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Comments
With a sly grin, Synbios scatters the ground with a handful of tiny metal spheres.
1. You may need to take a statistics class, but from what is seen, it is MUCH of the playerbase always arguing that Jester should be changed, against 3 to 4 jester-silly-'i like being a hooting buffoon' players that are arguing that "If you dont like it, pick another class" (Because apparently you seem insistent on not seeing the -actual- point being made over and over). 2. Changing how an ability looks does NOT mean changing the way it works. I was suggesting another way that the kill would occur, not a new mechanic to try and place. Puppet Obliterate was an -entirely- different kill mechanic compared to JITB, and had its own reasons for getting deleted. 3. If you are attempting to ask as to how this makes sense, then look at the ability Bodywarp in occultism for an example. The person warps their body to become some foul looking thing and people run in 'fear'. Also take into account Disfigure in Necromancy. The person places the appearance of a rotting corpse upon another, and their loyal pets attack. This idea isnt really a stretch, it shouldnt be -that- hard to figure out. 4. Achaea may be in its own fantasy universe but, as was said previously, it takes elements from the real world and history that make sense with the general theme of Achaea. Balloon animals is not something that generally makes sense frankly and as most (yes most, please dont say a small group again) of the playerbase has pointed out, that code really needs to go and die in a fire.
As for 'Jesterism' and its association, note that Eris, though very 'odd' was not the incarnation of 'silly'. Her teachings did not associate with balloon animals and slippery bananas (I know that the general idea of chaos could encompass these elements, but im speaking at a core level, so let's not get into -that- discussion). Jesters were not the heralds of Erisian definition, that was much more the Occultists' venue.
5. Did you even read my post properly...? I stated the 'prank' of making one assuming ants are crawling all over them, thus constantly being pushed off balanced as they are attempting to brush them off. Where did you get the idea of carrying ants in their pockets..?
Lastly @Aktillum, you are one of the few (yes only 4) people that have been frothing at the mouth debating that the current incarnation of Jesters is just fine, well let me give you another point of view to look at it. Consider the game as a whole, Achaea is a game with strong elements and flavor to it, each class giving the game an image of fantasy and depth. Do you believe if a new player was researching the game to see what role would suit him, and comes across the current incarnation of jester, that they would most likely be impressed? It's a walking joke (Not in a good sense) and deters people away from the class rather than take it up. There are few jesters for a reason, and usually those that do later take the class up do it only for either boredom/curiosity or to help produce bombs for their city. Very few people will look at the current kit and think "This would make my character's story fit in wonderfully in the game".
Also consider that no one can be taken seriously with the class as is, and people are always pushed away by that idea. The class has no room for self-growth, unlike the other classes. You may now bring up that "Priests and Apostates are only Good and Evil heralds and can do nothing else", but that is their class role, to push their respective alignments. A jester's main role is -not- to push silliness incarnate, but to be a showman and prankster. One can be a prankster without needing to hoot like a monkey. as @Synbios recently stated, simply making it seem like they are being sly as they drop some metal spheres, is a much better example of this.
Edit: Was Synbios that mentioned metal spheres, not Xith, fixed.
Once a year, this kind of thread raises its ugly head, and each time I'm summoned for my opinion. The simple and straight forward answer is that the skills need to be less specific to craze and more to the themes of 'acrobatic and illusionary'.
A few years ago we got together and sent some feedback to the Terraformer which basically referenced an older thread.
http://forums.achaea.com/discussion/553/jester-class#latest
You've all covered the basics of what needs to be changed: Giraffes, bananas and the runaway ability. You may have also noticed that the powers that be cleaned up the flavour text for the skill tree almost a year ago thanks to our feedback. No longer does it talk about crazed monkies on kola.
You have gained the following abilities in Pranks.
Handspring Leap at your foes in neighboring rooms.
Props Wish for the props that every good jester needs.
Balloons Take to the skies with balloons.
Slipperiness Slip out of that which would bind you.
Bop Deliver a vicious blow with a blackjack.
Giraffes Twist a balloon into a giraffe.
Backflip Flip over obstructions.
Hocuspocus Cast coloured illusions to dazzle those about you.
Runaway Make a swift retreat.
Concussionbomb Momentarily stun everyone in the room.
Butterflybomb Blast people from the skies and trees.
Balloonhandoff Launch your foes to the clouds with a balloon.
Backhandspring Leap out of the room striking someone on the way out.
Balancing Maintain superior balance.
Smokebomb Choke all in the room with a plume of smoke.
Juggling The ancient art of juggling.
Webbomb Explode strands of webbing to bind everyone in the room.
Acrobatics Masterful footwork to make yourself a difficult target.
Badjoke Strip defences with your terrible jokes alone.
Mickey Slip someone a mickey.
Traps The ability to search for traps in your location.
Disarm Attempt to disarm a trap.
Graffiti Scrawl messages on walls.
Somersault Quickly somersault past obstructions.
Arrowcatch Pluck arrows from the air.
