Wednesday, 23rd December 2015, 06:59 by typhen
Ring of Flames is a really interesting, fun spell concept (specifically: the part that makes flame clouds, not the part that gives you the effect of wearing a ring). It is pretty distinct from other spells, and can potentially change your combat tactics.
One of the main things that makes the spell un-fun is that it's really weak (for the cost of learning and casting it).
But lots of spells don't substantially change your combat tactics. Throw Icicle vs Iron Bolt vs Poison Arrow....
Some interesting tactical effects of Ring of Flames:
- clearing other clouds (can it do this? I'm not sure)
- everything that Conjure Flame can do - block corridors from weak enemies, constant damage on strong or mindless enemies, block ice beams, and generate steam... but this spell can only do it at melee range
- ability to deal damage while fleeing, then when backed into a corner, turn and fight
- deal lots of additional melee damage, especially for hydra form or axe wielders
- blinking during combat adds another element (leaving clouds behind)
(I understand that the best players never fight more than one enemy at a time. This spell is probably useless to those players no matter how we change it, but that's ok! As long as the spell is an interesting decision for a lot of players...)
Unlike most area damage spells, it allows you to hit creatures without ever hitting yourself. but it's very hard to use with allies, unless they are fire-immune.
It also makes you look and feel amazingly powerful!
Here's some hypothetical concepts for how the above benefits of the spell could be retained while making it a more effective spell. (They are intended to be overpowered rather than underpowered; we can scale their power if they turn out to be interesting ideas):
1) Make it level 4, fire/charms. Remove the resists and the spellpower enhancer. Duration is 1-8 turns depending on spellpower.
2) Make it level 7, Fire/Transmutation: Efreet Form. This solves the issue of it being competitive with Haste.
3) Make it a potion effect.
4) Make it a potion effect, but it also gives the opposite of a !resistance for the duration.
5) Make it a potion, but it also affects your own square.
6) Make it a monster spell. (monster ai wouldn't be good at this, so give it to a unique, with the flavour / mechanic that the unique doesn't care about killing allies, benefits from it somehow, or has fire-immune allies)
7) Make it a god (oops, someone already did)