Quest Updates

[Bones] and [Grave Moss] will no longer be used directly for quests or potions. Instead, they can be traded for 10 of a tier 1 resource of your choice. For example, 1 Bone can now be traded for 10 Arrowheads.

Features

• A "Skills" tab has been added to the Hero Journal and shows what skills the hero has access to.

Equipment

Added several new pieces of equipment, specifically helmets

• There is a Common tier helmet for all stats now (30g)
• Several Uncommon (75g) and Rare (150g) helmets

Skills/Items

• Halfling/Minotaur/Cleric/Shadow Knight - Several skills have been converted to "Buffs" to make it easier to see when they are in effect. This is purely a display change and does not impact scoring. Skills impacted include:
  • [Incredible Luck]
  • [Lure of the Labyrinth] (Starting in 2024)
  • [Healing Aura (previously Minor Healing)] (Starting in 2024)
  • [Instill Terror] (Starting in 2023)
  • Likely several more, but still TBD.
• Skills that require a player selection [Mirror Image, Lay on Hands, Soul Suck] now hide the player until that player's game has started. Opponents will still be able to see that the skill was used when the week begins on Thursday.
• Path of the Coin - When successful, [Let it Ride] now rewards the gold when the games start for the week (typically Thursday night) instead of when weekly rewards are handed out the following week.
• [King’s Decree] must be used at least 24 hours before games start for a given week to ensure league members have enough time to prepare for their new opponents. You’re a dictator, not a jerk.
• Heroes can now gain multiple of the same Permanent Buff from potions.

June 16, 2024, 2:21 p.m.

Stat Bonuses

• Athletics
  • Receiving Yards - 0.01 → 0.009
  • Tackle Assists - 0.2 → 0.15
• Dexterity
  • Force Fumbles/Fumble Recoveries - 1.5 → 1.75
• Intellect
  • Passing yards - 0.006 → 0.008
  • Pass Defended - 0.7 → 0.6
• Shiftiness
  • Rushing Yards - 0.0.15 → 0.0.12
  • Tackle Assists/Tackle For Loss - 0.1 → 0.15
• Vigor
  • Tackle Solos - 0.08 → 0.1
• Willpower
  • Rush/Receiving Touchdowns - 0.5 → 0.6
  • Pass Touchdowns - 0.35 → 0.5
  • Tackle For Loss - 0.3 → 0.4

Racial

• Dwarf - [Grudgebearer] has been adjusted to focus more on recent and soul-crushing (read: playoff) losses. Grudgebearer will now only consider losses from the current year and the 3 previous years (for example, in 2024, the look back would include games from 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024). Because they hurt a bit more (and therefore make the dwarf a bit angrier), playoff losses will always be counted, regardless of the year, and count as two losses. For the purposes of this skill, “Playoff” games are defined as games needed to win to progress to or win the championship.
• Goblin - [Greenskinz Unite!] now gives you a round 5 pick in startup drafts (or 10% auction budget) and a 1st-round rookie pick in each rookie draft. Picks will always be at the end of the round. If multiple Goblins have bonus picks in the round, the order is based on their regular rookie draft order.
• Minotaur - [Lure of the Labyrinth] causes your opponent’s players’ scores to always round down. If a Minotaur plays a Halfling, [Lure of the Labyrinth] and [Incredible Luck] cancel out, and the Halfling’s players’ scores will not round.
• Wood Elf - [Naturally Curious] now gives the Wood Elf an additional 1AP during rest if an activated skill was used against them the previous week.

Paths

• Path of the Book - [Armed with a Mind] now rolls a 1d8.
• Path of the Coin - [Let it Ride] now gives 1 point per starter and 3g on a roll of 5 or 6.

