Class idea: Prism

[Ramanujan]

-- Is there a way to add spoiler tags?

Prisms are Psionics that principally use the feedback resource, though they are able to convert feedback into other resources.
They absorb pure energy as enemies attack them then magnify that energy in a feedback loop, before directing and focusing it with devastating consequences.
Prisms excel at light and mind damage, debuffing enemies and healing themselves.

Their primary stat is Constitution, which thanks to Adamant Focus provides Mind Power. Their secondary stat is Willpower.
Some of their talents include increasing the feedback decay rate as a cost. This does factor towards the healing gained via Biofeedback.
Prisms can 'gain non-feedback' resources, see Psionic/Biofeedback/Conversion. I have added a couple of additional means of doing this, along with some locked trees that use a couple of those resources.

Class Talents
Prism
Release
Drain
Discharge (Level 10)
Photomancy
Convert Energy
Stamina Tree (Placeholder name)
Transform (Locked - Level 10)
Thought Form (Locked)
Temporal (Locked)
Battle Tactics (Locked - Level 10)
Circles (Locked - Level 10)

General Talents
Transfer
Feedback
Reverberate
Mindstar Mastery
Equilibrium Tree (Placeholder name) (Locked - Level 10)

Starting talents:
Amplification: 1
Shunt Energy: 1
Exhaust: 1
Adamant Focus: 1 (Cannot remove)
Biofeedback: 1

Ability Modifiers:
Con +6, Wis +3, Dex -4

Life Modifier:
+3


Reverberate (All talent levels ) (General)
1 Amplification (Sustain)
Increase mind power by +X per X% of maximum Feedback
Increase feedback decay by x%
Increase maximum Feedback by (5*Talent_Level)
2 Resilient Energy (Sustain)
Increase resist stun, blindness and confusion by X per turn per X% of maximum Feedback
Increase feedback decay by x%
Increase maximum Feedback by (5*Talent_Level)
3 Obdurate Energy (Sustain)
Increase all saves by +X per X% of maximum Feedback, resist light and mind by x% and resist all by x% of maximum Feedback
Increase feedback decay by x%
Increase maximum Feedback by (5*Talent_Level)
4 Momentum (Sustain)
Increase speed by +x% per x% of maximum Feedback
Increase feedback decay by x% (large decay rate)
Increase maximum Feedback by (5*Talent_Level)}

Release (Class)
1 Shunt Energy
Deal X mental damage, target gains x% resources and explodes radius X for X Mind damage for each X% over maximum.
2 Kinetic Blast (instant)
AOE Knockback for X squares. Deals X physical damage if knocked into obstacle.
3 Channel
X mind damage per turn for X turns. Increase Feedback Decay for X turns as cost.
Does not stack.
4 Energy slam
Blind/Daze/Stun/Confuse/Knockback all targets in sight and deal X light damage.
Includes graded resistance penetration.

Transfer (Class)
1 Ignite feedback loop
Hurt yourself to gain Feedback. -X hp & +X Feedback
2 Metabolise Energy (Sustain)
Increase Feedback decay to (1/(2+Talent_level) of maximum Feedback) per turn. Decreases talent cooldown times by (15*Talent_level)%.
3 Relocate (Instant)
Transfer X mental or magical negative effects to a target within range X.
4 Vaporise
Empty Feedback pool into a beam of energy. Deal X mind damage and X Light Damage per X% feedback emptied.
If feedback was above X% also cause knockback
If feedback was above X% also dig
If feedback was above X% also explode on contact in radius X dealing X% damage.
Anything killed or any walls destroyed by this attack leave behind clouds of debris for X turns, obscuring vision and preventing breathing.

