Barkeep
Posts: 1788
Joined: Saturday, 29th June 2013, 16:52
Proposal: Wand of Vulnerability/Dispelling
Wand of Vulnerability is exactly what it sounds like. If it hits the target, it debuffs and gives the MR- status. If it hits reliably, it should be as rare as HW or haste wands; if it's as iffy as a hexes wand, it might be more common. Either way, it should also recharge like the top tier wands, maxing out at 9 charges.
Admittedly, this would be a powerful item, but they would be more interesting than scrolls of vulnerability. It would provide greater access to debuff instead of restricting it to only purple draconians, would present more interesting tactical problems (since you need to balance access to removing contam versus debuffing dangerous enemies), give hexers a way to land spells on difficult targets, and expand the fairly small number of wands that retain their utility through the end game. Meanwhile, it would make acquiring or finding top tier wands more difficult while further stressing a player's recharging resources.
While I think that's the best solution, maybe another way to go would be an evocations item or wand that creates an aura of vulnerability; like silence, it would surround you with a field of dispelling, allowing you to debuff enemies at the risk of being debuffed and MR-'d yourself.
I don't think this is a necessary change; scrolls of vulnerability are a bit boring, especially for how rare they are, but they're not broken. I just think this would be a fun item that could provide a useful tactical benefit while creating more interesting trade-offs than the plain scroll.