So nearly a decade ago, I made some scant suggestions on a new class called Engineers. I figure now could be the time, with the codebase open to all and some having expressed interest in coding (looking at you @Wade) to fiddle around with creating a new base class that could take advantage of some underutilized systems, and also add a new hybrid playstyle to the game.
Without further ado, I give you... the Engineer.
ENGINEER - NEUTRAL-ALIGN HYBRID BASE CLASS
Allowed Races: Human, Half-elf, Half-Drow, Halfling, Gnome, Dwarf
Allowed Alignments: Neutral
Allowed Ethos: Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic
Allowed Cabals: Watcher, Syndicate/Merchant, Tribunal, Warmaster (Barbarian Only), Herald
SKILLS
Level 1 axe sword
mace flail
staff spear
polearm whip
dagger recall
shield block preserve
staves scrolls
wands
Level 3 mine harvest
Level 4 dirt kick
Level 5 parry enhanced damage
Level 10 [industry expert]
Level 12 trip two handed
Level 14 dodge
Level 15 launch assemble launcher
load ceasefire
Level 18 dual wield [blueprints]
Level 22 cultivate pick lock
Level 24 brew doublesheath
Level 25 [blueprints]
Level 30 brilliant idea
Level 32 disassemble
Level 33 mechanical legs
Level 35 [blueprints]
Level 38 transmute
Level 40 fusion
Level 45 [master of invention]
SKILL TREES
_________________________INDUSTRY EXPERT___________________________
/ | \
Carpenter Blacksmith Alchemist
| | |
____BLUEPRINTS____ ___BLUEPRINTS____ ____BLUEPRINTS___
/ | \ / | \ / | \
Whittle Stain Nimble Fingers Stamp Temper Brute Strength Imbibe Combine Heightened Senses
\________|_________/ \________|________/ \________|________/
| | |
MASTER OF INVENTION MASTER OF INVENTION MASTER OF INVENTION
| | |
Breathe Life Soulforge Essence Sap
NEW SELECTABLE SKILLS
Carpenter Tree
Carpenter
syntax: automatic
- Opens the carpentry skill tree
- +5% damage bonus with wooden weapons
- +10% armor bonus from wooden armor
Whittle
syntax: whittle
- Allows the engineer to whittle launchable projectiles from wooden materials
Stain
syntax: create stain
syntax: mix <stain 1> <stain 2>
syntax: stain
syntax: stain
- Allows the engineer to create a stain out of gemstones, herbs, and wood (requires a portable herb-press for herbs, a portable soaking barrel for wood, or a non-portable/static location pulverizer for gemstones)
- Allows the engineer to mix two stains together for a chance to combine some of their properties
- Allows the engineer to temporarily stain any wooden object, adding beneficial affects to it
- Restrictions
Rare items can only be stained with rare stains
- Rare stains are created by mixing stains from two high quality ingredients
- Staining an item has a chance to weaken or destroy the item based on luck, skill proficiency, and item level vs stain level (e.g. "The armor reacts oddly to the stain and begins to sizzle.")
- Staining an item has a chance to waste the stain based on luck, skill proficiency, and item level vs stain level (e.g. "The stain didn't set and fades away as it dries.")
Sample Staining Process
- Mine Red Diamond, create stain #1
- Visit end game area, discover a rare herb, create stain #2
- Mix red diamond stain + rare herb stain, create stain #3 (rare)
- Stain wooden armor with stain #3
- Armor gains +2 hitroll, +2 damroll, burnproof for 249 hours (example only - please do not pick apart whether that stat benefit or timer is too high or low)
Nimble Fingers
syntax: automatic
- Permanently grants +2 dexterity, -20 armor class, and +3 hitroll to the engineer (again, example only - do not pick the exact numbers apart)
Breathe Life
syntax: carve
syntax: infuse
- Allows the carpenter to carve an idol out of any wooden material
- Allows the carpenter to infuse the idol with life, creating a support charmie
Damage type, affects, special qualities, etc. are all based on the quality of the material carved
Charmies are temporary and have a 72 hour timer with a 24 hour cooldown
Blacksmith Tree
Blacksmith
syntax: automatic
- Opens the blacksmithing skill tree
- +5% damage bonus with metal weapons
- +10% armor bonus from metal armor
Stamp
syntax: stamp
- Allows the blacksmith to stamp launchable projectiles from metal (non-gemstone) materials
Temper
syntax: draw
syntax: infuse
syntax: heat
syntax: quench
- Allows the blacksmith to draw the oil from any fresh herb (requires a portable herb-press for herbs)
- Allows the blacksmith to infuse the oil with any wood or gemstone material (requires a portable soaking barrel for wood or a non-portable/static location pulverizer for gemstones)
- Allows the blacksmith to heat up a weapon, giving it the "heated" effect for 24 hours
- An elemental quench can infuse a weapon with an elemental proc (fire, shocking, poison, freezing, etc.)
