Does start game stats matter anymore after reaching/exploiting stat gain depth??

[buzzkill]

Let me try and twist this in a different direction...

Is having and class/race combos max out at 18/100 or 18/200 the most desirable goal, or would it be better if end game stats, though increased, would still be proportionally (roughly) equal to typical starting stats for any given race/class combo.

I think the later would be better, though probably unrealistic without major rebalancing. Though with the game getting easier all the time, this would be a good way to toughen it up again.

The implement ion would be easy enough. I can think of 2 solutions off the top of my head. The first would be to alter the frequency of stat potion drops to be in line with the race/class bonuses. Therefore, mages would be more likely to find INT potions than any other. The second, and IMO the better, would be to alter their effectiveness, rather than the drop ratio. So, with the same mage, a potion of INT would be more effective one of STR (INT=1, STR<1).

Just thinking out loud...

[tummychow]

If you're worried about starting stats, just play really conservatively.
I didn't leave the first five levels of the dungeon for my character's first twenty levels. (As a high elf, that is excruciating, I swear.) That would probably explain why the majority of my game has gone by without phase doors or teleports, or even teleport others.
Then, I suddenly dived at about one dungeon level per level-up. I realized that the ridiculously conservative play attitude was no longer useful or efficient, especially for a slow-leveling character.
Basically, stay until you are comfortably safe there - that is, until you will probably be able to kill anything you meet on that level. Then go downwards. That way, you can avoid the early deaths that plague a lot of characters. (My first character got killed by a squint-eyed rogue before even going into the dungeon...)
But I'm getting off topic...

[pampl]

Is having and class/race combos max out at 18/100 or 18/200 the most desirable goal, or would it be better if end game stats, though increased, would still be proportionally (roughly) equal to typical starting stats for any given race/class combo.

I think the later would be better, though probably unrealistic without major rebalancing. Though with the game getting easier all the time, this would be a good way to toughen it up again.

That's a big enough change that it's tough to imagine how it'd turn out, but I think I like the current system more. As it is, stat gain is sort of a separate fork of character development from gaining levels- stat potions make you a good generalist, able to fight decently and take a hit decently and use magic items decently etc, and levels make you better at your class' specialty. If stats were more heavily influenced by race and class then gaining them wouldn't be very different from gaining levels. Granted it's not really that interesting in practice, because the player doesn't really have much control over whether the game generates potions of augmentation or mumak herds, but I still kind of like how different the two types of rewards are.

I'm not sure it'd make the game harder. The easiest choices- Dunadan Paladin, HE Rogue, .. - wouldn't lose anything by making their stats more heavily influenced by class or race. It would make Halfling priests and Elven mages even tougher, so it *would* increase the range of difficulties to choose from. That doesn't matter a lot to me but I can see the appeal for better players.

[fizzix]

That's a big enough change that it's tough to imagine how it'd turn out, but I think I like the current system more. As it is, stat gain is sort of a separate fork of character development from gaining levels- stat potions make you a good generalist, able to fight decently and take a hit decently and use magic items decently etc, and levels make you better at your class' specialty. If stats were more heavily influenced by race and class then gaining them wouldn't be very different from gaining levels. Granted it's not really that interesting in practice, because the player doesn't really have much control over whether the game generates potions of augmentation or mumak herds, but I still kind of like how different the two types of rewards are.

Personally, I despise stat gain and anything that minimizes its effect, or makes it trivially easy if you get to a certain depth in the dungeon (say augmentation drops in stacks, and is common on dlevel 90+) would be looked upon favorably by me.