randSpellbooks

[fizzix]

Of course the downside is that you never may be able to build up the current level of spell books in the same number of slots. Mordinkanen's is a uniformly very useful book, I'd hate to have to piece it together out of 3 or 4 books. If so, then inventory size would need to be looked at. edit: make it a birth option, like randarts. Every randart game is a different game. Each randspellbook games for casters would be similarly different.

The easy solution would be also to provide rare blank spellbooks with capacity for 3-4 spells. However, there's no good reason we shouldn't be thinking about modification to inventory anyway. It's long overdue for an overhaul.

[Derakon]

Great reason not to play the others. I like the choice and the ability to adapt to the situation (fire vs. ice) in vanilla angband.

Then you have to cope with the lack of direct firepower capacity. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

[Bogatyr]

Then you have to cope with the lack of direct firepower capacity. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Yeah but we can still fix what can be improved, as previously noted, namely confuse/slow/sleep having effective tactical use beyond the early game.

[fizzix]

Yeah but we can still fix what can be improved, as previously noted, namely confuse/slow/sleep having effective tactical use beyond the early game.

I sort of agree with Derakon, and there's a fine line where it becomes too overpowered that it's no longer fun. If a mage can confuse and slow most monsters, and pelt them with powerful spells from a distance, then the mage is too powerful. If it can only do one of the two, then it becomes interesting. To this point Angband has solved the issue by making confusion spells unviable. Really what I want would be something like an assassin class that has powerful debuff spells and huge melee bonuses when the monster is confused or asleep.

Still, this is theory-crafting, and I've sometimes been surprised with the results once I take an idea and playtest it. It actually shouldn't be too difficult to alter confuse and sleep so that they cost less and work more often. Then you can test play it and see what you think!

[AnonymousHero]

I sort of agree with Derakon, and there's a fine line where it becomes too overpowered that it's no longer fun. If a mage can confuse and slow most monsters, and pelt them with powerful spells from a distance, then the mage is too powerful. If it can only do one of the two, then it becomes interesting. To this point Angband has solved the issue by making confusion spells unviable. Really what I want would be something like an assassin class that has powerful debuff spells and huge melee bonuses when the monster is confused or asleep.

Still, this is theory-crafting, and I've sometimes been surprised with the results once I take an idea and playtest it. It actually shouldn't be too difficult to alter confuse and sleep so that they cost less and work more often. Then you can test play it and see what you think!

Maybe there should be an actual game mode where we can "do enough stats" (insert enough handwaving) and randomize the properties of the game itself... and then use a genetic algorithm to converge to an "optimal game" (again, handwaving about what optimal means)?

[Bogatyr]

I sort of agree with Derakon, and there's a fine line where it becomes too overpowered that it's no longer fun. If a mage can confuse and slow most monsters, and pelt them with powerful spells from a distance, then the mage is too powerful. If it can only do one of the two, then it becomes interesting. To this point Angband has solved the issue by making confusion spells unviable. Really what I want would be something like an assassin class that has powerful debuff spells and huge melee bonuses when the monster is confused or asleep.

Still, this is theory-crafting, and I've sometimes been surprised with the results once I take an idea and playtest it. It actually shouldn't be too difficult to alter confuse and sleep so that they cost less and work more often. Then you can test play it and see what you think!

I think we're far away from that line. Confuse is completely unviable against just about anything interesting. You can envision a viable use of it giving a slight advantage over not using it at all. After all, the mage is spending an entire turn on the cast, which in the presence of a breather is very dangerous, there should be a benefit for taking that risk. One way is to make it mostly a defensive/escape spell -- damage could "snap awake and unconfuse", for example. Another is to limit the duration, so that the mage can risk one turn for having a few "haste-like" turns as a result. Having a maximum confusion duration is another way to prevent it from being too overpowered, but remain a viable tactic.

We just spent a lot of time talking about all the massively powerful utility spells, and that the less useful attack spells are the cost. Well, let's make those utility spells meet that standard.

[Derakon]

I'll just leave this out here...

...again...

[Bogatyr]

I'll just leave this out here...

...again...

read it this time. A more helpful title like "link to suggestions about confuse/sleep/slow" might have grabbed my attention more than "this" :P

[fizzix]

I'll just leave this out here...

...again...

I was going to say that I don't remember seeing that, but then, yeah, I commented in that thread. So I just forgot it.

In retrospect, I think I prefer Sil's approach of dueling rolls. I think that solves some of the problems, since you have a good chance of gauging how probable an effect is to hit.