I find it kind of silly that folks stand on top of the zig in metal armor while it's raining. Wouldn't it be the highest point on that part of the island?
How about random lightning strikes hitting characters milling around on the top of the zig, say for 1-6 damage? You explain the high frequency, low intensity bolts by being attracted by the mythallar or something...
No one with half a brain stands outside on top of a hill in metal armor.
I think it would make it neat for people to start heading inside when it rains, even if lightning accompanies the rain only once in a while.
It would promote more use of the inside areas like the Mythallar area, the Market area, and Kingsman's.
I think this already happens. Both on top of the zig and in the gazer village during lightning storms I've seen my main PC make autosaves vs. elec.; but because he has such fantastic reflexes he's never taken any damage. But, it would make sense to apply a penalty to the save if wearing metal armor.
I think the mountains are the highest point on the island, and that a plate harness is extremely good at grounding electrical current. :P
More to the point, though, there already are lightning scripts, ones that I would say strike too frequently and entirely too close together, especially for a tropical island. But, meh, they don't do that much damage, and the mythal makes a fair explanation; they're just hard to RP with. Yknow, the whole "I just got struck by lightning... but I'm only cantrip-style messed up." ... thing?
Just like folks (i included) used to stand by town hall and it's stinking stoning cage, folks prefer to stand out in the rain. I'm regularly asking foks standing out in the rain if they enjoy it. Most answer yes... so what can we do, hu?
Would lightning bolts add much to the gaming experience?
Certainly to mine.
Wouldn't those high pillars be the highest point instead of adventurers? It would also make no sense for something to randomly target a leather wearing halfling standing in a crowd full of tall humans just for standing there >.>
I wonder personally if the nice conductive metal would act as a Faraday Cage or not, and just conduct the charge straight to the ground. :D
Personally, any sending i make when it's raining has something like "I'll be in Kingsman's/the Mythallar/Camp where it's *dry*" tacked on the end.
That's the kind of realism that many players just dislike.
I've seen it implemented on other servers, and couldn't stand it then.
Odds = 1 : 280000 of being struck by lightning
I kind of thought it was cool when there was electrical activity in the old goblin town in the former setting. You didn't see characters hanging out there much. Not practical.
Oro, the only realism I'm looking for here is for people to utilize some of the indoor areas, rather than the Grand Bazaar that is in constant existence at the top of the Zig, rain or shine. I find it silly. I wonder if the DM that put that junk pile at the top thought it would be the cornerstone of the #1 gathering place in the new setting?
RIPNogar, I'm guessing the chances go way up when you are wearing metal armor and standing at the summit of a high structure. The reason the odds aren't so high is because people generally don't do these things.
Well, I don't know about you guys... But whenever it starts raining around here, I put on my ornamental platemail armor and take the elevator to the tallest building I can find.
So far, I've only been struck once or twice. Out of the thousands of times I've done this, getting struck isn't that common of an occurance, I promise!
Gwydion, on CoA, we added lightning to the market to drive people into utilizing the in-door areas.
The idea was universally hated by PCs who discovered they couldn't even go outside without being hit by lightning half the time because it rained so often. Players still sat in the bazaar, and instead just spammed Endure Elements. Low level PCs got smote by the lightning trying to run indoors while Near Death.
I'm just saying, the idea did not work as intended.
Magic.
Quote from: RIPnogarD;97734Odds = 1 : 280000 of being struck by lightning
This ratio posted was per year, multiply these odds by 365 to get
1:10,220,000 a day; then add factors like plate armor and over the shoulder great swords and subtract the factor of four lightning rods mounted at the top of the Zig to get the actual ratio of chance per day to get struck by lightning.
If you’re talking some sort of magical electrical power like taking damage when a new PC is ported in, I’d say, “Awsome! Make the change.â€
If you’re talking reality I’d say, “Reality sux, keep it a game.†You want real, try carrying 99 arrows and see what happens.
RIP,
LOL at using RL statistics to argue a point, and then saying "Reality sux, keep it a game."
We try to RP when we get poisoned, blinded, fireballed, tortured, insulted, strengthened, but yet all the characters stand around in the rain like cows in an open pasture? That's not RP in my opinion.
Although we aren't trying to be 100% realistic, we also use mostly human and thus, logical personality traits when we RP. I don't want people to have to eat, drink, defecate and such. That adds nothing to the experience.
But saying, "Hey, it's starting to rain. Let's go into Kingsman's/Market/Fassaud's/Guard HG because of the lightning" is an opportunity for RP and changing up where our characters go.
I like the "random electrical zaps" from a new PC coming in just as well as very small lightning zaps "encouraging" people to take cover too.
Hey it's just an idea. Oro's point that it's wicked on newbs is a good one. But if nightrisers out at night is a good one, this is along the same lines somewhat.
Good thoughts
Quote from: RIPnogarD;97742If you’re talking reality I’d say, “Reality sux, keep it a game.†You want real, try carrying 99 arrows and see what happens.
You probably don't have to, since you can just pluck them off the battlefield dead and re-utilize them?
Personally I'm for anything that makes things like rain, cold and other such elements sensible beyond the realm of mere RP. What an amazing world it would be if everyone retreated into shelter once rain started. But we know players have to be SCOURGED WITH LIGHTNING in order to understand. Tsk.
The funny thing is, encasing yourself entirely in metal could actually protect you from lightning. It would be like your own personal Faraday cage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage
There's your "realism".
Notice how real-world faraday cages do not touch the objects which they are meant to protect.
Water seeping through your armor and mixing with sweat and other salt sources would also make for an excellent conductor.
