Report 479

Report #479
Skillset: Aquamancy Skill: None
 Org: Paladins Status: Completed Mar 2012
Furies' Decision:
We did not like the solutions as they were offered. We will instead make deluged
water harder to cross. Cosmic Waterwalk (and its enchantment) will allow walking
across deluged rooms as normal, but psychom gliding and surfboards will be
hindered. Rubbing a surfboard will now give the waterwalk defence, and it will
continue to give inherent waterwalk in natural water.
Problem: Since my report to make the Surfboard dingbat artifact similar to the
Mechanical Yoyo was rejected (Report #464), I have been thinking of a balanced
way to solve the problem of innate Waterwalking in Aquamancy melds. After a year
and a half (and with the help of Akui), solutions that will not change how the
Surfboard currently works has finally surfaced.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Add a new effect, not blocked by protection, to
 Deluge (or whatever ability that fits most
 thematically). Enemies who have Waterwalk active
 (whether passively or via the defense) will suffer a
 1.25 second balance loss post-movement due to
 seasickness from the rapid motions in magical waves.
 The balance loss will happen whether they are
 entering or leaving the rooms where the ability is
 active.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #2: Same as Solution #1 but the effect is demesne-wide
 and is protected against by having the Levitate
 defense.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #3: Reconsider Solution #1 of Report #464.
Player Comments:
---[Inagin on 3/15 @ 20:08 writes]:
The 1.25 second balance loss is slightly longer than the 1 second wait time of
rubble and SWIM because the effect is post-movement.
---[Enyalida on 3/15 @ 21:51 writes]:
So.. Having waterwalk up will delay you moving around the demesne. Not having
waterwalk up will delay you moving around the demesne. Having the defense up
will actually hurt your movement speed. Am I understanding all of that
correctly?
---[Llandros on 3/18 @ 02:17 writes]:
I do not support 1 and 2. They would be substantial buffs. I've fought in plenty
of aquamenses pre surfboard and I can count on one hand the number of times I've
found myself swimming.
---[Inagin on 3/18 @ 06:12 writes]:
Llandros, if you have never found yourself swimming, then you must mean you
agree with Solution #2. Aquamancers use the same ability to strip Waterwalk and
Levitate. Just keep Levitate up and this will never affect you! (Also, I should
have been more clear. For Solution #2, everyone is affected. This mimics an
Aquamancy meld without Surfboards nearly identically--which Llandros doesn't
have a problem with!)
---[Enyalida on 3/19 @ 02:39 writes]:
I don't really think this is all that necessary. Envoy new types for the aqua
demesne. Also, get Neos to weigh in on this? It seems like aquamancy would
really be best served by new mechanics, instead of expanding the capacity to
screw around with movement. I don't like the solutions, which punish you if you
do, punish you if you don't. Solution 2 mitigates this somewhat, and is
therefore more okay than: "Have waterwalk stripped, be slowed, don't have it
stripped, be slowed more." which is just absurd.
---[Inagin on 3/19 @ 02:58 writes]:
I don't really think you understand, Enyalida. Perhaps, I have not explained
Solution #1 well enough. If you do not have a form of Waterwalk active, you have
to swim throughout the demesne due to Deluge. If Waterwalk is active, you are
only affected in the rooms adjacent to the Aquamancer. (Neos told me he likes
the solutions, but I'll let him comment for himself.)
---[Inagin on 3/19 @ 03:05 writes]:
One more thing that I left out: the seasickness effect does not occur when the
movement is forced.
---[Neos on 3/19 @ 05:29 writes]:
I did say I liked the solutions. I've considered the problem a number of times
in addition to various other problems plaguing the overall Aquamancy demesne,
and it's either patchwork fixes, or a complete overhaul of the demesne. The only
other option I can think up is blocking the use of surfboards while stillwater
is up, but that's just a bandaid in my opinion.
