Demigod flavor twist

[dolemite99]

Here is a thematic re-packaging that might make Demigod a bit more interesting and varied. Demigods could be re-cast as 'natural conduits to the spirit realm / afterlife'. While they are unable to worship any deity from the Crawl pantheon, they are occasionally contacted by the spirit of a character that died in the quest to get the orb and ascend with it.

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Upon gaining every third XL (@ 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24), your achievement is noticed by the spirit of a character that died on your current branch/level. The spirit is able to assist you temporarily as you progress further, by giving the following:

1.) A beneficial innate ability/mutation, sourced from the fallen character's morgue file. This mutation/trait would only last until the next gift offering, so no more than 3 XLs. Any mutation/trait gained @ XL 24 would automatically disappear when XL 27 is gained, without a final replacement. (This is the "no gifts are permanent" concept.)

2.) One consumable item, sourced from the fallen character's morgue file. It could be a potion, a scroll or a consumable evocations item (wand, box of beasts, sack of spiders). Depends on what the spirit left behind when they died.

3.) A modest boost to a single stat (STR, DEX or INT). Based on the fallen character's morgue file, a check would occur for what that character's highest base stat was, and you would receive a boost (lasting for 3 XLs) to that stat. The boost could be scaled to be no more than 20% of your own base value in that stat, or just applied as flat points. The stat boost is either replaced or 'sustained' when you reach the next 3-XL-tier level, depending on what next fallen character morgue file gets selected. Similar to gift #1, a stat boost gained @ XL24 disappears @ XL27 and is not replaced ... "the spirits can help you no further."
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This idea plays with the concept of morgue files in a way I've not seen implemented before, so if it's impossible, I'm sure someone can point that out soon. I play online pretty much exclusively so I don't know how this could be supported for offline DCSS. I vaguely recall something about 'bones files' being supplied into the downloadable offline version of DCSS?

There are also some "tough luck, better next time" aspects of this, I suppose. Oh, you rolled the morgue file of a Human or a Hill Orc, in early dungeon? Sorry, no mutations for you, have fun being rather mundane for at least 3 more XLs! You rolled the morgue file of a character that had no higher base stats than you? Sorry, no boost for you, just words of encouragement!

[duvessa]

Imagine ghosts didn't exist, and someone opened a GDD thread to propose them. Now imagine the reaction.

[dolemite99]

Imagine ghosts didn't exist, and someone opened a GDD thread to propose them. Now imagine the reaction.

Not exactly what I was suggesting; the quote sounds more like how DEVs would react if a DCSS novice suggested player ghosts as (awkward and frustrating) opponents for all players to deal with. I used to hate them & certainly don't miss fighting them.

Admittedly, I don't have a grasp of how the game keeps an index of characters that died on the branch level you're currently on. So I read from your response that you think it'd either be hard to build, opposite to current design goals, or both.

[duvessa]

It's not quite the same as player ghosts, no, but it's the same idea: making previous characters give advantages to new characters. That's a can of worms, to put it mildly - and a bigger one than player ghosts, since instead of just giving you some extra xp, this can give you much better bonuses!

[Airwolf]

Impossible!