- A mineral-infused quench can give a weapon +1 number of dice or +1 damage dice (with checks similar to living weapons to ensure damage does not exceed a certain point, e.g. avg 32 or 33)
- A wood-infused quench can give a weapon +hitroll, +damroll, the burnproof flag, the noremove flag, etc.
- Restrictions
Heated weapons can be wielded and have a flaming breath proc, but also have a chanced to be drop every tick with burn damaged inflicted on the wielded
- Each time a weapon is heated, it has a chance of breaking
- Each time a weapon is quenched, it has a chance of breaking and ruining the oil
- Weapons that are heated more than once without being quenched are prone to melting completely
- Rare weapons can only be quenched with rare oils (oils made from a rare herb and/or infused with a rare material)
- Unique weapons can be heated but not quenched
- Weapons can only receive one mineral-infused quench, one elemental quench, and one wood-infused quench. Quenching the weapon again has a chance to break it, and will always override the previous quench of that type
Sample Quenching Process
- Gather rare herb #1, draw for oil (repeat three times)
- Infuse with elemental mineral, create oil #1
- Infuse with wooden material, create oil #2
- Infuse with non-elemental mineral, create oil #3
- Heat the Blackwatch Sword (pretend it's rare, sue me), quench in oil (repeat three times)
OLD STATS
Object 'blackwatch sword steel' is type weapon, material black steel.
Extra flags: glow nodrop bless.
Weight is 12, value is 3000, level is 15.
Weapon type is sword.
Damage is 6d7 (average 24).
Affects damroll by 2.
Affects hitroll by 2.
NEW STATS (example only - please do not pick apart whether that stat benefit or timer is too high or low)
Object 'blackwatch sword steel' is type weapon, material black steel.
Extra flags: glow nodrop bless flaming
Weight is 12, value is 3000, level is 15.
Weapon type is sword.
Damage is 6d8 (average 27).
Affects damroll by 4.
Affects hitroll by 4.
Brute Strength
syntax: automatic
- Permanently grants +1 strength, +1 constitution, -5% damage from all non-magical weapons, and +3 damroll to the engineer (again, example only - do not pick the exact numbers apart)
Soulforge
syntax: soulforge
- Allows the alchemist to temporarily imbue their blade with a bit of their soul (a la blood vow), causing a different outcome depending on the weapon type
Sword: Adds substantial +hitroll/+damroll and "noremove" flag
- Dagger: Adds a low chance proc to the weapon where it reaches up and stabs the opponent in the eye (causing blind affect)
- Axe: Adds a low chance to automatically cleave the opponent's weapon
- Spear: Adds a moderate chance to deflect an opponent's attack and counter with a spear thrust (similar to riposte)
- Staff: Adds a low chance to whirl and add an extra attack (similar to pugil)
- Polearm: Adds a low chance to trip the opponent (similar to dancing blade trip)
- Whip: Adds a low chance to automatically disarm the opponent's weapon
- Flail: Adds a low chance to automatically disarm the opponent's shield
- Mace: Adds a low chance to concuss the opponent (similar to headbutt)
- Exotic: Adds a moderate chance to heal the user and drag them one room in a random direction if their hp drops below 25%
Alchemist Tree
Alchemist
syntax: automatic
- Opens the alchemy skill tree
- +5% damage bonus with elemental weapons
- +10% armor bonus from elemental armor
Imbibe
syntax: automatic
- Allows the alchemist to imbibe any potion rather than quaffing it
- Increases the duration of any affect caused by quaffing a potion by 100%
- Increases the status impact of any affect caused by quaffing a potion by 50%
Brew/Combine
syntax: combine <potion 1> <potion 2>
- This skill expands the array of potions that can be brewed to include quaffable potions (made from herbs as normal) and launchable potions (made from wood and minerals)
- Base potions come in four varieties
Potions brewed from herbs always have a self-buff or other beneficial affect (per existing brew skill)
- Potions brewed from elemental minerals always cause elemental damage
- Potions brewed from non-elemental minerals either cause non-elemental damage or add a debuff
- Potions brewed from wooden materials always cause a debuff
Combined potions can result in one of the following combinations
- A potion brewed from herbs when combined with a damaging potion creates a quaffable potion that does damage to the user but also applies a much stronger self-buff
- A potion brewed from herbs when combined with a debuffing potion creates a quaffable potion that applies a low level debuff to the user but also applies a much stronger self-buff
