Difference between revisions of "Beast Forms"

Latest revision as of 20:26, 2 January 2022

Beast Forms are a unique feature of the skill system in Project: Gorgon. Beast Forms are transformations which can be discovered from consuming potions, failing to defeat specific bosses, participating in events, or leveling skills. While technically curses, many consider Beast Forms to be viable, powerful alternatives to living life in a humanoid form.

Skill Characterization

Cow

• Cows are viewed as a traditional tank archetype. Abilities such as Tough Hoof and Chew Cud help Cows improve their survivability in longer fights. Cows also have the sprint ability Moo of Determination, and the the ability to produce their own milk.
• 

   

  Bottle of Milk
  is a valuable item used in crafting skills such as Cooking and Cheesemaking. Cows with a Vegetarian badge can produce milk faster than cows with a varied diet, however skill level and the version of Collect Milk used also impact collection times.
• Adventurers can also milk cows, however consent must be given.

Deer

• Deer is considered to be a good foundation for an off-tank. While cows receive overt tank abilities, survivability in deer primarily comes from Deer Treasure Effects on equipment. Deer have the ability to jump faster and higher than other land-based Beast Forms using Bounding Escape. They also have AoE taunts, while cows only have single target taunts.
• Deer can use the ability Summon Deer to summon a wild deer to help them in battle.
• Some deer are actually Druids, using the Deer Form toggle ability.

Spider

• Spider form is useful for DPS/Assassin type builds. Spiders deal predominantly Crushing and Poison damage to quickly defeat enemies. Many spiders rely on Incubate, an ability that injects eggs inside enemies, dealing massive damage and spawning a pet spider. Spiders spawned through this ability will aid their parent in battle.
• Spiders have the ability to use Insidious Illusion to temporarily talk with Animal Hating NPCs. This ability has a 20 minute cooldown and consumes a
  

   

  Moonstone
  each time it is used.
• 

   

  Spiderweb
  can be produced by Level 60 Spiders using Webspin. This ability can give spiders an advantage in Textile Creation and Tailoring, which is helpful if they want to craft the spider-form Spider Casing equipment.

Pig

• Pigs are often equipped for supporting roles. While they can hold their own individually, they shine in groups as healers or buff builders using a combination of Mudbath, Frenzy, and Porcine Alertness.
• The speed-boosting sidebar ability Terror Dash is often used by pigs escaping dangerous situations, or traveling across large regions of Alharth.
• A variety of mushrooms can be found by pigs using the Truffle Sniff abilities.

Rabbit

• Normally, rabbits are stealthy creatures. Using Play Dead, a rabbit can force enemies to ignore it for a few seconds. Traveling through dangerous areas, rabbits may alternate between the speed-increasing Hare Dash and the speed-reducing Long Ear, which slows a rabbit down in exchange for reducing the detection range of nearby foes.
• Rabbits are the only Beast Form capable of using Ice Magic. A special headgear item is required to activate this synergy.

Giant Bat

• Giant Bats have access to a variety of tools, including knock-back, recovery, heavy damage, and concussion abilities. These options made Giant Bat compatible with many skills.
• Giant Bats can use Echolocation, which allows them to see in the dark. This ability is especially useful in area like the deeper parts of the Labyrinth in Ilmari.
• Giant Bats also have the ability to fly, and to infect others in PVP with a disease which will eventually turn them into a bat.

Lycanthropy

• Lycanthropy is unusual among the Beast Forms, as it is a permanent alteration. There will never be a method to remove Lycanthropy from a character, so be sure to understand the risks and rewards before accepting the blessing of Norala.
• Individuals infected with Lycanthropy can switch between humanoid and wolf form without too much effort, however they will be locked into wolf form during the Full Moon.
• While in wolf form, Lycanthropes have access to powerful slashing, crushing, and trauma attacks.
• Howl Mode allows packs of wolf-form lycanthropes to build up impressive combat-improving buffs.

Spirit Fox

• Spirit Fox are tricksters, using abilities including Dimensional Snare to immobilize targets and Blur Step to boost their melee evasion during combat. In combat, Spirit Fox deal mostly Crushing and Darkness damage.
• Spirit Fox can use Illusive Guise to disguise themselves in a humanoid projection for a short time. This allows them to interact with Animal Hating NPCs.

Druid Forms

• Druids can magically project themselves as Deer, as well as a variety of birds including Raven and Mallard. However, these are NOT Beast Forms.

Beast Form Mechanics

Familiar's Recall

Icon	Level	Name	Description	Special	Effects	Stats	Source
	0	Familiar's Recall	Sends you back to your master. You must be a long-term animal with a bonded master, and you must be wearing a Familiar Recall Collar.	Can Be On Sidebar		Power Cost: 50 Range: 5 Cooldown: 1800	???

Using a Recall Collar, a character using one of the Beast Forms may directly teleport to their master using the Familiar's Recall ability. This ability can be used from anywhere, as long as the player has been in animal form for the past 3 hours of in-game real time.

