Halls of Mist attributes and skills

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  • Mikko Lehtinen
    Veteran
    • Sep 2010
    • 1246

    #46
    Proficiencies

    If you have any proficiency points (Lore, Reserves, or Escapes) you may use your proficiencies by pressing 'p' and choosing the proficiency you want to use. You can see your Reserves, Escapes, and Lore points on the left side of the screen below Hits and Mana. The proficiency points are refreshed each time you go down a staircase.

    All characters gain a point of Reserves for every ten experience levels. Reserves points allow you to use the proficiency Recover which is simply Cure Critical Wounds. You can use Recover even when blind or confused.

    Half-faery races (Elf, Dwarf and Gnome) gain a point of Escapes at levels 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45. Escapes point may be used for the proficiency Escape. Choose a direction, and Escape tries hard to teleport you in that direction, usually at least 15 squares away if there are enough empty floor squares to land on in that direction, and never further than 25 squares. You can use Escape while blind or confused. You can't choose a direction if you are confused.

    The flavour of Escape is that the faery races are able to take shortcuts through the Faery Realm, which has a strong presence in the Halls of Mist. If you know where to look, you can find a small portal (a "mouse-hole") and enter through it to the Faery Realm. Then you shift back to the physical world, in a different location.

    Lore

    Code:
    MEM+WIS         LORE POINTS     AVAILABLE PROFICIENCIES
    20+             Lore 1          Alertness, Identify
    30+             *Lore* 1        Alertness, Identify Pack, Study Item
    40+             *Lore* 2
    50+             *Lore* 3
    60              *Lore* 4
    
    * Stand next to a bookshelf to get +3 to Lore calculations.
    * Stand in a Circle of Knowledge to get +7 to Lore calculations.


    Lore points and available proficiencies are derived from your Memory and Wisdom. As you can see in the table, MEM+WIS 20+ gives you access to Common Lore, with two proficiencies:
    • Alertness. +4 to armour class, +10 to saving throw, and +25 to finding traps and warding runes and to noticing invisible creatures next to you. The bonuses last until you leave the dungeon level.
    • Identify.


    You gain access to Greater Lore, also known as *Lore*, when your MEM+WIS reaches 30+. At first, you don't get any extra Lore points.
    • Alertness. It doesn't get any better at first. However, the effects cumulate in case you spend multiple *Lore* points on Alertness.
    • Identify Pack.
    • Study Item. Make a skill check: Alchemy for potions, Perception otherwise. If you succeed, you *Identify* the item fully. For potions, that also means learning their ingredients and all potions that can be mixed using this potion as one of the integrients. Note that Halls of Mist has an artifact memory -- information about *Identified* artifacts is kept for future generations of player characters.


    Templars

    Templars get Fencing proficiency in place of Alertness. When they gain access to Greater Lore they will also get Archery proficiency.

    Fencing gives an extra sword blow against persons and humanoids until you leave the dungeon level.

    Archery gives +2 to your bow might multiplier until you leave the dungeon level.

    Both of these proficiencies cumulate in case you spend multiple *Lore* points on them.
    Last edited by Mikko Lehtinen; August 30, 2012, 08:07.

    Comment

    • Mikko Lehtinen
      Veteran
      • Sep 2010
      • 1246

      #47
      Question: Why is MEM+WIS so important? It's used in both Lore calculations and Ritual Magic?
      Answer: This way spellcasters have a good reason not to use the other stat as their dump stat.

      Question: Shouldn't you always aim at having exactly 20 or 30 points in MEM+WIS?
      Answer: Bookshelves and Circles of Knowledge are designed to complicate min-maxing. Lots of numbers, like 17, 23 and 27, work very well. Besides, stats go up and down all the time.

      Comment

      • Mikko Lehtinen
        Veteran
        • Sep 2010
        • 1246

        #48
        Documentation is going well. The only important thing still missing is a longish article about combat mechanics and tactics, including rules for ambushing, high ground, and cover.

        The really simple skill checks made documenting the many features depending on them very easy. Seems that the underlying simplicity allows me to cram lots more crunch into the game without it becoming unmanageable.

        Modifiers to skill checks are in many cases unnecessary. Consider Disarming in Angband. The skill increases with player level, the difficulty with dungeon level. The complicated rules don't really add anything to the game.

        I'm going to stop the documentation project for at least a couple of days, maybe for the whole weekend. I'll be glad to answer questions, though.

        Comment

        • Mikko Lehtinen
          Veteran
          • Sep 2010
          • 1246

          #49
          I might do a printable pdf documentation for Halls of Mist. It's sort of what I do for living, so it should turn out to be professional quality.

          Any artists out there who'd like to help? It would be fun to have a fantasy, immortalt occultist/demonologist version of the Thin White Duke! Nothing too fancy needed.

          What's the most common paper size you guys use when printing? Here in Finland we always use A4. I'm worrying that you Americans might have some crazy conventions.

