Buel: I dont even.... You did download the alpha, unpacked the 7-zip, and then ran the Dwarf Fortress.exe ? Because thats how you do it.
If anyone checks my brower history for today, they will be very confused. Demon summoning and deomonology, as well as how to get visas for ghana and gambia. Apparently its easier to summon satan than getting a visa to Ghana. Anyway, I wanted to base some rituals on real life stuff, but so far its difficult to translate into DF. But I came up with a new building design that I like a lot:
Try reading it backwards. Or upside down. Or both. Its a text-based magic square palindrome, which was used in magic and religion a lot.
Tomorrow I will be going around to some consulates with my new passport I got today, so probably not much time for modding.
There's a better one I recall that even works diagonally... damn'd if I can remember it though.
How would brood work? Would it create Ghouls? Or new Warlocks? Perhaps it creates something that drops all the materials needed to revive a warlock when revived instead? A kind of vile flesh golem thing? After all, the entire point of the fortress is that you aren't getting any new warlocks after the first two migrant waves right?
edit: Also, the total number of warlocks should probably never exceed 10-20. You get 3-5 starting ones on average. Plus your only two migrant waves are half warlocks, half skeleton/ghouls?
Alternatively those are ALL warlocks I guess... but I think warlocks should be a super precious commodity, with magic far exceeding what the other races can pull off, and hideously hard to kill once they reach higher levels and knowledge. Hell, maybe have it so that you only start with ONE real Warlock, and the rest are 'Acolytes' or something. A transformation system as it were? Like how dwarven mages all start as the Arcane Dwarf Caste but turn into different kinds of entities by transformation? Same deal.
You could also make it so that you have 4 'rider' squads. These squads can only be filled by one of your 4 'riders' who are warlocks who undergo a special transformation into an aspect of the greater powers of the End. You can only have 1 of each type of rider, the same way you can only have one Lich, Arcane Support, etc. for Dwarves? That way having 4 squad slots that can only be filled by riders won't end up with 4 famines, or 4 deaths.
Basically, the idea is the pecking order goes (from lowest to highest)
Zombies (souless automatons)
Skeletons (souls still intact, but slaves without flesh. Presumably can be given free will but most of the time they don't have it.)
Ghouls (bodies still in tact and presumably a modicum of free will, if not entirely so, but their nature warped by torture or birth)
Acolytes? (Just climbing the ladder of power. They have some skill magically, but their chief purpose is to handle the experiments and stuff and the more dangerous work for their warlock master)
Warlocks (Technically the top of the chain, but in terms of power they sit at second best. Able to learn a massive number of spells. You gain some control over what spells they'll cast in particular through their weapon and ammo types though. Lots of their spells are probably long range constantly active auras however to boost the abilities of their minions)
Riders (The highest powered guys. They don't rule your dungeon, but they are created by warlocks undergoing specialized rituals that link them to one of the primal forces of Entropy. They are pretty much megabeasts in power level. Their very presence should cause in the living enough bad thoughts to drive them insane).
Also, I remember an idea I pitched before about different grades of minions like skeletons and stuff? I know that you can't create them out right at different skill levels? But could you have transformations that lead to different skill caps?
So you start off with 'average' skeletons. Whatever their skill of choice (whether it be in crafting, whatever) it's average. They're competent in whatever job you put them in. But that's all. A higher level transformation turns them into 'expert' skeletons (this would apply to military as well). The final level transformation turns them into 'Legendary' Skeletons.
Finally, you could have something that transformed skeletons down to basic skeletons without any specialization. This is a late game thing. You could probably get it early on in a sort of 3 for 1 deal. Requires 3 skeletons to be present for it. Kills all 3 (breaking them down for parts) and produces 1 blank slate skeleton.
The idea is that we're reinforcing that skeletons are, ultimately. Tools. They're not citizens. They don't have hopes and dreams. Any station they hold is purely by their usefulness, nothing more. They can't gain skills. They have to be 'improved' like any tool would be. When they're not needed, they're broken down for parts and then shipped off.
Also, I'd argue that all new 'building' patterns for the Warlocks should probably be gained by sending expeditions to study ruins, torturing/dissecting prisoners, or by research in the libraries (all libraries would have a chance of instead of teaching the warlock a new skill, they'd get a blueprint for a new building. Also a library section, perhaps the central one, called the 'Archive' where spells and scrolls that have been learned in one of the libraries can be copied out for speedier teaching of other warlocks would be pretty cool). Maybe raiding rival warlocks for their knowledge would be another thing. I imagine all warlocks are kinda backstabby sons of bitches. They are 'unified' but their morality would probably have treason as 'required' rather than as 'unthinkable' or the like.
Given what I know of what can be done by modding (thanks to what you've said before Melph and what I've read is done with the other races), I think this would help give the Skeletons a much more 'tool' like feel to them. Things to be upgraded or disassembled as needed. No actual skill growth, even for military skeletons.
Poll
Author
Topic: [WARLOCK] - Discussion and Suggestions (Read 169723 times)