Skills: Alchemy as a T1 skill

[sekki]

Maybe rebrand it as chemistry to make it more mortal-like.

[erikune]

Mortal skills tend to not involve MP and tend to be stuff that a person can do physically. T2 skills tend to be the ones that involve spending MP and getting magical qualities. Tap Font is the biggest exception, although that is really more using the magic that's there rather than having abilities which use MP.

Any reason why Alchemy should be moved over to a T1 skill? It involves spending MP to test out alchemy components, MP to brew up potions, and MP to transform materials into other materials. That sounds like a fairly T2-orientated skill.

[sekki]

Various reasons

1) Increase the range of T1 skills
2) Let non-spellcasters have a better roll in logistics too!
2a) Introducing alchemy to all the T2 martials is another option but at that point you're giving it to every class anyways so why not T1?
3) If spending mp is the problem why not make alchemy not spend mp? You're just sticking some ingredients together to make a new chemical compound! (But you'll have to punt the transmute stuff all into T2)

I would argue that "sense morality" and before it got removed "sense magic" are also two kinda mystically things which sound T2-ish but aren't. I think T1 skills could be stuff that isn't like "aligned". So for example infusion is innately aligned - T2 makes sense. Foul/Deep/Holy alchemy are innately aligned - T2. But alchemy is pretty ubiquitous.

That being said I do realize this is a pretty fundamental change and probably won't make it anywhere soon but - it's a thought!

[SignedName]

Would help fill the skill gap from the loss of Sense Magic* and Search. Also give a nice source of XP for crafting-oriented characters that don't want to just craft a thousand carving knives and actually create something useful.

I would argue that "sense morality" and before it got removed "sense magic" are also two kinda mystically things which sound T2-ish but aren't. I think T1 skills could be stuff that isn't like "aligned". So for example infusion is innately aligned - T2 makes sense. Foul/Deep/Holy alchemy are innately aligned - T2. But alchemy is pretty ubiquitous.

Not to mention Tap Font doesn't make much sense as a T1 skill unless mortals actually have something to use MP on.

[erikune]

Sense Morality is kind of necessary for anybody planning on going the angel route, unless they want to exclusive find demons to stab or only grind restore power/repair door/healing for 10 levels.

I agree that Tap Font seems odd as a T1 skill, kind of more of a legacy thing at this point (as a former child skill of Sense Magic) but I'd hesitate to moving skills from T1 into T2. There's already a problem with T1 CPs when we aren't talking a weapon or crafting skill tree, and taking away 50CP from options would not be a good thing.

Also, I don't know if everything possible should necessarily be front-loaded into T1. Right now, T1 is mainly concerned about HP and AP. Moving around, finding people, locating useful buildings, and so on. MP is mainly used for portals (and portals to over planes, at that) and activating magic weapons. Leaving Alchemy and it's MP-managed to T2, when characters also have to worry about Spellcasting and charged attacks, seems to fit best.

I think T1 skills could be stuff that isn't like "aligned". So for example infusion is innately aligned - T2 makes sense. Foul/Deep/Holy alchemy are innately aligned - T2. But alchemy is pretty ubiquitous.

Alchemy is aligned, though. The proportion of common/uncommon/rare materials depends on class alignment. There isn't a good way to transfer this to the Shepard/Sorcerer/Defiler classes, and having all the progress that a character made in T1 (in re-writing alchemy formulas) go away on the first promote might make people more upset than any progress they might get from spending 20CP in T1 skills.

And that reminds me of one last point: most alchemy components come from the outer planes. Bottles of Paradise Water, Pieces of Stygian Coal, Chunks of Brimstone, and more are simply not available in Cordillera/Centrum. Being a brand new T2 is hard enough when first arriving in the other planes; I could not imagine a new player trying to find a portal to one of those planes and then walking there every time they want to craft a basic alchemy recipe.