Drain (Class)
1 Exhaust
Remove X% of target's resources, gain X Feedback over X turns per point of resources altered.
Per point of feedback gained by a drain talent, also gain X resources.
Increases feedback gained by drain talents by x%
2 Drain wall
Dig, gain X Feedback over X turns
Increases feedback gained by drain talents by x%
3 Feed Grip
Deal X mind damage each turn, gain X Feedback and X hp over X turns, attempting to stun it each turn.
Increases feedback gained by drain talents by x%
4 Drain auras
Remove X positive effects from target, Range X, gain X Feedback over X turns
Increases feedback gained by drain talents by x%

Transform (Locked - level 10) (Class)
1 Pure Energy
Transform into a being of pure energy increasing Feedback decay to X% of maximum Feedback.
Deactivates if drops below (80-10*Talent_level)% feedback.
Reduces non-physical damage by X% (doesn't effect feedback gain, applied before feedback shield)
2 Glow (passive)
while transformed gain x% resource gain modifier (including feedback), x% hp gain modifier
increases light radius by +X and each turn attempts to blind creatures within range X, dealing X light damage
3 Overflow (passive)
while transformed all creatures within range X take mind damage equal to any feedback gained.
Whenever you gain feedback also gain +x resources (Not Feedback).
If the gained feedback would take you over your maximum, increase the effects of this talent by X%
4 Intensify (passive)
While transformed increase mind and light damage by x% and resistance penetration by x%

Prism (General)
1 Adamant Focus (passive)
Increase health gain per point of constitution by (Talent_level)
Increase Mindpower by (10*Talent_level)% of constitution
Allows you to use (20*Talent_level)% of your mindpower instead of your physical and spell powers.
Reduce movement speed by 50%
Gain 100% immunity to teleportation, slows, imobilization and pins
2 Bottle Energy (Sustain - high cost)
Prevent x% of natural decay of feedback. But take X physical damage for each point of feedback gained over the maximum. This damage does not cause you to gain more feedback.
3 Gaze (Instant sustain - free)
Lock your gaze on a target creature and all creatures in-between, directing your energies on their destruction.
All creatures under your Gaze receive x% additional damage from you, and have their resistances lowered by x%.
The target of your gaze must resist the urge to panic and flee your presence each turn.
4 Focal point (Passive)
Whenever you deal light damage to a creature under your gaze, there is a x% chance of igniting it for x fire damage per turn for x turns.
Whenever you deal mind damage to a creature under your gaze, there is a x% chance of pulverising it’s mind confusing, stunning or knocking it out.

I'm aware there are no mobility or sensing talents. Both of which are serious weaknesses. Infact Adamant Focus exacerbates the mobility issue, particularly as it prevents using teleportation runes. The general survivability of the class should be considerably above average, and so I felt it would be appropriate to have these as being week - but I may need to add something in to at least provide mediocre cover for them.

No I haven't coded it yet, and thus haven't playtested/balanced it at all, all of the more exact numbers are just to give you more of a feel of what I was going for. Had a look at doing so earlier today and concluded I needed to find more examples to work from first. Any suggestions for templates to use would be appreciated (Was using Stone-Warden as a template).

I look forward to your feedback!

Edit:
Perhaps rather than having the extra locked trees from other classes, I can make my own that use other resources - would fix the problem of there being no stamina or arguably equilibrium* trees that would make any sense.
*(costing - Fungus gives you equilibrium - the others all seem to have thematic or mechanical problems, though they aren't as big as the problems the standard stamina trees are giving me)

(These trees will have higher resource costs, and lower cooldowns than normal spells/abilities - The Drain tree and other Resource conversion abilities are supposed to supply their requirements)

N.B. I have made some changes to the other trees, most notably Adamant Focus (the class's required talent)
Also the addition of Photomancy to the starting talents would make Zigur unavailable.

Trees under consideration:
Convert Energy (Class)
1 Electrical Potential (Costs Psi)
You cause a shortage of electrons in your target, resulting in lightning jumping from nearby targets into it. Dealing X Lightning damage to your primary target and X lightning damage to your secondary targets (reduced by X% for each additional secondary target). (You are a valid secondary target - and damaging yourself gives you feedback)
2 Feedback conversion (Instant - costs Feedback)
You transform the pure energy stored inside of you into chemical energy, recharging your other resources.
Gain X resources.
3 Kinetic Javelin (Costs Psi)
Deal X physical damage to a target, knocking it back X tiles and pinning it there for X turns.
4 Gravitational mass (Psi and Feedback)
You gain incredible density, drawing all other creatures towards yourself each turn for X turns. Any creatures that would be drawn into a wall or another creature's tile instead take X physical damage and stuns them. Your increased density protects you from the monsters falling towards you, and grants 50% physical resistance for the duration.


