ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

In playing an alchemist, not for the first time but what might as well be, I'm finding that it's hard to keep note of what my golem is trying to do at any moment.

You can see its current target if you hover over it and check its status, but when just walking about a dungeon it's hard to tell if its continual random motion has set it off toward a foe, particularly if it's one beyond your own lines of sight.

My intuition is that this becomes a non-issue when your golem's runes or eye beams are available and its first move is always to fire a magic bolt, but I'm not sure entirely if that's as good as it could be, or if it will always work. So the fix I propose is that the combat log give out an expession of your golem's intention when it changes target, while your golem lets off an emote! Examples:

Your golem's dull eyes (dimly glowing onyx eyes, glowing sapphire eyes etc.) fix darkly (brightly) upon a distant foe...
Golem: "..."

Your golem (steadily, swiftly, heftily) readies its greatsword (longsword, etc.) against the __yaech hunter__.
NOTE: Such messages could be cutomized according to its current stats (i.e. STR, DEX or CON-focused) as well as any equipment it is carrying.
Golem: "!"

Your golem's weapon systems whirr into activity as it advances toward __yaech hunter__
Golem: "click, whirr..."

Your golem's central thought module switches to a combat routine as it processes an assault against __yaech hunter__
Golem: "Ker-chick"

Your golem burbles out a repetition of unfeeling alchemical instruction as it diverts its attention toward the __yaech hunter__.
Golem: "Dissolve... purify... recombine"

Now, quest and other NPCs could have a similar feature, which is where this gets interesting! Also, this might not be necessary if leashing were slightly more accurate, restricting the constant back-and-forth motion that is often quite confusing, especially in combat.

I want a skill, probably high level, that gives lets you see its LoS, similar to arcane eye.

lukep wrote:I want a skill, probably high level, that gives lets you see its LoS, similar to arcane eye.

haha. Have you seen the golem's LoS? Switch to controlling your golem and you can see what it sees- and they can see FOREVER, or at least a significant portion of forever. And, just to make it all the more ridiculous, they've got darkvision.

This means that oddly the golem has signifcant value as a scout.

But... yes, I've very much wanted this as well, so I can actually know what my golem's doing.

Either that, or else give the character permanent, infinite range golem telepathy (and summons too while we're at it)