Classes

• Alchemist - [Mixologist] is now limited to 1 unique potion per level for matchups. For example, at level 3, they can use 3 potions, at level 4, 4 potions, etc.
• Alchemist - [Maximize Potency] has been replaced with [Alchemical Efficieny]. At level 5, the Alchemist will now produce two potions for the ingredient cost of one.
• Barbarian - In addition to the ability to [Dual Weild] at level 3, Barbarians will also be given a [Blood Axe (+1 ATH, +1 DEX, +1 WIL, -1 VIG, +3 Renown)] to ensure they don’t enter battle empty-handed.
• Bard - [Prodigy] is now limited to 1 unique skill per level + 1 per matchup. For example, at level 3, you can use 4 unique skills. At level 4, they can use 5 skills, etc.
• Bard - [Song of Inspiration] has been split into 6 melodies (one for each stat) to better reflect the flexibility concept we were going for with the Bard. Each melody will give +1 to a stat and cost 1AP. The bard will also receive a Renown buff depending on how many Melodies they use at once. 2 Melodies give 3 renown, 4 melodies give 5 Renown, and all 6 Melodies give 10 Renown (not cumulative).
• Cleric - Changed the name of [Minor Healing] to [Healing Aura] to better reflect the skill’s benefit.
• Druid - Fixed a bug with [In Righteous Harmony], where points were only given if the Druid used more AP than their opponent had available. Now, both the Druid and their opponent will get points for each AP spent, regardless of the delta between the Druid and their opponent.
• Paladin - [Lay on Hands] will trigger if the player scores exactly 0 points, regardless of their injury status. The existing “once per season per player” restriction still applies.
• Ranger - [Thrill of the Hunt] AP cost has been reduced to 7.
• Rogue - [Pilfer] has had its success rate slightly increased and removed the unrealistic expectation that you will steal a set of plate armor off the 500lb Troll’s back. Going forward, a roll of 1-11 will fail, and 12-20 will roll 1d10 per Rogue level to determine the amount of gold stolen from your opponent. Additionally, on a roll of 20, the Rogue will also attempt to steal a random item (such as potions). Equipment is no longer eligible to be stolen.

March 29, 2024, 11:43 p.m.

The much maligned Alchemist profession has always had a tantalizing potential in Lords of the League. However, when we designed it, it fell flat due to its reliance on both gold and AP to power it. The skills available to the Alchemist were not strong enough to make up for the lost opportunity cost of spending gold. As we developed the new quest system, we felt it fit perfectly with what an Alchemist is passionate about - finding items and using them to create helpful (or harmful) potions. With that revelation, we completely reimagined the Alchemist into one of the more unique classes in the LotL universe, with a focus on flexibility and strategic decision-making.

The Alchemist, unlike other classes, will not only develop in the normal leveling system, but also within the Recipe Book. The Recipe Book is divided into four sections: Novice Alchemy, Expert Alchemy, Master Alchemy, and Grandmaster Alchemy. Players begin in the Novice Alchemy section of the Book, where they initially have access only to four Novice potions. As the Alchemist brews more potions, they gain access to more advanced sections. Once 15 potions of a certain level have been successfully brewed, they will be able to brew the next section’s potions.

The Alchemist

Path of Coin or Book

One who dives into the path of alchemy is kooky, ingenious, diligent, and typically a bit insane. Tucked away in their lab, these mad scientists care only to see what happens - be it through research or simple trial and error - and the results can be spectacular.

Level 1

Recipe Book (passive) - Gain access to an old recipe book with a variety of alchemical recipes that you can now create.

The Recipe Book is divided into four sections: Novice Alchemy, Expert Alchemy, Master Alchemy, and Grandmaster Alchemy. The Alchemist begins in the Novice Alchemy section of the book, where they initially have access to four Novice potions. Once the Alchemist successfully brews 15 potions of a certain tier, their skills will be sufficient enough to attempt recipes in the next tier.

As you learn the art of alchemy, failure is inevitable. Each time you attempt to create a potion, you roll a 1d20. If you roll a 1, the potion blows up in your face, leaving you with a "Ruined Potion". As your skills increase and you progress to making higher tier potions, you can no longer fail at creating potions in a lower tier. Note: Ruined Potions do not count towards your tier progression.

Each attempt at alchemy costs 1AP.

Foraging (passive) - Alchemists are adept at finding ingredients in the wild that they need to create their potions.

Level 3

Mixologist (passive) - The Alchemist may now use any number of unique potions in a single week.

Level 5

Maximize Potency (passive) - The Alchemist masters potion making and is able to create more potent potions with the same ingredients, doubling their effectiveness. Additionally, all attempts at creating a potion are now successful.

Recipe Book (https://lordsoftheleague.com/alchemy)

Aug. 18, 2023, 7:17 p.m.

We are excited to announce the revamped quest system in Lords of the League. With this update, we wanted to address the way that quests were thought about within the confines of our leagues. While generally praised, there were legitimate concerns about quest balance and league parity.

In the original quest format, two quests were randomly selected for each league per week and heroes could choose to accept them at the cost of 1AP, however you had to hit the targets that week. On average, quests had a completion rate of about 50%, which, when coupled with the AP cost, was an easy way to fall behind for less powerful teams, and a good way to gain separation for more stronger teams. The XP element of the reward was also accelerating the speed with which heroes were achieving Level 5, which was not intended based on our original design of the leveling system.

