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Torc + Class Interaction
A discussion I've been hearing about more and more frequently recently in relation to combat is the artifact 'Torc of Telepathy' and its relationship to certain classes - most notably Wayfarer and Archivist. I have experienced it before but have noticed how much prevalent it now seems to be with multiple individuals utilizing this artifact alongside their class skills.
Running on a 2 second base equilibrium usage, torc bestows the wearer the ability to use the MIND PARALYSE or the MIND STUPIDITY commands from telepathy. It can be used as long as the wearer has eq regardless of their status (prone/broken arms/paralysed/etc).
Due to the way that balances on Wayfarer work, it is possible to regain balance back before you regain axe balance. In the window where you have balance back but are waiting to throw again, torc is a useful tool to then regive paresis (as this is most usually the first affliction in anyone's curing order). Once a Wayfarer is looking to secure a lock, the torcs secondary affliction - stupidity - can be used i.e. (lob slickness/lob anorexia/mind stupidity). This allows 'Torcfarer' to machine gun out affs at a decently higher rate than your average Wayfarer.
Then there is Archivist (or Torchivist) - arguably the most serious of the two cases. Now, to my understanding this is a class that isn't supposed to have access to on-demand physical afflictions. Mutagens and/or a specific set of conditions on your target are what give the Archivist access to the 3x physical afflictions they need to go along with the 3x mentals. With access to torc, they can consistently churn out a physical affliction using mind paralyse to achieve something that they'd have to work towards normally. This is done in conjunction whilst using mutagen growth (a skill that after a short delay, allows a mutagen to afflict the target with all of its effects) and madness to suddenly overwhelm a target. Essentially circumnavigating the manner in which the class is intended to work.
Both of the above classes have an incredibly high affliction rate and from conversations I've had in the past, my understanding is that they are already intended to be 'glass cannons' - a high output rate with a relatively low amount of defensive/curing skills. However, their ability to use torc to further supplement their affliction output pushes them from being in balance with other classes into nigh unmanageable rates of affliction output - particularly in the case of Archivist where the use of torc essentially means that an individual doesn't have to learn the nuances of the class in order to succeed necessarily.
I'd like to know whether people agree with this or what their thoughts are on the subject - hence the discussion. I have a torc myself and have used it as Wayfarer but I would be more than happy to see it's eq usage upped considerably (doubled to my mind) in order for it to remain the gimmick item for which it was originally intended - i.e. stopping instakills and the like.
Running on a 2 second base equilibrium usage, torc bestows the wearer the ability to use the MIND PARALYSE or the MIND STUPIDITY commands from telepathy. It can be used as long as the wearer has eq regardless of their status (prone/broken arms/paralysed/etc).
Due to the way that balances on Wayfarer work, it is possible to regain balance back before you regain axe balance. In the window where you have balance back but are waiting to throw again, torc is a useful tool to then regive paresis (as this is most usually the first affliction in anyone's curing order). Once a Wayfarer is looking to secure a lock, the torcs secondary affliction - stupidity - can be used i.e. (lob slickness/lob anorexia/mind stupidity). This allows 'Torcfarer' to machine gun out affs at a decently higher rate than your average Wayfarer.
Then there is Archivist (or Torchivist) - arguably the most serious of the two cases. Now, to my understanding this is a class that isn't supposed to have access to on-demand physical afflictions. Mutagens and/or a specific set of conditions on your target are what give the Archivist access to the 3x physical afflictions they need to go along with the 3x mentals. With access to torc, they can consistently churn out a physical affliction using mind paralyse to achieve something that they'd have to work towards normally. This is done in conjunction whilst using mutagen growth (a skill that after a short delay, allows a mutagen to afflict the target with all of its effects) and madness to suddenly overwhelm a target. Essentially circumnavigating the manner in which the class is intended to work.
