11 replies to this topic

[Zyraen]

Here's what I currently have in mind for Silmarillion Gameplay, and I'd like to hear from the folks in general.

For most of Silmarillion, you'll have pretty ordinary gear. Unlike BG2 that drops lots of "lore" items, there will only be very few unique items in the game itself. However, in return for Silmarillion, you get to "Customise" your gear according to your needs And resources, of course. Think about playing dress up and tailoring your character for different situations

Your Crafter (at least for the time being) in the Halls of the Dead will be a Maia called Curumo, who is a disciple of Aule and previously a colleague of Sauron (who was also under Aule). To those who are familiar with Tolkein, Curumo would in later ages be sent to Middle-Earth to head the Istari, and his name in human form is more well-known as Saruman the White, Lord of Orthanc.

============

Gems should be dropping at a rate of about 1 gem per 12 dead commanders (ie one gem after eliminating about 12 squads). That being said, you won't be the one doing all the eliminating ; your allies will also help you with it. All commanders below refer to ENEMY commanders ; you will not get drops from the deaths of allied commanders.

There are altogether 4 different types of Gems - Sapphire (blue) Emerald (green), Ruby (red), Sunstone (yellow).
There is one more that is non-droppable - Diamond (white) - that is obtainable only by taking 4 stones, 1 of each type, and paying your Crafter to "transmute" them into a Diamond.
Your Crafter will also help you "transmute" Sapphire to Emerald (and vice versa), and Ruby to Sunstone (and vice versa). This makes it a bit easier to get a Diamond, but you will also have to pay for it.

As you probably have guessed, most of the better and more powerful abilities will be actually gained through the use of a Diamond (and of course, a generous tip for your helpful Maia)

[Zyraen]

EDIT : I have made some extensive updates to make the project more workable.
It should be fairly straight forward now. Also finished charting the upgrades for everything
Note as per opening topic, Gems are non-purchaseable

WEAPONS (green+blue, yellow+red)

Melee Weapons
- Normal Weapons may be purchased or be dropped by commanders
- +1 Weapons may be dropped by commanders in Tier 2 and above (ie level 14 and above)
- combine 3 Weapons of the same kind and a Diamond to upgrade
- Maximum Upgrade is up to +2
- You can combine 1 Unique +2 Weapon with two +2 Weapons of the same type and a Diamond to upgrade to +3
(unique weapons refer to weapons like Feanor's Sword, Glamdring, Ringil etc. they will not be covered in this topic)

Any weapon can be upgraded by combining it with one gem to produce the following unique effects ; however once so applied, the weapon will never be usable in any form of future upgrades.
- Emerald & Sapphire : +1d6 Cold damage / 50% chance to slow enemy movement rate (not attack rate)
- Ruby & Sunstone : 30% chance to cause burning damage of -2 Hp / sec for 8 seconds
- Diamond : +1 Attack / round
The above upgrades cannot be applied to Unique Weapons unless they are +3 already.

I have reduced it to these 2 effects as they have the most strategic value.
Slowing effects will be used to perform Crowd Control ; Anti-Regen is generally for taking down Commanders, especially those with high regen rate

Missile Weapons
- Normal Weapons may be purchased or be dropped by commanders
- +1 Weapons may be dropped by commanders in Tier 2 and above (ie level 14 and above)
- combine 3 Weapons of the same kind and a Diamond to upgrade
- Maximum Upgrade is up to +2
- There are NO UNIQUE MISSILE WEAPONS (for now)
( Individual Missile Weapon Gem Upgrades have been removed. Incorporated into Ammunition )

Missile Ammunition
These can be bought at +1 or +2 Enchants, of course the price is as appropriate.

Combining Gems of the following can give one stack of Missile Ammunition the respective effects, but the usage is limited.
- Emerald & Sapphire : +1d6 Cold damage / 50% chance to slow enemy movement rate (not attack rate)
- Ruby & Sunstone : 30% chance to cause burning damage of -2 Hp / sec for 8 seconds

Trading in 2 Diamonds can be done to create an Unlimited Ammo Supply item (ie Arrows to Quiver of Plenty).
The bonus of the Quiver / Pouch created is the same as that of the ammunition used to create it, but the cost of the upgrade is dependant also on the quality (0 or +1 or +2) of the ammunition.
This can only be done THREE TIMES throughout the whole game ; 1st time 2 diamonds, 2nd time 4 diamonds, 3rd time 6 diamonds. yes its a LOT.
Any Ammunition can be converted appropriately, be it Throwing Axes, Daggers, Arrows, Bullets.

