I previously spoke about this in my Miscellaneous Suggestions thread, but the number of replies and re-replies was staggering and mostly about runesmithing, so that's now moved to this thread.
TLDR:
Runesmithing - A new concept of item improvement. Runesmithing would be a separate skill for mages alone or maybe a profession not tied to your class. Upon selecting an item, the runesmith could attempt to 'carve' a rune onto it. Depending on the rune, the skill of the runesmith, and the carvability of the item, the success, and failure rate of the application would vary. Failure wouldn't destroy the item, but it would 'warp' it, reducing damage/debuffing the weapon. It would also be highly inefficient, consuming a percentage of extra mana for abilities. Success would apply the rune on the item, providing the buffs of that rune onto the weapon. For example, say, if a smith successfully applied an Arcane (Say, tier 4) tier Gargaroth rune, it would increase the damage of the item by (Base rune strength x tier of the rune) and also provide a bloodlust ability, of the tier of the rune. Each rune would have tiers - Simple, Advanced, Complex, Arcane, Enigmatic, and Paradoxical. Higher tiers would have reduced success rates but highly increased buffs.
Of course, not all runes would immediately be available to the runesmith. Runes would be unlocked either by finding rare scrolls, unlocking them by deciphering runes on runesmithed items (Where the deciphering uses up the rune applied on the item), or by learning them from a teacher. (Another player could impart knowledge to them by meeting them physically. To make this not as easy as clicking a button, perhaps make both student and teacher would have to repeatedly click an experience bottle in a row of items, like whack-a-mole. Each click would impart a percent of the knowledge of a rune and when it reaches 100%, it stops and the knowledge is imparted. If the process is interrupted in between, the player has 'Incomplete Knowledge' of the rune. If they attempt to carve it, nine out of ten times it would cause the item to warp uncontrollably and do weird stuff. The tenth time it would just blow up). And perhaps runesmithing would require the player to use a special table/runic anvil, and applying a rune would consume a ' (tier) Mana-Infused Stylus', depending on the tier of the rune, as well as a vial of tiered essence, which would be consumed on use. This tiered essence would be obtained by alchemists extracting magical energies from a special rock found in magically unstable places.
Some of the more powerful forms of the runes (tier 3+) would require you to travel to a region highly attuned to that rune's type. For example, a smith wishing to etch an Infernal rune tier 3 would have to place the runic altar amidst a ring of flames, an Enigmatic one over a lava pool, and a Paradoxical one suspended over an active volcano. This would encourage the player to travel the world to find the most exotic places to etch the most powerful runes.
And then there are Surges. A surge is a powerful change in the magical environment. This might be caused by either a powerful natural phenomenon like a lightning strike or a group of mages/priests all spam-casting their spells at once (Assuming they are the same subclass). Etching a rune during a surge would cause mutations in the rune that would give it properties similar to the type of the surge.
Another concept I came up with was the Aura. An etched rune would have an 'aura' if it was etched in an area highly attuned to one element. This aura would make the rune and the weapon itself attuned to that element, making it deal some of that elemental damage, work better in that environment, etc.
Perhaps certain quests would unlock runes. Perhaps studying the remains of magical beasts under a special lens would do so (For example, the Gargaroth rune mentioned earlier might be unlocked either from the weapon or the remains of a being called Gargaroth). As for the increasing tiers, perhaps when a smith has carved a rune enough times, he would unlock the next tier of that rune.
