+Skills items?

[jeremyosborne]

Even though I swear I've seen this topic before, the word combos I did a forum search for returned zero or the wrong results. My greps and file browsing has also resulted in no leads on this.

Question:
Can items be modded to add pluses to skills?

Example:
My character puts on a berzerker shield and gets a minus one to the block skill and a plus one to the whirlwind skill?

[Roswitha]

I suggested it as something to add to the expansion. I have no idea whether Shadow is going to do it or not.

[jeremyosborne]

Originally Posted by Roswitha

I suggested it as something to add to the expansion. I have no idea whether Shadow is going to do it or not.

Your post must have been the one that I originally read but couldn't find on my searches.

Did Shadow ever confirm or deny if there was a (hidden) mechanism for creating items with skill increases?

[FloodSpectre]

I've been suggesting this one for a while too, including items with unique skills granted to the character. I have no idea if the mechanic to do this with items exists, though.

[Shadow]

Technically you could probably do it, but it wouldn't really work right because you can buy back your points. If you have 1 skill level and you want to but back your points, the game wouldn't know if you had bought the skill level or if you have an item that is boosting that stat.

[jeremyosborne]

That's a good reason not to mess with +skills at the moment.

I'll just add my vote to FloodSpectre's, and probably others', requests for implementation of +Skill and -Skill plumbing. The -Skill would be just as cool as the +Skill. I can think of some good uses for it, from traps to cursed items.

I can see the skill modifiers implemented a lot like attributes:

• There is a base skill value.
• Skills can be adjusted, much like Attributes, above or below the base value, but the game can reference the base value for buying/selling.
• When viewing skills, skills are displayed as base followed by adjusted, much like attributes in the character view screen.
• For calculations, skills have a floor value. For ease of use, I see 0 as the min value, and -Skill penalties that can bring a skill down to 0 effectively make the skill unusable.
• For +Skills or -Skills effects, there could be general effects and specific effects. General affects apply to all skills, specific effects apply to specific skills. Whether general or specific, it seems another modifier would be needed: effect can apply to only skills already possessed -- player has put points into said skill -- or they can go so far as to grant a skill.

Granting a whole new skill, distinct from just granting a bonus to an existing skill, seems a bit tricky in terms of "how to manage and display" but I think would be cool as a long term todo item.