Wondrous Wizard Levels – Skill tree overhaul

Uploaded · December 19, 2022

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Author: Ydok4

Last revision: 9 Jan, 2022 at 04:25 UTC

File size: 2.84 MB

Description:

Wondrous wizard levels is a skill tree overhaul bringing the wizard level mechanic from the tabletop to Total War: Warhammer.

Introduction

This was an idea that had been floating around in my head for a while. The original goal was to randomise the spells a character has available in order to force me to use spells I normally wouldn’t. When I began fleshing out the design of the mod I realised this would be an effective way to differentiate spellcasters within a faction and provide an incentive to choose the spellcaster variant of lords.

To achieve this, I have taken the Wizard Level mechanic from table top and made my own twists to it to better fit the style of Total War: Warhammer. So while this is inspired by the same table top mechanic, it is not exactly the same and characters may have different wizard levels than they did on the table top.

Since this system is mostly automatic (aside from upgrades) it works great with the AI since they play by the same rules.

Features overview

Wizard Levels

Each spellcaster in the vanilla game, as well as some supported by patches (See compatibility section) have a wizard level associated with them. The wizard level is the primary indicator of how powerful a spellcaster a character is. This influences the number of spells you have access to.

Starting Wizard Level

The skill tree of characters changes depending on their starting wizard level. In general, there are two main types of skill trees.

Hero spellcasters start at level 1 and have all of their level 1 spells (see below) unlocked by default. Skill points need to be spent to unlock a higher wizard level, more spells and improve their existing spells.

Lord spellcasters start at level 3 and have all the level 1 spells and level 3 spells unlocked by default. Skill points can be spent to increase their wizard level or upgrade existing skills.

Spell Level

To better fit with the skill trees in Total War: Warhammer, I’ve divided spells into three categories. This includes:
-The ‘Signature spell’ of a lore. This is the starting spell a character has in the vanilla game.

For the above Light Wizard skill tree, the Signature Spell is Shem’s burning gaze.

-The ‘Level 1’ spells. These are the next 3 lowest spells in the vanilla skill trees.

For the same Light Wizard, the highlighted spells are the outlined level 1 spells.

-The ‘Level 3’ spells. Named so because Level 3 wizards have these unlocked by default.

For the Light Wizard, because their starting level is 1. The level 3 spells are locked until they unlock Wizard Level 2 and put skill points into the spells.

Note: Skill trees may differ between characters due to their starting wizard level or special rules.

Spell Generation – Standard

Spell generation is the primary feature of the mod. Each turn a character will generate spells depending on their wizard level (exceptions may apply) and their lore(s) of magic. Unlocking a Wizard Level skill will also regenerate spells for that character.

For characters with one lore of magic they will gain:
1. Their lore attribute, eg for Fire magic, Kindleflame.
2. Their lore’s signature spell, eg for Fire magic, Fireball
3. A number of spells equal to their wizard level, that they have unlocked.

3. Is where it will vary depending on the character type and number of skills unlocked. The best way to explain this is with a couple of examples.

On turn 1, a new hero spellcaster will gain the skills outlined in 1. and 2. receive 1 additional level 1 spell. This is because they only have level 1 spells unlocked by default. Over the course of the campaign, this character will level up and unlock their level 2 wizard level and then will have 2 spells available per turn. Assuming they unlock the level 3 spells in their lore, those spells may be generated each turn.

^ These are the spells generated for a Level 1 Heavens Damsel. You can see they have their lore attribute (Rolling skies), their signature spell (Harmonic convergence) and a randomly chosen level 1 spell (Urannon’s thunderbolt).

On turn 1, a new lord spell caster will gain the skills outlined in 1. and 2. And receive 3 additional spells chosen from the level 1 and level 3 spells. This is because they have all spells unlocked by default. Over the course of the campaign, this character will level up and eventually unlock their level 4 wizard level and then will have 4 spells available per turn. This will increase the number of extra spells available to 4 per turn.
Note: Characters who are level 3 or higher are guaranteed at least 1 level 3 spell.

^ These are the spells generated for a Level 3 Life Prophetess. She has a lore attribute (Lifebloom), signature spell (Awakening of the Wood), 2 level 1 spells (life bloom and flesh to stone) and 1 level 3 spell (regrowth).