Immortal:
Runesmithing - A new concept of item improvement. Runesmithing would be a separate skill for mages alone or maybe a profession not tied to your class. Upon selecting an item, the runesmith could attempt to 'carve' a rune onto it. Depending on the rune, the skill of the runesmith, and the carvability of the item, the success and failure rate of the application would vary. Failure wouldn't destroy the item, but it would 'warp' it, reducing damage/debuffing the weapon. It would also be highly inefficient, consuming a percentage of extra mana for abilities. Success would apply the rune on the item, providing the buffs of that rune onto the weapon. For example, say, if a smith successfully applied an Arcane (Say, tier 4) tier Gargaroth rune, it would increase the damage of the item by (Base rune strength x tier of the rune) and also provide a bloodlust ability, of the tier of the rune. Each rune would have tiers - Simple, Advanced, Complex, Arcane, Enigmatic, and Paradoxical. Higher tiers would have reduced success rates but highly increased buffs. Of course, not all runes would immediately be available to the runesmith. Runes would be unlocked either by finding rare scrolls, unlocking them by deciphering runes on runesmithed items (Where the deciphering uses up the rune applied on the item), or by learning them from a teacher. (Another player could impart knowledge to them by meeting them physically. To make this not as easy as clicking a button, perhaps make both student an teacher would have to repeatedly click an experience bottle in a row of items, like whack-a-mole. Each click would impart a percent of the knowledge of a rune and when it reaches 100%, it stops and the knowledge is imparted. If the process is interrupted in between, the player has 'Incomplete Knowledge' of the rune. If they attempt to carve it, nine out of ten times it would cause the item to warp uncontrollably and do weird stuff. The tenth time it would just blow up). And perhaps runesmithing would require the player to use a special table/runic anvil, and applying a rune would consume a ' (tier) Font-Infused Stylus', depending on the tier of the rune. Perhaps certain quests would unlock runes. Perhaps studying the remains of magical beasts under a special lens would do so (For example, the Gargaroth rune mentioned earlier might be unlocked either from the weapon or the remains of a being called Gargaroth). As for the increasing tiers, perhaps when a smith has carved a rune enough times, he would unlock the next tier of that rune.
Kabby:
Runesmith:
- All around a pretty good system, though making professions be class dependant is a bit iffy to me. Especially for the future when the server might have 10+ classes. You could just add gem slots to items which you're then able to buy or craft if you pick runesmithing as your profession. To link runesmithing with mages, maybe you could have mages get +10 runesmithing or something, but then you'd have to do that for other classes too, maybe a knight being a better armorsmith and a priest a better enchanter. Another problem with Runesmithing is that it seems like an important aspect of the world and would thus be needed to be added to the official lore in a way that doesn't make the just appear out of thin air, literally. Maybe they were first made in the first era of Eturia or something. Also, they reverted back to Mana so no font-infused stuff. Obviously, I do like the idea of quests giving recipes as I've already discussed this on another suggestion. Also if you'd make this a legitimate profession, you'd need it to cost more than just mana. Maybe special rock similar to RuneScape that miners would have to mine for you. Maybe you need to trap some special essence in a potion so being an alchemist would help.
Immortal:
'making professions be class dependant is a bit iffy to me. Especially for the future when the server might have 10+ classes'
I agree completely with this and the next suggestion. Perhaps Mages would have boosts to success rates/power of magic runes like those that fire blasts of energy upon shift r click and such, while, say a cleric would have bonuses to healing runes.
As for lore, I suspect it would be quite easy to integrate it with Kain. Perhaps Kain was experimenting with magic and accidentally blasted an item in the corner of the room which imbibed it with certain powers, and he then developed it from there. Or perhaps it was a skill learned from ancient scrolls found in the ruins of a fallen civilization.
'Maybe special rock similar to RuneScape that miners would have to mine for you. Maybe you need to trap some special essence in a potion so being an alchemist would help.' An excellent idea. Perhaps to draw the rune you need to first dip the stylus in a vial of tiered magical essence, which would use it up. And the essence would be made by alchemists extracting it from the rocks found in zones where magic has tampered with reality (Lore/Quest related zones?). The best of both worlds!
Kabby:
Regarding runesmithing, I guess you could make it so different classes would get different benefits if they're a runesmith, but I'd rather have only mages have a benefit in it, while other classes get benefits on other professions.
Also, adding it into the lore wouldn't be that hard (obviously we are yet to see all of it) and this might be a thing that was going to be added in the game anyways.
And yeah, for runesmithing it would be good for it to require those three things. 1. A runestone 2. Magical essence (possibly this could dictate what the rune is, maybe from a pool of a few?) 3. Mana to bind it. Outside of those three, you'd need to be on the correct level of runesmithing and be at a runesmithing anvil or altar, whichever would be used.
Immortal:
An altar would be cool. Perhaps also doing the runesmithing in certain magically unstable locations would lead to 'mutations'. Essentially, when you etch a rune onto a weapon, there's a chance that the energies around it will be absorbed as well, causing either a random empowerment of the weapon or a weakening, or even a random enchant or ability. Both pros and cons to it. Also, perhaps a Pliability system. Items that are more pliable have a higher success rate to lower runes, but a lower success rate to higher tier runes because the Pliability means some deformation is there and that prevents the precise etching required for more complex runes. However, tougher items would have lower success chances for lower tier runes but higher ones for higher tier runes.
