A distinct lack of Andrew Lloyd Webber

[QES]

Alright, so Im not sure where this is going.

I'm sure that thrills you all to no end.

The thing of it is, I am a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera.
<Insert Flame here>

And dark fantasy is a particular favorite of mine (hence the undying love of FfH). But there isnt that overwhelming sense of ..well, DOOM yet.
The Overture of the Phantom has that quality of Grabbing you by your man parts, without asking your premission, and saying something akin to "Welcome to the last show you'll ever see.."

Now, if you've never been to a perfect rendition of the Phantom, or dont particularly enjoy that sort of experiance, buzz off, and forget you saw this thread.

But I was thinking of how cool it would be that after Tech X is discovered, some random little invisable unit perhaps named..."the phantom" in homage, could sneak into everyone's cities and cause havoc. The only trick is, you'd need a special unit/units? That would roust him from your city, and send him gallavanting away. He'd NEVER die. He'd just reappear elsewhere after a few turns and cause havoc again.

My thoughts are that while he is in a city, buildings get strange modifiers. Specifically anything to do with, well theatrics, or populace control would be his playthings.

Sample Ideas:

Carnival/Festival - Caged Animals are Loosed, immediately, and -2 Happiness, -2 Gold while phantom is in the city.

Theatre - -4 Gold, -2 Happiness, Doubles War Weariness; all while in city

Arena/Hippodrome - -4 Food (Horses are oddly fattened), -2 Gold while in city.

Palace - Anarchy while in city

Brewery - Specialists do nothing. - 2 Gold while in city.

Temples(all) - -2 Gold and +2 Unhealthiness with insense, while in city. (Dont ask what he's doing with the insense.)


The Basic Solution to this Trickster/Phantom is to bring a hero (any hero) into the city where he is. Now, you have to be able to see him before this should work, so a recon unit would also be necessary. Then once, moved into the city, the hero instantly "wins". The phantom unit is never destroyed, it's just randomly teleported somewhere else on the map (In someones boarders - so that he doesnt get stranded on some island somewhere.)

Thus he'd continue on forever. Creepy, and fun. Perhaps a quest could be associeated with him later. I see it as a multi teired quest, and perhaps while seemingly harmless he'd wind up being one of the most facinating continuous quests in the game.

Just a thought.
Sleepy time now.
<yawn> Masquerade....paper faces on parade, Masquerade, where the world will never find you.....<yawn>
-Qes

 

[Sureshot]

you broke your own "yes pants" rule!

 

[QES]

you broke your own "yes pants" rule!

the man parts quote? Have you ever been to a good show of the Phantom? Pants wont save you. I fully meant that while the pants are ON.
-Qes

EDIT: To further retort, to say "man parts' Is ambiguous. It implies you generally know what your grabbing, but can never be certain, as if something is blocking the view. I submit that this "vale of ambiguity" is, in fact, pants. While pants are in place, such as in accordance to Pants rule section A, grabbing is still possible, but without any sense of certainty for what the eventual outcome might be. Therfore, legally, the pants rule was not broken, as Section A was not violated.

 

[QES]

It would also be cool if each time the Barbarian Phantom entered a City, a little snipit of the Overture played. Perhaps a manaical cackle of laughter very softly pericing through the music.
-Qes

 

[khanjackal]

a good adventure system could easily take something like this into consideration

i see things like this being perfect for the later stages of mod development

however

the problem is for civs who don't get a hero until the endgame, that goes for all possible quests

what would cardith lorda do, his hero doesn't even have the hero promotion! and if the dwarves don't get runes, they have to wait until the very late game to get maros

however, the solution isn't to make all the heroes equal, as it's a great balance situation to say "the kuriotates are weaker than the lsjofaar, but when quest time kicks in, their 5 strength archer is NOT going to be able to compete with the Gold Dragon"

 

[QES]

I full expect the Phantom to be more dangerous to some than others. I see perpantach as being nearly invincable, same with the Grigori. But other less hero dependant civs would/could worry about the pressence of the phantom.

Bare in mind, that I dont think the phantom would be available from the beginning, so if he was "spawned" when someone discovered "Drama", thats well on the way to already having, or being near getting some heros.

Perhaps the "trickster" unit could depend on the alignment of the person who discovered Drama first?

Good - Don Quan
Neutral - Phantom of the Opera
Evil - Marquis de Sade

Perhaps its controlable by the person who discovered drama? I personally like the idea that is more of a Barbarian causing EVERYONE problems.

But each alignment type spawn could have different results.
The Phantom could have the above
Don Quan could steal units in a city (turn them barbarian on X% chance per turn)
The Marque De Sade, could have a % chance of eliminating population points (2% per specialist in the city? per turn?)

Different nastyness.

Still...I just really want my Phantom.
-Qes

 

[QES]

AH! I GOT IT!

What IM basically envisioning is Barbarian Great People.
Only instead of "Great" people, they're Trickster/Villan people.

Perhaps a long list of VERY unique interesting Badguys, who arnt combat based, could be developed, each having a unique flavor/taste. And when barbarian cities grow, they've a chance to produce a great person, but instead of being a contructive tool, they're chaotic and destructive in nature.
-Qes

 

[puck11b]

The Marque De Sade, could have a % chance of eliminating population points (2% per specialist in the city? per turn?)

And gives one happy face to any culture with the slavery civic....

 

[BeefontheBone]

That's the Marquis de Sade, not the Marque de Sade - that'd be what you'd be left with after encountering him

Also, if your trousers are a "vale of ambiguity" those are some large trousers you're wearing

 

[lostkitten13]

AH! I GOT IT!

What IM basically envisioning is Barbarian Great People.
Only instead of "Great" people, they're Trickster/Villan people.

Perhaps a long list of VERY unique interesting Badguys, who arnt combat based, could be developed, each having a unique flavor/taste. And when barbarian cities grow, they've a chance to produce a great person, but instead of being a contructive tool, they're chaotic and destructive in nature.
-Qes

Barbarian great people? but aren't barbarians just a bunch of animals, orcs, goblins, and giants? Why would they have 'something' cool like the phantom? Though, I must admit...I likie orcs and goblins, they kill some of my best warriors and I guess they could use some improvements...

 

[QES]

That's the Marquis de Sade, not the Marque de Sade - that'd be what you'd be left with after encountering him

Also, if your trousers are a "vale of ambiguity" those are some large trousers you're wearing

Thank you, it was late and such at night, wasnt spelling correctly. I also Initially spelled Masquerade as Mascarade. It was a long day/night.

I fixed it.
-Qes

 

[QES]

And gives one happy face to any culture with the slavery civic....

I suppose that would fit the theme, but the idea is that they're JUST antithetical to any/all civs. To a point where they must be delt with.

-Qes

 

[QES]

Barbarian great people? but aren't barbarians just a bunch of animals, orcs, goblins, and giants? Why would they have 'something' cool like the phantom? Though, I must admit...I likie orcs and goblins, they kill some of my best warriors and I guess they could use some improvements...

I suspect they'll get cooler as the development continues. Monsters and prime villans and such. Maybe not. But hopefully barbarains also will be "fleshed out" a bit.
-Qes