Almanach Expansion + Abilities, Region, and Religion

[W1ck3dWolf]

Abilities, Region & Religion​

As per the usual, I will begin by addressing the different categories. I will describe what they mean to me, and how they impact the world. I will then follow up by delving into each of the different categories, dissecting them and adding to them.

Abilities (character-wise): Refers to the power to do or act physically.
​

For WesterosCraft, abilities are what define our characters. Abilities are special enhancements we have on top of our basic skills. For example, a skill would be Combat. An ability would be a certain action or maneuver, like an overhead cleave that does twice the damage if it lands.

Abilities will be earned by unlocking and purchasing them. The player must reach a certain skill level to gain access to new abilities such as an overhead cleave. Players are then able to visit NPC’s of the corresponding skill to “Learn a new ability”. The vendor will ask for some sort of payment - i.e. a favor(quest), gold, an item, etc. After payment has been received, the player will have “learned” the new ability and may now use it. I am currently thinking of how we will explain this to players. WIth the custom launcher, anything is possible. We could have a character menu that shows your stats, as well as shows your abilities and how to use them.


DISCLAIMER: Some skills ARE borrowed from McMMO, some are my own. Also, names will be applied to those that are lacking of good names. This list is always being updated too. Thanks!

Abilities List Sorted by Skills (this will for sure be expanded)

• Combat (Swords, axes, bows, daggers, etc.)
  
  
  • Heavy strike (overhead cleave)
    
    
  • Regular strike (default combat ability)
    
    
  • Quick strike (stab)
    
    
  • Slash (swinging motion)
    
    
  • Charge (head on strike)
    
    
  • Weighted Pullback (extra power for bows)
    
    
  • Hip Quiver (faster fire rate for bows)
    
    
  • More to be added as I brainstorm
    
• Survivability
  
  
  • Healing (quicker healing)
    
    
  • Health (total amount of health)
    
    
  • Eating (ability to eat different things normal players can’t)
    
    
  • Medicine (ability to help others+yourself heal)
    
    
  • Cold Resistance (see bottom of thread)
    
    
  • Disease/Infection Resistance (see bottom of thread)
    
• Speech
  
  
  • Literate (ability to read+write)
    
    
  • Haggle (better NPC deals)
    
    
  • More to come
    
• Crafting
  
  
  • Simple Crafting (ability to craft items such as backpacks, impromptu weapons/arrows, basic furniture, basic food, etc.)
    
    
  • Advanced Crafting (ability to craft better makeshift weapons, advanced furniture, warmth devices[see bottom], and better packs, better food)
    
    
  • Expert Crafting (ability to craft all furniture, low level weapons, better packs, better warmth devices[see bottom], herbal medicines[see bottom], best food
    
• Gathering
  
  
  • Luck (chances of finding extra of a resource is increased)
    
    
  • More to come
    
• Forging (armor includes shields)
  
  
  • Basic Smithing (ability to create leather armor)
    
    
  • Basic Smithing (ability to create chainmail armor)
    
    
  • Advanced Smithing (ability to create iron armor + weapons)
    
    
  • Expert Smithing (ability to create gold armor + weapons and apply low tier enchantments to weapons and armor)
    
    
  • Master Smithing (ability to create diamond armor + weapons and apply high tier enchantments to weapons and armor)
    
• Armor Skills
  
  
  • Light Armor (grants protection bonus to anyone wearing a full set of chainmail or leather armor)
    
    
  • Heavy Armor (grants a protection bonus to anyone wearing a full set of iron, gold, or diamond armor)
    

Region: Refers to an area a player is located in
​

Regions are quite simple to explain and set - in fact, GoT already did this for us. Regions are certain areas of the world such as the North, or the Stormlands. These are areas that are separated by economic prosperity, cultural differences, and religious differences. They are controlled by different parties and have their own pros and cons to being in them. For example, it snows in the North, if you don’t like snow, thats a con. But different (new term - completely original and my idea) R.O.’s (Region of Origins) grant different bonuses. For example, if a player originates from beyond the wall, they are more likely to learn certain skills such as Survivability quicker than they will learn Speech skills. Whereas the opposite, players from King’s Landing will learn Speech skills faster than they will learn Survivability skills.

Regions can be very safe and very unsafe for players as well. Players that come from rich areas of the world, such as the Crownlands, will most likely not be welcomed beyond the wall. The style of life is completely different. This is called culture. Each region has its own specific culture that is special to it. Players will be much safer in areas where they fit in as opposed to areas of differing views.

As previously stated, the factors that determine a region are as follows:

• Climate
  
  
• Culture
  
  
• Religion
  
  
• Wealth Distribution
  
  
• Political Power
  

All of these factors are to be considered when determining regions and the bonuses they offer.

