MagpieOAO Posted June 23, 2025 Report Posted June 23, 2025 (edited) As someone who hasn't made it to the bronze age. Clockmaker; Can actually make clockwork things + An early game pendant that reduces the rate at which you lose temporal stability and which you gain it back (A neck watch?) + Mechanized clockpunk tools; EX buzzsaw with a crank, the crank tensions a series of gears pressing a long spring into the shaft of the saw. When activated the spring turns the gears, spinning a rotary sawblade. Also a jackhammer, and shovel. Though not designed AS weapons, it's hard to deny their brief bursts of effectiveness before needing to be re-wound. Can also be found rarely in ruins or traders. (For Tinkerer trait) + Midgame can make a temporal gear powered clock that reduces the duration of temporal storms + Moves faster during temporal storms Blackguard; By A N Y means + Sometimes things got dire. Very dire. Addon to Merciless, Blackguards can make a special club akin to many wood-age warriors with bits of bone, stone or metal (Arrowheads) driven into the surface of the club to act as a very crude hacking weapon. Not very durable but exceptionally damaging as the weapon tended to break apart and leave jagged bits in its foes. + Can eat rot or uncooked food at a reduced nutritional value + Can make bone broth soup from bones and water - Clumsy, due to the noise you make, animals can spot you from further away All of these traits are effective and make the class different almost immediately and in most circumstances. Also provide some means (with flavor) to counteract the hunger debuff and make it more interesting as you may be forced into some unsavory choices....(I do hope those piles of bones were animals...) Hunter, the sneak archer you have been since skyrim + Poison: Hunters can make poison from damaging mushrooms by stewing them in a pot with water. This will render the pot residue covered. Poison can then be applied to weapons including projectiles which slows and damages the poisoned victim. This makes it easier to actually hunt things and should be useful throughout the playthrough, also good for friends. - The storms are so different than the forest, its rhythm, its calmness, you can't stop shaking during these confounded unnatural events (accuracy decreased in temporal storms) - You lose temporal stability faster than others when below ground (Addon to claustrophobic) Some downsides to hunters in line with their role. Malefactor sneaky plucky survivor + Snare: A simple rope trap that once stepped in, tightens around the limb and roots its victim to a spot. This is useful on tiny to medium sized animals. A bear or shiver isn't going to get caught in this. + Caltrop: A jagged bit of sharpened metal made to point a sharp side upwards no matter how it falls, this tiny spike brings the pain and slow to anything that treads on it and will be embedded in them, but can usually be recovered afterwards. + Stake trap: Sharpening a log down to stake, which can be placed in the ground, walls or combined to make a wall that will hurt and repel whatever hits it. Can be used for some nasty traps, just don't fall in it yourself. + Climbing rope: ladder made of knotted rope. It takes more effort to climb but less to make. -Heavy conscience: Witnessing the monsters reminds you of what was done. You're not so different, are you? Temporal stability drains around monsters (not animals). You could run, or you could repeat the mistakes of the past.... More around mobility, sneaking and avoiding fights with a bit of flavor in the form of a downside to their upside. Tailor + Cloaks. Taking the pendant slot and giving both warmth and protection over the torso, head and legs. Cloaks can come in many colors and designs, can be found or purchased from traders. + Hammock: Made with linen, string and a couple of logs this cozy bed doesn't require much to make but lets you sleep in better than a straw bed and can be easily picked back up. + Padded inserts; Tailors can create an assortment of padding or plates to add to clothing to create armored versions of those clothes. Effectively you're taking an item and making it X armor and now follows all the rules of X armor, but gives the appearance of the clothing. Why the heck would we have someone who makes all kinds of beautiful clothes...only for them to be covered up by armor!? Probably some restrictions on how far you can go though, maybe chain at best. Edited June 23, 2025 by MagpieOAO
ifoz Posted June 23, 2025 Report Posted June 23, 2025 53 minutes ago, MagpieOAO said: -Heavy conscience: The ruins hold the means of your continued life but also the painful memories. Temporal stability reduces around ruins. As cool as it is, this would make basing in ruins near-impossible for Malefactor players, which would just serve to limit player freedom in regards to storytelling and building. I think it would need either some way to negate this effect if you base at a ruin, or lean more into their heavy conscience to do with hurting people. Malefactor's subtext indicates that due to whatever they did in the past, they don't want to hurt anyone ever again, which ingame reduces their melee damage. Perhaps it could be the same effect but only applied to humanoid enemies (drifters, shivers, bowtorn), or something of the sort. 1
MagpieOAO Posted June 23, 2025 Author Report Posted June 23, 2025 9 hours ago, ifoz said: As cool as it is, this would make basing in ruins near-impossible for Malefactor players, which would just serve to limit player freedom in regards to storytelling and building. I think it would need either some way to negate this effect if you base at a ruin, or lean more into their heavy conscience to do with hurting people. Malefactor's subtext indicates that due to whatever they did in the past, they don't want to hurt anyone ever again, which ingame reduces their melee damage. Perhaps it could be the same effect but only applied to humanoid enemies (drifters, shivers, bowtorn), or something of the sort. Good point, and I hadn't thought of that!
