Here are my ideas of how to overhaul the influence skill-set and balance out debating. My hope is that it will then truly give an advantage to High Charisma races in damage and speed, instead of fast equilibrium recovery based races.

A. Influencing (Overhaul suggestions)

1. Recovery- Create a new form of balance recovery for influence/debating battles. The basic recovery should be set at 4 seconds at a charisma of 12. Any one-point change to the right or left of a 12 charisma will have a +/- 1/6th of a second change on the base recovery time. Example: Geb has an 18 charisma, therefore his influence recovery time would be 3 seconds.

2. Mobile Influencing- Please allow non-political influence attacks to have a chance of doing critical ego damage to mobiles.

3. Debating-

a. Change debating to work on influence recovery.

b. Give it a base damage plus an increase based on a person’s training in the Influence skill-set.

c. Battles- Remove the old debating battle damage formulas and replace them with a basic combat formula. Also include the following: If the attack type is strong against the mindset defense then increase the damage done by 25%. If the attack type is pretty neutral to the mindset defense then no net change in damage is done. If the attack type is weak against the mindset defense then decrease the damage done by 50%.

d. Hindrances- Add entangled (including all conditions that requires a person to writhe to escape), throatlocked, withered throat, and slit throat to the list of conditions that will stop a person from being able to debate.


*Please Discuss*

Sounds wonderful. You might also want to have the disloyalty affliction affect influence damage.

How fast is normal eq recovery now? 4 seconds?

Edit: Oh, and I would really, really like hostile sentients. That afflict and question.

I like the suggestions for Influencing, not experienced enough to comment on the debating.

That is a good Idea. I will add it to my envoy report. It would make sense for that to hinder the skill. Yes, basic eq recovery for it is about 4 seconds.

I like the ideas on changing influence - I'd also like Splendor to really have a REAL impact. As is, it's a pretty weak Trans skill.

I'm actually fairly ok with debate, though it'd be nice if Influence training helped.

And the hostile denizens for influencing.... :beg: That'd be so awesome!

I like I like!

What do you think of this:

If the Influence changes I’ve suggested are put into play, please give Splendor Robes a +10% bonus to ego damage and resistance to ego attacks.

Influence should have a new trans skill that focuses on influencing not combat. As it stands, Charismaticaura is for your combat ents. Why should a non-violent skillset aide violent combat? Just... no. There needs to be a different trans skill that will aide *gasp* INFLUENCERS!

'cause environment, arts, and all the tradeskills are just THAT violent.

You miss the point, Shiri, my friend. Influencing is a skillset for influencing. Also, the trans skill helps all of 4 guilds. For the other 8/12, it doesn't do anything. The influence skillset should have a trans skill that benefits EVERYONE, not just silly guardians. It's not fluid with the skillset that's for everyone.

Make it so if you have charismatic aura, the ents won't attack you.

KILL IT. Before someone stupid comes along and suggest it!

That would be unfair... and honestly, I'd rather a trans influence skill affect only influence and debating. None of this "Oh look, a common skillset at trans helps guardians/wiccans only". Don't get me wrong, I'd be unhapy if any other common skill aided only one class. I think the trans skill helping you see how much cash you owe sounds nice. Put charismaic aura in something else. It only helps guardians/wiccans, so... put it in one of the guardian/wiccan skillsets. Any other ideas for a new trans influence skill would be cool.

Fullplate too! What's more splendid than a knight in shining armor?

It can give a 20% bonus to seduction.

While we're on the topic, being stinked should reduce your ability to influence to next to nothing (erm, unless it does already...)

It lowers it. Doesn't nullify it. (I don't know if it adds to begging though. HMM.)