Interactive World?

by **Saxon1974** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:15 pm

Hi there,

I heard about your game on the Basilisk games forum and it looks very interesting to me!

Question;

How interactive will the objects in the world be? Will you be able to pick up barrels, cups etc....?

I will keeping an eye on this one, good luck finishing it up!

by **BlueSalamander** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:47 pm

Hello Saxon1974,

I know the Ultimas allowed you to pick up and activate all kinds of items, chairs, spoons, whistles etc and that's because they were focused on representing the world somewhat realistically. Some other games allow you to push and pull objects like barrels. However with Knights of the Chalice the focus is on combat and on interesting situations to resolve (through combat or dialogue). You can pick up all the usual stuff you find in rpgs - weapons, armour, rings, keys, mysterious letters, wands and spell scrolls and there are special occasions where you can search through barrels, look for a secret door etc and in these cases it's all managed through dialogue scripts. Thanks for your interest in the game, I remember reading some of your posts on Basilisk's website.

by **getter77** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:35 pm

As a semi-random dovetail, would there be any situations where the party comes across what appears to be weaponry, treasure, etc but in reality they are some manner of Mimic or semi-sentient enemy weaponry? Could be nifty for throwing off the temptation to rapidly grab things without taking a minute to discern things..

(Been nigh killed before by what looked like it was a pile of gold...now I try and maintain thoughtful play)

by **BlueSalamander** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:10 pm

Hehe, good idea but I'm afraid the mimic isn't part of the game's bestiary. I've seen it implemented in ADOM, a nice touch, especially with the random nature of roguelikes. In the Monster Manual 3.5, it has a challenge rating of 4.

by **getter77** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:57 am

Fair enough, surely lots of other foes to defeat. What about environmental hazards affecting combats? Like...knocking a brigand into a lit brazier with a rush...or something...

by **BlueSalamander** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:14 am

For the list of foes that are in the game, you can check it out there.

Regarding the use of environment - good question. Rain will reduce your ability with ranged weapons, walls can give you a cover armor bonus against melee attacks, and other creatures can provide cover against ranged attacks. You can bullrush enemies into a wall of fire, web or other effect that stays on the area, or you can use it to break a grapple.

Your idea of pushing enemies into braziers sounds great. I might implement it later on as currently there are no braziers. But that's doable. It would make the bullrush feat a little bit more useful. I suppose a brazier would inflict something like 2d6 fire damage per round.

by **getter77** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:42 pm

Cool, and the braziers was just but one example. I suppose there could be any number of hazard areas that would, under normal circumstances, just be the stuff populating the level. I like the idea for walls and such.

Building upon it, any notions for a boost to the applicable elemental summoning if there is a natural source also in play? Like, better to bring the Water Elemental out when raining, perhaps Fire if (eventual) lit braziers are around, and so on?

by **BlueSalamander** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:14 pm

getter77 wrote:Building upon it, any notions for a boost to the applicable elemental summoning if there is a natural source also in play? Like, better to bring the Water Elemental out when raining, perhaps Fire if (eventual) lit braziers are around, and so on?

There are other reasons for choosing one elemental over the other, as water is useful to remove a wall of fire, fire can remove some web strands and air can fly over web/entangle areas. Each also has distinctive feats and combat powers. But yeah, I think it's a good idea to give a boost for a water elemental summoned when raining. I'll give it one additional level (caster level+1 rather than just the caster level). The fire idea is also good; I could give an additional level if you summon the fire elemental right on top of a brazier.

by **getter77** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:50 am

BlueSalamander wrote:
getter77 wrote:Building upon it, any notions for a boost to the applicable elemental summoning if there is a natural source also in play? Like, better to bring the Water Elemental out when raining, perhaps Fire if (eventual) lit braziers are around, and so on?

There are other reasons for choosing one elemental over the other, as water is useful to remove a wall of fire, fire can remove some web strands and air can fly over web/entangle areas. Each also has distinctive feats and combat powers. But yeah, I think it's a good idea to give a boost for a water elemental summoned when raining. I'll give it one additional level (caster level+1 rather than just the caster level). The fire idea is also good; I could give an additional level if you summon the fire elemental right on top of a brazier.

Sounds awesome.

And though I doubt it would make it into the game anytime soon, I had something of a dream today where a Dwarven Fighter and an Elven Wizard were fighting a Giant Troll. Wizard cast a pool of oil behind troll, Dwarf bullrushed Giant Troll, Troll was knocked back into oil, failed a balance check, Wizard then lit said floundering pool of Troll and thus was the end of imposing Troll. Had a similar dream with freezing deep water then melting it when an enemy gets pinned there and drowning them.

by **BlueSalamander** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:37 pm

It's not exactly the same thing, but you can already cast fireball or burning hands on webbed creatures and the burning strands will inflict added fire damage.
What you referred to sounds like the Grease spell, one of my favourite spells in Temple of Elemental Evil. I didn't implement it because it means having to draw nearly all creatures in a prone position. That's something I'd like to add in a sequel, along with the 'trip' combat action.
There are a lot of possibilities with a spell like Grease. Grease cast on a stairway while enemies are climbing down. Grease cast on archers standing on top of castle walls. Grease cast in the middle of a narrow path with bottomless pits on each side. Gust of Wind (to push creatures by several squares) and Rainbow Pattern (creatures follow the pattern wherever you place it) also come to mind.