Photomancy (Class) (These cost mana)
1 Funnel Light
0 cooldown, Range: (Talent_level+1)
If you are in an unlit tile, you lose 1 light radius for X turns. This cannot be cast if it would reduce your light radius to below 0.
Deal X Light damage in a beam.
Deals an additional 50% damage and 100% extra range if cast from a lit tile.
2 Illuminate (as per the Phantasm spell of the same name).
Creates a globe of pure light within a radius of X that illuminates the area. At level 3, it also blinds all who see it (except the caster) for X turns. At level 4, it also deals X light damage.
3 Bend Light
You bend the light, making it appear as if you are somewhere else for (Talent_level+1) turns. The decoy has a (17*Talent_level)% chance of ignoring damage. If any damage is dealt to the decoy it ceases functioning.
4 Laser (Sustain - 0 cost)
Drains X mana per turn.
Every turn spent in a lit tile charges the Laser by (Talent_level) as it gathers light from the surrounding area to a maximum of X.
When the Laser ceases charging (deactivating this sustain), the laser activates channeling it's stored energy dealing X Light damage per point of charge and ignores resistance. If the laser kills a target, it continues on in a straight line to the next target dealing overkill damage.

Insert name here - Stamina Tree (General) (These cost stamina)
1 Edges of the Prism
Attack a target (Ceiling(Talent_level/2)) time(s) with both weapons dealing X% weapon damage. For each attack that hits, gain X Feedback.
2 Absorb blows (Sustain)
Increase your armour by X and your armour hardness by X%, but reduce your defence to 0.
Increase the feedback you gain from physical damage by X%.
3 Run (Instant Sustain)
Gain 350% movement speed (effectively causing you to move three times as fast as a normal creature), but drain X stamina per turn.
4 Focused Touch (Instant Sustain)
Your melee attacks gain +X Mind damage and +X Light Damage, but drain X Stamina per hit

Equilibrium Tree (General - Level 10) (These cost equilibrium)
1 Attune (sustain)
Choose a non-physical damage type when you activate this talent. You gain +X% feedback gain whenever you take damage from the element of your choosing.
At level 5 choose two damage types.
2 Photosynthesis
Do stuff when you deal/receive Light damage. Summon Tree ents?
3 Non-Undead telepathy/sensing?
4 Reset cooldowns? Low cooldown, but takes two turns to use?




Circles seems a solid way of using both negative and positive energy up.

I'm currently thinking not to use the corrupted versions of the resources. What do you think?

[The Revanchist]

That's a really cool concept, to say the least. "Bottle up your pain, and blow the enemy to kingdom come when you've had enough". I don't have any good templates yet, though.

[Sradac]

I approve of this. We need more usage of the Feedback resource. It would also be cool if they could either get increased feedback generated from taking Mind damage, or focus on a particular damage type(s) and align themselves to it to have those damage types generate increased feedback.

[malboro_urchin]

I approve of this. We need more usage of the Feedback resource. It would also be cool if they could either get increased feedback generated from taking Mind damage, or focus on a particular damage type(s) and align themselves to it to have those damage types generate increased feedback.

As I read this, I'm envisioning something like Command Staff, where you get to choose the damage type that you get the most feedback from. Maybe at talent level 5, you get to choose 2 damage types that give you increased feedback?

Edit: regarding low level attack options, perhaps a custom tree with a spammable, moderate damage light beam and higher damage, higher cooldown mind damage nukes?

[Sirrocco]

worth noting that going antimagic is the obvious choice for this character.
- regen is far better than shields for them. They have a large HP pool, and takign damage and then healign it gains feedback, while just preventing it does not.
- They do the mindpower thing pretty hard - most likely, all of their points are going into con, will, and cunning, and for them, all of those give mindpower.
- if they're going adamant, they don't get to teleport anyway.
- the weird thing is that you might not even want AM shield (reduces feedback gain). You're mostly going AM for fungus.

[Ramanujan]

That's a really cool concept, to say the least. "Bottle up your pain, and blow the enemy to kingdom come when you've had enough". I don't have any good templates yet, though.

