Spell Name: Protègè
Cost: 5000 (Unless there is to be a "Scroll of Protègè" boss drop from, say, Blackguard Burton or even a Bodyguard or Chief Bodyguard, or some kind of scavenger-hunt-and-exchange style of crafting.)
Level: 24
Description: The Warriors of Light... the Protectors of Justice... many a Paladin have had this reputation bestowed upon them, for their role is not just defending their faith with sword and divine intervention, but also protecting the weak and supporting the courageous under their wing, sometimes to the point that Paladins will give their lives to see their protègès blossom into worthy citizens.
Mana Cost: 25
Stamina Cost: 1
Target: Any party member; not self-cast.
Function: For about 90 seconds, the casting Paladin will sometimes take the full damage of an attack aimed at the player who had the spell cast upon them. If the Paladin is to protect his or her protègè, the attack cannot be dodged, but can be armour-absorbed (unless it is a spell, in which case it can be resisted if it came from a player).
Criteria: The caster and the target must be in the same room for the effects to work; if the Paladin is killed, they can run back to the battle to continue protecting their protègès, assuming the spell hasn't worn off by the time they arrive back. The spell cannot be cast on a player if another Protègè spell is active upon them, either your own or that of another Paladin, and even if the caster and the target are no longer together.
Dependencies: The Paladin's chances of taking any damage intended for the protègè is increased with his or her level and Dexterity, and, for regular attacks, reduced with the attacker's accuracy - for enemy players, this is Dexterity, level, and support spells like Righteous Fury and Gaea's Blessing, while for monsters it is the accuracy multiplier (so you are unlikely to protect someone from a Drow Rogue); for spells, it depends entirely on the Paladin's stats. The target's stats have no effect on the outcome and the Paladin will still risk taking damage even if the hostile attack would have missed the original target.
Uses: Protègè's main uses will be to help low-level players train, and to protect fragile or important crits, like Clerics and Mages, during boss fights or Proficiency Tournaments. A single Paladin may cast Protègè on several crits simultaneously, but the risk there is that it costs a lot of mana and the Paladin will be taking damage for a lot of crits and so may not be able to keep themselves healed.
Notes: If a Paladin is killed protecting another player, the message in the local tavern will indicate that they were killed by whatever was attacking their protègè; if the attacker was a player, then this will also count as a PK, so sometimes, Protègè can be the Paladin's undoing.
There was talk once of the "Dispell" spell being able to remove buffs from players. If this is the case, then Protègè can be cancelled by Dispell sometimes as well (I feel that it should not be a 100% success rate, personally); note that casting it on the Paladin won't cancel the spell - it must be cast upon the protègès one-by-one.
Messages:
(For all messages, replace "protected him" with "protected her" etc. in the case of female crits.)
Cast:
Caster: You cast Protègè on Player, protecting him from enemy attacks.
Target: Paladin cast Protègè on you, protecting you from enemy attacks.
Witness: Paladin cast a spell on Player.
Expire:
Caster: You are no longer protecting Player.
Target: Paladin's Protègè has expired.
Witness: N/A
Deflected Attack (using the Ettin as an example):
Caster (Attack): An Ettin attacked Player with its Stone Club, but you protected him from 40 points of damage.
Target (Attack): An Ettin attacked you with its Stone Club, but Paladin protected you.
Witness (Attack): An Ettin attacked Player with its Stone Club, but Paladin protected him.
Caster (Spell): An Ettin stomps on Player, but you protected him from 40 points of damage.
Target (Spell): An Ettin stomps on you, but Paladin protected you.
Witness (Spell): An Ettin stomps on Player, but Paladin protected him.
EDIT: Grammar fix in description.
ADDENDUM: Message section, and note about Dispell.
FINAL NOTE: You can't protect a protègè if you are the one attacking him/her!
Edited by Crane, 14 June 2008 - 09:21 PM.
