Daenks/Meridian59_103 — pull request #574 by GarOfMeridian (2014-08-17 01:35:17+00:00)
Title: Banditry, Stances, Daggers & Throwing Daggers

This pull request adds a number of new skills, styles, and weapons. None of them
are actually 'in the game' here - they will simply exist for testing until the expansion.

The final structure of Banditry, our new roguecraft school, is a fusion of many player
and developer ideas. It has a very strong focus on informational abilities and alternate
methods of combat. Meridian warriors have never seen anything like these skills before.
Every level of Banditry has an information skill, a weapon ability, and a stance or
defensive ability.

Stances are new combat abilities that allow a fighter to change his style in powerful
fundamental ways. In this case, Meridian warriors are not going to be caught sleeping:
the addition of this school includes one stance for Weaponcraft 6 and one for Faren 6,
so that even those without Banditry will probably have access to a stance. For now,
say 'stance ' to enter that stance, and 'stance none' or 'stance normal' to have
no stance at all. Stances are improved simply by using them to their effect.

Furthermore, all characters will have a new Utility Skill called Awareness. Awareness
does not count toward skill or spell levels learned, and is extremely important for
competing on an ongoing basis. Awareness is a Banditry Intellect-based skill.

**Level One**
Awareness: every time another player enters or exits the room you are in, your Awareness
skill will attempt to notify you that the player has entered or exited. You can tell where
players are going to (You sense Gar leaving for The Main Gate of Tos.) but not where
they are coming from (You sense Gar entering the area.) Awareness messages will
be bold for enemies that enter and exit. (**You sense Gar entering the area!**)
Anonymous, morphed, and invisible players if you have no detect invis will all simply
show up as 'someone' when entering or leaving. Based on Intellect, which is important
for beating the counter-skill 'Sneak' (see level three).

Stab: the basic stroke for Dagger weapons. Daggers are equivalent to Short Swords,
but do piercing damage. They have range 3. Daggers themselves are inferior to
Weaponcraft tools, but daggers work better with many Banditry skills. Based on Aim.

Light Feet: a basic beginner stance that cuts the vigor cost of running by up to 50%.
Based on Agility. This is the only Stance that has no inherent penalty.

**Level Two**
Perception: every time another player casts a spell in the room you're in, your Perception
skill will attempt to notify you which spell was cast, by who, and on what target. This will
make combat logs extremely detailed, and also help you clue in as to who is being
targeted by the enemy / your allies midcombat. Based on Intellect, but will almost always
work at 99% regardless of primary stat level.

Dagger Wielding: the proficiency skill for Daggers. Very important, as, like any other
proficiency, it can add up to 5 base damage - and Daggers are very weak otherwise.
Based on Aim.

Swift Hands: a rather risky beginner stance, Swift Hands adds up to 25% more offense
at the cost of as little as 50% defense. This is a final modifier: if you have 1000 offense
and 1000 defense after all bonuses, buffs, and factions, you will end up with 1250 offense
and 500 defense. Based on Aim. Aim can add up to another 10% more offense (35% total).

**Level Three**
Sneak: users of the Sneak skill can enter and exit rooms without triggering opponent
Awareness messages. To activate Sneak, the user must walk for 4 seconds, after which
they will automatically attempt to enter sneak mode. Users will see a PE icon and a message.
Sneak is based on Agility, and is more effective the higher Agility a warrior has. Characters
with high Intellect may still have their Awareness skill beat your Sneak if you have low Agility.
Sneak requires focus: casting, fighting, running, and resting will lose it.

Throw: making extremely creative use of throwing daggers, those skilled with Throw can
make up for the chaos of battle by using this alternate attack. Throw activates only when
a user fails to make a range check with a melee weapon - instead of missing that round
of attacking, your character will automatically attempt to throw a dagger instead. While
wielding most weapons, throwing daggers can reach range 5. While unarmed or wielding
a Dagger as a main weapon, throwing daggers can reach range 8. Throwing daggers do
weak damage, but they automatically fill in those moments when you would otherwise
miss your opportunity to attack, thus increasing your DPS and gaining small building
advantage. Based on Aim.

Tumble: a very different kind of defensive skill, Tumble allows a skilled warrior to completely
avoid a small portion of attacks that would otherwise have landed on them. Up to 5%
avoidance comes from the skill, and another 7% from Agility (if you can reach 70 Agility,
so 5% is really the effective cap). This means a high Agility Tumbler can avoid up to 10%
of attacks that would have otherwise hit him. A low agility Tumbler can avoid 5% - 6%.
Based on Agility. This skill synergizes well with risky stances like Swift Hands or
Reckless Heart (level 6).

**Level Four**
Hide: a user with this skill can avoid detection on the map, and avoid being targeted.
This skill is automatically activated by walking for 4 seconds while Sneaking (for a total
of 8 seconds for sneak and hide). Hidden users must be click-targeted to be attacked,
as automatic targeting does not work on them (they're hidden, duh!). This skill is based
on Agility. Hidden users are NOT invisible, although they can also cast Invisibility and
become extremely difficult to detect. Hide also provides protection from Track (level 6).

