Greetings Wyvernites. The Wyvern Rising Game Staff is pleased to announce the first set of patch notes for the Wyvern Rising Sphere System implemented last year, 2017. We have worked hard on the Sphere project over the winter of 2016 and 2017, but we were also aware that once the system was implemented there would be a potential for several glitches including mechanics, gameplay, etc. For those of you who submitted suggestions and identified issues with the system to the Wyvern Rising e-mail ([email protected]), we want to thank you. We have read each of your e-mails while going over the sphere system. While your ideas may have not made it into this set of patch notes, we did go through all the recommendations in extensive detail.
Before moving on, we would like to identify an inherent issue that seems prominent is the idea of the spheres themselves. We want to remind players that each sphere is not a skill path. Rather, think of them as knowledges to help you build your own skill path. The spheres were not meant to be stand alone paths. Rather, they are meant to help you build your own No longer is there a rogue or mage skill path. Rather, they are thievery knowledges, fighting skillsets, etc. Keeping this in mind, know that individual spheres are not intended to be balanced against one another. They are just designed to be similar sets of skills, regardless of their “power level.” We know that there will always be a “best” way to build a character, but that’s not the point, is it? The point is that you get to design your own character. Not us, and not the math.
Without further ado, here are (most of) the changes taking place this season! (We might have more, assuming we stop having ‘heated internal discussion’ over them… )
Ranger
With the Ranger skill set, we tried to identify exactly what we would want this sphere to be. We felt that this sphere is most able to survive on its own in the wild so therefore we tried to have skills that reflect this design choice.
Apprentice Craft Hunting and Journeyman Hunting have been removed from the Ranger Sphere
- These were very poor attempts at adding flavor-filler to ranger. We knew it wasn’t a great addition to the path at the time, but we added them to account for sphere ranks and math. We’ve swapped them out for skills that make more sense and are just generally cooler and better.
Herbal Remedy (6 Build) the skill has been changed. We have changed the skill to a time-based roleplay without Dexterity cost.
No Dex Requirement: The User must roleplay searching and applying herbs for 5 minutes for up to 50% total body rounded down, 5 minutes of RP/1 body.
- This was done to improve the skill’s usability without sacrificing its intent or flavor.
Sure Footed (4 Build, 4 Dexterity) has been added to Tier 1 and will cost 4 Build.
Calm Animal (4 Build, 3 Presence) was 6 Build, the cost now will be lowered to 4 Build.
- This skill should be bread-and-butter for a ranger, but it was just too expensive.
Scavenge (5 Build) we added the skill scavenge to the 2nd tier of Ranger.
Through extended time spent in the wilds, character has learned just where to look for useful items or materials not commonly found in the woods. Items obtained through use of this skill will vary. Use of this skill requires 150 minutes of Crafting Time. See the Crafting Section for details.
- This skill was added in order to enforce a ranger’s utility and show their experience at finding and utilizing items and objects they find in the wilds.
Herbal Relief (6 Build, 5 dex) will be added to the Tier 4 of Ranger.
Use of this skill removes the effects of a poison or disease from a target for 30 minutes. This skill requires 5 minutes of searching and applying herbs.
- Herbal Relief adds unique utility to the ranger’s toolkit, with no other sphere having the ability to temporarily stave off the effects of a poison or disease, allowing themselves or others a chance to breathe a little easier or act/roleplay normally for a short amount of time.
Freedom of Movement has been renamed to Unfettered
- This name change was put into place to enforce that Freedom of Movement was a really really dumb name. We’ve since amended this and we are very sorry.
Command Animal (7 Build, 5 Presence) has been added to Tier 5 of the Ranger Skill Sphere
Allows the user to give an animal a single simple command that is within the realm of the animal’s understanding. The command lasts until end of encounter. Additional commands require the use of this skill again. The most recent command overwrites all previous commands.
- Command Animal was the next logical step in the ranger’s animal toolkit, and we wanted to give them an endgame to strive for.
Duck and Weave has been removed from the ranger skill sphere.
- Duck and Weave simply did not fall in line with our direction for the sphere at all. It was added as filler and has since been removed in favor of better, more suited skills.
Juggler
With the Juggler Skill Sphere, we wanted juggler skills to have more utility rather than damage. We are currently looking into ways to make crafted thrown weapons more ideal to use in game and experimenting with using seed or beans in open cell foam. In the meantime, here are the changes to the juggler sphere set.
Pin (3 Build, 3 Dexterity) The target will now require a +1 strength modifier to be freed before the effect duration is up.
- As it was, Pin was worded poorly and not very consistent with other forms of stopping movement.
Wild Toss (2 Build, 1 dexterity) has changed the dexterity requirement from 2 to 1
- Wild Toss will overall improve the damage output of Thrown Weapons.
Bolas (7 Build, 8 Dexterity) have removed requirement to hit the legs and has been moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3.
- This was my bad… -Jon
Distract (4 Build, 3 Dexterity). Skill has been added to Tier 2.
If the user of this skill successfully lands a legal strike with Thrown Weapon on their attacker within 3 seconds of being struck, they Avoid that attack or skill. Distract delivers no damage.
