CrazyBernie's Book II Wishlist (updated as I play Book I)

[CrazyBernie]

Today I was playing some other old school RPG's: Might & Magic 4/5 (The World of Xeen), Albion, Nox (Diablo Clone, not so "old school rpg" but still fun =P), Virtual Villagers 3 (ooops! just ignore that one... >.<), along with a bit of Eschalon. While switching back and forth between all of these games and confusing the hell out of myself, I came up with some features that I found missing and/or lacking in my Eschalon experience. I have made up a small list of my own that may or may not mirror some of the items in the "Wish List" post... I just felt the need to make my own post so that I could feel self important.

Anyhoo, here we go!

1. First up, the character creation screen.

How about the ability to switch some stats around? It's awesome when my warrior rolls seven 14's and one 8, but it sucks when that 8 is in strength. Even if you just limit it to one or two switches that'd be great.

The ability to reset all of your selections without actually re-rolling the dice.

I've mentioned this in a previous post, but I don't think a getting a single free skill really makes a class. Maybe having more than one skill (i.e. a warrior gets swords, shields and heavy armor, where a Rogue gets short weapons, pick locks, and light armor) or some sort of special feature only that class can have (i.e. a Warrior gets shield bash, or a Rogue gets pickpocket). This would make the classes more "role" worthy.

Speaking of pickpocket, it's an essential skill that no Rogue worth his salt should be without. CrazyBernie sneaks up behind the giant sentry and relieves him of the key to the princess's cell!

How about a Charisma stat, or a Persuasion skill?? It could open up more dialogue options... CrazyBernie puts on his best look of consternation, "100 Gold per level? Well that's kinda steep Garrett; I can understand where you're coming from with your money problems since I just woke up in an abandoned town with no memory of who I am. I'm obviously a little broke myself, or I probably wouldn't have risked my well being to fetch this sextant for you. How about we split it down the middle, at 50 Gold per level? I can probably scrape that much together at least..."

A low light vision character trait? Say, it's a trait for someone who chooses Nefarious to be able to see in the pitch blackness as though it was just dusk. Cat's Eyes just doesn't cut it for me, and I don't like missing out on seeing the great terrain while I'm skulking around.

2. NPC Intelligence
Ok,here's a couple of examples where the NPC's seem just plain silly.

Farwick hears a crime being committed!! Well that's great! Now why don't you just go and SEE who's beating the crap out of the chest that's IN YOUR SHOP so that he can get to that non-working switch!?!?

CrazyBernie successfully picks the lock to Abygale's back door. After getting that chest open and taking all the potions, for some strange reason he finds himself compelled to open the side door into her shop. "You are not allowed in there! Please Leave!" she exclaims.
"Uh... er... well... I was looking for some supplies," CrazyBernie stammers.
"Oh, well in that case... I don't believe I've gotten anything new in since your last visit, but please take a look." Abygale smiles politely.
('Holy crap! I can't believe she fell for it,' he thinks to himself.) Umm.... how about.... "WTF are you doing in there??? GUARDS!!! This man is stealing my underwear!!"

I just think that NPC's need to be a tad more aware of their surroundings....

How about NPC's and the ability for them to use torches... or see in the dark. Why are all of the goblins in Grimmhold running around in the dark? I just slaughtered them all while they circled around me, apparently dumfounded. Would have thought they had some sort of low-light vision...

3. Interactive Environment

I know this has been mentioned, what with the upcoming power kegs (woohoo!! ), and someone mentioned sitting in a chair and putting items on a table. Well I could care less about sitting in the chair, but how about smashing it with this hammer I found? Or maybe that wall over there looks a little weak, maybe I'll take a few swings at it and see what happens! Hey, I bet all this wood will burn quite nicely if I toss this vial of demon oil at it... *sigh* Sometimes it's the little things that can be the most entertaining...

Having a quest or secret area that would require you to use those powder kegs might be fun too... say, a pass is blocked by landslide and it's the only way to get to a certain place.

Also, we need more secret doors! Put that Spot Hidden to good use! I don't know if your engine capabilities limit you, but it'd be cool if they weren't super visible too. I don't want to be able to see that passageway behind that secret wall... at least not completely so that it's obvious, anyway.

Doors that auto open if unlocked and you're walking into them would be a nice option to have... perhaps make it a toggle for those who are afraid they might accidentally open a door they don't want to....

The ability to "wait" a certain number of turns or specific number of hours. That way you can wait until dark without having to wear off the spacebar... ^_^

I like the descriptions you present in some of the areas that I walk into. Gives the game more character and depth, even though it's a graphical game. Atmosphere is good, you should put twice as much in Book II.

