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Expanding the stealth path in the STI component


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#1 aVENGER

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Posted 17 August 2007 - 01:15 AM

I long wanted to give the player the possibility to complete all of Bodhi's missions by using primarily stealth and other thief skills. In the recent revisions or RR, I've added an option to avoid all combat encounters in the Shadow Thief Improvements component except the final battle with Aran Linvail and I'd like to expand this approach even more in the future. Basically, I'd like to give the player the ability to complete all quests without ever alerting the Shadow Thieves to his presence, never entering direct combat at all. Ideally, the quests would play out like missions from the Thef series of games which is, as you might have guessed, a favorite of mine. :)


Ideally, I'd like to include things like patrolling guards (complete with funny remarks like "hm, must have been rats" on a false alarm), hidden passages, alternative entrances and move silently/hide in shadows checks. The entire guild would be non-hostile in the beginning and characters would go about their regular tasks (i.e. Daedral holding combat training for the thieves, Xaz crafting defensive golems, Booter torturing a captured vampire with holy water for information...etc.) unless they discover the player. Also, adding non-violent options to deal with Aran Linvail is a must, i.e. things like poisoning his drink, replacing his Ring of Protection with a cursed ring of polymorph before he puts it on and subsequently smuggling him out of the guild in squirrel form :D or even possibly stealing his journal in order to replace him with Doppelganger in Bodhi's service. The other quests would also have a non-violent solution (i.e. smuggling a Potion of Invisibility to Palern...etc). However, the player would still be free to complete all quests through combat, should he desire to, in which case the guild would be alerted and better prepared for the assault (which is basically how it works ATM).


Update:

Due to my increasing lack of free time time, the further expansion of the STI stealth path has been put on "indefinite hold". As you may have noticed, I've implemented a small portion of the proposed content in the last couple of revisions, however, at the moment I am simply unable to allocate the large amount of free time which is necessary for the coding and development of the more complex scenarios. FYI, all of the currently implemented elements of the stealth path are explained in detail within the STI Readme.

Edited by aVENGER, 20 November 2008 - 06:58 AM.


#2 -rybka-

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Posted 20 August 2007 - 07:43 AM

Personally I would prefer completely NEW quests :), which can be done even if PC is not a thief :) Im sure you have some ideas :D

btw. i just dl your mod, I hope i will have time in coming months to play it :)

#3 Jarno Mikkola

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Posted 20 August 2007 - 10:15 AM

Well, I like the creativity behind those ideas. But the question of to whom those missions should be done is a different one, for example there might be another organization that would more likely want, both original groups gone or even more likely just weakened.

The term triple cross comes to mind, just like in the quest for the dragons eggs(underdark), when you give the real eggs to no one.

Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 11 February 2008 - 01:42 AM.

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#4 aVENGER

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Posted 10 December 2007 - 05:19 AM

The other quests would also have a non-violent solution (i.e. smuggling a Potion of Invisibility to Palern...etc).


^Added for the upcoming RR v3.82.

As a side note, it is now possible to complete Bodhi's tasks without killing more than 6 people. By following the STI stealth path, you only need to fight Aran Linvail and his five personal guards (those who reside within Aran's inner sanctum). Every other combat encounter can be completely avoided through stealth.

#5 aVENGER

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Posted 10 February 2008 - 01:44 PM

Since some players have complained about the number of Clay Golems which are guarding various corridors of the guildhall basement, I'm adding another non-violent way for dealing with them in RR v3.9.

Besides simply sneaking past the Golems (either via stealth or invisibility) the player can now also pickpocket Dedral for one of Haz's Rods of Golem Control. When this item is equipped as a weapon and displayed to a nearby Golem of Haz's making, the construct will recognize his master's insignia and instantly deactivate by turning neutral (i.e. blue circle). The Golem will remain deactivated forevermore unless attacked in which case it will resume its standard combat routine. Note, that it's not possible to deactivate Golems in Haz's line of sight (i.e. inside his chamber) as he is their maker and can thus reactivate them with a simple gesture. Also, this rod will have no effect on any other Golems in the game as they were not created by Haz.

Edited by aVENGER, 15 November 2008 - 03:48 AM.


#6 Demivrgvs

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Posted 13 February 2008 - 07:41 AM

complete all of Bodhi's missions by using primarily stealth and other thief skills.

Does this mean i have to play a party composed of thieves or one will be enough? :ph34r:
Furthmore, am i wrong supposing you have allowed thieves PC to side with Bodhi? I've never sided with her and if i'll ever find the time to play again i wanted to do it with an assassin protagonist.

Anyway great work with RR, i love your style! :cheers:

#7 aVENGER

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Posted 13 February 2008 - 07:56 AM

Does this mean i have to play a party composed of thieves or one will be enough? :ph34r:


No worries, having just a single thief (or a bard) in your party will be enough. However, you'll need invisibility spells or potions for the other characters if you want to take the stealth path. The easiest way to achieve that is to either use the level 3 wizard spell Invisibility 10' Radius or the level 5 Druid spell Pixie Dust. Stealth works too (for Rangers and Monks). Also, note that pickpocketing characters who are thieves themselves (i.e. Gaelan Bayle) requires a high pickpocket skill (about 90%). You can find more details about the stealth path in the STI readme.


Furthmore, am i wrong supposing you have allowed thieves PC to side with Bodhi? I've never sided with her and if i'll ever find the time to play again i wanted to do it with an assassin protagonist.


Yes, single-class thief protagonists can now side with Bodhi, but only if at least one of their mental attributes (INT, WIS, CHA) is above 12 or if their Lore score is above 24.

Anyway great work with RR, i love your style! :cheers:


Heh, thanks! :) BTW, if all goes well RR v3.9 should be out in 2-3 weeks.

#8 aVENGER

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Posted 03 May 2008 - 05:12 AM

I just noticed something - triggering the alarm in the basement of the Shadow Thief guildhall during the stealth path (i.e. if the party descends the stairs while completely invisible) is a bit inconsistent.

This will be changed for v3.91 so that the alarm won't be sounded (and the guildhall basement won't be locked down) if the stealth path is chosen. However, any hostile actions and/or triggering a trap will rouse the attention of the Shadow Thieves and cause the alarm to be raised. Still, triggering the alarm in this way won't automatically break the stealth path, though it will prevent the party from leaving the guildhall basement until Aran Linvail has been dealt with.