LadyWYT Posted June 24, 2025 Report Posted June 24, 2025 On 6/22/2025 at 8:07 PM, MagpieOAO said: Clockmaker; Can actually make clockwork things + An early game pendant that reduces the rate at which you lose temporal stability and which you gain it back (A neck watch?) + Mechanized clockpunk tools; EX buzzsaw with a crank, the crank tensions a series of gears pressing a long spring into the shaft of the saw. When activated the spring turns the gears, spinning a rotary sawblade. Also a jackhammer, and shovel. Though not designed AS weapons, it's hard to deny their brief bursts of effectiveness before needing to be re-wound. Can also be found rarely in ruins or traders. (For Tinkerer trait) + Midgame can make a temporal gear powered clock that reduces the duration of temporal storms + Moves faster during temporal storms I agree that Clockmaker would benefit from having a few unique gadgets they can craft to help make certain things easier. I will note though that they already have an inherent boost to their movement speed, so allowing them to move even faster isn't necessary. A gadget to help reduce stability loss, as well as increase stability recovery, is a decent idea. I would also add that a gadget that can locate translocators would be a nice improvement too, since it would pair well with the Clockmaker's ability to repair them more easily. It would also give them a more unique niche regarding travel, since seeking out translocators to jump across long distances would be much more viable than it is currently. On 6/22/2025 at 8:07 PM, MagpieOAO said: Blackguard; By A N Y means + Sometimes things got dire. Very dire. Addon to Merciless, Blackguards can make a special club akin to many wood-age warriors with bits of bone, stone or metal (Arrowheads) driven into the surface of the club to act as a very crude hacking weapon. Not very durable but exceptionally damaging as the weapon tended to break apart and leave jagged bits in its foes. + Can eat rot or uncooked food at a reduced nutritional value + Can make bone broth soup from bones and water - Clumsy, due to the noise you make, animals can spot you from further away All of these traits are effective and make the class different almost immediately and in most circumstances. Also provide some means (with flavor) to counteract the hunger debuff and make it more interesting as you may be forced into some unsavory choices....(I do hope those piles of bones were animals...) Blackguards are fine as-is, and probably the strongest class currently in the game in most circumstances. They already have a unique sword and shield that is very strong; more unique weapons aren't really needed(though it would be nice if they could craft their armor set). Regarding raw/rotten food...just because they need to eat more doesn't mean they're going to stoop to eating things that are gross, and you shouldn't ever be in a position where you NEED to eat raw food/rot to survive. Bone broth is something that should be able to all classes if added, not just one. If it were unique to a class, it should be a recipe for a Chef, not a Blackguard. The clumsy trait I could see working, but you'd need to give them more of a health boost or something to compensate. Otherwise, it's a nerf that they don't really need. On 6/22/2025 at 8:07 PM, MagpieOAO said: Hunter, the sneak archer you have been since skyrim + Poison: Hunters can make poison from damaging mushrooms by stewing them in a pot with water. This will render the pot residue covered. Poison can then be applied to weapons including projectiles which slows and damages the poisoned victim. This makes it easier to actually hunt things and should be useful throughout the playthrough, also good for friends. - The storms are so different than the forest, its rhythm, its calmness, you can't stop shaking during these confounded unnatural events (accuracy decreased in temporal storms) - You lose temporal stability faster than others when below ground (Addon to claustrophobic) Some downsides to hunters in line with their role. Hunter is very strong already, and the stealth archer gimmick should really stay in Skyrim(it's a fun character build but WAY TOO STRONG). Stealth mechanics should be available to all classes, and if any class has a specific boost to going unnoticed more easily, it should be the Malefactor. The only stealth bonus I would possibly give Hunter is perhaps make animals notice them a little less easily(though not to the same extent as the Malefactor), since a good hunter will know how to avoid alerting prey. Accuracy is already decreased by temporal storms, since the distortions make it harder to aim, and hunters rely on ranged combat since they're weaker in melee. It's also more difficult to hit a target if you're moving while firing, which you're likely to be doing during a temporal storm. If you just make it even harder for them to hit their targets