4. Some item/treasure changes

Let's put that Chronometer to use! CrazyBernie finds an interesting entry in the old man's journal: 'I finally deciphered it! From the throne, take ten steps south, five east, then face north. Between the time of 6:25AM and 6:35AM the passageway will reveal itself!' Throne? Aha! He's referring to that abandoned dwarven castle that the goblins populated over a century ago! "Man, that's gonna be quite the trek through the snow... I'd better bring extra food and water!"

How about some better treasure scaling?? I don't think I should have the same chances (as in 0%) to find an Iron Sword +2 just hanging out in a barrel outside of the tavern vs. in an ironbound locked chest that I have a 5% chance to open. All that should be in that barrel is some rotten fruit or rainwater. The boxes and barrels in Morrowind are a great example... I rarely find anything of use other than the occasional coin (in a town, anyway... dungeons are another story). I'm sure you're already working on this type of stuff, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

We need some nice cursed gear. It'll teach y'all to put on equipment you haven't identified yet! There should also be high level items that the shop owners can't identify. Make the players work for it!! Also, unidentified potions should be allowed to be drank... 'cause they might be poison!!

Everyone's talking about auto-stacking potions, but I'd like a button to click that auto-sorts my whole inventory. Numerous times I've missed an item when I'm selling stuff to vendors. On the subject of inventory, it'd also be nice to have the option to switch to a list view...

Can I please drop some of my torches?? Pretty please??


5. Some miscellaneous requests

How about some XP bonuses for performing certain feats?? For example, if you have a chest that has a 5% success rate and you unlock it on the first try without breaking any lockpicks, you get double XP. Or if you complete a timed quest in under a certain amount of time, you get some extra XP. Maybe these feats are only rewarded to those who have the anti-exploit options enabled.

If possible, how about a HUD toggle or resize option? 'Cause y'know, this HUD is all up in my face and it ain't respecting my game, man. Or maybe a transparency option... I just think it's a little too big.

Map-Based QuickTravel!! I keep confusing Blackwater with Bordertown! >.< Maybe make the map pull up similar to when you view the map of Thaermore... and you just click on points of reference. I would even have the Cartography skill affect the level of detail shown. Or even make the map interactive, where you can put your own points of interest.

Maybe some really cool scripted cutscenes... (to go along with those exploding barrel quests ^_^)

That's about it off the top of my head... I apologize for repeating anything that has already been talked about.... NOT!! The more we talk about what we want to see (without nagging, of course), the more likely we'll see it!!

**Update** Added Charisma/Persuasion under the character creation section. Figured I'd update this list as I play through the game with my new Rogue.

**Update** Added Map-Based Quicktravel under Misc. I have a feeling a lot of these items are going to be Book III Wishlist bullets...

**Update** Added Auto-Doors (Interactive Environment), Inventory Sorting (item/treasure), and Low-light Vision (Character Creation)

**Update** Added "Waiting" (Interactive Environment), Area Descriptions (also Interactive Environment, Torch Dropping (item/treasure), and NPC's in-the-dark (NPC Intelligence)

[AK_Marty]

I do believe Bernie is on to something here. Although he may be one sandwich short of a picnic, hence the moniker "Crazy", I love the idea of having to blow things up to complete a quest! Also if I choose the Nefarious axiom, it would be fun to remodel the diseased hermits cottage with a flask or two of Demon Oil. What a great way to shed a little light on the path to the marshland while hunting for Mire Trolls.

Also Alchemy should have a recipe for gun powder, where you use an empty barrel to mix it in, instead of a flask. Maybe a book found behind the local Apothecary titled "Bomb Building For Dummies".

Just a couple thoughts from the frozen north.

[Unclever title]

Definitely # 2 needs some work, also there should be more instances where you are actually breaking into people's homes when you pick their locks, so that when you show up in their hose uninvited they assume you're trying to steal their things... which you probably are.

Not to mention that not every NPC should attack you when they see you committing a crime, some should ignore, (less than law abiding NPCs) and others should run straight for the local law enforcement, still others should pretend they saw nothing out of fear of being silenced but then report your actions to authorities later ( this might require that if an NPC is behind you when said crime is committed that there might be a chance of not being notified of their seeing you. )

I know this is getting a little bit sophisticated, but at there should be at least some weaker/less confident NPCs who go looking for a strong guard for safety/justice.

