To me mages are one of the more effective classes when used alone. It's rare to find a mage in a team of alts, purely because of their low hp's and unreliable attacking power. When I say used alone I mean to explore the realm, fighting monsters, discovering hidden areas, getting the odd pk - I do not mean fighting another class 1 on 1 in a duel.
Because mages are good for the things mentioned above, I think they should be given a few new spells to improve their overall effectiveness when used alone.
The spell ideas I came up with are as follows -
This part of the idea was mentioned a long while ago by Bishop, and I'll carry on from in it, using one of his ideas in a different way - Basically he suggested that mages be able to use 'Familiars' (animal companion for the mage?) instead of shields, which could give the mage armor and extra stat points......
Well I think that instead of giving the mage a Familiar as a shield or piece of equipment, they should be given as a form of summoning spell, increasing in power as the mage progresses.
These familiars appear on the square as a normal monster does, and would grant the mage special bonuses while they are alive. They can also be killed like any normal monster.
Level 5 - 10 - Bat Familiar: Extra 1 armor, 1 dex.
Hp: 40
Attacks with 'Vampire bite' for 4 - 10 damage. 1 attack every 10 seconds.
Level 11 - 20 - Owl Familiar: Extra 2 armor, 2 wisdom, 2 intel.
Hp: 80
Attacks with 'Ferocious claws' for 10 - 20 damage. 1 attack every 10 seconds.
Level 21 - 25: - Wolf Familiar: Extra 3 armor, 2 dex, - 2 charisma.
Hp: 150
Attacks with 'Deadly bite' for 15 - 20 damage. 1 attack every 5 seconds.
Level 26 - 29 - Dragon Familiar: Extra 7 armor, +8 str, - 2 intel, -1 dex.
Hp: 500
Attacks with 'Red breath' for 20 - 80 dmg. 1 attack every 12 seconds.
Level 30 - (Boss drop scroll) Crystal Ball summon: -5 armor, +2 intel, +2 wisdom.
Hp: 800
Attacks with 'Pulsing shockwave' for 15 - 30 damage with a mana leech property of 0.2. (Won't give mana to mage, but will drain from enemies)
Each Familiar/summon will work like the old druid morph spells, they will slowly drain MP from the mage while still alive. The exact amount they should drain i'm unsure of, but obviously the more powerful familiars will drain it more quickly.
If the mage dies so does the familiar.
Familiars will leave if the mage enters a safe square.
If a familiar dies and the mage lives, the mage cannot summon that familiar again until he regens at a tavern (Heal, Mana, Revive for 100 gold.
)With something like this in place I think mages would finally be worth playing.
Edited by Stigmata, 08 April 2004 - 11:44 AM.
