Idea for Deasert Area

[daemuskross]

While I was adventuring through the desert, an idea struck me that I thought would be a neat addition to the desert region.

Shifting Sands

Have a trigger laid out in various parts of the desert where when the player crossed the trigger and failed a saving throw check or skill ckeck of some kind, the player would be kocked down and swallowed up by the desert, sending the player to a cavern deep underneath the desert. Damage would be applied to the player from the fall of course. Then the player would have to find his/her way back out through dangerous encounters.

[Makzimia]

Interesting idea, and can be done, I checked out how to script a check and take, what I need to add, is at least a line saying you failed and are going down. We'll see, I am sort of in a take a break mode on some things until I have my vacation next week.

[JoScMa]

How will it affect people who are immune to knockdown?

[serpitus]

It sounds a lot Like in the stand alone Game HOtU when you leave the drow city and fall through to the tunnels with the gelatinous cubes. If I remeber correctly it is just an area transition they use there. So knockown tumble dex check are all moot to that scenario. Not sure what makz was thinking with of with "check and take". But another and this would be I'm sure more difficult area to investigate is ramdom placement on the sea of sand. Like the transitions randomly populate when you load the area? Probably way out there and not possible with Biowares limited engine.

[Naraldur]

serpitus said:

It sounds a lot Like in the stand alone Game HOtU when you leave the drow city and fall through to the tunnels with the gelatinous cubes.

Huh? Played that campaign at least twice through, never met an jello. Where is that?

But another and this would be I'm sure more difficult area to investigate is ramdom placement on the sea of sand. Like the transitions randomly populate when you load the area? Probably way out there and not possible with Biowares limited engine.

Wouldn't really need to be random. Just put them in a few specific areas... but to keep poeple on their feet, the could change those "specific areas" once every couple days (or weekly). ;D

[Phoenix]

OMG, you just made me think about the absolue worse experience I have had in NWN (old mod I played before I found Fredian).

See there was this cave with a maze in it... I entered the cave to explore, and voilla I hit something and 'fell through the floor' into the maze.

To exit you required a high level thief and a 20th level wizard/sorc. with a pixie familiar. This was pre HOU, level 20 cap.

I spent about 2 RL weeks in that maze...

I like the shifting sands idea though.

[Atlantis]

Egh, I kind of like the idea, but I don't why some part of me strangling myself about it.

[daemuskross]

Phoenix said:

OMG, you just made me think about the absolue worse experience I have had in NWN (old mod I played before I found Fredian).

See there was this cave with a maze in it... I entered the cave to explore, and voilla I hit something and 'fell through the floor' into the maze.

To exit you required a high level thief and a 20th level wizard/sorc. with a pixie familiar. This was pre HOU, level 20 cap.

I spent about 2 RL weeks in that maze...

I like the shifting sands idea though.

Hmmm... That does sound like a bad experience, but I like the maze idea, but it should be set up where a player playing solo could manage to escape from the maze.

[daemuskross]

JoScMa said:

How will it affect people who are immune to knockdown?

I believe Hot U gives a scripter the ability to do a knockdown effect on a player even if the player is immune to knockdown.

It's one of the Cutscene constants that was put in when Hot u came out I believe.

[Mercator]

That's true. Being immune to knockdown won't make a bit of difference. That's why instead, I wear my levitation boots. ;D

[daemuskross]

How about that, My idea was actually used. ;D

I can't wait to go try it out and see if I get swept away by the shifting sands.

I just wonder what lies beneath the sands in the maze.

[Naraldur]

All I'm saying is, if you spontaneously change areas with a character of level 17 or less while in the southern desert, you'd better hope you have a ring of invis.

[Barfly]

Even my level 30 character had to use her boots of speed, so to speak.

[shahakran]

Speaking of ideas from mods played b4

There was a maze in one of the mods I used to play, pre HOTU. It required a rogue, sorc/wiz, healer (to cast mass heal) and a fighter or 10 to clear it well. It always took nearly 2 hours to get through to the final battle, which was almost impossible to win -- something like the warped but worse. The first part was simple enough -- run around and find a key to access the second part making sure that none of the high lvl monsters or booby traps got you on the way.

Then there were 4 tests:
Intelligence, which I could never figure out but somehow the mage was able to cast a spell to determine which way to go -- all other paths lead to instant death.
Strength, which required some pretty nifty fighters since you were faced with strong heavy hitters with high sr
Can't remember the name of the other 2 but one with a load of barely detectable, difficult to disarm, traps, and the next, a host of undead with high ac which required mass heal spells to be killed since they had high ac.

It was a really good idea for a quest, because you had to get a mix of classes together and it was impossible to complete solo. Unfortunately that particular server was prone to lag and crashing, I think due to some very early bad ATS scripts and bugs which have been fixed in the more recent updates.

Perhaps something like this wouldn't be a bad idea here, on such a popular server? Anyway, as always, just a thought. ;D

[Naraldur]

shahakran said:

Speaking of ideas from mods played b4

There was a maze in one of the mods I used to play, pre HOTU. It required a rogue, sorc/wiz, healer (to cast mass heal) and a fighter or 10 to clear it well. It always took nearly 2 hours to get through to the final battle, which was almost impossible to win -- something like the warped but worse. The first part was simple enough -- run around and find a key to access the second part making sure that none of the high lvl monsters or booby traps got you on the way.

Then there were 4 tests:
Intelligence, which I could never figure out but somehow the mage was able to cast a spell to determine which way to go -- all other paths lead to instant death.
Strength, which required some pretty nifty fighters since you were faced with strong heavy hitters with high sr
Can't remember the name of the other 2 but one with a load of barely detectable, difficult to disarm, traps, and the next, a host of undead with high ac which required mass heal spells to be killed since they had high ac.

It was a really good idea for a quest, because you had to get a mix of classes together and it was impossible to complete solo. Unfortunately that particular server was prone to lag and crashing, I think due to some very early bad ATS scripts and bugs which have been fixed in the more recent updates.

Perhaps something like this wouldn't be a bad idea here, on such a popular server? Anyway, as always, just a thought. ;D

Just as long as there's no chance of stumbling in on accident!