These Unlimited Ammo Supply item can be upgraded by combining with following gems for respective effects:
- Diamond & Emerald & Sapphire : +1d6 Cold damage / 50% chance to slow enemy movement rate (not attack rate)
- Diamond & Ruby & Sunstone : 30% chance to cause burning damage of -2 Hp / sec for 8 seconds

=========================

PURCHASEABLE / DROPPABLE ARMOR (red+blue, yellow+green)

Body Armor
- Normal Armor may be purchased or be dropped by commanders
- +1 Armor may be dropped by commanders in Tier 2 and above (ie level 14 and above)
- Armor may be upgraded with a Diamond to gain a +1 AC bonus, up to a max of +2

Armor may be upgraded further with a pair of gems, but once so combined its AC will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
After upgrading once with a pair of gems, it can be upgradeable once more but ONLY by that same pair of gems.
- Sapphire & Ruby : Resistance to Missile Damage +15%, +25%
- Emerald & Sunstone : Resistance to Fire Acid Cold Electricity +15%, +25%

Shields
- Normal Shields may be purchased or be dropped by commanders
- +1 Shields may be dropped by commanders in Tier 2 and above (ie level 14 and above)
- Shields may be upgraded with a Diamond to gain a +1 AC bonus, up to a max of +2

Shields may be upgraded with following gems, but once so upgraded its AC will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
- 2 Sapphires & 2 Rubies : +20% Resistance to Missile Damage
- 2 Emeralds & 2 Sunstones : Resistance to Fire Acid Cold Electricity +25%
- 2 Diamonds : +10% Resistance to Physical Damage

Helms
- Normal Helms may be purchased or be dropped by commanders
- +1 Helms may be dropped by commanders in Tier 2 and above (ie level 14 and above)
- Helms may be upgraded with a Diamond to gain a +1 AC bonus, up to a max of +2

Helms may be upgraded further with a pair of gems, but once so combined its AC will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
After upgrading once with a pair of gems, it can be upgradeable once more but ONLY by that same pair of gems.
- Sapphire & Ruby : Life bonus +10% +15%
- Emerald & Sunstone : Resistance to Fire Acid Cold Electricity +15%, +25%

========================

PURCHASEABLE / NON-DROPPABLE ARMOR (yellow+blue, green+red)

Rings
- you can buy Rings of Protection +1 and Rings of Recovery
- combine with another identical Ring and a Diamond to upgrade, ie to upgrade to Ring of Protection +2, you need 2 Rings of Protection +1 and a Diamond
Ring of Protection +1 - same as BG2, +1 AC +1 Saving Throws
Ring of Protection +2 - same as BG2, +2 AC +2 Saving Throws

Ring of Recovery - regenerate 1 hp/8 seconds
Ring of Regeneration - regenerate 1 hp/5 seconds
Ring of Renewal - regenerate 1 hp/2 seconds

Any 1 of the 2 rings of Protection can be combined with any 1 of the 3 regenerative rings ; however, once combined they may not be used in any upgrades ever again.

Cloaks
- Cloaks may be purchased, when bought they have no benefit
- Cloaks may be upgraded with a Diamond up to +2
1st upg - +1 AC & +1 Saving Throws
2nd upg - +2 AC & +2 Saving Throws

Cloaks may be upgraded with following gems, but once so upgraded it will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
- Sapphire & Sunstone : +4 AC vs Missile Attacks
- Emerald & Ruby : Resistance to Fire Acid Cold Electricity +15%

Gloves
- Gloves may be purchased, when bought they have no benefit
1st upg (requires 1 Diamond) - +1 Thac0
2nd upg (requires 2 Diamonds) - +2 Thac0 +1 Attack

===================

DROPPABLE / NON-PURCHASEABLE ARMOR (yellow+blue, green+red)

Ioun Stones
- Ioun Stones cannot be bought ; only dropped by commanders, when dropped they have no benefit
- Ioun Stones may be upgraded with a Diamond up to +2
1st upg - +1 AC & +1 Saving Throws
2nd upg - +2 AC & +2 Saving Throws

Ioun Stones may be upgraded with 2 gems of the same type, but once so upgraded its AC will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
- 2 Sapphires & 2 Sunstones : +1 Bonus Mage Spells to levels 4 5 6 7 / +1 Bonus Priest Spells to levels 2 3 4 5
- 2 Emeralds & 2 Rubies: +20% Resistance to Magic Fire Acid Cold Electricity
- 2 Diamonds : +10% Resistance to Physical Damage

Amulets
- Amulets cannot be bought ; only dropped by commanders, when dropped they have no benefit
1st upg - +1 AC & +1 Saving Throws
2nd upg - +2 AC & +2 Saving Throws

Armor may be upgraded further with a pair of gems, but once so combined its AC will no longer be upgradeable with Diamonds.
After upgrading once with a pair of gems, it can be upgradeable once more but ONLY by that same pair of gems.
- Sapphire & Sunstone : Resistance to Physical Damage 5%, 10%
- Emerald & Ruby : +1 Thac0, +1 Thac0 and +1 Attack

