So, as I was fielding the drop down in despise the other day I had an interesting idea about reviving an old skill, and potentially adding a new skill to the game. I believe that if this was added to the game, it would add an entirely new and fun dimension to both PvM and PvP strategy.
The Idea:
Of course all of the fine details would take a while to work out like any other skill added/changed in the game, but the general idea involves the currently dead skill Remove Trap, and the potentially new skill Trapping. Ultimately, the idea is that by having this skill you are able to trap a set radius of tiles based on where you target with a spell in which your character is skilled with.
Trapping:
The trapping skill would be what one needs to actually place the traps. The amount of trapping you have would determine the duration of the trap. For example, every 10 points you have in trapping adds 10 seconds to the duration of the trap (with a base of 30 seconds?). However, you of course must also be skilled in a magic in order to place the trap. I think it would be a fair limitation that you need 100% chance of casting the spell in order to place it as a trap. This would obviously limit the possibility of creating extremely overpowered templates. The effectiveness of the traps would be equivalent to actually casting the spell on someone, as well as the mana cost.
Remove Trap:
Remove trap has not been a useful skill (ever?) since I've played UO. This would be a great opportunity to revive this skill. The way I see it, Remove Trap would be a way for people to counter the trapping skill. Without Remove Trap, traps set with the trapping skill are invisible to players. But, if a player's Remove Trap skill is equal to or greater than the trapping skill of the player who set the trap, they are able to successfully see, as well as remove the trap. I'm not certain as to the wait time between successive uses of remove trap currently, but this would probably need to be adjusted over time.
The Specifics:
Some specific ideas for the implementation of this are as follows. A set trap would be a 3x3 square, with the center being the tile targeted. No two traps can be placed within X number of tiles from one another. It is difficult to judge what the appropriate number of tiles would be, but I think 5-10 would do. This prevents people from placing successive traps, creating a virtually impenetrable defense. Guild mates/Allies of the trapper are able to see the set traps, but are also capable of setting them off. This is another way to add some balance to the skill. For every 10 skill points one is above 100% casting chance of a particular spell, they are able to place another trap of that spell, or a spell with an equal skill requirement. Obviously, traps would have to be limited to offensive spells, some of which may need to be restricted because they are simply too powerful. I also think fields (fire, poison, energy, paralyze) and summons would be viable options for placing a trap.
In closing, I would like to thank anyone who actually took the time to read about this idea. I am a realist, and I realize that this will probably never be seen in UO, or even considered for that matter. However, the more and more I think about it the more fun I can see it being (on both the PvM and PvP front, something very rare). As a result, I felt compelled to express it, even though it will probably never see the light of day. I feel this could be a great addition for EVERY player in UO, so please feel free to give your opinion about it, and critique/point out any flaws in it.
The Idea:
Of course all of the fine details would take a while to work out like any other skill added/changed in the game, but the general idea involves the currently dead skill Remove Trap, and the potentially new skill Trapping. Ultimately, the idea is that by having this skill you are able to trap a set radius of tiles based on where you target with a spell in which your character is skilled with.
Trapping:
The trapping skill would be what one needs to actually place the traps. The amount of trapping you have would determine the duration of the trap. For example, every 10 points you have in trapping adds 10 seconds to the duration of the trap (with a base of 30 seconds?). However, you of course must also be skilled in a magic in order to place the trap. I think it would be a fair limitation that you need 100% chance of casting the spell in order to place it as a trap. This would obviously limit the possibility of creating extremely overpowered templates. The effectiveness of the traps would be equivalent to actually casting the spell on someone, as well as the mana cost.
Remove Trap:
Remove trap has not been a useful skill (ever?) since I've played UO. This would be a great opportunity to revive this skill. The way I see it, Remove Trap would be a way for people to counter the trapping skill. Without Remove Trap, traps set with the trapping skill are invisible to players. But, if a player's Remove Trap skill is equal to or greater than the trapping skill of the player who set the trap, they are able to successfully see, as well as remove the trap. I'm not certain as to the wait time between successive uses of remove trap currently, but this would probably need to be adjusted over time.
The Specifics:
Some specific ideas for the implementation of this are as follows. A set trap would be a 3x3 square, with the center being the tile targeted. No two traps can be placed within X number of tiles from one another. It is difficult to judge what the appropriate number of tiles would be, but I think 5-10 would do. This prevents people from placing successive traps, creating a virtually impenetrable defense. Guild mates/Allies of the trapper are able to see the set traps, but are also capable of setting them off. This is another way to add some balance to the skill. For every 10 skill points one is above 100% casting chance of a particular spell, they are able to place another trap of that spell, or a spell with an equal skill requirement. Obviously, traps would have to be limited to offensive spells, some of which may need to be restricted because they are simply too powerful. I also think fields (fire, poison, energy, paralyze) and summons would be viable options for placing a trap.
In closing, I would like to thank anyone who actually took the time to read about this idea. I am a realist, and I realize that this will probably never be seen in UO, or even considered for that matter. However, the more and more I think about it the more fun I can see it being (on both the PvM and PvP front, something very rare). As a result, I felt compelled to express it, even though it will probably never see the light of day. I feel this could be a great addition for EVERY player in UO, so please feel free to give your opinion about it, and critique/point out any flaws in it.
