Post by kalbaern on May 14, 2015 14:37:52 GMT -5
For the past week, while adding new areas, fixing bugs and getting ready to unleash some new crafting options, I've also started to give our random encounters some final tweaks. Right now, only the random encounters for "High Forest" regions (not including the Direwoods or Unicorn Run) are being tweaked, but when finished these changes will be reflected in other regional encounters.
Here's some examples:
Wild Animal Encounters - Deer, wolves, boars, badgers and many other creatures will now have chances of spawning fewer numbers. I.e., if at your level you normally spawn 3 wolves, you may only spawn 1 or 2 of them at times. Several new creatures, both docile or timid along with a few grouchy ones have also been added to the selection list.
Swarming Creature Encounters - Army ants, bats, gibberlings and other creatures that come in swarms here now have their swarm object spawned in at their location. Previously, "horde holes" for these creatures were preplaced on maps when areas were built, but at times, this causes path finding issues when the object is too far from adventurers. This only affects swarming creatures and humanoid -hordes- remain as they have been.
Rare Creature Encounters - Chimera, manticores, behirs and many others are now even rarer. Unless near a lair that contains the creature, most will now only spawn as a single creature and not pairs or groups. I.e., you should only spawn a single manticore or owlbear, unless in close proximity to a lair for them.
Humanoid and Giant Encounters - Goblins, bugbears, orcs, gnolls and similar creatures now have a chance to spawn in with a caster or other variants when you encounter a group of them. Giant class humanoids will also have more diversity. Ettins and verbeegs (the hill giants here) may spawn with lesser humanoids like goblins or bugbears as part of their group now. Encounters for cyclops, ogrillons, orges and others will now have more diversity as well.
Faction Encounters - Random adventuring groups, Zhentarim patrols and others are even more diverse in their make ups. In addition, other groups are being added (not all in the High Forest though) such as random dwarven miners, random dwarven patrols from Clan Longhammer, elven xenophobes (Eldreth Veluuthra) that single out humans and others with human blood (half elves and half orcs) as well as target any Harpers. Parties of woodsmen, hunters and bandits are also being added.
All of the above will just add to our diversity when exploring. So, where's the "kraken" you mentioned? Glad you asked.
Along with the above, our "Epic Encounter System" is going live and will start initially with High Forest encounters, but expand to many others over time. What is the Epic Encounter System you wonder? First I'll explain how "normal" random encounters work here.
Random encounters here are scripted triggers that when a PC enters them, makes rolls similar to the "Random Encounter Tables" found in PnP campaigns.
1 - A die is rolled to determine if an encounter actually occurs. The exact die rolled and chances of an encounter being called vary region by region. I.e., the more desolate the landscape, the less likely an encounter may occur.
2 - If an encounter is called for, then a d100 is rolled and -something- happens. In some cases, the -something- is merely a flavor text message, sometimes its actual creatures and at other times its a placeable or VFX. Examples of placeables are herb patches, dropped loot containers or even trees that have a chance to come alive as treants just to name a few. VFX spawn examples would be random fog banks, sparkling lights or even butterflies. In most regions here, a d100 roll of 1-10 results in a message, while 11-99 creates other encounters (or placeables and VFXs). Sometimes an encounter result is further divided by yet another die roll. An example in the High Forest would be a d100 result of 46. When 46 is rolled, a d3 is rolled and the final result is either a porcupine, hydra or or just some skittish rabbits. Additional checks for day/night can reflect what spawns as well. Wasps spawning during daylight are replaced by mosquitoes after dark (some regions also have mosquitoes anytime of the day). Because some creatures are more common in a region than others, they may spawn for more than one d100 result. I.e., in the High Forest, a gnoll horde is spawned for a d100 result of 67, while normal gnoll groups spawn for a d100 roll of 68-71. Currently a d100 roll of 100 has no result. As updates continue, a 100 roll will begin to fire our "Epic Encounter System".
3 - On a d100 roll of 100, a d10 is rolled to see if we're really going to encounter something. Often only a message will be seen, "You feel lucky today". If an encounter is actually called, another d100 is rolled and an -Epic Encounter- is created.