Belt
- Belts cannot be bought ; only dropped by commanders, when dropped they have no benefit
1st upg (requires 1 Diamond) - 5% Resistance to Physical Damage
2nd upg (requires 2 Diamonds) - 10% Resistance to PhysicalDamage
3rd upg (requires 3 Diamonds) - 20% Resistance to Physical Damage

Boots
- Boots cannot be bought ; only dropped by commanders, when dropped they have no benefit
1st upg (requires 1 Diamond) - +2 AC vs Missiles
2nd upg (requires 2 Diamonds) - +2 AC vs Missiles, Increased Movement
3rd upg (requires 3 Diamonds) - +2 AC vs Missiles, Haste (increased movement and also increased attacks)

Edited by Zyraen, 14 April 2011 - 06:45 PM.

[Icendoan]

Up the cost of the spells/day upgrade for the ioun stones. They are far more powerful than the others.

Icen

[Zyraen]

Sure noted. They will cost more in terms of gold, but materials should be about the same.

[Icendoan]

EDIT: The Emerald hits now use Protection From Opcode: Regeneration

I have done Longswords, Shortsword, Flails and Quarterstaves.

Icen

Edited by Icendoan, 30 July 2008 - 06:44 AM.

[Miloch]

One of the (only) good things about Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II was its item upgrade system using gems. It looks like you've been influenced by that, either intentionally or not, though it probably has some basis in 3rd edition too. You could, for example, combine two different types of gems on an item with multiples of 1 to 5 to get unique effects and even item names. Some gems were hard to find, so you'd have to find special stores that sold them or even mine them. It would be really cool if you could replicate something like that .

[Icendoan]

I am going to (for the minimod for it I am releasing, when I finish) scatter Diamonds among the hard fights in the game and a few containers.

The other gems are replacing cash in RNDTRES.2DA

Icen

[Zyraen]

moved to 2nd post

Edited by Zyraen, 25 July 2009 - 07:50 AM.

[Icendoan]

I am going to expand on the missile weapons ammo upgrades a bit.

1 set of gems = 250 ammo upgrades (1 for each arrow, ect.) This will be tracked via use of variables, and the more gems you give to your crafter the higher it will be.

So, if I give a ruby to my crafter for missile upgrades, I can now get 250 ruby upgrades of whatever ammunition I like, even if I do not have it at the time. If I give him another ruby, without getting any upgrades, I can then get 500 upgrades. Price is different, however. You have to pay for each 20 of the ammunition created.

You need 500 of one set of ammunition to create an unlimited source, so it is quite hard to get.

This is open to discussion, of course.

Icen

Edited by Icendoan, 16 July 2008 - 10:32 AM.

[Icendoan]

I am including thrown weapon here. The same rules apply, you simply get a returning thrown weapon if you pay for an unlimited source.

Icen

[Icendoan]

Anyway, I don't think it will be an issue, I will add to his dialogue saying that he needs only the purest gems ect, and cannot take lesser ones.

Icen

[Zyraen]

Updating you guys from India, lol, far away from home and no BG2 to test out.

Note that Icen has lost all his previous work on this so this will be redone by myself. It shouldn't take too long once I get back to my BG2 computer.

I have sat down and thought about the project and I decided that I will try to do what I can, On My Own.
First things first is to reduce the scope of the project.
Reducing the previously insane variety of special effects on Equipments will help immensely.

================

As of this revision, a "maxed" out character in following areas will be...

50% Physical Damage Resistance : 10% Shield, 20% Belt, 10% Ioun Stone, 10% Amulet
85% Missile Damage Resistance : 25% Body Armor, 20% Shield, rest stacks with Physical Damage Resistance (less 10% from Shield)

20% Magic Resistance : 20% Ioun Stone
90% Fire Acid Cold Electricity : 15% Cloak, 25% Helm, 25% Shield, 25% Body Armor

Hence the idea is that you can create for your characters specialised "suits" that are for different occasions.
Physical Damage is obviously meant to help an already good tank do an even better job, but if you are fielding a low Hitpoint character in the outfit, it might not help all that much. My original draft had a Physical Damage absorption of up to 60% I think...

Due to the scenarios being generally non-stop state of combat, equipment should hopefully become part of your strategy, where having the right-equipped character counts. If you have the right equipped tank to face a situation, it might make that devilishly hard encounter much easier. BUT up until that point you probably have to watch him as he might be wearing somewhat inferior items compared to his peers.

Why Inferior? Because you may have given the items "special properties" earlier on the in the game, but these equipment cannot be upgraded with Diamonds, and over time they will become obsolete and generally used only for particular situations.

I'm not sure if anyone detected, but that is the main gist behind this gemming system

Edited by Zyraen, 12 April 2011 - 12:28 AM.