Classes, Race, Experience proposal

[Peter Mardahl <peterm@soda.berkeley.edu>]

I've made this proposal before, but I've let it rest
because there didn't seem much support for it.  But in light
of the recent class arguments I'll fire it off again.
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Proposal: Establish 4 Experience divisions

Priest  *  Mage  *  Fighter  *  Thief

  What you do determines how you accumulate experience in a division.

What gains you experience, by division:

	Fighting:  destroying monsters by means of weapons

	Magic:  destroying monsters by means of magic

	Priest:  destroying monsters by means of channeled god-power
		 destroying undead by means of holy-word (2x experience!)
		 destroying evil altars
		 healing friendly players
		 completion of priestly quests

	Thief:  discovery of traps, disarming of traps, unlocking of 
		locked chests and doors, pickpocketing of non-hostile
		monsters, killing monsters by means of backstabbing


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Priests would become truly differerent.  Instead of mana, priests
would use 'grace'.  Priests do not use their own power, but rather
channel for their god.  The higher the level of the priest, the better
his wisdom, the more grace he would have in the eyes of his god.

A priest may also be rewarded with grace for good deeds by his god.

Priests would have healing spells, turn undead, holy word, and some
defensive spells.

Priests would not have offensive spells on the scale of those wizards
have, except versus demons, undead, and generic unholy things.

In practice, there would be a new stat, grace, like spellpoints (
which I'd like to rename 'mana').  How much grace you have would
depend on one's wisdom, and another new  stat 'power', like Wis Int, or Con...
Learning Prayers would depend on wisdom only.

Because priests are channeling god-power rather than using magic,
priest spells would become exempt from no-magic areas.  Also, 
magic-immune monsters would become vulnerable to god-power.  A new
type of area, 'unholy' would bar priest-spells.

Unlike mana, grace could go negative.  However, the lower your
current grace, the more likely your god is to ignore you!  Regeneration
of grace would work like that of spellpoints (mana).

New clerical spells:  banishment (for demons and undead:  outright kills them)
		      cause light wounds
		      cause medium wounds
		      cause serious wounds
		      sanctification  (creates holy ground on which grace
					 is regenerated quicker)
		      sanctuary (creates an area where monsters cannot go)

Weapons and armour would have no effect on clerical ability.  (Aside
from possible bonuses.)
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Mages would change less radically than priests.  They are already well
implemented in crossfire.

They would be denied healing spells and protection spells, and other
specifically clerical spells.  Wisdom would mean nothing to mages
any longer.  Instead, learning mage spells would depend solely upon
Intelligence, and mana would depend on the new stat, Power.

Additionally, mages would have the handicap that if they are encumbered
with 'stuff', they are less effective at spells.  Heavy weapons, 
heavy armour, really would cause spell-failures.  

Mage spells would work perfectly fine in unholy areas.
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Fighters:  Fighters gain exp by squishing monsters with weapons.
However, these self-same weapons and armour that fighters love to
use make them clumsy spellcasters.  Clerical and fighting abilities
are perfectly compatible, but thieves would suffer from encumbrance
also....
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Thiefs:  These are the least well-defined of the classes.  The current
game doesn't have much support for them.  Chests are untrapped, doors
are untrapped....  Everything is completely visible except for runes.

Runes are perfectly adapted for traps.  Just give the 'rune' a different
face, and a 'physical' attack, and presto, you have traps for the thieves
to disarm.

Experience for disarming traps would be awarded on this basis:
level of the trap * difficulty of the dungeon * damage trap does.
Ability to disarm traps would depend on Dex, Int, and Thief Level.
Same goes for picking locks, and picking pockets..  

Thief abilities are perfectly compatible with all others.
Thief abilities would be supported by having a new range attack--
search/disarm/steal/backstab, so that nobody would have to type 'search'
'disarm' over and over and over.

Perhaps 'backstab' should be a critical attack that thieves can use
on monsters who are not facing them......  Another way to gain
experience.
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General discussion:
  This is a major change.  I'm willing to do a lot of it, but 
i will need help.  Also, i'm unwilling even to start on it if
people don't like this idea.  I most need help in the area of
X support for the changes in stats.

  I think it does a lot to make the game more interesting.  It
gives a greater distinction between skill areas without introducing
any artificial divisions.  Under this system, you are good at what
you practice, not what you start out as.

  All characters would have four skill levels, and start out in
level one in each.  They would choose which path to follow, and
COULD choose to follow them all.

  RACE would take a new role.  Instead of 'wizard', 'cleric', etc.
We would have 'fireborn', 'half-elf', 'elf', 'human', 'troll',
'quetzalcoatl', 'halfling', 'orc', 'half-orc'.... 
Each race would have other strengths and weaknesses in 
addition to stat bonuses.  (I credit the revised RACE idea to ERic
Mehlhaff, and i think it's a great one.)

  Whether you're a 'wizard', 'cleric', or whatever would depend on
what you worked at, and on your inborn abilities, not on what
you were made.

  Optionally, the pixmap for players could depend on their levels
in the different skill areas.  A 'wizard' would be someone who was
unquestionably a wizard.  A 'swashbuckler' would be someone who 
was about the same level of fighter and thief.

*****************************************************************

My immediate plans:  ( I don't regard these changes as controversial)

1)  Put in the spell failure which is dependent on encumbrance with
weapons and armour

2)  Add the new clerical spells (Banishment, cause wounds....)
    (Cause wounds are going to be missile spells like bullet, but
     will use the cancellation bitmap.  I think it'd look cool.)

3)  Remove the ability of no-magic areas to ban clerical spells.
    (Remember, clerics won't have most offensive spells.)

Comments?
Questions?
Support?
Suggestions?
Objections?


Regards to all,

PeterM