Base Mod Content Thread: Encounters

[Wynna]

This post will summarize all basic encounter suggestions for the NWN2 ALFA Base Mod. General and specific suggestions welcome but please read the summary before suggesting new encounters, encounter systems or their specific details.

Thank you.

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Summary

[Wynna]

I'd like to see a slate of low, mid and high level encounters set up, with variable chances of spawning, variable monster types and variable numbers in each, so that one encounter set down can have a hundred permutations. Although I presume this is a NESS issue and so will duplicate it in the waypoints thread, I know that there are other various encounter systems out there that may or may not use the encounter category in toolset, so I await gentle instruction on this issue before adding it to the summary.

[Murky Majare]

The encounter system of NWN and NWN2 is its own system and not ness compatible per se, but still something we should look into

[hypervx]

I don't like level based encounters. I mean, the three orcs trying to ambush you on that road, should not magically become ten and tougher because you are level 10 and not a njub... same for the opposite.

[Fionn]

Ditto - can we replace 'Easy' and 'Hard' with CR3, CR5, etc? This would let DMs and builders easily match encounters and rewards (or allow the loot merchants to be called based upon encounter CR rather than several times based upon mob CR).

If possible, tie DimRet into the encounter system so encounters simply learn to avoid PCs that have harrassed them too much (with decay if possible). This makes more sense than rewarding 0 XP/GP.

[Thangorn]

I think we need to look at the different types of encounters we are looking at supporting in the base mod so we can take the discussion from what types of functionality we want to fleshing out the contents.

Here's my personal list in order of importance. Though I'm pretty positive we'd only have the first one by the alfa gold. Depends on the packaged encounter systems and whether admin wants to use them, and how fired up people are to get other stuff in.

1. Random Encounter System
a. Terrain, Climate & Environmental CR based generic system
b. Customisable for regional & plot requirements

2. "Dungeon" or static spawn system
Non CR based, easy to customise spawns & encounter behaviours, lewt spawning?.

3. Monster camp & patrol system
Non CR based, easy to customise spawns & encounter behaviours. Could be tied to a random encounter system in some areas.

4. Scripted "Ambush" system
could be tied to a random encounter system. Think umberhulks that burst out of walls and ankhegs that burrow up under your feet.

The scripted systems that I believe need to be a part of ALFA encounters -:
1. DimRets for xp & lewt
2. Standards-based lewt merchants that are good guide to make easily customisable by region
3. Appropriate weighting for CR vs xp vs lewt (ie. not the borked out CR weightings we have now)
4. Creature animations - it would be preferable to build these into an encounter system rather than have them as creature AI.

[Thangorn]

sorry for cross posting but this should go here.. Highlights a few ideas I have about encounters and persistency..

Another idea, that is aligned with that idea.. (although this probably shouldnt be in the dimrets thread, but it relates as much as making creatures flee)

Once a spawn camp (for arguments sake, the red claws) is gone, its leader destroyed, its gone, period.. what could happen once a monster camp gets pwned, A persistent variable gets stored and a new site is chosen for new monster camp, new tribe, different area even.. I can conceptualise that in a scripting concept with NESS in NWN1, I'd need to test it though.
Later down the track once a few more humanoids have shamelessly had genocide committed upon them, the red claws might come back.

alternatively or in addition.. once a spawn camp is done over, a message gets sent to any DMs on the server and the message gets stored and the next DM that logs in, gets a message that such and such spawn camp has been worked over by x PC or y Party..

This would have rp benefits.. in that if someone took out an orcish scouting parties camp.. the DM may make a ruling on it that they have prevented an orc raiding force from attacking a village or, they could bring that attack on sooner by their actions.

I think everyone needs to know that if you wipe out a monster camp, there is likely to be repercussions. Perhaps the orcs were zhent sponsored, perhaps they are servants of a dragon.. it would add to the richness if there wasnt orcs camps you could go and hit every week or two, not to mention bad rp. Occasionally it would be kind of funky if the orcs had a beholder controller lurking at the camp, then people might think twice about wiping out orc camps.

There is a way that you could have say a dungeon, that is populated by duergar, but when the leader is killed, there is no longer duergar there. In fact the place could be empty for a week or two and then a script could roll a new persistent group to populate the dungeon. PC Dwarf: "we cleaned this cave out of duergar two tendays ago, I say we start mining down here.. what's that!!" *gets head torn off by an owlbear"

That is really doesnt seem that hard conceptually for me to put together, with a few tweaks to Sareena's mob scripts in spawn_cfg_group in NWN1, therefore, there is surely a way to do it in NWN2, especially if they improve persistency and database support.

In short, if a camp gets raided, and the leader killed, they just shouldnt be there anymore its just not IC or good rp BY US BUILDERS..
strikes me as a lot more fun than just supporting the hitting of spawn points, however infrequent, I'd like to see more innovative ways implemented to remove that practice.

[Dorn]

Sounds very good thangs.

Obviously the 'downtime' between respawn would have to be randomised to avoid the same people setting their watches to it

Would the spawn carry the DimRet still?

For example a certain area spawns Kobalds and Sir Goldenballs goes off and kills them, then the area spawns goblins and he kills them, then some weak orcs and he kills them etc etc. Do his returns lessen for each 'different' creature group as it's the same spawn?

The reason i ask is that i like your 'spawn different areas' bit...it would link well with wandering monster spawns as well. However, at ALFA2 Live date there are likey to be a few hubs and some extra areas but not a hell of a lot of spare areas for spawns to randomly change to after being killed. Down the line with more areas this certainly becomes ideal and these apwans could move.

I'm sure some of these spawns will be linked to Static quests. Any way of making the static quest change with the spawn? Ie quest giver 'go kill red claws in cave', a week later 'go kill purple bottoms near river'. This would be great so that there is some variation....may be too complex and increase the chances of bugs tho.

Also how does all this work when you have a player who's done it aiding another player? Does the dim ret count? or not? Kinda why i like the idea of gettign tokens from 'boss' loot rather than the loot itself. A DM will know if a character has handed in 3 loot tokens for the same place or could see the specific reward has already been handed to him.

Good ideas tho mate:)

[Thangorn]

dont see why you couldnt script statics that access the same persistent or database variables that determine which camp is going to be up and running at any particular time. You'd set up them up to spawn randomly in a few different areas that builders have designated as camp spawning areas.
I mean people could run around and keep hitting camps, but you made a good suggestion about having the spawn delay on a new camp be random.

Yes dimrets could be applied easily. Dimrets work off the ID of the spawn point itself and the adaptations Marklos made to Sareeena's mob script, allow dimrets to be called on a randomly spawning creature group.

Dimrets work for an entire party, and at the moment they still would kick in if two or three seperate PCs were hitting the same spawn at the same time, all of them would cop a diminishment in returns from that spawn point or that group, since it is not referenced by creature, but by spawn waypoint (or spawn group) if that makes sense.

[Overfilled Cup]

This would add much to realism in our gameworld. How realistic is it we can code it and get it prepped and ready to implement? Time frame for prepping a system and testing something like this?