Arkenstone activation in Vanilla
Timo Pietilä
item. In particularly its activation is useless. All other lightsources
detect dungeon structures (phial lites rooms, Star magic maps and
palantir wizard-lights entire dungeon).
We need to boost its activation. Maybe combination of magic mapping +
light room + detect all. Something more than completely useless
detection. By the time you find it (unless extremely lucky) you either
have zillion detection rods or detection prayer or combination of magic
spells that detect monster/stairs&doors/invisible/items.
My opinion would be to get rid of Palantir completely and restore wizard
light to Arkenstone.
Because Palantir aggravates we currently have two best lightsources as
two shallowest ones. Which is obviously wrong.
Timo Pietil�
Wally the Grey
My opinion? Change Arkenstone to wizard light. Palantir loses
aggravation, gains "wizardly knowledge" activation, or maybe "dangerous
knowledge", or some name like that. Randomly either *id*s something,
regular-identifies everything on your person and on the floor square
you're standing on, or restores int and wis, but each activation also
randomly either summons an undead, makes you aggravate for that one
round, or subjects you to an attempt to confuse, mind-blast,
brain-smash, or something with a chance to pierce resistance.
Justification: in the source material I recall that the Palantir is
perilous, giving clairvoyant information but also, WHEN USED, allows the
forces of evil to know your position and to assail your mind.
So it should probably only aggravate when activated, and there should be
other potential side effects of aggravation fitting the theme of the
enemy dispatching forces to your position and/or assailing your mind.
Of course for that it needs also a useful result when activated, in the
theme of "knowledge" and distinct from Phial, Arkenstone etc.; hence
maybe something oriented more towards identify than dungeon
lighting/mapping.
Eddie Grove
> Just found Arkenstone. By the time you find it it is pretty much useless
> item. In particularly its activation is useless. All other lightsources detect
> dungeon structures (phial lites rooms, Star magic maps and palantir
> wizard-lights entire dungeon).
I think I like it the way it is. If you don't like the activation, keep the
star instead. Is that so bad?
I guess I don't really care, but the fact that you might not immediately ditch
the star to keep the arkenstone seems like a plus rather than a minus.
Playing a paladin recently I appreciated it. You get light and mapping from
books, but do not get detect invisible or detect objects. The detection
activation was more useful than light or mapping to my paladin at least until
I decided to stop carrying PB1.
Eddie
Timo Pietilä
Has Paladin lost detection prayer? Usually you have that before you find
Arkenstone. Also rods of detection have been pretty common quite a while
by the time you find it.
Detect invisible is pretty much covered by detect evil barring Q:s. Rods
of detect treasure detects objects.
Timo Pietil�
Eddie Grove
> Eddie Grove wrote:
> > Timo Pietilä <timo.p...@helsinki.fi> writes:
> >
> >> Just found Arkenstone. By the time you find it it is pretty much useless
> >> item. In particularly its activation is useless. All other lightsources detect
> >> dungeon structures (phial lites rooms, Star magic maps and palantir
> >> wizard-lights entire dungeon).
> > I think I like it the way it is. If you don't like the activation, keep the
> > star instead. Is that so bad?
> > I guess I don't really care, but the fact that you might not immediately
> > ditch
> > the star to keep the arkenstone seems like a plus rather than a minus.
> > Playing a paladin recently I appreciated it. You get light and mapping from
> > books, but do not get detect invisible or detect objects. The detection
> > activation was more useful than light or mapping to my paladin at least until
> > I decided to stop carrying PB1.
>
> Has Paladin lost detection prayer? Usually you have that before you find
> Arkenstone. Also rods of detection have been pretty common quite a while by
> the time you find it.
Hmm -- I am completely confused. Paladins do not have clairvoyance, but they
do have detection.
> Detect invisible is pretty much covered by detect evil barring Q:s. Rods of
> detect treasure detects objects.
Q's are a big deal, and so are grand master mystics. I usually pick my light
basically to try to save a slot. E.g. I often use the phial so I can light
rooms without PB1 in preference to using the arkenstone for resists.
Nevertheless, since paladins get detection, my point made no sense.
Eddie