---[Llandros on 3/19 @ 17:03 writes]:
I dislike 1 sufficiently for it to make me suspicious of 2. Change it to be a
flat movement delay instead of balance loss.
---[Inagin on 3/19 @ 19:22 writes]:
I am 100% supportive of a 1 second movement delay identical to SWIM. In that
case, I really hope Solution #3 gets a chance. If Solution #3 is accepted, fewer
changes have to be made. If not, I guess we need another theme since seasickness
doesn't seem to make sense for movement delay.
---[Raeri on 3/20 @ 01:38 writes]:
Do not support any of these solutions. I also note that these solutions seem
tailored to nullify Tracking's swiftswim bonus, and that Solutions 1 and 2
appear to be aimed at buffing the effects of Pits in an aquamancer demesne more
than anything else.
---[Inagin on 3/20 @ 02:42 writes]:
How do any of these solutions nullify DeepseaHunter's SWIFTSWIM? Also, how does
Pit get buffed? (Assuming you're referring to the original concept of post-
movement balance loss, I feel like it helps for everything except Pits!) Please
elaborate.
---[Inagin on 3/20 @ 02:54 writes]:
Raeri, I also just noticed that you supported Solution #3 in the past based on
your comment in Report #464. Why do you suddenly not like that solution now?
---[Raeri on 3/20 @ 06:01 writes]:
I like it still, but apparently that's not going to fly based on the end
decision, so :(. And the pit comment was because I'm under the impression you
need to be on eq/bal to climb back out. Swiftswim comment is since the solution
as it stands makes it sound like the balance loss occurs regardless of how the
target moves, as long as waterwalk is up.
---[Inagin on 3/20 @ 06:27 writes]:
Pits will not be affected because you are stunned for around 2 seconds when you
fall into one. That is more than enough time for balance to be recovered.
(That's why I feel this is least helpful when used together with Tracking.) As
for SWIFTSWIM, I see what you mean now. However, it's not nullified. This is
because you get to move a bunch of rooms before you get the balance loss since
it's applied after moving. So, think of it as Sprinting with a 1.25 second
balance loss.
---[Inagin on 3/20 @ 06:37 writes]:
But anyway, Llandros expressed that a movement delay is preferable to balance
loss. I would like to stick to his suggestion since it closely resembles how it
was before Surfboards were introduced. I just need something that would make
more sense thematically...
---[Rivius on 3/20 @ 10:32 writes]:
I definitely agree with the problem, though I also would prefer a general
movement delay to balance loss.
---[Raeri on 3/21 @ 00:45 writes]:
I see. I'll go ahead and support a general movement delay (1s) on voluntary
cardinal movement within a radius of the demesne holder, I guess.
---[Neos on 3/21 @ 05:21 writes]:
Well, depends on the radius size and also have to consider how this would affect
people without waterwalk who are swimming. Do the delays compound? If the radius
is adjacent rooms only, I don't believe that really solves the problem of
surfboards and to a lesser extent Psymet Gliding making it very easy to walk
through an Aquamesne.
---[Inagin on 3/21 @ 07:16 writes]:
The delay only happens to people with Waterwalk up. It will be demesne-wide and
will affect everyone that does not have Levitate active.
---[Enyalida on 3/28 @ 21:57 writes]:
I still think that the problem is nicely solved by just making surfboard a rub
to gain everlasting enchantment. Any other (of these suggested) solutions fall
into this silly buisness where you penalize people for a defense designed to
help against that exact situation. Just make an effect that strips waterwalking
on adjacent rooms that isn't prot blocked, if needlerain is blocked by
protection. Even niftier would be a non-protection scroll blocked thing that
temporarily disables waterwalk on adjacent rooms, but only for short periods.
FastTide -> the tides will fluctuate wildly according to the will of the
aquamancer. When the tides are high, you have no choice but to swim! Every 5
seconds, the tides change. You can just wait, but you'll be wasting time. (Or
something)