October 1997
- Carnage, scripting newbie guides Koster, Raph
- Carnage, scripting newbie guides Nathan Yospe
- Carnage, scripting newbie guides Chris Gray
- Carnage, scripting newbie guides ##Make Nylander
- Carnage, scripting newbie guides ##Make Nylander
- Usability and interface and who the hell is supposed to clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- 101 Spells Not Worth Memorizing clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- more classes (Usability and interface and who the Brian Price
- more classes (Usability and interface and who the Matt Chatterley
- more classes (Usability and interface and who the coder@ibm.net
- Stranger in a Strange Land (was Usability and interface and Maddy
- Tablets. Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Stranger in a Strange Land (was Usability and interface clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- Usability and interface ... Marian Griffith
- Usability and interface ... Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Usability and interface ... Broly
- Usability and interface ... Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Usability and interface ... Derrick Jones
- Usability and interface ... coder@ibm.net
- Usability and interface ... Derrick Jones
- Usability and interface ... coder@ibm.net
- Usability and interface ... coder@ibm.net
- Usability and interface ... Marian Griffith
- Turn-based Combat Jon A. Lambert
- Turn-based Combat Travis Casey
- Turn-based Combat John G.
- OT: I'm moving! coder@ibm.net
- (fwd) New mud release coder@ibm.net
- Riddles for games clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- Riddles for games Chris Gray
- Riddles for games coder@ibm.net
- The Trap Collection clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- Learning through failure Jon A. Lambert
- Learning through failure Maddy
- The Trap Collection - Volume II clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE FOR FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAMES clawrenc@cup.hp.com
- (fwd) New MUD software wanted? coder@ibm.net
- (fwd) New MUD software wanted? Felix A. Croes
- (fwd) New MUD software wanted? coder@ibm.net
- META: File attachments as list postings. coder@ibm.net
- More Riddles... Jon A. Lambert
- More Riddles... Jon A. Lambert
- multiple intelligences Brandon J. Rickman
- multiple intelligences Travis Casey
- multiple intelligences Brandon J. Rickman
- multiple intelligences S001GMU@nova.wright.edu
- multiple intelligences Travis S. Casey
- multiple intelligences coder@ibm.net
- OT: Usability and interface and who the hell is suppo coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Michael Hohensee
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
On 15/10/97 at 09:37 AM, Derrick Jones <gunther@online1.magnus1.com> said:
>On Tue, 14 Oct 1997 coder@ibm.net wrote:
>> Ahh. My preference has idealised magic making being almost entirely
>> silent and stationary. The main requirements are great concentration and
>> will power, with the physical aspects coming in as minor supporting roles
>> as aids to the first two. The intent is for a truly expert mages to be
>> able to cast any magic without visibly moving a muscle. More minor mages
>> will require greater assistance to their concentration via physical
>> motions, words, and other patterning forms. Thus the neophyte may dance
>> and scream and wave his arms to achieve the proper conceptration and form
>> for a particular magic, a more expert mage may merely stagger a few
>> similar steps, mutter to himself, and gesture with his hands, and the
>> trhue expert may do nothing at all to cast the same spell but blink, if
>> that.
>Yes, the minor incantations would require but little thought on the part
>of the expert caster. (the attention vs. mastery code is still way down
>on my TODO list) I am toying with the idea of shrinking casting times
>and giving a percent chance to hide spell casting from the room based on
>the skill of the mage and the magical knowledge of the observers... Maybe
>a set of adverbs to coincide with the 'cast' command, so that a mage
>might try to cast quickly 'fireball'/cast quietly 'fireball'/cast
>powerfully 'fireball'/cast carefully 'fireball'...But as I said this
>section is weeks away from my full attention so any ideas are still
>sketchy at best.
Hmm. My intention, tho I haven't worked out the details, would be to have
a basic algebra of magic, based largely (well, in spirit) on Bartle's
Waving Hands, but also making it open-ended (ie allowance for suppression
of compleated spells for alter modification/addition). I have a strong
suspicion that it will be that algebra that will make magic a real toy in
its own right.
>On a side note, I think I'm becoming a big fan of adverbs.
One of the early rules for budding writers:
Go through your text and cross out every second adjective. Repeat. Now
cross out 2 out of every 3 adverbs.
Niven I think, but also popularised by Hubbard, Clarke, and hurm, unghh,
dammit, I forget. Adverbs tend to make for clumsy reading as they tend to
back-reference.
>> Should mages be something distinct from other character types?
>No they shouldn't, at least not normally. That's where I run into
>problems. Remember that I'm trying to keep the vast majority of violence
>out of certain areas (mainly to create a safe haven where the players are
>safe from PK without any artificial game constructs). On one hand I
>can't let mages go around torching the place with dozens of unarmed
>warriors running around (its easy enough to confiscate their weapons at
>the gate), but the real world doesn't provide me with any effective
>defence against magical attacks.
