Report 113

Report #113
Skillset: Ecology Skill: HerbRenewal
 Org: Spiritsingers Status: Completed Jan 2009
Furies' Decision:
Will upgrade HerbRenewal to better justify the power cost.
Problem: Most skills that require repetitive power costs to function can have
this cost alleviated by being drawn from a wielded powerstone. This is not the
case for HerbRenewal, whose steep 5p power cost leaves it as one of the least
used skills in Ecology to bring back 1 unprotected, random herb.
[A: 0 R: 0] Solution #1: Make HerbRenewal first check for a wielded powerstone
 before drawing from the Ecologist's own personal
 reserves. Also, due to the precarious, unprotected
 state of the herb regrown, give HerbRenewal the
 effect of Nature Guard but for only half the length
 of time than actual Nature Guard so as to keep the
 skill's usefulness.
Player Comments:
---[Gregori on 1/3 @ 07:05 writes]:
I agree with this change, though this will not make Herbrenewal anymore used
IMHO. It is 5 power for 1 random plant that grows in that room, which means you
can't harvest it to replant, and unless you can nature growth it will likely be
stripped by someone or just die out again anyways from whatever killed the
plants in the room to begin with.
---[Gregori on 1/3 @ 07:13 writes]:
I agree with the half duration nature guard added to the skill.
---[Xenthos on 1/4 @ 15:22 writes]:
Make HerbRenewal also require 1 mistletoe and you might as well give the room a
full-duration Natureguard (instead of requiring the coding in of half-duration
ones). Natureguard is, I believe, 1p and 1 mistletoe, and would thus still be
used extensively in any situation where you are trying to protect the existing
plant life. This would give Mistletoe a bit more of a market. Though it would
also be nice if herbrenewal made 1 of every plant that can grow in the room...
again, for the power cost, it's not going to be spammed to make infinite herbs.
---[Xiel on 1/5 @ 00:06 writes]:
I've no qualms with adding a mistletoe requirement or if HerbRenewal renewed one
of each type of herb capable of growing in a given environment, but the desire
for powerstones to work and the need for the Guard protection remain foremost in
the proposal.
---[Xenthos on 1/10 @ 01:45 writes]:
No objection to that at all, but just considering the power cost I feel it could
do a bit more than just the suggestion.
---[Shuyin on 1/11 @ 06:17 writes]:
Sure
---[Sadhyra on 1/14 @ 14:25 writes]:
This solution seems fair, but I agree with the comments above in that I doubt
the change will cause much increase in the skill's use. Would it be excessive to
include something else, in addition, such as increased growth rate until the
herb's dormant season?
---[Xiel on 1/16 @ 03:55 writes]:
I wouldn't mind with more additions to the skill, though increased growth rate
is another Nature skill and already Guard is being asked to be added to
HerbRenewal. As long as the option to drain the power from a powerstone and
guard are included within this proposal, any other addition is just a perk for
this 5p skill.