Elder Scrolls Forum: [WIP] A Simple Leveling Mod Balancing Act (Co-Thread)

Now, as to the whole balancing issue, I've made a chart of the originals and possible changes.

Originals:

Strength: Armorer, Blunt Weapon, Axe, Long Blade, and Acrobatics.
Intelligence: Alchemy, Enchant, Conjuration, and Security.
Willpower: Destruction, Alteration, Mysticism, and Restoration.
Agility: Sneak, Light Armor, Marksman, and Block.
Speed: Athletics, Short Blade, Hand-to-Hand, and Unarmoured.
Endurance: Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, and Spear.
Personality: Speechcraft, Mercantile, and Illusion.

Also here are the formulae to keep in mind:

Starting Health = (Strength + Endurance) / 2
Starting Magicka = Intelligence / 2
Fatigue = Strength + Endurance + Agility + Willpower
Encumbrance = Strength * 5

Now, let's use all of that information and come up with a system that balances the attribute/skill associations without changing the formulas as they stand (we can do that later if need be). And, let's see if we can do it in a way that doesn't take away from the original feel of Morrowind.

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I'm going to start by looking at Strength. Strength currently has the most skills and positions within the formulas. It was obviously made to be important in the game.

In Strength I see two changes that need to be made right off the bat. Long Blade and Acrobatics. Neither one of these skills (in a logical real life context) pertain exclusively to strength. Axes are fine since they work as though they were like bladed Blunt Weapons, relying heavily on their weight for damage and cutting power. And Armorer requires much hammering, which requires a great deal of strength to pound out imperfections in metal.

(At this point I’d like to note that I’m not pulling any of the following observations from extra-dimensional spaces on or around my person. While I may not be able to claim a background steeped in the knowledge of Medieval teachings and arts, I can say that my knowledge is a more representative ‘weak, yet flavorful tea.’ I had devoted time to studying such subjects in my earlier years. That having been said…)

Long Blade:
For anyone who has used an actual sword (one which has been balanced properly and created to be as light as possible given the technologies available), you will know that to swing a sword does, in fact take some strength. However, good swordsmen/women will know that it’s not the act of carrying/swinging a sword that dictates the pace and ultimate outcome of a battle, but actually it is the length of the battle that counts. Swords aren’t incredibly effective against armour and it takes a long time to properly strike an opponent in one of the five to six areas whereupon the sword can actually penetrate armour. (The leg/arm joints, neck, and visor for the curious masses.) A blunt weapon is much more suited to quick, strength-filled blows. A swordman/woman should conserve their strength and work on their endurance to fight effectively with a sword. Thus, I would suggest that Long Blade be placed under endurance, rather then strength. (However, I would like to note that there are still rapiers and similar weapons under the long-blade skill and while they might use agility/speed more realistically, any battle with armour in play is what I’m giving the most credit to.)

Acrobatics:
Strength makes fine sense if Acrobatics were to simply focus on jumping. But, as we all know, Acrobatics also governs one’s ability to move in the air and reduce falling damage. In this case, Acrobatics is a better candidate for agility. Since this is not often contested, I’ll stop here.

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Next is Intelligence. Alchemy is fine. I would expect that it takes some ingenuity to work with alchemical materials well and see patterns that emerge. Enchant also falls under Intelligence, as one needs to understand the manipulation of magical items. Security also makes sense (I’m not assigning any skill to luck.) given the number of locks out there and the difficulty in picking them and disarming traps that may each contain a different trigger.

Conjuration:
Going through the possible combinations of skills, I realized that Conjuration just didn’t seem to fit the original model Morrowind laid out. (Please note that the last statement is based purely on personal opinion and is open for discussion, but read on for the most minor of changes.) The manual states that, “The spell effects of the School of Conjuration include the mental domination of mundane and magical creatures.” Interesting, yes? Given that there are only two mental attributes (Intelligence and Willpower), Conjuration seems as though it would fit better under willpower. That having been said, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned this particular change if it had not been balanced with the next. That being that Destruction be switched to Intelligence, thereby balancing the two once more.

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Willpower is our target now and all but one skill makes sense in this category. Alteration governs changes that could be made/governed by concentration. Mysticism is much the same. And Restoration fits, as it requires the user to perform fortification and healing changes to one’s body. (Which can be argued to use a certain amount of Willpower to withstand the changes and perform under new circumstances through choice.)

Destruction:
I cannot think of a single reason as to why this skill was placed under willpower. It seems to belong much more to Intelligence than any other skill. This is based on the pseudo-fact that Destruction spells seem much more liable to be used creatively and/or with less reasoning then might be attributable to Willpower (which seems to condone much less destructive skills as it stands).

