There've been a few people moaning about the different kinds of ambient potions we're getting. For instance, Duergar light healing potions, Lord Bunges small healing drink, and the normal light potions all do the same thing : Cure Light Wounds.

Now, this seems to have caused some friction with somepeople that don't like having to fiddle with a huge number of unstackable items in their inventory - you can't have them 'on top' of one another, while others laud it for its creativity, and adding to the settings general 'feel'.

This poll is simply to determine what percentage of people feel strongly either way.

I would be extremely sad to see them go. For some they might just be annoying pieces of graphic with the same practical effect, but for me they (as well as the rest of the ambient items) go a long way to add a touch of plausability, and immersement to the setting. I love being able to look at an invisibility potion and know that a kobold mixed various fungi and herbs to create it, or a potion that not only is labelled with the oh-so tiresome "Potions can have a multitude of effects...", but describes, in a plausible way, why and how it gives the effect it does.

So in short, I love them. More flavour for the people!

I brought this issue up in IrC yesterday and it was discussed a bit. Namely the issue isn't the inclusion of ambient loot/potions. That's great, I like the idea that other types exist.

The main problem is the mechanics of it. The way you can't have a belt pouch full of mixed "cure moderates" because the Game won't let them stack, But, someone with 10 Green Moderates can do it instead.

There is the issue where I have to either set my 3 types of potion to 3 different quickslots (which I do), or open my inventory mid fight. Now I am strongly against inventory opening Because it adds load to the server, and load creates lag, lag causes loss of "synchronisation" which ultimately...means you crash. And I do.

I'm less bothered about Walters Tactical Withdrawl, and Potions of Fleeing anywhere near as much as having to have:

2 Orog Healing Drafts 2 Underdark healing potions 2 cure moderates 2 kobold piss potions

where as soon as I've used two, I have to search for the others where as someone with 10 cure mods, doesn't.

Does it add ambience? Yeah sort of Does it mechanically hinder me? very much so.

As much as I like having fun, I don't like how the computer you use is the bane of your character, because your potions don't stack.

What can be done? Removal of healing potion types, or some method of conversion, where you can convert the lot into one type, so making my kobod piss and underdark healing potion all into kobold piss, maybe.

I take the fourth option.

It makes sense to have lots of different kinds of potions and does add to the atmosphere, but I hate having to donate all me shift and ctrl quickslots to potions which could have otherwise easily fit onto half, or a quarter of that.

I wouldn't remove them now that it's all done, but a way around it could have been to change all the potions so that a moderate potion is simply "Drow curing potion" and a serious is "Duergar Curing Potion", suggesting the Duergar are better potion brewers or require heftier healing potions (You may disagree, but this is just a hypothetical example). The same could be done for cats grace potions (A kobold potion) or fox's cunning potions (Svirfneblin potion) etc. This way, you get all the respective race's potions and all potions will stack. Of course, not all races brew only one or two types of potion, but for the sake of convenience, you may want to make that compromise.

If people don't like the extra potions, I'll take them.

I love stuff like this. If anything, I'd want MORE.

As a temporary fix, you can always trade them with people to get all one flavor -- maybe you prefer that flavor over the others!

I wonder if I could script a Talus command to find the first <parameter> type of potion in your inventory and drink it. Would that help at all?

That might be good.

I think that's currently what happens with different types of medicine bag, and I like that.

I see the issue people are having, but no one mandates that you must have potions of different types with you. It's easy enough to RP that your character simply prefers one potion vendor to another when possible, and to buy all your potions from that vendor. Problem solved.

I think the different potions add flair and if anything from a RL perspective potions shouldn't stack.

The example of your quickslots acting like a potions belt is fine but if you 10 potions of each type you have quick access to say 60 potions if you use the quickslots in this way. This is definately a power-gaming as opposed to RP gaming mechanic.

Still becuase of the nature of the game it is necessary to have access to these quickly.

For myself my character accumulates a particular type of potion and RP's giving the rest away to people that need them - I find this the easiest way to deal with the accumulation and so far have not found anyone upset that I have given them 4 different types of Cure Minor wounds potions.

1 Have one quickslot dedicated to the potion I collect and 3 or 4 other quickslots to misc 1 off potions which I use first and then fall back on my mainstay collection.

Cheers Nestek

I think they add to the atmosphere, and I always love stuff that's something out of the "ordinary" or what I'm used to seeing. Although as a person who loves all kinds of trinkets and gadgets, I must say that they do create a bit of a hassle when it comes to quickslot space.

All in all, I'd like to see them stay.

Arkov As a temporary fix, you can always trade them with people to get all one flavor -- maybe you prefer that flavor over the others!

I wonder if I could script a Talus command to find the first <parameter> type of potion in your inventory and drink it. Would that help at all?

I like all the potions, it does add to the overall atmosphere. But there is that 1 of these, 2 of these thing that is slightly annoying.

However, you Talus command idea would be a great fix...damn brilliant actually.

I think the different potions add flair and if anything from a RL perspective potions shouldn't stack.

The example of your quickslots acting like a potions belt is fine but if you 10 potions of each type you have quick access to say 60 potions if you use the quickslots in this way. This is definately a power-gaming as opposed to RP gaming mechanic.

