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[Ultima Ratio Regum]

what about screaminŽ magical skulls for the catapults for extra mind-fuck?

Definitely. Consider them on the list.

What effect would diluting potions like that have?

Constipation

Hahaha - you need to eat, and drink, but inexplicably taking a dump is not part of the requirements in URR. A diluted one would probably slow someone severely, or make them turn into stone over a much longer period. Since normal gorgon blood will be close to an instant kill affair, that would need some balancing...

If you decide magic can be drawn from a source would some areas make this easier, or harder?
Like a place devoid of all life such as an ancient desert battleground, the opposite being a hippy forest grove like thing.

In my opinion, that would depend on what you are trying to do.
Say that a necromantic type of magic siphons/leeches/drains power from living things i'd say you'd have a larger power pool in the forest while on the battlefield you would have the materials to make undeads or force spirits to attack your opponent.

Not sure yet, though areas of both types are penned to exist. There will definitely be areas where performing certain magics are easier, though the details are still being worked out . We'll have to see. Though a battlefield full of corpses is going to be good place for a Necromancer anyway...

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

Just a quick update to say that I've started what will hopefully be a series of entries about the many CREATURES in Ultima Ratio Regum, beginning with the not-so-humble Cyclops in today's devblog:

http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/game/2011/12/05/polyphemus-and-friends/

[Blaze]

Not sure yet, though areas of both types are penned to exist. There will definitely be areas where performing certain magics are easier, though the details are still being worked out . We'll have to see. Though a battlefield full of corpses is going to be good place for a Necromancer anyway...

I think we should also adapt MoM's system of "Nodes" for this need.

Basically, Nodes are centers of a certain types of "Influence". This influence changes the surrounding landscape depending on how the specific node is. Also, nodes can have multiple influence types.

For example: An area with a magma vent acts as a weak "Fire" node. As you approach it, you'll encounter things like salamanders and a fire spell like "Flamelash" which would normally cost 40 mana is reduced to 35 mana or have stronger effects. Similarly, water spells would cost more mana to cast and have weaker effects.

On a much more powerful node, such as a Demongate, which spreads "Dark" and "Death" influence, can affect things much farther away. From several mile away you may encounter vultures and nearby villages are either abandoned or housed by cultists/possessed. As you get closer, minor undead and imps can start popping up. Closer still will be things like Wights, Ghasts, Demons, etc. And at the center would be greater demons and undead, such as Liches and Molochs.

In addition to other "Elements", I'd like to add "Magic" and "Savagery".

The Magic Influence is a universal effect that combines with other influences. For example, a mountain which has moderate "Ice" influence can result in the spawning of generally mundane creatures such as bears, while one with both "Ice" and "Magic" can spawn things like Snow golems and Frost elementals depending on the intensity of the influence.

In casting, magic influence is a double edged sword. The magic in the air increases the effect of your spells, but the same cloud may decrease your chances of successful casting. If you're skilled enough, an area with high magic influence would greatly benefit your spells, but a miscast could be disastrous.

Savagery is another universal influence that affects monster spawns and types. "Anti-savagery" usually "radiates" from settlements, though it depends on the settlement. A small human settlement won't have as much as an effect as a city, whereas a barbarian settlement would barely affect it at all.

We can also have "Artificial" nodes, which may be temporary. For example, a city of wizards would radiate "Magic" influence due to the experiments, accidents, artifacts, etc. An old battlefield may start to radiate "Death" influence depending on the amount of deaths in the battle; and may start creating undead on its own with a high enough Magic influence - which may come as a side effect if there were a lot of powerful spells cast in there. Creatures that are strong enough may radiate their own influence or even make their own permanent nodes. You may even be able to cart your own "Temporary node source" behind your army to strengthen your spells or weaken enemy ones. So an army without a wizard may want to bring along an "Anti-magic" node or a node type opposite of the enemy spellcasters in order to hinder them.

[Edmus]

In regards to the Cyclops, will they have terrible depth perception?

[Untouchable]

If we are going to have a Cyclops then we also have to have Balor of the Evil Eye.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

BURN IT! BURN IT WITH FIRE!

Noooooo

Not sure yet, though areas of both types are penned to exist. There will definitely be areas where performing certain magics are easier, though the details are still being worked out . We'll have to see. Though a battlefield full of corpses is going to be good place for a Necromancer anyway...

I think we should also adapt MoM's system of "Nodes" for this need.

Parts of this are similar to my intentions. The idea of nodes is already present for the spawning of monsters, but probably won't be for magic. Which is to say, magical sites of particular interest will be focused on a single map squares and not really extend beyond it. For monsters, however, all squares around a volcano have a (much smaller, but still non-zero) chance of spawning volcano-appropriate monsters. Similarly, if you get close to a dragon's lair, for instance, then the number of monsters in the vicinity should drop off at the same pace the number of corpses increases, etc. I mean, this might affect magic, but I don't know yet.

In regards to the Cyclops, will they have terrible depth perception?

