Request: Custom Classes

[MoreDread]

Hi there!
first of all let me yell out a big thank you to the devs for making this.
its been a long while since i had the pleasure to play a nice dungeon crawler
i really loved the EOTB series and dungeon master.
this game manages to capture it all, the atmosphere, the interesting puzzles and gameplay.
it looks stunningly beautiful as well.
i really hope this game will be very successful and revive the genre.

that said i love complex RPG systems that allow you to be creative with your characters.
the one implemented in LOG is pretty streamlined and straightforward.
it does a reasonably good job, all the essentials are covered with a quite short list of attributes and skills.
i think the way DM was set up allowed for a bit more freedom and made it a truly unique experience at the time.

what i'd like to see in LOG to move in that direction and greatly increase the replayability for more advanced players would be a custom class.
since all the current classes have the same amount of skills, i think it would be nice to have a 4th option: the custom class
the idea is to have empty skill slots (maybe one or two less than the other classes have for balance)
so you get to pick the individual skills you want your character to use to make class combinations.
think of a rogue with swords as his main weapon skill
a mage with limited casting skills, but heavy or light armor
a fighter with improved evasion and in light armor

you could have a party of 4 rogues, but each one more specialised for certain jobs.
2 with good evasion and bigger weapons in the front
1 with magic and throwing weapons skills in the back
the other with a bow.

or every party member could be magically trained, but only have access to 1 school of magic + spellcraft while still filling another role in the party.

it shouldn't be too hard to add and would allow for so much more freedom and creativity.

what do you guys think about this idea?

[Darklord]

Hey! I do like hybrid characters myself, maybe it's something we shall see down the line, or maybe for a sequel.

Daniel.

[Jack Dandy]

I agree, a bit more variety couldn't hurt the game.

I understand that for their first RPG project, they needed to make sure the basic ones are functioning well.
It's a wise decision, but I hope they'll build on it and expand it for future titles.

[RPGAlien]

I personally think it's an awesome idea! Really hope something like this could get implemented. And if not, maybe someone will make a nifty little mod to accomplish this? *wink wink*

[Lmaoboat]

Seems like there should be a cleric class that concentrates on the other 4 runes that don't get used much.

[RPGAlien]

Seems like there should be a cleric class that concentrates on the other 4 runes that don't get used much.

Was just thinking about that while I read through some new spell suggestions. The Cleric could possibly even have some entirely new/slightly different runes than the mage, to allow for some other kind variety in spells.

[wickermoon]

Jupp, that idea sounds awesome. Also, the Cleric class sounds like a great addition. A healing class is actually missing, I think.

Although, I would change the casting interface of clerics a bit, to give more variety. I get why mages have to "select" runes to cast their magic. But clerics more or less act through divine actions. So maybe instead of selecting runes, you have a spell list for clerics - favours they can ask their deities for - but only a certain number of spells available between rests, depending on piety (which depends on certain actions?).

Also, a bard class, would be nice. Basically a rogue or wizard class that buffs all party members by activating auras. So instead of rune-select+cast or spell-select+cast, you just select auras and depending on the duration of the selection, those auras could get stronger (up to a certain point!). Thus you'd have to decide to switch to another aura whenever you want, or keep the current one, so it'll get stronger. After an aura switch, increased effectiveness of an aura is reset, so on reactivation of that aura, you'd have to start to build up its effectiveness again.

[MoreDread]

interesting idea about the auras, i like that.

heres a proposal for the cleric skills:

armor: just like the fighter
maces: again, like the fighter

restoration: healing, curing diseases and poison
support: auras, haste, blessing etc
exorcism/offensive prayer: turn undead, banish demons, maybe a few offensive 'spells'. a lightning bolt, heat beam, cleansing fire. generally a bit weaker than the mages counterpart, but more effective against certain types of enemies.

faith: like spellcraft for mages... alternatively the previous 3 skills could just work without a spellcraft like skill and a cleric
could get a ranged skill (throwing weapons probably, because a bow/crossbow would prevent casting)

i think with the cleric included there wouldn't be much need for any other classes IF you were able to create (and name) your own custom class.
if you look at AD&D for example, most special classes are really just a mix of the 4 basic ones.

a bard could be easily achieved by mixing the cleric with a rogue.
i say it'd be much more interesting to create these kinds of classes yourself than to have a list of say 8 different classes and still not beeing entirely happy with 1 or 2 things.

sure, some combinations might be a little crazy... a rogue in full plate armor wielding a battle axe would be strange.
it might still be fun to try tho...

[RPGAlien]

But clerics more or less act through divine actions. So maybe instead of selecting runes, you have a spell list for clerics - favours they can ask their deities for - but only a certain number of spells available between rests, depending on piety (which depends on certain actions?)

While I like the concept of a Cleric casting through divine favor, I think it might just resemble D&D a bit too much. Besides, since when did gods start to ration out the amount of prayers you could ask them? Would rather just see a changed rune-system or something of the like. Who knows, maybe there isn't even any 'real' gods in the universe of Grimrock?

heres a proposal for the cleric skills:

armor: just like the fighter
maces: again, like the fighter

restoration: healing, curing diseases and poison
support: auras, haste, blessing etc
exorcism/offensive prayer: turn undead, banish demons, maybe a few offensive 'spells'. a lightning bolt, heat beam, cleansing fire. generally a bit weaker than the mages counterpart, but more effective against certain types of enemies.

+1, though I would probably strike the lighting bolt off the list, or replace it with something more cleric-like!

faith: like spellcraft for mages... alternatively the previous 3 skills could just work without a spellcraft like skill and a cleric
could get a ranged skill (throwing weapons probably, because a bow/crossbow would prevent casting)

and this.

[wickermoon]

But clerics more or less act through divine actions. So maybe instead of selecting runes, you have a spell list for clerics - favours they can ask their deities for - but only a certain number of spells available between rests, depending on piety (which depends on certain actions?)

While I like the concept of a Cleric casting through divine favor, I think it might just resemble D&D a bit too much. Besides, since when did gods start to ration out the amount of prayers you could ask them? Would rather just see a changed rune-system or something of the like. Who knows, maybe there isn't even any 'real' gods in the universe of Grimrock?

I agree. It reminded me a lot of D&D, too. But then again, the system has its merits in terms of difficulty. To rationalize casts per rest:

It's not like rationing favours, but more like rewarding piety. A very pious cleric would stand high in his god's good favour, thus maybe get a little bit more attention then not-so-pious clerics that might need to get a lesson or two in piety and HIS will. So it's more like a rewarding system where the amount of support depends on your piety. Mostly, the idea was to put some variety to the mix, though. I think it'd be kinda dull to see several classes with the exact same mechanics as everyone else (e.g. rogues and fighters don't differ too much and for some the rogue class is even redundant. I, too, would've liked to see a more specific use of rogue skills, to be honest).

I also like the idea of mixing skills to create some (non-mechanic) sub-classes, like the monk (unarmed combat + rogue evasion skill + fighter HP skill), the battle-mage (spell schools + weapon specialization), the divine protector (spell school + fighter defensive abilities), the duelist (rogue skill set with sword skill instead of daggers).

I wonder how much the LoG editor will allow players to alter the game. Maybe custom classes might be possible? Also, will it include tiles that were not part of the original dungeon, like overworld tiles with trees and skies? I really might need those for my LoL port. (oh and I miss NPCs you can talk to ^^).