Both of the above classes have an incredibly high affliction rate and from conversations I've had in the past, my understanding is that they are already intended to be 'glass cannons' - a high output rate with a relatively low amount of defensive/curing skills. However, their ability to use torc to further supplement their affliction output pushes them from being in balance with other classes into nigh unmanageable rates of affliction output - particularly in the case of Archivist where the use of torc essentially means that an individual doesn't have to learn the nuances of the class in order to succeed necessarily.
I'd like to know whether people agree with this or what their thoughts are on the subject - hence the discussion. I have a torc myself and have used it as Wayfarer but I would be more than happy to see it's eq usage upped considerably (doubled to my mind) in order for it to remain the gimmick item for which it was originally intended - i.e. stopping instakills and the like.
Benedicto
10
Re: Announce post #3283: A Brief History of 2021 & A Preview of 2022!
August to December has felt like three or four years of progress, updates and content. 2021 had me burning out on frustrations and taking a long break, and coming back recently to what felt like a completely different game. It has been such a joy to watch and experience.
Gosh, I hope y'all take some extremely well-deserved rest over the holidays.
Gosh, I hope y'all take some extremely well-deserved rest over the holidays.
Sibatti
7
Re: Announce post #3283: A Brief History of 2021 & A Preview of 2022!
I am extremely on board with this.
- We will be making org culture a renewed and ongoing priority with a view to bolstering faction identity and themes.
Legyn
5
Re: New Website Artwork!
And the final four missing races!
Djeirani
Orc
Kobold
Minotaur
Next up will be the four mirror classes!
Djeirani
Orc
Kobold
Minotaur
Next up will be the four mirror classes!
Ictinus
17
Re: Announce post #3283: A Brief History of 2021 & A Preview of 2022!
Thank you to the whole team for all the work you put in throughout the year!Sure! It is not werecats.
Question: Is there any chance that you might give us a hint about the new neutral class and the next set of mirrors?
Ictinus
20
Re: Announce post #3283: A Brief History of 2021 & A Preview of 2022!
- The Gaming hobby will be finished and upgraded.Son of a bitch you finally lured me back in
Lin
9
Re: Announce post #3283: A Brief History of 2021 & A Preview of 2022!
2021 is almost behind us and while it's been four months since I joined the Aetolia team, it's gone in the blink of an eye and I certainly feel like a lot more time has passed than actually has. I want to once again offer my eternal thanks to Razmael, Keroc, and the entire Celani team for their warm welcome and incredible support, and to you all for bearing with me while I got up to speed and started to get the house in order. We aren't there yet, but we've come a long way since the 16th of August and there are no plans to slow down.
As we start to look ahead towards 2022, on behalf of the team I want to kick off our year in review with a happy holidays to everyone sharing our strange corner of the internet.
The year kicked off with a classlead round and the introduction of the interactive timeline - the latter is one of my favourite things in Aetolia and I hope to get the chance to contribute a lot to it in the future. The Duel returned in February and credit loans arrived in March. April saw the long-awaited release of our first two mirror classes: Revenant and Warden going to the Sciomancer and Sentinel guilds respectively. These have both become immensely popular!
Capture the Flag returned in May with a facelift of the mechanics and the introduction of siege weapons! May would also see some big changes to Apothecary. The second classlead round of the year took place in July as well as the update to room credits and the release of treaties, the Den of Shadows, and of course the Minotaur race.
August was the upheaval month and where my experience with Aetolia begins! We spent a lot of time on orientation and cleaning up, held two Town Halls, and created The List, which as of this writing has thankfully shrunk a little, though we keep adding more to it!
In September, we saw Bloodloch conclude their territorial conquest in the Vilimo Fields. The Lich Gardens was taken over by a new leader after a strange invite to dinner. Ferries to Ulangi opened once more after a snap referendum that almost bankrupted the continent. Ilario of the Forgotten tormented Sapience. The Shamans learned how to repel the creeping rot infesting Dendara. Language recognition was added to emotes, and of course the Gnomes of Gorshire endured political strife culminating in Gnome adventurers and Mining!