Please, let's not try to factor in realism here. It doesn't work, nor is it meant to.

Drinking a potion, with a helm on, whilst fighting a huge beast, whilst having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other is nigh impossible. Stopping people from having quick access to an unreal amount of potions won't add to realism, it'll just be damn annoying.

Ladocicea

I think the different potions add flair and if anything from a RL perspective potions shouldn't stack.

The example of your quickslots acting like a potions belt is fine but if you 10 potions of each type you have quick access to say 60 potions if you use the quickslots in this way. This is definately a power-gaming as opposed to RP gaming mechanic.

Please, let's not try to factor in realism here. It doesn't work, nor is it meant to.

Drinking a potion, with a helm on, whilst fighting a huge beast, whilst having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other is nigh impossible. Stopping people from having quick access to an unreal amount of potions won't add to realism, it'll just be damn annoying.

Can I hear an AMEN

AMEN!!!

My thoughts are that in real life you don't walk around with 50 potions on your person anyway. Also think of how many brands of, say, soda there are? Pepsi, Coke, RC, Big K, generic, etc. (for this example, lets pretend the pop cans aren't all the same shape and size)

Most people stick with what they like best.

Personally there are other advantages to using one type over another anyway.

For example, there are some 'off-brand' cure minor wounds potions that can be bought (I wont' say where and spoil the discovery of it for other players) that cost for less than 1/4 of the green stuff and yet do the same thing.

So for me, I'm totally not going to buy the green stuff any more if I want Minors, since they're more expensive.

So in this case, stacking is not an issue because I have shifted away from the 'official' potion to another 'brand' of potion.

These, in my eyes, are what makes this mod so good. In real life we don't go out and buy both Sprite AND 7up AND Sierra Mist in equall amounts do we?

Now I know the issue was about stacking and searching for additional 'off-brand' potions while fighting, but this just means we have to adjust our game play to this setup. When we played the OC of NWN, it had a feel to it and we learned what we could an couldn't do in that play style. We have to do the same for this mod as well. We have to adjust to the fact that we're gonna be pack rats of stuff for a while.

my 2cents

Two different responses... first off, yes yes, I understand the value of RP, but sorry having a pink potion that heals me X and another purple potion that heals X isn't RP. Maybe it's immersive for some, and horribly aggravating for others.

Why not, ask some chars friends (either IC or OOC if they don't mind) if they mind swapping you, for example Fish, I hate it to, so ask me to see if we can swap and I'll do it in a second. Then, see if there would be a way to have a wand/merchant who can just swap them for those players that do hate it (if it's not a crazy amount of scripting trouble that is).

And no offense, but the whole idea that we don't walk around with X potions on a belt IRL or all those arguments seems very silly, because this IS a game, and no one here actually fights anything, especially orcs, bandits, etc. So to start nitpicking what we could actually do IRL versus IG means that we should all quit playing, since I know very few if any of us would actually be able to wear the plate, and fight while wearing the gear and blah blah blah... if we saw a troll or any monster from IG... we'd all run away, and either get a camera for the $1 mil we'd get from The Inquirer or we'd run away to put on some new pants... :P

It's too bad you cant do the same sort of ambient thing with spells.

Seeing a lizardfolk shaman cast "Sseth's Scales" has more flavour that him just casting "protection from good" or whatever it equates to mechanics wise.

Though I guess you COULD do this with spell scrolls if you were inclined, you could CALL a spell a modicum of sorrow which in fact just casts a doom spell.

On a side note: if potions are annoying to use you could make a widget that simply DRINKS the next available moderate wounds potions. Though the widget would likely not be able to tell you you had none, till you clicked it and nothing happened (bad at a crucial moment)

And in related news: Underdark healing potions are actually CAST at a higher level than normal moderate curing potions so they'll yield a few more (but not by much) hitpoints

chaosprism

And in related news: Underdark healing potions are actually CAST at a higher level than normal moderate curing potions so they'll yield a few more (but not by much) hitpoints

Now that's something that has crossed my mind at the odd time; Having the various different potions carrying different caster levels. For invisibility potions, for example, a Kobold Hide Drink, generally costing about 130 gold, could have a charge of Invisibility (2), a standard one the regular (3), while a Duergar Invisibility Potion could have a (4). And so on and so forth for the other potions.

I think nwn only allows set caster levels in certain multiples (pretty sure starting at three going up in two's. So only caster levels 3,5,7 etc available. Though I could be wrong.

Oh and on anothe rnote. A level two mage can't cast the spell so I don't think a potion that weak would be of any use. Same as if you had alevel 10 cast of timestop in a bottle. (for arguements sake that is)

A potion of Invisibility (2) Would still give you a two minute invisibility, though... Also, are you certain about that level increasement thing? The Underdark Healing Potions currently in game cast Cure Moderate Wounds (6).

For each spell there's only a handful of options for caster level, and in the case of some just one.

It is entirely intentional that certain flavors have different strengths.

However, there's not a great deal of flexibility. Invisibility is stuck at (3) for instance.

Ah, I see. Pity, that.

Polls closed, i think it's clear what we're doing.