should uniques be trample-able?

[fizzix]

Here are my thoughts on the subject:

1. If trampler attempts to trample it's summoner, do MOVE_BODY instead, and perhaps a message like "Horned Reaper pushes past it's summoner/master." Although that demonologist got what he deserved after summoning reapers.

your demonologist summoning reapers is exactly the reason that summoned monsters should be able to trample their summoners.

2. If a trampler attempts to trample a unique, do MOVE_BODY if the monster_max_hp >= trampler_max_hp. Saruman is quite smaller than a reaper though...

The hp idea (i know someone else suggested it also), is a good compromise. In order to trample you need to have more max_hp and a higher level.

3. Possibly add flags to indicate size, or maybe an integer. Eg. Tiny -> Small -> Medium -> Large -> Huge -> Colossal (ala D&D).
Larger by two steps or more always tramples.
Larger by one step tramples 50% of the time, pushes past otherwise.
Equal size tramples 25% of the time or pushes past.
Smaller by one step tramples 10% of the time, otherwise pushes past.

these are good ideas, and i think will_asher is thinking about adding monster size to DJA. I think it's a ways off for V though.

[fyonn]

instead of max_hp, why not current_hp? a creature on it's last legs may not have the energy to push past or trample anything?

I do like the idea of summons being able to kill their summoner. Just because a creature has been summoned doesn't mean it owes anything to the summoner. if the summoner is tougher than the summon then the summon is likely to do as the summon says and obey orders (or the summoner will enact retribution). if the summon is tougher than the summoner then it's a danger to both. ie a summoner should be very wary of summoning something it can't control. if an enchantress summons a AWhiteD, well, that's still a massive ancient dragon who want's to eat and that young lady needs to be pretty careful. she may well be controlling it with magic, but that control is likely to be tenuous at best and it seems easy enough for the dragon to put a foot in the wrong place and squash the enchantress. and if she calls a dracolich, she might not be able to control it at all and it might be quite happy to kill anything it sees including it's summoner.

on the unique front. tbh, I reckon that they ought to be a bit proof against trampling, but not all that much. by the time you're meeting horned reapers, grip and lagduf are not big problems and if one should show up and it get squished is no major issue. it's not like they qould have been much of a challenge. what's lagduf doing getting in the way of that fight anyway, only himself to blame. and if morgoth was to summon lagduf and golfimbul, well, they'd just be a green smear on the floor within seconds and I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to return later.

I think this is a rare enough case anyway that there's little abuse or ease in it.

dave

[fizzix]

instead of max_hp, why not current_hp? a creature on it's last legs may not have the energy to push past or trample anything?

I don't particularly like current hp because I think it's cheap for you to bring a big monster down to near death and then have it get trampled leaving you with no gain for your efforts.

as far as rarity goes. It has happened to me twice, so it can't be all that rare. It's certainly less rare than finding the one ring, which has never happened to me.

[Rizwan]

I've made that suggestion before and was roundly shouted down...

or maybe it was just ignored. Hard to remember between the two.

+1
I am in favor of this arrangement. OTOH if you do summon a being more powerful than you, then you had better beware the consequences
Edit: But Uniques should never be trampled.