- The need for a defensive skill was evident on the Juggler sphere, and we feel like Distract fills that niche without sacrificing flavor.
Catch (5 Build, 5 Dexterity) This skill has been now clarified so that the item “caught” now belongs to the user (example: alchemical potions).
- This wasn’t evident before. Now, it is!
Lame (5 Build, 6 Dexterity) This skill has been changed to:
Target struck by a Thrown Weapon suffers the effect of Cripple Limb for 15 seconds. Targeted limb is specified by the user of this skill. Players suffering the effects of Cripple are in extreme pain and cannot use the affected limb for the duration of the skill.
This skill has been moved to Tier 2 of Juggler Knowledge.
- This was also my bad… -Jon
Interrupting Throw (8 Build, 8 Dexterity) This skill has been added to Tier 4 of the Juggler skill set.
Allows the user to interrupt a HOLD skill of another player within 20 ft. This skill must be called within 3 seconds of the initial skill or spell being called. The original user of the skill must revert to the position they were in before the HOLD was called as well as revert any moved or manipulated objects. Delivery: Point and Click. Examples include Speed of Light, Flurry, Etc.
- Interrupting Throw offers Juggler a unique utility not found anywhere else in the game and significantly improves Juggler’s overall usability and viability.
Duck and Weave (10 Build, continuous) This skill has been added to Tier 5.
- Adding to our earlier statement about the lack of defensive capability of the Juggler, we felt Duck and Weave was a suitable change to fit that need.
Thrown Weapon Prof + 1 (rank requirement 8) has been added as a passive
- We are aware that the damage output of Thrown Weapons is low. That is intentional, as real-life thrown weapons are impractical for that intended use. However, we realize that it still needed a little boost. By adding a Prof and with making Wild Toss more available, we increase its overall damage and maintain our vision.
Enchanting
Channel Ambient Energy has been added to Tier 3
- Runes of Channelling were the only rune Enchanters were able to craft but not use naturally, so this addition just made sense.
Modus Littera has been moved to Tier 4
Magus Literra has been moved to Tier 5
- The power and complexity of these skills was undefined, and thus not well understood. We…also goofed up the prerequisites, and they have since been amended.
Donate Energy has been changed to:
Allows the spellcaster to donate energy to the Control Factor required for a ritual, channelled spell, or arcane craft. A player collects a pool of Control Energy for use per period represented by their total points in that Control divided by half, rounded down, for each Control. They may expend these points to contribute to the magical endeavors of others. All TKR requirements must still be met. Use of this skill does not affect magical spellcasting of any kind in any way.
Example: Malcolm has 13 points in Divination and 6 points in Conjuration. He can, at any point in the period, donate up to 6 Divination Control to Mordecai’s ritual in order to help him reach the Control Factor for that ritual. Malcolm could then later donate up to 3 Conjuration Control to meet the Control Factor in the creation of Dalinar’s Dreadful Drudge Dynamo.
Impress Energy has been changed to:
This skill allows a character to infuse cut gems with a measure of power according to how much power the mage may manifest. These gems may later be used to donate Knowledge points to a ritual or Arcane Craft to fulfill a TKR requirement. Control Factors must still be met. Players may only use one gem prepared in such a manner in a single ritual or Arcane Craft. Requires the use of an Enchantry. See the Arcane Crafting Chart for more details.
- We altered these two skills in order to better facilitate the need for either Knowledge or Control within a desired project. (Also, Enchanter had Donate Energy but couldn’t use it on its own because it didn’t natively have access to Gather Power….oops.) These changes to Donate Energy are also seen in Ritualist.
Brawler
Bear Hug will now utilize strength modifiers. For every strength modifier, there is +1 body damage
Choke Out count has been reduced from 10 seconds to 5 seconds
- These two Brawler skills were seen as nearly unusable in their current states. We hope that adding the extra damage to Bear Hug will encourage people to use it. Choke-Out’s time requirement to effect time ratio has been improved, as earlier it was not worth the Endurance to use it.
Small Arms
Courage has been removed from the skill set of Small Arms
- Courage, before, was simply in too many spots across all skill spheres. We’ve trimmed it down in places it made the most sense to. Skill Rank requirements have been moved down to compensate for the loss of Courage from the sphere.
Marksmen
Courage has been removed from the skill set of Marksmen
- Courage, before, was simply in too many spots across all skill spheres. We’ve trimmed it down in places it made the most sense to
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Double Shot only doubles base damage, not augmented damage.
- This was always the case, we just felt the need to clarify.
Hamstring (4 Build, 4 Endurance) has been added to Tier 2 of Marksmen skillset.
Target suffers the effects of Cripple Limb on a single leg for 10 seconds. User of this skill must specify which limb is affected. Players suffering the effects of Cripple are in extreme pain and cannot use the affected limb for the duration of the skill.
- Adding Hamstring added a bit of utility to the marksman skill sphere which it lacked before, and we think it is a suitable replacement for the removal of Courage
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Defender
Glancing Blows has been modified to -1 physical damage to +1 soak from physical sources
- There was some confusion about when to apply the damage mitigation vs that of a soak. This just brings to wording in line with other skills and abilities to align it with precedence.
