Arelith monster & wildlife adjustments

[Winter83]

A bunch of ideas inspired by several topics how to improve the NPC inhabitants of the island to make the whole place more immersive.

1. Safe areas between settlements. Each settlement can be reached on foot. An odd chance of dangerous encounter, but remove the arena feeling when simply travelling from one hub to the other. Monster population growth can still spill out to roads.
Restricting large mobs to wilderness areas and dungeons, hives, lairs and their vicinity.


2. Wildlife overhaul. Less aggressive, more animalish behavior. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=110


3. Creature resistances: To encourage using different sources of damage, neglected weapons, etc. As it is right now, with one weapon you can near demolish all kind of mobs. If certain creature were immune to certain sources of damage, or highly resistant to it, would encourage more creative approach, different set of weapons, extra work for craftsmen, maybe even new recipes.
Say:
Skeletons piercing immunity and slashing resistance? Armored opponents bludgeoning vulnerability? Unarmored opponents vulnerability to piercing and slashing? I know there are certain resistances already installed, but they seem negligible at the moment.

[Rystefn]

3. Creature resistances: To encourage using different sources of damage, neglected weapons, etc. As it is right now, with one weapon you can near demolish all kind of mobs. If certain creature were immune to certain sources of damage, or highly resistant to it, would encourage more creative approach, different set of weapons, extra work for craftsmen, maybe even new recipes.
Say:
Skeletons piercing immunity and slashing resistance? Armored opponents bludgeoning vulnerability? Unarmored opponents vulnerability to piercing and slashing? I know there are certain resistances already installed, but they seem negligible at the moment.

This is part of the reason Layla carries five weapons at all times. I wouldn't complain about seeing more incentive to do it.

[Yma23]

Devils advociate:

Not every character has the strength to carry five weapons about, or the inventory space. Also - what about wizards? How do you balence for them?

[IndifferentPerson]

It would be nice if wild life stuck away from the roads. And instead roads could be taken over by population script, though that's probably already the case.

[Winter83]

Devils advociate:

Not every character has the strength to carry five weapons about, or the inventory space. Also - what about wizards? How do you balence for them?

Lets assume we can get safer roads, they unless you go adventuring it should not be a problem. And when you go adventuring you can A, go with your mates who has different weapons B, summon the right summons that can harm the creature.

If you are a low strength character chances are you are either a caster, then you'd not bother with weapons. Or a sneaker. For whom there are light weight weapons in all category.

[Winter83]

Devils advociate:

Not every character has the strength to carry five weapons about, or the inventory space. Also - what about wizards? How do you balence for them?

Lets assume we can get safer roads, then, unless you go adventuring it should not be a problem. And when you go adventuring you can A, go with your mates who has different weapons B, summon the right summons that can harm the creature.

If you are a low strength character chances you are either a caster, then you'd not bother with weapons. Or a sneaker. For whom there are light weight weapons in all category.

[Hunter548]

The two stealthers I've played on Arelith (One a level 21 AA, one a level 15 monk/rogue) have both, since level 9ish, been 30 pounds over carrying capacity and thus reliant on bull's wands to even sneak properly.

[yellowcateyes]

Keep in mind that requiring different physical damage types to defeat most mobs will be rather rough on Monks and Weapon Masters. And archers.

[Tathkar Eisgrim]

Thinking about roads and wildlife and the degree of traffic through an area:

- Completely wild lands would have no discernible trail and full animal and monstrous populations will exist.
- Break a woodsman's (ranger) trail through a wilderness and you might cause minimal disruption.
- Push a cart trail through wilderness and animal populations decrease but bandit populations become a risk.
- Push a proper road through an area and animal prey (deer) populations might vanish fleeing humanoid contact, but predator (wolves) might linger alongside yet again increased bandit risk.
- Push a proper patrol route through an area and only threats with a large territorial range (aerial threats, top predators) might be encountered.

If the balance system incorporated the concept of escalating and de-escalating roads and trails and bridge maintenance crossing waterways and obstructions, 'wildlife' could be controlled through resource expenditure or hunting.

[Thake]

The two stealthers I've played on Arelith (One a level 21 AA, one a level 15 monk/rogue) have both, since level 9ish, been 30 pounds over carrying capacity and thus reliant on bull's wands to even sneak properly.

This

[Rystefn]

*Is currently playing a stealther with 4 Str. Feels your pain*

To be clear, the idea isn't that you must have different weapons to fight different things. Just that the difference is meaningful more often, and therefore, having more than one is more attractive as an option. The parallel to wizards is making elemental and status effect resistances more common to encourage them to vary up their spell loadouts.