This ability is learned from their master:

• Cinnamon the rabbit in Animal Town is currently the only NPC offering a bond, but he implies that other NPCs will offer this service in the future.

Recall Collars

Beast Skills

Beast Speech

One of the disadvantages of becoming a Beast Form is Beast Speech. When the skill is low, random words spoken in chat will be replaced by an animal sound of the same length. For example, a cow sending "I need help, can you meet me at the Serbule Well" might be sent as "I moooo moooo, can moo meet me at the moooooooo moooo?", which is rather inconvenient! The words replaced are random, and as Beast Speech is leveled, the frequency of swapped words is reduced dramatically.

• Spirit Fox are not afflicted with Beast Speech, as their transformation results is something not-quite a physical form.

Survival Instincts

Survival Instincts is a utility skill which provides sidebar abilities.

• Toughen Up provides an alternative to Armor Patching.
• Toxic Flesh causes incoming melee attacks to inflict the attacker with poison.
• Lend Grace improves evasion and regenerates power.

Beast Metabolism

Beast Metabolism is a skill used only by Lycanthropes. This skill levels as they consume the corpses of defeated enemies.

Warden

Warden is a combat skill exclusively available to Beast Forms. This skill deals Electricity, Fire, and Acid damage.

• To learn the Warden skill you must have [Friends] or higher favor with Suspicious Cow in Eltibule, Red in Kur, or Norbert in Animal Town in Sun Vale. Speak with one of those NPCs with whom you have sufficient favor, and complete a series of quests to become a Warden

Beast Form Equipment

Look Marna, No Hands!

As an animal, you no longer have the ability to use skills that require handheld weapons, such as Sword, Fire Magic, or Shield.

• The lack of hands also prevents animals from gathering wood and collecting milk from milkable animals.
• Beast Forms seeking to use Necromancy or Priest will be unable to use common Necromancy Orbs or Priest Staffs. Necklaces with Necromancy Gems or Holy Symbols can be used by animals.

Crafting Equipment for Beast Forms

When magical equipment is crafted, two gemstones are required to select the skills that Treasure Effects will be generated for. While most skills have gems easily obtained through surveying, animals require an additional step, rune-infused gems.

• Sigil Scripting recipes taught by Preta in Sun Vale must be used to attune common gems to Beast Forms. Level 25 Sigil Scripting is required to produce the inscribed rune-infused gems.

Bat Malachite	Cow Malachite	Deer Malachite
Pig Malachite	Rabbit Malachite	Spider Malachite
Spirit Fox Lapis

Animal-Specific Equipment

Most Beast Forms have armor or equipment that can only be worn by that form. Usually, this includes Racial Jewelry, however some forms have armor that changes them visually. Check individual pages of the Beast Forms for complete lists of their special equipment.

• Cows have access to crafted Champron (headwear) & Barding(chest armor), which gives them the appearance of an armored cow.
• Deer can equip Alicorns such as
  

   

  Greenberg's Horn
  , which add a centered horn to their forehead.
• Spiders can wear crafted Spider Casings, which can change their carapace color if Decent quality or better.
• Pigs can wear Porkpie Hats created through Tailoring.
• Rabbit - No visual equipment.
• Giant Bats can equip Witch Hats crafted through Tailoring.
• Lycanthropy afflicted characters can wear a complete set of five armor pieces while in wolf form. This armor is crafted through Blacksmithing.
• Spirit Fox - No visual equipment.

Animal Transformation

Cow

Deer

Spider

Pig

Rabbit

Giant Bat

Lycanthropy

• Please see the Lycanthropy page for more information.

Spirit Fox

Beast Forms and NPCs

Not every NPC in Project: Gorgon is friendly to Beast Forms. Newly transformed Beast Forms quickly discover that many shopkeepers shun animals, refusing to speak with them. In the town of Serbule, shopping and training services once offered in humanoid form will be rescinded by Marna, Joeh, Elahil, and Tadion. If humanoid form is regained, normal access to animal-hating NPCs will return.

• Some NPCs can be bribed to speak with animals, such as Hulon in Serbule. The method to bribe NPCs varies. Sometimes the NPCs offer a quest, at other times they want a bribe of Councils.
• NPCs that refuse to speak to Beast Forms can be picky. They may shun only "scary" forms, usually Spider, Lycanthrope, and Giant Bat.
• Both Spider and Spirit Fox gain access to abilities allowing them to temporarily appear humanoid.
• Discoverable Words of Power exist that can temporarily project a humanoid form.

- Word of Power: Human Illusion ... Speaking this word makes you look like a human for 90 seconds. Townsfolk and shopkeepers will perceive you as a human and their memories will be temporarily altered so that they think you've always been a human.

- Word of Power: Elf Illusion ... Speaking this word makes you look like an elf for 120 seconds. Townsfolk and shopkeepers will perceive you as an elf and their memories will be temporarily altered so that they thing you've always been an elf.