Again. The Destruction/Conjuration switch is minor in comparison to others.

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On to Agility... Sneak makes fine sense given the necessity to control both the movement and sound produced by the sneaking individual. Marksman needs to rely on an ability that favors a steady hand. And block, while debatable for sure, also seems to fit the bill. A successful block requires the precise placement of a shield, not – mind you – to simply stop a blow (that would be painful!), but to deflect the offending weapon to a favorable angle and avoid damage in that way. Yes, Block fits.

Light Armor:
Light Armor is also a good candidate for Agility. (However, it requires more explanation then can fit above.) While one may argue that endurance (from being hit) should go up, Light Armor is much more of a padding to soften any blows that manage to land on a nimble enough person to choose light armor over any other. (Or perhaps the mage who requires more precise hand movements and choose not to deal with bulkier armors.) While there are some restrictive qualities to Light Armor (those being the common leather-based straps and/or the toughness (i.e. little flexibility) of the material used), a person choosing this defense would need to be agile just to compensate. (True that it could be said about heavier armors as well, but I’ll state it right now: If you wear heavy armor, you’re expecting to be hit!)

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Speed is another attribute of note. Given that your speed increases with higher Althletics, no problems there. Short Blade is also appropriately placed. Knife fighting can get ugly, but when it comes down to it, the winner is the one that can react fastest with the proper technique. Hand-to-Hand operates much on the same principle. One does not have to be strong or even incredibly agile to win a Hand-to-Hand fight. If you want to get out of the way of an incoming blow, then dodging quickly with Unarmored is the best option.

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Endurance is our next target here. Medium and Heavy Armor make perfect sense here. The moment a person dons armor of this bulk, they’re not only expecting to get hit, but their working on those long, armor-clad walks without tiring.

Spear:
Spears are – more often then not – weapons that requires strength to wield effectively. First off, the total weight of a halberd or long spear that isn’t going to break can go up to a ridiculous weight (and thus, it’s crucial that they’re properly balanced). Second, in order to pierce chinks in armor or land an effective blow, strength is necessary for the task. While it is true that endurance is necessary in long battles, it’s nowhere near as grueling as a swordfight in full plate. Thus, Spear moves over to Strength (while Long Blade becomes endurance based).

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Last attribute to cover is Personality. Speechcraft, Mercantile... Duh. (Ok, ok. Let me give some more credit to this. It is true that Intelligence and willpower can govern some aspects of these skills, but again, in keeping with the original feel of the game, not everyone is going to like you enough to care how clever or stubborn you can be. Thus, your personality should be the defining factor here.) Illusion, surprisingly, makes perfect sense here. While it seems odd for a magically ability to be covered by personality when compared to the others, if a character wants to successfully fool an NPC, I’d argue that they would need to convince the said NPC that the illusion was real (and in some cases, they are).

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Please do not comment on these changes without reading the reasoning for each change above. I welcome all disagreements, etc. But I kindly ask that you recognize/understand the time spent in making them, the reasoning behind them, and evaluate them with that in mind. Thank you. ^^

What are we left with then? Well, we’ve had the following changes:

Spear => Strength
Destruction => Intelligence
Conjuration => Willpower
Acrobatics => Agility
Long Blade => Endurance

Thus, ending our changes with the following list:

Strength: Armorer, Blunt Weapon, Axe, and Spear.
Intelligence: Alchemy, Enchant, Security, and Destruction.
Willpower: Alteration, Mysticism, Restoration, and Conjuration.
Agility: Sneak, Light Armor, Marksman, Block, and Acrobatics.
Speed: Athletics, Short Blade, Hand-to-Hand, and Unarmoured.
Endurance: Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, and Long Blade.
Personality: Speechcraft, Mercantile, and Illusion.

The biggest change as far as our formulae are concerned is that Strength has one less skill and Agility has one more. This will slow the progress of the encumbrance formula, but I do not believe it will affect anything else.

Also, as people may have noted, the combat based skills kept the same ratio of Strength/Endurance skills as the original with only two skills falling outside (Block and Athletics). Magical Arts also kept its Intelligence/Willpower ratio with one skill outside (Unarmored). And Security lost one Strength skill (Acrobatics), which turned into an Agility skill.

All of that should make sense considering that (with a mod that potentially provides the option to gain every attribute to it’s highest) skills still keep their separate ‘specializations’ and provide for varied characters across the board.

My only additional change would be one I’d make myself. I’d turn the leveling to 4, rather then 3... It’s a long game after all. ^^

So, let’s hear some comments! Hopefully the reasons above can lead to some good ideas on partial skill based versions to come. (See the original thread page 8.)

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