New dev version

[Max Stats]

I like rolling stats first because that is the way characters were done in Moria and in most old-school roleplaying games, both computerized and tabletop. It seems somehow "natural" to me, and both autoroller and point-based feel a bit like cheating. And they both require you to know exactly what stats you want before rolling, which removes the fun surprise element in character creation.

ISTR from D&D days that it was typical to roll a stat then let the player decide which stat it would go under. So if we want the full-on old-school method, we would need to have all six numbers rolled, then allow the player to choose where they go. Or just place the stats as it does now and allow the player to swap the values of any stats. Of course, the distinction between this method and the point-based method (assuming we max-out the random rolls) is possibly not enough to be worth implementing.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

ISTR from D&D days that it was typical to roll a stat then let the player decide which stat it would go under.

That was a common house rule back then, and it has been the official way since D&D 3.

In the original rules you rolled six stats and placed them in that order.

[Shockbolt]

I vote for D100 stats and the ability to choose special perks when any stat exceed 100...then again, I grew up with the IronCrown rpg books, not "the other system" *hands crossed*

[Mikko Lehtinen]

I vote for D100 stats and the ability to choose special perks when any stat exceed 100...then again, I grew up with the IronCrown rpg books, not "the other system" *hands crossed*

That would make much more sense than the current 18/XX system.

I vote for porting Rolemaster critical tables to Angband, too. We already have the Elemental Companion.

[Magnate]

That would make much more sense than the current 18/XX system.

I vote for porting Rolemaster critical tables to Angband, too. We already have the Elemental Companion.

I would be very very very happy if someone wanted to provide some parseable text files with all the Rolemaster critical hit descriptions in. Just N:crit-type:crit-name and D:text would do for a start. I'd happily write the parser for that. We have long aspired to give critical hits a thorough overhaul, and this would be just the incentive.

I'm also cool with percentile stats, though there are devs more interested than me in reworking the stat system.

[Shockbolt]

That would make much more sense than the current 18/XX system.

I vote for porting Rolemaster critical tables to Angband, too. We already have the Elemental Companion.

I don't want to encourage doing that as I also have "a hand and a foot" inside the current Iron Crown Enterprises team....but it would've been mighty fun if Angband went in that direction

[Gorbad]

Converting the Rolemaster tables will involve quite a bit more work than merely copy pasting.

Several of the criticals have differing actions for when an opponent is wearing specific types of armor, or involve dropping weapons. Or even more 'interpreted' results like 'Without neck armor he dies in 6 rounds.' and 'His shield arm is now broken. It wasn’t that hard. This could become routine for you.'. Also, not too enamored of some of the more funny descriptions.

This is not to say that it's not doable, but Angband should probably (if only for the copyright issues), take the tables as a start and create it's own list.

I did include a small 'first attempt', derived from 'Arms Law'.

[Magnate]

Converting the Rolemaster tables will involve quite a bit more work than merely copy pasting.

Several of the criticals have differing actions for when an opponent is wearing specific types of armor, or involve dropping weapons. Or even more 'interpreted' results like 'Without neck armor he dies in 6 rounds.' and 'His shield arm is now broken. It wasn’t that hard. This could become routine for you.'. Also, not too enamored of some of the more funny descriptions.

This is not to say that it's not doable, but Angband should probably (if only for the copyright issues), take the tables as a start and create it's own list.

I did include a small 'first attempt', derived from 'Arms Law'.

That's excellent! That's just the kind of thing we need. Obviously there's a whole load of extra coding to support stuff like fumbling, but it's exactly the right format.

You are right about copying & pasting, of course - it needs some careful thought to translate the different criticals to Angband. But it would be excellent to do this. If anyone wants to finish off that text file, the place to put the finished one is http://trac.rephial.org/ticket/534.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

Super cool!

My FayAngband handles criticals in unusual way. Usually you only get criticals against distracted (sleeping, scared, or confused) monsters. Rogues are much better at ambushing than other classes. These changes add tactical depth to criticals, and something like this might work in Vanilla, too.