[MUD-Dev] Re: let's call it a spellcraft

[Adam J. Thornton]

On Wed, Sep 23, 1998 at 10:44:09AM -0500, Koster, Raph wrote:
> An original key design premise of UO was that EVERYTHING in the game was
> defined in terms of intrinsic qualities. An axe was 1 unit of wood and 2
> of metal, a breastplate was 25 units of metal, a person was a given
> amount of meat and possibly a given amount of prestige, a gravestone
> embodied a few units of "spookiness", and yes, magical objects included
> some amount of "magic" as part of their nature. In particular, different
> magical components embodied one of the eight hidden "qualities" of
> magic--such as classical elements, etc. So hidden inside sulphurous ash
> was a unit of Fire, and mandrake root carried one unit of Death with it.
> This allowed for MANY possible interactions with fairly little code.

Oh.  My.  God.

I've just found an application for all those years spent getting degrees in
the History of Science.

Using a system like this, you really *could* create a world built out of
Aristotle's elements.

Adam
--
adam at princeton.edu 
"There's a border to somewhere waiting, and a tank full of time." - J. Steinman