Re: Idea: Plate Mail

[Anaris]

I have not read all 100 replies, so this may have been mentioned already.  But I would say unique items could also increase your ability in different areas.  Leadership, swordfighting, jousting, bureaucratic work, etc.

Not only has it been mentioned, it has been a feature of unique items for years now.

[BardicNerd]

You'll find I have just added something to make it easier.

However, don't forget that repairing items was never intended to be a major activity for adventurers, and I have made it intentionally less reliable.

I would think that making it less reliable would make it more of a major activity for adventurers . . . I don't really see the demand for item repairs being reduced by this, just the amount of time it takes . . . making it even more of a major activity for adventurers than it currently is.

Making items decay slower (which I think you said new items do) would seem to be the best way to make it less of a major activity for adventurers, with making it simpler for them to do probably also helping a little (as then they don't have to spend much time on it when they are asked told [because really, a 'request' from a noble is really a command -- if a noble wants an item repaired, the adventurer they ask had better hop to it] to repair an item).

[Velax]

Not only has it been mentioned, it has been a feature of unique items for years now.

Perhaps, but it's still very rare. And for some reason the skill bonus I see most often is infiltration, which is useless to most nobles.

[Thunthorn]

It actually seems like items can be recycled even today. My adventurer on Atamara defeated an Undead Champion and captured the http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/Guard_of_the_Ancients an artifact of +7 prestige first discovered in 2008 and a written wiki page on it. It wasn't particularly damaged (77%)

I'm wondering whether it was just the random generator  that created a name of a previous destroyed item and reused the database or if the item had recently been lost  due to injury in Barad Gardor.

[Tom]

It actually seems like items can be recycled even today. My adventurer on Atamara defeated an Undead Champion and captured the http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/Guard_of_the_Ancients an artifact of +7 prestige first discovered in 2008 and a written wiki page on it. It wasn't particularly damaged (77%)

I'm wondering whether it was just the random generator  that created a name of a previous destroyed item and reused the database or if the item had recently been lost  due to injury in Barad Gardor.

Almost certainly the later, as +7 is a pretty high value for a new item.

[Thunthorn]

Yes but I have never seen one of those being captured from an Undead Champion before and it wasn't as damaged as such items usually is...

[Dante Silverfire]

Almost certainly the later, as +7 is a pretty high value for a new item.

Would there be any way to tell? (For instance, I'm now tracking the deteroration rates of all of my unique items. Could I compare it to others, to see? Also, are the unique item changes that you've made with regards to "ease of keeping" the same between testing and stable right now?)

Also, is it standard for "old items" to be "found" by killing an undead champion? I thought you found old items by searchign the battlefield for equipment, if they were lost at a battle.

[Marlboro]

Also, is it standard for "old items" to be "found" by killing an undead champion? I thought you found old items by searchign the battlefield for equipment, if they were lost at a battle.

Adventurers find items by hunting monsters and undead, eventually encountering champions in the process. Sometimes the champions have random unique items, other times they just have a bunch of gold and common items that only matter to advies. I wouldn't doubt that the uniques they carry could include ones lost in that region for whatever reason, since the itemization system is just completely random.

[Dante Silverfire]

Adventurers find items by hunting monsters and undead, eventually encountering champions in the process. Sometimes the champions have random unique items, other times they just have a bunch of gold and common items that only matter to advies. I wouldn't doubt that the uniques they carry could include ones lost in that region for whatever reason, since the itemization system is just completely random.

I doubt its 100% random, there is some structure, as some structure is needed when coding something. I know how adventurers find items, but the question is whether or not "lost" items are found in this method, or if they are found only by other nobles by searching the battlefield(Can you even find them this way?), or some other method.

[Thunthorn]

I was surprised to get an "old" item from a champion as well. I have never heard of that happen before. Usually those are found when checking for undead and monster presence by adventurers or foraging battlefield by nobles. They are usually in much poorer condition as well. This one didn't seem to deteoriate particularly fast either. It dropped one point during the two days I owned it and then I had it repaired.

[Chenier]

Honestly? Yes. If I buy an expensive unique item, do a nice little RP to explain how my noble "found" it, watch its prestige go up in battle, do more RPs where I mention carrying the item and go out of my way to make sure it's repaired regularly, only to lose it in a way that's completely unavoidable, like being wounded, then yes. It makes me not want to bother with unique items.

Increasing the difficulty of getting them repaired and so making them even harder to hold onto has just made that even worse.

I second this.

I had a unique armor that was carried by my general/marshal character for a very long time. Then he passed it onto family, who passed it onto family. +7 prestige at the end, though I honestly don't care for the prestige bonus.

At a certain point, though, it was impossible to repair. I was *always* giving it back to advies for repairs. After a while, I just gave up and let it break, there was just nothing fun about it anymore. And I haven't seen any reason to purchase any such items since. "Trinkets for the vain", as Machiavel calls them. Losing them in battle I can live with, but them being bound to destruction? Just doesn't want me to bother. I'd rather they be rarer, and that at 0% they become unusable but don't break. And that, obviously, their need for repairs doesn't increase with time. To just cycle through nameless "uniques" is of no interest. The thing that was interesting with the feature was the idea of tying the history of a character/realm to an item, so that people eventually recognize the said item. Otherwise, a sword's a sword, especially since most don't actually increase swordfighting.

I don't remember uniques being there when advies were released, either.

[fodder]

only problem is that there's a limit on rares on an island... so if they don't break and you don't repair them.. and you don't lose it in battle/prison (by virtual of not being anywhere near them).... what happens? they lose prestige when they reach 0%? get to 0 p and they disappear so someone else gets a go?

whilst i don't particular fancy the chore of repair part myself... there would be a need to find balance between that and turnover of players getting items

btw.. what happens to them if you ship off to another island (voluntarily or forcibly)

[De-Legro]

only problem is that there's a limit on rares on an island... so if they don't break and you don't repair them.. and you don't lose it in battle/prison (by virtual of not being anywhere near them).... what happens? they lose prestige when they reach 0%? get to 0 p and they disappear so someone else gets a go?

whilst i don't particular fancy the chore of repair part myself... there would be a need to find balance between that and turnover of players getting items

btw.. what happens to them if you ship off to another island (voluntarily or forcibly)

They are lost when you emigrate I think.

[Sypher]

Uniques are tied to the island they are found. So if you leave the island for whatever reason you lose the items. Presumably, they are recycled like other items.

As for being able to be stolen in prison or lost in battle? I'm fine with that. Infiltrators should be able to steal them as well in my opinion.

But, for them to drop to zero durability and destroyed? I agree it would be preferable to have them not give the holder any bonus at that point until repaired. If we want unique items to stick in players minds then it would help to have fewer but long lived items.

Another possibility, make it so unique items only take damage in battle. But, they would also only  increase in prestige/abilities from being used in battle. Who cares if a Duke has some unique armor if no one sees it after all? In this case I'd be fine with letting items be destroyed at zero durability because the player has some more control over keeping it maintained. 

[De-Legro]

What about if there was a minimum floor for the effects of degradation. This was over time items will still become harder to maintain, but only to a certain limit. We could configure this limit to not be TOO arduous, but still provide a risk that the item will not be repaired in time.