With the aforementioned factors, we set out to create a meaningful and enjoyable system that would increase the amount of fantasy flavor from the old system while providing the balance that the questing system needed. Notably, quests can now be completed at your own pace while also giving us much more flexibility in what we can give as rewards.

Overview:

• A variety of pre-selected counting stats (ex. Pass yards, rushing first downs, total tackles) will be tracked and give heroes quest items unique to those stats. For example, for every 80 passing yards you accumulate, you receive 1 Arrowhead. Your fetch tracking can be found in the "Hero Journal", but will be empty until you start collecting stats.
• While most counting stats are tracked in an ongoing manner and quest items are awarded whenever you hit the target, some items are awarded based on targets for a single week. These are considered rare and will not be awarded often.
• Quest items can be found in your "Hero Inventory".
• Quest Givers found in the "Town" will publicly state the items they are looking for. Once you turn them in, they are removed from your inventory, and you receive the stated reward(s). Your quest log can be found in your "Hero Journal", which details your completed quests.
• Quest rewards come in a variety of flavors, both in the actual reward and how much you know about the reward. Rewards can include Gold, Items, Equipment, and more, but the exact reward may not always be known ahead of time. Likewise, some quests may give you multiple rewards, a reward at random, or your choice of rewards.
• Quests will be available to all players before games start for the week, and players will have the opportunity to choose which quests they complete as long as they have the required items. Some items may be easier to obtain than others depending on the makeup of your team.
• Each quest can only be completed once.

Aug. 8, 2023, 7:43 p.m.

Shiftiness

• Fixed bug with shiftiness not modifying 2pt conversions or tackles for loss (TFL)
• Changed fumble and interception return yard bonus for shiftiness from 0.150 to 0.015 (this was probably a typo originally)

Raw Point Bonuses

Raw point bonuses are now based on the number of starters in your league. We found that skills that provided a raw/set point value provided a much lower % of the total score in IDP leagues due to the higher scores overall. We couldn’t just raise the raw point value, because then the skills would be overpowered in offense only leagues. With this change, all skills should have some sort of automatic scaling, whether it’s stat skills that already can affect all players, or raw point skills that scale with the number of starters. Note, for those that are only playing in IDP leagues, this will appear that almost all of these skills have doubled their scoring values. This is intended as they were almost all underpowered in that format.

The following skills are now calculated based on the number of starters:

• Lure of the Labyrinth (1pt per starter)
• Armed with a mind (0.1pt per starter)
• Let it Ride (formerly Cheap Shot) (0.5pt per starter)
• Blood Rite (0.5pt per starter)
• Slash (0.5pt per starter)
• In Righteous Harmony (0.5pt per starter)
• Set Aflame (0.1pt per starter)
• Immolate (0.1pt per starter)
• Psionic Blast (0.5pt per starter)
• Summon Undead Servant (0.1pt per starter)
• Soul Harvest (0.1pt per starter)
• Divine Retribution (1pt per starter)
• Backstab (1.5pt per starter)
• Renown (0.1pt per starter)
• Soul Suck (Drain opponent player to 0 points, get 10% of those points per starter)
• Mirror Image (5% per starter)

Skill Changes

Several skills have been changed or replaced to better balance out classes, or in some cases, due to technical limitations.