Thanks!

— The talent Bottle Energy is perfect for that strategy; though it does turn you into somewhat of a glass cannon.
Bottle Energy prevents you losing feedback. Combined with the Reverberate and Transform trees (which provides buffs proportionally to your feedback % - Reverberate, or stop working at low feedback levels - Transform) at the cost of multiplying any damage that takes you over your feedback maximum.

I approve of this. We need more usage of the Feedback resource. It would also be cool if they could either get increased feedback generated from taking Mind damage, or focus on a particular damage type(s) and align themselves to it to have those damage types generate increased feedback.

Thanks! I like your idea of specialising in damage types - would fit perfectly into a tree I was considering designing called Energy Conversion.

I approve of this. We need more usage of the Feedback resource. It would also be cool if they could either get increased feedback generated from taking Mind damage, or focus on a particular damage type(s) and align themselves to it to have those damage types generate increased feedback.

As I read this, I'm envisioning something like Command Staff, where you get to choose the damage type that you get the most feedback from. Maybe at talent level 5, you get to choose 2 damage types that give you increased feedback?

Edit: regarding low level attack options, perhaps a custom tree with a spammable, moderate damage light beam and higher damage, higher cooldown mind damage nukes?

Those are both good ideas. I particularly like the idea of a spammable light beam - the class are named after Prisms after all... hmm maybe I could use light as a resource?

Something like;
Funnel Light
0 Cooldown, 0 Cost
If you are in an unlit tile, you lose 1 light radius for X turns. This cannot be cast if it would reduce your light radius to below 0.
Deal X light damage in a beam.
Deals an additional 50% damage if cast from a lit tile.

Combined with something like a mindpower variation of the illuminate spell from the Phantasm category.

Other light based ideas/thoughts that aren't fully thought out:
A sustain that charges when you've got it activated - sucking light in - then when you deactivate it, like with the Mindslayer aura talents, causes a laser* beam to shoot out of you dealing damage proportionally to how long you had it charging (how much light it took in) to a maximum charge value.

*I'd swear laser was spelt with a z, but my computer is insisting on an s.

Bend light so that it appears you are standing somewhere else, causing foes to attack an empty square briefly. (This would work as an inactive summon with x% chance of dodging and 1 hp, that monsters must attack)





I'm also thinking about a tree working with energy in the Physics sense (the energy conversion tree I mentioned) i.e. some of; Kinetic, Magnetic, Heat, Light, Electrical, Gravitational Potential, Chemical, Sound and Nuclear...

Electrical for example could do something like this:
You cause an shortage of electrons in your target, resulting in lightning jumping from nearby targets into it. Dealing X Lightning damage to your primary target and X lightning damage to your secondary targets (reduced by X% for each additional secondary targets). (You are a valid secondary target - and damaging yourself gives you feedback)

I possibly like my talents slightly too complicated. Though in it's defence the Electrical talent above was inspired by the first talent in the Cursed/Punishments tree.

Edited to emphasise recognised truthiness. I ought to remind myself more often that Go like complexity is the best kind of complexity (assuming, not necessarily correctly, that you need complexity) - simple rules combining to create a complex and interesting environment.

[Ramanujan]

worth noting that going antimagic is the obvious choice for this character.
- regen is far better than shields for them. They have a large HP pool, and takign damage and then healign it gains feedback, while just preventing it does not.
- They do the mindpower thing pretty hard - most likely, all of their points are going into con, will, and cunning, and for them, all of those give mindpower.
- if they're going adamant, they don't get to teleport anyway.
- the weird thing is that you might not even want AM shield (reduces feedback gain). You're mostly going AM for fungus.

Thanks for reading it - and for thinking about it; I really appreciate it!

I can see what you're saying and I should definitely bare that in mind if or when I get around to balancing it. (at the moment life is getting busy, and doesn't look to get much less busy for five months or so - so while I have time to think about it and design it, I fear learning how to code this will have to be put on the back burner)

[Parcae2]

This is the coolest class idea I've seen in quite a while. I very much hope that it winds up in the game eventually, not just as an addon.