CF: Object decay, wear, and repair (Was Re: World Map)

[David Andrew Michael Noelle <dave@Straylight.org>]

Mark Wedel wrote:

>  This may become simpler if/when we go to a 2 scale system (outdoor/indoor).
> You could assume outdoor walls can be scaled, while indoor walls can not (meets
> the cieling).  I do agree that having things 'blocked' is a bit excessive.  It
> could even be interesting to dig through walls, albeit very slowly.
> 
>  Certain areas, like treasure chambers, should be protect by impeneterable
> areas.  But the bulk of the world shouldn't be.

    How about letting aethereal (immune: physical) players simply walk
through walls?  As long as the walls aren't also magic-proof, of course. 
That would allow access to the same types of places that Dimension Door
does, with perhaps a few more because of the ability to turn corners, but it
would be a different and interesting way to accomplish the same thing.


>  We talked about making most food objects age and slowly disappear (decompose).
> Something similar could be done for ships.
> 
>  Give them a very slow decomposition rate based on quality.  Each ship has so
> many 'hp'.  Each time it decomposes, it looses some hp.
> 
>  So a ship with a low decompose rate and maximum hp would last a very long
> time.  A poor ship may not have a lot of hp left and a fast decomposition rate.
> 
>  The one other advantage to this is that you don't get a case with the world
> littered with ships (which could happen in the ultima series as you don't have a
> ship handy, buy one, sail it to where your other ships are) - if you leave a
> ship someplace for a long time, it will eventually fall apart.  If a ship is in
> port, it would be immune to this aging effect. (and maybe you drop some gold
> down, and repairs actually get started while you do your business)
>
> > Actually, now that I think about it, to offset the too-powerful-artifact
> > problem, do people think it's a good idea to implement a deterioration factor
> > into equipment, so that it's not just a matter of buying/finding a +7
> > supersword and be powerful forever from then on, but after you use this weapon
> > enough, you may have to repair it (sharpen it or strengthen the waning magical
> > enchantment it has). Same idea as the maintenance fee of ships above. Will
> > this be too cumbersome, or will it actually help in balancing the game?

    I like this idea.  I've been thinking about something like this for a
while now, but I hadn't gotten around to mentioning it.  (I have several
more of those I'll try to sit down and type out this weekend.)  I would like
to see this option extended to objects in general.  Armour that absorbs a
lot of damage should be actually damaged and eventually start falling
apart.  And equipment damaged by acid should be able to be repaired, if you
can find a smith (or mage-smith) skilled enough to repair it.  Most objects
don't decay on their own, but weapons and armour should damage each other
and other items should decay in certain environments.  Food and flesh for
example, should decay over time unless they're in a cold environment
(refrigetator, glacial cave, frozen in an ice cube).

    Magical weapons and armour should probably either be immune to damage
and decay or only take damage from more powerful magic items.  Giving items
hit points can also augment the current item saving throw/destruction code.


>  I think aging for all equipment may just end up being too annoying.  I don't
> think it would be very fun to have to head back to town from the middle of the
> wilderness because your equipment needs repair.

    So, make objects wear down very gradually, like armour taking one point
of damage every time it blocks a certain amount of damage.  Weapons might
take one point of damage every time their roll to hit, converted to a
percentage, is less than the target's armour.  Then it's just a matter of
playtesting a bit to determine the right range of hit points for various
items.


>  For some specialized items or very powerful ones, it could make sense.
>  But for something like a sword, you can't really repair it - you just
> re-sharpen it.  So maybe it could lose some of its pluses, but unless you enable
> the shop keepers to go back up to that high level (which then involves storing a
> maximum plus value), it would be a one way street and in the end, all your
> equipment would end up mediocre.

    The strongest magical armours and weapons might have a negative decay
rate, so that they actually repair themselves over time.  For the ones that
don't you'd just have to find someone skilled enough to repair your
worn-down Excalibur and rely on the fact that such an artifact is difficult
to damage in the first place.

    Side effects of this include: weapons and armour of varying quality
found in varying states of repair, rare and expensive Repair Weapon and
Repair Armour scrolls, non-magical "artifact" items of exceptional, albeit
natural, quality that have more hit points or are more resistant to damage. 
Use of smithery skill (and an appropriate "anvil") to repair
damaged/worn/corroded items up to a maximum dependent on your level,
something like +1 per 8 levels.  And don't forget the economic effects. 
Less equipment will be sold to shops when it becomes important to have more
spares and replace items you don't want to bother repairing, or can't afford
to repair.  Maintaining all your equipment becomes rapidly more costly as
you accumulate more and more powerful equipment.

-- 
            -Dave Noelle,                 dave@Straylight.org
            -the Villa Straylight,  http://www.straylight.org
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Disclaimer: U.C.L.A. doesn't share my opinions; life isn't that good.

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