Bananas Litter the floor with banana peels.
Firecracker Construct festive firecrackers.
Itchpowder Employ the irritating itchpowder.
Dustbomb Numb the sense of your victims with a bomb.
Jack-in-the-Box An innocent musical toy with a vicious bite!
Timers Give your bombs a delayed effect.
Suicidemice Brainwash mice to carry bombs on their backs.
To read more about an ability, type AB PRANKS .
If you didn't notice this, get with the program!
To further this change, I would propose SPRING INTO TREES instead of STEP INTO TREES, which takes a moment of balance-less pause while you coil your thigh muscles, then jump into trees (accounting for the lack of prep of a giraffe). Alternatively, change backflip to allow you to BACKFLIP INTO TREES.
RUNAWAY can be changed to CARTWHEEL - similar to dash but will show the player as they move through the rooms cartwheeling acrobatically.
Further, if we're going as far as to include new skills, ILLUSORY ROOM would be my two cents. You might MEMORISE ROOM (which takes a moment or five) and later FALSEROOM to change a room's description and appearance to the room you memorised previously. The exits remain the same. This is good for disorienting in combat, but also for street performers. It may only be done in an outside location (though the falseroom can be indoors).
For me, jester is good because of its duality - firecrackers are useless, but they are entertaining and give flavour. Hocuspocus can be used both in combat and for performance. The acrobatics give credibility to our shows and help us escape.
If anything, I'd like to see more of this hardcoded support for performances while still catering to the nimble and entertaining abilities of the class.
And that's a slight bit more than my two cents. Anyone got change for ten dollars?
Honourable, knight eternal,
Darkly evil, cruel infernal.
Necromanctic to the core,Dance with death forever more.
→My Mudlet Scripts
Itchpowder is actually one of my favourite abilities in the game. Everything about it. The flavour, and especially the mechanics of the way the affliction works. It kind of has real-world origins in those joke shop/comic book advertisement gags: stuff like fake dog crap, plastic puke, X-ray specs, or the spring snake nut jars. But unlike all those things, it works well in Achaea's high-ish fantasy setting.
Album of Bluef during her time in Achaea
I WOULD like to suggest a new Jester ability, which is silly:
GOODJOKE: Room effect, Stuns for about 1.5 seconds, chance of proning. (It's hard to stay upright when you're REALLY amused!) Possibly blocked by deafness?
Edit: I have pulled this off IRL many times.
"With a wicked grin on his/her face, <person> says, "Ashtan RP."
"You begin doubling over in laughter, tears streaming from your eyes as your body convulses helplessly."
"Through choked-back laughter, <person> continues, "Hashan relevance."
"The joke is too much for you as your back spasms and snaps, severing your spinal cord, leaving you a gibbering helpless wreck upon the ground as everything turns to black."
→My Mudlet Scripts
@Xith: You have also not met my IRL audiences.
And you won't understand the cause of your grief...
...But you'll always follow the voices beneath.
Honourable, knight eternal,
Darkly evil, cruel infernal.
Necromanctic to the core,Dance with death forever more.
In the current world of Achaea, I find the current jester class has a hard time getting its theme across as it simply doesnt fit in with the 'medieval' era. Achaea isnt in a very 'modern time' in comparison to RL history. It still has carriages and horses to get around, occult groups and sects in the shadows, high levels of devotion and zealotry to 'greater powers/beings', usage of forage-created weapons for warfare, etc . Now add in a splash of magical involvement and you have Achaea's era. I feel the current theme of jester is ahead of this era, especially with its current skills, and tends to just seem like a waste of 'code'.
Are they part of the religious pushes in the world? No. Are they hardened warriors/knights slicing down those that oppose their Factions? No. Are they craftsmen or alchemists (Not the class in this case) that are forging goods for their community? Sadly again, no. So then what are Jesters? They are performers for the people? Well their current makeup does not illustrate that. Their current skill-set would make one assume they are a walking joke that is going around to annoy people...also they are just not funny. Im sorry but if anyone ever laughed at someone tossing banana peels around and hooting, then I worry for your comical standards.
So where could Jesters fit in? Firstly their skillset could be toned down to become more inclined with Achaea's current era. No more random banana peels (Frankly that joke was in the 1980s-1990s), Balloon giraffes (why do they even have balloons?), brainwashed mice (Not going to even get into this).
THUS this is where my idea of taking illusions a step-further came from. Illusions are associated to the 'magical' pool of Achaea, and with it, Jesters could transfix and bewilder those around them with crafty images and conjurations.
Sparks shooting around the room?
Floor falling from beneath their foe?
Jester disappearing in a puff of smoke? (old gimmick, I know)
Jester creating an entire pavilion from lights that they can showcase their art to the public?
The ideas can go on, AND would fit into Achaea's theme. As a sidenote, the Jester class can then be taken into new avenues of play, rather than being forced down the "practical prankster" route. A Jester could now be taken seriously as a zealot, as a warrior, even as a performer.
Album of Bluef during her time in Achaea