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Modifying the various berserking abilities

GreenerGreener Member Posts: 430
To avoid duplicating work already in progress, is anyone else already working on this? Possibly @subtledoctor ?

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  • GreenerGreener Member Posts: 430
    I prefer your plan to have all berserk/rage effects mimic Minsc's

    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...
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  • ArctodusArctodus Member Posts: 992
    edited February 2018
    Minsc rage is not that fun, in my opinion. I used him in my most recent SoD playthrough and he did attacked his teammates quite a few number of times when he raged. Even when lots of enemies were around. And he also died a few times because I couldn't control him and have him drink healing potions. The skill is ok against trash mob, but against greater foe, it's just too dangerous. And a skill good only against trash mob is not a really good skill. I always play SoD no-reload on insane with bonus damage turned off, though. Maybe that taints my view a bit.

    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.
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  • ArctodusArctodus Member Posts: 992
    I agree it makes conceptual sense, but it's a mechanic that is lacking gameplay wise. Having no control whatsoever on a character for an extended period of time is pretty equivalent to praying the rng gods to be on your side : click and hope. There's little tactical value to it. You can't have a cleric assist the berserker either if there's a need for healing, because the zerker has a good chance of wacking the cleric anyway.

    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.
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  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    edited February 2018
    The interpretation for the berserker in Baldur's Gate has always bothered me in that it's not accurate at all regarding the original berserkers.

    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.
  • ThelsThels Member Posts: 1,422
    I never understood why the Barbarian and Berserker exist side by side. I guess they implemented the Berserker kit first, and then were like "Oh, let's add 3rd edition classes!"?
  • GreenerGreener Member Posts: 430
    edited February 2018
    Would this work? Thoughts?

    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
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    insert_point serves in some situations, because effects are applied in the order they are written.
    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?
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    And on top of the timing, for what I read on this thread, you should also alter the Probability of the effect.
  • GreenerGreener Member Posts: 430
    edited February 2018
    Thank you your feedback

    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
    Post edited by Greener on
  • ArunsunArunsun Member Posts: 1,592
    Raduziel said:

    And on top of the timing, for what I read on this thread, you should also alter the Probability of the effect.

    On the ADD_SPELL_EFFECT function probability 1 is 100 and probability 2 is 0 by default
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    Arunsun said:

    Raduziel said:

    And on top of the timing, for what I read on this thread, you should also alter the Probability of the effect.

    On the ADD_SPELL_EFFECT function probability 1 is 100 and probability 2 is 0 by default
    Yup, but from what I could understand the idea is having the chance of becoming uncontrollable, not that this effect occurs at every time the special ability is used.
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