[wip] Magic and The College Overhall

[deamonata]

You may have seen a topic, that I posted a few weeks back about a mod featuring an improvement to the questline to the Collage of Winterhold http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/464187-mage-guild-continuation/page__p__3823471__fromsearch__1&do=findComment&comment=3823471.

 

However I have since decided that this isn't what I am going to do, instead I intend to do a full overhaul of the magic system. Magic should just be something anybody can pick up from reading a few books. One I the first things you do in the vanilla game when you get to the Collage is to attend a lesson. Which I loved I thought great you won't just jump straight to archmage, but then it just went straight to classic elder scrolls (which don't get me wrong is great) but I want a game where to have magic you have to study it you have to research it you have to dedicate your life to it.

 

Sure there will be spells they any old adventurer can pick up, but the real power the real magic, you have to dedicate your life to. This mod will take to Collage of Winterhold and turn it into something that you could spend your whole game playing. There will be lessons in everything (alchemy included which seemed to not be taught there, do correct me if I am wrong though), through the lessons you will learn new spells. You can also learn new spells from research in the library, combining spells to create newer more powerful spells.

 

That is the mage overhaul to the magic system, however I also intend to give the Collage a bit of a facelift, primarily in the form of more mages, both students and teachers. You will be taken under the wing of a teacher who is proficient in the school of magic you wish to specialise in he will be a mentor for you.

 

There will be many opportunities for progression in the guild and many storylines to follow (though not all in the first mod) you can be dedicated to knowledge and learning everything you can or you could be interested in power and being able to control everyone, or maybe neither appeals to you and you just want to live a quiet normal life maybe making some good friends, marry, have a family.

 

The choice will be up to you.

 

Obviously this is a big mod, so maybe a bit off help might be useful, even if it is just ideas. I will probably work on this whatever because I always love the magic in ES games but it is never quite perfect, so this time I am going to fix it.

[Ixflashpointxi]

I have always wanted something like this. This was actually one of my first mod ideas when I heard Skyrim was announced. I have no former modding knowledge, but I'm quick to learn and will help in any way I can.

[mindinavoid]

I like this idea! Sure, you're the Dragonborn, you can pick up Shouting easily, but that doesn't mean you should be easily able to gain magical ability just by looking at a book. (Although I'll miss being able to gather a backlog of new spellbooks and using them all as fast as possible.)

 

My inner Grammar Gestapo is screaming, however, so I must indulge him (and this is important, if you're intending to write dialogue):

 

Please, for the love of Talos, use more commas and periods.

 

...but I want a game where to have magic you have to study it you have to research it you have to dedicate your life to it.

If you think there should be a pause there, PUT A PAUSE THERE. It's a headache to read otherwise. My vocalized thoughts ran out of air halfway through some of your sentences.

"...but I want a game where, in order to use magic, you have to study it, research it, and dedicate your life to it."

Much more readable, no? It also has a more natural flow. You write as if you're immensely excited about what you're detailing, and that's fine, but understand that someone who reads it is likely going to go cross-eyed trying to comprehend your sentences, unless you direct the thoughts into a more manageable flow.

 

It's a bit like how it's hard to read (and comprehend) something while paying attention to someone else, or while talking about something of a different topic. Or how those "You are now reading this in my voice" images with some recognizable celebrity (most often the Old Spice Guy or Morgan Freeman) can make you "hear" the voice in your head.

 

When you read, your mind parses the whole word at once, then the non-punctuated chunk as a whole. If the sentence is longer than ten words, you need places to pause for mental "breath", to parse the previous statement and give it equal consideration. Otherwise, it's like someone ran up to you and excitedly rattled, "HolycowdidyouseewhatjusthappenedIthinkIsawadragonitwentVREERoverthetreesandthensomeoneshotitwithanarrowanditwentYOLTORSHUULandthenweallcaughtfireandthenwediedthatwasawesome!"

 

You may have had to go back and re-read that chunk just to understand it, which illustrates my point: the mind, like the ears, requires gaps and breaks to consider the incoming information. Information overload leads to stack overflow, and your brain ends up discarding some of the earliest stuff just to figure out what the rest of it was. This post is long-winded, but you likely haven't had any trouble understanding anything I've explained, have you? Spacing, punctuation, and flow.

 

All ranting, pedantic complaints and persnickety punctuation aside, I'd be more than willing to provide assistance with sentence structure, spelling and grammatical correction, if you need someone for that. (If you have doubts of my knowledge on the subject, you didn't read any of that up there. Shame on you.)

