Maybe Cloak of Deception perm. fortress effect could be free

[Steven Aus]

We had a discussion here:

http://forums.te4.org/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=48028

and we decided that maybe it would be worth making the permanent Cloak of Deception effect free? Especially since it can be removed sometimes, and the Cloak of Deception is the only required item to interact in towns, and only undead have to use it so they are at a serious disadvantage if they don't have it (especially in Angolwen hehehe).

[anp]

It's a bit of offtopic, but there's no need for such a cloak if you use belt of unlife

[Aquillion]

To be honest, if it's going to go this far, it might be better to just remove the cloak and the need for the cloak entirely (and replace it with your creator mentioning that part of their ritual disguises you as human; after all, player undead are already implied to be a unique and special sort of undead on account of being free-willed and intelligent, so there's no reason to not include "also you look human" as part of their natural state.)

This reminds me of the gradual way identification was removed - the whole thing with the Cloak of Deception is flavor that rapidly becomes irritating once you've played undead more than once or twice.

[Steven Aus]

Although it does also say that the ritual went wrong which meant you kept your free will. Still, an inbuilt illusion that causes you to look (and smell, lol) like a human could have been an intentional part of the ritual.

[nsrr]

To be honest, if it's going to go this far, it might be better to just remove the cloak and the need for the cloak entirely (and replace it with your creator mentioning that part of their ritual disguises you as human; after all, player undead are already implied to be a unique and special sort of undead on account of being free-willed and intelligent, so there's no reason to not include "also you look human" as part of their natural state.)

This reminds me of the gradual way identification was removed - the whole thing with the Cloak of Deception is flavor that rapidly becomes irritating once you've played undead more than once or twice.

We could even say that the incantation designed to make you appear human is what messed up the ritual and granted you consciousness, tying both explanations together.

If we really wanted to keep the flavor of being a scary undead thing, we could add a talent to undead that allows them to 'reveal their true form', which could function as a sustain that changes your alliance. Basically the opposite of the cloak.

Either way, I agree with Aquillion: "Cloak of Deception is flavor that rapidly becomes irritating once you've played undead more than once or twice."

[Steven Aus]

There is an addon that sets your faction to Allied Kingdoms if you are undead so you don't need the Cloak of Deception. As you said, a sustain could make you appear as an enemy. Then the intro and starting quest would just need to be updated.

[chrisrrawr]

Why not just have a quest line for making the cloak useful?

Something like the Alchemists quest line, where you search out various requirements to receive targeted upgrades for it.

This could incorporate the Cloak into other races' games as well, and the original Undead dungeon could be another area - starting with the boss on floor 1 and ending with the player choosing between:

helping the Undead on floor 3, receiving ??;
or helping the Necromancer, receiving ??;
or killing both, receiving the cloak.

Centering the boosts around available Necromantic energies (i.e. recent kills) would be my preference;
Undead Strength or Constitution boost (based on kills recently, scales with Strength/Con)
Unlife Vigour (die at -X HP, based on recent kills)
Chilling Presence (Cold Damage / Resist, based on recent kills)
Night Terror (Stealth & Defense bonus based on recent kills)

etc.


As well as options in the opposite direction
Arcane Void (Can betray escort quests to Zigur, Zigur questline becomes available; Cloak becomes permanent fixture, locks out Necromantic Cloak upgrades)
Fertility (Fungus grows on your decaying remains - access to the Fungus talent tree if not, unlocks if you had it locked, +.2 if you had it unlocked -- healing works on you as if you weren't undead)
Indomitable Will (You clawed your way back to life - Mindpower increased by 20% of CON)
Nature-Blessed (Can use inscriptions as if you weren't undead)

I'm sure others can come up with better options and circumstances to obtain them, but in general this is the direction I would take the Cloak // prefer to see it go.