- Word of Power: Rakshasa Illusion ... Speaking this word makes you look like a rakshasa for 150 seconds. Townsfolk and shopkeepers will perceive you as a rakshasa and their memories will be temporarily altered so that they think you've always been a rakshasa.

While some NPCs shun Beast Forms, others will only be willing to interact with them. There are Awakened animals in small camps and outposts across Alharth that offer alternative places to train and shop.

Animal Town

Animal Town is a hidden refuge in Sun Vale populated by various species of talking animals. Some of the residents are Awakened, while others are were-creatures, or were granted intelligence by unknown methods. Humans, Rakshasa, Orcs, Fairies, and Elves are forbidden from entering the town, and will be forcibly removed by the deadly Summoned Guardians.

Individuals who have recently transformed into one of the Beast Forms will find themselves unable to speak with most NPCs in Animal Town until 180 real-world minutes have been played. If you loose track of the time you transformed, Norbert the pig can tell you when the other residents will tolerate talking with you!

• Befriending the residents of Animal Town is highly encouraged for all Beast Forms who wish to remain in their forms long-term. The NPCs of the town offer training of Beast Skills, abilities, and provide storage exclusive to Beast Forms.

Animal Outposts

Kur Mountains

North of Kur Tower on the far side of the river, a small crystal-guarded outpost run by foxes watches over the region.

Inside a cavern carved into a mountain, a group of Wardens stay safe and plan for their future. This cavern is magically-sealed to outsiders and those in humanoid forms.

Gazluk

In the northeast mountains of the inner ring, a small Animal Camp provides a warm refuge from the cold.

Useful NPCs to Befriend

Outside of animal-run towns and outposts, there are a few NPCs that Animal Forms should become acquainted with.

Serbule

• Flia - A fairy east of Serbule Keep, she offers shopkeeper services in any easy to reach location for lower-level Beast Forms.
• Harry the Wolf - A Lycanthrope shopkeeper in the Serbule garden, Harry speaks with Beast Forms naturally, but requires extra effort by humanoid forms who want to converse with him.

Eltibule

• Suspicious Cow - Grazing outside of Eltibule Keep, this guardian of the region offers training and shopkeeper services.

Kur Mountains

• Along the northwestern beach, Lycanthropes Sanja and Jace Soral guard a small camp and campfire.

Ilmari

• Lumpfuzz - A traveling Elven Spellhound and merchant.

NPC Shopkeepers that speak to Beast Forms

NPCs that speak to Beast Forms and are not Shopkeepers

General Tips for Beast Forms

• It is advised that new characters wait to become a Beast Form, especially a Lycanthrope, until they have explored Serbule, Serbule Hills, and Eltibule. For characters with low-level Combat Skills, transforming into a Beast Form and losing access to many shopkeepers and other services can be a surprise. Until favor is built up with NPC Shopkeepers that speak to animals, income and progress will likely temporarily plummet.

• If a Beast Form sounds fun to try, it may be wise to obtain a method of removing the form before transformation. If an unprepared character drinks a
  

   

  Spider Juice
  , they will need to fight their way through the entire Serbule Crypt to reach the NPC selling the
  

   

  Un-Spider Juice
  ... or rely on a helpful adventurer.

• Beast Forms stack. If a Rakshasa cursed by Maronesa into a Cow drinks a
  

   

  Deer Juice
  , they will transform into a Deer and loose access to have Cow abilities active in combat. When they drink an
  

   

  Un-Deer Juice
  , they will return to Cow form instead of Rakshasa. If that Rakshasa also happens to be a Lycanthrope, they will be forced from either Cow or Deer forms into wolf during the full moon. When the moon ends, they will return to whichever form they were before the moon phase began.

• A common method to improve Beast Speech is to send a message in a private channel every five minutes or so. This will raise Beast Speech without Global having to hear sentences of just Moo/Baa/Naa which can happen at very low levels of Beast Speech.

• Newly transformed Beast Forms may have a surplus of armor after exploring a dungeon, as they no longer have access to Joeh as a shopkeeper. The Orc merchant Roshun the Traitor, living in a building near the Eltibule portal, speaks with animals and buys equipment.

• Although most storage-offering NPCs in Serbule shun animals, storage spaces unlocked on them while in humanoid form can be accessed from the bookshelf in the building between Marna and Hulon's shops. (Note: This may change in the future).

• Using the associated Combat Skill for a Beast Form is not required. A Cow-form character could have Psychology and Mentalism as its active skills.

Trivia

• Beast Forms (and specifically Cow at first), were at first 'a fluke' by the Developers.

Citan originally only intended the Beast Forms to be a very temporary curse, intended only as 'punishment' and to be cured ASAP.
He was surprised to find that certain players wanted to continue playing in their animal forms, and subsequently the different animal forms and their abilities and playstyle were further developed.

Sources

• Making Armor Pt 2