An easy handling would be to have the process of magic have reactive
effects, as well as to have the process of magic be isolatable,
detectable, and locatable. Consider wards of the form:
Anything attempting to cast or form magic within certain bounds will be
attacked by demons, hit by fireballs, etc.
Fairly simple, easy to justify on either religous grounds or as a prior
mages Great Work. Don't want such a heavy handed approach? Make it a
slight faulty spell/ward that only attacks/triggers sometimes, with the
variance either being percentage or key based dependant on whether you
want to supress all magic of a certain type, or merely to discourage it.
>One approach I've concidered is to make mages distinct from other
>characters, because in reality they are (magic in my world is an innate
>ability that is honed over the years.). Perhaps some test to find the
>innate ability in travelers to see if they pose a magical risk. But how
>do you treat a wandering mage at the gate to such a town? Give him a
>pill that represses his abilities? Deny him entrance?
Have a spell across the gate that bars entrance to all mages who do not
accept the accompaniment of an imp that monitors their every move, and
which summons unpleasnatries on them should they, err, stray. I could
also see creatively using geases.
>Or maybe I'm approaching this whole problem from the wrong direction.
>Perhaps there could be several areas within the town catering to the
>different classes (areas where dispel magics have eliminated _all_ magic
>from functioning, area where weapons are banned, etc). A known mage
>wandering into Warriors Alley would just be asking for trouble, while a
>bullying warrior in Mages Square without any weapons will be an equally
>easy target...
Which would also work.
>> Note: I'm taking a number of large risks here, among which are going for a
>> high magic world. High magic changes almost all the rules.
>Yes it does. You can't think on linear terms when dealing with magic,
>nor can you draw in help from real-world experience. One rule stays the
>same: If there is even the slightest design flaw, it will be found and
>exploited.
Yup. That's why I want an algebra. it provides for flexibility and
unpredictability on a player level, without removing the utterly
predictable scope on a game design level.
--
J C Lawrence Internet: claw@null.net
----------(*) Internet: coder@ibm.net
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...
- The Official T$R Book of Adventure Suggestions coder@ibm.net
- Mud governance Koster, Raph
- Mud governance Felix A. Croes
- Mud governance Mike Sellers
- Mud governance Travis Casey
- Mud governance coder@ibm.net
- Mud governance Mike Sellers
- Mud governance coder@ibm.net
- Mud governance S001GMU@nova.wright.edu
- Mud governance coder@ibm.net
- Mud governance Koster, Raph
- Mud governance coder@ibm.net
- OT: Usability and interface and who the hell is su Jon A. Lambert
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Marian Griffith
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Nathan Yospe
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Marian Griffith
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Sauron
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Marian Griffith
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Brandon J. Rickman
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Jon A. Lambert
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Adam Wiggins
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Derrick Jones
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Sauron
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Marian Griffith
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Marian Griffith
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Jon A. Lambert
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Vadim Tkachenko
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Sauron
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Stephen Zepp
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Matt Chatterley
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Vadim Tkachenko
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Stephen Zepp
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Matt Chatterley
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) coder@ibm.net
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Alex Oren
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Alex Oren
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Koster, Raph
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Chris Gray
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Richard Woolcock
- Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface) Stephen Zepp
- META: List burp coder@ibm.net
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) Derrick Jones
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) Matt Chatterley
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) coder@ibm.net
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) coder@ibm.net
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) Derrick Jones
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) coder@ibm.net
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) Derrick Jones
- To catch a mage (was fear of magic) coder@ibm.net
- CODE RELEASE: [mush mux] Portable Space Engine v0.8.3 RELEASED! coder@ibm.net
- ANNOUNCEMENT: [graphical commercial] Mystic Realms coder@ibm.net
- CODE RELEASE: [server] New Mud Software (SunderMUD 1.0) coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Jon A. Lambert
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Jon A. Lambert
- string parsing Adam Wiggins
- string parsing Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Nathan Yospe
- string parsing Felix A. Croes
- string parsing Nathan Yospe
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing Nathan Yospe
- string parsing Chris Gray
- string parsing coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Adam Wiggins
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Sauron
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Derrick Jones
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Michael Hohensee
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Brandon J. Rickman
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster Derrick Jones
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Idea: Hive-mind monster coder@ibm.net
- Skill Listing - Part II Jon A. Lambert
- Skill Listing - Part II Derrick Jones
- Skill Listing - Part I Jon A. Lambert
- Poison List - Part II Jon A. Lambert
- Poison List - Part III Jon A. Lambert
- Poison List - Part IV Jon A. Lambert
- Poison List - Part I Jon A. Lambert