Parable - 144 - HD
Added 2020-08-15 07:23:39 +0000 UTCPretty sneaky, Susan.
Commentary
I think Shrink spells should absolutely be a thing for stealth and accessing areas in games with magic, though I know that's easier said than done depending on the game.
I've made my own magic for Skyrim before, and there's engine-nonsense that gets in the way of it working how one would expect. Specifically, the "hit box" of both the player and non-player characters don't resize with the player model unless reloaded.
Put a less nerdy way, if a six foot tall person were to shrink to one feet tall, and someone threw a basketball four feet above their shrunken head, it would hit them. They would also cover the same amount of ground when walking or running, and would continue to effectively function as though not shrunk until they entered a new area or something.
THAT SAID, if we're holding the games industry to the standards of Skyrim, we're holding those standards too low (I love ya, Skyrim, but you know I'm right), and being able to shrink to move more quietly, be less visible, and access new areas is just fun, and could naturally come with defense and speed debuffs that would make it a trade-off to use. I think that's more interesting than a simple invisibility spell, in any case.
Comments
Susan suddenly finds there is a cutscene, along with a suspicious voice making "choo choo" noises....
David Howe
2020-08-15 21:04:36 +0000 UTC"One feet"?
Stephen Gilberg
2020-08-15 19:19:53 +0000 UTCIn one D&D game the DM had worked with two other DMs to craft a horrific dungeon just chock full of assorted nasties who were raiding the country and seemed unbeatable. They believed they thought of everything, planned for every contingency, and wagered on who's players would get the farthest before dying. When we sat down to play our DM was describing the situation while I looked over the map and said "Hmmm... How about if we divert the river here and flood the caves?" Rest of the evening was us adventurers playing board games while the DM cried in a corner.
Paul Lenoue
2020-08-15 18:46:45 +0000 UTCIf there's anything I've learned in my 5-8 years of game design it's that players are unreliable and hard to direct, both in free form games like dnd and in video games where the tech leads to greater limitations. With dnd it can be hard to justify adding too much direction as it would lead to flipping the argument from unfair to railroading (I personally disagree with that outlook but others may not). I try and design problems with multiple solutions, some clearer with greater risk and some more hidden which would be safer to take which tbh it sounds like is very similar to what you offered! Sometimes players just don't trust an opportunity or take a chance on something, for whatever reason. That was the bane of my existence with some puzzles I designed for Shadow Point. (vr puzzle game on oculus platforms) One of the tried and true methods to solve this in video game design is to show the players an example of what is achievable! Perhaps forcing the use of the tool on something earlier on would have helped? Heck, even if you did that's not always a guarantee that it's picked up on. Sounds like you had a fun idea that just wasn't picked up on. :c
Chloe Goodchild
2020-08-15 18:01:28 +0000 UTCDan seems a bit more chill than that. You probably don't *have* to take that feat. You just get it.
Some Ed
2020-08-15 16:42:31 +0000 UTCI once made a 'killer dungeon' that featured a wand of shrinking as the only plausible way of escape. One of the characters was chained and since the thief had no tools, the wand was the only means of freeing that character. The players opted to not trust the wand of shrinking for anything, and instead attacked the only "creature" they could get to without using the wand: a yellow mold. The fighter who was chained up was the only player character to survive. I'd planned for an escape attempt in which one character was shrunk and held up to the bars in the cell door, as well as attempts to spellunk through the rat tunnels. There was at least one viable egress route either way. They deemed me unfair and accused me of giving them no way out.
Some Ed
2020-08-15 16:33:17 +0000 UTCEGS -> a D&D campaign where everyone is required to take the "Magic Initiate" feat as a first level variant human.
Searcher
2020-08-15 14:08:25 +0000 UTC*Writes down notes for next time I play wizard in D&D* Ah who am I kidding? Every time a wizard tries to a make a complex plan involving spells, the Barbarian says “I rage and attack the guard”
Thisguy
2020-08-15 10:37:35 +0000 UTCcalled it.
Joe Blue
2020-08-15 08:11:59 +0000 UTCOn the other hand there are games based on D20 rules like the Pathfinder games where there are size classes with corresponding bonuses and maluses: https://dungeons.fandom.com/wiki/SRD:Table_of_Creature_Size_and_Scale Shrinking in those games would absolutely grant a bonus to the Hide skill!
Andrew Pam
2020-08-15 07:47:54 +0000 UTCA boring level designer cries. A great level designer already anticipated this. :p The environment artists however, are all weeping the entire time.
Chloe Goodchild
2020-08-15 07:29:41 +0000 UTC
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