_{(Edited: Spotted a typo. Figures the one time I don't re-re-re-read the post, I *FUS!* up something.)}

Edited December 6, 2011 by mindinavoid

[Darksun45230]

First allow me to direct you to my post about the Mage College's atmosphere and suggestions on how to make it more immersive.

 

http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/475883-skyrim%3B-populatuion-750/page__view__findpost__p__3900045

 

Secondly, allow me to suggest that magic needs two things to make it a viable, versatile resource of combat: Staff overhaul and perk reform.

 

More Spells, Spellcrafting, and Enchanting Staffs

 

Wizards, witches, and sorcerers, lend me your ears! As of now, we as a people are in dire straights. Our scrolls must be found off dirty dungeon floors and our Staffs in dark corners where gathering dust. No more, I say! I tire of the perilous jesting, kiting from ghouls waiting for my blue bar to fill like running marmalade! It's time we see advance beyond the precarious levels of novices and stepped forward into the world of magic. Hence, I suggest this before the Senate!

 

Craftable magical scrolls: by recipe and/or casting a spell and saving it for later.

 

The great Todd Howard was benevolent enough to grant us scrolls in the magic-hating world of Skyrim. As a persecuted people however, it seems our greatest enchantments are lost: the ability to create scrolls. My proposal is modest, give us the ability to craft Blank Spell Scrolls using Pen, Ink, and Blank Paper then allow us to enchant them like we would weapons.

 

Or...

 

Give us the ability to enchant them using our own spells, allowing us to bypass the tedium and wastefulness of sacrificing Soul Gems. The drawbacks would be that we'd only be able to use an exact duplicate of the spell we choose. By placing said spell on paper we sacrifice the same amount of mana we would normally use to cast that spell. This would ensure we don't abuse this during the middle of battle (if we were allowed to craft in the middle of battle.)

 

In Summary:

a) Enchanted Scrolls: Powerful spells that depend on your Enchanting skill or extra ammunition when Mana pool is low.

 

Craftable staffs: by recipe then enchanted like weapons.

 

Currently, the powers that be prevent us from crafting and enchanting our own Staffs. As a pure-blooded Mage who witnessed Gandalf the Grey conquer the Balrog with no more than his staff I demand the same for mine! An aristocratic noble-wizard such as myself prefers to keep my hands clean. That being the case, I demand the ability to create Staffs then enchant them like weapons. I demand Perks in my Enchanting skill-tree endorsing the longevity and power of said item as well. This will encourage wizards to invest in Soul Trap to keep their Staffs well fed (I also encourage you consider a Recharge hotkey for currently equipped weapon.)

 

In Summary:

a) Enchanted Staffs: Powerful items that depend on whatever school that spell falls under.

[deamonata]

First allow me to direct you to my post about the Mage College's atmosphere and suggestions on how to make it more immersive.

 

http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/475883-skyrim%3B-populatuion-750/page__view__findpost__p__3900045

 

Secondly, allow me to suggest that magic needs two things to make it a viable, versatile resource of combat: Staff overhaul and perk reform.

 

More Spells, Spellcrafting, and Enchanting Staffs

 

Wizards, witches, and sorcerers, lend me your ears! As of now, we as a people are in dire straights. Our scrolls must be found off dirty dungeon floors and our Staffs in dark corners where gathering dust. No more, I say! I tire of the perilous jesting, kiting from ghouls waiting for my blue bar to fill like running marmalade! It's time we see advance beyond the precarious levels of novices and stepped forward into the world of magic. Hence, I suggest this before the Senate!

 

Craftable magical scrolls: by recipe and/or casting a spell and saving it for later.

 

The great Todd Howard was benevolent enough to grant us scrolls in the magic-hating world of Skyrim. As a persecuted people however, it seems our greatest enchantments are lost: the ability to create scrolls. My proposal is modest, give us the ability to craft Blank Spell Scrolls using Pen, Ink, and Blank Paper then allow us to enchant them like we would weapons.

 

Or...

 

Give us the ability to enchant them using our own spells, allowing us to bypass the tedium and wastefulness of sacrificing Soul Gems. The drawbacks would be that we'd only be able to use an exact duplicate of the spell we choose. By placing said spell on paper we sacrifice the same amount of mana we would normally use to cast that spell. This would ensure we don't abuse this during the middle of battle (if we were allowed to craft in the middle of battle.)

