(lowers power of single target spells but allows them to hit multiple targets based on skill.. one extra.. two extra)

PATHWAY SPLIT

example posted below

You struggle against your bindings to prepare the Frost Scythe spell.
You finally manage to free yourself from the webbing.

targ arma

You begin to weave mana lines into a target pattern around a juvenile desert armadillo.

path focus split
You focus on rendering existing spell patterns with aethereal pathways to allow them to hold hit multiple targets.

targ second arma

You begin to weave faint mana lines into a target pattern around a juvenile desert armadillo.

(cast, lowers power of single target spells but allows them to hit multiple targets based on skill.. one extra.. two extra)

ACHMED

reply

>>Hey Wythor, whats going on with pathway stuff? Anything more your can share with us?

Some new APs have been approved for development. Before I could dig into that, however, the AP code needed to be rewritten to allow modular expansion.

All of the original code was developed with hard-coded limitations that prevented APs from doing the cool and varied things I wanted them to do. So everything from the old quest mechanics to the actual PATHWAY verb itself needed to be rewritten.

The redesign phase is actually going rather well -- the new modular mechanics are up and running with the existing APs here in our development instance. They need to be tested a bit more, then QCd and released to ensure they are working properly. That in itself will be a nice release, because it includes HELP information on each pathway you've learned (though I'm still working on the formatting).

Once the framework is stable I'll begin developing new APs in earnest. The most difficult part will be deciding which one to code first. :)


- GM Wythor

What goes up
is futile --
unless it goes out

<<Has an idea of pathway slots been kicked around any>>

Or could we just leave it alone, get them all, and only use what you feel is useful to you?


Rigek

if you do not like the pathway do not complete the quest. Isn't it that simple?

Rehlyn

You gesture at a gargantuan korograth.
A sheet of slippery rich amber ale-hued ice forms beneath a gargantuan korograth!
The gargantuan korograth refuses to fall.

Heh, calls for diversification are always met with resistance it seems. Folks would rather have mediocre abilities with no restrictions than to pick and choose more powerful abilities. This discussion has been similar to the one about elemental specialization (another idea I liked). I guess once we know more about what pathways are planned we'll see if such an idea makes sense.

---

http://www.drplat.com - The DragonRealms Platinum Community Website. Be sure to vote DragonRealms as your #1 MUD!

If choice is a matter of 'now or later', like spell selection, I'm all for it. After all, the spell not selected this time can be picked next.

If choice means closing doors on alternatives, choosing this means I can never obtain those over there, I'm against it. Regardless of what I've already chosen, what I've yet to choose should be available to me at some point in the future.

I don't have any plans to create pathway slots, for a couple of reasons.

1. Aethereal pathways are niche tools, not the slot-restricted 'package deals' other guilds benefit from. If the other abilities can be considered swiss army knives, each Aethereal Pathway would be just a screwdriver, or a hammer, or whatever. While each one is useful for its intended purpose, it would take a toolbox full of them to equal the raw utility of other abilities that get the slot treatment.

2. I expect a rather large number of new APs being introduced over the next couple of years. There's not going to be a real rhyme or reason to the order in which they're completed, though, which means some APs with high requirements might get mixed in with some that have low requirements. If I also restrict the number of APs you can learn, there's a good chance one of the following scenarios will occur:

a) You won't have enough slots to learn all of the APs you used to use on a regular basis.

b) You have enough slots to learn all of the AP abilities you used to use on a regular basis, but don't have any empty slots when new APs you want are released.

c) You learn all of the APs you want from the current batch and still have some open slots. Unfortunately, the next several dozen APs aren't of interest to you or you don't meet the requirements, so you're left torn between learning some semi-useful APs to fill your slots or keeping them open with the hope that a better one will come along.

Any way you slice it, it would generate a good number of complaints and would not provide any real benefit.


- GM Wythor

What goes up
is futile --
unless it goes out

You already have a TM booster.

Why the heck would you need another?
Also, melee weapon boost? With all of the different disables WMs have?

Been hitting the samatak, I see.

Knock it off or take it to conflicts, eh? Otherwise I'll turn you both into mooses.

Thanks,

Wixs

With any questions or comments, feel free to contact me (Mod-Wixs@play.net), Senior Board Monitor Annwyl (DR-Annwyl@play.net), or Message Board Supervisor Cecco (DR-Cecco@play.net).

>>You don't see areas of silence (no roars/screams).

Well, I remember one recent quest (Corik's) where there was an area where anything above a whisper was dangerous for the person making noise, if not the whole party, so that was effecively a "no roar" zone.

