Grink's Long List of Placeholder Tome Ideas

CLERIC
Placeholder Tome --> Godsbreath: After tending to the wounded in so many battles, the Cleric refines his/her ability to breathe new life into fallen comrades. Anyone revived by the Cleric's Reviviscence spell will have the remaining duration of the Death Fatigue debuff reduced by up to 5 / 9 / 12 / 15 ticks (i.e. 30 / 54 / 72 / 90 seconds). This tome has no effect on Death Fatigue (Event).
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Length of DF is the wrong target IMO.
It would make no difference to me if DF was either halved or doubled.

Much better would be:-

Anyone revived by the Cleric's Reviviscence spell will have their rate of mana regeneration increased by 25%/50%/75%/100%.
The buff wears off when an enemy is next engaged.


Love the ideas - please keep them coming
 
I like the idea for shadow knights with a group mana tap similar to paladins heal much better even if the numbers are small. The numbers would need to be looked at and balanced. After further thought I think 5/10/15/20 would probably be pretty close.
 
monk tome that reduces mend cooldown by 15 seconds per rank so 1 minute with rank 4 for getting a killing blow on a non trivial monster. i did the math and its balanced so tia for this wonderful thing.
 
Gargate said:
With the recent implementation of several class'es new class tomes will there be new tomes for the rest of us?
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Yes, the intention is to fill out the placeholder tomes with actual tomes for the other classes. Priority was given to the classes with two missing tomes. Now that there are at most a single placeholder we will try to get tomes for everyone. After that we will try to evaluate 'bad' or 'broken' tomes. Adding a new tome line may seem simple but it is a pretty lengthy process. Right now we are making sure the ones we recently added do not end up on the 'bad or broken' pile. We have already fixed a couple of bugs with these, if you notice anything please petition or bug report it.

Given all that, the long-term goal is to finish these tomes. We want to add things that expand a niche ability, shore up a weakness in the class, or add interesting utility. Feel free to continue posting your suggestions. It is a shame there were no posts here when we added the new tomes. As you can see, we took some of the suggestions, so it seems like a good thread!
 
I might come up with a third post in the coming days to provide further ideas for the tomes that are still missing. Thanks for the input, Olive!

By the way, do feel free to alter the name of this thread to something less Grinkles-centric if you'd like to repurpose it as the designated tome talk thread. :)
 
Shadow knight
On successful bash, chance to proc a song window buff that either a) adds ac or b) increases chance to crit on spells

I still really like the group mana tap even if small would be fairly useful. I know we get vortex but this would effectively allow us to keep vortex on another group or 2 and not sacrificing on our own plus losing that precious cast time for a life tap or spear. Also, paladins get the health tap and they can hit which is basically the same thing.
 
Idea for the ranger tome could be a self heal for our pet to help with survival and expand on accuracy affect by either debuffing the npcs block/avoidance skill or increasing melee accuracy for all melee attacks for a short duration. I figure that will help shore up low melee dps.

The avoidance/block debuff would probably be easier to add and benefit the ranger more, but I'm thinking pet self heal plus a boost to melee dmg would be more balanced.

The RPG or flavor could be that its hard to defend with a bird flapping and clawing the npcs face.
 
Another idea that would be easier to add maybe low dmg life tap plus agi debuff or self heal plus agi debuff for the bird to proc.
 
I've come up with a third list of potential placeholder tome replacements. I am particularly proud of several of these, though I hope all the ideas hold their own appeal. As a disclaimer, I would stress that any and all numbers could potentially be tweaked for balancing purposes as long as the tome's vision is kept with. Feel free to say whatever you want about any of these; I'm always eager to see a bit of feedback. :)

Without further ado...

