Proposal: Unique Octopode (all fear the OctoSir)

[Bloax]

It'd be a shame to waste a tile like this, so here goes;

Probably way overpowered, but who's complaining? (I mean running away is an option. :y)
It's pretty much my little attempt to make a really nasty and perhaps even somewhat unique unique.

So prepare for the worst;

Sir Octavian
"A strange, small aquatic creature who has an interesting taste in style. He isn't quite as gentlemanly as he looks with adventurers, however. Watch out.'


• HD: 23-25-ish (27 I imagine would result in some brutal spell power.)
• Hp: 238
• AC/EV: 12/30
• Hits: 40 (Due to his "pimp cane", as someone described the cane as), 30, 30(constrict)(crush)
• Resistances: rPois, MR: ~260
• Sees invisible
  
  Spell list:
  Haste, Orb of Destruction, Bolt of Magma, Bolt of Cold, Throw icicle, ?Chain lightning? (Probably not a good idea), If you DON'T have SInv upon detection - Invisibility (fake intelligence for a brainy unique? Blasphemy!)
  
  Scrapped for terrible OP-ness:
  
  Spoiler: show

  Upon <60% Hp: Goes up to rC++ and gets Throw Icicle replaced with Ice storm? (Is this even possible in the engine as-is? I kind of doubt it. Would be interesting if it was. Though it's probably best to make it <50%)
  
  
  Goodies: Spawns with some rings (gotta get this carved out a bit). Always drops his hat:
  
  Placement example:
  +2 Top hat of Gentlesquidness { Int+5, Regen, +6 Mp }
  "A bizarrely mundane and funny looking hat. It seems to bear a powerful enchantment."
  
  Seems a bit very powerful compared to the usual stuff, but then again - the usual stuff kind of sucks. (And Crown of Dyrovepreva might need a buff either way?)
  His brutal damage could easily make for a Dam+ on the hat too, but by then it'd be superior to both the dragon mask and the crown combined.

tl;dr I should get a hand cut off for suggesting blasphemy like this. (Also this hat is kind of overpowering compared to all hats ever.)
So yeah, gotta nerf this stuff somehow.. But how's the idea either way? (And yes, he's supposed to be really powerful.)

!learn add badforum ...

Mod note: changed subject as per dpeg's suggestion.

Edit: Reduced hat enchantment (4->2), nuked resistances (except poison), nuked low-hp storm. (I did have in mind that it'd be a bit too extreme.)

[Galefury]

The hat wont fit on normal sized player tiles I think.

Also the rings might make him too powerful, remember that most jewelry works for monsters now. Also the rings are too much loot. Having another wacky but powerful rare unique would be cool. Maybe the hat should get +1 to all stats instead of the int bonus?

[dpeg]

Interesting idea. Some comments:

1. better thread title: "New unique?" is a lot worse than something like "Octopode unique proposal".
2. Hat drop is fine, 4 acquirement rings is not. Playing on the idea of many rings is good, but they could be mundane just as well.

What would be really neat, and also a lot more work, is an octopode unique who happens to know kraken form. Obviously, this works best if said unique is a follower of Fedhas...

[JeffQyzt]

Without comment on the specifics of his attributes or equipment, a refined octopode opponent would be cool.

If you're going to override "natural" octopode resists, you probably want to at least add some handwaving explanation in the description. Perhaps he's weirdly mutated? May I suggest:

"A strange, small amphibious creature who has an interesting taste in style. His extra-planar jaunts have bestowed him with unusual attributes, as well as a dashing collection of jewelry. Despite his refined appearance, his behavior toward adventurers can be quite unseemly."

Sample quotes, playing up the "gentlesquid" aspect :

"Sirrah, you'd best not crumple my fabulous hat!"
"Oh come now - surely you don't think you can best me?"
"I say, you there! Could you please come over here so that I may feast upon your brain?"
"I had quite forgotten the class of dungeon rabble infesting these parts. Tsk-tsk."

[Bloax]

Ah, yes. I had plans for him to have some Kraken related stuff. But unfortunately I had to write it out in small parts, so I forgot a whole lot.

What the idea about "kraken stuff" is that he'd passively summon temporary rain while you're in sight (can't have him ruining the terrain) - and take a guess at what spell he has in store for just such an occasion.
oh yeah you guessed it - Summon Kraken.