~Kyn (Kynevon)

---

Info Page http://kynevon.info
Grimoire of Echoes: http://tinyurl.com/2ac987
Hunting Info: http://tinyurl.com/44jlt
Armor Info: http://tinyurl.com/2h5jcp

>>I am praying very hard that pathways don't always require a spell to be cast to take effect. We need something to fall back on when mana is not available :P

APs were designed with the intention of assisting spellcasting, so the most useful ones will be those that require a spell to be cast in order to function. That isn't to say we can't make APs that reduce the mana cost of spells, or that assist in overcoming the problems you've experienced, however.


- GM Wythor

What goes up
is futile --
unless it goes out

I never realised how great of a boost accuract can become at high level untill I cast a spell that gives normal combat hit level messaging.

Without Accuracy:
>cast
You gesture at an elder desert armadillo.
The mana you were holding contributes to the spell.
Your hairless polar bear seems to make your Stone Strike spell less straining.
A large stone boulder rips itself free of the earth, shatters into small shards and hurtles toward an elder desert armadillo!
The shards impact harmlessly with its shield.
Roundtime: 1 second.

With Accuracy:
You gesture at an elder desert armadillo.
The mana you were holding contributes to the spell.
Your hairless polar bear seems to make your Stone Strike spell less straining.
A large stone boulder rips itself free of the earth, shatters into small shards and hurtles toward an elder desert armadillo!
The shards are partially blocked as they glance off its shield.
The shards impact causing an apocalyptic strike (So that's what it felt like when Grazhir shattered!) to an elder desert armadillo's chest.
An elder desert armadillo falls over and, after a couple of spasms, is still.
Roundtime: 1 second.

-Tropicalo

What determines a Pathways effectiveness? I am guessing...charisma?

I can't say I ever really noticed much difference with any of the pathways.

>What determines a Pathways effectiveness? I am guessing...charisma?

I was kind of under the impression that Pathways didn't operate on any sort of sliding scale as far as stats went. I could be horribly wrong, but I just never got that feel. Maybe duration with discipline.

I like Damage + GZ. You can pretty much keep Damage up indefinitely. I sure would love to see a new magic or lore (learned like a primary skill) skill that worked with Pathways.

Also, Power will give you a little extra juice on CL. Sometimes I prep CL, pathway focus quickness, harn 4, pathway release, pathway focus power, cast. Almost perfect timing to lock in on something.

Oh yeah, and Power helps if you're trying to squeeze a little extra mana into FrS or FoS for the weapons they create.

Axillus - Halfling Warrior Mage
>You charge your steel-toed footwrap at a musk hog.

Here's a question.

Is "pathway accuracy" equivalent to having more TM skill? Or does TM skill somehow aid both damage and accuracy?

My impression is that the mana and the spell itself determine total possible power (damage) and TM skill determines what % of that power you inflict (accuracy).


-Sephos

Effectiveness is static as far as I know. Some stats increase how much mojo... Manipulative Resolve, you have in reserve to use. Though your reserve only matters if you use barrage, really. It would be kinda cool if we could set how much Resolve we use per pathway use kinda like how bards can set how much mana they use with their songs, and thus increase the effectiveness of that pathway by pumping more resolve into it.




~Worrclan, Dwarf of the Realms-

>pathway
PATHWAY Verb Syntax: PATHWAY [option]
Options:
LIST - Lists out which Aethereal Pathway abilities you know
HELP - Gives you this help message
STOP - Ends whichever Pathway ability you may be using.
SENSE - Lets you sense your Manipulative Resolve status.
CHECK - Let's you see which Pathway ability you have active.
FOCUS [option] - Activates a specific pathway ability
Options: DAMAGE, QUICK, EASE, POWER, ACCURACY, SECRECY, PRECISE
DEFEND


Pathway sense, just for the repeating.

With Path Power, it helps the cast get through the targets resistance to our magic, do most critters have a resistance to our magic, for example raiders or reivers in rossmans, If most critters do then does it end up working like a buffed path damage? thanks.

-Zook

Ease = more mana in a spell
Power = cutting through magical resistances (Yes, it helps a bit on creatures from my testing, but accuracy is better on average.)

It may have been the circumstances, and thus, I invite anyone to correct me, but when I was testing pathway power, I found that things like orcs and giants had slightly higher natural resistance, and things like trolls and gryphons had higher resistance, I'm assuming from their magic ranks/stats to use magic.

Generally, unless you're massively outclassed and/or getting motes on min preps, theres no reason to use power over accuracy, and if you're hitting things just fine and want to run a pathway longer, use damage.