October was Aetolia's 20th anniversary and we celebrated with a series of games and events all month. The Harpy's Head tavern opened up. Tegoleth of the Grand Library set adventurers on a daily quest to learn about Aetolian history. Relic collections were overhauled. We made a series of updates to our Discord server. Battlefields were introduced. Classleads returned. The sixty sons of Terry the Tarantula returned to terryorise the land, and our second pair of mirror classes, Earthcaller and Oneiromancer, were released.
Commencing in November and concluding in December, the machinations of Aechros, the Endless were revealed in a major world event. We met Copperhead and Xaseira, solved lots of puzzles, unveiled a new anomalous focus battle, fought fire daemons, suffered through bloodlust, sailed the Dawnbreaker, navigated the Cogmind, and watched as the Gods fought Yvalamon, the Fury. This event is one of the biggest I've had the pleasure to coordinate and be a part of across both games I've staffed, and the amount of lore showcased through the confluence is already having an impact!
Ironbeard returned for December, as did his nemesis, Flintbeard! The Tsinkin Village opened its doors again as Celesmas season arrived. And of course, December would see the start of the first war in a long time - so much for a quiet month after the big events!
Here's a preview of what you can expect to see in 2022:
- One brand new class (not mirror, but neutral tethered) will be released.
- Year 500 is imminent - celebrations and games will be kicking off on January 5th.
- Classleads will be moving to a pattern of three rounds per year.
- As of the recently-begun season, Sect of Blades is moving to 6 month seasons.
- The Gaming hobby will be finished and upgraded.
- The Agriculture system will be completed with the addition of the third and final skill.
- Two sets of mirror classes will be released throughout the year.
- There will be at least two major story events.
- We will be making org culture a renewed and ongoing priority with a view to bolstering faction identity and themes.
- Cleanup of various systems and improvements to existing features will continue.
And of course there are some Big Things I cannot disclose here but are sure to make it an exciting year ahead, as well as numerous absurd ideas we haven't even had yet!
As we start to look ahead towards 2022, on behalf of the team I want to kick off our year in review with a happy holidays to everyone sharing our strange corner of the internet.
The year kicked off with a classlead round and the introduction of the interactive timeline - the latter is one of my favourite things in Aetolia and I hope to get the chance to contribute a lot to it in the future. The Duel returned in February and credit loans arrived in March. April saw the long-awaited release of our first two mirror classes: Revenant and Warden going to the Sciomancer and Sentinel guilds respectively. These have both become immensely popular!
Capture the Flag returned in May with a facelift of the mechanics and the introduction of siege weapons! May would also see some big changes to Apothecary. The second classlead round of the year took place in July as well as the update to room credits and the release of treaties, the Den of Shadows, and of course the Minotaur race.
August was the upheaval month and where my experience with Aetolia begins! We spent a lot of time on orientation and cleaning up, held two Town Halls, and created The List, which as of this writing has thankfully shrunk a little, though we keep adding more to it!
In September, we saw Bloodloch conclude their territorial conquest in the Vilimo Fields. The Lich Gardens was taken over by a new leader after a strange invite to dinner. Ferries to Ulangi opened once more after a snap referendum that almost bankrupted the continent. Ilario of the Forgotten tormented Sapience. The Shamans learned how to repel the creeping rot infesting Dendara. Language recognition was added to emotes, and of course the Gnomes of Gorshire endured political strife culminating in Gnome adventurers and Mining!
October was Aetolia's 20th anniversary and we celebrated with a series of games and events all month. The Harpy's Head tavern opened up. Tegoleth of the Grand Library set adventurers on a daily quest to learn about Aetolian history. Relic collections were overhauled. We made a series of updates to our Discord server. Battlefields were introduced. Classleads returned. The sixty sons of Terry the Tarantula returned to terryorise the land, and our second pair of mirror classes, Earthcaller and Oneiromancer, were released.