 

In Summary:

a) Enchanted Scrolls: Powerful spells that depend on your Enchanting skill or extra ammunition when Mana pool is low.

 

Craftable staffs: by recipe then enchanted like weapons.

 

Currently, the powers that be prevent us from crafting and enchanting our own Staffs. As a pure-blooded Mage who witnessed Gandalf the Grey conquer the Balrog with no more than his staff I demand the same for mine! An aristocratic noble-wizard such as myself prefers to keep my hands clean. That being the case, I demand the ability to create Staffs then enchant them like weapons. I demand Perks in my Enchanting skill-tree endorsing the longevity and power of said item as well. This will encourage wizards to invest in Soul Trap to keep their Staffs well fed (I also encourage you consider a Recharge hotkey for currently equipped weapon.)

 

In Summary:

a) Enchanted Staffs: Powerful items that depend on whatever school that spell falls under.

 

 

That is a great idea I hadn't thought about that I will certainly look into making something like that.

Edited December 7, 2011 by deamonata

[CloudVvulf]

My inner Grammar Gestapo is screaming, however, so I must indulge him (and this is important, if you're intending to write dialogue):

 

Please, for the love of Talos, use more commas and periods.

 

This. Also get someone else to check your spelling.

 

Making spell damage/effects scale with skill level would be good as well.

[deamonata]

My inner Grammar Gestapo is screaming, however, so I must indulge him (and this is important, if you're intending to write dialogue):

 

Please, for the love of Talos, use more commas and periods.

 

This. Also get someone else to check your spelling.

 

Making spell damage/effects scale with skill level would be good as well.

 

 

I am aware of my poor grammar/spelling (the spelling would be worse, if chrome didn't pick most of it up), I blame my dyslexia. I will ensure that when Dialogue is written that someone else checks through it.

[insanekarma]

If you have bad grammar etc. why not let someone lend you a hand?

 

The choice is yours! You have requested help with certain aspects of your mod? I do agree with 'Mindinavoid' though, immersing dialogue is as important as improving the guild, changing spells, altering perks.

 

Take my advice as constructive-criticism. It isn't intended to put you off, I hope you do a good job!! :-)

[deamonata]

If you have bad grammar etc. why not let someone lend you a hand?

 

The choice is yours! You have requested help with certain aspects of your mod? I do agree with 'Mindinavoid' though, immersing dialogue is as important as improving the guild, changing spells, altering perks.

 

Take my advice as constructive-criticism. It isn't intended to put you off, I hope you do a good job!! :-)

 

 

Don't worry I do take it as constructive criticism, I do intend to get help with the mod, if anyone offers to join me in making this mod, I said as such in my first post:

so maybe a bit off help might be useful,

 

I would also welcome help in other aspects of the mod such as location design, voice acting, if you want to help drop me a line.

[NoDebate]

Migrated from another thread. A list of some beauties I'd like to see return.

 

---Water Walking. Water Breathing is there?

---Swift Swim. For when we have to swim?

---Fortifying Jump. I miss Tinur's Hoptoad.

---Slowfall. I guess Bethesda really likes us to die from fall damage?

---Shielding spells of any kind? With the exception of Ward which, has a niche against other casters, that's it.

---Furthermore, Frost/Fire/Shock Shields that return damage when struck?

---Open/Lock spells. You know, not all mages are a master with the lockpick. Not that it's that difficult to begin with, made even easier with a special modification.

I mean, with all those Alteration spells missing, maybe that's why they had to move Light and Paralysis from Illusion to Alteration.

 

---Absorb Health/Fatigue? Instead of making Absorb Health a "Vampire exclusive." - Note that, these spell effects already exist in game on weapons.

---Mark/Recall?

---Spell Absorption? The spell effect exists under the Atro Perk and Birth-sign.

---Spell Reflect? Also exists in game.

Oh wait, that's right, Mysticism was a "worthless" school. >.<

 

And the plethora of "spell effects" that already exist in game (Cure Disease, Cure Poison, Fortify Skill, Fortify Health/Magicka/Stamina, Regenerate Health/Magicka/Stamina, Damage Health/Stamina/Magicka, Resist Magicka/Fire/Frost/Shock/Poison/etc., Weakness to Magicka/Fire/Frost/Shock/Poison/etc.) but were never made into spells for one reason or another.