First Mod, Brainstorming Stat Adjustments for Balance

[barachiel 13]

It's not a terribly unique first mod idea.  I've seen 2 other mods just like it.  But one was OP AF, as the kids say, and the other was just okay.  

I want to make Upgradable Clothing and Robes, both to keep the starting outfit viable for Taris and Dantooine, and so Robes don't feel quite so gipped.  But I'm also not the world's greatest numbers guy, so I wanted to float my initial idea and get feedback from people who've gone into the guts of the game's balance far deeper than I ever will.  As for Robes, there are only a handful of upgradable armors in the game, and Jedi are just cut of the system entirely. This lets Robes feel a bit less obligatory (you want your Force Buffs right?) and moves them into a Force User-themed desirable alternative to armor.  (And honestly, the two reinforcements go thematically with the Jedi Armor that appears in SWTOR and later entries)

So here's my initial idea:

Upgradeable Clothing

Defense:  1 (same as Jedi Robes, which I consider to be the same as Clothing)

Skill Focus:  Persuade (clothes make the sentient; its a useful buff for a useful skill early game since its restricted to one class without penalty, unless you've modded it; but not so useful that you'd ignore armor with better defense for it)

Armor Reinforcement:  Defense +2 (or Defense 3, depends on if this replaces the old value or stacks; yes I'm that new at this,  Brings it up to equivalent of Jedi Master Robes)

Mesh Overlay:  Charisma +2 (goes thematically with the base bonus; gives a minor buff to Persuade;  I keep going back and forth if I should swap these around) OR Universal Save Bonus +1 (again nice generic bonus for any build, but not so good that you'd start turning away higher level gear)

Jedi Robes 

Defense:  1

Regenerate Force Points:  1 (taken blatantly from TSL, makes them feel a little more unique and useful to Force users beyond just not restricting Force Powers)

Armor Reinforcement:  Defense +2 

Mesh Overlay:  Wisdom +1 (Charisma +1 for DS version) (a pivotal stat for Jedi, so nice to get a bonus, but hardly game-breaking)

Jedi Knight Robes

Defense:  2

Regenerate Force Points:  1

Armor Reinforcement:  Defense +2 

Mesh Overlay:  Wisdom +2 (Charisma +2 for DS version), Immunity:  Poison (Jedi are reputed for being to shrug off most poisons; using Heal does this, so its usefulness is limited)

Jedi Master Robes

Defense:  3

Regenerate Force Points:  1 

Armor Reinforcement:  Defense +2 

Mesh Overlay:  Wisdom +3 (Charisma +3 for DS version), Immunity:  Mind-Affecting (Can you see a Jedi/Sith Master getting confused or mind-tricked?)

Qel-Droma Robes

Restricted to Light Side

Defense:  4 (down -1 from base to flow better with the upgradable scaling)

Wisdom +2

Regenerate Force Points:  2 (Base robes all have it 1 now, so felt like the unique ones should have a slightly better version)

Armor Reinforcement:  Defense +2

Mesh Overlay:  Immunity to Fear and Mind-affecting (just improved Master Robes in many way, plus a nod to Cay Qel-Droma's suicidal levels of overconfidence/naivete.)

Darth Revan's Robes (These two can't be upgraded because there's no upgrade bench to use at this point in the game, so I just gave them a little buff to keep up with the other improvements)

Restricted to Dark Side

Defense:  7

Strength +5 (up +1 from vanilla, just to keep bonuses uniform)

Regeneration:  1

Regenerate Force Points:  2 

Immunity:  Sneak Attacks (honestly, probably not very useful at this point, but I like it as a nod to the idea that he survived getting shot in the back by a SHIP)

Star Forge Robes (These two can't be upgraded because there's no upgrade bench to use at this point in the game, so I just gave them a little buff to keep up with the other improvements)

Restricted to Light Side

Defense:  7

Wisdom +5

Improved Saving Throws (Universal): +2

Regenerate Force Points:  2

Immunity: Critical Hits (its the end of the game, might be a bit OP but honestly shouldn't matter)

On a secondary note:  I've never liked the odd numbered stat bonuses.  Every version of D&D after the OG 3rd/SWRPG ditched them because it amounted to new gear having a 50% of being useless if you didn't have an odd numbered stat.  That just doesn't feel good.  How badly do you think a mod that redoes all Attribute bonuses to Even-Numbered break the game.  Maybe some of the ones that already have even numbered stat buffs could get a small secondary effect to help differentiate.   But that's a different project.  Just an idea to address something that's always bugged me, and much more ambitious.