Another factor would be location. We wouldn't want the runesmith to sit at home and make the most powerful weapon in history. Imagine a Smith wanted to enchant a sword with a tier 3+ Flaming rune. He would then have to go to an extreme source of heat, place his runic altar there and then proceed to etch it. The higher the tier, the more extreme the heat source would have to be. For example, arcane would require a circle of flames, enigmatic a lava pool of sorts and paradoxical a full fledged active volcano. For, say, a powerful Anaklusmos Rune, you would have to be under water at varying depths and surrounded by corals or something for the higher tiers. This would encourage the runesmith to travel the world to find the most exotic places for the runesmithing of their weapon.
Kabby:
I think adding something random to the runes would spice it up, but it shouldn't just give you garbage. Maybe a bit weaker or a bit stronger. Maybe you could get another rune on top? I do like the pliability system, that way weapons of poorer quality couldn't be upgraded with the strongest levels of runes.
I do think having different locations for the runesmithing is good. I think having a lot of different magical areas that had some meaning in the lore. For fire, the best place could be something like the Blackrock Mountain from WOW. I talked about this a bit earlier in another post, but I do like the idea of certain materials and items would need to be crafted in special places. You could then have an underwater temple dungeon etc. Maybe go atop the tallest mountain where the winds blow super hard and there is a lot of storms for wind type runes or a holy temple in the middle of the lands.
Immortal:
Do you know what would be cool? Visiting a place where there actually was a mass killing ('The Mob' rampage site?) to enchant a powerful rune of Bloodlust or a damage rune.
As for an element of randomness in runes, perhaps a strong elemental/magical surge nearby (Lightning strike/many mages using their skills at once/flooding/something else) would cause warping in the rune itself, scrambling the success and failure rates, as well as the tier of the rune. Perhaps it would also add some random small weaknesses or strengths, depending on the surge.
But even without a surge, there should be an element of randomness. Perhaps if there is too much power difference between you and the rune (For example, a lvl 7 runesmith applying a lvl 1 rune), the rune would gain too much power and would mutate, bringing in random strengths and weaknesses. This would prevent the highly powerful runesmiths from having a monopoly on business and encourage more and more people to keep joining the ranks of the runesmiths. Or maybe I'm overthinking this and there should always be a small margin of mutation for each rune applied.
Kabby:
Epic
As for the runes, I do think that high-level runesmiths should be able to apply low-level runes, as that way there would never be situations where you really couldn't get a low-level rune as all of the smiths are too high-level. I do though like the idea of that you could kinda manipulate the randomness if you have a group of friends all casting like holy magic.
Immortal:
True. Since the motto of Dyescape IS collaboration, it would make sense for a runesmith to hire friends to rapidly cast spells to tilt the runes he applies to that surge type. Also, instead of the power difference system, perhaps if a runesmith is crafting a rune that he has never crafted before, then it will have a higher chance of mutation. And perhaps already magical items like enchanted items would react weirdly because the magic already present in them would try to repel/amalgamate with the rune's magic, causing mutations and more warp.
Kabby:
Yeah, I do think that when you're first crafting a rune, it should have a higher chance at mutating. There should also be a way to intentionally mutate the rune, maybe through some strong fel or void energy? And yeah I do think trying to apply runes to already enchanted items would make the rune mutate more easily.
Immortal:
Hmm....void energy.....
An idea of mine is that when a powerful enough player mage is killed by other players, that should release a powerful magical surge too that highly increases mutation chance. Also, perhaps if there is any portal in the lore, or a collapsed one or the site of an interdimensional incursion, runesmithing there would give the rune a special 'Dimensional' aura.
Auras of runes are another idea of mine. When a rune is enchanted in an environment powerfully attuned to one element or the other, the rune would have an aura of that element when applied to the weapon. What this would mean is the weapon would have properties of that element. For example, crafting a rune in an active volcano would lend the entire weapon and the rune applied a powerful fiery aspect, increasing fire damage applied by it or adding some if none existed in the first place, making it deal more damage in hellish environments, etc.