4 - Epic encounters are not necessarily creatures or encounters of "Epic" strength or abilities. These encounters, while truly terrifying at times could also just be tougher than normal or even "special" NPCs and other things. Often times, they will be level based or other restrictions could apply to the encounters. I.e., if the result is a dragon, it'll likely not spawn if you or your party members are below a certain minimum PC/Party level threshold. Thresholds of course will vary based on the creature to be spawned. Like many of our normal random encounters, some epic encounters will also scale up or down, when feasible. I.e., a dragon spawned when the highest party member is 16th would be younger and easier than one spawned when you reach 28th level. Many hostile encounters will also have a message attached as an IC warning to prepare. A dragon encounter might have a message of, "A large winged creature crashes through the treetops and lands nearby" as a warning, while extra large parties of humanoids (goblins, orcs, etc...) might have a message of "The pounding of war drums and excited shouts echo through the woods" to give clues to either prepare or flee as fits the situation.
Examples of High Forest Epic Encounters:
- If due to a level, class based, alignment based or other restrictions, an encounter is not spawned for you, you'll see the message, "You feel really lucky today" instead.
- Humanoid "war parties". These are the same as our normal "horde encounters", just with double or even triple the number of creatures spawned. while most folks can handle hordes with little trouble, the increased numbers could overwhelm some folks, so pick you battles carefully.
- Dragons. Not all dragons will be looking to fill their bellies. Some, even evil ones, could give you a quest, just chat awhile or extort gold to let you go free. Then again, sometimes a dragon will simply be looking to fill its belly.
- Lost child. A lost child is encountered and can ,if you choose, be safely guided back to its home for a reward of some type.
- Fallen NPC. You could find a "fallen" elf, dwarf, halfling, priest, etc... and have options to raise them or return the body to a suitable town/clan/guild/temple. These are versions of some options also found in certain dungeons here.
- Random "Famous" NPC(s) from various Forgotten Realms source books and novels. Most will not be named with their actual real names. A "Stooped old man" could be the fabled Elminster or just an elderly lost commoner or even other mysterious figures from sources. Interacting with them will vary depending on your class(es), alignment, guild affiliations, previous quests completed, etc... . Sometimes these "Famous" NPCs will offer you a quest. If accepted and later completed, they'll reappear "somewhere else" to complete your reward. Generally, they'll let you know where to later find them when you accept the quest. Other times they may merely just chat awhile. It'll depend on "who" they really are and many other factors as to the outcomes.
- Random Merchants or Specialty NPCs. A wandering herbalist may offer to buy herbs from you at prices way better than a normal merchant. Another might offer to sell herbs they've been gathering. A wood cutter might offer to buy/sell your gathered firewood, while a wandering gnome might have a few unique trinkets they'd be willing to sell.
- Things considered extremely rare in the region. In the High Forest, these would be things like a rust monster (sniffing out the trail of a passing dwarf maybe?), drow bands out during daylight hours or even a faction based individual or group like Luskan Wizards, a patrol of Lord's Alliance members out reducing orc numbers or even Thayan Slavers looking to add you to their next auction. You could encounter frost or even fire giants that have come down from their peaks to pillage or recruit humanoid allies. You could also encounter things normally found in dungeons or the underdark like beholders or mindflayers.
- Miscellaneous things. Sometimes an epic encounter is merely access to someplace special or a special "object". It could be a portal that appears and issues forth a stream of demons, devils or even undead. It could be a portal you can use and travel across Faerun to a distant location or even another plane. It could also be any number of "other" things, but I'll hold back the spoilers.
Anyhow, "Epic Encounters" will go live in our High Forest regions starting with our next update (tonight or tomorrow). Many of the d100 results are still being tested and created, so you might not notice anything new early on. Lower level PCs/Parties may just be reminded how "lucky" they are more often.
