Garatau
Neophyte
One thing that drew me into Ultima Online and kept me there was the unbelievable depth...all the possibilities....it seemed to extend as far as your imagination would allow.
But, after so long, you begin to realize ... some skills just don't really do anything. So, I figured I'd give my 2 cents on ways to modify those skills to make them useful to players. Sorry if the ideas suck
Herding. Allow it to scale to certain untameable creatures. This would allow for a whole new level of player mischievousness. Can you picture a Grand Master Shepard bringing a train of Ogre Lords to the front gates of Britain? It should certainly be difficult to shepard "untameable" creatures, and it should be difficult to GM the Herding skill, but I'd love to have a stealth/Sheppard who could wreak havoc on unsuspecting townsfolk & bridge campers alike =)
Taste ID. Could compliment the Cooking skill to help create exquisite cuisines that grant temporary boosts to stats and skills. For example, a GM Cook/Taste ID character could have the chance to create Poached Lobster Tail. A dish that grants a special trait to the one who eats it, such as +10 Fishing Skill for 1 hour, or maybe a different dish that affects Fire Resistance for a certain period of time (for PVP encounters) Alternatively, Taste ID could be a perquisite to reach maximum level cooking.
Forensic Evaluation. Higher levels will aid in the "Detecting Hidden" skill - could be useful for PvP. In the same realm of PvP, GM Forensic Evaluation could grant the chance of occasionally removing a murder - as anyone with an astute knowledge of forensics, who already stands of ill repute, could easily bring themselves to "fuddle" with the crime scene and remove any trace of themselves (Dexter Morgan, anyone?) and finally, for PvP, GM FE could reveal, for a brief time, the magical aura that once surrounded a freshly recalled played, allowing the Evaluater to, in turn, recall to the same spot (think of the movie Jumper). Would make for some seriously interesting PvP encounters.
As far as PvM applications, FE could be used to open up a whole new line of quests where players must evaluate crime scenes to get clues to lead to rewards and treasures.
Item ID: I know wands will "ID" an item for you now, but perhaps a high Item ID skill gives you a better chance of the item having better properties. We could, in turn, see player characters who have GM Item ID, charging for Identifying items.
Camping. A GM Camper is God with an AWP...wait..wrong game. A player with 100 Camping can be viewed as a traveling salesman. They can "set up camp" wherever, and within a specified area around the camp site, set up shop with player vendors for a certain period of time. Perhaps this shouldn't be allowed but in certain areas of town (create a "market" district?) so that Brit Bank doesn't become more littered with spam than it already is =)
Begging. I've always thought a Grand Master Beggar should be able to talk his/her way out of anything, including...murder! PvP application for this would be that GM Beggars cannot be attacked (think of a permanent version of Young Player status) unless they, themselves, are the aggressor. Sure, this might piss off some PK's, but the trade off is that the adventurer is sacrificing 100 skill points in order to avoid being PK'd while mining/hunting/etc.
But, after so long, you begin to realize ... some skills just don't really do anything. So, I figured I'd give my 2 cents on ways to modify those skills to make them useful to players. Sorry if the ideas suck
Herding. Allow it to scale to certain untameable creatures. This would allow for a whole new level of player mischievousness. Can you picture a Grand Master Shepard bringing a train of Ogre Lords to the front gates of Britain? It should certainly be difficult to shepard "untameable" creatures, and it should be difficult to GM the Herding skill, but I'd love to have a stealth/Sheppard who could wreak havoc on unsuspecting townsfolk & bridge campers alike =)
Taste ID. Could compliment the Cooking skill to help create exquisite cuisines that grant temporary boosts to stats and skills. For example, a GM Cook/Taste ID character could have the chance to create Poached Lobster Tail. A dish that grants a special trait to the one who eats it, such as +10 Fishing Skill for 1 hour, or maybe a different dish that affects Fire Resistance for a certain period of time (for PVP encounters) Alternatively, Taste ID could be a perquisite to reach maximum level cooking.
Forensic Evaluation. Higher levels will aid in the "Detecting Hidden" skill - could be useful for PvP. In the same realm of PvP, GM Forensic Evaluation could grant the chance of occasionally removing a murder - as anyone with an astute knowledge of forensics, who already stands of ill repute, could easily bring themselves to "fuddle" with the crime scene and remove any trace of themselves (Dexter Morgan, anyone?) and finally, for PvP, GM FE could reveal, for a brief time, the magical aura that once surrounded a freshly recalled played, allowing the Evaluater to, in turn, recall to the same spot (think of the movie Jumper). Would make for some seriously interesting PvP encounters.
As far as PvM applications, FE could be used to open up a whole new line of quests where players must evaluate crime scenes to get clues to lead to rewards and treasures.
Item ID: I know wands will "ID" an item for you now, but perhaps a high Item ID skill gives you a better chance of the item having better properties. We could, in turn, see player characters who have GM Item ID, charging for Identifying items.
Camping. A GM Camper is God with an AWP...wait..wrong game. A player with 100 Camping can be viewed as a traveling salesman. They can "set up camp" wherever, and within a specified area around the camp site, set up shop with player vendors for a certain period of time. Perhaps this shouldn't be allowed but in certain areas of town (create a "market" district?) so that Brit Bank doesn't become more littered with spam than it already is =)
Begging. I've always thought a Grand Master Beggar should be able to talk his/her way out of anything, including...murder! PvP application for this would be that GM Beggars cannot be attacked (think of a permanent version of Young Player status) unless they, themselves, are the aggressor. Sure, this might piss off some PK's, but the trade off is that the adventurer is sacrificing 100 skill points in order to avoid being PK'd while mining/hunting/etc.
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