• The Dwarf racial, “Magic Resistance” has been changed to “Grudgebearer”. For every loss to a specific hero (including playoff matchups), the dwarf will gain 0.2 points per starter the next time the dwarf plays against that hero. For example, in a league with 9 starters, if a dwarf has previously lost to their opponent 3 times, the dwarf will gain 5.4 points in the 4th matchup.
• The Rapscallion/Path of the Shadow skill, “Cheap Shot”, has has its name changed to “Let it Ride” to better reflect what the skill does
• The Neophyte/Path of the Spirit skill has been replaced with “Virtue” - players scoring over 20 will gain an additional +1 point. 1AP
• Alchemist still sucks
• The Barbarian level 5 skill has been replaced with “Chaotic Whirlwind” - The barbarian rolls 9d4 and loses points equal to the roll * 0.1 points * num of starters. The barbarian’s opponent rolls 27d4 and loses points equal to the roll * 0.1 * num of starters. 13 AP
• The Bard level 5 instrument options are now all stat based. You may choose 1 instrument to be a permanent part of your equipment. All stats are +3
  • Lute - DEX/WIL/SHF
  • Drums - VIG/ATH/DEX
  • Lyre - INT/WIL/ATH
  • Panflute - VIG/SHF/INT
• The Cleric level 1 skill has changed to “Healer’s Infirmary” and “Minor Healing” - The cleric will have access to 1 IR spot per level (a change from the flat 3 spots) and will gain .25 points for every player on their roster that week that scores under 5 points. (Yes, this includes bench and IR spots). Passive skill
• The Cleric level 3 skill, “Blessing” now also adds +3 to a random stat the week it is used
• The Cleric level 5 skill, “Blessed are the Meek”, now matches the 2 lowest scoring starters from your team to the two highest scoring players from your team (including bench players). Previously it was matching your opponents two highest players
• The Druid level 1 skill, “Animal Companion”, now gives a bonus based on the randomly selected animal team's actual NFL score at a rate of 7% of the score per starter in your league settings
• The Infernist level 1 skill, “Set Aflame” now rolls 4d4 instead of 5d3
• The Infernist level 3 skill, “Channel”, has changed to a passive skill. If no skill is used during the week, gain +1 WIL for the week’s matchup and an extra +1 AP gain the following Monday
• The Mentalist level 3 skill, “Psionic Blast” now compares the intellect mod instead of the raw intellect scores. Its power has also been slightly reduced.
• The Necromancer level 3 skill, "Soul Harvest", is now capped at 20 dice from player drops.
• The Necromancer level 5 skill has been replaced by “Contagion”. The Necromancer will roll 3d3 to determine the disease’s potency. They will then roll 1d20 + opponents VIG mod + opponent’s WIL mod for each starting position and compare that to 15. For each failed check, the opponent will lose points equal to the potency roll. 14 AP
• The Ranger level 1 trap skills now have an IDP aspect to them. These are in addition to the offensive aspects of the traps.
• Ensnaring Trap - 5 solo tackles results in -2 points for the player
• Stun Trap - 1 defensive interception results in -3 points for the player
• Spike Trap - 2 defensive TFL results in -3 points for the player
• The Ranger level 3 skill has been replaced by “Thrill of the Hunt” - gain +4 DEX, +4 ATH, and an additional +1 for each passing TD. 8 AP
• The Ranger level 5 skill has been replaced by “Crippling Shot”. The Ranger will roll 1d20 and add their ATH mod and their DEX mod. The Ranger’s opponent will roll 1d20 and add their SHF mod. If the Ranger’s total is higher than their opponent’s total, the opponent’s SHF is reduced to 0. 4 AP (yes, the low AP is intentional and is intended to be used somewhat often)
• The Rogue level 5 skill has changed to “Eviscerate” - Roll 9d10 and opponent loses 0.1 per starter * total roll. 13 AP
• The Shadow Knight level 3 skill, "Instill Terror", has changed to a passive skill. This skill now reduces all of your opponent's player scores by 4%.

April 29, 2023, 12:50 a.m.

Quest Updates

We have added several quests and adjusted the thresholds for several quests to put them more in line with our target success rate.

• Pit Fighter - Reduced the number of solo tackles need from 40 to 27
• Preparation for the Big Feast - Increased the number of first downs from 20 to 27
• Added a quest "Archery Contest" - Collect 650 Passing Yards
• Added a quest "Stone Giant" - Collect 12 Tight End Receptions

Features

• We have added several commissioner features, including the ability to sync league info, add/remove additional points to a matchup, re-finalize matchup results, and rerun the weekly rewards for previous weeks.
• Added ability to use items similar to skill usage. This primarily supports the Alchemist's potion crafting ability at this time.

Equipment

Added several pieces of equipment

• A basic chest piece for each stat giving a +1 bonus - 20g
• Robe of the Magic - +5 int, -3 vig - 100g
• Golden Necklace - +3 Renown, 40g

Miscellaneous

• Weekly stats now update every 5 minutes
• Weekly Rest AP is now given at the start of the week, rather than Thursday to give more time for skill and/or quest selection
• Newly purchased equipment will now auto-equip IF you do not have anything in that slot (Barbarians will still need to manually equip a second weapon in their off hand)

Sept. 13, 2022, 12:04 a.m.

Stat Updates

We were happy to see that all of the preseason studying paid off, and the stats are more-or-less already balanced! There are a few changes, though:

• INT - Increasing passing yard bonus from 0.005 to 0.006, and increasing Pass Defensed bonus from 0.5 to 0.7. INT was fairly week across the board, so a small boost to make it good for INT-based classes.
• SHF - Adding +0.1 to TFL, 0+0.2 to sacks, +0.1 to assisted tackles. As expected, SHF was the most off-balance because it has a lot of random point scoring categories. What we found though, is that for IDP it was useless. So we decided to add in some partial bonuses from other stats (ATH and WIL), to give a defensive boost.
• VIG - Increasing first down bonus from 0.1 to 0.12, decreasing solo tackle bonus from 1.0 to 0.8. Before last season, we got rid of the TE bonus for VIG, which understandably led it to be a defensive-heavy stat. However, if optimized properly, the tackle bonus proved to be a bit OP. A buff and a nerf here.

