LE TRUE Arcane Archery - Imbue Arrows ANYWHERE

[cajofor]

Hi, I've had an issue with the "Arcane Archery" mods out there, because you can be an "Arcane Archer" without EVER using a single spell, you just make the right(yet limited) arrows at the FORGE(no magic involved whatsoever, you're more of a <al>chemical engineer than an Arcane Archer at this point).

 

I FINALLY thought of a way to remedy that, and would love if someone could actually make it possible(I know where to find the codes for this, I just don't know how to recognize them, and don't have the CK). You just need a bity of patchwork.

 

First, you learn the script to trigger effects when an arrow hits anything(not limited to actors, just like the arrows of these "Arcane Archery" mods). Then you make a "copy" of the vanilla arrows(Iron through Daedric) for each non-self, non-concentration spell(Mage Armor, self-healing and Flames are out). These arrows should trigger the spell as though it hit the point the arrow landed(maybe make it as if the spell were cast from and to the place the arrow landed?), so that any summon, blast or trap-triggering the spell would cause is done at the place the arrow hits(summoned creatures should still be linked to the player).

 

Then you just need to make an "Imbue Arrow" spell for each of the spells added to these new arrows. And this is where the beauty of it comes:

 

The "Imbue Arrow:<spell name>" spell costs as much as the "<spell name>" spell, and uses the "Transmute Mineral Ore" code to replace a standard arrow with the appropriate "<spell name> arrow". But instead of prioritizing among two options(silver to gold or iron to silver), it prioritizes among the arrow ranks(daedric, then ebony, then glass, all the way to iron).

 

These spells should be marked as silent though...

 

EDIT:

I took a look at the script for Transmute Mineral Ore, and it actually uses a lot of script lines for just 2 possibilities. Including each arrow material would make the script too long, so it would be better to have separate spells, and I already thought of how to justify this in a lore-like manner.

 

There would be 3 "Imbue" spells for each applicable vanilla/DLC spell, one would be "Arrow Binding:<spell name>", for Daedric, Ebony or Glass arrows, another would be "Imbue Arrow:<spell name>", for Elven, Dwarven and Orcish arrows, and the other would be "Infuse Arrow:<spell name>" for Iron and Steel arrows.

 

The "Arrow Binding" would cost as much as the corresponding spell because Daedric, Ebony and Glass have higher magic affinity, "Imbue Arrow" would cost 110% of the spell cost, because even though they have some magical affinity, they're not perfect conduits, and "Infuse Arrow" would cost 120% the original spell cost, because you would be forcing a spell into a completely mundane arrow.

 

EDIT 2: The Spell Tomes for these spells should be included in the same leveled lists as the original spells they "Imbue", so that you don't get to shoot a spell you wouldn't be able to learn. If they could be auto-added when it detects you learned the original spell, it would be better, though vanilla assets should be changed as little as possible.

 

As for balance reasons about having to spend less magicka for a "stronger" arrow, just remember that these stronger arrows are more expensive, more uncommon, and the spell strength would still be the same(it actually SHOULD cast the original spell itself where or on whom it hits), so the arrow damage would be of little to no consequence.

Edited September 4, 2016 by cajofor

[NinjaWarriorPoet]

I wonder if you could auto-cast a spell when firing an arrow. Perhaps something similar to Elemental Fury. I think Mighty Magicka does something like this for melee weapons.

[cajofor]

There is one mod I used once that uses a MGEF on self to release an expanding projectile(like Ice Storm) and expend Magicka when shooting arrows, but that is awfully limited, and has a very short reach. Since Arcane Archers from D&D(first ones I ever heard about) don't imbue on-the-fly, but instead prepare the arrows with a very simple ritual, and since I'm looking for the triggering of the spell on the spot the arrow lands(even if it would normally go arond the caster, like Master Destruction spells), it would be much more simple to have the script attached to the arrows themselves, since there are already arrow-on-terrain effects out there.

 

If I find that mod I used once, I'll edit this answer to include the link or the name, so you can take a look for yourself. It changes a perk tree, though, so it has a high chance for incompatibilities.