Which would mean that the longer you let him live, the more krakens you'll be seeing lashing out for you. (And he should completely disregard damaging them, just to not place him in a silly situation.)

And actually, the hat could be "a"ctivated to pour out rain clouds that created temporary water. All while he'd drop a book upon defeat, one with some random high-tier spells, and Kraken form.
As for how that should work, I think is a bit beyond my little way too spread out post. (Writing this is getting a bit out of hand.)

But yeah - the rings can be reduced. I mostly came up with that because it can easily be really rough to get some decent rings. (And it'd be a cool bonus to get as a mid-late-game character if you haven't gotten much.)
All this of course depends on whether you can beat him or not.

If you want some more cunning, evil stuff that could happen to his spell set, then him gaining blink (or hell, a chance to just blink spontaneously) - or even a spell that make you switch places (!!) when he sees you fire an orb of destruction.
Because undodgeable damage would make him that much easier, wouldn't it now. Hehe.

And if we're to get even more cunning, he could have a chance to adjust his resistances, based on how powerful the spell you casted on him was. (Which means that he'd get some more rF/rC if you foo-stormed him.)
"Sir Octavian fiddles around a bit with his rings." "He seems more prepared for a repeated attack." (Of course he probably shouldn't be able to get geared up to rF/rC+++ at the same time.)

This should probably be yet another "passive" ability of his, because why stop the evil, multitasking octopode gentleman arcane magister from tearing you apart just to switch some equipment. That's reserved for silly adventurers.

and-if-we-want-to-be-straight-out-evil, We could also make him use the Ashenzari penance AI by default. Because of evil, cruel reasons. (Because Crawl can, wants to - and will kill you.)

And ah yes, quotes.

  Code:

"My, my, my. Who do we see here? You there! I challenge you to a match of fisticuffs!" (Don't forget that he has 30 EV and hits like a truck.)
"You look like a fine lad! Could you handle my baggage while I call some friends to the party?" (Hint hint at the krakens.)
"Greetings and salutations! Would you like yourself beaten, roasted or turned to a popsicle? Silence is the sign of approval!"
(No SInv and turns invisible): "Well my lad, you may want to invest in a pair of glasses to assist you in your impaired sight."

We probably would need some more silly quotes, but I'm a bit busy thinking of other stuff ATM.

As for story, that last part is perfect, but..

"A strange, small amphibious creature who has an interesting taste in style. He used to be just a plain adventurer like you, and still is - for that matter.
But as time has passed he grew from a simple, dabbling magician into one of the highest-classed gentlemen of the arcane arts.
Through the times he has collected an impressive amount of jewellery, (and he doesn't hesitate using it against you when such a use arises.) <- If the resistance adjusting gets in.

Despite his refined appearance, his behavior toward adventurers can be quite unseemly. If not even directly disrespectful!

He is a very cunning type, watch your back."

So tl;dr, a multitasking son-of-a-fiend octopode master of blasting that summons krakens and wants you dead. Also, he knows where you live and never forgets that you're near.

[Kate]

In general uniques shouldn't get a bunch of free resists that normal members of the species don't have, yeah. It's also not really justifiable to pretend that innate resistances are coming from jewellery since monsters can actually wear jewellery now.

[njvack]

Maybe give him 8d8/8 random "non-bad" rings (eg, no -stat), and no innate resists?

[Bloax]

Nobody said his monocle, staff - and even tea isn't magical! :p
Just that it doesn't drop so that he's not suddenly the one unique that actually rewards you with some seriously good loot.

[BlackSheep]

I never use the doll editor, but if this was added to tiles, every octopode I play will look like this.

[Galefury]

Or just always give him basic rings of rF, rC, rN, rP and SInv. If he spawns late enough players will already have most of those, and having duplicates of them ranges from mediocre to useless. If he spawns earlier he shouldn't be omniresistant and super powerful anyway.

Probably shouldn't try to do too much at once by the way. Bloax, your second most recent post is terrible in this regard for example.

Note that both kraken form and summon kraken would not work well at all in corridors, so this would have to be taken into account when determining spawning locations. Late D, Zot, Hells and Pan all tend to have corridors, for example.

[Bloax]

As for how that should work, I think is a bit beyond my little way too spread out post. (Writing this is getting a bit out of hand.)