For # 4 (and in the interest of repeating myself because I like this idea) particularly with unidentified potions, since we already have two flask based weapons, the demon oil and the announced charm cloud potion if these were unidentified in your inventory one could easily consider that it looks like a potion, it must be a potion, and thus detrimental effects to your health. Personally I can't imagine Demon oil not being lethal to drink, and the charm cloud potion I think would in the best case severely decrease your hit rating for a time, as you simply can't bring yourself to attack these nice "misunderstood" foes of yours, or if you can it's not very often. In the worst case you lose control of your character.

And to repeat my previous idea again to shamelessly give it a larger audience (and to further expound on it) I'd love to see something like a bottle of super viscous/sticky goo that when thrown at an enemy will stick them in place or maybe reduce their speed (including walking speed) or something. Obviously when imbibed this goo will likely do horrors to your digestive system, maybe making it impossible for you to eat or drink again, or at least to be able to down food for a day or two.

[IJBall]

You know what I want? It's simple really:

I want a way to know how many game days I've been playing!

It's great and all to know how many real hours I've been playing. But since first playing Book I, I've been wondering how many game days it takes my character to complete his quest! I was hoping The Chronometer would tell me, but I was disappointed when it just gave me the time of day, but not the date!

Let's put that Chronometer to use! CrazyBernie finds an interesting entry in the old man's journal: 'I finally deciphered it! From the throne, take ten steps south, five east, then face north. Between the time of 6:25AM and 6:35AM the passageway will reveal itself!' Throne? Aha! He's referring to that abandoned dwarven castle that the goblins populated over a century ago!

Picking up on this idea, what if the passage way only reveals itself at a certain time, on a certain day (e.g. only on the 15th of every game month)! Then you'd need to know the date, which means your character would have to know what day it is... etc.

Anyway, in all the discussion of the "wish list" for Book II, I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned (that I could see, anyway) the desire to know how many 'game days' your character has played, and/or what the 'game date' is.

I'd love a way for me (and my char!) to know how long he's been questing, and what 'game date' it is.

Put me down as wanting that! (Kind of badly, actually! )

[The Noid]

I'd love time&date-related quests. Reminds me of StarControl2 where you had to be on a specific spot in hyperspace, at a specific date, to find a portal to quasispace to find the Arilou Lalee'lay...
Knowing a date would also help when waiting for merchants to restock. If you know a merchant always restocks on Monday you know it's no use to go there on Sunday.

[CrazyBernie]

And to repeat my previous idea again to shamelessly give it a larger audience (and to further expound on it) I'd love to see something like a bottle of super viscous/sticky goo that when thrown at an enemy will stick them in place or maybe reduce their speed (including walking speed) or something. Obviously when imbibed this goo will likely do horrors to your digestive system, maybe making it impossible for you to eat or drink again, or at least to be able to down food for a day or two.

Ahh, I always had fun with the Grease spell in Baldur's Gate... not to mention tabletop D&D...


**Update** Added Auto-Doors, Inventory Sorting, and Low-light Vision

[IJBall]

A low light vision character trait? Say, it's a trait for someone who chooses Nefarious to be able to see in the pitch blackness as though it was just dusk. Cat's Eyes just doesn't cut it for me, and I don't like missing out on seeing the great terrain while I'm skulking around.

I second this idea.

In playing Book I recently, I also feel that "See in the Dark" should be a (trainable) Skill, just like "Hide in Shadows" and "Move Silently".

I really feel this should be in Book II.

Otherwise, Rogue/Assassin characters are semi-hosed: they either have to buy numerous potions (and Predator Sight Potions are often unavailable, are expensive even when they are available, and cannot be made even by characters with Alchemy), or they have to pick up magic skills (which, IMHO, kills the point of playing a "pure Rogue" character, which should be non-magic using).

Basically, "See in the Dark" could be like Cats Eyes, though I guess the "viewable area" could either get bigger as a character goes up levels in the "See in the Dark" skill, or the "viewable area" could stay the same size and just get "brighter" as a character goes up in levels.

But, yes, "See in the Dark" should be in the Skills set for Book II. IMO.

[CrazyBernie]

I don't particularly agree with it being a trainable skill... makes it too easy to take advantage of. How would you even train something like that... eat lots of carrots?? It's more of a racial trait/special ability... which would make it good to put under something like Nefarious... that way they can balance it with a negative... say if you have Low-Light Vision, your eyes are very light sensitive, so you get a -2 to hit during the day. I suppose it could be a more powerful version of Cat's Eyes... but then it's a bit redundant. Or maybe it could be a magic item you have to quest for.... a la Night-Vision Goggles 0_o


**Update** Added "Waiting" (Interactive Environment), Area Descriptions (also Interactive Environment, Torch Dropping (item/treasure), and NPC's in-the-dark (NPC Intelligence)

[IJBall]

I don't particularly agree with it being a trainable skill... makes it too easy to take advantage of. How would you even train something like that... eat lots of carrots??

