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Why is priest blessing effectiveness written into the game code?
This is fundamentally a lore/RP question, but I sense the answer may involve combat balancing or other outside issues so I'm writing here.
Lord Tecton posted in a previous question that the priest's blessings currently scale like this:
Characters with the Healing ability: 100%
Targossasians/Allies of Targossas: 66%
Everyone else: 0%
I've always thought that the Healing Skill involved directly manipulating the elements (along with the Spirit), and was consequently outside of the Bloodsworn Gods' domain. Because of this, the Church/Targossas imposed strict punishments for blessing Evil and Chaotic adventurers, as they might use their blessings in a way that threatens Creation. I feel that the significance of blessings and their distribution considerably weakens when blessings cannot affect individuals unallied with Targossas anyway.
Is there a specific reason for this? I'll probably ask around IG for an explanation, but if there's a straightforward answer why priest blessing effectiveness has been written into the game code, I would love to hear it.
Thanks!
P.S.
For balance reasons, I could see Priests gaining a larger benefit from blessings than other classes, something like:
Characters with the Healing Skill: 100%
Everyone else: 66%
That would keep the currently-established protection values the same as they are now, while also producing a real consequence if a priest blesses someone unallied with Targossas.
Lord Tecton posted in a previous question that the priest's blessings currently scale like this:
Characters with the Healing ability: 100%
Targossasians/Allies of Targossas: 66%
Everyone else: 0%
I've always thought that the Healing Skill involved directly manipulating the elements (along with the Spirit), and was consequently outside of the Bloodsworn Gods' domain. Because of this, the Church/Targossas imposed strict punishments for blessing Evil and Chaotic adventurers, as they might use their blessings in a way that threatens Creation. I feel that the significance of blessings and their distribution considerably weakens when blessings cannot affect individuals unallied with Targossas anyway.
Is there a specific reason for this? I'll probably ask around IG for an explanation, but if there's a straightforward answer why priest blessing effectiveness has been written into the game code, I would love to hear it.
Thanks!
P.S.
For balance reasons, I could see Priests gaining a larger benefit from blessings than other classes, something like:
Characters with the Healing Skill: 100%
Everyone else: 66%
That would keep the currently-established protection values the same as they are now, while also producing a real consequence if a priest blesses someone unallied with Targossas.
0
Best Answer
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It's a combination of IC "makes sense" and OOC balance stuff.
Earthshield specifically is a very strong physical defense. For a long time there were issues with people stacking earthshield on top of other damage resistance defenses like algiz, class defs, and racial defs. Something like a dwarf or horkval mage with algiz, earthshield, stoneskin, diamondskin, and racial damage resistance was ludicrously tanky. As the factions grew more polarised, it became harder for non-Shallamese to convince a priest to bless them, and people would do things like use force abilities to 'steal' blessings. Earthshield was so highly valued that people would avoid logging out while they had it, instead AFKing overnight in journals or while burrowed. Rogue priests were prized. People would make priest alts to learn just enough Healing for Earthshield, and stand around giving them out.
Shallam was unhappy that other factions could get their unique benefit of earthshield/bliss, in addition to their own benefits like soulcage, particularly with spiritshields/bliss compensating Shallam for their major self-imposed restriction of not hunting innocent NPCs. There was a feeling that while Shallam was defined by what they wouldn't do - no necromancy, no occultism, no killing innocents - Ashtan would take all classes and use all skills, regardless of being associated with their enemies the Church, and be all the more powerful for it, and that was dumb. Also everyone not a horkval mage was unhappy with how broken those guys were.
So spiritshields became linked to priests/Devotion users and Church membership. And defense stacking was nerfed to be multiplicative, rather than additive.
14
Answers
Sincerely,
*A completely uninvolved, uninformed, inappropriate Eleusian*
Something else to consider, most Devotionist skills have the "burn the heretic" flavour attached, which seems out of place for the run-of-the-mill Cyrenian.
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I'm not sure if people are disagreeing with the fact I would be OK with weaker Cyrene priest blessings or what. I'm almost positive I'd be fine with this happening.
Iono, if a Divine representing the whole "endless compassion" thing somehow worked his/her way into the story, maybe Cyrenian priests could get some credibility. If not, then they (Tecton and any other involved Divine) should probably just drop Cyrenian devotion entirely and make a new class that fills the "ultra supportive" archetype. Phaestus is pretty big there, so I don't know, maybe a "Soulsmith" - a class that heals with the same world-building forces that the Gods use?
There is no IG event or canon explanation for how this came about, mechanically.
It was probably more like Team Good complaining to patrons saying "we're tired of ppl blessing enemies its so unfun" and then Tecton/Clementius saying "ok, we'll fix it next classlead".
Edit: Basically what Blujixapug wrote.
So yeah, that's just to say that I think things are moving in this direction already, though I do hope Cyrene gets something cool from it when (and I suspect it's a when, not if) the final ban comes down.
I also think I'm missing something? Is the only reason you wish to deny priest from Cyrene simply because they can't give blessings to others? Why intentionally limit your choices? If you wish to roleplay a priest in Cyrene then go for it, there's no need to impose a rule against it. There are a couple difficulties but that is to be expected with your roleplay decision. If there are other reasons you wish to deny priest from Cyrene (especially as a Cyrenian) then I'd like to hear them.
Which isn't to say that I'd like to cut off that rp choice, really, because I do find it interesting in theory. In it's current form, though, it mostly just feels like a product of historical ties rather then something actively promoting interesting international relations.
As a second thought, I find it crazy that Cyrenian paladins are not able to be blessed by their devotionist partners. Especially ones that may or may not be a priest's bloodsworn. That would be the only thing I would change.
As far as the second question, Targossas doesn't have a spectacular reputation in Cyrene and vice-versa. So anything that has to do with Targossas is looked down upon. I remember Jeslyn being a fresh out of Minia and already having four or five "concerned" citizens of Cyrene tell her that its the worst decision she'll ever make. However, Jeslyn is a polite "screw you" type of character, so she was able to shrug off most of the people and situate herself nicely. This happens to every new devotionist in Cyrene from what those same devotionists tell Jeslyn.
Who knows what will happen. Perhaps relations between Cyrene and Targossas will get better, but I don't think that'll be the case. Or maybe devotionists will be banned. Though, even if that does happen, it would probably end up like the Forestal ordeal. Seeing as people already put a lot of work into their houses and class, that it would be a shame if they were kicked out suddenly.
Targ/Allies: 100%
Cyrenian/rogue devo users: 66%
Unenemied non-devo users 33%
Everyone else: 0%
Because no, Cyrenian priest should not be getting more benefit than Targossian paladin from it. Similarly, a Cyrenian Paladin should not get the same level of blessing as a Tyrannus would, because lolno.
@Eld the idea would be to let it be RP'd out by people rather than just doing it with code with zero explanation as to how we got this way from a Lore perspective.
It's an RP-required class, to some extent. The idea that Cyrenian priests who haven't done the Diaspora can get more benefit of Good-related magic than the ones who are actually in the Good faction is kind of dumb, imho, but it is what it is. Like I said elsewhere, we're trying to get things on the player-driven side of shit to make things a little bit more reasonable and in line with the existing canon/lore.
And you won't understand the cause of your grief...
...But you'll always follow the voices beneath.
<does/says something mean>
<gets called out>
<it was a joooooookeeeee>