[MUD-Dev] An idea for breaking away from the HP/Mana mindset

[Travis Casey]

On Sunday, April 02, 2000, Eli Stevens wrote:

>> >Mind:
>> >  Intellegence
>> >  Wisdom
>> >  Willpower (Charisma being accounted for by some of the reputations
> stats)
>>
>> Just a small point, but I think willpower and wisdom are very closely
>> related and
>> there really isn't a need for both unless you have a very specific
> difference
>> (although it doesn't appear so in the rest of your message) that would
> require
>> the two to be split.

> I had regarded Wis as intuition and the ability to understand something
> intuitivly.  Willpower is motivation and drive.  Characters with low Wil
> would end up in the doldrums moping around a lot (and fair morale checks,
> etc.).  A low Wis would manifest as slower mental recuperation rates, less
> animal empathy, etc.  I see strong similarities between Str-Wil, Wis-Con and
> Int-Dex.  Of course, YMMV.

You may want to change the name from "Wisdom" to "Intuition", then;
otherwise, people are likely to associate it with D&D/AD&D's "Wisdom"
stat, which does include willpower.

Of course, that could make things fun for abbreviating things, with
Intelligence and Intuition.  Personally, I like to use "Reason" as an
attribute name instead of "Intelligence".  (For one thing, "Reason"
doesn't have a connotation of including general knowledge, as
"Intelligence" does.)

>> From a purely conservative standpoint, I think getting rid of HPs
> completely
>> would be very shocking and many players who are complacent with a set
> system
>> won't like it (I'd say the type of people that like to try radically new
>> things such
>> as this are maybe 1%). It's almost a paradox to me; I like the idea very
> much
>> but to rely simply on stats for life support seems awkward, but to add HPs
> into
>> this system probably would not make sense either. (Ok, I'm unconscious but
>> I still have x HPs left.)

Hmm... personally, I wouldn't consider not having HPs to be shocking
-- but then, my background is mostly with paper RPGs, where many games
started chucking D&D-style hit points more than twenty years ago.

I also don't see anything wrong with having HPs left, but being
unconscious -- many paper RPGs have rules for knockouts and such.
And, indeed, some are set up so that 0 HP -> death, while some number
greater than 0 is the unconsciousness threshold (Runequest, for one --
which is more than twenty years old now).

>> Keep working at it, I'm sure you can come up with a happy medium that will
> be
>> more welcoming to the complacent mudders, yet intriguing to the radical
> ones.

> Ahh, I see and understand your point.  My viewpoint on the matter is
> slightly different, though.  I am not particularly interested in attracting
> complacent mudders /per se/, rather, I am interested in creating a system
> that works and is understandable in its own right, not because it hangs onto
> notions "because that is how they were always done".  I am afraid that if I
> rely too heavily on convention then two things will happen:

> 1.  I will not justify design/game world decisions because "everyone knows
> that's how it works," when there are better solutions.

I've said before that individual muds seem to me to be more like
different campaigns of paper RPGs than like different games.  People
who write new RPGs usually do so because they want to do things in a
different way than any existing RPG they know of; people who start new
muds, on the other hand, usually do so because they want to run a mud.

> 2.  By relying on conventions, I may not explain them well enough so that
> those new to the field will understand.  When was the last time you saw a
> good explanation of, say, "dirt" or "trip" that really explained what those
> commands did (or any one of a host of other like ideas)?

Actually, I've never seen either of those commands... I assume they're
a Diku thing?  (I've never played on a Diku.)

> The players that want a DIKU can play a DIKU, I, however, do not want to
> run/play a DIKU, I want to run/play a MUD.  There is nothing wrong with
> wanting to run or play a DIKU, I just personally do not.  I Hope I am being
> clear.  :)

To me, you're perfectly clear.

--
       |\      _,,,---,,_        Travis S. Casey  <efindel at io.com>
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   No one agrees with me.  Not even me.
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)





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