Throwing Precision: proficiency for throwing daggers, practically required for them
to do decent damage at all.

Heavy Arms: a midlevel stance that adds up to 25% defense at the cost of as little as
50% offense. Based on Agility, and Agility can add up to another 10% defense, for
a total of 35%. This is a very powerful skill for increasing defense, although it'll be
very difficult to hit anyone with weapons. This skill is very suited for survival situations
or magic users. Note, however, that other players can get Swift Hands for 5 Intellect
and use it to counter your Heavy Arms (15 Intellect cost) if they really need to. Offense
has the advantage.

**Level Five**
Track: a skilled tracker can say the name of a target to begin tracking them. Then,
whenever the tracker enters a new room, if the target is within 3 rooms of that room,
the tracker has a chance to be notified of the direction the target is in. If the tracker
fails, they may be told the wrong direction. The tracker is not told exactly where the
target is - for example, if you are tracking Gar, and Gar is in Flatlands, and you
enter Main Gate of Tos, you will be told that Gar is in the direction of Border of the
Badlands. Gar could be in BOB, Flats, CN MG, or Outskirts BQ - or none of those,
if you failed the check and were told the wrong direction. If Gar is hiding, you will
be told that Gar is nearby, but hiding. Tracking is based on Intellect.
This skill is intended to bring much needed organic matchmaking to the game.
You can't just use it indiscriminately; you must choose a target, and then be on
the move yourself, but it does dramatically help improve actually finding your enemy
to fight them.

Backstab: Banditry's flagship skill, Backstab, is the classic skill we all know and love.
To attempt a Backstab, the user must be sneaking and hiding, and then attack a target
that is above 95% health. Backstab will attempt to guarantee a hit - the only way
to miss a Backstab is if the enemy tumbles successfully. If the Backstab hits, it will
deal up to 100% more damage from the skill and 70% more damage from Aim if
you are using a Dagger. Other weapons will receive half of that damage bonus.
This is a final modifier: if your final damage is 20, and you have 50 Aim, you can do
up to 50 damage with a dagger strike (+100% + 50%). Finally, this damage is absolute,
meaning it will bypass all armor, resistances, weaknesses, and caps. Backstabbing allows
a user that managed to sneak and hide their way up to an enemy to start that encounter
off at a large advantage. Many weaker monsters die instantly to backstabs.

Tight Grip: this skill offers a chance to resist disarms. Disarm is due for an upgrade,
and mobs will be able to disarm in the near future, so this will be far more useful than it
seems. Dagger and unarmed attacks reduce your chance to successfully Tight Grip by
50% (so Tight Grip is only half as effective against disarm attempts from daggers and fists).
Otherwise, up to 95% of Disarm attempts can be resisted by a Level 5 Banditry master.
Based on Might.

**Level Six**
Spy: Banditry's final and most powerful information skill, Spy allows a sneaking and hiding
user to 'peer' into a room for up to 4 seconds before fully entering it. Spyers must walk;
any focus breaking will break Spy, and you will appear. However, Spying is incredibly
powerful in that it allows you to effectively enter rooms from points other than the exact
zone-in spot (enter while sneaking and hiding, use your four seconds to walk past the
entry point) or to get first strike on those waiting for them at an entry point (you will
see your enemy and have a chance to attack or cast, after which your sneak, hide,
and spy will all drop). Spy is an incredible gamechanger for those that have it. Zone-in
points and tactics around them may never be the same. However, walls will still catch
Spyers and stop them in their tracks.

Reckless Heart: a master level stance, Reckless Heart adds up to 20% more damage to
both you and the enemy from all sources. For example, if you usually strike Gar
for 10 damage after Gort/armor/resists, you will instead do 12. If he usually strikes you
for 10, he will instead do 12. Your risk and strength are both increased. This is post-cap!
If you would do 30, you can instead do 36. These damage increases also apply to spells:
an explosive frost that does 30 will almost certainly do 36. There are clear advantages
for combining magic use and Banditry, but remember, Reckless Heart works both ways...
Based on Might.

-------------
That's Banditry.

What are the two stances for WC 6 and Faren 6?

**Level 6 Weaponcraft**
Focused Mind: an Intellect-based master stance, Focused Mind allows disciplined warriors
to improve their health & vigor regeneration at the cost of mana regeneration. This is a final
modifier, surpassing all caps. As the only Weaponcraft skill based on Intellect, it rewards
intelligent warriors with up to 100% faster health regen at the cost of up to 100% slower
mana regeneration. Put simply, the time to regen 1 point of mana is twice as long at max,
and the time to regen 1 point of health is half as long / twice as fast. This stance can
be extremely powerful if used correctly, but is also very dangerous for fighters that
already have very low mana pools.

**Level 6 Faren**
Poised Soul: an Agility-based master stance, Poised Soul allows disciplined mages to
improve their mana regeneration at the cost of health and vigor regen. This is a final
modifier just like Focused Mind. Mana regen can be sped up by up to 36%, while health
regen will slow down by 100% (the returns are not as sharp as Focused Mind because
mana regen already has many modifiers and bonuses, but this is still extremely powerful).
But again, the penalties for this stance are very real, so be wary of your health and vigor
totals.