EfU: City of Rings Skill Changes

[Pup]

Many skills have been modified, turned off, or replaced to better balance and fit in with EfU: City of Ring's unique design.

Animal Empathy: If an animal is AE'd while attacking another player, it will continue attacking until commanded to do otherwise.  A dominated animal can be spoken through with the voice command "/v d [insert text]".  This does not mean your character can talk through animals, it just makes you capable of emoting things like: [growls menacingly at Joe Blow].  The "Control Companion" player tool also allows for greater control of dominated creatures.  The voice command "/c recall" will teleport a stuck/stubborn animal to your side as long as you are not in combat.  Also, the higher this skill, the less likely animals will attack you.

Appraise: Generally unchanged.  It is however frowned upon to role play being good at haggling without ranks in this skill.

Bluff: Generally unchanged.  It is however frowned upon to roleplay being a good liar without ranks in this skill.  DMs may also use this skill to determine ability at things such as disguise and forgery.

Concentration: Unchanged. Also used in the Cooking system.

Craft Armor/Weapon: Disabled.  With the proper EFUSS skills, good roleplay, and DM approval it may be possible to craft something.

Craft Trap: Now represents the "Engineering" skill.  EFUSS will now add +1 Craft Trap per 5 EFUSS Engineering ranks (for a max of +2). Also used in the Tinkering system.

Discipline: Unchanged.

Heal: Healing kits will heal 1 hp/round a total of the difference between the heal check and a DC of 11 (i.e. a Heal check of 17 will heal 6 hit points over 6 rounds).  The DC is 21 while in combat.  Improved, Supreme, and other Healing Kits will heal faster to varying degrees.  Healing kits do not cure disease or neutralize poison.  Salutatory Tonics cure disease and Antitoxins neutralize poisons with a successful heal check. Heal is also used in the  Herbalism system and the higher levels of the Examine Mark tool.

Hide: Generally unchanged.  A stealthed or invisible character that appears transparent has only been heard and not spotted, and cannot be identified.  While this is hard to enforce, players are asked to abide by this rule.

Intimidate: Unchanged.

Listen: Generally unchanged.  A stealthed or invisible character that appears transparent has only been heard and not spotted, and cannot be identified.  While this is hard to enforce, players are asked to abide by this rule.

Lore: Generally unchanged.  Note that the "Identify" spell no longer gives a boost to Lore, but instead identifies three unidentified items in your inventory.  "Legend Lore" still provides a Lore boost. Lore is also used in all of the Crafting systems, gives a small bonus to the Tracking ability of rangers/druids, and is used in Mort's awesome Necromancy system.

Move Silently: Generally unchanged.  A stealthed or invisible character that appears transparent has only been heard and not spotted, and cannot be identified.  While this is hard to enforce, players are asked to abide by this rule.

Open Lock: Unchanged.

Parry: Unchanged.

Perform: EfU: City of Rings has a unique bard song system featuring 40+ setting-specific songs, usable through a songbook available for purchase in-game.  Bard level is used to determine the strength of bard songs, not Perform.  Every 3 points in Perform will add 1 round of Bard/Curse song however.  More details can be found in the wiki.

Persuade: Unchanged.

Pick Pocket: A rogue receives a Pick Pocket tool (vanilla NWN pick pocket is disabled). To use it, simply target the PC you'd wish to attempt to rob and the science behind it will do the work. However, please keep in mind, that ultimately Pick Pocket is considered a PvP action and you should have DM present if attempting to do so in an NPC populated area. Also – bystanders can also spot you picking a pocket, so chose your target and moment wisely. Once you use it, you will have to wait 30 minutes to try again.  Some NPCs have dialog options to allow you to try to pick his/her/it's pocket as well. Also used in the rogue's Cut Purse tool. [Much of this description stolen from SN]

Search: Unchanged.  Used in the Tracking ability of rangers/druids.

Set Trap: Generally unchanged.  Note that it is considered metagaming to set up multiple traps in a row for monsters to run over as the AI does not know to avoid them.

Spellcraft: Generally unchanged, though also used in the Alchemy system as well as Mort's awesome Necromancy system.

Spot: Generally unchanged, though used in many custom EfU: City of Rings systems, including the ranger/druid Tracking ability and the rogue's Examine Mark tool. A stealthed or invisible character that appears transparent has only been heard and not spotted, and cannot be identified.  While this is hard to enforce, players are asked to abide by this rule.

Taunt: Unchanged.

Tumble: Grants +1 bonus to AC for every 5 points in your total modified Tumble skill or total ranks, whichever is lower (i.e. a modified Tumble score after armor/shield check penalties and item/ability bonuses of 7 will result in +1 AC, even if you have 10 or more ranks).

Use Magic Device: Balanced for EfU:M.  Crafted wands have a DC of (15 + spell level).  Scrolls have a DC of (25 + spell level).  Failed UMD checks do not result in loss of a charge or scroll.

[SanTelmo]

Use Magic Device Item Cost Table
Some five years ago a DM called Thrawn modified the UMD so that each point of UMD would give a boost to your ability to use magical devices of higher total cost* instead of giving a boost on every instance of 1, 5, 10, 15... skill point value. This means in practice that in EFU:M, the following total cost* table is being used.



The highest amount is used if there are two or more restricting factors in the item, for instance an item only usable by Halfling and only usable by Evil will use the Alignment UMD value. Your UMD value will allow you to use items which have total cost below your UMD value and the appropriate restriction table.


Item's Total Cost

Total cost refers to the cost that is calculated for the item by the game, depending on the abilities it is capable of doing. For instance, a normal longsword has a total cost of 30 gold coins. Adding +1 cold damage to it will raise its total cost by the NWN standards to a total cost of 580 gold coins. The total cost is not the selling price you receive in shops or even the price you buy them from shops. You cannot determine the true cost of the items you hold in game through any method but you can verify it by creating an exact duplicate of the weapon/item in the toolset and then viewing its total cost. Below is a picture to aid you:




Note that the addtional cost can be set by DM to any for any item they create, thus raising the total cost. That means you cannot know for certain if the items total cost is the same it would be if you created a duplicate of that. The DMs likely only bother to change items cost for exceptional items and for a good reason. If you encounter an item which does not have the normal total cost, it is not allowed to spread the knowledge of its modified total cost or value of UMD needed to use it.

About the use of UMD

In the gameworld, many items are restricted in some ways. You are usually allowed to use any item you find with your UMD skill, however few exceptions exist to that rule. First, if an item has "//OOC: Do not use this item if you are not a Halfling and of Good alignment" then it means you are not allowed to use it under any circumstances when you don't meet all the requirements. (unless a DM has directly told you that you can use it).

Second, use your common sense. Although most of these items are marked with the earlier //OOC mark in its description, there might exist items like Only usable by halfling -suits, which might not be magical but simply too small for larger type of creatures to use. No magical profiency will make you able to fit into pants which are five size smaller than your own. If you are not sure whether you can use a certain item with UMD, ask from a DM.

[Pup]

Updated for City of Rings.