Most of the playable races have hooded models. I thought that it might be nice if we added a handy toggle to take advantage of this.

It'd involve an item which stores the initial head appearance as a local integer OnAcquire. Using the item would make it check for the user's gender and appearance type and change the head model to the appropriate number (eg. 2 for male humans). Using the item again would restore the player's head model to the stored appearance.

This would allow most people to make use of hoods, without needing to add any hak packages.

What do you all say? Are we yet due for an alternative to helmets for concealing one's face?

Is that actually possible?

Even if it is, Dwarves, Half Orcs and Gnomes don't have hood models. It seems to put those races at some kind of disadvantage, if we're saying these hoods signify a disguise.

Also, it seems reasonable to say that people that have actually chosen the hooded head would be able to take their hood off. But such a system wouldn't be very practical, since they'd have to choose a head style once in game.

It's a fair thought, but I think the best way to do this would just be a hak.

What about helmets in the shapes of hoods? If that were possible it would make it quite easy. Also helmets that acted as masks to show a different head style.

Implementation is fairly simple. I would do it myself, if it would help get the idea working.

Dwarves, Half-Orcs and Gnomes can be equipped with undroppable hood-like helmets when they use the hood toggle (which will be dyed the appropriate color upon creation).

And a conversation dialog which only works when the toggle is used in the OOC and DM areas, allowing the player to change head models would solve the problem for players who start out with hoods.

Sorry, I seem to be missing something here...

There's a hood-like helmet?

I didn't know this could be done without a .hak. Can it? <_<

Can't be done without a .hak.

CEP has a simple hood helmet you can WEAR which functions much the same.

If there was a SERVER side command like:

SetHead ( Model, oPC)... then that would work without hacks

I'm not sure if we HAVE that command though.

We'd use a helmet which closest resembles a hood. It wouldn't be perfect, but it'd at least make for a more level playing field. And yes, I assure you that it is completely do-able without haks!

For those of you who are still not yet convinced, allow me to direct you to the 1.67 scripting updates:

http://nwn.bioware.com/players/167/scripts_commandslist.html

No helmets resemble a hood. A pot helm is the closest thing, but it's still miles off, which raises the inevitable question: Why not just use a pot helm (Like everyone already does and always has)?

Because regardless of how much you might insist on it being a hood as opposed to a helmet, everyone still wants to call it a helmet.

And sometimes, you can feel pretty silly about calling it a hood as well.

I'd love to have an actual hood for once, rather than run around in a silly pot hat which no self-respecting man or woman would even conceive wearing.

This is a possibly limited example based on Johannes' explanation. No hakpaks necessary. The zip contains an erf if you want to import it into a module, and there's a demo module with some grass and the Hood item.

[Download]

The code is a mess and I don't have plans on improving it. >_> It's kind of a silly little thing, really, since my bearded human male test dummy suddenly didn't have a beard- because the human male hooded head doesn't have a beard, or a face mask!

"Did he have a beard?" "I don't know, he was wearing a hood."

Now that ASBay has done such a brilliant job of implementation, what is the demand for hoods on EfU? How many of you would buy and use them if they became available?

I think it's too much of a gimmick for EfU to use. Helms are currently used for items called Thieves' Hoods and Gold Goggles, and I think they can continue to represent hoods and goggles and other headwear; they're available to all races too, unlike what I threw together. I made it as an example to help people judge the suggestion better and as a proof of concept, but it doesn't mean I support the idea of using this here.

Maybe some people will like the way it works and/or come up with a new suggestion that expands on the hoods concept, though.

The problem with Thieves' "Hoods" and Gold "Goggles" is that the only person who knows that they are hoods or goggles is the one who has the items in her inventory. One isn't typically able to encounter another character in a thieves' hood, which has probably even been dyed at some stage, and decide with 100%, or even 10% certainty that it is as the concealed description suggests.

When you see the Spellguard Agents wearing those things on their heads, I doubt that many people consider them to be beyond what they immediately appear as - helmets. Indeed, some of those agents might THINK that they are wearing hoods, but what does that matter when nobody else is going to agree?

Perhaps you could sod hoods in favor of the simpler helmets. We could live in a universe where hoods exist only on characters who have had the bits of cloth welded permanently to their heads. But don't any of you have moments when you feel that a hood would be a more appropriate complement to your thief's garb than that ugly, cumbersome and sight-restricting helmet?

Yeah the other day a character who was against doing so was told to remove a helmet..

Only to uncover the halfling "hooded" face underneath :)

I was part of a server that had hoods you could buy. They were helmets technically but they looked like a hood. When you put it on the face just sort of went dark. A face was there but in shadows. That server had a lot of haks though. It was really neat.

It could easily done by CEP, but, well, CEP.

This server is awesome because it can work without haks. So we'll need to figure another way.

*goes on world editor*

((edit)) Well, I played with the game editor. The most fitting helmet is helmet 17 (the one with chain on face), Then take the second metal color full black (rightest, 4th from top). The first color should be decided (though black, or some dark color will do). Then make it tag, so you can't dye it.

((editX2))

This server is awesome because it can work without haks. So we'll need to figure another way.

This server is awesome for many reasons, though having no haks, and STILL being awesome, doubles it ;) Muchmore inviting then other servers, I must say.

While this is technically feasible (to a certain extent), there are certain issues which, in my opinion, need to be resolved before it's actually a desirable system. For example, as has been pointed out, certain playable races don't have hooded models. The proposed solution...

Johannes Dwarves, Half-Orcs and Gnomes can be equipped with undroppable hood-like helmets when they use the hood toggle (which will be dyed the appropriate color upon creation).

Johannes The problem with Thieves' "Hoods" and Gold "Goggles" is that the only person who knows that they are hoods or goggles is the one who has the items in her inventory.

ASBay It's kind of a silly little thing, really, since my bearded human male test dummy suddenly didn't have a beard- because the human male hooded head doesn't have a beard, or a face mask!

"Did he have a beard?" "I don't know, he was wearing a hood."

Oh, phooey. So much for that idea.

Moving on...