note: Many of the individual forms are rough.]

Ashenzari

Spoiler: show

Title: Prometheus
UC attacks cause miscast effects to the target. Your chains also cause a Constriction effect.
UC is considered bound and your hands appear shackled.
You may never equip weapons, but you can throw things.
Level 12: Prophecy - Evoke to increase the incidence of portals and vaults on the next floor. Gives some warning about what will be spawned on the next floor.
Level 18: You can curse items at will at the cost of Corroding them.

Cheibriados

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Title: Eternal
UC attacks slow the target.
You have no hunger clock.
You are immune to slow and berserk.
Level 12: Walk anywhere (Deep Water; Lava, whatever dude)
Level 18: Centuries' Aging (Breath attack; changes target natural into a skeleton of itself; Plants, Statues and Slimes disintegrate; Demons just fall asleep)

Elyvilon

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Title: Angel
UC doesn't damage anything, but has a chance of pacification; may pacify anything, but has a lower chance per hit than pacification invocations.
Level 12: Flight; Regen I
Level 18: Regen II
Level 24: Regen III

Fedhas Madash

Spoiler: show

Title: Sporebearer
Confusing touch [Permanent effect].
You are an intelligent plant:
rF--, rPois+, rN++, rTorm, rDrown, Clarity, Saprovore 2, Photosynthetic (Use of Corona, Sunlight or any other bright lighting stops your hunger clock).
Level 12: Walk through Deep Water
Level 18: Spore Breath [conjures a Giant Spore as a breath ability; player spores scale with level and have roughly power of OOD with Confusion effect based on MR]

Jiyva

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Title: Fluid One
UC damage deals extra Acid to the opponent; Acid also dealt reflexively with hit.
You are a Holy Slime:
Fast Metabolism 3; Omnivore (you can eat anything, except stones), rAcid+++
Level 12: Vitrol Spray (can create clouds of Acid damage type)

Kikubaaqudgha

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Title: Nephilim
All UC attacks are Pain branded.
+2 to Necromancy Apt.
You are undead and have all its bonuses.
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Cast Torment as a Breath Ability
Level 24: Eternal Agony; UC Pain brand uses MR instead of rN; allowing you to cause demons pain.

Lugonu

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Title: Abyssal Archon
All UC attacks are distortion branded.
Level 12: Passive Corruption [A slow effect within LoS changing all spaces at a slower rate than the Abyss.]
Level 18: Permanent Disjunction (Anything within a Radius of 4 of the player can blink at anytime)

Makhleb

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Title: Abaddon
Random elemental effect to all UC attacks: Flaming, Freezing, Electrocution, Venom or Vorpal
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Hellfire breath

Nemelex Xobeh

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Title: Fukuro
UC attacks will sacrifice the target's equipment to Nemelex, reducing attack and AC of humanoids.
Level 12: Rigged Game (Passive: Rare things are more likely to show up; increases likelihood of acquirement level items, fixedArts, portals dangerous vaults and OOD monsters alike)
Level 18: Card Count (Passive: any decks in your inventory get their kind and how many cards they contain shown; does not identify any cards in the deck).

Sif Muna

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Title: Druid
UC attacks drain target's MP and refill yours; subject to MR check.
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Dispel Aura (Removes buffs of foe spellcasters)

Trog

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Title: Wolfheathen
UC attacks are Antimagic branded.
Level 12: Frenzy [Berserks and neutrals all foes in LoS (they attack each other and you during this effect). Note that you get no XP for the kills of a frenzied enemy.]
Level 18: Silent Halo [permanent silence effect near you; similar to a Scroll of Silence, but a smaller radius (2.5).]