I struggled with the word "trainable" - what I meant by that is not that you should be able to go to a "trainer" to learn "See in the Dark" (necessarily). What I meant by that is that it should be a standard 'levelable' skill like "Hide in Shadows" and "Move Silently".

As for how would your character would improve "See in the Dark" as you leveled up - I don't know: maybe you do improve your diet, or maybe you use your other senses in the dark in concert with your sight in a way that allows you to know exactly where an enemy is. It's not that 'out there' a concept IMHO.

It's more of a racial trait/special ability... which would make it good to put under something like Nefarious... that way they can balance it with a negative... say if you have Low-Light Vision, your eyes are very light sensitive, so you get a -2 to hit during the day.

I don't agree that it should be combined with an Axiom, or necessarily be a racial/ethnic trait. I think it works best as a levelable skill.

[Turtle]

In the Book I forum, somebody suggested an Amulet of Predator Sight, which I think would be perfect for a rogue. So mind-bogglingly useful that it should probably be hard to get.

[AK_Marty]

In the Book I forum, somebody suggested an Amulet of Predator Sight, which I think would be perfect for a rogue. So mind-bogglingly useful that it should probably be hard to get.

Too bad you can only wear one amulet at a time. If you had an Amulet of Predator Sight combined with an Amulet of Cat's Eyes, that would make for a very effective Rogue

[IJBall]

In the Book I forum, somebody suggested an Amulet of Predator Sight, which I think would be perfect for a rogue. So mind-bogglingly useful that it should probably be hard to get.

Too bad you can only wear one amulet at a time. If you had an Amulet of Predator Sight combined with an Amulet of Cat's Eyes, that would make for a very effective Rogue

How about an Amulet of Predator Sight combined with a Cat's Eyes Ring? (Or visa versa.)
Viola! Problem solved, with two very useful items for Rogues and Rangers!

(It sure would eliminate my need for the Gravedigger's Flame Amulet as a Rogue! )

[CrazyBernie]

My biggest problem with all three of those "spells" is that you still can't see most of the screen that's bathed in darkness. I'd really like to see a spell or ability that allows you to "see in the dark" as opposed to "see the bad guy" or "see one foot in front of you." While I enjoy skulking around, I also enjoy looking around.

[AK_Marty]

My biggest problem with all three of those "spells" is that you still can't see most of the screen that's bathed in darkness. I'd really like to see a spell or ability that allows you to "see in the dark" as opposed to "see the bad guy" or "see one foot in front of you." While I enjoy skulking around, I also enjoy looking around.

It would be nice if Cat's Eyes increased the area that is visible according to casting level, instead of increasing duration of the spell. Make it a duration of 30 or 40 turns, with each casting level increasing the brightness and area of the spells effect. So casting at level 6 should be like dawn or dusk, illuminating the entire viewable screen.
The Cat's Eyes ring should function like a continuous level 3 casting, thus retaining the advantage of using the spell at a higher level.
That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[CrazyBernie]

I was going over this hefty little list I made and was thinking about a few things....

How about a Charisma stat, or a Persuasion skill?? It could open up more dialogue options... CrazyBernie puts on his best look of consternation, "100 Gold per level? Well that's kinda steep Garrett; I can understand where you're coming from with your money problems since I just woke up in an abandoned town with no memory of who I am. I'm obviously a little broke myself, or I probably wouldn't have risked my well being to fetch this sextant for you. How about we split it down the middle, at 50 Gold per level? I can probably scrape that much together at least..."

What about Class/Skill based Dialogue options, a la Fallout? It'd be cool to see some sidequests linked to various abilities, and it could offer a higher degree of replayability. Could also lead into things like:

- Guilds (Guard Captain Roland eyes Lewis up and down. "Saw how you handled those thugs outside of town. You seem to know your way around a battle... would you be interested in joining the Fighter's guild? It pays well and you get discounts on training...")
- Unique Encounters (As Lewis wanders through the underground maze, he notices a darker colored moss growing on a section of the cave wall. From his experience with foraging for food, he recognizes it as a rare, edible species that only grows in the prescence of indirect sunlight and fresh water. As he puts his hand on the cave wall with the intent to take a sample, that section of wall swings inward revealing a secret room with a staircase...)
- Special Puzzle Solving (Like a synergy bonus on a trap with a high Alchemy skill)