@Malarious. Don't know if anyone mentioned this, but both communes can gather essence if they bother to collect the fae and hand them in. Thus generating power and ladies/daughters as well.
Also. Making a totem versus making a statue, sighing in agony doesn't sum up the pain communes face trying to rebuild totems. I have never gathered so many pixies as I did during the great elder culling of late 2014/early 2015. Which also...generates power.
That's correct, collecting fae does generate a small number of essence creatures. That is something that has been brought up in the comments of the report I pasted. I think that the best solution would be to add a number of 'permanent' essence creatures to each commune that is lower than the number each elemental plane has, but that is equivalent to that number if that org captures two thirds of the fae in faethorn.
It is also true that gathering pixies to regrow totems generates power, just as each city has a power quest that generates power for their nexus. Cities typically have a prime method of power generation (power quest), the elemental/mage method of essence, and a cosmic/guardian method. For the original two cities, this cosmic method is through influencing the Angels and Demons on cosmic. I'm told that Hallifax and Gaudiguch have alternate mechanics that fill this slot, such as an extra power quest or more power generated through their power quest.
The forests currently generate power in three slots as well. Each forest has a power quest, like the cities. Each forest also has a 'cosmic' type power quest through their guardian-type class: gathering the fae. The 'mage slot' power generation is taken care of by the forest mages: druids, via the passive power generated by totems. If that power is taken away, the most simple parallel is for each forest to generate a dependable number of essence creatures as well as the variable amount.
Oh and Nexus critters. Which I never even knew about until...well past nexus hunting levels. I haven't read the report. Why don't they just make it easier to create totems? Isn't that half the pain? Anyway. I haven't read half the thread so I am probably repeating things already said. I just wanted Mala to know that communes have a way to generate essence.
Ah right. Everyone gets nexus critters. In fact, I think that might be Gaudiguch's cosmic power generation: Their nexus critter quest is more involved but it generates variable power depending on which cosmic mob you hand the result to, just as influencing angels and demons gives variable power based on their rank.
The report covers that, yeah. The problem is that the essence creatures are very few and not dependable, so just... leaving them as a 'replacement' for totems passive power is nonequitable. Actually, the fact that they already exist is a big part of what it's a good suggestion to expand them: No new assets would need to be written or coded for them to work like elemental essence creatures (as far as I can tell).
No, the pain isn't mostly that it takes a while to grow them. It's just a griefy hit-and-run mechanic, and still would be even if it were less punishing to have them felled. It would be a smaller bad mechanic, but still a bad mechanic. If you're already working on fixing a bad mechanic, fixing it is preferable to minimizing it.
Hallifax's primary power quest involves our nexus critters, and offhand I think it and Mag are very good contenders for most involved*. We have other nexus world critters, but those are tied to our prophecy quest, I think?
My understanding is that the big pain in the butt about tree chopping is generally that it takes 3 days to grow one, and 3 minutes to chop one or two down and still get off scott-free.
My understanding is that the big pain in the butt about tree chopping is generally that it takes 3 days to grow one, and 3 minutes to chop one or two down and still get off scott-free.
Erm, we WISH it took three minutes, it takes like 3-6 seconds and then a MINIMUM of 3 days to regrow it(and since it's usually several that are felled it often takes longer, only so many nuts you can gather...).
My take on it is to replace the whole enchanted statue / totem system with this:
Arts - Idol (Some high skill level?)
IDOL ERECT* Outlay: 1 nexus gift and 5 marble (city) or wood (commune) Terrain: outdoors, prime org territory, no swimming rooms
With the gifts earned by empowering your organisation's nexus, erect an animated Idol to defend your city or commune. These Idols will lash out at enemies of the organisation or any foreigner who has declared aggression against its members.
*This requires the appropriate totems or rituals specialisation for your organisation: Stag (Serenwilde), Crow (Glomdoring), Sacraments (New Celest), Necromancy (Magnagora), Paradigmatics (Gaudiguch), Aeonics (Hallifax)
IDOL TUNE <1-6> <power> IDOL TUNE STANDARD
Select the powers an Idol will use when attacking, one for each slot. Choosing "standard" will set the Idol's powers based on your organisation's policy.
For city/commune leaders: CITY/COMMUNE IDOL POLICY <1-6> <power> - Set the powers in your organisation's standard policy CITY/COMMUNE IDOL POLICY ENFORCE - Tune all Idols in your organisation to standard at once.
They would take an appearance based on the organisation they're in, and nexus gifts could be added for the city power quests to compare with moonhart/ravenwood nuts. Give the communes the static ethereal critters to make up for the lost power.
While an interesting idea, I'm kinda interested in moving them to a org level thing.
Like... anyone in the org can actually set up the totem/statue/idol/whatever but only someone with security privs can actually activate them and maybe only champions or the council can modify these default settings you proposed?
Just due to frustrations with not being able to help and having to do the work.
Chopping and power are the only areas of concern here. Changing statues (which is far more reaching, as it impacts villages) is something I would oppose presently. Don't make more changes than we need or we end up with more things to adjust and change later.
Village protections seem like they should be looked at though. Forests still need someone with Spellcraft to set up statues for them yeah? So it would be nice if we could just protect them ourselves and have equal opportunities for such as the cities. (Yes, we can get a spellcrafter, but having the capacity within your org is nicer)
Comments
It is also true that gathering pixies to regrow totems generates power, just as each city has a power quest that generates power for their nexus. Cities typically have a prime method of power generation (power quest), the elemental/mage method of essence, and a cosmic/guardian method. For the original two cities, this cosmic method is through influencing the Angels and Demons on cosmic. I'm told that Hallifax and Gaudiguch have alternate mechanics that fill this slot, such as an extra power quest or more power generated through their power quest.
The forests currently generate power in three slots as well. Each forest has a power quest, like the cities. Each forest also has a 'cosmic' type power quest through their guardian-type class: gathering the fae. The 'mage slot' power generation is taken care of by the forest mages: druids, via the passive power generated by totems. If that power is taken away, the most simple parallel is for each forest to generate a dependable number of essence creatures as well as the variable amount.
The report covers that, yeah. The problem is that the essence creatures are very few and not dependable, so just... leaving them as a 'replacement' for totems passive power is nonequitable. Actually, the fact that they already exist is a big part of what it's a good suggestion to expand them: No new assets would need to be written or coded for them to work like elemental essence creatures (as far as I can tell).
No, the pain isn't mostly that it takes a while to grow them. It's just a griefy hit-and-run mechanic, and still would be even if it were less punishing to have them felled. It would be a smaller bad mechanic, but still a bad mechanic. If you're already working on fixing a bad mechanic, fixing it is preferable to minimizing it.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
They would take an appearance based on the organisation they're in, and nexus gifts could be added for the city power quests to compare with moonhart/ravenwood nuts. Give the communes the static ethereal critters to make up for the lost power.