[MUD-Dev] Focus on Hocus Pocus

[Ian Collyer]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> Matt Chatterley

> Welp, time for a new thread, methinks. I'm going to briefly
> outline some of the ideas which I'm working through at the moment,
> for a 'different' magic system.

> I've never found one quite like this in any game I've played (but
> if anyone out there *has*, I'd be intruiged to know where, so I
> can take a look at their implementation).

I am not sure when it was introduced into the codebase, but some of
the more recent GodWars MUDs have a system similar to the one you
propose.

For details of how it works check out the Mage Primer at..

  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Keep/1307/mage.html

An example of creating a custom spell would be...

  - Create a new blank page to hold the spell using the standard
  'major creation' spell

  - Copy a rune of mastery onto the page to imbue it with the
  magical power required to contain the spell (Runes of mastery can
  only be created by a full mage, but these can then be given to an
  apprentice to create spells with.)

  - You then write the spell onto the page a line at a time, as an
  example a simple fireball spell would look like...

    Start.damage.spell
      victim.target
      min.damage: 500
      max.damage: 1000
      message.1: fireball
      message.2: A fireball immolates $N.
      message.3: $n waves $s hands and a fireball engulfs $N.
      end.spell

  - Finally you insert the page into a spell book

To cast the spell you must hold the spell book, open at the correct
page, and 'chant' the spell.

There are hard limits to the effect of spells (damage, AC
improvement, etc.)  and also the more powerful the spell and the
longer it's duration the more mana is required to cast it (thus
limiting the power of spells that weaker characters may cast).

One obvious abuse that the system is open to is that the player
specifies all the messages associated with a spell, but this does
allow a degree of personalisation and originality that system
generated text could not.

My playing experience of GodWars is limited, but from what I saw
most spells used tended to be fairly standard (power-up, training,
damage, summon, teleport) so the goal of variety in custom spells
was not actually achieved.

I think this boils down to GodWars being heavy on GoP and there
being only one resource (mana) required to cast spells.  If there
were trade-offs involved so that simply casting a max-power spell
was not always the best option then there may have been more
variety.

Now if this system were successfully integrated into a MUD with the
PvP (and PK) complexity of Matt's Achaea that would be something
worth looking at!

It does strike me though, that such a system would be almost
impossibly hard to balance as players are sure to come up with
ultra-powerful spell-combos that you didn't think of when designing
the system.

-- Ian.

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