Protector: Another new ranger kit, Primarily for Valygar but also available for PC Options

[Sikret]

Here is the idea for another new ranger kit. Please comment before I implement it.

PROTECTOR: Protectors are dedicated defenders of people and nature. They usually take residence close to people who are in need of help, but they are also always prepared to travel when the cause is fighting evil. While being great warriors, they can also learn and cast more spells than other rangers. Protectors have such a strong affinity with mother nature that they never wear
armors greater than the studded leather. This self-imposed limitation has been compensated with mental and physical abilities. A protector sacrifices a portion of his own health and stamina to start learning the special protective methods and abilities of his kit.


Advantages:
- +1 bonus to Armor class for every 6 levels.
- Can memorize 2 additional spells per spell level.
- Has access to two special 3rd level spells (Great Berries & Mental Equilibrium).
- Gains "Cure Serious Wounds" at levels 7, 11 and 15.
- Gains "Mass Cure" at levels 10 and 16.
- Gains "Racial Combat" at level 19.


Disadvantages:
- May not wear armor greater than studded leather
- Incurs a -1 penalty to constitution
- Cannot dual class
- Requires 10 Intelligence and Charisma.

Racial Combat:

Using this powerful innate ability allows the protector to be prepared for fighting a special race of his or her choice. The ability will grant very useful bonuses against enemies of the selected race, but will also make the protector subject to penalties against other races. The effects (bonuses and penalties alike) won't be dispellable and will remain active for 2 turns.

I plan to change Valygar's kit to this new one. Of course, I will have to modify his katana and replace its poison effect with something more suitable. Valygar is too nice to be a backstabber.

This post has been edited by Sikret: Dec 17 2008, 08:02 AM

[lroumen]

feedback on Valygar
His story might not fit anymore if he is changed from Stalker to Protector. You might have to change some dialogues. I'm not too certain if he is all that natury either and I think the restriction to studded leather would be slightly far-fetched (though so is his vanilla chainmail armor which is restricted from Stalkers). I think you're on the right track with the generic kit abilities though.

feedback on the armor restriction
If you are changing Valygar to a protector then I would change the restriction from studded leather to chain mail. This would be much more logical since Valygar's armor is a chain mail after all (as mentioned above).
SPOILER!

(btw, why is Valygar's improved armor coded as S!leat03 if it's still a chainmail?)

It would be also a refreshment from the armor restrictions on the ranger kits and I don't think it will end up being too powerful. Stealth or no stealth, that is the question for the player between choosing to equip chain or leather.
It could maybe become too powerful in combination with the armor bonus/level, but you could possibly tone that down or have it begin or end at a certain level (starting at level 13 for instance is a very popular control mechanism).



On the other side, what bonuses do you want the protector to provide? Protection mainly for other NPCs or also the protection of self?

feedback on abilities
The current spell-abilities look fine. I could think of a few more to provide that true Protector feeling to the player.
- "Defensive Harmony" gained every 8 levels
- "Protection from the Elements" for 25% resistance (or 50%) gained at level 20ish (less powerful than the mage variant).

Perhaps I have another suggestion that is not spell-like in nature.
suggested "disadvantage"
- Does not gain the normal ranger 2 stars in dual-wielding, but gains 2 stars in sword and shield instead.
- Can only place 1 star into dual-wielding rather than 3.



other suggestions
Maybe it would be worth it to change a few level 1 and level 2 spells from the ranger epos. Some are not exactly powerful or even worth using, whereas the same mage spell levels have many possible uses. I foresee that the Protector will just memorise few different spells despite having given a few extra per spell level.

level 1: Doom, Bless, Armor of Faith... the rest is situational or plain useless.
level 2: Barkskin, Protection from Fire/Cold, Goodberries... again, the rest is very situational or useless.

Some variation here would be nice for the two new ranger classes (vagrant and protector). At the same time it would also allow druids to memorise better level 1 and level 2 spells and you did mention a while ago that in v5.1 (or v6 whichever you prefer) you were planning to improve druids and the druid stronghold.


comparison to vagrant
I think the Vagrant has a slightly too high bonus to the elemental resistances (10% might be better balanced), but otherwise he's fine. I think that if you give the Protector some unique bonuses, the players will not have to compare the two IA kits and say that either is better.