TLDR:
Runesmithing - A new concept of item improvement. Runesmithing would be a separate skill for mages alone or maybe a profession not tied to your class. Upon selecting an item, the runesmith could attempt to 'carve' a rune onto it. Depending on the rune, the skill of the runesmith, and the carvability of the item, the success, and failure rate of the application would vary. Failure wouldn't destroy the item, but it would 'warp' it, reducing damage/debuffing the weapon. It would also be highly inefficient, consuming a percentage of extra mana for abilities. Success would apply the rune on the item, providing the buffs of that rune onto the weapon. For example, say, if a smith successfully applied an Arcane (Say, tier 4) tier Gargaroth rune, it would increase the damage of the item by (Base rune strength x tier of the rune) and also provide a bloodlust ability, of the tier of the rune. Each rune would have tiers - Simple, Advanced, Complex, Arcane, Enigmatic, and Paradoxical. Higher tiers would have reduced success rates but highly increased buffs.
Of course, not all runes would immediately be available to the runesmith. Runes would be unlocked either by finding rare scrolls, unlocking them by deciphering runes on runesmithed items (Where the deciphering uses up the rune applied on the item), or by learning them from a teacher. (Another player could impart knowledge to them by meeting them physically. To make this not as easy as clicking a button, perhaps make both student and teacher would have to repeatedly click an experience bottle in a row of items, like whack-a-mole. Each click would impart a percent of the knowledge of a rune and when it reaches 100%, it stops and the knowledge is imparted. If the process is interrupted in between, the player has 'Incomplete Knowledge' of the rune. If they attempt to carve it, nine out of ten times it would cause the item to warp uncontrollably and do weird stuff. The tenth time it would just blow up). And perhaps runesmithing would require the player to use a special table/runic anvil, and applying a rune would consume a ' (tier) Mana-Infused Stylus', depending on the tier of the rune, as well as a vial of tiered essence, which would be consumed on use. This tiered essence would be obtained by alchemists extracting magical energies from a special rock found in magically unstable places.
Some of the more powerful forms of the runes (tier 3+) would require you to travel to a region highly attuned to that rune's type. For example, a smith wishing to etch an Infernal rune tier 3 would have to place the runic altar amidst a ring of flames, an Enigmatic one over a lava pool, and a Paradoxical one suspended over an active volcano. This would encourage the player to travel the world to find the most exotic places to etch the most powerful runes.
And then there are Surges. A surge is a powerful change in the magical environment. This might be caused by either a powerful natural phenomenon like a lightning strike or a group of mages/priests all spam-casting their spells at once (Assuming they are the same subclass). Etching a rune during a surge would cause mutations in the rune that would give it properties similar to the type of the surge.
Another concept I came up with was the Aura. An etched rune would have an 'aura' if it was etched in an area highly attuned to one element. This aura would make the rune and the weapon itself attuned to that element, making it deal some of that elemental damage, work better in that environment, etc.
Perhaps certain quests would unlock runes. Perhaps studying the remains of magical beasts under a special lens would do so (For example, the Gargaroth rune mentioned earlier might be unlocked either from the weapon or the remains of a being called Gargaroth). As for the increasing tiers, perhaps when a smith has carved a rune enough times, he would unlock the next tier of that rune.
