Traders + Reactive Temple Mods

Discussion in 'General Modification' started by Sitra Achara, Aug 9, 2008.

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  1. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    @Gaear:
    I think it doesn't. Troika was fairly accurate as far as mobs mentioned in the module goes (not 100%, but close).

    Though from looking at the troop commander's module description, it seems the Werewolves also belong to the fire Temple! (the ones from behind the mirror).
    In fact, he is also described as being in charge of the Faction's ogres as well (even though no ogres are actually mentioned in any of the Fire Temple rooms). I guess you're meant to fill the gaps on your own for that sort of thing.

    @Ted:
    Apparently, the pool in the middle of the room is more than just a hole in the ground :)

    Seriously, the module explicitly states that the the pool is actually some sort of demon, that among other things prevents any and all Fire-based spells from working in that room as long as it lives.

    It's also supposed to cast Suggestion and play all kinds of mindgames with your party to make them take a dip (the 'water' is actually corrosive acid), but I'll skip that for now.

    Also, the module actually states Belsornig would retreat to that room if he felt threatened. Looks like I got that one right :)
     
  2. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    Small update to the fire Temple thing.

    Now featuring:

    • Lycanthropes!
    • More prebuffing!
    • More camaraderie in prebuffing!
    • More summoned creatures!
    (also tweaked AI, aside from spell selection, but that's hard to tell from the images :) )

    Also, a small issue for discussion:

    I am contemplating making the Juggernaut fade away when it dies, a la Elementals and summoned creatures.

    Pros:
    -The Water Temple fight can get crowded in there, it'd free up space.
    -Looting afterwards is more convenient.

    Cons:
    -Well, you create a sudden vacuum. It could affect the flow of combat in unexpected ways, I imagine.
    -That such a huge mass would suddenly vanish, is something that tests your suspension of disbelief :)

    Alternatively, I can make him semi-transparent and "click-through" - in that case you can still see it, but it won't take up space (i.e. you'll be able to walk through it, loot corpses that were otherwise hidden by it, etc). Another possibility is to enact those changes after combat ends, so it'd only make looting easier but not affect the combat itself.

    Your thoughts, gentlemen?
     

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    Last edited: Oct 7, 2009
  3. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Heh, your PC with a plumed helm is wearing a plumed helm - I like that.

    The juggernaut (judging by the pic in the module) would probably shatter, so getting rid of it makes sense. Also, watching NPCs unexpectedly fill a vacuum is more likely to be a positive thing.
     
  4. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Make him shatter with a spell effect and a sound effect. That would seem more like a natural consequence of his demise than just fading away.
     
  5. wizgeorge

    wizgeorge Prophet of Wizardy

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    Pretty heavy duty fight. Good thing the group has a lot of hit points but the half-orc looks like he might get in trouble.. I see a hydra but no juggernaut. The juggernaut in the Greyhawk module was a huge trojan horse thing with a crew inside. How a watertemple priest came to control a smaller version is a mystery. Would be nice if some of the Troika people where available to explain a few things.
     
  6. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    @Ted, Gaear:
    Ooh, I like that idea.
    Got any appropriate sound effects?

    @wizgeorge:
    Yeah, it could be challenging, especially if you recruit Oohlgrist for fire and only then attack (as in the screenshot). The biggest advantage you have, though, is the bottleneck at the door - I'd imagine that in a real playthrough the player would block it with their meatshields and place the casters safely behind, then spam the usual spells (stinking cloud, cloudkill, etc). Maybe I ought to give Alrrem a scroll of dimension door ;) But as it is, it's probably doable at level 6 if properly prepared with scrolls, Otis, etc.

    (ideally I'd be able to place sentries outside the room as well, and draw the rest of the room into the fray via scripting, but unfortunately ToEE's AI and scripting is limited in that sense; and I'm loathe to use the "concealed creature" method, for several reasons)

    Oh, and BTW, the reason the party has such high HP is because it's hacked :) I'll test with a realistic party at a later point.

    Anyway, the Juggernaut isn't involved in the Fire Temple fight / regroup under any circumstance - it belongs to the Water Temple... and as you can see, when the Water Temple regroups in the Water Pool chamber, the Juggernaut gets moved there as well.

    I don't know how the Water Temple got one, but it's there in the original ToEE PnP module, isn't it?
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2009
  7. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    I'm sure we could come up with something for sound (it needs to be timed properly with the animation to feel right though), but that flying little sidekick creature of Falrinth's (can't think what it's called atm) has a dying sound that sounds like something horribly large crashing down and breaking apart rather than a little flying thing.
     
  8. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Sure. There's a momoment like that in the Raider camp in KotB - if you cheaply stand back and shoot at the enemy, you should get a nasty teleportorial surprise. No-one's complained (if its been triggered).

    And yes, there's a juggernaut in the Water Temple in the module. Similar description to that rolling crushy thing in Tomb of Horrors - I guess E.G.G. liked doing that to players.

    "You see a monstrous thing rolling towards you".
    "Back up! Back up!!"
     
  9. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    Well, I've browsed the particle effects lists. There are some good things in there, but it'd be great to have something custom made. Can anyone knowledgeable and skilled in particle effects help me?

    What I've been thinking of is something like a modified Mon-Earthelem-Unconceal + sp-Pyrotechnics-Fireworks + Ass Sunburst (hey, that's the name in the file, don't look at me like that :p) - i.e. something protracted, with lots of rocks and particles flying about the place. It should be long enough to cover up the Juggernaut's fadeout and match the sound effect sp_spike_stones, and preferably include some kind of blinding flash too.
     
  10. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    I want to make sure I haven't missed any fire-based spells in the game.

    -Burning Hands
    -Delayed Blast Fireball
    -Fireball
    -Fireshield
    -Flame Strike
    -Flaming Sphere (not fully implemented?)
    -Heat Metal
    -Prismatic Spray (on fire effect)
    -Produce Flame
    -Scorching Ray

    Anything else?
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2009
  11. erkper

    erkper Bugbear Monk Supporter

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    Holy Smite does half Holy and half Fire damage, doesn't it?
     
  12. wizgeorge

    wizgeorge Prophet of Wizardy

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    Holy Smite is a domain spell and it's not listed in the spells text section with the parameters. It causes blindness and a fire like effect and damage. It's a good spell.
     
  13. erkper

    erkper Bugbear Monk Supporter

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    Not only that, but it only damages evil and neutral (half damage) so if you have an all-good party you can cast it right on top of yourselves. But the point is that it partially qualifies for Sitra's fire-based spells that should be blocked by the water temple effect.
     
  14. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Sitra: did you come up with any other fire spells? I found an interesting undead that heals on fire effects and would need to fiddle the fire spells in KotB.

    Btw, got your PM - approach friendly? Ingenious! :thumbsup:
     
  15. Salk

    Salk Established Member

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    I guess there is no chance to see this very interesting mod included in the next Co8 release? :hug:
     
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