I thought maybe to get people to have more variety in what perks they pick, to possibly think about merging or reworking some.
What got me thinking about this was the idea to Merge Alcoholic and Addict as they could easily fit as the same thing.
Just a though!
They're similar in reality, but they're also different in ways too. It could be argued that they're one and the same, but both tend to be unique to themselves. Although I think many believe they're both one and the same, I don't think they actually are. An Alcoholic for instance wont always want to do drugs and they have steps like addicts do to take in order to stay away from it, but with addicts they're also given different drugs to wean themselves off of the drugs where as an alcoholic doesn't really need to worry about it since only extreme alcoholics would need to wean themselves where as your average drug user would need to do so without completely crashing, ESPECIALLY when it comes to prescription drugs. If anything, I think the two perks could gain something on the side where others have no access to them such as Addicts gaining the ability to preserve herbs in order to get a fix later on. They may even be capable of even extending the length of the spells given through smoking herbs by mixing them together or by creating an herb that grants both spells for half the length of time that of the original herbs would. This would make the perk far more interesting to have since as is, it's not hard to get 30 herbs to stave off your addictions if you don't want that perk at all.
Another thing for Alcoholics could be the ability to create their own hootch that gives them the bonus of drinking rather than just any alcohol. This would make it so that perk is also desirable more than it already is. This could add flavor to the game more than hurt it and it would also mean that alcoholics when sober would have withdrawals after not drinking for so long and their ability to speak coherently would go down the shitter as well and only when they're at least mildly intoxicated by their own brew would they be able to be understood normally.
I've thought about those two for years and how lack luster they seem to be since a lot of the other perks are far more interesting in different ways, while those two specifically I have only seen a handful of characters with them. With those two changes alone, I could see people wanting to either play Halflings/Dwarves/Duergars more and possibly even see people at least intrigued by selecting the other two perks outside of those races..
Alcoholic used to be quite overpowered...now it is very bad. Could use some kind of rework...
4 hours ago, Tantangel said:
They're similar in reality, but they're also different in ways too. It could be argued that they're one and the same, but both tend to be unique to themselves.
They're one and the same because alcohol is a drug that you can get addicted to, and they're unique because every drug addiction manifests in unique ways and needs to be approached on its own terms. Alcoholism is a subset of drug addiction, not something distinct from it.
4 hours ago, Tantangel said:
An Alcoholic for instance wont always want to do drugs and they have steps like addicts do to take in order to stay away from it, but with addicts they're also given different drugs to wean themselves off of the drugs where as an alcoholic doesn't really need to worry about it since only extreme alcoholics would need to wean themselves where as your average drug user would need to do so without completely crashing, ESPECIALLY when it comes to prescription drugs.
Addictions to any drug exist on a spectrum of severity, as do accompanying withdrawal symptoms, and medications are used across the board when deemed necessary or helpful, including to help fight alcoholism. Weaning is avoided for street drugs largely due to practical and legal reasons: a doctor can't legally prescribe you cocaine or heroin, and relying on street suppliers for attaining a safe and consistently diminishing dosage that is only used under supervision is effectively impossible, so drugs that can be prescribed and have the benefit of regulated manufacturing and distribution are used instead. For some prescription drug addicts, supervised weaning may well be the proper course of action that a doctor will recommend, and support organizations providing such services exist. Your average drug user isn't even an addict - most drug users are casuals who enjoy partying once in a while or simply indulging here and there, just like the average drinker isn't an alcoholic; and just like with alcoholics, it is only the extreme users who generally need medical intervention.
As for the game suggestion, I tend to agree that the perks are somewhat redundant by real-world definition, but they do provide distinct gameplay uses as the game doesn't treat drunkenness the same way it treats herbal addiction, so perks aimed at enhancing the utility of being drunk vs the utility of herbs arguably shouldn't be the same thing - unless the merger provides significantly weaker versions of the two individually (mostly on the addict-side, if Celerity's judgment about alcoholic's utility is deemed accurate).
