by Murdus on Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:52 pm
My 0.02$ as a semi-casual player.
I flat out refuse to take JJ as a god. Ever. Reasons for it are really simple: He's just not worth it. He doesn't do anything other gods don't do in a certain way, he has slow-ish piety gain, and absolutely no incentive to -stay- with him once you got whatever boon you wanted. I'll just look at each of his boons seperately.
On joining: You get random piety. Also, you expose yourself to his whims, until you get Petition. These can -really- screw you over... or not affect you at all, depending on class. I personally hate this mechanic, and I don't think any god should punish you -just- for joining his/her cause. I know it's JJ we're talking about, but I'll get to that.
Petition: This isn't even a boon. It's an extortion racket. The only thing that could possibly make it worse is if it was repeatable, and you'd lose the benefits when you level up. ... I really hope I didn't give the devs an idea here.
Last Chance: Exactly what it says on the tin. It's... random. Random is a horribile concept in Desktop Dungeons, seeing how its mostly a puzzle. I'd throw the boon out the window, and make a new one.
Boost Mana/health: Destroying two resources to increase your mana/health. Both boons are incredibly situational, plus, if you use either of them, you probably won't be able to afford Chaos Avatar. While on paper, it looks nice, but in practice, unless you're a halfling/gnome, your potions will be worth more than the +20 hp, or the +3 mana.
Chaos Avatar: For a boon that costs 100 piety, it lacks... quite some punch. It's... nice, sure, but with the random piety gain system it's incredibly awkward to take any advantage of it. While the idea is good, the execution doesn't feel as rewarding as it should.
My suggestions?
Piety gain: Similar to as of now, but the destruction of Getindare, Cydstepp, Halpmeh, Bysseps glyphs gives major bonus piety (5-10, to keep the random theme). (JJ is pleased that you embrace Chaos!) Since these glyphs (unless it's your class glyph) cannot be prepped reliably, it's still a random bonus, rather than a reliable source.
You lose piety when you pop Death Protection, like in the alpha. ("So.. Boring." -5-10 piety)
You gain piety when you kill a slowed enemy (1-2), when you use Weytwut (1-4), when you use Wonafyt (1-3).
Punishment: 30% chance, nothing happens. 30% chance, you lose Sanguine, First Strike, Mana Shield, Death Protection, all your health and mana potions, and gives the boss of the dungeon Corrosive strikes. 30% chance, you die instantly. 10% chance: Your act of defiance entertains JJ. He wishes that your nerves of steel is rewarded. You gain... Not sure. Something incredibly good to offset the chance that 60% of the time you are screwed. Royally.
On joining, you gain 3 negative, and 3 positive effects from the following list:
Negative: Corrosion, Weakening, Curse, Poison, Mana Burn, Health burn
Positive: Overheal (a la Pactmaker), 3% magical resist pierce, 3% physical resist pierce (Think RBS, minus the slow), +4% resists, +10% damage, +1 max mana
He no longer randomly curses you. However, in each game, there is one type of monster that is his favored one, and hated one. Nothing indicates that which one is which. Killing a favored one results in you losing 2-4 piety, and killing a hated one grants you the same piety.
You also gain a stack of Chaos.
Mana/health burn can't happen when overheal or mana refill does. The same boon/curse -can- happen multiple times, so in theory, you -can- get 2 stakcs of curse, 1 stack of corrosion, and +30% damage. Except the heal/mana parts. Those can't replicate themselves on joining.
Petition => Chaos Infusion, 0 piety, repeatable (+10): JJ selects a random curse, and a random blessing, infusing you with it, and giving you one stack of Chaos.
Last Chance => Practical Joke, 15(+10) piety. You gain a stack of Chaos. Your body warps, and twists, making you suffer 2-5/level damage, however, for enduring the torture, you gain 25 CP. This damage CAN kill you!
Boost Health/mana are the same, but you get 1 stack of Chaos for using each of them.
Chaos Avatar, 100 Piety: JJ morphs, and warps your body into a creation of pure Chaos. You level up, he removes all of your Chaos stacks, and for each stack, you gain a random boon of his, without any of the downsides. If you had at least X stacks of Chaos, he grants you an artifact of untold power...
Spoon of the Mad God:
Only the maddest of gods would ever think of using this legendary silverware as an instrument of war. Small slot item, 5% physical damage pierce, +1 damage. Not convertable. 0 gold.
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These aren't final numbers obviously. I know nothing of game balance. Just an idea of what I would go for. Chaotic aspects should be both beneficial and detrimental, instead of "screw you until you get Petition".