The Shining One

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Title: Daeva
UC attacks are Holy Wrath branded.
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Sacred fire breath (Holy/Fire Elemental magic; creates a temporary flame cloud)

Vehumet

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Title:
UC attacks get 'destructive' boost; doing a random elemental damage based on Conjurations skill, roughly equivalent to the Pain brand.
+2 Bonus to Conjurations Apt.
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Two Permanent Battlesphere Companions

Xom

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Title: Chaotic Shapeshifter
UC attacks are Chaos Branded, usually.
Xom has a chance to polymorph you every 100 turns. Possible forms include all transmutations forms (25%), all bad forms (25%) and a special list based off of what a shapeshifter enemy with HD = your XL would morph into (50%).
If in an enemy shapeshifter form, that monster's spell list is available as (a)bilities.

Yredelemnul

Spoiler: show

Title: Profane Servitor
UC attacks are Vampiric branded.
As a demonic creature you receive: rN++, rTorm and a boost from using Demonic gear.
Level 12: Flight; Reaping.
Level 18: Umbra - Your stealth is permanently enhanced and you exude darkness (effect similar to being permanently invisible); though it also boosts the stealth of your undead servants and prevents them from triggering traps. Undead enemies ignore your stealth boost.
Level 24: Dominion - Roaming undead, have a chance of recognizing you as one of the ultimate servants of Yredelemnul and following you until their deaths.

Zin

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Title: Erelim
UC attacks deal extra damage to Chaotic monsters.
Level 12: Flight
Level 18: Echoed Words [You can recite and take other actions at the same time; making Recitations instead act like Song of Slaying.]
Level 24: Order [The Abyss shifts more slowly; shapeshifters cannot change form; permanent AoE stasis around you; chaos branded weapons have reduced damage, etc.]

[No God]

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Title: Rogue Divinity
UC attacks are Vorpal branded
Base stats are boosted +5
Level 12: Flight

Base Aptitudes

  Code:

Fighting: -1
Short Blades: -1
Long Blades: -1
Axes: -1
Maces: -1
Polearms: -1
Staves: -1
Slings: -1
Bows: -1
Crossbows: -1
Throw: -1
Armour: -1
Dodge: -1
Stealth: 0
Shields: -1
Unarmed: -3*
Spellcasting: -2
Conj: -1
Hexes: -1
Charms: -1
Summoning: -1
Necromancy: -1
Translocations: -1
Transmutations: -1
Fire: -1
Ice: -1
Air: -1
Earth: -1
Poison: -1
Invocations: 3
Evo: 0
Exp: -2*
HP: 1
MP: 2

[Siegurt]

1. It seems a little odd to give all these bonuses to UC but give a -3 aptitude for it.
2. If you join Kiku, and become undead, I think you forfeit holy damage protection, on the other hand if you aren't undead, holy weapons don't do anything additional to you, so there's only very rare situations in which holy damage protection is even relevant.

[TeshiAlair]

First off, really really like this idea.

I do think some of the powers are too strong, or overlap with their god's powers a little too much. Second, I think some of the abilities don't need to be UC linked. For instance, Jiyva's could be just the acid dealt on getting hit.

[Igxfl]

Holy Wrath branded UC:

  Code:

You punch Cerebov.
Cerebov convulses!
Cerebov apologizes and gives you the fiery rune.

[reaver]

I don't like giving extra abilities for worshipping a god. I would prefer them to be random like Demonspawn or chosen by the player somehow. It just makes the choice of god more important, which can be done without special cases. For example, Celestials could have a +5 Invocations aptitude or a mutation giving the effect of an amulet of faith.

In addition, the bonuses for joining a particular god don't really interest me. Stat boosts are covered by Chei, "Echoed Words" has already been implemented as the default way of using Recite, Walk anywhere is just Flight, etc. I like some abilities (like the Stasis, Umbra, Silence, and Corruption auras) but I think they would work better as Evocations or Unrandarts.

[Tindalos]

I like it. It seems a little busy, and balance seems difficult, and it's not without flaws, but it's interesting and fun. It'd definitely motivate me to leave my god choice comfort zone. With some tweaking, this idea is something I'd love to playtest.

Also, it seems reasonable that Beogh should be excluded on your list, but Okawaru is missing as well.