One last note. Our Epic Encounters will not fire in all areas. Proximity to a town or village can disable or lessen their chances greatly. Normal road encounters will never have epic encounters, although if you wander off a path into deep woods nearby you might spawn one, but they should never appear on well traveled roads themselves. Random dungeon encounters will also lack epic encounter chances.
-kalbaern-
Here's some examples:
Wild Animal Encounters - Deer, wolves, boars, badgers and many other creatures will now have chances of spawning fewer numbers. I.e., if at your level you normally spawn 3 wolves, you may only spawn 1 or 2 of them at times. Several new creatures, both docile or timid along with a few grouchy ones have also been added to the selection list.
Swarming Creature Encounters - Army ants, bats, gibberlings and other creatures that come in swarms here now have their swarm object spawned in at their location. Previously, "horde holes" for these creatures were preplaced on maps when areas were built, but at times, this causes path finding issues when the object is too far from adventurers. This only affects swarming creatures and humanoid -hordes- remain as they have been.
Rare Creature Encounters - Chimera, manticores, behirs and many others are now even rarer. Unless near a lair that contains the creature, most will now only spawn as a single creature and not pairs or groups. I.e., you should only spawn a single manticore or owlbear, unless in close proximity to a lair for them.
Humanoid and Giant Encounters - Goblins, bugbears, orcs, gnolls and similar creatures now have a chance to spawn in with a caster or other variants when you encounter a group of them. Giant class humanoids will also have more diversity. Ettins and verbeegs (the hill giants here) may spawn with lesser humanoids like goblins or bugbears as part of their group now. Encounters for cyclops, ogrillons, orges and others will now have more diversity as well.
Faction Encounters - Random adventuring groups, Zhentarim patrols and others are even more diverse in their make ups. In addition, other groups are being added (not all in the High Forest though) such as random dwarven miners, random dwarven patrols from Clan Longhammer, elven xenophobes (Eldreth Veluuthra) that single out humans and others with human blood (half elves and half orcs) as well as target any Harpers. Parties of woodsmen, hunters and bandits are also being added.
All of the above will just add to our diversity when exploring. So, where's the "kraken" you mentioned? Glad you asked.
Along with the above, our "Epic Encounter System" is going live and will start initially with High Forest encounters, but expand to many others over time. What is the Epic Encounter System you wonder? First I'll explain how "normal" random encounters work here.
Random encounters here are scripted triggers that when a PC enters them, makes rolls similar to the "Random Encounter Tables" found in PnP campaigns.
1 - A die is rolled to determine if an encounter actually occurs. The exact die rolled and chances of an encounter being called vary region by region. I.e., the more desolate the landscape, the less likely an encounter may occur.
2 - If an encounter is called for, then a d100 is rolled and -something- happens. In some cases, the -something- is merely a flavor text message, sometimes its actual creatures and at other times its a placeable or VFX. Examples of placeables are herb patches, dropped loot containers or even trees that have a chance to come alive as treants just to name a few. VFX spawn examples would be random fog banks, sparkling lights or even butterflies. In most regions here, a d100 roll of 1-10 results in a message, while 11-99 creates other encounters (or placeables and VFXs). Sometimes an encounter result is further divided by yet another die roll. An example in the High Forest would be a d100 result of 46. When 46 is rolled, a d3 is rolled and the final result is either a porcupine, hydra or or just some skittish rabbits. Additional checks for day/night can reflect what spawns as well. Wasps spawning during daylight are replaced by mosquitoes after dark (some regions also have mosquitoes anytime of the day). Because some creatures are more common in a region than others, they may spawn for more than one d100 result. I.e., in the High Forest, a gnoll horde is spawned for a d100 result of 67, while normal gnoll groups spawn for a d100 roll of 68-71. Currently a d100 roll of 100 has no result. As updates continue, a 100 roll will begin to fire our "Epic Encounter System".
3 - On a d100 roll of 100, a d10 is rolled to see if we're really going to encounter something. Often only a message will be seen, "You feel lucky today". If an encounter is actually called, another d100 is rolled and an -Epic Encounter- is created.
