Epic level item survey!

[Chaos Theory]

Hi folks, I'd appreciate some input with regard to epic/high level items from your past experience playing RPGs as I'm trying to decide what I'm going to "help design" for PE.

 

Once I have a solid sample I'll do another with some additional inquiries. Feel free to ask questions!

Edited September 30, 2012 by Chaos Theory

[Gurkog]

I don't really care about what an epic item is as long as it has a great backstory. Bonus points if it has really unusual, yet oddly awesome, properties.

[Ieo]

Edit: Because trying to type before bed is silly and I misread stuff even more.

 

I get excited in the moment for any of the stuff. Since I can't answer the first part, the second part is heavy/medium. For the third part, I'm between 3-4-5 (depending on what we're getting for our player house, I tend to be a packrat anyway).

 

Lore is the best--I really liked reading the background bits in BG. The bonus items in BG2 from PS:T were the best.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Ieo

[zlarm]

I think the first poll is a bit silly. I'm most excited finding a unique item of the type that I don't have already i.e. if I don't have a unique necklace yet then I would be most excited to find that. And I'm not really sure what kind of feedback this is supposed to give. Going by the results of this should the devs focus only on unique melee weapons cause they're the most "rewarding"?

[Ieo]

I think the first poll is a bit silly. I'm most excited finding a unique item of the type that I don't have already i.e. if I don't have a unique necklace yet then I would be most excited to find that. And I'm not really sure what kind of feedback this is supposed to give. Going by the results of this should the devs focus only on unique melee weapons cause they're the most "rewarding"?

 

I wouldn't worry about devs paying close attention to polls; I expect they can spot the loaded ones and badly worded ones and whatever--not to mention forum polls are terrible statistical indicators with self-selecting samples.

 

I wish there was more unique gear slots, really. There are the usual.... chest, legs, shoulders, wrists, fingers, blah blah blah.

 

In PS:T you had tattoos and an eyeball slot!

[nikolokolus]

More than my personal preferences for a particular weapon or armor piece or whatever, the biggest hook for me with an artifact is rich lore ... it also doesn't hurt if the artifact has some seriously nasty side effects to go with a high level of power. Some of my most vivid memories of PnP games of yesteryear came from a campaign that centered around the hand and eye of Vecna.

[Chaos Theory]

I think the first poll is a bit silly. I'm most excited finding a unique item of the type that I don't have already i.e. if I don't have a unique necklace yet then I would be most excited to find that. And I'm not really sure what kind of feedback this is supposed to give. Going by the results of this should the devs focus only on unique melee weapons cause they're the most "rewarding"?

 

I didn't say "unique", I said "epic". For the purposes of my poll lets assume it is the first and only epic-level item you found. That said, which category would you prefer? And thIs has nothIng to do wIth devs. But thanks from your feedback!

Edited September 30, 2012 by Chaos Theory

[Ieo]

I didn't say "unique", I said "epic". For the purposes of my poll lets assume it is the first and only epic-level item you found. That said, which category would you prefer? And thIs has nothIng to do wIth devs. But thanks from your feedback!

 

Ohh. Wait, are you talking about the $1k Kickstarter level? That would make much more sense now. I think your OP originally sounded more general or something.

 

Why not something that you particularly fancy? I think the problem is that no one knows what exactly what gear slots/weapons/artifacts will be in the game at the moment.

[Azrayel]

What I'd really like to see in an epic level item is a curse.

 

Something that grants power at a price: maybe it's just a grotesquely captivating mechanism like the fountain of youth in Pirates of the Carribean that takes years of life from one drinker and gives them to t'other. Perhaps it's a demon inside the thing taking its toll on you for using it for your own ends. Maybe it's the conduit of a dark god who draws you in and tries to seduce everyone with power like the One Ring or drive the wielded mad like Psykers-- but just being evil would be silly, because then if a character's evil what's the downside?

 

A ring that lets you use health for mana could be one example, but a better example would be one that randomly takes twice as much health as it should have-- maybe it super charges the spell, maybe it turns the spell against you, but if you banked on using it in a pinch for a strong spell it could be enough to kill you either way. Tainted might be a good word for that, but something beyond a predictable calculation would really help make an artifact "real" to me, not just pretty gear + flavor text.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Azrayel

[Ink Blot]

What I'd really like to see in an epic level item is a curse.

