ToME WikiRavenRed: Hullo, just a quick idea. Magic Scrolls could be integrated into the magic device system. Stocking up on Teleport Scrolls and *Identify* Scrolls has become part of any dungeon dive. However, should your average barbarian warrior be able to easily rattle off a scroll of Deincarnation with one hand whilst spitting incoherent curses with the other (yes yes, hands don't spit curses, your point?)
What this would do is force players who wish to rely heavily on scrolls to invest some skill points into the Magic-Device skill in order to use them. Below, I've detailed the current(CVS) scrolls and some possible minimum levels.
This would not impact on the 0% fail-rate of scrolls, but instead make them a somewhat specialised sub-set of normal magic devices. If a player does not reach the minimum required M-D level, they get a message saying You cannot understand the runes on the scroll!
and cannot activate it. This will give some benefit to players specialising in MD, wheras those who choose to concentrate their Skill Points in other areas will have to work around the limitations.
Scroll Name |
Min Magic-Device Level |
Notes |
Nothing|0 |
||
Satisfy Hunger |
5 |
|
Confuse Monster |
10 |
|
Darkness |
1 |
|
Detect Traps |
10 |
|
Light |
5 |
|
Phase Door |
5 |
|
Detect Objects |
10 |
|
Detect Invisible |
15 |
|
Locate Doors |
20 |
|
Valarin Favor |
25 |
|
Destroy Doors |
25 |
|
Identification |
30 |
This may seem high. It's the Tome 3.0 equivalent of Magic-Device 15 currently |
Summon Monster |
1 |
|
Remove Curse |
30 |
|
Aggravate Monster |
1 |
|
Magic Mapping |
25 |
|
Word Of Recall |
20 |
Low, considering what it does, but it's more than slightly essential |
Teleportation |
25 |
|
Blast Weapon |
1 |
|
Summon Never Moving Pet |
10 |
Yes, quite low. But Symbiants require it fairly desperately. |
Create Traps |
1 |
|
Recharging |
20 |
|
Destruction |
25 |
|
Genocide |
40 |
|
Blast Armour |
1 |
|
Valarin Blessing |
30 |
|
The Crumpled Scroll of Mass Resurection |
1 |
|
Teleport Level |
35 |
|
Greater Remove Curse |
35 |
|
Reset Recall |
35 |
|
Greater Identification |
40 |
|
Protection From Evil |
40 |
|
Summon Undead |
1 |
|
Amnesia |
1 |
|
Valarin Strength |
45 |
|
Mass Genocide |
45 |
|
Summon Dragons |
1 |
|
Greater Recharging |
45 |
|
Rune Of Protection |
50 |
|
Deincarnation |
50 |
|
Divination |
30 |
2c worth and counting...
DarkGod: I think the idea of scrolls is to not need any skill to use (except literacy obviously). Orbs and Rods are there to fill in the "better magic device but require skill" object type.
Derakon: I think the concept of magic items that have a binary failure rate (either always fail or never fail) is interesting, but scrolls are too vital to characters' skillsets, frankly. Even my high-level mages always carry a stack of ?Teleport. Plus, there's no incentive for you to pump your skill once you've "unlocked" the scrolls you need, and conversely, there's no benefit to pumping the skill for the scrolls you've already unlocked. I'd say think of scrolls as being like potions; they provide general-purpose effects and are so easy to use that you don't need to make a skill check. Perhaps they should be some kind of spell-charged gem instead of scrolls (since the assumption is that you read a scroll to activate its effect), but the mechanics should stay the same.