4 - Epic encounters are not necessarily creatures or encounters of "Epic" strength or abilities. These encounters, while truly terrifying at times could also just be tougher than normal or even "special" NPCs and other things. Often times, they will be level based or other restrictions could apply to the encounters. I.e., if the result is a dragon, it'll likely not spawn if you or your party members are below a certain minimum PC/Party level threshold. Thresholds of course will vary based on the creature to be spawned. Like many of our normal random encounters, some epic encounters will also scale up or down, when feasible. I.e., a dragon spawned when the highest party member is 16th would be younger and easier than one spawned when you reach 28th level. Many hostile encounters will also have a message attached as an IC warning to prepare. A dragon encounter might have a message of, "A large winged creature crashes through the treetops and lands nearby" as a warning, while extra large parties of humanoids (goblins, orcs, etc...) might have a message of "The pounding of war drums and excited shouts echo through the woods" to give clues to either prepare or flee as fits the situation.
Examples of High Forest Epic Encounters:
- If due to a level, class based, alignment based or other restrictions, an encounter is not spawned for you, you'll see the message, "You feel really lucky today" instead.
- Humanoid "war parties". These are the same as our normal "horde encounters", just with double or even triple the number of creatures spawned. while most folks can handle hordes with little trouble, the increased numbers could overwhelm some folks, so pick you battles carefully.
- Dragons. Not all dragons will be looking to fill their bellies. Some, even evil ones, could give you a quest, just chat awhile or extort gold to let you go free. Then again, sometimes a dragon will simply be looking to fill its belly.
- Lost child. A lost child is encountered and can ,if you choose, be safely guided back to its home for a reward of some type.
- Fallen NPC. You could find a "fallen" elf, dwarf, halfling, priest, etc... and have options to raise them or return the body to a suitable town/clan/guild/temple. These are versions of some options also found in certain dungeons here.
- Random "Famous" NPC(s) from various Forgotten Realms source books and novels. Most will not be named with their actual real names. A "Stooped old man" could be the fabled Elminster or just an elderly lost commoner or even other mysterious figures from sources. Interacting with them will vary depending on your class(es), alignment, guild affiliations, previous quests completed, etc... . Sometimes these "Famous" NPCs will offer you a quest. If accepted and later completed, they'll reappear "somewhere else" to complete your reward. Generally, they'll let you know where to later find them when you accept the quest. Other times they may merely just chat awhile. It'll depend on "who" they really are and many other factors as to the outcomes.
- Random Merchants or Specialty NPCs. A wandering herbalist may offer to buy herbs from you at prices way better than a normal merchant. Another might offer to sell herbs they've been gathering. A wood cutter might offer to buy/sell your gathered firewood, while a wandering gnome might have a few unique trinkets they'd be willing to sell.
- Things considered extremely rare in the region. In the High Forest, these would be things like a rust monster (sniffing out the trail of a passing dwarf maybe?), drow bands out during daylight hours or even a faction based individual or group like Luskan Wizards, a patrol of Lord's Alliance members out reducing orc numbers or even Thayan Slavers looking to add you to their next auction. You could encounter frost or even fire giants that have come down from their peaks to pillage or recruit humanoid allies. You could also encounter things normally found in dungeons or the underdark like beholders or mindflayers.
- Miscellaneous things. Sometimes an epic encounter is merely access to someplace special or a special "object". It could be a portal that appears and issues forth a stream of demons, devils or even undead. It could be a portal you can use and travel across Faerun to a distant location or even another plane. It could also be any number of "other" things, but I'll hold back the spoilers.
Anyhow, "Epic Encounters" will go live in our High Forest regions starting with our next update (tonight or tomorrow). Many of the d100 results are still being tested and created, so you might not notice anything new early on. Lower level PCs/Parties may just be reminded how "lucky" they are more often.
One last note. Our Epic Encounters will not fire in all areas. Proximity to a town or village can disable or lessen their chances greatly. Normal road encounters will never have epic encounters, although if you wander off a path into deep woods nearby you might spawn one, but they should never appear on well traveled roads themselves. Random dungeon encounters will also lack epic encounter chances.
-kalbaern-