- A potion brewed from herbs when combined with another potion brewed from herbs creates a quaffable potion that applies a slightly stronger version of both self-buffs
- A damaging potion when combined with a debuff potion creates a launchable potion that does damage and has the chance to debuff an opponent
- A damaging potion when combined with a damaging potion creates a launchable potion that does more damage to an opponent
- A debuff potion when combined with a debuff potion creates a launchable potion that does minimal damage but has a chance to apply a slightly weaker version of both debuffs to the opponent
- Uncombined damaging potions are launchable to cause their normal damage type only
- Uncombined debuff potions are launchable to cause minimal damage and their normal debuff only
Restrictions
- All potions when combined have a chance to explode in the creator's face causing massive damage, possible debuffs, etc. based on luck, skill proficiency, and material levels/quality
- Potions, unlike most projectiles, have a chance to evaporate from disuse
- High quality base potions cannot be combined with other high quality base potions
- A high quality base potion when successfully combined with a regular base potion creates a rare quaffable or launchable potion
Sample Combining Scenario
- Glacite is brewed into potion #1, a launchable freezing blast-damage potion
- Snakewood is brewed into potion #2, a launchable poisoning potion
- Potion #1 and potion #2 are successfully combined to create Potion #3
- Potion #3 does slightly less freezing-blast damage and has a slightly-reduced chance to cause a poison affect
Heightened Senses
syntax: automatic
- Permanently grants +1 wisdom, +1 intelligence, -5% damage from all magical weapons, and +10 hitgain/managain to the engineer (again, example only - do not pick the exact numbers apart)
Essence Sap
syntax: sap
- Allows the alchemist to sap some of their opponent's life essence (like an in-combat soul capture)
- Essences can be brewed to create a potion that can be used in one of three ways
Quaffed as-is to grant the user a long-lasting enhanced bless-like affect
- Combined with a quaffable potion to further amplify the affects of that potion
- Combined with a launchable potion to further amplify the affects of that potion
Essence sap has a 72 hour cooldown to prevent multiple essences from being collected in a single fight
OTHER NEW SKILLS
Assemble Launcher/Load
syntax: assemble
syntax: assemble <fast/accurate/balanced>
syntax: load
syntax: unload
- Allows the engineer to construct a simple launcher at base proficiency, with moderate fired weapon stats
- Allows the engineer to construct a fast, accurate, or balance launcher at high proficiency, with respective stats
- Allows the engineer to load a material into their launcher (two round lag to prevent in combat switch abuse)
- Allows the engineer to unload the material from their launcher (two round lag to prevent in combat switch abuse)
Launch
syntax: launch
syntax: ceasefire
- Allows the engineer to start launching whatever projectiles are loaded in their launcher until they ceasefire or ammunition runs out
- Allows the engineer to ceasefire to stop launching projectiles
Brilliant Idea
syntax: brilliant
- Engineers are creative, which allows them to give themselves the "brilliant idea" buff - the buff includes three affected stats drawn from all stats in the bless spell pool
- An unlucky engineer may wind up with a fourth affect that is a debuff to a base stat (str, dex, wis, int, con)
Disassemble
syntax: disassemble
- Gives engineers the ability to disassemble any item for a chance at receiving a material of comparable level/quality to that item
- Items must be at least rare to be disassembled, and have a chance to simply be destroyed
Mechanical Legs
syntax: extend
syntax: retract
- All engineers can extend a pair of mechanical legs that help them stand their ground against lag attacks, at the cost of not being able to benefit from other buffs like haste
- Engineers can extend and retract their mechanical legs at will
Transmute
syntax: transmute <material 1> <material 2>
- Allows the engineer a chance to transmute one material into a duplicate of another material
- The closer the materials are in initial quality, the more likely the transmutation is to be successful
- A failed transmutation will destroy both materials
Fuse
syntax: fuse <material 1> <material 2>
- Allows the engineer to combine two identical materials to create a higher quality version (red diamond + red diamond = perfect red diamond)