Commencing in November and concluding in December, the machinations of Aechros, the Endless were revealed in a major world event. We met Copperhead and Xaseira, solved lots of puzzles, unveiled a new anomalous focus battle, fought fire daemons, suffered through bloodlust, sailed the Dawnbreaker, navigated the Cogmind, and watched as the Gods fought Yvalamon, the Fury. This event is one of the biggest I've had the pleasure to coordinate and be a part of across both games I've staffed, and the amount of lore showcased through the confluence is already having an impact!
Ironbeard returned for December, as did his nemesis, Flintbeard! The Tsinkin Village opened its doors again as Celesmas season arrived. And of course, December would see the start of the first war in a long time - so much for a quiet month after the big events!
Here's a preview of what you can expect to see in 2022:
- One brand new class (not mirror, but neutral tethered) will be released.
- Year 500 is imminent - celebrations and games will be kicking off on January 5th.
- Classleads will be moving to a pattern of three rounds per year.
- As of the recently-begun season, Sect of Blades is moving to 6 month seasons.
- The Gaming hobby will be finished and upgraded.
- The Agriculture system will be completed with the addition of the third and final skill.
- Two sets of mirror classes will be released throughout the year.
- There will be at least two major story events.
- We will be making org culture a renewed and ongoing priority with a view to bolstering faction identity and themes.
- Cleanup of various systems and improvements to existing features will continue.
And of course there are some Big Things I cannot disclose here but are sure to make it an exciting year ahead, as well as numerous absurd ideas we haven't even had yet!
Ictinus
33
Re: Announce post #3282: War: Some Clarity
I want to highlight this point and speak a bit on this as well: from initiating these kinds of things to ending them, when it's player generated its important to have an actual plan and story direction in mind that is generous to everyone. When we're doing things like this we're taking on the role of Dungeon Master with one another and every good Dungeon Master is going to push and make their players struggle while ultimately plan for the party's success. What this means for us as players is we should already have story rewards in mind for the people we're engaging in the conflict large or small. For example with the Seluno battle in the Ilhavon, I knew before initiating everything what kind of story rewards I wantd to give the Templars and Sentinel: Templars would be given an opportunity to rescue/saved villagers, Sentinels would be given a platform to push some unknown goal/message/agenda. In knowing that these were things I wanted to provide those opponents in the conflict I was able to shape a lot of what my own organization was doing to enable those opportunities in an organic way. To be clear I didn't know how or if I'd be able to make those things happen, but I knew it was important to keep my eyes open and always look for opportunities to reward Sentinels and Templars story wise.
2) This is a really, really good reminder that everyone involved in this war are players in a game that ultimately amounts to someone writing a story. In all honesty, the leaders of either side should really consider getting together in an OOC fashion to consider a roleplayed resolution that will benefit not only the game, but everyone under them that've been fighting in it. It's a story that's affecting dozens of people, and whether they like it or not, organization leaders have a responsibility to those people. If you aren't taking up positions of power in the game because you think you can help enrich the gameplay of those around you, whether through the story, or support, you're jumping into those positions for the wrong reasons.
Conflict is fun - but it's important to remember part of what makes conflict fun is its a catalyst for telling a meaningful story. One thing I would say about how this war was initiated was it fell into the trap of framing its conclusion into a win/lose situation with heavy expectations to win for both sides -- from personal experience (I've made this pitfall so many times in trying to instigate conflict as my way of engaging the player base at large) this never goes well because I see that it traps the players into story expectations that we can't control and will always require the input and intervention of god characters. To be clear I'm not saying we shouldn't involve the gods in the stories we create and instead remember if we cause conflict over things gods have implemented, we're pigeon holing ourselves and won't be in a situation where we can easily collaborate with all the players involved (i.e. Celani). If this is something you want to do, I would recommend going into it with the purpose of telling a story about you and your organization's failure because it's impossible to know how those story elements you want to fight about are intended in the larger, admin created, Aetolian story.
Xenia
9