Immortal:
Runesmithing - A new concept of item improvement. Runesmithing would be a separate skill for mages alone or maybe a profession not tied to your class. Upon selecting an item, the runesmith could attempt to 'carve' a rune onto it. Depending on the rune, the skill of the runesmith, and the carvability of the item, the success and failure rate of the application would vary. Failure wouldn't destroy the item, but it would 'warp' it, reducing damage/debuffing the weapon. It would also be highly inefficient, consuming a percentage of extra mana for abilities. Success would apply the rune on the item, providing the buffs of that rune onto the weapon. For example, say, if a smith successfully applied an Arcane (Say, tier 4) tier Gargaroth rune, it would increase the damage of the item by (Base rune strength x tier of the rune) and also provide a bloodlust ability, of the tier of the rune. Each rune would have tiers - Simple, Advanced, Complex, Arcane, Enigmatic, and Paradoxical. Higher tiers would have reduced success rates but highly increased buffs. Of course, not all runes would immediately be available to the runesmith. Runes would be unlocked either by finding rare scrolls, unlocking them by deciphering runes on runesmithed items (Where the deciphering uses up the rune applied on the item), or by learning them from a teacher. (Another player could impart knowledge to them by meeting them physically. To make this not as easy as clicking a button, perhaps make both student an teacher would have to repeatedly click an experience bottle in a row of items, like whack-a-mole. Each click would impart a percent of the knowledge of a rune and when it reaches 100%, it stops and the knowledge is imparted. If the process is interrupted in between, the player has 'Incomplete Knowledge' of the rune. If they attempt to carve it, nine out of ten times it would cause the item to warp uncontrollably and do weird stuff. The tenth time it would just blow up). And perhaps runesmithing would require the player to use a special table/runic anvil, and applying a rune would consume a ' (tier) Font-Infused Stylus', depending on the tier of the rune. Perhaps certain quests would unlock runes. Perhaps studying the remains of magical beasts under a special lens would do so (For example, the Gargaroth rune mentioned earlier might be unlocked either from the weapon or the remains of a being called Gargaroth). As for the increasing tiers, perhaps when a smith has carved a rune enough times, he would unlock the next tier of that rune.
Kabby:
Runesmith:
- All around a pretty good system, though making professions be class dependant is a bit iffy to me. Especially for the future when the server might have 10+ classes. You could just add gem slots to items which you're then able to buy or craft if you pick runesmithing as your profession. To link runesmithing with mages, maybe you could have mages get +10 runesmithing or something, but then you'd have to do that for other classes too, maybe a knight being a better armorsmith and a priest a better enchanter. Another problem with Runesmithing is that it seems like an important aspect of the world and would thus be needed to be added to the official lore in a way that doesn't make the just appear out of thin air, literally. Maybe they were first made in the first era of Eturia or something. Also, they reverted back to Mana so no font-infused stuff. Obviously, I do like the idea of quests giving recipes as I've already discussed this on another suggestion. Also if you'd make this a legitimate profession, you'd need it to cost more than just mana. Maybe special rock similar to RuneScape that miners would have to mine for you. Maybe you need to trap some special essence in a potion so being an alchemist would help.
Immortal:
'making professions be class dependant is a bit iffy to me. Especially for the future when the server might have 10+ classes'
I agree completely with this and the next suggestion. Perhaps Mages would have boosts to success rates/power of magic runes like those that fire blasts of energy upon shift r click and such, while, say a cleric would have bonuses to healing runes.
As for lore, I suspect it would be quite easy to integrate it with Kain. Perhaps Kain was experimenting with magic and accidentally blasted an item in the corner of the room which imbibed it with certain powers, and he then developed it from there. Or perhaps it was a skill learned from ancient scrolls found in the ruins of a fallen civilization.
'Maybe special rock similar to RuneScape that miners would have to mine for you. Maybe you need to trap some special essence in a potion so being an alchemist would help.' An excellent idea. Perhaps to draw the rune you need to first dip the stylus in a vial of tiered magical essence, which would use it up. And the essence would be made by alchemists extracting it from the rocks found in zones where magic has tampered with reality (Lore/Quest related zones?). The best of both worlds!
Kabby:
Regarding runesmithing, I guess you could make it so different classes would get different benefits if they're a runesmith, but I'd rather have only mages have a benefit in it, while other classes get benefits on other professions.
Also, adding it into the lore wouldn't be that hard (obviously we are yet to see all of it) and this might be a thing that was going to be added in the game anyways.
And yeah, for runesmithing it would be good for it to require those three things. 1. A runestone 2. Magical essence (possibly this could dictate what the rune is, maybe from a pool of a few?) 3. Mana to bind it. Outside of those three, you'd need to be on the correct level of runesmithing and be at a runesmithing anvil or altar, whichever would be used.
Immortal:
An altar would be cool. Perhaps also doing the runesmithing in certain magically unstable locations would lead to 'mutations'. Essentially, when you etch a rune onto a weapon, there's a chance that the energies around it will be absorbed as well, causing either a random empowerment of the weapon or a weakening, or even a random enchant or ability. Both pros and cons to it. Also, perhaps a Pliability system. Items that are more pliable have a higher success rate to lower runes, but a lower success rate to higher tier runes because the Pliability means some deformation is there and that prevents the precise etching required for more complex runes. However, tougher items would have lower success chances for lower tier runes but higher ones for higher tier runes.
