Neko Koneko
July 30th, 2009, 09:16 pm
[Guide] Creating Abilities
A character's abilities are the skills, spells and other techniques they rely on in battle. Every character can perform basic actions when they are engaged in combat (running, attacking with a weapon, dodging, parrying, hiding) however if you want to cast fireballs or execute a whirlwind strike with an electrically-charged sword then you need to create an ability that specifically gives your character that skill. There are four different types of abilities in Harmonic Dissonance.
Physical Abilities
Abilities that utilise your weapons, create new weapons or transform your body in some way. Here is an example of a physical ability:
Disable - Terri sneaks up behind her opponent then strikes the back of their head with her spiked club. At lower levels they will be stunned for a short period of time. At higher levels they may be knocked unconscious.
Magical/Alchemical/Technological Abilities
Magical spells/alchemical reactions/advanced technologies that cause damage to your opponent. Here is an example of a magical ability:
Lightning Bolt - Ben calls upon the sacred power of the Goddess of Wind. He raises his hands to the sky and bolts of pure electrical energy arc down from the heavens, scorching his opponent.
Support Abilities
Defensive, curative, summoning, attribute-increasing and attribute-decreasing abilities. Here is an example of a support ability:
Archangel's Barrier - Raphael absorbs the light energy of the sun then channels it through his hands, shaping the light into a barrier of shimmering golden energy. Evil-aligned creatures cannot pass through this barrier or launch magical attacks through it. However, neutral-aligned and good-aligned creatures can pass through it with ease.
The most important thing to remember when you are designing your abilities is to be clear, concise and specific. This is an example of a poorly-written ability:
Dark Energy - Vlad calls upon his darkanian ancestors and begs them to lend him some of their fearsome power. They consult amongst themselves then agree to help him. His enemy should be engulfed in darkness for a while. Then they might be attacked by more darkness which could cause them to fall over backwards. This can do heaps of damage, sometimes, depending on lots of different things. It can even make people go blind occasionally if they are unlucky.
This is a much clearer, more concise and specific version of the same ability. Take note of the use of the word will instead of the much weaker could or might:
Dark Energy - Vlad begs his darkanian ancestors to lend him some of their fearsome power. Waves of dark energy radiate from his outstretched hands, assaulting his opponent and driving them backwards. At level one this ability will do a moderate amount of damage. If Vlad's opponent is aligned with light they will be blinded for two turns.
You should take your race and class into consideration when you are writing your abilities. A Human/Knight isn't going to have exceptionally powerful magical abilities. That's not to say they can't have magical abilities - However their magical abilities will be far weaker at equivalent levels than the magical abilities of an Elf/Wizard.
Alchemists: Alchemical abilities must have a plausible scientific explanation behind them. Read the rules outlined in the Alchemist section of the Classes Guide (http://rp.neko-koneko.nl/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2).
You can create any sort of ability imaginable however there are a couple of fundamental restrictions. You cannot have: Abilities that cause death or permanent damage. (No dismemberment.)
Abilities that indirectly cause death or permanent damage. (No lethal poisons.)
Abilities that nullify all of your opponent's moves. (No full-body petrification.)
Abilities that make you invulnerable or invincible.Powerful abilities give you an advantage in battle but they won't guarantee victory. Aim for versatility when you are writing your abilities - Flexible skills you can use in a variety of different situations are much handier than skills with only one use.
How do I gain new abilities?
Whenever your character gets a level up you will be given the option of either creating a new ability or levelling up one of your existing abilities. You can also find a trainer in the tavern and pay him to teach you a new ability (basically this means you can buy new abilities). Whenever you write a new ability you need to post it below your profile so a moderator can approve it.
How powerful can my abilities be?
Be realistic. Level one abilities aren't going to do huge amounts of damage. However if you place restrictions on the ability (such as it can only be used once per battle) then you can get away with it being slightly more powerful than normal. For basic offensive/healing abilities: Level one abilities do small amounts of damage/heal minor wounds.
Level two abilities do medium amounts of damage/heal moderate wounds.
Level three abilities do large amounts of damage/heal major wounds.
Level four abilities do massive amounts of damage/heal severe wounds.
Level five abilities do incredible amounts of damage/heal critical wounds.You cannot level up abilities beyond level five.
Do characters have Health Points and Magical Points?
No, so please don't create abilities that "do 10 HP damage" or "cure 5 MP". However your character will fight less effectively when they have been injured and they will become mentally fatigued if they use up a great deal of magical energy. The best way to write healing abilities is like this: Heals minor wounds, Heals major wounds, etc.
Can I have two level three abilities when I start out?
No, every character has to start out with six level one abilities.
I am a fire-aligned priest. Can I have an earth-aligned ability?
Yes, you can. However bear in mind that if you have abilities affiliated with a different element they will be very weak. A level one fire-aligned spell cast by a fire-aligned priest will be twice as strong as a level one earth-aligned spell cast by the same priest.
Can I summon a thousand _______ minions?
No. There are limits on the number of creatures you can summon with any one spell. As a general rule, level one abilities can summon a single creature, level two abilities can summon two creatures and so on. However you may be able to summon large numbers of tiny, weak creatures - For example, a swarm of locusts.
