Evil Books

[quote=“Inadequate, post:18, topic:4862”]It’s not about being overpowered, it’s about being tonally inappropriate. Psychic powers wouldn’t necessarily be more powerful than bionics or mutations or some artifacts, but the specific reason for not being added was not fitting the tone of the game. Which is the same complaint I have with a magic book.

And I’ve suggested some reasonable compromises, but if nobody was allowed to express conflicting opinions there wouldn’t be much point in having a discussion.[/quote]

I never mentioned anything about psychic powers.

Now, what ever it is, this entity, this thing from another world that’s bleeding through into Cataclysm’s reality, it’s timeless, and evil, and uncomprehensible. There are things mankind does not fully understand.

I was just bringing it up as an example of another out of place element. For all the lovecraftian descriptors you throw around, it doesn’t get over the basic issue of it being a magic book, and thus carrying connotations of an entire genre that clash with the tone of the rest of the game.

And if I agree with something 100%, what’s the point of commenting? More often than not someone else will be expressing the same sentiment, anyhow.

I don’t want some magical tome book, I just want a book artifact.

Hell, change artifacts and make them alien artifacts so it fits better.

I’ve never understood why everyone seems to hate on the idea of magic. Cataclysm is the game I’ve always tried to explain to my friends as “every end of the world at once”. A zombie plague, a robot uprising, an extradimension incursion, meteors (judging by those craters). It’s all in there. Why is it so hard to extend our suspension of disbelief to include the idea that there is magic?

It doesn’t have to be fireballs and psychic powers. I think it would actually feel more in flavor if it was in the vein of evil books and ancient rituals. More drawn out procedures for mid- and end-game effects, but not for combat. Summoning guards, warding buildings, asking questions about NPCs or areas of the map for long-range research, that sort of thing seems like the sort of stuff that would be kind of cool to have in the game.

I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like the game is ‘unrealistic’, but come on guys. It’s a goo-based zombie scenario, alongside the robots and shoggots, I think we abandoned realism a long ways back. Instead of bitching at each other about what should and should not be in the game, how about we just try to find ways to flavor and balance everything that we think is cool in ways that fit together as a single whole, instead of just trying to force the game to be one single thing?

Everyone tossing in whatever they think is cool led to the general item bloat, we don’t need to crowbar in an additional plot element into it. The game needs to grow deeper, not wider.

[quote=“ArgusTheCat, post:24, topic:4862”]I’ve never understood why everyone seems to hate on the idea of magic. Cataclysm is the game I’ve always tried to explain to my friends as “every end of the world at once”. A zombie plague, a robot uprising, an extradimension incursion, meteors (judging by those craters). It’s all in there. Why is it so hard to extend our suspension of disbelief to include the idea that there is magic?

It doesn’t have to be fireballs and psychic powers. I think it would actually feel more in flavor if it was in the vein of evil books and ancient rituals. More drawn out procedures for mid- and end-game effects, but not for combat. Summoning guards, warding buildings, asking questions about NPCs or areas of the map for long-range research, that sort of thing seems like the sort of stuff that would be kind of cool to have in the game.[/quote]

I agree with you there, but what important here is the theme of said magical object (assume that it can’t be explained by any scientific theories). We already have artifact, a book-like artifact with out-of-combat utilities would be interesting.

[quote=“Rekozg”]‘Magic’ tomes could always be included as a mod, we only need a framework for it’s effect to work.
Also what category the amigara horrors fit, if not the Lovecraftian mindfuck category?
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Everyone keeps throwing around words like magic. I don’t want players casting spells and crap.

I want a roulette wheel of awful things that will happen if you read it.

Evil books are not magic wangs. You know what, I meant wands, but I’m gonna keep that typo.

It’s not magical writing… it’s medieval mathematics, probably with some obscured chemistry and physics in there.

Usually wouldn’t do much, but now that SCIENCE has weakened the wall between worlds the micro-scale resonance you’re setting up with that ‘magical chant’ is shining through like the candle set in a window to the other side.

Don’t be surprised when something larger than the average moth starts ‘tapping on the glass’ between our realities.

Really, having texts (scrolls… codex… tablets… hard drives…brains-in-jar…) as a type of possible artifact seems a good idea. Perhaps usually containing recipes for odd xenotech items, information on what’s happening, descriptions and analysis for various extradimensional threats… or even just undecipherable alien script and diagrams that merely leaves you more unsettled and confused.

Make the ink demon’s blood and it is connected to the netherworld, doing something with it like reading it may open a rift. Or you could do something else to it like stab it with a basilisk fang… wait, wrong book.

Out of all the suggestions for the magic book, this may be the worst. " Demon’s blood"? Did you seriously think this through?

Dont hate, honkey. Demons blood isnt ink but it would suffice and its just to flavor the ‘mod’ idea. Whats someone scribbling juju with a ballpoint pen gonna do for the link between the netherworldland?

[quote=“Belteshazzar, post:28, topic:4862”]It’s not magical writing… it’s medieval mathematics, probably with some obscured chemistry and physics in there.

Usually wouldn’t do much, but now that SCIENCE has weakened the wall between worlds the micro-scale resonance you’re setting up with that ‘magical chant’ is shining through like the candle set in a window to the other side.

Don’t be surprised when something larger than the average moth starts ‘tapping on the glass’ between our realities.

Really, having texts (scrolls… codex… tablets… hard drives…brains-in-jar…) as a type of possible artifact seems a good idea. Perhaps usually containing recipes for odd xenotech items, information on what’s happening, descriptions and analysis for various extradimensional threats… or even just undecipherable alien script and diagrams that merely leaves you more unsettled and confused.[/quote]

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Cataclysm, for an example.