As i see it Crom is an opt out for the religion mechanic in the game and that is how i would like it to be implemented.
I know the lore for Crom states that he does not help his followers so lore wise the current system is perfectly lore friendly, the problem is it isn’t game play friendly and as a result is pretty much pointless.
if i as a player choose set as my religion there is nothing forcing me to build a set alter so i can opt out just by not building one. so Crom is still utterly pointless.
My suggestion/s is that if you choose Crom as your religion you get:
- Pre Level 60 - Adversity
Choosing Crom as a religion will give your character a permanent EXP debuff, down to 1% of normal.
at level 1 within the Religion Feat tree you will automatically unlock the “Crom Stone Tools” these have the exact same harvest rate as normal but will have a higher cost to build and be alot heavier BUT it will give you a 10% exp boost when using them.
this will extend to Crom Armour and Weapons, each being expensive and heavy but allowing you to level up.
i would suggest the weapons give a 20% exp buff so fighting will be the best way to level up.
the idea here is to make the game Pre level 60 very difficult to play with the additional weight of gear forcing players to spec into endurance and the leveling advantage of fighting making the spec into Strength preferable.
these only give exp buffs to Crom worshipers.
if a player learns another religion before 60 they lose the exp debuff and carry on as per normal
- Level 60 - Blessings
at level 60 the player receives a permanent buff to Endurance and strength
- Religion Nullification.
the idea here is at level 60 you can learn a feat to build a “Statue to Crom”
this statue will be difficult to build (i suggest you need one arch-priest from all other religions to make one) and will nullify all other religions within a radius.
the idea here is if you build one of these statues you are immune to enemy Avatar’s and they will be forced to attack you with physical means. this “nullification zone” will not prevent treb, orb or explosive arrows.
to prevent this being exploited by clans as a free protection this statue will nullify all friendly alters within a HUGE radius preventing them from being placed at all or if they are placed all crafting within them cut off so they are purely decorative.
this nullification will not cut off alters not owned by your clan, this to prevent them from being placed to spite other clans.
these statues will have fairly low HP so easy to destroy if an enemy can get access to it and once destroyed the nullification aura is lifted and avatars can be summoned.
as a balancing mechanic i would say these Statues are “Fed” by other religion priests. (Not lore friendly but game play friendly) with priests of different tiers lasting longer (a few days for an arch priest to a few hours with a priest)
if a player learns a new religion after level 60 they keep the attribute buffs but their purge bar will permanently be filled faster with a high chance of getting a “Crom Purge” these purges will have no thralls and will be very difficult to manage without any way of stopping them apart from starting again from level 1 (Harsh but fair).
the idea here is to make Crom a more “Hardcore” version of playing the game before 60 to prove the players strength and allow the player to receive benefits later while at the same time the Nullification aura allows player that chose to opt out of religion to stay that way without worrying about a clan calling up a few avatars and wiping you off the map.
Furthermore, you will find a whole bunch of lore referenced facts contained within in Post no9. I have to head off to work in a moment, but I will return and talk Crom with you some more when I get off.
