Author Topic: Soul SCREAM! (Read 367 times)

Witch Hunter · « **on:** March 19, 2007, 07:29:27 pm »

I just thought... the Soulmother kinda SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAMS when you lose a strand... wouldn't it be cool if it damaged everyone nearby like (not much...) a d6 sonic damage and made them deaf for a short period of time?

adds to the chaos and plunder!

Jilseponie Wyndon · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2007, 10:57:44 pm »

I wouldn't care for that ... what if you had -8 HP, Stabalized and your buddy died and got hit for a SS? Then you die and you get an SS ...

.. n .. o .. w .. a .. y

Witch Hunter · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2007, 11:32:42 pm »

So? a stray fireball could do it all the same :p

MJZ · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2007, 11:35:54 pm »

Haha maybe just the visual effects... leave the psychological damage for RP....

Filatus · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2007, 11:43:10 pm »

I always saw the visual effect more as a very effective way of showing you failed your roll. Losing a strand of your soul would probably be a lot more subtile that that big fx.

For the most part I've always seen people rp it afterwards as having sensed the soulmother or having noticed nothing at all. Which would make some sense given the dragon- and nondragoncalled's special relationship to the soulmother.

Might be that there has been posted about this before, but it would be nice to have some consistency in this.

// disclaimer: it's late and this might not make any sense

Stephen_Zuckerman · « **Reply #5 on:** March 20, 2007, 12:49:56 am »

I've always RPed Pyyran as being able to sense it... But then, he's an exceptional fellow.

Witch Hunter · « **Reply #6 on:** March 20, 2007, 08:45:40 am »

Well the visual effect is there... so I'd assume we all see/hear it, we see any other visual effect that occurs don't we?

LynnJuniper · « **Reply #7 on:** March 20, 2007, 08:59:34 am »

I don't know about that, its something I've always worried about. If we go into a potentially hostile place with wards on Just in case. Are the wards visible? For example, is there really a little swordy halo floating over my head for Mindblank?

Back on the topic: I wouldn't mind a small sonic shock from the Soul Mom. Well Rhynn would, I think its a 'cute' Idea.

minerva · « **Reply #8 on:** March 20, 2007, 09:10:55 am »

I could very well be wrong, but I think the glaring visual effect was added to bring people's attention to the fact they just lost a strand. It used to be just a blurb in the combat window that was easily missed in heavy combat. The same with the 3 death visual that kicks you back to your last bind point. Its a visual representation to let those around you know what is happening but not something to be literally taken in game.

The loss of a soul strand is a very personal representation of a character, and as Filatus said, there is a wide variation in the role play of the act of being one step closer to death.

Witch Hunter · « **Reply #9 on:** March 20, 2007, 09:34:14 am »

Yep but people actually react to it... I've heard plenty of "Oh oh... who did the soulmother get now?" and the like when she hits >.> A "AHHH my ears!! I CAN'T HEAR! I CAN'T HEAR!" would be much cooler

As for the subject of wards - I believe they are very visable, the whole point is that you have something magical covering your body adding protection, otherwise the visuals could really be removed as they add a bunch of lag *giggles*

minerva · « **Reply #10 on:** March 20, 2007, 10:10:19 am »

People read tags and scream "Rust Monster" when they see seagulls too... not to say that is right...

Dorganath · « **Reply #11 on:** March 20, 2007, 10:16:36 am »

What Minerva said is essentially correct.

It's not really the Soul Mother screaming. She's not actually there.

Witch Hunter · « **Reply #12 on:** March 20, 2007, 10:26:54 am »

So what exactly happens? no actual visual effect to the soulstrand rip?

Dorganath · « **Reply #13 on:** March 20, 2007, 11:29:54 am »

Historically speaking, the loss of a Soul Strand didn't always show the "wail" VFX. It was added a while back to give you a better indication when Soul Strand loss occurs. It is really an OOC indication there to give you, the player, a visual cue which you can use to RP the feeling of loss that came from that death.

But our characters do not see parts of souls, nor do they really perceive the Soul Mother in any way unless she wants to be perceived.

Acacea · « **Reply #14 on:** March 20, 2007, 06:44:30 pm »

The Soul Mother has the Harvester to do her dirty work for her, anyway, right?

