CF: RE: Classes and Races

[dragonm <dragonm@leech.org>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Hwei Sheng TEOH
To: crossfire mailing list
Sent: 9/8/99 8:15 PM
Subject: RE: Classes and Races, was Re: CF: Alternate proposal:  MARK the
power  crystals

<snip>

About the existing wraith/quetzalcoatl race/class, I think that things
could be improved. For example, we should have different starting maps for
these classes, that fit them better. For example, a wraith may start in an
undead town or something, and a beholder (which would be an extremely
interesting class to play if it's done) might start in some "beholder town"
with items and stuff that befits beholders. After all, why would a human
shopkeeper regard a wraith customer just as any other customer? Also,
starting maps can be tailored for each of these special "monster" classes
that add some "monster culture". This may actually add to the re-playability
of the game, since it would be a very different experience playing a
"monster" class rather than a humanoid class.
----------------
You do realize you're quoting almost verbatim from the EverQuest design
document, right?  :)  Everquest just might BE the Ultima killer the
designers were hoping for.  Everybody on this list is generating big chunks
of the EverQuest design seemingly without realizing it.  I guess there is a
significant demand for those features.

This has advantages and disadvantages.  The disadvantage is the Me-Too
Syndrome.  We sound like the EverQuest Wannabe League, if you'd like to be
impolite.  The Open Source world has a long track-record of this style of
design, so it's not exactly tragic, but there's a sort of stigma there when
it comes to new people not as familiar with The Way Things Are.  Something
to bear in mind.

The advantage is, if somebody proposes a feature that already exists in
EverQuest, we have instant feedback on how well the proposal works, without
having to implement anything ourselves.

Having said that, the multiple start towns for multiple races thing works
quite well.  If you start as an Ogre in EverQuest, you start in the Ogre
town, in the heart of Ogre territory.  Each race has a sort of territory on
the continent(s), and interesting things happen where territories meet.

I think EverQuest took that to extremes.  They're actually enforcing racial
hatreds in their implementation: guards in Ogre town will kill on sight any
human who makes it into town.  I disliked that myself, since it severely
restricts some significant role playing avenues, but if we go this route, it
seems we'll likely do the same.  We already have gods with enemy races with
enormous attack bonuses against those races, and more than likely,
race-oriented towns would be dominated by those gods.  As I said, I don't
much care for it, but it seems we're well down the road already.  :/

Can anybody else think of more major implications of going heavily
multi-species/multi-racial?

DM
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