Qaletaqa tried to flog them at like 900 per at one point. (Unless that was 900 per 5 or something.) Honestly, they're not THAT uncommon.

(Also, Thorgal, you're apparently not using Ghost effectively, as it gets just about -every other person- who uses it away. Um, unless it's on the Ethereal, in which case half the time we spamflow and vine them and kill them once they reform on the other end.)

Yeah..."unless", with spores I never encountered an "unless", I prefer them over ghost a LOT. Just snort and poof. And trust me, I'm using the escaping skills I have as effective as it gets.

What does spores cost to use?
What does Ghost cost to use?
What does spores cost to get?
What does ghost cost to get?

This is a rhetorical question.

I've used spores to escape once. I had to writhe out of stacked web/hangedman, and by the time I ended up back at Mother, I was bleeding for 25% of my life. I came within 200hp of dying, even with these magic spores. If it takes you 8 people to stop someone, you suck. Get a novice for web support, and you're set. The only imbalance I've really seen brought up so far is that you can snort without balance or equilibrium. I haven't noticed, but if that's true, changing it would, IMO, balance the skill. Maybe even have monolith stop it, if you really want.

Ghost is in no way comparable as an escape method. It SHOULD be a worse escape method, because it has other uses. Spores are travel/escape only.

You can't snort spores when off eq/balance.

Most of these comparisons seem to be leaving out some tradeoffs. When put together, it seems like each escape method is better suited for certain situations (and ghost is suited for raiding/reconnaissance as well as escaping).

I've never used ghost, but Hermit vs. Spores looks like this:

Hermit cons (Spore pros):
1. Hermit is stopped by monolith. Spores aren't.
2. Activating Hermit doesn't take your entourage with you. Snorting spores does. This -could- be good or bad (as it means that neither allies nor enemies can follow).
3. Hermit can't be activated while flying.

Hermit pros (Spore cons):
1. Spores cost power to create. Hermit doesn't (Hermit has a minor preparation cost of 1 paint application + 1 card).
2. Hermit can be rubbed anywhere. Spores can only be created in specific environments.
3. Your own Hermits can't be used against you. With Spores, you have to be careful where you leave them because an enemy can just as easily pick them up and use them (as has been demonstrated).
4. Both Hermit and Spores decay. However, Hermit can be redone via indeck+rub. Spores cost power to create again.

Is it realistic to say that one is overpowered without saying that the other is? Yes, some guilds are inherently better at escaping. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're overpowered, when the entire skillsets are taken into account. And honestly, Nihilists seem to be the best at escaping, given both Tarot (Hermit+Catacombs) and Necromancy (Ghost), not to mention the ability to fly. And Nihilists can't create spores at all

You CANNOT snort of balance or off equilibrium. And furthermore, ghosting is much more utility based then spores, you can get to places you otherwise never could with ease.

Edit: And so what if spores isn't blocked by Monolith? So it is a little bit better then Hermit tarot, big deal. Not everything is equal, and shouldn't be, since they also gain abilities we don't have. And spores is far from unstoppable. It is also more limited in the locations you may select to use, which Hermit tarot is not limited in this respect, as well as people can steal your damn spores and use them if you put them anywhere outside of Serenwilde, further limiting their use.

Another Edit: Damn, Dumihru beat me.

Edit Again: I could turn this around, and say that I believe ghosting should be blocked by eye sigils, as in you cannot enter a room with an eye sigil while a ghost. Furthermore, returning to your nativeform in a room with a statue/totem will automatically cause it to fire as if you had entered normally (They already did this with blackwind, astralform, and phase in Imperian, so it is not unthinkable.)

Not all Nihilists take tarot, you know. Or for that matter have the ability to ghost. Flying is more common, but... Celestines and Moondancers can also fly, and I know Hartstone demesnes at least can take down flying enemies. I certainly don't think I'm better at escaping...

Geomancers demense can also.

As can Aquamancers' demesnes.

One thing I didn't see here so far is that Hermit tarot got its name for a reason. If there's someone standing in the spot where you activated your Hermit card, you can't escape back there at that time. Of course, with thousands of rooms and only a few dozen players, the odds that you won't be able to find a good spot to place it are pretty small. Just thought I'd mention it.

Archthron -

It's really only relevant to compare two trans-guildskill users. And while it is true that Nihilists can choose Hexes instead of Tarot, the fact remains that Tarot is very much a viable choice for the guild (and in fact the most popular of the two).

About the flying - There's a defense against nearly every escape ability, which makes some abilities more suitable to a given situation than others. So with 4 escape abilities, you have a lot of choices.


Zarguan -

I've heard rumors that Hermit worked like that, but I've hermited into an inhabited room at least once before.

Having afflictons block spores would be fine if more classes could give damage and afflictions at the same time.

As a geomancer I do either straight damage or straight afflictions. I can give afflictions before switching to damage to buy myself time against most classes, but can never kill someone using spores. I have just one affliction that stops it, and it's mathematically impossible to stick that on them and deal lethal damage or chasm them before they cure that single affliction.

Note I mean paralyse, tremors sometimes breaks a leg but geomancers give no other mending salve afflictions, so a basic trigger can cure that with 100% efficacy.

It's wierd, but Hermit cards can only be -made- while no-one is in the room, and can be used to travel to an inhabited room. At least, that was what it was like, back in the day, when I had Tarot. I have Hexes now, and actually, I prefer it.
Different Strokes for different folks