Increase points cost for some professions

[kenoxite]

• Punk rock girl up to 4 (you start with lots of items, including trenchcoat and mp3 player)
• Otaku up to 4 (you also start with lots of items, including sewing kit, food and a messenger bag)
• Junkie bonus up to -2 (the other addicts were updated, but not this - it should get some love too, as addictions lead inevitably to common diseases)
• Chef up to 3 (butcher knife and cooking lvl 3, the highest skill bonus with a difference)

[i2amroy]

I agree with the changes for Chef, Junkie, and Punk rock girl. (I might suggest dropping the chef cooking skill down to 2 as well).

I'd probably only raise Otaku up to 3, since the shorts and tank top are both worse then the normal unemployed items.

[kenoxite]

Otaku: a messenger bag (probably the best 0 encumbrance wearable container) plus a sewing kit (a must for any character) more than balance some brief chilly legs and arms, particularly when you'll get proper clothing once you hit the first house or kill your first zombie. Not to mention the extra food. So I would still go for 4.

[i2amroy]

Point. I had thought that messenger bags were 1 encumbrance, 4 points gets my vote.

[kenoxite]

As an aside, I don't know if you're aware that the email notifications use your (supposedly) real name instead of your nick. I thought it was worth mentioning it, in case you care about these things.

[kenoxite]

More:

• Drug Dealer up to 3: free Glock, hoodie (extra cargo) plus cocaine (easy get-outs) but no addiction. To keep being a 1 this should give you a coke addiction of intensity 10.

TBH all the professions that give you some kind of drug should make you addict to those substances, if only moderately. Otherwise, why would you be carrying them in what's supposed to be a quick "grab all the essential" run to the shelter?

[i2amroy]

As an aside, I don't know if you're aware that the email notifications use your (supposedly) real name instead of your nick. I thought it was worth mentioning it, in case you care about these things.

I'm well aware, similar to how Kevin uses his real name (it just happens that the only difference between his real name and screen name is a space and some caps :P).

[yobbobanana]

Another imbalance: Electrician costs 3 points and gives you a tool belt and a level in electronics. Tinkerer costs 3 points and gives you a tool belt and a level in electronics, mechanics, tailoring and carpentry.

[KA101]

I'm just gonna point out that a char point in a skill is two levels--generally counters the easy-to-read books, too.

Truth be told, I've never been convinced to move off Unemployed. Stats and traits are just too valuable to blow points elsewhere. Making fun-sounding professions even more expensive ain't gonna help that, people. :-(

[ianestrachan]

Profession skill points stack with other skill points, which can make them more valuable if you coordinate skills with professions.

[i2amroy]

I'd actually probably decrease electrician point cost down to 2.

As for tinkerer I'd probably keep tinkerer the same, if you translate it into normal points you are basically paying 2 points for the skills (4 skills at .5 points per skill) and 1 point for the toolbelt.

[Rivet-the-Zombie]

Setting a profession's cost to anything over two seems excessive to me. If a profession costs as many starting points as the quick trait, it's probably not going to see much use.

[kenoxite]

If a profession costs as many starting points as the quick trait, it's probably not going to see much use

Quite probably.

Actually, the main problem with some new professions is that they just give you too much stuff. Another approach to balance all this would be to remove items from them, and/or give them new drawbacks (suck as addictions, see my post above), instead of upping their point cost.

Also, I've noticed that the original professions weren't properly updated after skills and other perks where added to this feature. For instance, Tailor and wannabe mechanic give you both a single magazine (which brings the respective skills up to 1, but you have to read them first), while the rest of "named" professions (professions clearly tied to skills) give you the skills right off the bat.

But for general and more precise balance, I think all this professions feature should be systematized somehow, so it doesn't feel like it's based on subjectivity. Something like: each skill point granted costs 0.5 points, each 10 intensity addiction gives you 1 bonus point, 0 encumbrance containers cost 1.5, 1 enc containers cost 1, etc.

[i2amroy]

The general system I've been using currently is: 1) Clothing/armor costs .5-1 points for better clothing then the unemployed profession (flippable for worse) 2) Skills cost .5 points each 3) Rarer/more useful tools (such as the ax) cost 1 point each. Backpacks/equivalents go in this category 4) More common/less useful tools (such as sewing kit or binoculars) cost .5 points each

I haven't quite nailed down what to do for addictions. I'd probably do something like .5 points for each 5 intensity of addiction, but I haven't experimented enough with them to have a firm sense of balance yet.

[kenoxite]

That sounds about right, including the addictions.

Maybe this should go into the instructions file for creating professions, if it isn't included already.

[ianestrachan]

Can probably be closed now that #3275 is merged.

[Zireael07]

Is the general system outlined above mentioned in MODDING.md?