Yeah, I know. :4

But what do you guys think, chain lightning or no chain lightning? If he had it, he'd be Nikola on some serious steroids. (And the bane of all non-rElec)
Edit: Erm, Bloax. "And if not"? - And if not, then no biggie. (I mean he kind of probably gets ice storm after getting down in hp, which is kind of bad enough already.)

Also, if you guys want it - I have all parts of the costume in the PSD I edited the octopode in.

[njvack]

Even if the unique doesn't make it in, the hat and staff need to be used somewhere. Dispater is pretty pimp, don't you think?

[Bloax]

I would be sad if an octopode (bonus points here already) that is one of the pimpest pumpedest baddestest son-of-a-fiends south of the Zot taverns wouldn't make it in. :[

[mumra]

Couple of suggestions ...

1. All current uniques have a single first name rather than a title or anything. In keeping with this I'd suggest picking a suitably upper-class-sounding name e.g. "Tarquin"

2. What makes this unique interesting is the rings. What I think could be neat is if the ring set is randomly selected from a specified pool, and this will determine both the resists and spell set for the encounter. So if he spawns with a ring of fire then we give him fire-themed spells and so on. Perhaps he can start with 3-6 "standard" rings plus a single randart. As has been said, the standard rings shouldn't matter at this stage of the game, so the loot would typically be a randart ring plus the hat. (Note: personally I think the hat is a bit too good, I don't think regen is normally found on headgear and would this stack with other sources of regen? Should either have some sort of drawback, or replace regen with something unique to this hat)

3. The concept of a kraken form octopode is really interesting but I wonder how threatening it would actually be, I always find krakens pretty easy to run away from and blast at distance especially when they're constrained to a small pool of water. What could be far more terrifying is "summon kraken" - 2 or 3 kraken appear right next to you (each in their own 1-tile pool of water/ink which disappears when the summons goes)

[rchandra]

Couple of suggestions ...

1. All current uniques have a single first name rather than a title or anything. In keeping with this I'd suggest picking a suitably upper-class-sounding name e.g. "Tarquin"

Prince Ribbit. I think you're still right though, I don't like "Sir Foo" as my mind goes "sir" -> "knight" -> "sword".

2. What makes this unique interesting is the rings. What I think could be neat is if the ring set is randomly selected from a specified pool, and this will determine both the resists and spell set for the encounter. So if he spawns with a ring of fire then we give him fire-themed spells and so on. Perhaps he can start with 3-6 "standard" rings plus a single randart.

I imagine that the serpent of Hell's code could be adapted for this, sounds promising. Hey, the serpent, the Lernaean Hydra, the royal jelly also break that name rule.

[ebarrett]

An OP Op, so that's what goes by "flavour" these days huh

Also: the OP's (hah!) proposal being hilariously megalomanical aside, no dapper seathings in top hats until Norris gets his surfboard back, this is not negotiable. Oh and Frederick called and said he wants his monocle back.

[Bloax]

The story of the grand OP Op ropbery.

[varsovie]

Weird, lot of people find the rings overpowered, I do find the hat to be so. +regen on a hat, except for DD I think it's the best hat ever unless you are craving for more resist.

And if he can spawn kraken, then he should always appear in a vault (a big pool with $ around, 25% of the $ are mimics) or in one of the water branch (swamp/shoal).

My suggestion, give him malign gateway, so we can see this spell outside of hell.

[njvack]

I don't think he should always have the hat. Even Gastronok doesn't always have his hat.

[varsovie]

Some unique do "always" drop some kind of loot (pan/hell lords). So it's not a unique feature, and even then the unique won't appear/be defeated in every game and if placed in a good vault, might even die in deep water.

BTW: this unique really makes me think of octodad.

[Bloax]

Well I'm really proposing something unusually off the counter here.

For one it's a really damn tough unique, and for the other - the always-drop hat is because seriously, top hat.

[Mu]

your unique does more melee damage than almost every enemy in the game on top of a 30 point constriction (lol), hastes itself, and casts 24HD orbs of destruction (8d19).

and there's nothing interesting or noteworthy about it other than it has a stupid hat tile and spawns with a ton of items (and has 12 base AC somehow).

why even bother with the unique if all you really want is the awful hat. just submit the hat.

thank you. cheers all.

[Bloax]

Truth to be told, I don't really care about the hat - it's more the concept of an octopode looking like that is what's my own driving point. (The hat is just a bonus, because it looks silly.)

[cerebovssquire]

so having it as your avatar should be enough then?