          EDIT: The biggest benefit from the gameplay perspective would be printable stat tables with all the bonuses in one place. Stats are the heart of the game, and this would make them much more transparent.
          Last edited by Mikko Lehtinen; August 30, 2012, 10:30.

          Comment

          • ekolis
            Knight
            • Apr 2007
            • 921

            #50
            We usually use 8.5"x11" paper, which we call "letter" size... hmm, what is that in cm? Let's see... 21.59cm by 27.94cm? The conversion factor is 2.54, right?
            You read the scroll labeled NOBIMUS UPSCOTI...
            You are surrounded by a stasis field!
            The tengu tries to teleport, but fails!

            Comment

            • Mikko Lehtinen
              Veteran
              • Sep 2010
              • 1246

              #51
              Thanks. Looks like I'll be able to prepare only one document, and print two PDFs with slightly different margins.

              Comment

              • Mikko Lehtinen
                Veteran
                • Sep 2010
                • 1246

                #52
                I had a nerdy idea: a tabletop RPG version of Halls of Mist. All it would really need would be slightly modified combat and Device skills, plus a new skill Persuasion to handle social conflicts.

                I could tell the players to first solo play the roguelike to dungeon level 12. There the characters would meet, and the tabletop roleplaying session would begin.

                Comment

                • buzzkill
                  Prophet
                  • May 2008
                  • 2939

                  #53
                  Originally posted by Mikko Lehtinen
                  What's the most common paper size you guys use when printing? Here in Finland we always use A4. I'm worrying that you Americans might have some crazy conventions.
                  Here in America, we use circular sheets of paper, the text being printed as an inward spiral with a steadily decreasing font size
                  www.mediafire.com/buzzkill - Get your 32x32 tiles here. UT32 now compatible Ironband and Quickband 9/6/2012.
                  My banding life on Buzzkill's ladder.

                  Comment

                  • Nick
                    Vanilla maintainer
                    • Apr 2007
                    • 9637

                    #54
                    Originally posted by buzzkill
                    Here in America, we use circular sheets of paper, the text being printed as an inward spiral with a steadily decreasing font size
                    Crazy! Why can't you use hexagons like normal people?
                    One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
                    In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

                    Comment

                    • Mikko Lehtinen
                      Veteran
                      • Sep 2010
                      • 1246

                      #55
                      Where can I find a tool to make a conversion for my Israeli audience? Eytan Zweig will probably want to play too!

                      Comment

                      • Mikko Lehtinen
                        Veteran
                        • Sep 2010
                        • 1246

                        #56
                        Originally posted by Mikko Lehtinen
                        I had a nerdy idea: a tabletop RPG version of Halls of Mist. All it would really need would be slightly modified combat and Device skills, plus a new skill Persuasion to handle social conflicts.

                        I could tell the players to first solo play the roguelike to dungeon level 12. There the characters would meet, and the tabletop roleplaying session would begin.
                        Hey! I just leveled up to Knight with this post.

                        This thread is a very good place to farm for experience.

                        Comment

                        • Mikko Lehtinen
                          Veteran
                          • Sep 2010
                          • 1246

                          #57
                          Originally posted by Mikko Lehtinen
                          Hey! I just leveled up to Knight with this post.

                          This thread is a very good place to farm for experience.
                          Hopefully the maintainer does not invent any antiscumming practises (like the infamous "player may not reply to his own posts"). It kills the gameplay. IMHO it's up to the player whether he scums or not.
                          Last edited by Mikko Lehtinen; August 30, 2012, 14:36.

                          Comment

                          • ekolis
                            Knight
                            • Apr 2007
                            • 921

                            #58
                            Ed casts Despammle!
                            Mikko is prevented from spamming!
                            Mikko tries to spam the thread, but he is prevented from spamming!

                            You read the scroll labeled NOBIMUS UPSCOTI...
                            You are surrounded by a stasis field!
                            The tengu tries to teleport, but fails!

                            Comment

                            • ekolis
                              Knight
                              • Apr 2007
                              • 921

                              #59
                              Darn, now I kinda miss the spamming...
                              Ed emits a Disruptive Wave!
                              All magical effects on Mikko are removed!

                              :P
                              You read the scroll labeled NOBIMUS UPSCOTI...
                              You are surrounded by a stasis field!
                              The tengu tries to teleport, but fails!

                              Comment

                              • Mikko Lehtinen
                                Veteran
                                • Sep 2010
                                • 1246

                                #60
                                Too late!

                                Like always happens with anti-scumming methods, the player will always find unintuitive and unrealistic ways to farm experience points anyway.

                                You can use this very case as an example. I was supposed to document my upcoming roguelike for the benefit of all the players, but anti-scumming methods prevented me from doing so. So I for started talking about v4 INT and WIS definitions, and simultaneously to design a super-simple, skill-based new combat system... Just for the experience points.

                                You can't stop the scumming! Anti-scumming methods kill the gameplay!

                                Comment

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