Haha - possibly. Though I suspect a lifetime of living will have trained them in coping with it. On the other hand, watching a Cyclops just plunge off a cliff by accident sounds amusing, if not quite the tone I want...

If we are going to have a Cyclops then we also have to have Balor of the Evil Eye.

Isn't he the guy with a second eye on the back of his head? I'm trying, for the most part, to keep to my own mythology, though there are a few well-known/mythological/famous creatures/individuals who pop up... maybe he'll make an appearance

[ChairmanPoo]

A mage need something between himself and the sharp pointy objects that others want to put in his body.

Heh, this bit reminded me of the Dragaera novel series. "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." was a Jhereg House adage.

[Ultima Ratio Regum]

A mage need something between himself and the sharp pointy objects that others want to put in his body.

Heh, this bit reminded me of the Dragaera novel series. "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." was a Jhereg House adage.

This is *very true*. Very true. Mages are going to be for grand strategy, not the thick of combat...

[agentorangesoda]

Please write more things about space.



You said that these cyclopes are unlikely to give up when aroused. I may have missed pages of discussion addressing this but are you working surrendering into the game? Either humanoids surrendering to belligerent armies or surrendering to the player? would your character be able to surrender?


Or will you be forced to brutally murder in cold blood every enemy who feigns surrender like Skyrim?

[Edmus]

Please write more things about space.



You said that these cyclopes are unlikely to give up when aroused. I may have missed pages of discussion addressing this but are you working surrendering into the game? Either humanoids surrendering to belligerent armies or surrendering to the player? would your character be able to surrender?


Or will you be forced to brutally murder in cold blood every enemy who feigns surrender like Skyrim?

This also raises the question of prisoners, slaves and ransoms.

[BishopX]

Going back to the magic thing for a second. I would really like it if the concept of mana went away. It's a useful abstraction like Hit points, but if URR is getting rid of hit points (like DF does), then why stick keep mana around? The only vaguely historical analog to what we call mana is the concept of "vital essence" which shows up in alchemy and is more or less controlled by how often you have sex. Not something that should really drive the magic system in a strategy roguelike.

Other ways of moderating spellcasting could be used such as fatigue, insanity, the threat of attracting the notice of some beast from another dimension, bodily harm, aging or drastically increased nutritional requirements. Fatigue is probably the easiest to code, since all that happens is that after a spell the mage needs to go have a good lie down. The problem is this is very boring for the player when they utilize magic. Given the social networks needed to control a mercenary band, have mages go insane could have some interesting complications. Especially if they start being delusional or paranoid. Also fun if you stop being able to trust your assessments of NPCs. Extraplanar entities (such as demons) seem to be alreadt incuded in the cosmos, and the possibility of an annoyed demon showing up in the the middle of the command squad during a battle is probably scary enough that you would need to be careful. Bodily harm could either be deliberate (i.e. you need to injure yourself or a proxy to cast) or it could be the result of mishandling magic. The possibility of feedback could manifest as burns, kinetic force, blinding light or in extreme cases explosions. Premature ageing would put a hard cap on how much magic a caster could ever use, although not so much how much magic could be used at any time.

[Ivefan]

Text

Most of this is what i would consider either spell/casting failures or things suitable to a world where magic isn't that powerful.
Mana can in many cases be considered mental fatigue but whatever system used, It just comes down to balance.
But what kind of balance? Rock, paper & scissor type? Or maybe the ever present "magic is just another type of archery"?
I would like it if the balance lies in the effort needed rather than a mechanical wall.
I guess a new character has some standard start level so that you're not forced to start as a wide-eyed farmboy/girl every new game.
But at this level, a melee character might head straight out into the world and bash shit and make a living, where as a mage would have to start with some caution and try to increase his power that compared to the warrior would take more player effort.

[chicagohotdog]

Most of this is what i would consider either spell/casting failures or things suitable to a world where magic isn't that powerful.
Mana can in many cases be considered mental fatigue but whatever system used, It just comes down to balance.
But what kind of balance? Rock, paper & scissor type? Or maybe the ever present "magic is just another type of archery"?
I would like it if the balance lies in the effort needed rather than a mechanical wall.
I guess a new character has some standard start level so that you're not forced to start as a wide-eyed farmboy/girl every new game.
But at this level, a melee character might head straight out into the world and bash **** and make a living, where as a mage would have to start with some caution and try to increase his power that compared to the warrior would take more player effort.

I would hate to see a situation in which the character with vastly more potential (mage) is "balanced" simply by making that character type more difficult to play as.  This system would just set up a "early game favors warriors, late game favors mages" situation.

[mendonca]

But this won't be about one on one combat, so an all powerful mage would struggle in other ways.

Distrust, fear, rivalry, betrayal - all facets of any general's relationship with the world and his army, and perfectly valid tools to provide different balancing options for an arcane wizard versus an honorable warrior.

[Tnx]

Taking ideas from Dominions 3...

If you're a mage general who only commands mindless magical creatures, then there would be no distrust!  That could be another balancing tool actually.  Have a fighter oriented commander better able to command human soldiers, and not able to command many magical creatures (or any?).