[eMOD] - Path Of The Sorcerer v1.0

Hi davrovana, is it possible if you and/or Primal Savage could make the Sorcerer compatible with the Paths part of XtraDeconstruct?  For example, the Mage and Gravelord are counted as Wizards, which means they get an initiative bonus for wizard ranged staffs, and can use Mage-only equipment.  Do you think that your Sorcerer would count as a Wizard for these two purposes?  I think so, but it's your decision.

Gonna work with Primal for XtraDeconstruct compatibility, yes.

Big update incoming soon. In .91 the Sorcerer can choose to permanently station in a city, opening up new spells to gain experience and allowing him to recruit an apprentice.

Also, some spells have been removed, yet even more added for balance and to make the Sorcerer more unique and fun to play.

updated to .92, link now on NexusMods

Thanks Davrovana, 

I'm going to give this a try in my next game.

I wanted to ask you why you don't put your Mod files into a folder, but just the MOD root folder?

Will it break the mod if I make a "Sorcerer" folder, something like this:

MOD\Sorcerer\your files

MOD\Gfx\Sorcerer Gfx

Thanks.

Nah, those will work fine.

Just so you know: I found some issues in .92 and am pulling it temporarily. Should be re-posted in a day or so. So don't try it quite yet!

update in progress

updated to 1.0!

Hi, I recently started using the sorcerer mod as part of Primal's XtraDeconstruct - I asked a few questions in his thread which he answered, then directed me to discuss here. I had/have a few questions/suggestions.

In recapping what was said there:

• The description for the Find Beasts spell seems to indicate that the beasts will spawn on the target tile, as it doesn't mention the 6 tile radius (unlike Incite Crops and Mineral Sight, which do).
• The description for Sorcerer's Tower is outdated or otherwise not very descriptive; should ideally say it unlocks Magical Experimentation and Recruit Apprentice
• I might be good to stress that Magical Experimentation is MUCH stronger than Year of Meditation (as Primal said, though with random chance of nuclear meltdowns), because otherwise its description is also rather vague

And a few other questions:

• Are the AIs capable of using Sorcerers and their worldspells (or other custom paths, for that matter)? I know I've never seen them use raise/lower terrain, but might the +resource spells be much easier to handle? They've just got to spam them on their stronger cities, basically.
• Regarding the spawning of the 6-tile radius; I'm assuming that the resource is placed randomly in the 11x11 square centered on the selected tile, based on how they've spawned for me (an assumption - I don't know how it's actually handled). The problem is that you've got a ~60% chance of it generating 5 or 6 tiles away from the selected point, with only a 8% chance of it being on or adjacent to the selected tile using that method.
• If the AI can use it (otherwise it'd be probably too strong), it might be better to randomize what distance from the selected tile the resource will be first, then where in that ring. That way, it'd be a 1/6 chance to occur on any given ring (making it much more likely to be on the center or adjacent tiles) but just as equally further away, instead of almost always spawning 3+ tiles away from where it was cast.
• Lastly, would it be possible to add recruitable sorcerers to the spawn list of champions? If it's just a question of creating them, I'd be down for doing so.

At any rate, I gotta say I really do enjoy this mod, and thanks for the work you've done

EDIT: Spelling

Blazenclaw-

Thanks for the playing the mod! I am going to give the descriptions for Find Beasts and the Sorcerer's Tower a look over, and see if I can make them more descriptive of the effects.

Regarding the radius and chances for Find Beats, Mineral Sight, Incite Crops, etc: I do want it to be highly unpredictable AND unlikely to be close to the caster. The Sorcerer would be too much of an economic powerhouse if he could consistently plop resources down right next to your city of choice!

The AI does not use the spells, as far as I know. That's the way I'd prefer it, really. Since I have no access to the nuts and bolts of the AI, I generally opt to only encourage them to use effects that are similar to effects I know it 'understands' already.