[KennySheep]

For example, Celestials could have a +5 Invocations aptitude or a mutation giving the effect of an amulet of faith.

I like this idea way more than than the extra god powers as well.

There was a thread recently for casting form transmutations where reducing pity for invocations was being kicked around. Combine that with the stuff in reaver's post and I think you'd have a really interesting race to play.

[carbonbasedlifeform]

So,if you decide not to choose UC,this race becomes another boring human/demigod theme? And even then... ughh,this looks like you thought 'UC was not enough overpowered '

[red_kangaroo]

This race seems pretty strange... which is good. I like it.

Also, race with bad UC aptitude but larger bonuses could be more interesting than any race simply good at UC, so I'd keep it.

The Faith mutation should be a normaly acquirable (bad) mutation!!!

[Amnesiac]

Almost all of these are terribly OP'ed... And this is not a game where you can be guaranteed to get such a strong and flashy stuff so easily.

[Sporkman]

Really overpowered, but I love the idea. Still, holy crap this is just overpowered as hell.

Quick addition though: no RHoly to start with, that should be tied to the 'good' gods.

[njvack]

Honestly, the idea is neat but it seems way too complex for core Crawl -- it's mean that every time you wanted to change any god, you'd need to think about Celestials in particular, which kinda sucks.

But this concept might make for a really great Sprint, where the overall balance can be tuned in a smaller game world.

[TeshiAlair]

Let's simplify the idea a bit- make it so that Celestials AUTOMATICALLY get a god at level 6 or so. Make a challenge race in a similar vein as demonspawn or draconians, where you have to adapt your playstyle on the fly. Level 6 is high enough to prevent startscumming.

As far as abilities go, I do like the idea of god-specific abilities, but another way of going about it would be as Celestials level up, they get the god abilities permanently, removing the piety cost. This may be OP as hell (looking at you Trog) but it is a potential route I think.

[khalil]

I like this idea, but there's a few problems I see:
UC is a bad choice for them because of their aptitude. Buff that and lower some of the other aptitudes.
Also, lower the aptitudes in general.
Finaly, as a fluff concern, Druid seems a bit to natureish for Sif Muna. I'd go for Magus instead.

[wizzzargh]

Let's simplify the idea a bit- make it so that Celestials AUTOMATICALLY get a god at level 6 or so. Make a challenge race in a similar vein as demonspawn or draconians, where you have to adapt your playstyle on the fly. Level 6 is high enough to prevent startscumming.

As far as abilities go, I do like the idea of god-specific abilities, but another way of going about it would be as Celestials level up, they get the god abilities permanently, removing the piety cost. This may be OP as hell (looking at you Trog) but it is a potential route I think.

I like the Auto-Random-God idea a lot, but I think gaining Faith as an intrinsic is as far as the piety thing could go without being hideously unbalanced. Like, "Tornado as a level 5 spell" unbalanced. Trog might be the worst offender with summoning berserk giants, but imagine an Okawarite with perma Heroism+Finesse, or infinite Oklobs with Fedhas, or infinite Pain Mirror and Drain Life with Yred... The only gods I can imagine not being utterly broken by this would be Sif, Ash, Xom, Beogh, and Nemelex(and Nemelex basically already has infinite piety)

[Mankeli]

I like the Auto-Random-God idea a lot, but I think gaining Faith as an intrinsic is as far as the piety thing could go without being hideously unbalanced.

It would be very strong for sure but just maybe there could be some severe enough drawback.

infinite Oklobs with Fedhas

Faith doesn't give you fruit so no.

The only gods I can imagine not being utterly broken by this would be Sif, Ash, Xom, Beogh, and Nemelex(and Nemelex basically already has infinite piety)

Faith is really strong with Nemelex because you get even more decks.

[siprus]

Btw if celestial decide to change god, I think they should get that bit more of gods wrath than other races. Maybe not just longer wrath, but also worse effects.