Exhausting Defense (5 Build, 10 Endurance) has been changed to:
Character may use their skill at blocking to tire out an opponent. After successfully blocking any skill with a Small Shield, attacker may not use any skills that require the expenditure of Presence, Endurance, or Dexterity for 10 seconds. Target may not suffer the effects of Exhaustion again for 30 seconds. This is a physical effect which may be Negated. May only be used with a Small Shield.
- Before, Exhausting Defense only protected if someone was going to use the same skill over and over. This usually isn’t the case, so we wanted to provide more usefulness.
Jack of All Shields has been added as a medium shield passive for defender. Skill Rank Requirement is 5.
Allows the user to wield either a Small or Large Shield as if they possessed the skill. Players who possess this passive may use all other skills in conjunction with their small or large shield with the exception of Large or Small Shield passive abilities or size-specific skills.
- Medium shield didn’t have a passive before. It was always the most popular size for a shield, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t deserve a passive. This fixes that oversight.
Assassin
Administer Poison no longer requires Envenom as a prerequisite.
- Administer Poison just allows a person to use poisons undetected, not use them at all. We’ve changed this prerequisite to fit that skill design.
Fatal Precision (8 Build, 8 Dexterity) has been added to Tier 5
This skill allows the user to deliver the effects of an injected poison to a target without their knowledge. Prior to the use of this skill, the assassin must approach a marshal or staff member to inform them that they are using the skill, detailing the intended target, the weapon to be used, and the poison to be used. The marshal will then observe the assassin deliver the attack. During delivery, the assassin is not required to call a skill or attack. If the marshal determines that the attack was a success, the marshal will inform the victim that they have been poisoned and detail the effects they are to take. Fatal Precision is a physical attack that may not be Blocked or Avoided, but it may be Negated.
- This was the initial intention behind Envenom, but the requirement for a called skill then alerts your target, and everyone else, to your presence. We relegated Envenom to stay as-is, a surprise attack that delivers poison, and introduced Fatal Precision to fill the gap.
Backstab Prof +1 has been reduced from 4 to 3 rank requirements
Backstab Prof +2 has been reduced from 8 to 6 rank requirements
- Considering that it is not always easy to land a blow from behind, we’ve made the ramp up your flank damage quicker to balance that out.
One Poison Resist Packet has been added at 8 rank requirements
- We thought it just made sense that a person who is skilled with poisons should have had enough practice with them to resist their effects.
Cleric -> Pious
We have changed the name of the Cleric skill sphere to the Pious skill sphere. This is to reflect our earlier statements about moving from ‘paths’ to spheres. Clerics are still clerics, but they gain their skills by being Pious.
Sense Divine (2 Build, 4 Presence) has been changed to:
This skill allows a character to detect the presence and deity of significant amounts of divinity within a single target within a 20’ radius, including Soulless, rites performed, prayers cast, enhancements, and Relics. This skill may not be used to detect possessions.
- Sense Divine, previously, was too niche and yielded very little information for the Presence spent. We’ve since amended that, allowing the pious to more accurately detect divinity.
Meditate now requires the user to be at an altar of a designated god and roleplay time has been increased from 2 min/rank to 3 min/rank. Skill rank requirement is now 8.
- We saw Meditate being used exactly as it was intended this past season, but it was observed that choice of prayer seemed to carry little weight or significance. With this change, we’re hoping to see a little more care being used when selecting prayers for a period.
Primary Faith +5 passive has been change to skill rank requirement 4.
- This was seen as too little, too late. By lowering it, we hope to give newer pious sphere users a bit of a boost.
Thievery
Small Weapon has been added to Tier 0
- Can’t use Waylay if you don’t have a weapon, right?
Duck and Weave (10 Build, continuous) has been added to Tier 5
- Our design for Thievery is that they can get into and out of just about any situation, and Duck and Weave was a logical step to fill out their admittedly pretty sparse Tier 5.
Physician
Small Weapon has been added to Tier 0.
- Can’t use Waylay if you don’t have a weapon, right?
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Contact if a contract has been burned, breached, or otherwise negatable, Build will not be refunded in return of the skill.
This was always implied, but never explicitly stated. Choose your friends wisely…
Sending the spell has been clarified so that the user must both know the receiver as well as the receiver’s name
Also another mention of ‘implied, but never stated outright.’ There, we fixed it.
Spirit Blade has been changed to personal use only.
There was just soooo much Divine damage that some encounters that felt difficult were just plowed through by the players. There was a significant power level surge last season, and addressing Spirit Blade helped us reign that in. We’re sooooooooooooooooorry……….
Now, how does the change affect you? If you already have a skill and it was removed from your sphere, you still have that skill. There are no changes. In most cases, we have added or merely altered skills.
Is that all?
Absolutely not! We have more in store for you and planned! We are continuing to work on more patch notes to submit to you which includes finalization of racial packets, further sphere work, rulesets and more!
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The following link will provide you another format to view these patch notes, and will include a new table for Brewer/Brewing:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oop … sp=sharing
