Re: Critique of Summarized plans (fwd)

[Brian Thomas <thomas@chaupher.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

> 
>   Where we have 1 experience variable, we would have 4
>   where we have 1 level, we would have 4
>        (and all associated things like tables would be 4x)
> 
>   disarming traps would go toward thief exp
	
	I would also add lockpicking and stealing too!

> I agree that the "4-class" method is rather limiting when skills are
> included into the picture.  I am still working on that one, although
> it would be much easier if each fell into one of the basic categories.
> Perhaps the skills could be separate things in themselves, so
> experience for a skill increases only by using that skill, and doing
> so does not affect any other experience levels.  This would separate
> skills from classes. 
	
	Yes this is true. But if you are going to all the work
to have each (little) skill have experience, why not make fighter/mage/cleric/
thief into (little) skills too? I think the main point of the 4-skills
proposal is that each skills catagorie would have "associated skills".
For example,

	"thief" skill would have associated with it:
	
	"lockpicking" "stealing" "hiding" "find/remove/set traps"

	If you increase in thief skill, then all the "associated" skills
also increase too. What is good about this is that you get differentiation
in the kinds of experience a player may earn (as opposed to now). What
(I think) is bad about it is that all "thieves" now have the mix of 
"associated" skills. Adding new skills in this system becomes harder to 
do too, and you must always have a fighter/thief/mage/cleric blend (the
least ill of the 3, I could live with this :).

> 
> This may be going a bit overboard, but a simple conceptual model would
> be to treat spell-casting and fighting ability as just two more
> skills (or maybe more than two if you wished to split them up).  Then
> every thing would be based on a skill system, with each particular
> skill having its own experience level.  "Class" would have little
> meaning in this context, excepting for the allowance of a character to
> concentrate effort in only one or a few skills.  Perhaps this is too
> realistic.  :)
> 

	This would be some effort to code. But I like it alot. The 
overall experience of a player is kept as the *sum* of all the 
experience in each of the skills. Overall player level is based 
on the summed experience score. No new interface would be needed :)
Now, instead of 4-experience system we could have 

Name of new skill				Exp in it increases 
----------------------------------------	---------------------------
"praying" skill (for casting cleric spells)  -  "grace" and effect of prayers
"wizardry" skill (for casting magician spells)-  sp, and effect of spells
"arms" skill 					 wc,speed,dam using weapons
"bow" skill					wc,speed,dam using bows
 "hth" skill(s) for unarmed combat		wc,speed,dam using martial arts

	And so on. A player without "praying" or "wizardry" would 
be unable to perform magic. A player without "arms" would be able to 
attack with weapons, but would never advance without the skill. Lack
of "hth" skill would make martial arts attacks impossible.