I don't know about anyone else but the fact that when I first logged into the game some 3 years ago making me extremely vulnerable to astrologers forever more seems rather wrong. So how about an artifact that allows someone to change their nativity once? I suppose it would probably have to actually change your birthdate somehow.

I am not certain what it would be called or what the exact mechanics would be. It would be random so you might end up with something not that great if you use it but for those of us who practically have the worst nativity possible, that would likely be a chance we were willing to take.

it is ok, although I think it should be in the price range 500-700 credits

I don't particulalry like the idea, but I'm rather biased what with being an Astrologer and all. The skill is already highly random and not uber easy to use and this kind of artifact would work only to diminish (not entirely, I know we have zodiac rays as well) its reliability.

I imagine those lacking a dangerous nativity do enjoy it and wouldn't buy the artifact, but those with a very annoying nativity (not for an Astrologer, I can assure you) will. And while there is a chance to get something worse than you already had, there isn't a great probability it would happen, since the only reason you'd be doing this wold be that very few nativities are worse than yours.

And it doesn't make too much sense to change your birthday anyway. :|

I'm not sold on the artifact idea. Though I wouldn't mind seeing it become a Domoth power or some other limited availability power.

Alternatively -

Add new Astrology ability. For one year, give someone (self or other) a different nativity. Make it cost 10p (or something similarly huge) and be a near-trans thing. This altered state should be immediately visible to every Astrologer who checks a target's nativity. This ups Astrology's offensive potency (which some feel is lacking - I wouldn't know) while also providing a means to deal with nativity imbalance. IE, periodically, grab an Astrologer friend to shift your nativity.

This may require nativities themselves be looked at again, however. But it seems like as long as nativities vary in effect, there will always wind up some nativities deemed worse than others.

The whole nativity thing is something I've been pondering awhile, and the only other solution I could come up with was a quest to 'shift yours stars' sort of thing. Would be a lengthy but random duration - so it's something you'd go do before a major battle, or do regularly, but you wouldn't know whether it will last a few months or a few years.

Native aeon is a killer.

Just how bad is your nativity, Cat?

And I'm not sure I would approve of such an artifact. I can see your point (if it really is that bad), but in all honesty, Astrology is a pretty lousy and unreliable skillset offensive-wise and one with which almost no one uses much to actively PK. This would just serve to make the skillset even less worth having.

To me, asking to have your birthday changed is like asking to change your name. It is your very character's core and doesn't seem like it should be.

For Catarin:

She is 113 years old, having been born on the 4th of Estar, 84 years after the Coming of Estarra.
On that date:
Sun was in the sign of the Skull.
Blunt Damage
Moon was in the sign of the Glacier.
Dementia
Eroee was in the sign of the Skull (retrograde).
Sensitivity (not Justice)
Sidiak was in the sign of the Skull (retrograde).
Stupidity
Tarox was in the sign of the Skull (retrograde).
Recklessness (not Ignite)
Papaxi was in the sign of the Spider.
Health Reduction
Aapek was in the sign of the Skull.
Aeon

I'll agree it's pretty messed up

Just a note: Eroee's Justice effect has been replaced with Sensitivity, and Tarox's Ignite effect has been replaced with Recklessness.

Blimey! That's good news! Uh, for me that is...

Though I should've known about that, huh?

I think I just lawled reading that. Sorry Catarin

Hence my suggestion of a nativity-shifting Astrologer ability. Let a friendly Astrologer set your nativity to something less harmful, and force the enemy Astrologer to blow power in combat to change your nativity to something they like - which can be later changed back by a friendly Astrologer.

If the power cost is too prohibitive to use as a defensive/curative measure, have two versions of the ability. One is fast for large power/mana/whatever cost, the other one is a 15 second 'insta' effect, where performing any other action causes it to fail.

RENAISSANCE
RENAISSANCE RITUAL

This lets Astrologers pick and choose which nativity set they want to use against an opponent (at a cost), while also providing more or less equal respite for those with nasty nativities.

Or just remove aeon and recklessness from nativity and everything else will be perfectly fine i bet?

That doesn't address the 'Astrologers are lacking' problem.

edit: Though yeah, as a note, those afflicts shouldn't be possible to deliver all together. Stupidity/aeon is mean. But no matter how you change nativities around, some will be worse than others, and the skillset as a whole needs to be viable in combat.

you really have no idea how bad astrology would be then, Catarin just has an extremely bad nativity. But there are also people with extremely good ones.

If Astrology needs to be fixed to make it an all around viable skillset, I'm all for that. I like Eldanien's suggestions so far. But it bothers me immensely that based on nothing more then when I first logged into the game, I am at a major disadvantage in any combat with an astrologer. And there is nothing I can do about it. It has nothing to do with my skill as a fighter, my race choices, my skill choices, my guild choices. Nothing in my control. Based solely on when I created my character. That isn't balance. That's just dartboard combat mechanics.

And yes, on the opposite side it's equally unfair that an astrologer can be completely ineffective against someone else because they happened to log in that first time when the stars were right.

Not necessary.

Astrology only seems to work right when you have nativities like Catarin's or mine or Geb's, and not at all with nativities like Nirrti's. It really seems like 1) aeon needs to be taken out of the random affliction list, because that 33% chance messes up balance for everything else, and 2) all of the useless afflictions need upgrades to major afflictions.

Sounds right to me. Aeon + some of the 'moderate' afflicts is imbalanced when they happen to land together in one nativity. But I'd hate to see aeon disappear from the skillset, since the classes that have Astrology are all aeon-loving classes.

You can't take aeon out of the 'random' affliction list without taking it out of Astrology entirely.

EDIT: I suggest Aapek always give aeon. To everyone.

Yes you can, but more than that, a serious non-aeon option for guardians would make the Malarious happy.