EDIT: Would you make the Vagrant specific kit available to the Protector Protagonists as well or do you intend to keep it Vagrant only (which is fine too). Thing is, if you write that he is protector of nature, I get the feeling that he would be a suitable aid to the Vagrant specific quest too.

This post has been edited by lroumen: Jan 18 2008, 09:59 AM

[Sikret]

Thanks for the good suggestions, Iroumen!

Some of your suggestions (while good ones indeed) may not be doable due to engine restrictions, but I'll keep thinking about them while testing Valygar in my current game (I have changed him to Protector for testing purposes).

feedback on Valygar
His story might not fit anymore if he is changed from Stalker to Protector. You might have to change some dialogues.

I'll appreciate if you tell me about those specific dialogue lines which may need revising.

feedback on abilities
The current spell-abilities look fine. I could think of a few more to provide that true Protector feeling to the player.
- "Defensive Harmony" gained every 8 levels
- "Protection from the Elements" for 25% resistance (or 50%) gained at level 20ish (less powerful than the mage variant).

Defensive harmony is not a bad idea.

As for Protection from the Elements, it occurred to me, but I put the idea aside immediately as I didn't want the kit to have more or less the same powers of a vagrant.

other suggestions
Maybe it would be worth it to change a few level 1 and level 2 spells from the ranger epos.

Existent spells in the spell collection list can't be omitted for a single kit. Any elimination or replacement will also affect all other rangers and druids, but new spells can be added for the kit without affecting others.

I foresee that the Protector will just memorise few different spells despite having given a few extra per spell level.

level 1: Doom, Bless, Armor of Faith... the rest is situational or plain useless.
level 2: Barkskin, Protection from Fire/Cold, Goodberries... again, the rest is very situational or useless.

Well, in first level list, we have also Cure Light Wounds which fits nicely with the Protector kit. In second level list, we have Resist Fire/Cold. The 2nd level list is not too good, but it's the same for druids as well. I was thinking of adding a new 2nd level spell for this kit. A spell which works like "Protection From Evil", but grants the bonuses not against evil creatures but against any specific "Race" the Protector chooses when casting the spell. It could be called "Protection From Specific Race".

When he casts the spell a new menu opens (just like what happens with the Spell Immunity spell) and the ranger can pick the race to be protected against (+2 bonus to AC and saves when fighting that race). Cumulative uses of the spell won't work on a single creature (neither for the same race nor for a different race). For example, the protector may choose golems or demons or or spiders or skeletons, etc and then cast the spell on a single target. This also fits well with the fact that rangers have racial enemies.

I may still implement this idea. I didn't immediately implement it for two reasons:

(1) I was not sure if it will make the kit too good or not. So, I decided to test the kit without that new spell first.

(2) Adding a single 2nd level spell without touching the list of 1st and 3rd level spells didn't look very nice to me. Of course, an alternate way is to add the spell as an innate ability rather than spell, but then it won't solve the problem of weak spells in the spellbook. I will think more about this case and I'll appreciate comments and ideas.

Of one thing I am quite sure however, Valygar will be a much more useful party member as a Protector rather than a stalker.

I think the Vagrant has a slightly too high bonus to the elemental resistances (10% might be better balanced), but otherwise he's fine.

So far in my run-through I didn't find the elemental resistances too high. I will see how it goes on when the vagrant reaches high levels.

EDIT: Would you make the Vagrant specific kit available to the Protector Protagonists as well or do you intend to keep it Vagrant only (which is fine too). Thing is, if you write that he is protector of nature, I get the feeling that he would be a suitable aid to the Vagrant specific quest too.

If you mean making the vagrant specific quest available to a Protector protagonist, then the answer is in negative for sure. The nature of that quest doesn't fit well for any protagonist except the vagrant. I can make a new quest for Protectors, but since I have made the kit primarily for Valygar, making a quest for a protector protagonist doesn't have priority. If the player wants a protector, he will probably pick Valygar.

This post has been edited by Sikret: Jan 18 2008, 11:02 AM