Religion: Beliefs, values, and morals upheld by a party
​

If GoT has taught us anything, it's that religion plays a big role in Westeros. Each region has a set of beliefs it follows. For example, the North (WInterfell, etc.) believe in The Old Gods.


This site gives us all the information about religion in GoT...


https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-complete-guide-to-the-religions-of-game-of-thrones-1796719979


We are able to use this to further immerse our players by letting them choose what they believe in. We all know religion is a great cause of many things. From war to peace, religion has a hand in it all. Players will be able to decide on what religion they like, which will help shape where they want to live. It will help them decide if a certain conflict is worth fighting, or if a certain destination is worth traveling and risking their life.

We have to get the little things right for this server to succeed - and while religion isn’t little, it is easily overlooked. Every extra aspect we add goes into shaping our characters and helps to completely immerse the players in a world they create.


Survivability Extras: These are follow ups to the abilities in the Survivability skill set.

Weather should play a factor in our character lives. For example, you won’t see people walking around the North in nothing but iron armor...it’s too cold! The same goes for not seeing someone wearing full fur robes in Dorne! I would like to see a system of hot/cold mechanics that are determined by the climate, and of course, the weather (rain, snow, sun, etc.)

Diseases should also be a part of WesterosCraft. From common illness to GreyScale, disease will add a great deal of immersion to WesterosCraft. They are treatable in most cases with herbs and medicine. Though some, like GreyScale, certainly mean death for most. These diseases would be contracted by battling creatures, eating bad food, infections from fights, etc.

I am thinking about creating a post that details how I would like to see character creation go down. I know it wasn’t asked for in the Almanach, but I would like to put it out there.​

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS! YOUR FEEDBACK IS VALUABLE AND WANTED!!! THANKS EVERYONE!!​

 

[EStoop]

Hey, great stuff!

I have a few suggestions for the skills that a player can learn, mainly forging and some aspects of crafting. Why are these learnable? Forging is hard, and making good quality steel takes years of practice. Same goes for crafting furniture. Wouldn't it make sense that an adventurer would purchase their stuff from a vendor rather than make their own weapons and armor?

I'd personally split it up like this:

• Survivability
  • Rural
    • Crafting
    • Foraging
    • Cooking/eating
  • Urban
    • Crafting
    • Gathering
    • Cooking/eating
  • Resistance
    • Cold resistance
    • Heat resistance
    • Poison/disease resistance

• Health
  • Healing/medicine
  • Total amount of health

With crafting being stuff like arrows, rucksacks, shelter, makeshift weapons, makeshift armor, (siege weapons?) and anything that can be realistically expected from an adventurer. Splitting urban and rural survivability would allow players to focus on certain areas; someone from Kingslanding would have a good survivability in cities but not so much beyond the wall, and vice versa.

That said, really digging the Regions of Origin concept.

 

[W1ck3dWolf]

Hey, great stuff!

I have a few suggestions for the skills that a player can learn, mainly forging and some aspects of crafting. Why are these learnable? Forging is hard, and making good quality steel takes years of practice. Same goes for crafting furniture. Wouldn't it make sense that an adventurer would purchase their stuff from a vendor rather than make their own weapons and armor?

I'd personally split it up like this:

• Survivability
  • Rural
    • Crafting
    • Foraging
    • Cooking/eating
  • Urban
    • Crafting
    • Gathering
    • Cooking/eating
  • Resistance
    • Cold resistance
    • Heat resistance
    • Poison/disease resistance

• Health
  • Healing/medicine
  • Total amount of health

With crafting being stuff like arrows, rucksacks, shelter, makeshift weapons, makeshift armor, (siege weapons?) and anything that can be realistically expected from an adventurer. Splitting urban and rural survivability would allow players to focus on certain areas; someone from Kingslanding would have a good survivability in cities but not so much beyond the wall, and vice versa.

That said, really digging the Regions of Origin concept.

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate your comments and suggestions very much! I think I may have confused you a bit when it comes to the system of skills and abilities! I'll try to explain it better here...
Every player has skill levels. The more they do something in that category, such as combat, forging, etc., the higher level they become in that particular area. The abilities, such as Expert and Master Smithing are unlocked to the players as they level up the forging skill by practicing it.
I hope that cleared it up a little! My hope is that this will allow players to create their character however they want. Players that want to make a living creating weapons and armor will hopefully focus on that skill and ability set, while those interested in combat will find themselves in combat scenarios trying to rank that skill up as well!
You are very right that most players will opt to purchase gear/supplies/furniture from vendors. However, if we take a player that lives beyond the wall, they don't have available to them what would be available to players living in King's Landing. Therefore I am hoping that the crafting skill tree and it's abilities will come in handy for people like that!
Again, thanks so much for your feedback! I truly appreciate it and you gave me a different perspective and a lot to think about! Thanks!!