I think there are few people who have actually seen her.

Edit - the wail adds some drama, though! It's kind of dull to see "you've lost a soul strand" and missing the whole feeling of a piece of your soul slipping away from you, or being torn completely, like in movies where it's represented as a ghost shape of the physical body being drawn out of it! Not so much her screaming...its your souuuuul screaming. Or something. Hehe. It does add some confusion though, clearly. Just like the ghostly visual for the death effects - everyone ends up thinking they're transparent or have a visual cue.

Hellblazer · « **Reply #15 on:** March 21, 2007, 01:44:20 am »

Quote from: Witch Hunter

As for the subject of wards - I believe they are very visable, the whole point is that you have something magical covering your body adding protection, otherwise the visuals could really be removed as they add a bunch of lag *giggles*

I think the actual reason why you see the wards is to prevent visual boredome. Either way seing them or not after a while they do get boring. It is also a visual aid to see when your ward actualy fails.

I can udnerstand that a ward that actualy affect your phisical being such as stone skin, woudl be visible, but a ward that woudl affect the invisible, hence the mind, would not be visible.

In the haste of combat, you do not pay so much attention to the status bar of you spells on top of the screen but more to where the action is, and I think this is why most wards are visible.

aragwen · « **Reply #16 on:** March 21, 2007, 02:57:37 am »

The soul scream is something that only the character who looses the strand should be feeling or experiencing and for all others it is OOC visual.

Furthermore going a bit off topic I have to agree with Hellblazer here.

I have never perceived visual effect to be visible and always thought of them as OOC visual information.

Certain things can be seen like barkskin, stoneskin and flame weapon.

But other things like Greater Magic Weapon or Death Wards is something that a character can for sure not see. Those are kinda easy as they have no visual representation, but the hard one is protection of elements. I have always thought the runes are not actually circling your character.

Now this opens the whole concept of people roleplaying wards failing. If you dont have spell craft skill there is no way in my opinion that someone would know for example that his death ward is failing. Matter of fact the fighter (with no understanding of the weave) would not even know if the cleric casted death ward on him or not.

darkstorme · « **Reply #17 on:** March 21, 2007, 03:22:26 am »

Well, I would think the fighter would at least know the cleric had cast something - while there may be no end visual effect, I'd expect a flare of light or some such from the hands of the cleric casting the spell.. just as a sign that the power of his deity is with him.

Hellblazer · « **Reply #18 on:** March 21, 2007, 03:53:54 am »

My perception on this is that wither the visual is present or not, someone would feel something is odd, but would not understand what it is. Although with time and by association he would recognize a certain bodily feeling, mood or clarity of mind to a certain spell if he took notion of how he felt as the spells are being casted.

But in essence that would require that the fighter or any other class that do not have SC, has a good enough int to be able to think of how something is affecting him and make the correct association.

But yes, the visuals of most spells are strictly ooc to my humble opinion. As for the soul ripping. I think we could view this in two folds. One, the one that are attune to the weave or the divine (Cleric, bard, ranger and druid) could perceive it as being a disturbance in the normal fabric. But those who has no training, or atonement (not sure if its the right word) to the weave or the divine, would only see a body falling to the ground and dying as to any of them.

Or

We can view it as being something that has such an impact, that what you see on your screen your character would see it, if if they did, it would have such an effect that their moral would be shaken, and their own fear of total oblivion would make them pass in a moment of introspection. Of course in the heat of the battle, the adrenaline would make its way until it fades and then it would hit the people that what has happen has a deep impact and face them with their own unavoidable demise.

Either way, i think it comes down to how you RP. Unless of course, it's a common concenscious by the GM team that the soul ripping is totally ooc.

Dorganath · « **Reply #19 on:** March 21, 2007, 10:12:38 am »

Quote from: Hellblazer

Unless of course, it's a common concenscious by the GM team that the soul ripping is totally ooc.

"Soul ripping" is not OOC...because a bit of your character's soul is indeed lost, or rather, a bit of what binds your character's soul to you (i.e. a Soul Strand) is lost. This is an IC thing, and it would be felt by your character.

What is OOC is the "Wail" visual effect that accompanies the loss. That's there for the player to know that a Soul Strand was lost.