Bad Ideas Thread

[taptap]

Every time you steal a Sil from Morgoth, you are immediately teleported to the top of the dungeon, and have to trek all the way down to the bottom again to steal the next. It's called "longer gameplay experience"!

I would expect people to take the whole crown then.

[taptap]

Mold-bane may sound ridiculous, but bat-bane or insect-bane would be SOOOO helpful for a build I try to run.

[Infinitum]

Speaking of banes; do Trolls properly fear Trollbane characters? Would be thematically badass, and could even justify taking it in certain situations.

Also, if "magic" ever gets implemented (there are afterall plenty of non-sung glamours and the like to go around in the source material), having a spell that destabilizes bridges/pillars would be neat (Horns of Blasting are exactly this but blargh). Dropping a mountain (or three) on Morgoth ftw!

Obligatory quote to prove my point (not that you would refute my bad ideas anyhow):

'You cannot pass! ' he said. With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed. (...) At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog's feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.

Also, whilst I'm at it:

Gimli took his arm and helped him down to a seat on the step. `What happened away up there at the door? ' he asked. `Did you meet the beater of the drums?' 'I do not know,' answered Gandalf. `But I found myself suddenly faced by something that I have not met before. I could think of nothing to do but to try and put a shutting-spell on the door. I know many; but to do things of that kind rightly requires time, and even then the door can be broken by strength. `As I stood there I could hear orc-voices on the other side: at any moment I thought they would burst it open. I could not hear what was said; they seemed to be talking in their own hideous language. All I caught was _ghâsh;_ that is "fire". Then something came into the chamber – I felt it through the door, and the orcs themselves were afraid and fell silent. It laid hold of the iron ring, and then it perceived me and my spell.

'What it was I cannot guess, but I have never felt such a challenge. The counter-spell was terrible. It nearly broke me. For an instant the door left my control and began to open! I had to speak a word of Command. That proved too great a strain. The door burst in pieces. Something dark as a cloud was blocking out all the light inside, and I was thrown backwards down the stairs. All the wall gave way, and the roof of the chamber as well, I think.

Yes, I know there are Staffs of Imprisonment and yes, I know neo-Morgoth sings something very akin to this but goddamnit if all I want for christmas aren't words of command. Please?

[NotMorgoth]

Yes, I know there are Staffs of Imprisonment and yes, I know neo-Morgoth sings something very akin to this but goddamnit if all I want for christmas aren't words of command. Please?

Maybe only Maia can use words of command - though hey, Maia as playable characters is a (bad?) idea in itself.

[taptap]

Allow choice of item colours in smithing menu. I would so make a red robe of aggravation.

[taptap]

Remove regeneration (or slow by factor 100 something) for increased "realism".

[mewmew]

dwarf fortress anatomic model of damage would be good too
if an orc hurt your elven girl in the leg she should jump on one leg, and when another orc hit her second leg she continue to crawl to her quest to sing for morgot using hands only

also luthien was a cheater and had an uber artifact at the start (and also a humanoid pet)

[debo]

dwarf fortress anatomic model of damage would be good too
if an orc hurt your elven girl in the leg she should jump on one leg, and when another orc hit her second leg she continue to crawl to her quest to sing for morgot using hands only

also luthien was a cheater and had an uber artifact at the start (and also a humanoid pet)

A little known fact about the actual Luthien legend is that she went into Angband with a vanilla cloak, but scummed 950' forever looking for forges so that she could craft one made of shadow.

[Infinitum]

Re: damage model - replace the HP/Constitution stats with some synonyms for luck/grace/fate/whatever - the rationale being that "hits" still turn out as shallow wounds and near misses until the character literally run out of luck and receive an actual wound (and hence cannot fight on).

[debo]

Re: damage model - replace the HP/Constitution stats with some synonyms for luck/grace/fate/whatever - the rationale being that "hits" still turn out as shallow wounds and near misses until the character literally run out of luck and receive an actual wound (and hence cannot fight on).

I guess cat warriors would get 9 of these

[HallucinationMushroom]

Institute both ToME's sanity point system and Steamband's wound point system, because everyone loves those.

[ekolis]

Aww, I liked wound points...

[Infinitum]

Allow PCs to make perception checks in order to spot monsters and items outside of their light radius (and in their LOS). Give all monsters (and items!) a stealth score based on size to compensate. A partially successful roll gives the player a vague outline ("You make out a titanic shape in the darkness", "You see a small item" etc). Retool Keen Senses to give a +5 spot monster/items bonus. Listen can give a further +5 bonus together with the see through walls jazz. Instant tension, just add paranoia!

Speaking of light; maybe add an intermediate level of darkness between lit and pitch black? Gloom? Mechanically Items/Monsters within it could still be hidden from view but be easier to spot than stuff in the shadows. Again, this could help distinguish magical darkness from the surrounding dungeon, and seeing a darker shade of black (whilst barely making out a titanic shape within..) moving across the dungeon could be visually impressive.

Oh! And remove Torches? Burning-pitch-on-a-stick was never used for indoors lightning as much as putting things to the literal torch. The entire wall-mounted torches thing is a thing of medieval times movie adaptions. The candle was invented for a reason. Maybe have a Lantern -> Lesser Jewel -> Feanorian Lamp progression instead (using the 1, 2, 3 light radius formula)?

[taptap]

Oh! And remove Torches? Burning-pitch-on-a-stick was never used for indoors lightning as much as putting things to the literal torch. The entire wall-mounted torches thing is a thing of medieval times movie adaptions. The candle was invented for a reason. Maybe have a Lantern -> Lesser Jewel -> Feanorian Lamp progression instead (using the 1, 2, 3 light radius formula)?

This is not a bad idea! (Can not resist to spam this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQZqbGME5HY)

You could make candles / jewel -> lantern -> f. lamp and make candles flicker when sprinting or otherwise moving too fast (as in combat)

[Infinitum]

New plan then. Reinstate Flasks of Oil. Introduce wooden furniture, scaffolding and waste piles. Make torches throwable. Make monsters flammable.