If you have any questions about creating abilities please contact a mod.
A character's abilities are the skills, spells and other techniques they rely on in battle. Every character can perform basic actions when they are engaged in combat (running, attacking with a weapon, dodging, parrying, hiding) however if you want to cast fireballs or execute a whirlwind strike with an electrically-charged sword then you need to create an ability that specifically gives your character that skill. There are four different types of abilities in Harmonic Dissonance.
Physical Abilities
Abilities that utilise your weapons, create new weapons or transform your body in some way. Here is an example of a physical ability:
Disable - Terri sneaks up behind her opponent then strikes the back of their head with her spiked club. At lower levels they will be stunned for a short period of time. At higher levels they may be knocked unconscious.
Magical/Alchemical/Technological Abilities
Magical spells/alchemical reactions/advanced technologies that cause damage to your opponent. Here is an example of a magical ability:
Lightning Bolt - Ben calls upon the sacred power of the Goddess of Wind. He raises his hands to the sky and bolts of pure electrical energy arc down from the heavens, scorching his opponent.
Support Abilities
Defensive, curative, summoning, attribute-increasing and attribute-decreasing abilities. Here is an example of a support ability:
Archangel's Barrier - Raphael absorbs the light energy of the sun then channels it through his hands, shaping the light into a barrier of shimmering golden energy. Evil-aligned creatures cannot pass through this barrier or launch magical attacks through it. However, neutral-aligned and good-aligned creatures can pass through it with ease.
The most important thing to remember when you are designing your abilities is to be clear, concise and specific. This is an example of a poorly-written ability:
Dark Energy - Vlad calls upon his darkanian ancestors and begs them to lend him some of their fearsome power. They consult amongst themselves then agree to help him. His enemy should be engulfed in darkness for a while. Then they might be attacked by more darkness which could cause them to fall over backwards. This can do heaps of damage, sometimes, depending on lots of different things. It can even make people go blind occasionally if they are unlucky.
This is a much clearer, more concise and specific version of the same ability. Take note of the use of the word will instead of the much weaker could or might:
Dark Energy - Vlad begs his darkanian ancestors to lend him some of their fearsome power. Waves of dark energy radiate from his outstretched hands, assaulting his opponent and driving them backwards. At level one this ability will do a moderate amount of damage. If Vlad's opponent is aligned with light they will be blinded for two turns.
You should take your race and class into consideration when you are writing your abilities. A Human/Knight isn't going to have exceptionally powerful magical abilities. That's not to say they can't have magical abilities - However their magical abilities will be far weaker at equivalent levels than the magical abilities of an Elf/Wizard.
Alchemists: Alchemical abilities must have a plausible scientific explanation behind them. Read the rules outlined in the Alchemist section of the Classes Guide (http://rp.neko-koneko.nl/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2).
You can create any sort of ability imaginable however there are a couple of fundamental restrictions. You cannot have: Abilities that cause death or permanent damage. (No dismemberment.)
Abilities that indirectly cause death or permanent damage. (No lethal poisons.)
Abilities that nullify all of your opponent's moves. (No full-body petrification.)
Abilities that make you invulnerable or invincible.Powerful abilities give you an advantage in battle but they won't guarantee victory. Aim for versatility when you are writing your abilities - Flexible skills you can use in a variety of different situations are much handier than skills with only one use.
How do I gain new abilities?
Whenever your character gets a level up you will be given the option of either creating a new ability or levelling up one of your existing abilities. You can also find a trainer in the tavern and pay him to teach you a new ability (basically this means you can buy new abilities). Whenever you write a new ability you need to post it below your profile so a moderator can approve it.
How powerful can my abilities be?
Be realistic. Level one abilities aren't going to do huge amounts of damage. However if you place restrictions on the ability (such as it can only be used once per battle) then you can get away with it being slightly more powerful than normal. For basic offensive/healing abilities: Level one abilities do small amounts of damage/heal minor wounds.
Level two abilities do medium amounts of damage/heal moderate wounds.
Level three abilities do large amounts of damage/heal major wounds.
Level four abilities do massive amounts of damage/heal severe wounds.
Level five abilities do incredible amounts of damage/heal critical wounds.You cannot level up abilities beyond level five.
Do characters have Health Points and Magical Points?
No, so please don't create abilities that "do 10 HP damage" or "cure 5 MP". However your character will fight less effectively when they have been injured and they will become mentally fatigued if they use up a great deal of magical energy. The best way to write healing abilities is like this: Heals minor wounds, Heals major wounds, etc.
Can I have two level three abilities when I start out?
No, every character has to start out with six level one abilities.
I am a fire-aligned priest. Can I have an earth-aligned ability?
Yes, you can. However bear in mind that if you have abilities affiliated with a different element they will be very weak. A level one fire-aligned spell cast by a fire-aligned priest will be twice as strong as a level one earth-aligned spell cast by the same priest.
Can I summon a thousand _______ minions?
No. There are limits on the number of creatures you can summon with any one spell. As a general rule, level one abilities can summon a single creature, level two abilities can summon two creatures and so on. However you may be able to summon large numbers of tiny, weak creatures - For example, a swarm of locusts.
If you have any questions about creating abilities please contact a mod.