Hi there. As you can see, this is my first post on these forums. Dungeons of Dredmor has captivated my attention as of late with the new DLC and easily-accessible Steam Workshop mods. Upon discovering that DoD is easily modded with XML, I jumped with joy in how easy it would be to mod such a fun game. I have yet to actually delve into Dredmor code because before now I've had little reason to. However, I've come up with an idea that at the very least I would like to know the plausibility of. So, without further ado... Level 0: Pinball Wizard A chunk of relevant stats Ranged magic-based crushing missile attack with chance to ricochet to nearby square. I know for sure this is doable. It's simply a spell that, on hit, has a chance to pick a square next to it to deal damage to. The problem of corpses causing repeats isn't a problem at all: the ball keeps on bouncing between dead bodies! Level 1: Bumper Relevant stats Knocks back nearby enemies. Simple enough. It's always good to get some space. Level 2: Combo Shot Relevant stats Raises base spell ricochet rate. Gives base spell a chance to stun. This is where I get a little concerned. I'm assuming that I can have a value in the base skill that can not only be changed, but be changed by an outside source. In this case, it would raise the spell's chance to ricochet and also add a new effect. If this isn't possible, then it would probably be an additional skill instead of raising the power of the first one. Level 3: TILT Relevant stats Paralyze nearby enemies. This would probably have a chance to paralyze a lot of enemies around you. Level 4: Multiball! Raises base spell ricochet rate. Raises base spell stun rate. Gives base spell a chance to fire again. This one would have the same problem as Combo Shot as far as upgrading one spell as opposed to adding another. If it's not possible, this one would simply fire multiple shots at one target. Level 5: Pull the Plunger Relevant stats Shoves and deals damage to one enemy. This might go earlier. The damage was added because of its high level. Level 6: True Pinball Wizard Lots of relevant stats. Raises base spell ricochet rate. Raises base spell stun rate. Raises base spell repeat shot rate. This one definitely hinges on whether I can change values like I want to. If I cant, then it would probably end up being a huge chunk of stats. There's a few more things I'm just not sure of: Should this be a Wizard, or Rogue skill? I was leaning Wizard, partially because of the name. Which stats should be relevant? I was thinking Savvy is definitely in. Cooldowns, or mana costs? If one single spell is possible like I want it to be, I might go mana costs. Otherwise, cooldowns. Tilt, Bumper, and Plunger: Are they in a "correct" order? Because XML is rather easy in terms of coding languages, I'm confident I can do whatever I need as far as learning how to code. So critique away!
Wizard skill, nimbleness seems like a relevant stat. (Good reflexes). Mana mainly, you could split it though, they don't all need to be mana. (For example tilt seems like an obviously cooldown spell). Swap Plunger and Bumper. Probably move tilt up a bit too. I can't personally think of a way to improve previous spell levels without resorting to buffs and filters that check for them. So they might need to be distinct spells(this also helps balancing it as later spells with more power can cost more).