Regarding Sorcerer champions, there ARE four Sorcerers that are possible to recruit (Vernak Who Ruminates and Milgrashiv Lifeturned for kingdoms, Ursuvak Vengier and Pelmiar Of Pariden for empires). They are level 3 and 5, so Fame Levels 50 and 100 are where they might show up.

If you want to make some new ones, I'd love to see them! I reserve the right to make some lore text edits and maybe balance edits, but I'll almost certainly add them to the mod! I'd really appreciate any you could send my way.

Feel free to reach out here again if you have more questions.

I agree then, that it would be a tad too powerful (more than it already is  ) were it more regular, especially as the AI can't use it.

I'll play another game or two to get a better handle of how everything works, before I start creating anything. Thanks for the response!

I have to say that I like the theme of the sorcerer, a bit like a Mage but with more power in exchange for drawbacks.

However, my experience of playing with my sovereign as a sorcerer resulted in a complete whitewash for me. I was worried when I first looked at the trait tree that it might be suffering from a touch of power creep, but I hate to say that my play through confirmed it.

A few levels in and you can easily be at over double, nearly triple the normal spell power (made far easier by the generous XP increasing traits), plus you're also getting the additional spell mastery and research bonuses. In the current version I have (not shown in the image at the top of this thread) the sorcerer also has access to plate armour, which just seems rude. All of this and more for a mere +1 casting time.

I think the +1 casting time is a nice balancer, but the benefits in exchange are a bit too much. The starting 50% increase in power seems fair because the casting time is taking effect immediately, but since the penalty never gets worse, the power quickly outstrips it. Not to mention the sorcerer specific spells have a very high base power. I might consider either toning down many of these abilities, or adding cumulative drawbacks (increased mana cost?), to bring the class into balance. Alternatively you could simply focus the class towards the city/research buffs instead (which in my opinion are the most interesting aspects), which would force the player to weigh up whether they want a battle caster (mage) or a strategic caster (sorcerer), because currently the sorcerer is better at both.

But here's the clincher: the -1 casting time trait you can get as early as level 8 (which in the grand scheme is pretty early, my sovereign is usually level 10 before I hit 100 fame). Suddenly *poof*, all that power with no draw backs. It was at this point that I began to whitewash everyone. The simple flame-dart was inflicting hundreds of damage a hit.

The Paladin class you designed is also thematically lovely, but seems more balanced (at least until mid/late game when the 'tithing' cost becomes irrelevant). I would like to see the sorcerer get a bit more nerfing treatment, because currently I really want to use it but can't without feeling cheap.

I hope this rant sounded more constructive than destructive, because a lot of love and effort clearly went into designing the sorcerer and I wouldn't want to dissuade you from continuing it.

I haven't played a Sorcerer this way yet, but it seems from what you're saying that it might be best to remove the -1 casting time trait. 100+ damage per hit is kinda ridiculous (but sounds amazing!), so having them prepare for a round seems to make sense.

Either that, or tone down the damage, but where's the fun in that? Or increase mana cost to cast alongside the spell power increases. But I think casting time would be the most unique.

Not dissuaded at all, I really value the feedback. I need players to make posts like this to make the mod its best!

Ironically, the Sorcerer's design was a reaction to the Mage, who in my experience is so overpowered as to trivialize the game (I never play mage anymore because of this). Sorcerer was the class I made to make a magic user that (in my opinion) was more fun to play!

I will take a look at this again. I only included the -1 casting time because the mage has one (and he's not a mage, is he?).

In defense of the Sorcerer, his tactical spell damage is only slightly more than a mage's potential, and he can get at best a net 0 adjustment to casting times, while the Mage can get a net -1 (Casting fireball every turn or blizzard with a mere 1 cast time). Also keep in mind that the Sorcerer already pays more for spells in mana: he lacks the inherent -25% mana cost discount that a mage gets.

All that said, I am going to take a look at the tree one more time and seriously consider axe-ing the -1 casting time ability. I will also check on his spell damage bonuses and see if I should adjust them or balance them out with some new weaknesses.

Thank you again for sharing your opinion!