New buff: Damage buffer

[MrRokkomies]

I got this idea from the android roguelike Pixel dungeon. There is an armor ego Viscosity that causes all damage taken be spread out on several turns. So if you take a hit for 3 damage, you would only take 1 damage instantly and the other 2 points on the following 2 turns.

This could be further developed like this: When the buff is active, you get 2 counters. Damage absorbed and hits taken. Hits taken counter increases by 1 each time you take damage and it also defines how much buffered damage you suffer each turn. When you get hit, you initially take only as much damage as "hits taken" counter and the rest is added to damage absorbed counter. Each turn you will take as many points of damage as the "hits taken" counter and absorbed damage is lowered accordingly. If the buff runs out before the absorbed damage reaches zero, you take the rest of the damage instantly.

This would be more useful against slow and hard hitting enemies and less so against fast hitters. This might save you, but it might also just delay your inevitable doom if you are missing the means to heal before you take on full damage.

This could be a spell, potion, invocable, jewlery or even a species speciality. (Djinni?!?)

[DracheReborn]

I quite like this. Could even use the new poison interface to show current vs potential damage. Would be very good for low hp species, I think - greatly reduces the chance of getting one-shot.

As to where it would fit, equipgod would be nice I think.

[reaver]

This might save you, but it might also just delay your inevitable doom if you are missing the means to heal before you take on full damage.

I don't like this idea because of what happens at the end: You either use some healing effect (which isn't a decision) or you just die (which is an even worse checkmate situation). Being better on Ely worshipers and worse on VS is sort of interesting, but not enough to overcome that.

[crate]

also this already exists, it's called poison

[damiac]

also this already exists, it's called poison

Poison is a buff you cast on yourself to spread damage taken out over several turns? Did you read the actual proposal at all? Or perhaps I just missed a recent trunk change.

No, this proposed buff sort of makes all incoming damage act like poison (except of course it wouldn't take poison resistance into account, or be curable via cure pots).

[crate]

yes, exactly

[reaver]

Yes this is also way too similar to poison, I was considering adding "and I'm considering removing lethality from poison so it will always leave you at 1 hp." to my previous post.

Poison only works OK now because it's not used every fight.

[TeshiAlair]

Might be a cool feature for the Plutonians actually.

[DracheReborn]

I think there's significant difference in annoyance level between tiny damage spread over tens of turns vs hefty damage spread over 2-3 turns.

I envision this as a strong, life saving god power - otherwise lethal damage gets delayed, giving you a few extra turns to save yourself. Heck, it's already more interesting than good god life saving. I don't think it should be a normal brand that will be used in every fight, no.

[MrRokkomies]

Unlike poison, this is a survival option. With poison, it is "aww crap, I have been poisoned!". This would be the other way around. More like "aww crap, a firegiant, better buff up".

This will lead to situations where you know you are going to die in the next few turns amd can't help it. It will also save you from one hit kills, by giving you time to heal. You can knowingly protect your self against instadeath. This might also save some consumables, if you can first finish off a fight and then see if you can take the damage. You don't have to play it too safe.

If this was a god ability, there could also be the option to unleash all the absorbed damage instantly, damaging you and everyone around you.

I don't mind death by poison. It is just one of the many ways to die in crawl. You'r job is to survive it.

[duvessa]

http://te4.org/wiki/Damage_smearing_%28talent%29

[spudwalt]

I'd be okay with this sort of thing. I presume your natural regeneration continues to function while you're still taking gradual damage?

Having this as a god ability (perhaps applied to equipgod, perhaps somebody else) seems like the best way to go, though maybe having it commonly available through an ego or spell wouldn't be as bad (I'd have to try it out to get a feel for how overpowered it would be to have it on all the time).

Weird idea: maybe this could be a function of the ponderous ego? 'Cause ponderous, as it is right now, really sucks. Of course, then the Hat of Pondering and Black Knight Barding would both get significantly more awesome, but then, they're both unrandarts, and I have yet to play a centaur who finds the Black Knight Barding (or a naga who found the Lightning Scales, for that matter).

Also, maybe there should be an upper limit on how much damage you can buffer; if you get to the point where you've been ridiculously overkilled (projected HP is negative your max HP or something), it would just fizzle out and gib you. I know Crawl tries to avoid instadeaths, but that feels like something that's forseeable enough to not happen much.