Insanity

[cfh85]

if you were an insane fist fighter, what might you do?

 

as a special ability my brawler class will have insanity, which will involve randomly selected actions. Some may be very bad in certain situations, like removing all armour, others good like suddenly regaining all health.

 

This is for a companion NPC, so what you you like to see?

Edited September 3, 2012 by cfh85

[scarycave]

Well for the cursed armor I'm working on, there's a sound file called "voicesinhead". It makes it sound like the Player is talking to himself. Maybe you could have your companion not play the sound, but actually add a voice-file where he'll say something "insane".

 

You could also have him "faint"(PushActorAway Self), and have him scream loudly at the same time. :teehee:

 

Or just have him flip-out and set combat target Player, the if IsAttacking && GetCombatTarget == Player then StopCombat and have him apologize.

Edited September 3, 2012 by scarycave

[cfh85]

I had considered setting the PC as combat target but, if you're using the NPC as part of a group of followers, or in a town near guards etc then other NPCs will end up involved in the combat, which could become a real problem and make the class unusable

[theuseless]

An insane fistfighter would most likely be a drunken degenerate as well. Look at the comic book "Lobo" from DC. Some of the earlier issues are perfect for what you are looking up. He is an insane, violent, schizophrenic alien who rides a space motorcycle, wreaking havoc on the entire universe. Or you could get drunk with a street kid. Most of us are harmless unless provoked.

[cfh85]

I think I need to play test startcombat on player. See if I can get it to run for one hit, then stop and remove any bounty. Hopefully that will be enough to stop everyone from attacking them.

 

I also like the idea of randomly stopping combat and adding a wander package.

 

Add a find alcohol package? then get a bit drunk...

 

Any abilities that force the actor to do this would also make them essential, otherwise they'd eventually end up dead. Maybe I should randomly generate the chance of being essential based on it's 'Companion Level'. That way a low level brawler that wanders off might die.

 

I need a lot of different things that they could do so it's more random. Each action would need to be evaluated so that a low level the actor is more likely to get the negative abilities and at high level get abilities that make the actor the most powerful class of companion.

 

I want the brawler to be the class that frustrates you, makes you laugh and makes you sit back in awe at it's unleashed destructive nature. You wont so much as control them as you will guide them. Perhaps the abilities will start off with a comment from the actor

"I feel like a party" - don't expect them to hang around much longer

"I need to let off some steam" - they're going to get in a fight, lead them somewhere with enemies otherwise you may end up the target

etc

[theuseless]

I was walking through town today and heard a couple of unique maniacal laughs. I think the spontaneous mad laughter might be cool. And you could also throw random threats and nonsensical comments in, such as "Keep talking like that and I'll have to break your arm!" and "No, I didn't. If you keep saying I did, I'll bust your teeth out!"

 

Shakespeare's complete works have served well for me as a random dialogue generator.

Edited September 7, 2012 by theuseless

[scarycave]

Have you considered making him an outlaw in certain towns? Like he's never aloud to set foot in Skingard or something.

[cfh85]

this is going to be a class. Because of that it needs to be things that seem more random. Custom dialogue is out for now as I'm working with the aim that this mod will be used by others, in the same way as CM partners is.

 

Having them banned from a city isn't exactly right, however having them randomly refusing to go into different cities is good. I could add an ability that will run for 1 game month that prevents them from entering certain worldspaces (I think).

 

Little touches like random dialogue or 'crazy' twitches, though they may add character, don't really have an affect on functionality or combat effectiveness. The aim is not for the class to be a novelty, but rather for it to be a right pain, but sometimes absolutely epic. I already have a lot of scripted abilities that can make them much more combat effective (not just plain fortify effects) that could make them more powerful than an NPC of a much higher level. It's the bad/annoying abilities I need.

 

Maybe they'd decide to light a torch when sneaking whilst an enemy is near...