[Grimm]

buy him the tshirt and be done with it https://sircritter.com/design/siroctopus/

[tasonir]

I think that he'd make the most sense to appear in the shoals, and as such he can't be super late game overpowered. The hat can stay, his stats and spell list might have to be toned down a bit, and be somewhat reasonable on the rings.

HD: ~20
Hp: 150
AC/EV: 8/25
Hits: 30, 20(constrict)(crush)
Resistances: rPois, MR: ~260
Sees invisible

I'm not too sure what MR to give him - I believe 260 would basically mean he's resist anything that is resistible 100% of the time? Anything over 200 is basically immune, no? Bolt of magma doesn't go with the theme of a water based creature, if you want something unresistable, give him iron shot. But my suggestions would be:

Haste, bolt of cold, throw icicle OR freezing cloud, OOD. OOD should do more reasonable damage with 20 HD instead of 23-25. Freezing cloud would be pretty nasty in shoals but it is cold damage and players expect to need cold resist for shoals, so it would reward the prepared.

Regen on a hat is pretty nuts, if you want to keep it I would either drop the +5 int or the mp. Really +5 int is just nuts anyways, maybe make it +3. Give him a regular staff for theme, it won't be that useful. I wouldn't make it always drop. Have him also drop a normal tophat (just a renamed cap), make the unrand tophat around a 50% drop?

Rings: I'd recommend rolling 3-4 random rings. These would be normal rings, but should have a small chance of being replaced with the base ring's version of the ring of the octopode king? That would be a great use for that ring. If you limit it to only octopode King rings, then you could raise the chance as they aren't that overpowered compared to rF++ rC+ rings etc. Give him 4 rings with a 25% for each to upgrade to the octopode king version of that ring, smaller chance if it rolls actually random artifact rings.

Being in shoals, he could then summon kraken if that is implemented. I'd recommend having him appear on shoals 3-5 only.

[Jabberwocky]

and players expect to need cold resist for shoals.

Huh? Why is rC needed for shoals?

[KoboldLord]

Huh? Why is rC needed for shoals?

probably the same reason they need drain resistance for crypt and poison resistance for lair

surely the threat that would be nullified by those resistances in those branches is not almost entirely hallucinatory

[Bloax]

Aquamancers are very kind people who would enjoy pelting you with their niceness.

[Galefury]

They have one (1) spell that is partially resistible by cold resistance (hint: it's throw icicle). They have two other similarly damaging spells that are not at all resistible by cold resistance, and blink.

[Bloax]

On a closer inspection, yes. rC is totally unnecessary for Shoals.

And this only proves why Bloax should look things up before resorting to my busted memory unit.

[njvack]

rC is nice in Shoals if you have Freezing Cloud, because it's easy to mistarget in the corridors.

Wait, what?

[XuaXua]

Give him multiple +Str/Dex/Int rings of no more than 3. No one uses those.

[roctavian]

Since we're derailing a bit, and because I'm not sure I want to make a whole thread yet, do people think there is room for an early/mid-game Felid unique? It would borrow Borris's resurrection mechanic (with a max of 9 or perhaps just 1d9 lives) but its difficulty should scale to depth.

I originally thought of this as a re-flavoring of Jessica since she's just a weaker Orc Wizard anyways. Would it be worth making a thread about this? ("probably not" is the usual answer, but the question isn't entirely hypothetical)

[njvack]

It's always worth making a thread. If there's no interest, it'll fall down the page as opposed to mixing with an existing topic.

[MoogleDan]

Alternative unique octopode thought: a necromancy-themed octopode with a version of Ink Cloud that also spawns a number of shadows while the octopode itself avoids you and zaps you with Pain. Without SInv, that could be a brutal encounter... though it also sounds horribly annoying. Any alternative Ink Cloud-y ideas out there? Perhaps a poison themed one (they've got the Poison Magic aptitude after all) that passively blasts Poison Cloud around him?

[neil]

Note that currently monsters have only one jewellery slot, so this would need some special-case code: either to fake the rings and create them on death; or to allow his rings to work in other slots (misc, wand, shield perhaps). The latter would be similar to what we already do to allow Nikola to get AC etc from gloves in his shield slot, but possibly somewhat more complex because of item pick-up.

[TeshiAlair]

Here's an idea- give him one ring, but give him spells based on it
RF -> Flame tongue, bolt of flame, fireball
slaying -> monster versions of the skald spells perhaps.

etc