Favorite and non-favorite Crafted Items?

Discussion in 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' started by wanderon, Dec 11, 2005.

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  1. Kalshane

    Kalshane Local Rules Geek

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    Stoneskin costs 250gp per casting, as per the D&D rules. Unfortunately, that's not even listed in the manual.

    I wish. If someone could come up with a "humble animal companions" mod where you could actually control them, they'd be a whole lot more useful.
     
  2. maalri

    maalri Immortal

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    Bravo Kalshane- and you too Moosehead-- though I would STILL prefer losing CON for crafting over EXP-- just wouldn't craft as much--besides I thought there was a way to only lose CON on a percentage (like 5%) basis in the old system.
     
  3. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Rtfm :wave:
    It was specifically added to the Playful NPCs patch so you could visit him WITHOUT DH. If you don't want to use the Playful NPCs patch despite wanting to use whats IN the patch, well, how do we know u want to use whatever goes in the next Co8 patch?
    Unholy spawn of which two regulars...? -_-
    Then we'd only need a Humble Monsters patch and we'd be set.

    O yeah, I'm in a mood today!!! :jerkin:
     
  4. maalri

    maalri Immortal

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    Ted, Ted, Ted.... spike the Rotty was, of course, an attack dog- he died. The group was sad. Then came Jacques the Grizzly., but YES I would like SOMETHING to be able to control them a little-- she's a freakin DRUID for gods sake, she ought to be able to at least tell her animal to Heal or Sit!

    I will get the 1.3 patch for playful- since the 1.2 playful included in co8 4.0 didn't include Ah Fong.
     
  5. wanderon

    wanderon Member

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    I have always considered the awarding of "experience points" for combat and questing to be a way to provide a numeric value to the "experiences" you have had - that is a sum of the knowledge gained, muscles toned, tricks and tactics learned, savvy gained, etc.etc etc.

    The ability to then as a player specify the type of experience you have gained by choosing where to assign skill points and feats does indeed make some sense (altho how killing goblins is going to make you a better lockpicker leaves something to be desired from a reality standpoint). And to then have those skills and feats actually allow you to perform some actions better or to perform some new action you have never been able to do before also makes SOME sense altho again it depends on the skill as to just how much sense.

    Taking a feat in crafting would seem to denote that you have gained some skill in this work. To have experience points you have already earned stripped from you becuase you use this skill is pretty much ludicrous as it means the more you craft the less you have learned so you are less skilled overall becuase you crafted something. If this makes sense then it would also make sense to have your fighter lose some experience everytime he used cleave or your rogue lose experience for picking locks or disabling traps or for performing a crippling strike. You can't use exp points one way for some things and another way for others and expect the results to be rational and balanced. :roll:

    Once again what we have here is NOT a sensible rule but yet another case of trying to stop people from abusing something by penalizing them for using it rather than just putting more legitimate parameters on it to begin with. And as I mentioned before my view on this sort of practice amounts to :jerkin::hahano:
     
  6. Kalshane

    Kalshane Local Rules Geek

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    It's not punishment. It's a balancing factor. Magical items make your character (and his friends, if you give it to them) better. So creating them weakens you slightly. (In the game, it's explained along the lines of putting some of your lifeforce into the item.) Mythologically, magic rarely comes without sacrifice. In previous editions of D&D, this meant sacrificing some of your health (a Constitution point). In the current edition it means sacrificing some of your overall presence/lifeforce/knowledge/whatever you want to call it. In D&D this is a replenishable resource. All you have to do is go back out and adventure to gain it back.
     
  7. wanderon

    wanderon Member

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    Cleave and greater cleave make my fighter better too but he doesn't lose exp points for using them just becuase he can go out and get more exp.
     
  8. wanderon

    wanderon Member

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    Speaking of silliness with exp points I just had my party awarded 36 exp each 3 times in a row for FAILING to disarm a trap- the 4th time when he succeeded they only got 18 points each...
     
  9. Allyx

    Allyx Master Crafter Global Moderator Supporter

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    Gaining item crafting feats doesn't cost Xp, pouring some of your own magical ability into the items you create does.

    Do you think Michealangelo asked the nearest baserby "Right where's the next chaple that needs painting?" when he finished his work in the Cistine Chaple? I don't think so, it was afterall his lifes work, he poured a lot of himself into it, and is famous for doing so.

    As for the traps, that was Livonya's fix. It say's your getting XP for failing to disarm traps, but your actually not gaining any. She was unable to remove the XP award notices.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2005
  10. Cujo

    Cujo Mad Hatter Veteran

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    My take on the loss of XP is simple - you spend time making a wonderous item so you take longer to learn how to do something else. I don't become a better cook by modding ToEE infact I forget stuff and have to learn to do it again. those first 1000 or so experience points are what you learned making the item but now you've made it you've got to spend time learning how to break in through the bathroom window cos you managed to lock yourself outside. "Hold on a minute there," you say, "I can see how that works the first time you make an item but next time you should already know how to make it so it shouldn't cost you XP next time". well from having been a printer I would say that just cos you you know what you're doing (thats gaining the crafting feat) and have done this job 200 times before doesn't mean you can just shut you're eyes and let it run by itself, you have to put in effort to make sure that its all going properly and is coming out how its suposed to.

    and anyway it's like saving up XP in items - how long would it take to gain +6 strength by leveling up instead of puting on a magic belt.
     
  11. Kalshane

    Kalshane Local Rules Geek

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    Those are specific, limited bonus to your character, paid for with the feat slot.

    Craft Wonderous item can be used to permanently raise the Strength of everyone in your party. And their Dexterity. And their Constitution. And their Intelligence. And thier Wisdom. And their Charisma. And give them a bonus to all their saving throws. And make them resistant to poison. And to magic missiles. And give them spell resistance. And... you get the idea. There has to be a balancing factor somewhere, an spending gold alone is not enough.
     
  12. wanderon

    wanderon Member

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    Why would crafting stuff for gold only be any different than games where you pay a smith to do it for you?

    That fightert has to put effort and concentration into that greater cleave move and he has to do it every time he makes it. Your spellcasters have to put effort into what they do as well as does the rogue or bard. You DO in fact pay with experience when you "buy" ANY feat but to take more experience away for using a skill that you gain by a feat is just ludicrous in a game where experience is supposed to make you better at everything you do.

    The real problem here is the whole crafting thing is way too powerful to begin with especially for adventurers of this level and THATS why they had to "punish" you for using it.

    Why should low level adaventurers be able to craft items many times more powerful than anything found in the game to begin with?
     
  13. Lord_Spike

    Lord_Spike Senior Member Veteran

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    Sorry to say, I'm not worthy of their esteemed company. I'm incapable of modding due to a congenital birth defect...my fingers cannot reach the keyboard.
     
  14. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Few people realise the mouse was actually invented by Lord Spike, since the keyboard was of no use to him. He also invented playing with the joystick, but thats a whole other discussion.

    Think of crafting being like running a marathon. You got the training, you got the skill, but there is only so many times you can do it (or so marathon runners tell me).
     
  15. wanderon

    wanderon Member

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    I think of it more as yet another area where the devs tried too literal a translation of PnP to a CRPG and lost sight of the fact that the game WAS a CRPG not PnP and could probably have been made into a BETTER CRPG with a less literal focus.

    In relation to my druids sorry plain studded leather armor we have discovered a reasonable replacement for the time being in a set of fine Troll Bone armor the Troll Cheiftain found himself no longer in need of. I am a little curious as to why the druid can wear it since it appears to be "heavy" armor (50 lbs +8 AC +1 max dex) and he does not have that feat. It does boost his AC from 16 to 19 tho.
     
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