Dwarf Fortress > DF Suggestions
Occam's Razor: Dwarven Magic
ChaosFollowing:
Been thinking about a simple yet elegant solution to the future implementation of magic and the outposts of other races. Rather than present it all at once, I'm going to divide it into sections, starting with Dwarven Magic as we already have Dwarf Fortress.Caveat: This won't be popular with everybody, primarily because of its simplicity.Dwarven MagicAs a quick introduction it's probably worth mentioning that dwarves, virtually regardless of setting, are rarely your typical magic-wielding, fireball-hurling sorcerers. Dwarven magic, in literature and gaming, is often concentrated on the forging of enchanted items, occasionally through rune-craft.Solution : Dwarven magic = Strange Moods & ArtifactsI told you that wouldn't be popular. However, if we combine the above idea with TRULY legendary artifacts, then things start to get very interesting. Bear in mind that Strange Moods retain their randomness, preventing artifacts from being too game-breaking.Artifact Weapons and ArmorAt the moment, weapons and armor are the most useful artifacts, because they confer obvious game-world benefits. These I would leave virtually unchanged, and
attempt to make all the other artifacts as useful.FURNITUREArtifact MechanismsArtifact Mechanisms provide constant X units of power when rigged to a gear assembly. If placed in a trap, Artifact Mechanisms never jam.Artifact StatuesAn artifact statue is essentially a tame Golem, with various permutations possible: Rock Crystal Golem, Steel Golem, Marble Golem, etc. Either the Golem may be chained or assigned as a pet to help with defence, or perhaps it could act as a fearless hauler automaton.Optional: Bone and Leather Golems would instead be tame Skeletal [bonetype] or tame Zombie [bonetype], allowing for necromancy and build-your-own Undead Dragons.Artifact ChainsAn animal held by an Artifact Chain is automatically tamed. A person held by an Artifact Chain is no longer berserk. This allows you to place normally-untameable creatures as guards for your fortress, such as unicorns, and capture/display slaves of other races. Removing an Artifact Chain from a creature/person makes it wild/berserk...even if it was tame/calm to begin with.Artifact Barrels, Bin, Bags, Boxes, Backpacks, Quivers and WaterskinsArtifact Containers act essentially as Bags of Holding, with four times(for example) the space of a regular container. Food, etc. in an Artifact Container never spoils.Alternative: Objects of a single type placed in an Artifact Container slowly gain in number, whether food, drink, bolts, stone blocks, etc....with at least two measures/units needed before it begins.Artifact BedsThe designated owner of an Artifact Bed(room) requires no sleep. This does not automatically rejuvenate their wakefulness(which would allow you to transfer the bedroom around), but merely disables the dwarfs ability to sleep. Depending on the game mechanics, this may result in the dwarf entering an immediate coma if he owns the bedroom for a few years then changes to another.Metal, etc. artifact beds will of course have the same ability.CRAFTSCaveat: Artifact Crafts should be buildable(essentially as displays) or wearable(crowns, etc), as well as tradeable.Artifact CrownThe wearer of an Artifact Crown automatically becomes a King(or Queen), even if it triggers your seven-dwarf hamlet into a kingdom, with all the requirements.If you already have a King/Queen, the two dwarves immediately seek each other out and fight to the death, leaving you with one(or less) rulers.Artifact IdolsArtifact Idols should be crafted after either a random world Deity OR the Deity of the artifacts creator OR be a new target of worship themselves. Artifact Idols should be buildable as statues, and have a chance to convert dwarves(or optionally, other intelligent races) who admire the statue. Difficulty would be based on both the worth of the idol and the current belief strength of the admirer.Artifact InstrumentsArtifact Instruments are buildable, allowing specific placement. Artifact Instruments play themselves, generating happy thoughts and disrupting sleep in a wide radius.Optional: All instruments are buildable and have a "Play Me" order attached to them. Dwarves with the necessary skill may play an instrument to the above effect((un)happy thoughts(based on skill)/sleep disruption). In this instance, Artifact Instruments are the only ones that play themselves.
Any thoughts? Or ideas for other artifacts?
mutant mell:
Your dealing a bit too much in absolutes for my taste. For instance, what if I wanted to make a chain that immediately made a creature mad with rage, and that killed anything close to it?The idea is good, but once again I do not prefer absolutes, and a lot of people do not either. Perhaps instead of making dwarfs only capable of this, perhaps give them a strong tendency towards preferring this kind of magic? So that a player could make a spell-slinging dwarf if the mood struck them.
Capntastic:
I do like the Idol suggestions, but only because I've been waiting for deity/Idol/worship interplay.A lot of these, though, seem like special case type things, which don't really mesh well with the over-arching procedural nature of DF, in some cases.I don't think DF's magic will be summed up on "this does this, it's magic, this let's you do this, it's magic." In DF it will be a far more complex, and, I feel, flexible system that dovetails with current procedural features- not merely "Giving enemies spells and putting magic items in loot." Of course, this is just speculation on what I've seen Toady do so far; all I can be sure of is that there will be many facets at play.
ChaosFollowing:
quote:Originally posted by mutant mell:
<STRONG>Your dealing a bit too much in absolutes for my taste. For instance, what if I wanted to make a chain that immediately made a creature mad with rage, and that killed anything close to it?The idea is good, but once again I do not prefer absolutes, and a lot of people do not either. Perhaps instead of making dwarfs only capable of this, perhaps give them a strong tendency towards preferring this kind of magic? So that a player could make a spell-slinging dwarf if the mood struck them.</STRONG>I pity the poor dwarf that gets the order to attach a creature to that chain. :)But yes, the crux of my argument here is: Dwarves are not spell-slingers, and dwarven magic is random and wholly artifact-based. Possibly something could be done to encourage artifact types(if you wanted lots of Golems, for example).
Draco18s:
Why not try reading the dev notes on magic and how Toady wants the player to be able to formulate their own spells. Your suggestion doesn't account for that.
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