We can do this all day, but realism isn't the point here, I think SCOURGING PLAYERS WITH LIGHTNING is an excellent idea regardless of whether it seems realistic or not.
Pup,
I doubt even full plate would act like Farday's cage. Electricity takes the path of least resistance, and once it hits your helmet, it may like traveling down the bone of your skull and spine as much as through the metal pieces if there isn't a continuous metal to metal to metal path to the ground.
Touching the metal in any place would subject you to some of the current I would think.
But we digress.
Kiaring gets my point I think. People hurry through the ruins when night is approaching. It's good AND practical RP. Be nice to see people scurry indoors and pick up their wares strewn on the ground rather than let rain soak magic scrolls, garments and metal goods.
No wonder there is so much rusted armor for newbs to be found! :)
Not all rain showers sport lightning.
I've gotten XP in the past for making a point of saying things along the lines of, "Hey its raining, let's talk inside." DMs seem to like that stuff.
Also, as far as standing on top of the Zig in full plate goes, I've been two-hitted by a greataxe wielding minotaur that just happened to get sucked through the gate in the past. Considering the fact that just about every kind of monster raids the Zig for lulz and the worst thing I've fought has come through the damn thing, I don't see a good reason not to wear armor on the off chance I'll get lightning bolted.
Quote from: Gwydion;97757Pup,
I doubt even full plate would act like Farday's cage. Electricity takes the path of least resistance, and once it hits your helmet, it may like traveling down the bone of your skull and spine as much as through the metal pieces if there isn't a continuous metal to metal to metal path to the ground.
Touching the metal in any place would subject you to some of the current I would think.
'cept that you're not actually touching any metal in a plate harness. The plates are touching leather and wool - which are excellent insulators, both in terms of temperature and electric current - which are touching linen underclothes, which are touching skin. (to preempt the "porous materials absorb water, which reduces electrical resistance" argument, leathers in armor are treated with wax and oil -- boiled for plates, conditioned for joints; they're effectively hydrophobic materials in that state.)
To the RP logic: how many people walk through the troughs of water on the zigguraut? How many people change their shoes after? How many cases of trenchfoot do we see on the zigguraut? If we're keen on nurturing the RP around the unfortunate applications of water and rain, why not go with the actual reason not to stand in the rain? It's cold. It's uncomfortable. If you do it long enough, it's
really bad for your skin, which will prune up, then lose heaps of nutrients (wet clothes = poultice), then crack gruesomely and prolifically. If you let your socks get soaked and wear them all day, the same thing applies, but the soles of your feet eventually start peeling off and risk infection while making walking an exercise in most ridiculous pain.
I'm actually in favor of occasional lightning, and my current char often remarks and emotes a distaste for standing around in the rain.
I was just making an ironic point to try and illustrate the silliness of using "realism" as a debate tool when it comes to these things.
Edit: You CAN touch the inside of a Faraday Cage, btw. I'm just sayin'...
I'm going a bit out of character here, since I'm normally very pro-realism, but I'd actually prefer not to see PCs being struck by lightning on top of the Zig. It'd be annoying, and wouldn't really add to the immersion, imo.
QuoteMagic.
And this is really a fine explanation as to why it doesn't happen.
It’s not that I’m against IG realism, on the contrary, I like it. It’s just that, (to me), some things are better left to RP than added to game mechanics. If you want game mechanics realism then add 0.1 weight to each arrow and bolt, add 0.1 to each coin carried, make switching weapons during combat the same as trying to switch clothing or gear, make PC’s take damage for not eating, have all female PC’s get barbarian rage once a month that lasts for a week :rolleyes:, make it so you can arm any weapon or armor you want but take penalties for using that which you are not proficient with, etc, etc, etc…
IMO some things are just better left to role-play than game mechanics. If a PC is indifferent about rain (Maybe he worships Talos) then it should be our prerogative to RP him or her that way and not have to take damage because of it.
As always, RIP pwns. And he's married, so he knows about the barbarian rage thing...
Against it. I mean, what if you're a level two wizard with a CON of six and you portal in and are all like "Ohhhhhhh my gosh, where, like, am I?!" and all, RPing and such, and then you get TOASTED!
*sigh* That may have been the worst thing I've ever written...
People in medieval Europe knew that lightning tended to hit high things like church steeples, but their answer was prayer, because they believed strikes to be simply God's will. It wasn't until Ben Franklin that lightning started to become linked to electricity - medieval people (even Renaissance people) would probably not have known that metal armor would put them in particular danger.
Maybe some Gondites or Lantanese with experience in electricity might know these things but I doubt even in the FR that this would be common knowledge. It seems more likely that in a lightning storm, the average character would turn to prayer and then maybe find lower ground, not strip out of their plate. I've seen some characters give offerings to Talos/Umberlee/whatever during lightning storms and I always thought that was a good RP approach.
In fact, in FR, prayer might objectively be more likely to protect you than wearing non-metal armor. If we make lightning responsive to metal, we really should also make it check your deity field! (Not actually, that's rhetorical. I say keep it as is.)
Amazing.
TALOS
I am against this.
Gwydion just likes to argue, you are all feeding his addiction.
Help Gwydion. Intervention scheduled in IRC November 30th, 8pm. All those who care for his recovery and eventual rehabilitation will be there.
Not worth arguing. Anyways, let the DMs control this manually, not a script.
--The ziggurat smells strangely of succulent roasted pork--
+1 for Mort
Quote from: The Beggar;98009Gwydion just likes to argue, you are all feeding his addiction.
No I don't! I never argue! You're wrong!
:)