Discussing my latest ideas

Since only administrators can post in the Announcement section, I will provide a discussion forum for my ideas here.

In short:
-New xp for more diversity in awarding quest experience
-New humanity costs
-Character creation with xp instead of points to select in certain areas

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/facepalm

True XD

So yeah, awesome ideas so far, I'm glad you're triggering and balancing quest XP and sidequests XP to what xp gives into the game

/non english sentence makes perfect sense


Humanity costs being so different from level, I think it's a great idea.
How about facilitating humanity loss from finding wallets and not turning them in for lost and found/the police.. ?

I'd love more dialogues with police officers ; point them to somewhere, defend your case in case of public aggression with enough charisma/subterfuge/bribery money/Presence ?

@Malkav: Awesome ideas. Especially the non linear Humanity costs and XP in character creation. I think it could be seriously game changing from the very beginning. I hope it could encourage more RPing and less minmaxing stats.

@Claudia: I love your idea concerning the police!
*hugs with paws and nuzzles*

More math = me being too lazy to minimax

The police thingy would need for Malkav to change the whole Criminal Violation system ; I mean the police comes and shoots at you directly. The first time I hit someone or shot at someone, I was like "but this was accident!" and cops be like "nope"...
(Very Texan )

I'm sorry, not trying to ruin the fun, but why don't we try to put creation more like the PnP instead of less?

joemarra052075 wrote:

I'm sorry, not trying to ruin the fun, but why don't we try to put creation more like the PnP instead of less?

The problem is that in bloodlines we only have attributes, abilities, and disciplines to set in the creation. Not generation, resources, contacts...
So it leads to maximizing the xp. Like when you have three dots for talents you put them all in one of them to save xp, regardless if it would be better for the character to start with basic knowledge in two or three different abilities. I try to avoid this.
Another side effect of this creation system is that there are no base leveling templates involved. That makes it easier to add new clans or bloodlines (histories) with different disciplines.

@Claudia: I like the idea of more talkative cops. But who is going to make the dialogs, speak them, and do the lip files?
The idea of loosing humanity if you don't turn in found items like wallets, watches, or rings sounds good to me. I'd consider that as theft, so the loss would occur with humanity 6 or 7 and above. Maybe even make it dependent on the item's worth. Only a saint would agonize over ten bucks while keeping an expensive watch or a Benjamin can make people with lower humanity feel bad, too.

About humanity. Ithink, it's hard to become a saint, and on the other hand the stronger the Beast, the harder it is to keep it at bay. So the middle levels of humanity should be the easiest to keep up and raise.

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I guess that makes sense, but I'm still not sold on the Humanity costs. Everything eslse looks great though.

Dragatus wrote:

I guess that makes sense, but I'm still not sold on the Humanity costs. Everything eslse looks great though.

What would you suggest?

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It's not necessarily bad, just strange. I never considered it before, so I don't have an opinio nyet on whether it is good or bad. I'd probably have made it a static cost myself.

Childe of Malkav wrote:

keeping an expensive watch or a Benjamin can make people with lower humanity feel bad, too.

Only if there is some person out there obviously looking for it. Otherwise it can't be helped really; if you don't someone else will. Trust me, if anyone knows these things it's a Ravnos

Yea, I know. Your kind finds gold in peoples' mouths and has no trouble keeping it...

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We just have good luck at times. Sometimes you find dollars on the streets, other times you find gold in people's mouths. It's all the same really

And now for something a bit more on-topic; one of the things I'd like to see is things related to some clan stereotypes. For example, being Ventrue is well and good but I never really got that feeling that I'm in a position of political or economical power over much of anything; I just felt like I was a dude who shouldn't be running around in a suit and do everyone's bidding but had no real choice.

It would've been cool if you could sorta bounce around investments or run a small company or something to the side from your haven; maybe occasionally going there and things like that to check it out. Maybe even bargain with that one Giovanni guy who tries to sell you his business and make, or otherwise start making, something of it. Though that is rather late in the game.

On the Tremere front, I would like to see more texts about Thaumaturgy and some theories and explanations on some of the things you can do with it to actually get that feeling that I'm studying. Books and computer files are both fine for this in my view. Maybe, if possible, more things related to Thaumaturgy as a whole, like that one jewel you get if you move into the Chantry.

Maybe as a Toreador you could build upon the museum or something to make it into a pseudo-Elysium and sorta work around getting resources and approval from some biggies to do just that? Perhaps rivalry in the process?
I will prolly get so many ideas shot down at this rate; but a deceiver can dream!

I'll try to keep the post somewhat controlled here lest I cover the pages but I pretty much just have clan-specific ideas here to make you feel like "Yes, I am a X!".
The Brujah could either build upon the Anarchs by preaching Caitiff and Neonates to convince, or otherwise get them to think about, joining up. Maybe wreck havoc somewhere by crashing business deals to get some resources a lá Larry with the briefcase exchange. Or if they don't join with the Anarchs, they could have to deal with shit from them such as a rival figure harrassing you about it and trying to put canes in the wheels on some of your tasks. Or maybe even ambush you entirely somewhere.

