[IDEA] Thu'um mechanics... improvements/additions

[Rowan]

There are some spoilers here, so beware

Critterman and I were working on a Thu'um mod for Oblivion called Children of the Sky but it was never released. It appears we were ahead of the curve though link to the old WIPz thread here:

Overall I'm very pleased with how they implemented the Thu'um in Skyrim, but there are a couple of things I would like to improve/add...

For reference:

The book "Children of the Sky"

Nords consider themselves to be the children of the sky. They call Skyrim the Throat of the World, because it is where the sky exhaled on the land and formed them. They see themselves as eternal outsiders and invaders, and even when they conquer and rule another people; they feel no kinship with them.

The breath and the voice are the vital essence of a Nord. When they defeat great enemies they take their tongues as trophies. These are woven into ropes and can hold speech like an enchantment. The power of a Nord can be articulated into a shout, like the kiai of an Akaviri swordsman. The strongest of their warriors are called "Tongues." When the Nords attack a city, they take no siege engines or cavalry; the Tongues form in a wedge in front of the gatehouse, and draw in breath. When the leader lets it out in a kiai, the doors are blown in, and the axemen rush into the city. Shouts can be used to sharpen blades or to strike enemies. A common effect is the shout that knocks an enemy back, or the power of command. A strong Nord can instill bravery in men with his battle-cry, or stop a charging warrior with a roar. The greatest of the Nords can call to specific people over hundreds of miles, and can move by casting a shout, appearing where it lands.

The most powerful Nords cannot speak without causing destruction. They must go gagged, and communicate through a sign language and through scribing runes.

The further north you go into Skyrim, the more powerful and elemental the people become, and the less they require dwellings and shelters. Wind is fundamental to Skyrim and the Nords; those that live in the far wastes always carry a wind with them.

the book, "The Way of the Voice"

"The Nords have long practiced a spiritual form of magic known as "The Way of the Voice", based largely on their veneration of the Wind as the personification of Kynareth. Nords consider themselves to be the children of the sky, and the breath and the voice of a Nord is his vital essence. Through the use of the Voice, the vital power of a Nord can be articulated into a thu'um, or shout. Shouts can be used to sharpen blades or to strike enemies at a distance. Masters of the Voice are known as Tongues, and their power is legendary. They can call to specific people over hundreds of miles, and can move by casting a shout, appearing where it lands. The most powerful Tongues cannot speak without causing destruction. They must go gagged, and communicate through a sign language and through scribing runes.

In the days of the Conquest of Morrowind and the founding of the First Empire, the great Nord war chiefs - Derek the Tall, Jorg Helmbolg, Hoag Merkiller - were all Tongues. When they attacked a city, they needed no siege engines; the Tongues would form up in a wedge in front of the gatehouse, and draw in breath. When the leader let it out in a thu'um, the doors were blown in, and the axemen rushed into the city. Such were the men that forged the First Empire. But, alas for the Nords, one of the mightiest of all the Tongues, Jurgen Windcaller (or The Calm, as he is better known today), became converted to a pacifist creed that denounced use of the Voice for martial exploits. His philosophy prevailed, largely due to his unshakable mastery of the Voice -- his victory was sealed in a legendary confrontation, where The Calm is said to have "swallowed the Shouts" of seventeen Tongues of the militant school for three days until his opponents all lay exhausted (and then became his disciples). Today, the most ancient and powerful of the Tongues live secluded on the highest peaks in contemplation, and have spoken once only in living memory, to announce the destiny of the young Tiber Septim (as recounted in Cyrodiil). In gratitude, the Emperor has recently endowed a new Imperial College of the Voice in Markarth, dedicated to returning the Way of the Voice to the ancient and honorable art of war. So it may be that the mighty deeds of the Nord heroes of old will soon be equaled or surpassed on the battlefields of the present day."

My ideas:

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• You are unable to swallow your opponent's Thu'um. I'd love to grant the player the ability to "swallow" a dragon's or a draugr's shout and use it to recharge their own shouts maybe with a keypress such as X. Your chance at successfully swallowing their shout would be dependent on several factors such as your own mastery of the particular shout you are trying to swallow and your difference in level.
  
  
• Although there is a Fear shout there isn't a Courage shout that I'm aware of.
  
  
• No implementation of the tongue lore. I'd like dragon tongues and even draugr tongues to be a lootable item that can buff your shout power in some way when used properly such as strung into a charm necklace or even consumed.
  
  
• The damage of the fire and frost Thu'ums are static and mostly useless at higher levels and on higher difficulty. I'd love it if there was a way to increase the damage in a balanced way so that they remain a viable weapon... maybe by investing additional dragon souls or using the tongues.
  
  
• The only shouts I ever use with my level 80 character on master difficulty are the slow time, whirlwind sprint, unrelenting force, aura whisper, elemental fury, and become ethereal. The rest aren't really useful. Even the call dragon shout doesn't help!! on master difficulty the dragon seems to do very little damage at all and never does instant kills :/ You also can't ride him anymore and he doesn't talk to you!
  
  
• I would like the more powerful dragons such as the ancient dragon to be more skilled with the voice, i.e. be able to use some of the other shouts like the slow time shout, or the unrelenting force shout, or the disarm shout. As it is they are fairly easy to kill even on master difficulty. I'd like them to also have a chance of swallowing your shouts and turning them against you so that maybe dragonrend isn't 100% successful every time (ignoring bugs >.> ) and that you can't always render the dragons immobile with the slow time shout.
  
  
• The ability to open locked chests and doors with the unrelenting force shout up to a max of an adept lock... maybe somehow we could actually blast the door off it's hinges, or animate the chest so it opens in a rough manner.
  
  
• The ability to use extra dragon souls for SOMETHING. I've unlocked all the shouts and I'd like to put those 30 some souls to good use. A few ideas: able to put the souls toward level XP so you can go beyond the level 81 cap , able to further improve even fully unlocked shouts, extract the souls from your body for use in recharging weapons or enchanting. That could be done through a separate shout the player can learn that transfers a dragon soul into a soul gem or a weapon or armor.
  
  
• All of these changes could be more fully appreciated and utilized if there were a quest involved. For example, maybe create a rebel faction of greybeard type people who view the Thu'um as a means to attain power like the dragons. This would give the player the opportunity to face others of their kind on more or less equal footing.
  
  
• The book Way of the Voice (which btw doesn't appear in Skyrim) mentioned a school for the voice starting up in Markarth but there wasn't one in the game. This could be a part of the above quest idea and they could be at conflict with the greybeards. The ability to swallow your opponent's Thu'um should be learned through a quest I believe as that would be much more fun.
  
  
• The addition of certain "Songs of Power". Rather than shouting, your character will actually sing. I imagine it sounding like some of the in-game Nordic choirs. The effects of these songs might be sustained fire or frost breath, telekinesis like effects which can even be used on NPCs, levitation, increased running speed, etc... this seems like it might be one of the more difficult things to implement but it could be really neat if done properly. The inspiration for this idea is from the Terry Brooks novel "The Wishsong of Shannara" here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wishsong_of_Shannara The question would be how to keep it balanced and how to integrate it into the existing shout system.
  
  
  

what are your thoughts?

Edited January 12, 2012 by Rowan