BEASTLORD​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Burden of the Firstborn: The Beastlord's warder unleashes a deathly cry when slain to call the eldest of its progeny to avenge its death. The firstborn answers the call and charges headlong into battle to fight in place of its parent as a “swarm” pet for 10 seconds. Less experienced in combat, it has 50% of the parent’s HP count and deals 25% of its DPS, eventually culminating in a Devastating Blow for 1000 damage, after which it retreats from exhaustion. This tome may only activate once every 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 hours and will not go into effect if the warder is dismissed voluntarily by the Beastlord.
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    The tome adds a new aspect to the lore of the Beastlord’s warder—the idea that it has a past of its own. The scaled-down HP/DPS and “mini” DBlow are in line with the concept of this (swarm) pet being the “child” of the warder rather than a seasoned replacement. I am uncertain how the HP and DPS counts ought to be calculated, and the percentages are fully capable of being tweaked as long as the signature mini DB (or some equivalent) is left in in some way. For flavor, the pet literally could “charge headlong into battle” by being coded to spawn some variable distance away from the mob within that mob’s line of sight, though this would create a disconnect between the tome’s activation and its benefit (though this could potentially serve as a balancing factor, as long as the 10-second timer would not start until the pet lands its first melee hit); if this is done, perhaps the opposite ought to be put in for its retreat so that it really does run away afterward instead of magically popping out of existence. Its power is offset by the chance that the pet will not survive its duration potential (and thus not DB), the presence of a “cooldown” period, meaning that it cannot be counted on to contribute more than once or, in extreme cases, twice per raid, and by the fact that no Beastlord actively aims for his pet to die (in other words, the loss of buffs and gear would always outweigh the prospect of letting the pet die and summoning a “naked” replacement alongside the swarm pet).
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CLERIC​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Prayer for the Priestfellows: The Cleric utters a prayer for his/her fellow healers just before swallowing a Murk Bead. Each time the Cleric makes use of Summoned Murk Beads, all other Clerics, Druids, and Shamans in the party or raid force are blessed with 9 / 17 / 25 / 33 mana. This effect does not land on the Cleric him/herself.
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    Given that Summoned Murk Beads come with 3 charges, this effectively translates into a burst of 27 / 51 / 75 / 99 mana for the Cleric’s fellow healers. Its power is offset by the omission of the tome-wielder from the tome’s effects, the small numbers (even a fourth-rank CLR would be doling out just under 100 mana, whereas the Druid and Shaman “big heals” cost 340 and 285 mana, respectively), its reliance on a specific summoned item, and the astronomically high mana cost of the actual spell Summon: Murk Beads (1750!).
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DRUID​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Sihalan Send-Off: The Druid's countless seasons of service to nature have put him/her in the good graces of Sihala. Upon the death of the Druid, a vision of Sihala and a funeral procession of earth elementals will appear on the field of battle 20 / 35 / 40 / 50% of the time to spur the fallen Druid's party to victory. The goddess will immediately cast Circle of Soothing on the Druid's remaining groupmates, then kneel before the corpse and dismiss her elementals one-by-one. Sihala will proceed to watch the battle unattended until her spell has run its course, at which point she will vanish. For practical purposes, Sihala wields the Healing Increment VIII focus effect, though she confers no exceptional heals. This tome will not activate in Plane of Earth.
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    This tome draws on a key figure of the Dalayan pantheon by strengthening her thematic relevance to this class. As far as I know, Sihala (a.k.a. Tunare) is already a global model, which should make this an easy one to code. The “funeral procession” of earth elementals is merely to add theatrics to the goddess’s arrival, and they could be coded to spawn in a nice circular arrangement around the body, possibly doing the elemental “casting” animation for added effect (as if doing some kind of death ritual); meanwhile, Sihala herself should be fully capable of the kneel animation, given that I believe her model piggybacks on pre-Luclin female High Elf animations (again, theatrics). The sentence about Healing Increment is to assure players that they will not be “cheated” out of any healage in the event that Sihala ends up overwriting a Circle of Soothing previously cast by the Druid. Its power is offset by the all-or-nothing nature of the tome, the staggered percentages, the Druid’s own ability to cast said spell anyway (while alive), the inability of said spell to stack with the tank-friendly, single-target Ancient: Nature’s Soothing, and the fact that if the Druid has gone down, it is entirely likely that whatever encounter is at hand has already gone south.
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ENCHANTER​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Mirror Mischief: Each time the Enchanter completes any spellcast, there is a 3% chance that s/he will conjure forth by a swarm of between 3 and 6 illusory body doubles for 2 ticks (12 seconds). The body doubles, all of whom bear the name “Mirror of [Soandso],” perform various actions around the Enchanter to confuse and mislead nearby enemies, such as pacing back and forth, dancing, "swimming" in air, and engaging in faux-combat with one another. The Enchanter's aggro generation during these 2 ticks is reduced by 20 / 30 / 35 / 40%. Should a second swarm trigger while another is already active, the effect will refresh and both swarms will carry out their actions independently, but the effect on aggro reduction will remain the same. The body doubles, being nothing more than illusions, are immune to all forms of damage.