For Nossies I mostly have unoriginal "earn your place in the warrens" ideas such as planting things in Lacroix's place when you go there or hack into certain places to gain access to things like cameras or maybe even get full-on control of certain buildings like the club in order to blackmail them into paying lest their things go haywire.
Gangrel could run a bodyguard/scout deal somewhere, Malkies are your territory entirely and whatever else you feel is alright goes.
On a scale of 1-10 how realistic are some of these ideas?

Sounds interesting. But not for version 1. At least if I want to release before Gehenna.

On another matter I have just changed the prince dialoge. When he sends you to the museum, you tell him you need a car to bring the sarcophagus back. And then you go directly to the museum. That allows me to use the museum slot on the taxi/sewer map for a player haven that is not located on a hub.

For the haven map, I think either the beachhouse or Tawni's apartment. Any suggestions?

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Cool. I don't think it makes much of a difference, but I see more potential if you can actually walk around outside your haven. Just for one of those in-character moments one may or may not have. If it isn't possible though, do whichever.

My idea for a haven on a separate map was that I hate running for example from the Last Round through all of downtown to the taxi and then through Santa Monica to the haven. And then I find there is no new email, and nothing in the mailbox. So I think having to run through only one hub, no matter where you are, is better.
And for modding, it makes handling mailbox issues easier because there is only one possible haven, and there is no risk of creating bugs due to the Nosferatu haven being on a hub map...

Maybe I can even arrange for certain differences according to the clan. Like more computers for Nossies, a lot of pictures and other art objects for Toreador, an office with desk and bookshelves for Ventrue, whatever.
And then I can finally let the Malk take the raptor home from the museum.

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And then you can have some hunters drop on the player in his haven and only Malk will be warned in advance because of the raptor thus proving The Network and that there are no fish here!

Transforming the beachhouse into a player haven looks quite good so far. I can get there and away from the tutorial, with a cab, through the sewers, and with "Caine". Computer, fridge for bloodbags, and the trunk work already. And I have decided to make some changes with the equipment. Since you don't get a new haven, there is more starting stuff: Ventrue get 3 blue and 3 normal bloodbags, the other clans 6 normal. Maybe I will reduce the number for Nossies and put some rats in the garden. Then everybody gets the starting money and the Galdjum (longer passive duration). Characters with Obfuscate also get the Obfuscate-buff. Brujah and (non-city)Gangrel get a weapon or two. Toreador and Ventrue a fancy ring, and Tremere the thaumaturgy-buff.

Sadly the hammer editor doesn't work for me, but at least I can HEX-edit the models for the static items like furniture. So I can make some changes, though not as much as I like. I'll try to setup most of the inventory as dynamic entities. Then I can allow the player to "order new furniture" and change the models accordingly.
Not sure what I do with the haven bum. Probably I will set him on the porch when the player arrives from the tutorial.
And then I must do something with the mercurio cutscene.

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If I understand right, there's only one haven, beach (so you can get there from anywhere).
Where does the crack den go?

If you start there, after tutorial, you can leave some bloodstains outside and direct pc to Mercurio through quest log. Making new cutscenes (like Mr. M. crawling from the beach) seems like overkill.

Jad.3 wrote:

If I understand right, there's only one haven, beach (so you can get there from anywhere).
Where does the crack den go?

I've made a copy of the map, so Dennis & co stay where they are. That's why I want to change most of the furniture and make sure you can't see the pier from the house. From the haven you get to every hub by cab/sewer.
Too bad that hammer doesn't work for me. So I can't change the wallpaper. That requires me to use a lot of furniture and pictures to hide the worst holes in the walls.

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If you start there, after tutorial, you can leave some bloodstains outside and direct pc to Mercurio through quest log. Making new cutscenes (like Mr. M. crawling from the beach) seems like overkill.

I have no intention to create a new cutscene. Question is if I can shorten it and activate it from different points, or if I have to leave it out.

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I'm almost sorry it's just a copy. I'd love to have haven on the beach Oh the sunsets...

Depends if the scene is actually two scenes.. I'm sure you know what you're doing.

Still one thing to do: Put a fishtank on the map and hide it unless the player is Malkavian. Proves that the bloodlines Malkavian is a Fish Malk...

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Childe of Malkav wrote:

Still one thing to do: Put a fishtank on the map and hide it unless the player is Malkavian.  Proves that the bloodlines Malkavian is a Fish Malk...

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Whole new haven... I am impressed.

Do you have plans for the now freed locations of SM haven, Skyline, Sewer haven or Skyline Apartments?

BTW, why to hide the pier?

Feral wrote:

Childe of Malkav wrote:

Still one thing to do: Put a fishtank on the map and hide it unless the player is Malkavian.  Proves that the bloodlines Malkavian is a Fish Malk...

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Whole new haven... I am impressed.

Do you have plans for the now freed locations of SM haven, Skyline, Sewer haven or Skyline Apartments?

I have some ideas. But that will have to wait for later versions. Or I'll have a publishing policy like Antitribu: Make everybody want it and deliver product about a week after Armageddon...

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BTW, why to hide the pier?

Because on the worldmap it's located at the museum spot, halfway between downtown and Santa Monica. So you'd need very good eyes to see the pier.

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Childe of Malkav wrote:

Quote :

BTW, why to hide the pier?

Because on the worldmap it's located at the museum spot, halfway between downtown and Santa Monica. So you'd need very good eyes to see the pier.

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Make it visible for PCs with Auspex only?

What did you do with museum?!