[MUD-Dev] Character evolution

[Richard Woolcock]

Caliban Tiresias Darklock wrote:
> [snip]
> You know, I had a DM once kill off an entire party in an adventure
> because he said up front 'if you don't say it, you don't do it'... and
> then about thirty minutes into the adventure, he had us all pass out and
> get eaten by a passing creature because we forgot to breathe. The same
> DM had on previous occasions had a 'constipation table' on which he
> would roll daily, to determine the state of your digestive system. He
> found the whole thing vastly amusing, particularly when members of the
> party would come down with terrible diarrhea.

Depending on what you eat, this could actually be quite valid.

> In other words, this level of detail in a game really rubs me the wrong
> way, as I have had very BAD experiences with it. I can just see it
> now...
> 
> King's Throne Room
> You are in the king's throne room.
> 
> King Nelgar says 'What hast thou come to ask of me?'
> You have to pee.
> >hold it
> You hold it.[snip]

That really made me laugh ;)  I understand your point, but you would
have quite a lot of warning before it got that bad...And lets not
forget the other advantages of this system...

> Diagnose khangKhang has a deep wound in his chest.
Khang says 'Do you have anything to stop the infection?'.
> look in packYour medical pack contains some bandages and a needle with twine.
> say No, sorryYou say 'No, sorry'
Khang says 'If the wound becomes infected, I will die...'
> say Okay, there is ONE thing I can do...You say 'Okay, there is ONE thing I can do...'
> pee khang

Not very pleasent, but it would work - and if you have infections
in your mud its only fair that players should be able to utilise
every possible 'facility' at their disposal.

Although I agree there should be limits to how far the realism
goes.  For example, I can't see any advantage in the following:

Your eyes start to sting.
> close eyesYou close your eyes.
> open eyesYou open your eyes.

Your eyes start to sting.
Your eyes are REALLY starting to sting.
> close eyesYou close your eyes.
> open eyesYou open your eyes.

However you could add the occasional things, such as 'itches'
which have to be scratched, a running nose (if you have a cold)
which would have to be wiped, coughs (automatic, although you 
could try not to), etc.  This would make minor illnesses like
a common cold damn annoying, without actually giving you any
penalties.

KaVir.