in such situations, all you're really doing is punishing the player for picking Hunter as their class. As for losing stability faster while underground...they already have a penalty to mining drops and mining speed. The penalty to mining speed, when paired with the melee penalty, means that they'll spend more time underground on average than other classes when it comes to completing underground tasks. I think penalizing them further would just make the class more frustrating to play than fun. On 6/22/2025 at 8:07 PM, MagpieOAO said: Malefactor sneaky plucky survivor + Snare: A simple rope trap that once stepped in, tightens around the limb and roots its victim to a spot. This is useful on tiny to medium sized animals. A bear or shiver isn't going to get caught in this. + Caltrop: A jagged bit of sharpened metal made to point a sharp side upwards no matter how it falls, this tiny spike brings the pain and slow to anything that treads on it and will be embedded in them, but can usually be recovered afterwards. + Stake trap: Sharpening a log down to stake, which can be placed in the ground, walls or combined to make a wall that will hurt and repel whatever hits it. Can be used for some nasty traps, just don't fall in it yourself. + Climbing rope: ladder made of knotted rope. It takes more effort to climb but less to make. -Heavy conscience: Witnessing the monsters reminds you of what was done. You're not so different, are you? Temporal stability drains around monsters (not animals). You could run, or you could repeat the mistakes of the past.... More around mobility, sneaking and avoiding fights with a bit of flavor in the form of a downside to their upside. We already have basket traps, which acts as a sort of snare. Caltrops would be an interesting unique craftable for the Malefactor, though that might make them a little too strong. The sling is already a fairly strong unique item, as it's cheap and the ammunition it uses can be found en masse pretty much anywhere. The stake trap would be a decent addition to the game, but should be something available to all classes and not locked to just one. The climbing rope isn't really needed, since we have ladders. Regarding the Heavy Conscience change, I agree with @ifoz. A penalty just for being around monsters is just going to be frustrating to play around, especially when there are specific instances where you HAVE to fight through monsters in order to progress the story. I would also note that there's already a penalty for being around monsters, for all classes. If you're near a monster, you get attacked, and depending on how equipped you are to deal with the situation the consequence could be as simple as a bit of damaged equipment, or as severe as death and item loss. On 6/22/2025 at 8:07 PM, MagpieOAO said: Tailor + Cloaks. Taking the pendant slot and giving both warmth and protection over the torso, head and legs. Cloaks can come in many colors and designs, can be found or purchased from traders. + Hammock: Made with linen, string and a couple of logs this cozy bed doesn't require much to make but lets you sleep in better than a straw bed and can be easily picked back up. + Padded inserts; Tailors can create an assortment of padding or plates to add to clothing to create armored versions of those clothes. Effectively you're taking an item and making it X armor and now follows all the rules of X armor, but gives the appearance of the clothing. Why the heck would we have someone who makes all kinds of beautiful clothes...only for them to be covered up by armor!? Probably some restrictions on how far you can go though, maybe chain at best. Cloaks are something that we already have. They do keep you warm, and are equipped in the Shoulder slot, I believe. More cloaks would nice, and having fancier ones limited as Tailor-exclusive craftables is consistent with all the other exclusive clothing that Tailors are able to craft. It is their niche, after all. I could see hammocks being a potential addition, but not as a Tailor exclusive unless it's a very fancy hammock. Fancy bedspreads would be a much better option in my opinion, especially since hammocks seem like they'd be a little too useful to traveling the wilds...something the Tailor very much struggles with. Padded inserts are already covered by the tailored gambesons. Gambeson is very good general-purpose armor, and tailored armor is just a classier version with slightly better stats. One quirk of Vintage Story is that you don't necessarily want to be wearing armor all the time, and not all armor is created equal either. Certain armors work better for certain situations than others. In any case, I understand the frustration with armor covering fashion too, though in that case I would say a setting to show/hide the armor would be much better than an item that turns clothing into armor. 2
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