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    This tome further diversifies the Enchanter’s command of illusions. The appearance of the “body doubles” could be coded along the lines of the Lower Thaz Earth boss script that duplicates the player even down to tinting, armor textures, and held items (along with the obvious race and gender). They could also potentially be coded as actual swarm pets targeting the Enchanter, with the aggro reduction factor coming from a 2-tick, self-only “song” buff that autocasts when the proc is triggered. Ideally, it would trigger like other procs—landing before the spell that procs it—to ensure optimum benefit for the player. Such a tome line would likely be very high on fun factor, though the animations carried out by the doubles might need to be tinkered with to ensure they are not overly distracting or annoying to players; furthermore, they could be randomized so that no two swarms are alike in behavior. Rambling aside, this tome’s power is offset by the simple fact that it really only caters to very select spells, the major one being Runic: Avatar of Destruction, as this is the culprit in most cases of Enchanter death during high-stakes situations.
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MONK​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Honor Thy Enemy: The slain Monk mutters praise of his/her slayer's combat prowess. If the Monk is the sole target on the NPC's aggro list at the time of death, the NPC will stand still to look upon the Monk's corpse and ponder the unexpected words for a period of 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 seconds before turning back.
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    This tome plays up the “stoic” aspect of this class by having the Monk actually honor his/her killer. (The lore-friendly explanation is that the Monk, being a supreme yet humble fighter, will bow to the enemy that can best him/her.) A pool of stock phrases could be invented by the dev who codes this tome (e.g. “I could not have hoped to be slain by a worthier foe.” and “That fatal blow—I’ve never seen such power!”), or—to add an opportunity for personalization—the player could be invited to create, say, three such phrases that will cycle randomly as “emotes” via something along the lines of /cmd honordeath1 [insert witty and hopefully not perverse line here], /cmd honordeath2, and so on. (The cool latter option carries the obvious risk of players inventing all sorts of unsavory remarks, and I am unsure how or if these ought to be kept in check.) The result is that the NPC that deals the killing blow is guaranteed to stand still (almost as if rooted) for the abovementioned period of time while any potential adds shuffle off, thus aiding the process of splitting/tagging even in the event of the Monk’s death. Importantly, this must be coded to work only if the Monk is the only person on the mob’s aggro list or the whole thing could get messy. Its power is offset by the potential for living Monks to succeed in splitting mobs anyway; the tome would simply be designed to hasten the process for particularly difficult splits or as insurance in case Feign Death should fail.
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RANGER​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Winterwing: Having spent many seasons basking in the chill of the Ranger's ice magic, the raven companion itself begins to exert minor control over the cold. At first rank, the raven gains a 33% chance to proc Blessing of the Frost in melee. At second rank, the raven gains a 3.3% chance to proc Deathly Chill in melee. At third rank, the raven gains a 25% chance to proc Icicles in melee. At fourth rank, the raven gains a 2.5% chance to proc Grip of Cold in melee.
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    This tome line adds minor utility and offensive boosts to the Ranger’s lovably squishy bird pet. All procs are to be calculated independently, meaning that all four could, in theory, go off on one “peck” (though not likely). The two most important procs are most likely ranks 1 and 2, which give the pet a very small means of healing itself and a useful CR debuff to aid both in the raven’s own cold-based damage (ranks 3 and 4) and in the Ranger’s important cold-based spells. These spells were picked to spotlight some of the database’s lesser-known and lesser-seen spells, but the numbers and specific spells could be adjusted accordingly while centering around the “cold” theme. Its power is offset by the raven’s undeniably measly DPS to begin with and the more or less negligible numbers associated with the procs when considered individually.
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SHADOWKNIGHT​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Skeletal Memento: The Shadowknight's bones spring from his/her flesh upon death in a terrifying display of determination. The skeleton stands perfectly still as if housed in its former body, maintaining its form for 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 seconds. The frightened enemy will fixate its attacks on the skeleton as if it were at the top of the aggro table until it collapses once and for all.
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    This tome could bring an interesting new aspect to the Shadowknight class—“tanking” beyond death. Purely based on the imagery, this tome seems like a very good candidate for implementation; the tireless Shadowknight is so chock-full of unbridled hatred that his very bones refuse to succumb to the enemy even after death! (Think of those cheesy moments in horror movies when a person is shot and clearly killed on the spot, yet the body takes an uncomfortably long time to fall.) It could perhaps be coded such that the dying Shadowknight autocasts a skeleton swarm pet that spawns right on the point of death; the pet would need to be coded specially to make sure it stands still, does not animate when hit, and maintains absolute aggro while it is up. The skeleton could also be coded to pull from whichever skeleton texture/model seems most thematically appropriate, though something dark or gory would probably be more fitting than a polished ivory. Tactically, this ability would give a group or raid a snippet of extra time to get the job done or otherwise make preparations before that angry mob turns on the rest of them. Its power is offset by the small allowance of seconds and the inability for the resulting skeleton to do anything whatsoever apart from absorb hits.
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WARRIOR​

