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Polypiling (was wimpy)



Preston.F.Crow@Dartmouth.EDU (Preston F. Crow) write:-
| >ya, never throw away a wand.... ALWAYS poly them.  Also poly amulets
| >and rings.
| 
| Currently, this is good advice, but I don't think it should be a part of
| the game.  From both a philosophical and game ballance perspective, I
| think it would be better not to be able to polymorph items--certainly
| not change them into items that are significantly more powerful.
| 
Take a leaf from nethack, where polypiling, as players term it, is
a big thing.

   1/ Polymorph will NEVER create a wand of polymorph or wishing
   2/ Cursed and blessed items remain cursed and blessed.
   3/ Charged items (like wands) always keep the same charge 
      (IE: a wand of 0 charges will polymorph into some other
       wand of zero charges).  A scroll however can recharge wands
       (with limits for wand of wishing)
   4/ Rings,wands and scroll have a chance of becoming a ring/wnad of
      nothing or a empty scroll. polymorphing these have no (or little)
      change.
      Aside: crossfire already does this for books and scrolls


I would suggest also the following mods in crossfire

  3'/ As above with.
      Rings can not get more bonuses that they have.
      Note a negitive however could become a positive and via,verse.
      (IE: a bonuses replacement scheme)
      EG: a ring of Str+1,Con-1  can become a ring of Regeneration+2
         (though it would be unlikely)
      I would lump oppisites like Pro:Fire,Vul:Cold as one bonus.

  4'/ The spell level of scrolls and wands reduce by one, when zero
      it becomes a wand of nothing and empty scrolls.
      Scrolls of impovement are level 10?12? spell level (not availale
      in wands or spellbooks)
      Rings have a (small) chance of reducing the number of bonuses they
      have becoming a ring of nothing if no bonus exist.
    
This 4 point scheme would make polypiling still worth while, but insures
you can't get something for nothing, and eventually make items in the pile
usless to polypile further. This keeps the balance nicely.

PS: nethack also allows you to write scrolls with a magic marker, in crossfire
I'd make that only spells you know can be put of scrolls (which magic points
used in the process), Thus you can store spells into scrolls for later
use (store magic points in preset spells!)


  Anthony Thyssen ( System Programmer )    http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~anthony/
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