[MUD-Dev] Subdue

[Holly Sommer]

On Wed, 27 Jan 1999, Richard Woolcock wrote:

> Quzah [softhome] wrote:
> > >Holly Sommer wrote:
> > >> *ding* *ding* *ding* :) Wouldn't it be a far greater challenge to
> > >> _subdue_ your opponent? I mean really... you don't shoot a wild horse,
> > >> you "break" it :)
> > >
> > >Aye, but how do you keep track of how 'broken' the horse is??  I'd bet
> > >it relates closely to what most of us now use as HP :)

Well, what I was thinking of is a bit more complex than that, but let me 
see if I can elaborate (ie: think out loud for a moment).

Subduing would be akin to the purpose of wrestling - that is, determining 
who is the better wrestler, without having to kill your opponent. The 
Roman gladiator approach of "last one left alive wins" is hackneyed :) If 
you can get to a point at which fighting is paused, where the current 
"winner" of the fight (least beat-up?) has the opportunity to either 
finish off his opponent or let the other guy cry uncle... well, I should 
think that takes more finesse than just clubbing someone in the head, til 
they are a bloody pulp.

For NPCs I could see this as practical to strip off aggro bits, or to 
convert a pack animal into a legit mount. For PCs, it would serve as 
humiliation without death. The "I spared your life, now go, you pitiful 
excuse for a warrior, or I'll finish off what I started here" attitude.

Anyhow, that's more what I had going through my mind than tracking how 
"broken" a (N)PC is, over time.

> powers).  Although players cannot fall below -10hp, they *can* loose
> arms and legs, and this has resulted in various "punishments" that go
> far beyond simple PK.  Most players are able to grow back lost limbs 
> in one way or another though.  Still, this results in very much a sort
> of 'subdue' combat, with killing only an option.

"What are you going to do? Bleed all over me?"

-Holly