Dark Priests

[Blackdog]

There's been some grumbling about Dark Priests, with people wondering why they get Udun but are unable to use it since they can't learn the required schools. See this topic for one such debate.

Anyway, I was considering possible changes that would make Dark Priests better represent Melkor's corrupting force, learning enough of Arda's magic to twist and taint it, while not being able to truly master its pure form. The changes I propose would come from p_info.txt and look like this:

Code: Select all

C:a:N:Dark-Priest
C:a:D:A priest that serves Melkor Bauglir to bring chaos
C:a:D:and destruction to Arda
C:a:O:21:5:1d1
C:a:g:Melkor Bauglir
C:a:k:+0:+200:Prayer
C:a:k:+0:-100:Spell-power
C:a:k:+0:+400:Necromancy
C:a:k:+0:-600:Mindcraft
C:a:k:+0:+900:Mana
C:a:k:+0:+100:Udun
C:a:k:+0:+1050:Fire
C:a:k:+0:+700:Nature
C:a:k:+0:+1000:Conveyance
C:a:k:+1000:+1000:Corpse-preservation

This gives Dark Priests a limited but useful amount of magic, decent melee potential, and, most importantly, true access to the Udun school.

If you find this interesting, I encourage you to copy this into /edit/p_info.txt and start up a character. I tested these changes in debug mode, and intend to make a real character with them, but additional feedback is welcome.

[Lord Dimwit]

As the only person on the oook ladder who's won with a Dark-Priest (I think. haven't checked it in a while), I think that the class is difficult but not excessively so.
Yes, the Dark-Priest gets shafted in terms of most normal magic. But he's better at Necromancy than all but the Necromancer class, is much better at fighting than that class, and much better at prayer.
It's pretty difficult to start out as a Dark-Priest. But once you learn vampirism and get Curse up to above level 35, life becomes pretty easy, actually.
Curse at level 50 is ridiculously overpowered. A high-level Dark-Priest has an easier time at high levels than almost any other character. My Dark-Priest killed Morgoth without him even getting in one hit. Sigh.

So I would say you can do it. Just need to get past those ugly early levels.

[Blackdog]

Good points, but there's still the thematic issue regarding Udun. And if Curse is as powerful as you say, maybe it should be toned down. Why on earth would Melkor curse Morgoth?

[ShinesmanOffWhite]

I tried experimenting with a dark priest and death touch in god mode, and for some reason I didn't see any real effect to it. I was using a minimal damage weapon.

It gave me the glowing weapon bit, so I knew it was "active," but I didn't see anything insta-dying.

[Blackdog]

There's a random chance to it, too.

[ShinesmanOffWhite]

If so, it doesn't seem to trigger too often.

Considering that Combat isn't that great a skill and very few of my characters actually intentionally raise it instead of weaponmastery (especially to 40), it would appear that death touch is a pretty weak ability in the end.

Maybe if I borrowed my friend's randart ring of speed with +9 to attack speed it would be worthwhile, but...

The other thing that I guess I could try is the Black Bear (Beorning Dark Priest), since Combat stacks with Bearform Combat, though Bearform Combat isn't a great skill to begin with.