Modifying the various berserking abilities
Greener
Member Posts: 430
To avoid duplicating work already in progress, is anyone else already working on this? Possibly @subtledoctor ?
0
Comments
With regards to cursed berserking weapons, I've made a couple that instead of the wielder always berserking, there is a percentage chance (10-25%) of berserking, adding a little bit of flavour and unpredictability...
I prefer your actual mod @subtledoctor. You could maybe prevent the rager to use item slots, but, when things would be hairy, you'd have to flee, wait for the rage to expire and only then drink a potion. Not a very zerker type of behavior. No really, with the restriction to fighting style and the penalty to AC, that's pretty great as-is in my opinion. I got Shar-Teel as a zerker with your mod in my actual playthrough and she's all the fun in the world. As a no-reloader, I wouldn't touch a zerker charname with the Minsc-type of rage with a 10 foot pole.
I'm not too sure my impression is tainted by the fact that I'm a no-reloader, because Minsc is not charname. He could die as much as he wanted and I could revive him. And he did quite a few times when I used that skill. After a while, I just decided to forgo the skill because using it became an hiderance more than anything else.
Maybe if the zerker would have a chance of being uncontrollable and if there was more way to get the zerker out of his rage state, then I could see this mechanic working. But the Minsc rage is neither all that good nor fun.
These were supposed to be some sort of super aggressive warriors carrying only a shield (traditionnally a nordic round shield) and their weapon, and folklore says they wore bear skin. Definitely no armor though.
And concerning their rage, it was more about ignoring pain and going all-out etc... than actually trying to kill everyone around. So BG got it pretty accurate with the immunities, but not so much about wearing armor. A BG berserker is a tank, while an actual berserker is really an all-out attacker.
If I were to rework the berserker, I would make it an armorless fighter with a d12, and the ability to toggle the berserker rage so that it would grant a massive boost to tankiness, immunities to pretty much everything, a boost to damage, with some periodic damage dealt to the berserker.
The features would be something along those lines:
Hit die: d12
Cannot wear an armor (Can wear a shield and bracers)
Can only dual-class to cleric (Roleplay-wise they would be far too unstable to be mages or thieves, but on the other hand in the nordic mythology their rage is said to be of divine origin)
Can toggle Berserker Rage:
Berserker Rage:
+30% resistance to melee physical damage
+60% resistance to ranged physical damage
+30% physical damage
The immunities of the berserker rage (perhaps nerfed a bit)
Increasing damage over time (e.g. 1 damage per round for the first two rounds, then 2 damage per round for the next two, and so on)
When toggled off, the ability cannot be used for one turn, during which the berserker is winded.
Berserker Rage is cast automatically when the Berserker is helpless.
Cannot pick hardiness. Instead, can pick Improved Berserker Rage (once):
Increases the melee physical resistance by 10% and decreases the periodic damage by 1. The berserker is no longer winded after using Berserker rage (the one turn cooldown remains).
Figures might not be right but that's the idea.
And back to the subject at hand, I would leave the Barbarian rage as it is and make that of Minsc closer to what I just described.
In addition, what is the purpose of "insert_point" is it required in this mod?
BEGIN ~Berserk/Rage Rebalancing~ COPY_EXISTING ~spcl152.spl~ ~override~ //Rage LPF ADD_SPELL_EFFECT INT_VAR opcode = 3 // Effect: #6 (Berserk) target = 1 // Target: 1 (Self) timing = 9 // Timing mode: 9 (permanent after death) insert_point = "-1" // Add them as the last effects STR_VAR resource END COPY_EXISTING ~spcl321.spl~ ~override~ // Berserk LPF ADD_SPELL_EFFECT INT_VAR opcode = 3 // Effect: #6 (Berserk) target = 1 // Target: 1 (Self) timing = 9 // Timing mode: 9 (permanent after death) insert_point = "-1" // Add them as the last effects STR_VAR resource END
The most obvious example would be, if you want to make an ability with unlimited uses, the method is removing the spell then adding it again.
If you use the Remove Spell OPcode first (entirely removes the spell from the book no matter the number of use) and then use the Give Innate Ability opcode (which writes it back, and in case of innates, gives you a use of it), it will work properly.
If you do it the other way around though, your spell will be first added then entirely removed.
Most of the time insert_point won't matter but there are edge cases such as this one where it serves.
In your case it's useless though, especially considering you add it last (which is already the default value)
You shouldn't need any resource either (opcode 3 doesn't require one) so your STR_VAR is useless.
BTW timing mode 9 is Permanent, so you want to make the berserk effect permanent?
BACKUP ~Berserk/Backup~ AUTHOR ~Greener~ VERSION ~1.1~ BEGIN ~Berserker Rage/Barbarian Rage Rebalancing~ COPY_EXISTING ~spcl152.spl~ ~override~ // Barbarian Rage LPF ADD_SPELL_EFFECT INT_VAR opcode = 3 // Effect: #23 (Berserk) target = 1 // Target: 1 (Self) timing = 0 // Timing mode: 0 (Instant/Limited) duration = 30 // Duration: 30 END COPY_EXISTING ~spcl321.spl~ ~override~ // Berserker Rage LPF ADD_SPELL_EFFECT INT_VAR opcode = 3 // Effect: #3 (Berserk) target = 1 // Target: 1 (Self) timing = 0 // Timing mode: 0 (Instant/Limited) duration = 60 // Duration: 60 END