Another factor would be location. We wouldn't want the runesmith to sit at home and make the most powerful weapon in history. Imagine a Smith wanted to enchant a sword with a tier 3+ Flaming rune. He would then have to go to an extreme source of heat, place his runic altar there and then proceed to etch it. The higher the tier, the more extreme the heat source would have to be. For example, arcane would require a circle of flames, enigmatic a lava pool of sorts and paradoxical a full fledged active volcano. For, say, a powerful Anaklusmos Rune, you would have to be under water at varying depths and surrounded by corals or something for the higher tiers. This would encourage the runesmith to travel the world to find the most exotic places for the runesmithing of their weapon.
Kabby:
I think adding something random to the runes would spice it up, but it shouldn't just give you garbage. Maybe a bit weaker or a bit stronger. Maybe you could get another rune on top? I do like the pliability system, that way weapons of poorer quality couldn't be upgraded with the strongest levels of runes.
I do think having different locations for the runesmithing is good. I think having a lot of different magical areas that had some meaning in the lore. For fire, the best place could be something like the Blackrock Mountain from WOW. I talked about this a bit earlier in another post, but I do like the idea of certain materials and items would need to be crafted in special places. You could then have an underwater temple dungeon etc. Maybe go atop the tallest mountain where the winds blow super hard and there is a lot of storms for wind type runes or a holy temple in the middle of the lands.
Immortal:
Do you know what would be cool? Visiting a place where there actually was a mass killing ('The Mob' rampage site?) to enchant a powerful rune of Bloodlust or a damage rune.
As for an element of randomness in runes, perhaps a strong elemental/magical surge nearby (Lightning strike/many mages using their skills at once/flooding/something else) would cause warping in the rune itself, scrambling the success and failure rates, as well as the tier of the rune. Perhaps it would also add some random small weaknesses or strengths, depending on the surge.
But even without a surge, there should be an element of randomness. Perhaps if there is too much power difference between you and the rune (For example, a lvl 7 runesmith applying a lvl 1 rune), the rune would gain too much power and would mutate, bringing in random strengths and weaknesses. This would prevent the highly powerful runesmiths from having a monopoly on business and encourage more and more people to keep joining the ranks of the runesmiths. Or maybe I'm overthinking this and there should always be a small margin of mutation for each rune applied.
Kabby:
Epic
As for the runes, I do think that high-level runesmiths should be able to apply low-level runes, as that way there would never be situations where you really couldn't get a low-level rune as all of the smiths are too high-level. I do though like the idea of that you could kinda manipulate the randomness if you have a group of friends all casting like holy magic.
Immortal:
True. Since the motto of Dyescape IS collaboration, it would make sense for a runesmith to hire friends to rapidly cast spells to tilt the runes he applies to that surge type. Also, instead of the power difference system, perhaps if a runesmith is crafting a rune that he has never crafted before, then it will have a higher chance of mutation. And perhaps already magical items like enchanted items would react weirdly because the magic already present in them would try to repel/amalgamate with the rune's magic, causing mutations and more warp.
Kabby:
Yeah, I do think that when you're first crafting a rune, it should have a higher chance at mutating. There should also be a way to intentionally mutate the rune, maybe through some strong fel or void energy? And yeah I do think trying to apply runes to already enchanted items would make the rune mutate more easily.
Immortal:
Hmm....void energy.....
An idea of mine is that when a powerful enough player mage is killed by other players, that should release a powerful magical surge too that highly increases mutation chance. Also, perhaps if there is any portal in the lore, or a collapsed one or the site of an interdimensional incursion, runesmithing there would give the rune a special 'Dimensional' aura.
Auras of runes are another idea of mine. When a rune is enchanted in an environment powerfully attuned to one element or the other, the rune would have an aura of that element when applied to the weapon. What this would mean is the weapon would have properties of that element. For example, crafting a rune in an active volcano would lend the entire weapon and the rune applied a powerful fiery aspect, increasing fire damage applied by it or adding some if none existed in the first place, making it deal more damage in hellish environments, etc.
Last edited:
