Except that, I based my RP on actual finks in the actual game. Finks who are a matriarchal society, with powerful winged leaders. Who prove themselves to be warriors by going out and hunting allisaurs. Who fight the gnomes on one front, and the slivven on another. Who have a tendancy to smell a lot.
Where is any of that in the race perks? Nowhere. Are you saying that the finks in the game are not a true representation of the race?
I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not trying to dictate fink rp based on whatever I feel like doing. I went out and did a lot of research on finks before I even became one, so that I would know what I was doing. I just want finks to be finks.
Cause if all of this rp is wrong, then Nikka has based her whole life on untrue things, and I don't know who she is anymore.
EDIT: As for the dexterity thing, please do not accuse me of falsehoods. I am not arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase in damage over, say, the 17 dex illithoid have. I am arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase over 12 dex. Because people have always told me monk hunting was based mostly on dex. Is that untrue? Because if it is, then, I will stop saying so.
Except that, I based my RP on actual finks in the actual game. Finks who are a matriarchal society, with powerful winged leaders. Who prove themselves to be warriors by going out and hunting allisaurs. Who fight the gnomes on one front, and the slivven on another. Who have a tendancy to smell a lot.
Where is any of that in the race perks? Nowhere. Are you saying that the finks in the game are not a true representation of the race?
I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not trying to dictate fink rp based on whatever I feel like doing. I went out and did a lot of research on finks before I even became one, so that I would know what I was doing. I just want finks to be finks.
Cause if all of this rp is wrong, then Nikka has based her whole life on untrue things, and I don't know who she is anymore.
EDIT: As for the dexterity thing, please do not accuse me of falsehoods. I am not arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase in damage over, say, the 17 dex illithoid have. I am arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase over 12 dex. Because people have always told me monk hunting was based mostly on dex. Is that untrue? Because if it is, then, I will stop saying so.
Just because there are some interesting fink NPCs in the game, it doesn't mean that you should expect a certain set of racial abilities. You know the fink lore, so roleplay it. You can do that without getting a 2/10 damage bonus vs allosaurs and slivven.
Stratas is a trill, a shard a legendarily beautiful and artistic Elder Goddess (or insignificant except that she loved a crystal. Opinions vary). As shards, they are known for their beauty, their grace, and their artistic talents. They are the reason why Hallifax is as much about artistry as the Xyl-shards have made it about science, and many of the NPCs there embody this.
And can't nobody say that I don't RP the hell out of Stratas being obsessed with beauty and artistry. While his personality is informed by many, many different things (daddy issues), I got most of my interpretation of him from the Book of Trillillial, and thinking about what kind of shard She would make, and what kind of trill would build Hallifax, and what that kind of shard might be like if he lived in an oppressive, cultish forest with an oppressive, cultish father.
Where is any of that in the race perks?
Let's take a look under the hood for a moment. Cold and Elec resist. Flying. Regen while flying. Bonus damage to -hallifax only specs-. And the ability to stand around for 4 seconds while hoping they don't get beat to death before suddenly hopping to a random room nearby.
Nowhere. Where is the beauty? Where is the charm? What mechanically enables me to be a better artist than anyone else, as a shard of the only Fourth Circle to do so in the Basin (Clangoru doesn't count shut up)? Trill were one of the best influencers -for a reason- and it was because of who they sharded from. Now, since I'm not in Hallifax, it would be mechanically advantageous to pick ANY other race.
But screw that noise! I'm not changing who he is based on the research I've done, because he lost "level 2 seduction bonus". And there's no reason to assume that your vision of finks isn't supported just because there's no mechanical bonus to it any more.
There's no reason to change how you RP finks, and nothing to stop you from sharing what you know with others who want to RP finks. Expand your lore. I don't know everything you've found out, but based on my experiences with finks, there's no reason "really good at telling outlandish stories and overacting" wouldn't fit just fine with them. Hey, keeping with the whole "sharded" thing, maybe Finnikora was really good at acting and dramatics Herself, and Her shards carry it on in a crude and stinky, but effective, way?
It sucks that you paid 500crs for 19 dex and some sweet RPs, and then they took away your dex. I find it hard to believe that 19 dex was worth 500crs to anybody, so I have to assume that while it was -part- of your choice it wasn't the whole of it. But the lack of dex doesn't mean that finks aren't unusually nimble and swift, it just means they don't have a mechanical advantage for it. See if you can fit outlandish stories into fink RP. You pulled it all together in the first place, you should be able to manage. Everything else? Well, cold resist, asphyx resist, and faster turret were the perks before anyways, so... why complain about them? Just go do your thing, and be awesome at it.
The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!
In many respects though, the mechanics didn't reflect the RP in the first place. The histories talk about the taint transforming beings to either being inferior and pathetic (orcs) or becoming increasingly strong and fast and hostile and hungry. So why didn't viscanti have top notch strength and dexterity?
I understand some people feel a bit ripped off about the racial overhaul. But obviously you guys didn't struggle along trying to have your RP and still be somewhat competitive despite having terrible terrible stats. So some of us feel buffed (yay Viscanti AT LAST), and others will feel a bit undercut, but it's about bringing everyone back into the same ballpark. Everyone can play the game now. Some might pitch better, some might bat better, others might field better. But everyone can PLAY, and play competitively. No one is forced onto the benches. Understanding this is better for EVERYONE is the first step to accepting the changes. Sure, there is probably still tweaking to be done, but I am so excited to know I can bash AND influence AND pk AND debate no matter what race I am.
In many respects though, the mechanics didn't reflect the RP in the first place. The histories talk about the taint transforming beings to either being inferior and pathetic (orcs) or becoming increasingly strong and fast and hostile and hungry. So why didn't viscanti have top notch strength and dexterity?
I understand some people feel a bit ripped off about the racial overhaul. But obviously you guys didn't struggle along trying to have your RP and still be somewhat competitive despite having terrible terrible stats. So some of us feel buffed (yay Viscanti AT LAST), and others will feel a bit undercut, but it's about bringing everyone back into the same ballpark. Everyone can play the game now. Some might pitch better, some might bat better, others might field better. But everyone can PLAY, and play competitively. No one is forced onto the benches. Understanding this is better for EVERYONE is the first step to accepting the changes. Sure, there is probably still tweaking to be done, but I am so excited to know I can bash AND influence AND pk AND debate no matter what race I am.
Because viscanti are all descended from sickly merians and Skanky elfen scum.
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
In many respects though, the mechanics didn't reflect the RP in the first place. The histories talk about the taint transforming beings to either being inferior and pathetic (orcs) or becoming increasingly strong and fast and hostile and hungry. So why didn't viscanti have top notch strength and dexterity?
I understand some people feel a bit ripped off about the racial overhaul. But obviously you guys didn't struggle along trying to have your RP and still be somewhat competitive despite having terrible terrible stats. So some of us feel buffed (yay Viscanti AT LAST), and others will feel a bit undercut, but it's about bringing everyone back into the same ballpark. Everyone can play the game now. Some might pitch better, some might bat better, others might field better. But everyone can PLAY, and play competitively. No one is forced onto the benches. Understanding this is better for EVERYONE is the first step to accepting the changes. Sure, there is probably still tweaking to be done, but I am so excited to know I can bash AND influence AND pk AND debate no matter what race I am.
And that all could have been done while keeping the perks related to races, consistent with the mechanical perks of races pre change. Its not like the perks themselves can't be altered to be more reflective of what the mechanical perks (no matter how ineffective) represented pre-change. A previous dex or balance bonus could be translated to a movement speed bonus, as one silly example.
I don't understand the philosophy that says because one aspect of something was changed for the better, we have to ignore the aspect of the change that feels worse, and "move on".
The old bonuses were also measured by having drawbacks. If we wanted to cover all previous bonuses as perks, we would have had to retain maluses, which is something we didn't and still don't want to do. Ultimately a lot of fat was cut and it allowed abilities to be unique to some races, which gives variety and options while at the same time not punishing people who want to be a certain race.
Yes, people find they no longer do certain things, or misunderstood what their stats allowed them to do, which is fair as we've always been closed doors regarding mechanics and formula. There's two reasons they are unable to achieve their previous feats:
1: They were horribly balanced for the overall game, see Trill/Faeling charisma or any of the combat master races.
2: They were loaded against horribly crippling drawbacks that made them inferior races, and frankly without them would have still been a distant second fiddle to the handful of optimal races.
Had we added maluses so that races could have it all again, many races would go back to being in the corner like the last kid picked for sports. And we'd have achieved absolutely nothing with this redesign. That scenario is not happening again.
So, Transmigration AB file hasn't been updated yet. Am I correct in saying that owl familiar (+1 Int) will now speed up equilibrium, and this will apply to influence battles?
The old bonuses were also measured by having drawbacks. If we wanted to cover all previous bonuses as perks, we would have had to retain maluses, which is something we didn't and still don't want to do. Ultimately a lot of fat was cut and it allowed abilities to be unique to some races, which gives variety and options while at the same time not punishing people who want to be a certain race.
Yes, people find they no longer do certain things, or misunderstood what their stats allowed them to do, which is fair as we've always been closed doors regarding mechanics and formula. There's two reasons they are unable to achieve their previous feats:
1: They were horribly balanced for the overall game, see Trill/Faeling charisma or any of the combat master races.
2: They were loaded against horribly crippling drawbacks that made them inferior races, and frankly without them would have still been a distant second fiddle to the handful of optimal races.
Had we added maluses so that races could have it all again, many races would go back to being in the corner like the last kid picked for sports. And we'd have achieved absolutely nothing with this redesign. That scenario is not happening again.
Again, a false dichotomy.
Just to give an example, in D&D it used to be that races got bonuses and malus to their stats. Things evolved over time and by D&D 4, there were only bonuses, each race got the same bonuses and equivalent power perk, and yet the races still had the same feel and stereotypes from the original D&D.
The question wasn't so much what bonuses and drawbacks the races actually had, but what those bonuses and drawbacks told you about the race.
Just another random bad example... a race that was known for being slow, could have a perk that turns such a trait on its head. e.g., "Dimwitted": Race has 3/10 resistance to spells attacking the mind, or "Slow and Steady": Max movement rate bonus of 1, and Immune to effects which prevent movement between rooms.
Finks in particular could have gotten a perk like "Quick reflexes": 1/10 damage bonus for cutting/blunt and 1/10 resistance against non-magical attacks. To represent the super high dex that they had before, instead of getting influencing bonuses.
@Qistrel - Dex does not affect damage and it never did. You've been told that several times now and you keep ignoring it. This was hammered home when the admin changed STR to be base 16 because it did affect monk and warrior damage but left Dex at base 12 because it didn't affect damage.
@Daganev and @Qistrel - What you guys are arguing over and getting upset about is a 3% buff or resistance to 1 or 2 damage types. Would it be a big deal if Finks got a 1/8 buff to cutting/blunt? No, it wouldn't, it's only a 3% difference (3 extra damage for every 100 dealt). Unfortunately, the reverse is true as well, it's not a big deal that they don't have those bonuses because they are only 3%. It doesn't make them dramatically worse than any other race and adding it in won't make them dramatically better than any other race.
You're making mountains out of molehills, and refusing to listen to any point that doesn't fit your idea of what your race should be. If anything, finks have a more unique perk in that their performance abilities are boosted. Not a single other race has that perk, where buffs/resists/influencing bonuses are all over the place.
@Qistrel - Dex does not affect damage and it never did. You've been told that several times now and you keep ignoring it. This was hammered home when the admin changed STR to be base 16 because it did affect monk and warrior damage but left Dex at base 12 because it didn't affect damage.
@Daganev and @Qistrel - What you guys are arguing over and getting upset about is a 3% buff or resistance to 1 or 2 damage types. Would it be a big deal if Finks got a 1/8 buff to cutting/blunt? No, it wouldn't, it's only a 3% difference (3 extra damage for every 100 dealt). Unfortunately, the reverse is true as well, it's not a big deal that they don't have those bonuses because they are only 3%. It doesn't make them dramatically worse than any other race and adding it in won't make them dramatically better than any other race.
You're making mountains out of molehills, and refusing to listen to any point that doesn't fit your idea of what your race should be. If anything, finks have a more unique perk in that their performance abilities are boosted. Not a single other race has that perk, where buffs/resists/influencing bonuses are all over the place.
And you are refusing to listen to our point of view as well. I'm not sure if it's on purpose or not, but talking to walls is not fun. The degree of impact of the perk is less important than the image evoked by that perk.
I specifically acknowledged that the perks have a low impact in the mechanics in an absolute sense.. but it's a relatively large impact. A 2/10 vs a 1/10 bonus might be a 3% gain, but it's a 10% relative improvement.
The question isn't if the perks can be justified based on the lore,the question is if the first thing that comes to mind from the perk, is consistent with those that came to mind before the race change when looking at the previous perks.
I'm really unsure where this whole thing is coming from but why are we still arguing about perks that are supposed to 'define a race'. You claim to be a roleplayer and interested primarily in the RP aspect of your race. I will repeat myself here and say that a mechanical buff in no way defines your race or how you should roleplay it. Even if you were playing a 9 cha race, nothing prevents you from roleplaying that your particular character is actually charismatic. In much the same way, having 18 cha doesn't immediately transform your roleplay into that of someone who is practically as charismatic as a Divine. It's just a number that is used when you're pretty much doing anything but roleplaying. The same applies to the current perks and the excuse "but it's for my roleplay" is about as much use in the discussion as saying "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain"
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
@Daganev - going from 1/10 to 2/10 is a 2.9% relative increase. I don't know where you get your 10% from, but relative change is (1.06-1.03)/1.03
In another thread, @Akyaevin showed that going from 10/10 to 13/13 is a 6.9% relative increase ((1.39-1.30)/1.30).
I personally feel that the answer to your last posed question is mostly 'yes' the same things come to mind after the overhaul rather that came to mind before the overhaul. The only one I think doesn't really fit is Illithoid and their influencing prowess now. The mechanical perks associated with the races back up my perceived notions on the race and I think overall the racial overhaul will accomplish quite a lot for balance and parity.
@Daganev - going from 1/10 to 2/10 is a 2.9% relative increase. I don't know where you get your 10% from, but relative change is (1.06-1.03)/1.03
In another thread, @Akyaevin showed that going from 10/10 to 13/13 is a 6.9% relative increase ((1.39-1.30)/1.30).
I personally feel that the answer to your last posed question is mostly 'yes' the same things come to mind after the overhaul rather that came to mind before the overhaul. The only one I think doesn't really fit is Illithoid and their influencing prowess now. The mechanical perks associated with the races back up my perceived notions on the race and I think overall the racial overhaul will accomplish quite a lot for balance and parity.
You are too focused on the actual mechanics to understand what I am saying. To a person looking at the help files, who doesn't know the formulas used: 1/10 = 1 out of 10 possible bonuses = 0.1 2/10 = 2 buffs out of 10 possible buffs = 0.2
2.9% is the actual increase.
Sorry, but I have a hard time beleiving your last point. What about the new Fink perks makes you believe that Finks are very dexterous and prone to be monks or warriors? What in the old perks made you think that Finks would be particularly good at using scents to influence, or were good at influencing at all?
I thought we all already agreed that the racial perks were picked by throwing a box and seeing where it landed? Talan's theory is sound here...
Sarcasm aside, yes a lot of flavor is missing in the racial perks, and truth be told the system itself feels rushed and could have used some more brainstorming. I mean, so many alone have an influence bonus now...which just feels like a "let's fill this gap with X too" concept.
Frankly, I know I am preaching to an empty room here, but for boredom's sake, here is an example of what I think would have been a much more fun and engaging concept for Fink perks:
Level 1: Burrowers: Finks have learnt in life that being hidden can give you the advantage to capture any prey. They can use the BURROW command.
Level 25: Scavenger: Having evolved in a harsh environment, Finks have become natural scavengers, Can use the SECRETS ability to locate any hidden exits. If they already have the SECRETS ability, then using it will now uncover any hidden creatures or items in the room.
Level 50: Bring them Down: When their ancestral rivals, the Gnomes, first crashed upon the Fink home world, a feud has existed every since. Not to be undone by their enemy, Finks have learned the basics of Aetherspace combat and become proficient at it. 5% increase crit to Turrets.
Demigod: Dirty Fighter: Finks care little for concepts of 'honorable fighting' and only look to get the edge in any situation. 5% Chance for a Fink player to edge around and slash at a target (player or mob) that attacks them, causing minor damage and bleeding.
Demigod+ male: Dirty Fighter will now reduce the damage from an attack by a mob. Increased to 10%.
Demigod+ female: Female Finks may ascend in their racial status and become a Matriarch, sprouting bat-like wings to take flight and becoming a terror of the skies.
And there we have it, a lovely set of flavorful perks that arent too crazy and seem right for the price of 500. Im not saying the current ones -must- be changed, because I can see it is obviously a losing battle, but just a forethought.
(Additionally, I would like to state that Finks really are not -that- proficient at Aetherspace. Heck they didnt even have anything to do with the creation of saling them. The only main interaction finks have with Aether technology is a Gnome ship that crashed on their planet and then several of them got dragged off in it and stuck in Lusternia because of gnomes on it. Basically all they know is "big metal ship can shoot people, let's figure out how". Technically their information on aetherships is really not all that advanced compared to other races. It is all Gnomes)
I want to chime in again and mention I'm very pro-Overhaul. Not sure if I made that clear or not. The idea of being able to experiment with new and different RP ideas (like a tae'dae warrior-poet, or a viscanti bard) and not be punished for it is a great one. And people should base their RP on whatever they want. Stratas is based on the idea of Trillillial. I have another trill who is not. But if we base our RP on IG things, we -always- have to be prepared to be wrong, since we don't know and the admin do (for better or for worse).
Buuuut.... again, I'm not sure that has actually happened. Beyond changing PC mechanics, nothing about IG lore has changed. You're not going to go to Newton and get the title Hero of the Finks because you helped train them to shoot aetherturrets. The aethersbubble quest isn't going to change to helping them build a kabuki theater. They're still going to be smelly, they're still going to be good at killing allisaurs (protip: as a PC you're already better at allisaur killing than any NPC fink!), and they're still going to be lead by giant winged matriarchs. Nothing about that has changed, ESPECIALLY since three of the remaining fink perks are -exactly the same-. And again, I havent done as much research, but what I do know would lead me to believe fink culture prides itself on hamfisted overacting way more than I would believe they're faster than Aslaran.
tl;dr - changes to mechanics neither change nor undermine your RP. Continue to do whatever you wanted to do before, because now you can without penalty.
The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!
@Baelor How large is the boost to balance from balance boosting skills intended to be? Trying to work out if there will be a noticeable difference between Acrobatics Limber and Psymet Enhancement, but I'm not 100% sure how to put timestamps on my prompts.
As for other things, @Synkarin I apologise for not believing dex affected damage. I actually didn't believe you. But it seems the testing I did was wrong.
@Daganev - I think you still misunderstand the way the system works
the second number isn't possible buffs, it's the maximum buff this will give you. You can have 50 1/10 buffs, and you'll still only have 10 buff. You can have 10 buffs and not be at 10.
The actual overall increase in damage is 3%. If you dealt 100 damage, 1/10 would give you 103 damage, 2/10 would give you 106 damage. The relative change between 106 and 103 is 2.9%
As to the Finks, I always pictured them as conniving freeloaders. Stealing gnome technology, refering to their overlord Mother using the hardwork of others to get ahead. Kind of like a greasy used car salesman selling you a POS for twice what it's worth. I never pictured them as dexterous or nimble. The warriors that you train on Muckle aren't really nimble or dexterous, they kind of just throw themselves at the allisaurs and hope for the best iirc. The finks in Newton are similiar, with a 'swing away' mentality.
I'll be the first to admit I don't know the in's and out's the way @Qistrel does, but that's my general impression given the muckle and newton finks that I've seen. I've done the quest on Muckle (had to for my aetherepic).
It's obviously true that the mechanics do not defined a race. At the same time, there is no reason for a race to have any perks at all.
However once you decide to maintain perks, it would have been nice if those perks matched the flavor in an obvious way, rather than causing people to scratch their heads.
"'Cause the fighting don't stop till I walk in." -Synkarin's Lament.
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Cyndarinused Flamethrower! It was super effective.
Fun fact: the racial overhaul was not "rushed". It was proposed by the admin, posted on forums, and input was given by many people. There have been at least a dozen or more changes based on that feedback both before and after the implementation that I can name just off the top of my head. For example, kephera demigod skill was only basic robes, and I suggested splendour level. Male keph demi+ was just cutting/blunt reduction, now it covers poison, fire, cold, asphyx as well. There was extensive testing with Igasho just yesterday between Baelor and Viynain/Synkarin.
Now you're just being insulting.
In contrast to the existing buffs, Arcanis, you just suggested flight for the 1000 credit artifact power. You can buy wings for a few hundred credits.
Ultimatley, there are 5 perks for each race. You cannot encompass every possible avenue of racial RP with 5 perks. It's really just that simple.
Fun fact: the racial overhaul was not "rushed". It was proposed by the admin, posted on forums, and input was given by many people. There have been at least a dozen or more changes based on that feedback both before and after the implementation that I can name just off the top of my head. For example, kephera demigod skill was only basic robes, and I suggested splendour level. Male keph demi+ was just cutting/blunt reduction, now it covers poison, fire, cold, asphyx as well. There was extensive testing with Igasho just yesterday between Baelor and Viynain/Synkarin.
Now you're just being insulting.
In contrast to the existing buffs, Arcanis, you just suggested flight for the 1000 credit artifact power. You can buy wings for a few hundred credits.
Ultimatley, there are 5 perks for each race. You cannot encompass every possible avenue of racial RP with 5 perks. It's really just that simple.
And you seem to just be grabbing at straws at an attempt at a jab. Posted to forums or not, it still felt rushed. Additionally, while they were accepting feedback, it didnt mean that many changes were made. Heck, if anything, it felt like only a few general comments were accepted and I even recall Baelor stating when more ideas were suggested that "The system is already in the works of being coded in, so no other changes will be implemented at this time", even with several comments of unfair perks. Additionally, with the amount of bugs that have surfaced (as well as powers that werent even implemented in yet), yes it does indeed feel rushed and could have used more time in coding and testing (not -after- they were released).
Comments
Where is any of that in the race perks? Nowhere. Are you saying that the finks in the game are not a true representation of the race?
I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not trying to dictate fink rp based on whatever I feel like doing. I went out and did a lot of research on finks before I even became one, so that I would know what I was doing. I just want finks to be finks.
Cause if all of this rp is wrong, then Nikka has based her whole life on untrue things, and I don't know who she is anymore.
EDIT: As for the dexterity thing, please do not accuse me of falsehoods. I am not arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase in damage over, say, the 17 dex illithoid have. I am arguing that 19 dex is a significant increase over 12 dex. Because people have always told me monk hunting was based mostly on dex. Is that untrue? Because if it is, then, I will stop saying so.
And can't nobody say that I don't RP the hell out of Stratas being obsessed with beauty and artistry. While his personality is informed by many, many different things (daddy issues), I got most of my interpretation of him from the Book of Trillillial, and thinking about what kind of shard She would make, and what kind of trill would build Hallifax, and what that kind of shard might be like if he lived in an oppressive, cultish forest with an oppressive, cultish father.
Where is any of that in the race perks?
Let's take a look under the hood for a moment.
Cold and Elec resist. Flying. Regen while flying. Bonus damage to -hallifax only specs-. And the ability to stand around for 4 seconds while hoping they don't get beat to death before suddenly hopping to a random room nearby.
Nowhere. Where is the beauty? Where is the charm? What mechanically enables me to be a better artist than anyone else, as a shard of the only Fourth Circle to do so in the Basin (Clangoru doesn't count shut up)? Trill were one of the best influencers -for a reason- and it was because of who they sharded from. Now, since I'm not in Hallifax, it would be mechanically advantageous to pick ANY other race.
But screw that noise! I'm not changing who he is based on the research I've done, because he lost "level 2 seduction bonus". And there's no reason to assume that your vision of finks isn't supported just because there's no mechanical bonus to it any more.
There's no reason to change how you RP finks, and nothing to stop you from sharing what you know with others who want to RP finks. Expand your lore. I don't know everything you've found out, but based on my experiences with finks, there's no reason "really good at telling outlandish stories and overacting" wouldn't fit just fine with them. Hey, keeping with the whole "sharded" thing, maybe Finnikora was really good at acting and dramatics Herself, and Her shards carry it on in a crude and stinky, but effective, way?
It sucks that you paid 500crs for 19 dex and some sweet RPs, and then they took away your dex. I find it hard to believe that 19 dex was worth 500crs to anybody, so I have to assume that while it was -part- of your choice it wasn't the whole of it. But the lack of dex doesn't mean that finks aren't unusually nimble and swift, it just means they don't have a mechanical advantage for it. See if you can fit outlandish stories into fink RP. You pulled it all together in the first place, you should be able to manage. Everything else? Well, cold resist, asphyx resist, and faster turret were the perks before anyways, so... why complain about them? Just go do your thing, and be awesome at it.
Its a thing that people are strangely being very dismissive of here.
Here is an example from a WoW forum of the same sort of phenomnan.
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/8324312688
I understand some people feel a bit ripped off about the racial overhaul. But obviously you guys didn't struggle along trying to have your RP and still be somewhat competitive despite having terrible terrible stats. So some of us feel buffed (yay Viscanti AT LAST), and others will feel a bit undercut, but it's about bringing everyone back into the same ballpark. Everyone can play the game now. Some might pitch better, some might bat better, others might field better. But everyone can PLAY, and play competitively. No one is forced onto the benches. Understanding this is better for EVERYONE is the first step to accepting the changes. Sure, there is probably still tweaking to be done, but I am so excited to know I can bash AND influence AND pk AND debate no matter what race I am.
I don't understand the philosophy that says because one aspect of something was changed for the better, we have to ignore the aspect of the change that feels worse, and "move on".
Yes, people find they no longer do certain things, or misunderstood what their stats allowed them to do, which is fair as we've always been closed doors regarding mechanics and formula. There's two reasons they are unable to achieve their previous feats:
1: They were horribly balanced for the overall game, see Trill/Faeling charisma or any of the combat master races.
2: They were loaded against horribly crippling drawbacks that made them inferior races, and frankly without them would have still been a distant second fiddle to the handful of optimal races.
Had we added maluses so that races could have it all again, many races would go back to being in the corner like the last kid picked for sports. And we'd have achieved absolutely nothing with this redesign. That scenario is not happening again.
Just to give an example, in D&D it used to be that races got bonuses and malus to their stats. Things evolved over time and by D&D 4, there were only bonuses, each race got the same bonuses and equivalent power perk, and yet the races still had the same feel and stereotypes from the original D&D.
The question wasn't so much what bonuses and drawbacks the races actually had, but what those bonuses and drawbacks told you about the race.
Just another random bad example... a race that was known for being slow, could have a perk that turns such a trait on its head. e.g., "Dimwitted": Race has 3/10 resistance to spells attacking the mind, or "Slow and Steady": Max movement rate bonus of 1, and Immune to effects which prevent movement between rooms.
Finks in particular could have gotten a perk like "Quick reflexes": 1/10 damage bonus for cutting/blunt and 1/10 resistance against non-magical attacks. To represent the super high dex that they had before, instead of getting influencing bonuses.
I specifically acknowledged that the perks have a low impact in the mechanics in an absolute sense.. but it's a relatively large impact. A 2/10 vs a 1/10 bonus might be a 3% gain, but it's a 10% relative improvement.
The question isn't if the perks can be justified based on the lore,the question is if the first thing that comes to mind from the perk, is consistent with those that came to mind before the race change when looking at the previous perks.
Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.
Sorry, but I have a hard time beleiving your last point. What about the new Fink perks makes you believe that Finks are very dexterous and prone to be monks or warriors? What in the old perks made you think that Finks would be particularly good at using scents to influence, or were good at influencing at all?
Sarcasm aside, yes a lot of flavor is missing in the racial perks, and truth be told the system itself feels rushed and could have used some more brainstorming. I mean, so many alone have an influence bonus now...which just feels like a "let's fill this gap with X too" concept.
Frankly, I know I am preaching to an empty room here, but for boredom's sake, here is an example of what I think would have been a much more fun and engaging concept for Fink perks:
Level 1: Burrowers: Finks have learnt in life that being hidden can give you the advantage to capture any prey. They can use the BURROW command.
Level 25: Scavenger: Having evolved in a harsh environment, Finks have become natural scavengers, Can use the SECRETS ability to locate any hidden exits. If they already have the SECRETS ability, then using it will now uncover any hidden creatures or items in the room.
Level 50: Bring them Down: When their ancestral rivals, the Gnomes, first crashed upon the Fink home world, a feud has existed every since. Not to be undone by their enemy, Finks have learned the basics of Aetherspace combat and become proficient at it. 5% increase crit to Turrets.
Demigod: Dirty Fighter: Finks care little for concepts of 'honorable fighting' and only look to get the edge in any situation. 5% Chance for a Fink player to edge around and slash at a target (player or mob) that attacks them, causing minor damage and bleeding.
Demigod+ male: Dirty Fighter will now reduce the damage from an attack by a mob. Increased to 10%.
Demigod+ female: Female Finks may ascend in their racial status and become a Matriarch, sprouting bat-like wings to take flight and becoming a terror of the skies.
And there we have it, a lovely set of flavorful perks that arent too crazy and seem right for the price of 500. Im not saying the current ones -must- be changed, because I can see it is obviously a losing battle, but just a forethought.
(Additionally, I would like to state that Finks really are not -that- proficient at Aetherspace. Heck they didnt even have anything to do with the creation of saling them. The only main interaction finks have with Aether technology is a Gnome ship that crashed on their planet and then several of them got dragged off in it and stuck in Lusternia because of gnomes on it. Basically all they know is "big metal ship can shoot people, let's figure out how". Technically their information on aetherships is really not all that advanced compared to other races. It is all Gnomes)
Buuuut.... again, I'm not sure that has actually happened. Beyond changing PC mechanics, nothing about IG lore has changed. You're not going to go to Newton and get the title Hero of the Finks because you helped train them to shoot aetherturrets. The aethersbubble quest isn't going to change to helping them build a kabuki theater. They're still going to be smelly, they're still going to be good at killing allisaurs (protip: as a PC you're already better at allisaur killing than any NPC fink!), and they're still going to be lead by giant winged matriarchs. Nothing about that has changed, ESPECIALLY since three of the remaining fink perks are -exactly the same-. And again, I havent done as much research, but what I do know would lead me to believe fink culture prides itself on hamfisted overacting way more than I would believe they're faster than Aslaran.
tl;dr - changes to mechanics neither change nor undermine your RP. Continue to do whatever you wanted to do before, because now you can without penalty.
As for other things, @Synkarin I apologise for not believing dex affected damage. I actually didn't believe you. But it seems the testing I did was wrong.
However once you decide to maintain perks, it would have been nice if those perks matched the flavor in an obvious way, rather than causing people to scratch their heads.
And you seem to just be grabbing at straws at an attempt at a jab. Posted to forums or not, it still felt rushed. Additionally, while they were accepting feedback, it didnt mean that many changes were made. Heck, if anything, it felt like only a few general comments were accepted and I even recall Baelor stating when more ideas were suggested that "The system is already in the works of being coded in, so no other changes will be implemented at this time", even with several comments of unfair perks. Additionally, with the amount of bugs that have surfaced (as well as powers that werent even implemented in yet), yes it does indeed feel rushed and could have used more time in coding and testing (not -after- they were released).