Potions

[Severus]

Potions were a key part of all of the films in some way or other, whether it was actual potions which aided the development of the plot or the characters who were involved with potions. TWC has no potions. Now, this could be changed.

There is a small element of 'chemistry' (or whatever) as a quest requires a Salamander Drop Wand to receive Bombarda treatment in order to gain 'Potion Ingredients'. This small concept actually opens up a catalogue of ideas.

Firstly, it could enhance training. So far there are 2 primary ways to increase level: book reading and stat training. However, this could be expanded with the use of creating your own potions which could either enhance level or individual stats; or separate potions for both. New items could be attained around TWC either through killing new/existing monsters, completing new quests, events or shops - and treated as potential potion ingredients. The combination of two items could create a specific consumable item which enhances a stat (either permanently or temporarily). Also, there could be combinations of items which make consumables have the reverse effect on a temporary scale such as making you go back to Level 1 for 5 minutes or something.

Secondly, it could open up the option for new spells. New spells is something everyone loves. Bombarda/Reparo could be moved to the Potions subject, so could some new spells which create rituals (spells which enable items to actually mix) or allow certain potions in vision to have reverse effects. Also, a spell to destroy potions and make them null - then a spell to revive them. There are many different spells that could be added with thought.

Furthermore more potions could be made for effects other than purely stat based. They could just be for fun or game ability other than stats. The Pyramid Bean is a good example of one. In the Goblet of Fire, Victor Krum's head turns in to a Shark, and Harry uses Guilliweed (unsure how to spell it) to be allowed to swim underwater - this in TWC could be implemented so that instead of flying they could enter water and perhaps duel on water, or go underneath the water and fight new monsters (new map, again more content addition) etc etc. Other potions could be added to slow down the movement of a player, or perhaps Liquid Luck which could increase exp/gold/sp from monster kills or a higher probability that a golden snitch comes near you in Quidditch.

Potions is something that could add more interest and 'content' to TWC which has been craved for a while by the players - it's going to be another contributing factor to ensuring new players stay by having alternative avenues for them to explore. This idea would obviously need some thorough thinking with regards to the extent of what each potion can do and the rules. However, this idea is possible, could work and overall would be fun.

Thanks for reading.

[Lucifer]

Potions hasn't been added because nobody has come up with a system that would work with the TWC source. I've tried, Murrawhip has, others too. We'd need to work with Murrawhip in creating the system itself to make sure it's plausible.

We'd need to plan out the foundation first, then every single aspect of it (ie: Item X comes from Y and is used for Z) before even considering icons. I'd be willing to help with this if we can arrange a meeting time with Murrawhip to brainstorm and create it together on Google Documents or something.

[Severus]

Ah, I see.

The meeting sounds good, note I can't code, however I'd be willing to attend a meeting to help put foundation ideas across.

[Rotem]

I don't see why you would need to hold a meeting or use Google Documents, that beats the purpose of having a Suggestion board.

This board is meant for people to brainstorm and discuss the ideas, you're meant to design 'potions' here.

When I want to add something new, I start asking myself questions about how it will be.

• The first question that pops in my head is How do I make a potion? I have a cauldron and I do what with it? Throw things in? If so, how do I throw them in... do I mouse drag items from my inventory to the cauldron? etc.
  
  Let's assume I figured out how cauldrons work and I placed 2 ingredients in the cauldron, what happens then? Would some chemistry reaction happen?
  
  
• In the previous question we've mentioned ingredients but how do I get those? This can mean also adding "herbology".
  
  You can grow plants, find them at certain areas or kill monsters for potion ingredients but this too have to be designed fully.
  
  
• At this point, we have to think about the actual content.
  What ingredients are there? What reactions will they have if mixed with other ingredients. (Or perhaps what effects they have on their own)
  
  What potions should we have? This can be a lot of things, I'd love to see some interesting ideas but you have to remember we are working with what we have in TWC.
  

At this point, every member of the forum can reply here and develop those ideas further.
Make sure to write as many details as possible, suggesting things like "add undead potion" won't help at all.

*Those questions are only pointers for your brain to start thinking, you can ask yourself other questions and come up with other concepts.

[Severus]

Okay, so:

• Potions - the creation process

Firstly, cauldrons would be required. Obviously there are a few around Hogwarts, most notably in the potions class.
Students/players would right click the cauldron they wished to use, then;
- An option becomes available straight away in the right hand click menu (along with things such as Wingardium) and says "Use Cauldron" - it can also be a command "Use Cauldron" or just "Use".
- Then, a pop up window comes up with your available ingredients (saying something such as, "In your inventory, you have the following ingredients: Ingredient X, Ingredient Y, Ingredient Z" in list format) which they can select to 'add' to the cauldron. This begins a 'mix'.
- After the selection of the first ingredient, they must 'add' a second ingredient, either manually or through a second pop up window directly after adding the first ingredient (they can then have the choice to also go on to add third, fourth - and perhaps a maximum of five ingredients?).
- They then require a spell (Spell X) to cast a ritual which performs the creation of a potion. If the ingredients 'match', then they are notified saying "You have created (Potion X), right-click your cauldron to collect it."
- Similar to the system of opening treasure chests, they right click the cauldron and click "Collect" which can then say "You have collected your (Potion X), success!" just as in a treasure chest it says "You've found a (Item X)!".
- However, if the ingredients do not 'match', then the notification can say "You have not managed to create (Potion X), work on your potion skills!"
- After they have failed to make a Potion, they do not get the option to retrieve their ingredients. Again, like a treasure chest, when they go to 'Collect', they will be notified saying "You look inside the cauldron, you find nothing."
- Failed Potion making could also in some rare situations have bad side affects - such as death, a permanently red face (could be countered with a P&H spell, see my 'Potions and Herbology' point for more detail), loss of gold, loss of exp, etc.
- Potions created are stored directly in their player inventory.

• Collecting Ingredients

Ingredients will obviously be required. The names of which are not important until we work out their function and what potions they can contribute to. Some ingredients can potentially contribute to more than one potion. Ingredients should also vary in rarity and value according to how many potions they can contribute to AND which actual potion they can make. Ingredients do not necessarily need to be herbs; they can be crystals, diamonds, dragon tails, other animal/creature tails, sticks, stones, ancient brick, etc. Also, herbs can be added, such as leaves - maybe different types of leaves - as well as grass, lily-pads, flowers, etc.
Ingredients can be obtained by players in many different ways. Firstly, common ingredients - and low value ones - could be bought in either Diagon or Hogsmeade - maybe with Divo or Zonko. Other ingredients could be obtained by new monsters. Maybe a group of dragons could be added of different species with different difficulties - only 3 different species would be necessary. For example, every 1/8 kills of the weaker dragon species could leave an ingredient where they died - maybe a basic ingredient such as a 'Flake of Dragon Skin'. For the middle strength species, it could be every 1/20 kills, with it leaving behind something such as a 'Dragon Scale'. For the strongest species, they could leave behind an ingredient every 1/80 kills, with it leaving a Dragon Tail or something. Existing monsters could also leave behind ingredients, spiders could leave Spider Venom, pixies could leave Pixie Dust, fire bats could leave Nocturnal Rods (or something lol) and the Basilisk could leave behind a Basilisk Fang. The Basilisk Fang could either be used as an ingredient OR to destroy potions - perhaps both?
A further way of obtaining them could be by obtaining them in Admin Events - increasing their value. Some could also be bought in the Event Shop on special offer such as the Pyramid Bean.
Also, some items could be converted to ingredients, as previously mentioned the 'Salamander Drop Wand'. These items would require specific spells to be converted, for example 'Bombarda'.

• Potions and Herbology

Given that we need to maintain a good player to staff ratio, at this point it seems we do not necessarily need to add staff. Given we have two GCOM professors, one could be changed or the entire staff could be rotated so that we have a staff member who could teach the whole subject of 'Potions & Herbology' (PAH, P&H, PH are potential abbreviations).
This subject would teach the spell required to create potions, the ritual spell I mentioned in the Potion Creating Process point. Also, spells it could teach would be ones to reverse side effects (also mentioned in the first bullet point) as well as spells which can trigger ingredients to become active; for example, an ingredient may require to become wet before use, you could drop the ingredient and cast a spell 'Slimus' (complete example, I do not expect this spell to be made, lol) which can make it wet and slippery, thus enabling it to be used in a 'mix'. Other concepts for spells could be easily thought of to do with Potions and Herbology.
A unique point about P&H could be that you are not necessarily taught a spell in the lesson - instead you are taught how to combine ingredients effectively, any spells required during this process could however be taught.

• Potions

Potential potions:
- Health/MP restore Potion
- Temporary Stat Enhancement Potion
- Permanent Stat Enhancement Potion
- Permanent Level Enhancement Potion
- Temporary Ability to see Invisible people Potion
- Temporary Gender change prank Potion
- Ability to Swim Potion
- Ability to Imitate Potion
- Temporary Ability to One-hit KO Monsters Potion
- Teleport Potion
- Luck Potion - increase probability of snitch catching, gold/exp/stat increase from monster kills
- Occlumens related Potion
- Temporary Appearance change potion - for example, a Shark head (Victor Krum style) which gives additional abilities. Pyramid Beans are an example of a temporary appearance consumable.

Other Potential Products from making Potions:
- Pyramid Beans
- Wigs - maybe two additional, new coloured wigs which can be made
- Living Death - disguised as an item, such as a scarf, when picked up kills the player
- Crystal Ball - works like Telendevour, except item based, not prevented by Occlumens
- Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone - temporary immortality as soon as you consume the stone (stone wears off after an hour or something)

I'm sure other players have other ideas too.