 

[AerioOndos]

RO is a really cool idea but I don't think it should affect something like speech. Someone isn't going to be any less good at haggling because they lived in a nomadic tribe than if they worked the docks of Duskendale or KL. However, handling money might as why would anyone care about a bit of loose copper or gold? You can't eat it and it is too small and soft to use as a weapon or tool.

Region - The North, The Vale, Dorne, The Crownlands, The Stormlands, The Iron Islands, Beyond the Wall, The Riverlands, The Reach, The Westerlands
Area - The area of influence of a minor Lord (e.g. the lands controlled by House Bracken), also called Voronoi Area and is defined as either Player Controlled or Public. The Public Area is either defined as Political or Economic.
~Taken from the Introduction to Westeroscraft Quests as a reminder of terminology already set out~

What if Region of Origin did not refer to Region or Area but instead the type of region one comes from - urban, rural, the 'Wilds'
urban=large towns and cities (SS, DD, WH, OT, KL, LP, GT)
rural=the majority of the map, areas focused on agriculture but have small/semi-urban centres. Areas like HG and surrounding lands, Winterfell, Hawthorne
Wilds=The Neck, Wolfswood, Mountain Clans, Beyond the Wall, Mistwood, Cracklaw point, Bear Island, (Iron Islands?)

If this amount of detail could be done, rural areas could be divided into more diverse categories. For example the Northern Mountains, the Lonely Hills and the Frostfangs would have the same survivability buffs. These would be increased resistance to cold weather, less food to warm up/stay warm, faster movement over snow and less visibility reduction in snowfall and blizzard. However, they would be more at odds with intense heat (Everything below the Gods Eye might have increasing levels of heat debuff that would put characters from these areas at disadvantage.)

Dorne is a major difficulty with this. It can reach maybe little over 50C at most (Montorro, Andalucia reached 47.3C in 2017) but the temperature will drop massively at night to around freezing. How can this be included?



I've done some work on Stoop's suggestion. Anything with an * next to it should need to be practised or learnt. Having a ^ next to it means it requires resources to be possible if it is outside crafting

• Survivability
  • Outer Rural/Wilds
    • Crafting
      • Fletching* (comes with being an rural archer. Otherwise you have to learn)
      • Entirely wooden tools (digging sticks, spears, staves)
      • Basic stone knives, handaxes, spears (from knapping)
      • Traps and snares*
      • repairing clothing and boots
      • Hardening wood in fire
      • making rucksacks/packs from leather, clean hides etc
      • preparing hides (takes time)
      • makeshift armour (wood splints, foliage like the battle at deepwood motte)
    • Foraging
      • Collecting drywood from dead trees (use in fires and toolmaking)
      • collecting herbs and food that grows above ground.
      • Digging roots and tubers
      • Finding and knapping flint, chert, obsidian, stone etc. for use in tools
      • Digging clay
      • hunting*^
    • Cooking/eating
      • making fires
      • average cooking skill (game, foraged vegetables, herbs)
      • making small pottery from placing clay in ashes
  • Rural
    • Crafting
      • Fletching* (comes with being an rural archer. Otherwise you have to learn)
      • Entirely wooden tools (digging sticks, spears, staves)
      • Traps and snares*
      • repairing clothing and boots
      • Performing basic repairs on tools and farm equipment (attaching axe head to shaft)
      • making rucksacks/packs from leather, fabric, clean hides etc
      • makeshift armour (wood/metal splints)
    • Foraging
      • Collecting drywood from dead trees (use in fires and toolmaking)
      • collecting herbs and food that grows above ground.
      • Digging roots and tubers
      • hunting*^
      • middle natural wage
    • Cooking/eating
      • making fires
      • Best natural cooking skill (small game, vegetables, butchered meat, bread)
  • Urban
    • Crafting
      • Improvised tools/weapons (sticks w/nails)
      • patching up clothing (requires thread, needle [improv or otherwise] and fabric to patch with)
      • Knots and ropework
      • rucksacks and bags from sackcloth and other fabric (from practically any fabric)
    • Gathering
      • Sleight of hand/thieving
      • Highest natural wage
    • Cooking/eating
      • Able to stomach worse food
      • Needs less food to survive
      • Medium cooking skill (Bread-majority, vegetables, vermin, poultry)
  • Resistance
    • Cold resistance
      • Needs climate graph. I think Nuggs made one, idk
    • Heat resistance
      • Needs climate graph
    • Poison/disease resistance
      • The Neck +10-5%
      • Urban +10%
      • Rural/everyone else 0
• Health
  • Healing/medicine
    • Healing increased in RO.
  • Total amount of health
    • Should increase in regards to abundance of food. an undernourished northman should not have the same HP as a well fed southerner. However, toughness and endurance needs to factor in. Maybe total amount of health should be increased by training and profession rather than RO.

