New Backgrounds Mayhaps?

[CPBailey74]

I was thinking, everybody comes in with the same stuff for the most part which in turn can make things a little difficult to adapt a specific role type upon entering.
My suggestion is maybe make up a few extra ones. Some things I was thinking was more along the lines of background traits. Ideas:
Royality - An extra 1000-2000 gold at start, +1 Diplomacy, -2 Intimidate, -2 spot, -2 search (penality for living a sheltered life, just ideas for penalities)

Scrounger - 1/2 start up cash, 10% bonus on gold findings, -1 diplomacy (thinking that may be a pain to implement, but I have seen obvious talent here, so maybe)

Talented - 1 bonus feat, -1 appraise, -1 lore, -1 spot, -1 listen

Those are some basic ideas. Made a dwarf that is supposed to be a former king who left his rule to his son as he is looking for some adventure before his life is at an end. Figure as a former king would be nice to have the extra loot at start-up to afford more flashy armor/weapons, but as he has been sitting on a throne for the last 300 years his skills have dulled some. Anyway, that is my 2 cents.

[sharringtonm]

Wish we could.

Here's the problem. Backgrounds can only be taken at character creation right?

The modules Haks and tlk are not loaded before character creation. (Obsidian says maybe they will be on patch 1.14)

Meaning you would not be able to choose them unless you created your PC on a local module and then sent it into us to be placed in your folder (headache central)

If you need a good example of what I mean, try this. Create a new character and look to see if any of the new feats or spells are available on character creation. Unless you have them in your override (don't do this as you risk messing up your game unless you know exactly what your doing) you won't see anything new there.

Then level them up. Presto all the feats and spells are available. Why? Cause leveling up happens in game, where character creation is not techniclly happening in Sundren.

This is an excellent idea, but until Obsidian fixes haks and tlk loading, its not possible to implement without a local character creation module or by letting us loot and pillage in your override folder and NWN default TLK folder.(and you don't want that, you won't be playing the OC or on any other server if we did.)

To get this fixed, I suggest bugging Obsidian about it. Every voice counts when they are deciding what they want to fix each update.

{{Everything stated above is to the best of my knowledge, and is what I believe, but I have been known to be dead wrong from time to time}}

[Kangleton]

He sounds like he knows his stuff. Lets believe him.

[CPBailey74]

Share is da man, that is all I gotta say.
Okay given that light..mayhaps there could be a selection screen of sorts once we arrive on the boat? A window that pops open and asks something like:
"Before you step off, is there any extra background traits you would like. Were you a prince or a pauper? A specialist or a flop?..etc.."
I have seen it with the items and such, so I am sure there is a way to link the choices with a permanant fixture on the char. I did not even think about experience or attributes and such, can have something like that affect them as well (greater or slower experience gains, penality on attribute due to ..blah blah).
Why it may be difficult at first being it would pretty much be a 2nd set of back-ground traits, I am sure people would not mind can opt to not choose one or whatever. It can be done on a similar screen to the language choice one (or even a 2nd step to that). Just additional 2 cents to that.

[Kangleton]

As good of an idea as this may be, I would guess that there are other things that should be worked on first. The quest system, for one, is probably more of a priority than additional backgrounds.

Regardless, I like the idea. Anything that creates more diversity and unique traits is okay in my books.

[Leevoth]

Yes, I agree that the basics should be atteneded to first, like crafting and quests before other knick knacks, and paddywacks are added.

[CPBailey74]

Yes, I certainly think the basics should be covered first, but as a suggestion for later would be something to consider. I have been trying to get things active for some of the lower level people with my guys (the followers of Bane guys causing some havoc). The quest that is going on I think to be more geared for the higher level people, what of the lower level people? Plenty of them about, all they really have is the goblins and the pair of bandits (at least that I have seen thus far). I can take my new guys to the gnolls, but unless in a group I can only get 1-2 down usually before I end up laying face down. Maybe add a few things to the Viridale area for the people that are kind of in between goblins & gnolls (the goblin area being too easy and the meet place too tough). Maybe some of the goblins scattered about. I like the 2 that are at the enterance to the meet, I think some more should be placed about. Otherwise, you have people just hacking their way through goblins to be able to get to the next area. There has been quite a few times when I was on and the only people on were of higher level. So either they have to baby sit or you are on your own. Of course, this really belongs in a different post, but since it was brought up.

[Jaeram]

Well, on this server dieing is not really supposed to be a common thing to come back from without repercussions, you actually are supposed to group when you go out to fight instead of trying to go it alone. I think the current event just depends upon who you're role playing connections were to tell you the truth, Orrick has been participating it and he is only level 6 (and has been 6 for AWHILE now).

[CPBailey74]

I know, I spend almost all my cash on potions to keep alive! Getting a party is not always easy though. Usually when I am in an area it is not that hard, but when you are the only one on that is 3-5 and all others are higher and in the gnoll area or harder, makes it harder to get a party. Which is partially the reason that I swap chars a lot. Would not be much in the RP sense to take my guy, go through the hills, clear the caves come out and do it again (at least I think so), tis generally afterwards I usually switch guys unless I am in a group and they want to venture into a different area. I took my level 4 ranger when they went to necropolis and did fairly well there (until we decided to rest and I got whacked by a guardian as soon as I did), I brought my monk in when Land was captured and helped with that. So yes, you are right, can fit into the main quest even at lower levels. Maybe just need more quests. I think maybe a quest to clear out some monsters like an actual bounty of sorts would be nice. At least would give a little bonus to doing some of the lower stuff, even for the higher. Hills, they can not mine because of the goblins...okay, go kill "X" amount of goblins and will give ya some coin or something. Gnolls with weapon exchange, go scout it out and/or see what you can find and get whatever. I know that making quests can be a pain (or at least I had a pain of a time to get an okay one on NWN2, but I am a newb with that stuff now-a-days), but still. Even if they are put in and taken out from time to time.

[nickbeat]

I agree that there needs to be another area for between goblins and gnolls. You really can't beat the gnoll boss til level 7 or so, and the goblins become angel food cake by level 5. Just picking away at gnolls is no fun because you have no real goal, and no nifty magic item to find.

[rustediron]

Muckspear FTW!

Actually, if you try hard enough, you can get to very high AC using UMD and potions - not to mention a stoneskin scroll only costs 200 or so. So theoretically, it may be POSSIBLE to tank in gnoll keep at level 5. Of course, you'd have to kill the boss before he crits you, which is no mean feat.

Example:

Mage Armour scroll + Shield Scroll + Barkskin potion + Full Plate + Tower Shield + Stoneskin:
About 34 AC with DR-10

Shove in a Dwarf (Do gnolls count as giants?) and a level 5 bard, and you're laughing with about 40 AC.

[Gairun]

Seriously Muckspears FTW. People just need to get out of the mindset of Goblins->Gnolls->Ogres. There are a ton of other areas on the server to have a fun time in. How many people here actually KNOW about the giant Lizardman population directly underneath Sundren City? It's a great place for level 4-6's. Seriously people just spend some time looking around and you'll find a ton of areas you never even knew about.

[CPBailey74]

The potions I can do, though can not cast spells with my dwarf, my thief maybe. Would not be so bad, but cash can be real slow in getting. If stoneskin helps that much, then maybe worth the while on my dwarf to sacrafice some spending on potions to get that, but he uses a warmace, so no shield (unless I get monkey grip). Trying to keep him mostly in RP as a typical old dwarf, IE: constantly thinks he is dying, wary of magic, barrels right into the middle of things, stubborn, etc. So getting that into the mix too, unless I just "Forget" about that until later, but still do not think it would be much in the spirit of things for that guy.

[sharringtonm]

Might want to steer this topic back ON TOPIC before it gets locked. Make a different thread for AC discussions.

Suggestions forum about background feats is what we have here.

[CPBailey74]

Bah, I said my peace and ideas were put in. Thanks for the replies guys.