Idea for the dark side of magic

[Speiros02]

What do you think about the feasibility of this, for dark side mages? It's just a suggestion, but I thought it might be good for consideration, as the dark side of magic isn't rewarding.

(1)
The body parts are acquired to put together a zombie/undead, whichever is suitable. Drops are created, things such as torso, limbs, head, and the existing pieces are used, such as bones, undead eye, diseased heart, a brain, and then a certain spell is cast to bring the beast to life. Sort of inspired by Frankenstein, in bringing back a beast from parts.

(2)
The beast can be put anywhere, except where deemed unacceptable (eg. where the new characters spawn), and the beast can be killed at the same level as say a normal zombie, by normal players. I think though, that the beast should be able to re-heal if necessary, as a normal healthy person would, or have a set rate of healing, so the beast can last if not able to be killed, and recover from its injuries. The reason the healing is to me a good idea, is that if the monster only has the limited lifespan, it may not be economically feasible to make it. If it has a chance of lasting for some time, then it's feasible.

(3)
The points from killing players should go to the person who created the beast. The person who kills the beast can acquire points from the kill. The drops from the beast are fair in value, meaning it is feasible for a person to roam the land killing these beasts if they so choose, once again enforcing the lighter path of magic.

Any opinions?

[mistergrey]

I like the idea, in the sense that it really does sound .. Frankenstein-esque. The problem, is that zombies are one of the more powerful monsters in game - future levels of magic should include more powerful magic, so leaving some room to grow is important. Also important is remembering to keep the changes moderate, so that it doesn't lead to all mages becoming insanely overpowered.

Another problem, is making such a summoned monster able to heal. I don't believe there is a way currently, though it's surely possible. It could be possible to heal a monster through a spell, but to make it able to heal itself automatically in other ways, I have no idea how it would be done personally.

It's good that people are thinking up interesting ideas like this though, I definitely don't want to discourage anybody from doing so. It is also very likely that there will be some more powerful monsters by the time magic level 4 comes around... but anything too powerful is likely a bad idea if we wish to keep some form of balance. The current summons are weak and mostly useless except in high numbers, so there will definitely be some more powerful ones in that area, as well as more varied attack and other types of spells.

If "pets' were an option, of course, your Frankenstein idea would be a very fun way to buy/make such a pet

[Speiros02]

Yeah, this can potentially be a "pet" of a dark side person, and also is a target for roaming "heroes", who could be warriors or anything really. Maybe there's a way to inhibit the amount of monsters spawn in the one area, so there can only be one or two monsters to an area, or even have heroes in roles to remove these from the areas. Anyway, just an idea. I like the spell to reheal, but if that is so, it needs to still be that the monster can only be healed by the person when they are there, otherwise, there could be these indestructible beasts. That'd suck big time. Anyway. All the best.

[Nard]

I find the idea very nice too. The dark side needs some magic skill to replace Astral: mainly a protection spell to balance #asorm and a summon spell. Also players who choose this (expensive) side should have some benefit from it. It is logic that they can summon creatures from the dark (black magic).

Another problem, is making such a summoned monster able to heal. I don't believe there is a way currently, though it's surely possible. It could be possible to heal a monster through a spell, but to make it able to heal itself automatically in other ways, I have no idea how it would be done personally.

Mobs can have and use skills. This feature is actually used by some mobs to summon minions (https://github.com/themanaworld/tmwa-se ... ill_db.txt). Maybe it would be possible to create a mob auto-heal skill (I am unable to do it). I think it is not possible to heal a mob at the moment; but I can be completely wrong.

To balance the asorm protection spell I thought about some dark mirror spell which could reflect a part of the damage inflicted by a magic attack on the caster. (could use a dark crystal and a mirror)...