• Levels and Ability
  Some potions/spells might only be able to be cast when a player is at a particular level e.g. a 2nd year. However, there must be potions available to made for all players.
  Players who become exceptionally good at Potion making could be rewarded with an item 'TWC Plaque' or something to acknowledge their ability, giving them the title 'Potion Master'. This could also be developed to give a sub-title of 'Potions Graduate'.

However, it could be considered that "Well, we already have these items in TWC. Why replicate them?" This defeats the entire object of potion making. Potion Making is content, something TWC is beginning to lack now. Adding this content brings enjoyment and can be distributed in many ways over a period of 6 months - year. Along with the Dementor/Expecto idea, this too could be implemented to TWC as new, updated content. This is something players can enjoy and be creative with. It also gives those who dislike dueling the chance to be creative and give them more player purpose - clans can also hire Potion Masters to create items for their clan - opening the option for players to become clan members without necessarily having to be stat trainers or dueling experts.

[Murrawhip]

I don't understand how your system is something people can be 'creative' with, nor how there could be someone who is 'exceptionally good' at potion making. You literally add 3-4 ingredients to a pot then cast a spell? How could that ever be screwed up?
Are all the ingredients in units of 1? or measurements?
Why does there even need to be a class for this if all you need is a simple recipe that you'd be a fool to screw up (which there would undoubtedly be a list of being spread via PM), and some spell?

I would prefer to add an exciting potion system that people can mess with by being creative, to create new potions/more effective recipes, instead of some simple A+B+C=potion/item combination system.
Your system seems as though all you have to do is get to a single potions class, learn the spell, get the list from someone, then bam. You can make every potion, and all the excitement is gone.
I also resent your statement, "Potion Making is content, something TWC is beginning to lack now." - Sorry, how long have you been here? TWC has more content than it ever has had before. Removing 3 empty fields of locked house isn't removing 'content', it's removing bullshit.

[Severus]

Ok, the system is quite bland, I agree - in the back of my mind the entire time I was thinking 'somebody has to code all this stuff, try and tone it down and add later if available'. I'm unsure really, I'm just putting ideas across - I'm not saying "Here, this is MY idea, we're doing MY system" etc etc, the aim of my post was to try and create a body which can be added to by others - also embedding phrases such as 'exceptionally good' and 'creative' so that ideas can be pushed in this direction to allow people to think and almost want to add their version of 'creative' processes. What do you think is creative? What do you personally think would be an 'exciting potion system'? I would prefer that too, of course, furthermore I'd love to hear your exciting system.

Okay, if that's your interpretation of it. I was thinking more adventurous obtaining of ingredients, the whole monster thing I spoke about too. This could obviously be broadened by a long way, like I said, I'm just putting down the first layer that can be added to.

Also, it would not be a simple A+B+C = potion/item. I did say that there would be spells needed to begin the mix and enable ingredients to be used - not very complex but again, can be added to.

I understand. Hmm, I guess the use of 'now' was inaccurate. I've defended TWC in somewhat debates with other and older players who seem to think TWC works solely on the community aspect thus the maximum 20 - 25 players online at peak times in the week due to (their reasoning) 'lack of content'. I'm trying to put it in a positive light, it's not something I despise about TWC because I spend a great deal of time on the game. Don't shoot the messenger I guess? However, let's not focus on this considering we're figuring out a creative system that'll work.

[Rotem]

I'd just like to point out that you shouldn't worry about the coding side of this dealio.

Don't try to make things simple because someone has to code it, the programmer will probably prefer it will be interesting and perhaps challenging, it makes things fun.

[Severus]

Ok, so. All of the points I made are points that can be improved - what's your take on them and what do you think will develop those ideas? What input do you have in addition to the points I made?

Or do you have something else in mind that's completely different?

[Murrawhip]

I want something complicated enough that there's more than a remote chance that you could fail. I want something that, given enough experimentation, a player could 'discover' new potions, or versions of current potions with greater effect.
I understand that the first 'want' is difficult to accomplish, but I don't want to resort to adding some random-chance-of-failure.

[Severus]

Hmm, that sounds interesting. So, to create a potion, players would need a cauldron, a wand, Spell X, Spell Y, Ingredient X, Ingredient Y, Ingredient Z. They may also require a certain level or stat (such as Magic) - this could be related to how 'great' the effect on the potion can be.

Ingredient X x Ingredient Y x Spell X x Spell Y = Potion A
Ingredient X x Ingredient Z x Spell Z = Potion B

Potion A x Potion B = Potion C <- using created potions as ingredients maybe?

That's fairly simple still I acknowledge this - how could this become more complex?

Furthermore, players would have to trial and error things at first. Maybe we could make a standard potion that everybody knows how to make, something nearly pointless - like an instant Health increase potion which increases your current health by 10 (not affecting max. health). Then, players would have to 'discover' new potions by themselves by combining things. They may not discover the best things due to missing ingredients, missing stats, missing spells - that broadens the chance of failure I think. What else could contribute to failure?