 

[AerioOndos]

In regards to Religion, there are pathways mentioned in the quest docs

R'hllor, the Lord of Light
The Seven Who are One, the Seven
-The Warrior's Sons, a militant faction of the Seven
The Old Gods
The Drowned God


There are a number of stages classified by the ACTS of religious quests available (If I am interpreting the Quest Doc correctly). These are Heritage or Convert, Devotee and Fanatic/Clergy. The buffs are maintained through prayer/devotion and if these actions are not performed the buff stops.

Heritage is the starting Religion of the Player which is decided on character creation. This relies on the Region/Area as Septs, Heart Trees and Nightfires are not present in every town in Westeros. Nor is the sea, funnily enough.

The Old Gods should have some kind of buff that increases connection with the land. Jojen Reed speaks of Truths that the First Men have forgotten which are still observed in the Neck and that the crannogmen live closer to 'the green'. Perhaps then the Fanatic/clergy of the Old Gods has increase survivability in a range of environments e.g. not leaving marks on mud, bog and dirt. Being able to move more quickly through snow and also not leave marks.
Here are some of my other suggestions

Drowned God:
-buffs to assist the Old Way/reaving (higher damage or damage reduction), lengthened time before drowning
ACT I/Stage 1: Follower

• Being able to survive longer without fresh water longer (thirst would be an awesome thing to implement that would make Dorne harsher)
• Increased damage or damage reduction (to aid in reaving)
• Greenlanders distrust you especially western coast
• Ironborn are more welcoming to you

ACT II/Stage 2: Minor Drowned Man

• Further increase in survivability without fresh water. Increased breath/time before drowning
• Additional damage buff (Following the Old Way requires strength, the priests should be as strong as their fellow ironborn)
• Bonus damage with a driftwood cudgel (essentially, the cudgel will not work much for a non believer)
• Increased protection, damage resistance and cold resistance (to counter becoming cold when wet) when wearing Drowned Man robes
• Increased trust from Ironborn

ACT III/Stage 3: Priest/Fanatic

• Able to drink saltwater lessened dehydration
• can convert players yourself
• Increased damage and protection
• Ironborn npcs automatically trust upon meeting. Hospitality ensured

Completed all ACT III religious quests/Stage 4: Major Priest

• Access to Nagga's staff
• Can refresh prayer stat of players using salt-waterskin (inland prayer possible)
• Increased Greenland distrust
• Greatly increased time before drowning
• Water takes far longer to chill the body
• [Can drink saltwater]
• Visibly change e.g. seaweed hair, salt crusting on the body

R'hllor:
-buffs centred around illusion/tricks, shadow and light. (Perhaps cannot receive sorcerous training without journeying to Dragonstone?)
ACT I/Stage 1: Believer

• Lighting/maintaining fires requires less wood
• Cold resistance increases +2%
• Heat resistance increases +5%
• Seven followers distrust you
• Old gods followers distrust you
• Ironborn followers distrust you

ACT II/Stage 2: Fanatic

• Cold resistance given by buff increases to 8%
• Heat resistance increases to +10%
• Learn the use of some powders to change the colour of fire
• (Fires you light do more damage?)
• Nightvision increases

ACT III/Stage 3: Preacher

• Gain use of all powders for the manipulation of fires
• Increased damage with flame-tipped spear (the Red Temple Guard's spears, in Volantis)
• Cold resistance to +15%
• Heat resistance to +15%
• Requires Sorcerous training set of quests from Melisandre?

Completed All Quests/Stage 4: Priest

• Cold resistance +75% total buff
• Heat resistance +15% total buff
• Poison resistance (1 use to completely negate poisons per <length of time>)
• Increased damage to objects with your fires
• Gain ability to glamour
• More Majics!!!?
• Kiss of Life (Time limit as well, limited amount or you die yourself?)

So those are my ideas. Really long post ;_;

 

[AerioOndos]

RO abilities would also have to create an incentive to play as that region. Or detractors that will reduce the wish to play that region. From the statistics collected earlier (in the market research section) the largest proportion of players are interested in being a Northern character. However, the North is isolated and emaciated and so character stats should reflect that.

My proposal is that a northern commoner would start with base lower health than the southern areas but at higher levels have health higher than most.

 

[AerioOndos]

in regards to combat ability, the Old Andal Seven worship mentioned in the Vale quest section could produce an interesting specialisation.

Andal Beserker (like Torgett "The Grim" Tollett):
Base damage buff
Axe damage buff
Damage reduction from all sources
Cannot see health bar after taking damage