 

Something that grants power at a price: maybe it's just a grotesquely captivating mechanism like the fountain of youth in Pirates of the Carribean that takes years of life from one drinker and gives them to t'other. Perhaps it's a demon inside the thing taking its toll on you for using it for your own ends. Maybe it's the conduit of a dark god who draws you in and tries to seduce everyone with power like the One Ring or drive the wielded mad like Psykers-- but just being evil would be silly, because then if a character's evil what's the downside?

 

A ring that lets you use health for mana could be one example, but a better example would be one that randomly takes twice as much health as it should have-- maybe it super charges the spell, maybe it turns the spell against you, but if you banked on using it in a pinch for a strong spell it could be enough to kill you either way. Tainted might be a good word for that, but something beyond a predictable calculation would really help make an artifact "real" to me, not just pretty gear + flavor text.

 

I like this kind of idea a lot. Oddly, as powergamerish as I am, I'm really not a big fan of epic level play, so an epic item doesn't do a whole lot for me. But something along the lines of an epic item that has some drawbacks to it? Yeah, that would be cool.

[sparklecat]

I like the idea of an item with a catch, especially if it's not just a simple "-5 CHA when equipped" that you could balance out with another item or spell, but something that remained a constant risk and required you to factor in the possibility of something negative happening this time (but not that "chance of -1 CHA permanently lost on hit" sort of thing either, that's too costly).

 

 

Beyond that, I guess I just like any really nice items to be ones I don't have to know about in advance or design my playthrough around to use; sure, Baldur's Gate II had some awesome slings, but I was never that interested in using them with my PC, nor overly fond of Mazzy. So basically I'd say either don't go for a niche item at all, or make in like that one sword in Hordes of the Underdark - lets you tell it whether you want it to be a 2H, 1H, or dagger. Or just go with an accessory that you're sure to have someone who can use!

[Umberlin]

I'd prefer Magic items be rare, with the best of them having fairly minor enchantments. I'd want to have to work especially hard, and go through a lot, to think of earning even a minor magical item. They shouldn't be handed out like candy and . . . honestly, I never want to see an "Epic" magical item that the player can use. If anything I'd like it to tease you with one, just one, and then have an enemy take it, use it on you, and, even if you defeat them, have them cast it away someplace you can't get it to mess with the player.

 

That said, minor is relative, and I love the idea of tracking down a storied item, and having to really work at it, through a bunch of twists and turns in story and gameplay to even have a shot at it. The better built up the story of the item along the way, the better. However, it shouldn't be something super powerful, no epic style weapons please . . . minor magical items can be just as interesting, especially if you don't have the, "Super flashy obscenely powerful sword of +5000 ugly art design" overshadowing them.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Umberlin

[Shaz]

I selected 'Accessories' for the first question, but that was only because I HAD to pick one. I quite honestly have zero preference. That might be easily understood by my multi-choice answers for the last question: I am always very interested in the lore behind items (especially of epic variety); I only use it if it fits my (or a companions) skill set; if I can't use it but the item has a great story (bonus points if it's nice looking), I keep it and display it if at all possible. If I am unable to display it, I store it since it is actual 'treasure' (and as I typically play rogues, I'm very interested in honest-to-goodness treasure).

Edited September 30, 2012 by Shaz

[hideo kuze]

This poll is wrong and you should feel bad about it.

 

Where is the NO option for those who do not want the game ruined with epic items?

[Shaz]

This poll is wrong and you should feel bad about it.

 

Where is the NO option for those who do not want the game ruined with epic items?

 

Since 'Help design an epic high level weapon, armor, or artifact' is one of the $1000 Kickstarter pledge tiers, this poll is completely legitimate and pretty damn awesome to see.

 

@Chaos Theory: Thank you very much for being so interested in our input. I look forward to discovering your item.

[hideo kuze]

My bad. I misread.

 

 

And I had forgotten it's the way we're heading... so far 29 epic items *sigh*

I only hope the game doesn't get flooded with "epic".

