Another feature hope - spell components

[Steve McDonald]

Would it be possible to incorporate spell components into the game so that when you go to cast a spell, there is a check for a particular item (or items). When the spell is cast the item disappears (this bit should be optional). What do people think?

[lucifer316]

while an intriguing idea it doesn't work for practical reasons

what happens is you turn everybody into pack mules carrying extra spell components so the mage doesn't run out

of course you could also leave a dungeon every time a mage runs out of components however that coupled with the save ability ruins the effect of having spell components as they will never have to face actual consequences for running out of components

[Steve McDonald]

Hmmm. Some good points, lucifer. However, I think that they can be overcome. For example, some spells may require an item that doesn't disappear upon casting, in which case you only need one. Also, components are generally pretty light so there is no real problem with encumbrance and DC does not limit the number of items you may possess. The components for the easier spells are quite common and can be found quite easily. The components for very rare spells may themselves be very rare, and a player may be told "this is one of only two known to be in existence" or something, so that they recognise that they will probably only be able to cast the spell once, and will be careful. You can ensure that the party will run out of components if they are not careful by having a finite number of components for some spells.

[manikus]

i've always liked the idea of spell components. i think that they are a good way to keep a balance between mages and the other classes. i remember working very hard in college to create a mage character who used spells that only had verbal components. [img]smile.gif[/img] not to mention that ascertaining a particularly rare component can be an adventure in and of itself.

[ 03-23-2002, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: manikus ]

[lucifer316]

For example, some spells may require an item that doesn't disappear upon casting, in which case you only need one.

that would kinda defeat the purpose of having the component

only needing one and it doesnt disappear is just like needing none

Also, components are generally pretty light so there is no real problem with encumbrance and DC does not limit the number of items you may possess.

well the problem here is that you eventually run into encumbrance with large amounts or at least a matter of volume, 4000 rose petals will take up some space

plus other things need to be taken into account as well someone with 4000 rose petals or 10 lbs of bat quano are going to have a hard time sneaking up on any monsters

The components for the easier spells are quite common and can be found quite easily. The components for very rare spells may themselves be very rare, and a player may be told "this is one of only two known to be in existence" or something, so that they recognise that they will probably only be able to cast the spell once, and will be careful. You can ensure that the party will run out of components if they are not careful by having a finite number of components for some spells.

like i said above if the component will be extremely common and neither weigh down nor encumber in any fasion the mage there is no need for the component at all

as for using the rare component to only allow one or two castings of a particular spell you could either put the spell on a scroll and make the mages unable to scribe or learn it and thus only as many copies as you put out their will exist or create a magic item out of it like the old dust of disappearance in a couple of the pools series

spell components are like food and water great concept to control a pen and paper game but i think they loose something when you try to put them in a computer rpg

sorry if i am sounding difficult im just trying to point out why i think they really dont work or if they do they dont really accomplish the intentions you might be looking for

[foody]

Good point lucifer316 but also let us not limit the maker. Have it as an option, don't dish the entire idea out. This way we could have it both way. The more we can put in the maker in my opinion the better.

[CocoaSpud]

I don't think it would be very difficult to add this into DC. It's on the list.

The limit on the number of items that can be carried by a character, as enforced by DC, is 16,777,215. For items, a zero encumbrance value means you can carry as many as you want without affecting movement. Money encumbrance is specified elsewhere but could also be set to zero.

[foody]

Speaking of encumbrance, I do believe there is a bug there. When I created items, weapons and so forth with encumbrance on them they refuse to be calculated within the engine itself. You see the hero has 15 encumbrance, I picked up 20 grenade and each grenade by itself worth 50 encumbrance so in total I should I have 100 encumbrance and with the 15 I already have, it should total up to 115. But sadly it stays 15. I even tried to go crazy and put 1000 encumbrance for an item when I picked that item up it remained to be 15 encumbrance. Would you please fix that after the completing the spell editor?

[Majik Tiger]

Off topic here, but hey Steve. check it out Im from Adelaide too!

[Steve McDonald]

Cool.