torches

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hollyfant
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torches

Post by hollyfant »

Is there any way to keep torches from becoming non-functional? 'cause It's getting to be really annoying. :huh:
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Xanthea
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Re: torches

Post by Xanthea »

I think that happens when torches are sold in stores as unlimited stacks?
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Heero
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Re: torches

Post by Heero »

Try not using them in the rain.
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Re: torches

Post by Rumple C »

Have you checked the batteries are in the right way?
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HEEGZ
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Re: torches

Post by HEEGZ »

Aren't they made of wood, cloth, and pitch? Don't they burn out and you buy bundles of them for this reason?
Zelknolf
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Re: torches

Post by Zelknolf »

"some cheap hydrophobic liquid that burns" would probably be more accurate. Pitch is usually cheapest, but wax and oil also work.

Anyhow, I believe it is by design that torches can't be reignited once lit, and lanterns can't be reignited until refueled. (and the fact that our minimum price on anything is 1 gp, instead of the 1cp that torches would cost in PnP, is no small part of the reason that magical light is so heavily incentivized; keeping both hands free and being unable to bash things for 1d4 blunt and 1 fire damage with torches being the others-- though I believe there have been discussions in the past about how "kill it with fire" is a surprisingly-good strategy in D&D)
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hollyfant
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Re: torches

Post by hollyfant »

However, there's no actual logic whether or not a torch will work. You can transition, and *poof* the thing lights up. :idea:
Zelknolf
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Re: torches

Post by Zelknolf »

Eh... without a specific set of actions that cause unintended behavior, you're pretty much asking me to go find this goose you saw once and chase it-- probably won't end with fixed torches or happy people.
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hollyfant
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Re: torches

Post by hollyfant »

And I have no idea what torches are supposed to do (or not do).
  • Is it normal behaviour for a torch to simply cease to function after having been unequipped and re-equipped once?
  • Is it normal behaviour for a torch that has gone "dormant", to suddenly start working again?
  • Can torches be refurbished with oil and/or rags?
I can't go geese-hunting until I can tell them apart from ducks, after all. :not:
Zelknolf
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Re: torches

Post by Zelknolf »

I would need to dig up old design documents to be absolutely sure, but from my own understanding of it:
-- A torch shouldn't be able to be lit again once extinguished or put out.
-- A torch shouldn't be able to be refueled (but a lantern should).
-- A torch should burn out after one hour of use, if not extinguished (pretty sure this is game hour-- but if it's real hour, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it).
-- While lit, the torch should provide a moderate amount of white, yellow, or orange light. If the object in hand has an active node to attach a fire VFX to, it should also appear to burn. (pretty likely on torches)
-- A lantern should be able to be lit again once extinguished or put out.
-- A lantern should be able to be refueled, burning for 6 hours per pint of oil (again, game hour? real hour? Meh. It's a light source.)
-- Whilte lit, the lantern should provide a large amount of white, yellow, or orange light. If the object in hand has an active node to attach a fire VFX to, it should also appear to burn. (somewhat less likely on lanterns)

... and then the part that's annoying to everyone because it's just a needed technical specification...
-- we have no control over what a torch looks like when it exists, or whether any given object which looks like a torch is to be regarded as one by the scripts. (so a server could give you a lantern that looks like a torch, which you could refuel; it could also give you a flaming club and call it a torch, which we'd regard as an unpriceable weapon [or a very expensive one, if it had an enhancement bonus]; it could also slap light on an offhand item and call it a torch while pointedly avoiding any scripts -- but those last two you should be able to spot more easily, because we'd expect them to always be glowing and/or burning, per whatever specs the builder put on them).


From what I can dredge up from the history of discussion of torches, it looks like they've always been a bit quirky, but the people who got really fired up (pun intended) about it seem to have dropped it after a short time. Probably about the amount of time it took 'em to get to level 3 and buy a magic light.
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