Re: CF: Races + Classes

[Peter Mardahl <peterm@langmuir.EECS.Berkeley.EDU>]

> 	Is there any interest in switching to a 'race'/'class' system
> instead of the current system where class is part of the race? I was
> thinking something along these lines:

> 1. Remove the 'classes', like warrior, viking, mage, and such. Have only
> races listed, like human, elf, quetzlcoatl, wraith, dwarf, whatever. Give
> these characters basic skills.

Well, it's sorta strange to have the various classes in there anyway.
We could easily change them into various race names, and that'd do the
trick.  All they really are is a set of + and - stat modifiers. 
Maybe we can regard them as subspecies of human.

> 2. Have players actually pay money to join a 'guild' that will teach them
> various things. Warriors might have a guild that trains strength, while
> mages will have guilds that give them mana and spells. A player does not
> *have* to join a guild, he could always be a 'generic' adventurer. If we
> had a guild system that was well written, I would assume the coding of
> races and such would be made somewhat easier. 

This is a rehash of an old idea.  I don't think these mods would make
the game more fun, but would rather add tedium:  one would always have
to be doing boring bookkeeping stuff at one's guild.  We eventually
adopted the philosophy of experience-by-doing:  mage experience for killing
with mage spells, fighter for fighter-kills, thief for searching/disarm,
clerical for clerical spell kills.  (I've some of the details wrong, but
you get the idea.)

> 3. Maybe even have backgrounds, where a character might start with a
> little extra gold and charisma but a low con due to pampered raising, or 
> an extra str with no gold and minimum equipment because he was a slave.
> Background should even play a part in guilds. Would an aristocratic
> fencing guild featuring fancy sword techniques accept a pauper? 
> 
> 	What I'm getting at is that it would make a larger variety of
> players, which would really be nice for servers with many players. I'd
> also like to see a dynamic skill/guild/race system that allowed a wide
> range of learnable skills, instead of the stock variety already presented.

You're free to add as many types of characters, with various bonuses
and skills, as you like....  All you have to do is create an archetype
for them, no coding required (I think.)

> 	As of yet, I am not proposing the method of implementation, as I
> have not delved into the codebase seriously. I have been following
> development for some time, and this could add some special
> characteristics. Should all mages of the same level be more or less equal?
> Or should we have wealthy mages with better spellcasting, and weaker mages
> physically stronger. Why shouldnt the player be able to recreate his own
> Raistlin(Archwizard with shattered body), or Conan(Hulking, ...dumb..., 
> Cimmerian).

Well, if you want a kick-ass mage, you usually have to put most of your item
slots toward raising your Pow/Int, at the expense of your Dex/Con/Cha/Str.

PeterM
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