Race/Class/Ability Updates

We knew these changes would happen, as we were implementing a new stat system and all. We found several updates that create a more balanced experience.

• Halfling - Changed Halflings' Lucky racial passive to be more in line with other classes by always rounding up instead of having the 0.5 threshold.
• Mentalist - Tweaked the Level 1 ability "Mirror Image". Instead of giving a 75% bonus to a FLEX player, we reduced the number to 60% but are allowing the inclusion of QBs as a target.
• Barbarian - As fun as Berserk was, we realized it becomes a nothing-burger in the playoffs, which is severely detrimental. We've replaced it with the less powerful version, Rage, which can now be used at anytime. Rage gives the Barbarian +2 ATH, +2 DEX, +2 SHF, -2 VIG.
• Ranger - Pick Off was good - a bit too good. While using it once or twice was OK, the fact that it scaled and could knock out potentially 3-4 players in a single game made it questionable at best for offense-only leagues. Finding it too difficult to find an offense/IDP balanced alternative, I went back to the drawing board. The new ability is fun and flavorful - Set Trap. The Ranger can choose a trap type to set against their opponent in the current week (Cost 3 AP)
  • Ensnaring Trap: If opponent's player registers 75 or more receiving yards, -2 points
  • Stun Trap: If opponent's player registers 275 or more passing yards, -5 points
  • Spike Trap: If opponent's player registers 90 or more rushing yards, - 4 points
• Alchemist - We don't have any Alchemists :disappointed: There is a reason for that, though - stacking gold resources AND AP uses makes for uninteresting and costly decisions. Because of this, we have reduced the AP cost of all abilities to 1 AP. That way, provided they have the gold, they are more apt to open their own Apothecary and provide the league with a mini-economy, which was the original intent of the class.
• Infernist - Set Aflame is fine, it just costs a bit too much for the variation (5-15 dmg). Adjusted to 4 AP, down from 5 AP.
• Bard - Bards have suffered from early-level power imbalance, having to give up a player's entire score to get a modest return. To this point, we are removing the starting player cost of their abilities, and adjusting them as follows:
  • The Level 1 Song of Inspiration now provides +2 to ATH at Lvl 1, +1 to INT at level 2, an extra +1 to DEX, at 3, +1 VIG at 4, and +1 WIL at Level 5. These bonuses are cumulative. Costs 1 AP.
  • Level 3 song, a Song of Fury, now costs 1 AP. This ability is also now an "attack", meaning your opponent's players will lose 1 point if they score more than 15.
  • Level 5 song Enrapturing Performance has been removed. the Lvl 5 ability is now: Maestro (passive) - Choose an instrument to master. That instrument now takes up the Bard's Offhand slot.
    • Lute - The stat increases from Song of Inspiration are doubled
    • Drum - Gain +5 SHF and + 5 VIG
    • Lyre - Opponents facing the Bard do not get stat bonuses from weapons or items.

May 20, 2021, noon

• Wood Elf base stats have been modified to better align their starting stats.
  • ATH increased from 9 to 10
  • INT deceased from 12 to 11

Sept. 30, 2020, noon

The way gold is awarded for a win has been adjusted. There are 2 main issues with the current formula ("Gain gold equal to victory margin divided by 5, rounded down to nearest 5, with a max of 10"):

1. The previous formula being solely based on margin of victory didn't allow for weaker teams to catch up even if they won, since their margin of victory is likely low.
2. There is potential for a high scoring team to end up with zero gold should their opponent also have a good week, while a low scoring team could earn a lot because their opponent was even worse.

The new formula provides a base award while also providing additional rewards for margin of victory and defeating an opponent that is higher level than you. The new formula is:

Gain gold equal to 3 + (L*dX), where X = victory margin divided by 5 rounded down to nearest 5 (min 1), and L is equal to the XP lvl difference +1"

FOR EXAMPLE: If Kiffya wins by 17.53 as a Lvl 1 character versus a Lvl 2 character, is formula would be Gold = 3 + L(2)*dX(3). This would result in 3g + the results of rolling 2d3 die for a minimum of 5g and a maximum of 9g.

Sept. 16, 2020, noon