I've been thinking about various ways to get unconventional gameplay out of current AC mechanics once we have 'new tech' at our disposal... and one of them is stealth action sequences. :D
Correct me if I'm wrong, players/devs, but I think the following could be done entirely with current tech:
-Mobs with set patrol paths. Extremely strong mobs; one punch and you're dead.
-These mobs have an extremely low aggro radius.
-The mobs are immune to magic and ranged damage, and carry shields that negate all damage from the front. A single hit from the back, however (even if you're not a melee), will kill them (or at least, would kill the smaller mobs -- for design reasons, you might want to have some patrols that are invulnerable, others that can be taken out stealthily).
-There are separate, immobile mobs that function like "Security Cameras" (though obviously with a more magical bent) -- these don't actually attack, but they have a larger aggro radius, and if you step near them all the other mobs will be aggroed (chained aggro like this is 100% within the tech as I understand it).
And finally, the one part I'm not sure can be done with current tech:
-As the mobs walk around their patrol routes, the mobs periodically cast an invisible volley spell (ideally, sped up so it flies at the speed of a streak, but a spell with volley characteristics and streak speed might not be possible, those characteristics might be mutually exclusive in the spell database for all I know) that would simulate their "line of sight" -- if you're hit by it, the guards saw you, and you're caught. Since volley spells are non-targeted, it could work...
The last part would be the coolest, I think, but how it's implemented would depend a lot on what's doable in the tech:
-If it's impossible to have a mob on patrol periodically cast a volley spell, then okay, you only get the 'peekaboo' aspect of stealth gameplay, but that's still something... you could call them Blind Uber-Golems, for all intents and purposes, to explain away why they can't see past their nose.
If it's possible to have the mob cast the volley, though, what happens when the volley hits a player? Would that cause the monster to go aggro against that player, even if they're not within the mob's aggro range?
-If so, the mob's only ranged attack could be a 'teleport the player to jail' spell, a-la Aerfalle's banishment spell.
-If not, the volley spell would be a one-shot KO, and the "have the monster message players they kill" tech could then be used to send a message explaining that the golem saw you and promptly beat you to a bloody pulp.
With this sort of implementation, you can construct some interesting scenarios... "The Big Bad Guy has surrounded himself with incredibly powerful guards in his castle! They'd tear us to shreds in combat, we'll have to sneak our way in..." sort of stuff.
Correct me if I'm wrong, players/devs, but I think the following could be done entirely with current tech:
-Mobs with set patrol paths. Extremely strong mobs; one punch and you're dead.
-These mobs have an extremely low aggro radius.
-The mobs are immune to magic and ranged damage, and carry shields that negate all damage from the front. A single hit from the back, however (even if you're not a melee), will kill them (or at least, would kill the smaller mobs -- for design reasons, you might want to have some patrols that are invulnerable, others that can be taken out stealthily).
-There are separate, immobile mobs that function like "Security Cameras" (though obviously with a more magical bent) -- these don't actually attack, but they have a larger aggro radius, and if you step near them all the other mobs will be aggroed (chained aggro like this is 100% within the tech as I understand it).
And finally, the one part I'm not sure can be done with current tech:
-As the mobs walk around their patrol routes, the mobs periodically cast an invisible volley spell (ideally, sped up so it flies at the speed of a streak, but a spell with volley characteristics and streak speed might not be possible, those characteristics might be mutually exclusive in the spell database for all I know) that would simulate their "line of sight" -- if you're hit by it, the guards saw you, and you're caught. Since volley spells are non-targeted, it could work...
The last part would be the coolest, I think, but how it's implemented would depend a lot on what's doable in the tech:
-If it's impossible to have a mob on patrol periodically cast a volley spell, then okay, you only get the 'peekaboo' aspect of stealth gameplay, but that's still something... you could call them Blind Uber-Golems, for all intents and purposes, to explain away why they can't see past their nose.
If it's possible to have the mob cast the volley, though, what happens when the volley hits a player? Would that cause the monster to go aggro against that player, even if they're not within the mob's aggro range?
-If so, the mob's only ranged attack could be a 'teleport the player to jail' spell, a-la Aerfalle's banishment spell.
-If not, the volley spell would be a one-shot KO, and the "have the monster message players they kill" tech could then be used to send a message explaining that the golem saw you and promptly beat you to a bloody pulp.
With this sort of implementation, you can construct some interesting scenarios... "The Big Bad Guy has surrounded himself with incredibly powerful guards in his castle! They'd tear us to shreds in combat, we'll have to sneak our way in..." sort of stuff.