But if by epic they mean a non-game-breaking powerful item with a rich backstory, FWIW, then it's good to me.

 

 

 

So as for the poll, I like all sorts of pole-arms (glaives, halberds, bardiches, voulges, etc) and some other 2-handed weapons (2-handed axes or hammers).

 

It would be neat if the item had some nice lore and it was tainted or cursed.

For example, for a 2-handed weapon we could have it weight a lot more than it should (so no pack mule here) or it could drain its holder's stamina.

Edited September 30, 2012 by hideo kuze

[Treantsin]

As much fun as rings are, Crowns and such set my heart a flutter.

[Malcador]

Oh neat, epics. But will there be orange swords or axes in the game ? And will there be caster versions as well ?

[Luckmann]

"Epic level items".

No.

No. Just no.

 

No. No. No.

[Caerdon]

And I had forgotten it's the way we're heading... so far 29 epic items *sigh*

 

We can always hope the game will feature a museum running an exhibition of 29 epic items behind an unbreakable, adamantium-reinforced glass.

[Chaos Theory]

I didn't say "unique", I said "epic". For the purposes of my poll lets assume it is the first and only epic-level item you found. That said, which category would you prefer? And thIs has nothIng to do wIth devs. But thanks from your feedback!

 

(Note to self: Don't try to post from my phone again... darn auto-correct...)

 

Anyway, a concern was raised regarding, so far, 29-- but as many as 50-- epic items could appear in this game, in addition to whatever the devs themselves conjure up that are quest-specific. I thought that was a lot myself, until I realized just how many potential items could be in the game.

 

Let's assume all of your typical swords, halberds, axes, spears, flails, etc... Then the usual short bow, long bow, crossbow, etc. In addition we now have muskets, both long gun and hand gun. Now add 2-3 types of shields. Now 2-3 types of armor, with each piece likely counting as an item. Robes, capes... Then there's jewelry like rings, amulets, etc. Staffs are next. Then miscellaneous odd stuff like crystal balls, monkey's paw-- stuff you don't expect.

 

When you add it all together, I think we'll be lucky to see 1 epic level item of each of these things and that they'll be fairly rare.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Chaos Theory

[Chaos Theory]

"Epic level items".

 

 

No.

No. Just no.

 

No. No. No.

 

I direct you to the Kickstarter page: See "HELP DESIGN AN EPIC HIGH LEVEL WEAPON, ARMOR OR ARITIFACT..."

[Ieo]

So I ended up giving my input anyway, since this is in the interest of the $1k backer level (I just noticed the tags, none of the other forums I visit have tags, oops).

 

I'm more interested in an artifact, I guess, probably because that has the most ability to be very "unique" compared to the usual gear slots (Hand of Vecna or Eyeball of The Nameless One ). In the third part, 4-5 go together for me--if the lore is interesting, I will keep it even if my party can't use it (especially true if I managed to win it through questing instead of a random find).

 

In BG2, I remember the interesting and very unique figurines that summon a helper for combat--unfortunately those weren't terribly useful for me, but I thought they were interesting nonetheless (similar to Drizzt's planar panther figurine). I'm interested in a different kind of spell application, though; the only problem is that we have no idea what kind of spells are going to be in PE at this point. For example, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere has a simultaneous positive and negative application; it'd be nice for a storied artifact to do something like that, perhaps on a daily charge or so.

[Caerdon]

When you add it all together, I think we'll be lucky to see 1 epic level item of each of these things and that they'll be fairly rare.

 

At least there'll be no great confusion on with sword, shield, armor, ring, cloak, boots and helmet you should be using.

[Chaos Theory]

Why not something that you particularly fancy? I think the problem is that no one knows what exactly what gear slots/weapons/artifacts will be in the game at the moment.

 

True, it's way early, but I'd like to get started with my idea/lore. On one hand I'd like to make something folks will want to use, yet not have it be the most popular mainstream choice.

 

I also am a fan of the negative effect idea to balance the positives. However, one has to step lightly here. I don't want folks to use it situationally, either-- I want it to be a primary item they feel they can use for a significant period of time.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Chaos Theory