Skill synergy bonuses

Slotha Sil wrote:Concerning dual-wielding. How do we treat it? Hassan Chop with two weapons instead of one, or the real world dueling techniques where the off-hand weapon was used for disarming and parrying? Also shield bashing (that big knob at the centre of roman shields wasn't ornamental, it was abdominal) and the sick things you can do with staff and spear. Opening the can of worms fills my mind with shadows.

I think we might want to have parry and shield bash be ADVANCED SKILLS, sort of like how they are in some other games.

LessRudeScrib wrote:

Slotha Sil wrote:Concerning dual-wielding. How do we treat it? Hassan Chop with two weapons instead of one, or the real world dueling techniques where the off-hand weapon was used for disarming and parrying? Also shield bashing (that big knob at the centre of roman shields wasn't ornamental, it was abdominal) and the sick things you can do with staff and spear. Opening the can of worms fills my mind with shadows.

I think we might want to have parry and shield bash be ADVANCED SKILLS, sort of like how they are in some other games.

Sounds alright. Parry could be an ADVANCED SKILL that draws from your block and weapon skill. Shield bash could be an ADVANCED SKILL that draws from Blunt weapons and Block. You are now imagining someone with mastered duel weilding and shield bash duel weilding two shields and bashing the shit out of everyone.

I think we could make it so that ADVANCED SKILLS can't raise above the skills that govern them. So if you have 50 in Block and 50 in Blunt weapons, you'd only be able to level Shield Bash to 50 before you'd have to raise block and blunt.

Thoughts? Concerns?

I think the limit on ADVANCED SKILLS sounds reasonable.

Right! Even though this discussion was going on in the character creation thread, I'm moving it here where it belongs.
On the topic of skill synergy, how will boosts from magic and potions and such be handled? Will we allow it to stack on synergy, or have the boost only affect the base stat level?

Example: You have 80 short blade and 100 long blade, so your shortblade works effectively at 100. If you use an enchanted weapon that gives +20 to short blade, would it make your shortblade still work at 100, or would it boost it to 120?

Well, synergy can't boost your skill past the level of the highest skill, so I'm gonna say no. As soon as that skill hits 100, synergy stops. If it gets boosted from 80 to 85, you only get 15 points of synergy bonus. If, however, your short blade skill is drained magically, say going from 80 to 70, the synergy and enchantment will join forces to keep it at 100 (though you might temporarily lose access to your Expert skill perk...)

I'd say yes. Getting magical aid doesn't suddenly make you less capable of using a dagger, even if that capability stems from your mastery of another weapon.

I think the point of magic would be boosting you to super human levels.

I would argue that the magic simply allows you a more accurate understanding of what you've already been applying to shortswords based on your longsword skill. Like "Oh, I've been stabbing people thusly, which is something I learned in Rapiers 101 and applied to Main Gauche 324" instead of just doing it subconsciously. That's just my take. Along the same lines, I don't think a Magicka boost to your skill should provide extra synergy, but it's definitely open to discussion.

Saint Jiub wrote:I would argue that the magic simply allows you a more accurate understanding of what you've already been applying to shortswords based on your longsword skill. Like "Oh, I've been stabbing people thusly, which is something I learned in Rapiers 101 and applied to Main Gauche 324" instead of just doing it subconsciously. That's just my take. Along the same lines, I don't think a Magicka boost to your skill should provide extra synergy, but it's definitely open to discussion.

I concur. Especially about the part where magic bonuses to the highest skill doesn't provide synergy to the lower ones. Magic makes you magically better at things, but it doesn't make you magically have the knowledge that goes with it, which is what synergy is about in part.