  • Placeholder Tome --> Shielded Sight: The Warrior uses the bulk of his/her shield to block the foe's line of sight with robe-clad comrades. For each successful shield-dealt Bash the Warrior lands, all Enchanters, Magicians, Necromancers, and Wizards on the enemy's aggro list instantly lose 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 hate.
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    This tome synergizes the relationship between Warriors and so-called casters. The lore-friendly explanation is that the Warrior, aware of the squishiness of his/her otherwise formidable friends, makes an effort to redirect the enemy’s gaze away from said friends in order to protect them. Its power is offset by the modest numbers (a fourth-rank Bash would negate 20 hate from a Wizard, whereas that Wizard’s own Relic: Greater Concussion would negate a full 1000) and by the need for the Warrior to be wielding a shield, which limits the tome’s usefulness to high-stakes encounters.
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Don't have an R2 pet so can't really say, but can't a beastlord keep his pet alive long enough for gheals to hit and such? I think a tome centered around a beastlord pets death is a bad idea because why would we let our DPS die :/. Maybe its just me but it sounds like a really bad tome. Maybe some other higher tier beastlord can weigh in on it. Plus I feel it contradicts our Empathic Warder tome which promotes healing our pet so we get a piece of the heal too.
 
Sounds to me more like it supporting the lifelong bond between the warder and his master. After failing to protect his master his dieing breath is spent calling forth aid, thus ensuring that even in death he was ever faithful.
 
Thank you Grinkles for you tireless attempts to make this server mo' better.
I personally do not like effects that trigger on player death with the exclusion of the Monk one since that is genius. Probably the best on death proc ever conceived.
The beast tome is a cool idea but maybe for another class- one whose pets are more likely to die? Tadpoles or puppies or tackhammers.
The enchanter idea is neat. Higher chance with fewer mirrors would be nice for laginess and general use. Maybe a fair chance (20%ish) for one, half that for two, quarter chance for three, and so on. Or an even higher chance but limit which spells with proc it to make it really useful, but that would be called OP and nerfed into doing nothing I imagine.
 
wow, these are some amazing ideas, but i agree, that the beastlord tome would prob work alot better with the healer pets.

would love to see a beastlord idea along the lines of your ranger one tho =p
 
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