Unique Proposal: Sabin, card shark (playable implementation)

[floatRand]

A devout follower of Nemelex Xobeh, this lucky kobold has gotten this deep in the dungeon with his powerful decks. However, his luck is not as infallible as he would like to think!

Basically rather deep-end unique kobold (HD 15) with branded rapier/quickblade who frequently evokes from his deck of war bringing random but powerful effects.
Currently there are whopping 21 effects ( 14 major, 7 cards of oddity/punishment ), with chance of him drawing a foreign card being 1/15. Cards include summoning dangerous demons, casting high-level conjurations ( LCS, IOOD ), buffing Sabin etc.
And his bad cards have chance of malmutating him, draining him, slowing him or even outright banishing him!

As for depth, I was thinking of depths / vaults / crypt and possibility of finding him scumming for decks in Pan.

Current implementation:
http://puu.sh/he4by/79b8499c3f.patch

-To be done: fix bugs, balance.

[KittenInMyCerealz]

Sounds extremely cool, and I'd love to see it added.

Goodplayers would probably always avoid it, but i don't see it as a problem since most uniques are that way anyways.

[xentronium]

He should have a 10% chance of banishing himself when entering LOS>

[1010011010]

He should have a 10% chance of banishing himself when entering LOS>

With hilarious dialogue.

[floatRand]

Decided to setup Crawl's source on my laptop. Ended up fixing some bugs and updating it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/527 ... bin2.patch
( requires pretty recent source, contains everything needed, tile etc. )

Still looking feedback on the design.
While the effects are highly dangerous, he isn't the most sturdy kobold okay he is and his abilities can harm himself and other monsters by rather large degree. I was figuring that he could drop a legendary deck as loot, but did not yet go with the implementation of it.
I also haven't properly adjusted XP yet.

edit: small adjustments.

[milski]

I would probably avoid the tomb card since that's just tedious in the hands of a monster, and can probably have some bad edge-case effects (the walls are permanent, right?)

[Sprucery]

Surely they are temporary walls.

[dynast]

I would like to see him drawing Xom cards.

[Rast]

Is there a unique that worships Xom? Because there should be.

[swoonis]

Cool Idea OP. I'm actually surprised nobody has thought of this before.

Is there a unique that worships Xom? Because there should be.

Crazy Yiuf.

[floatRand]

I would probably avoid the tomb card since that's just tedious in the hands of a monster, and can probably have some bad edge-case effects (the walls are permanent, right?)

Walls are diggable, and they dissolve after a while. Plus, chance of him drawing Tomb is 1/15 * 1/8.

I'd like to see him draw Xom card

Actually there's chance for him to draw one - makes Xom act 'beningly' toward player.

Lot of my implementations are hacky mimicry since the real decks are programmed so that player draws the card. In fact, Sabin can pull cards that are not in Deck of War anymore. Maybe I should rewrite him drawing from multiple decks...
Easier to balance, too.

[duvessa]

Cool Idea OP. I'm actually surprised nobody has thought of this before.

Lots of people thought of it before actually, you can find Tavern threads and devwiki edits about it. floatRand is just the first person to implement it. That doesn't really matter though, because it's a really bad idea. I'm supposed to learn what about 20 effective new monster spells do so that I can fight ONE unique? Why are the effects tied to a deck of cards that doesn't actually exist, instead of just giving him the spells? What's the point of including the bad cards at all? This is just needlessly complicated for a unique that boils down to a living version of a lich that randomly kills itself.

[HardboiledGargoyle]

I think this unique would make sense in Zot too. It is a silly place. Or abyss - it has no uniques, and the suggestion that abyss is getting scummed for Nem piety is even funnier than pan. How about exclusive use of Deck of Destruction? I don't see a single card from there that can't work in theory like Shadow. I sometimes run out of all the decks of war, this guy might have too. Then you're using an actual deck's spells.

If you would just allow me to release the art critic from within, the sprite needs to be flipped to look left, like other monsters, not right, and Sabin should not hold the red card/deck in the hand closer to its mouth, so that the teeth stand out, because right now it's easy to confuse the back of its jaw for its nose, in which case it looks like a mouse.

[Sharkman1231]

I think giving just a destruction deck is a pretty good idea. Asterion has major destruction, which is a variety of effects that players would know if they play Makhleb. Players would similarly know Sabin's if they play Nemelex. I don't see how that is that different.

[ontoclasm]

I think giving just a destruction deck is a pretty good idea. Asterion has major destruction, which is a variety of effects that players would know if they play Makhleb. Players would similarly know Sabin's if they play Nemelex. I don't see how that is that different.

Because Asterion's "variety of effects" are all straightforward direct attack spells. I can describe everything Major Destruction can do in three words; how many words do you need to explain Sabin's cards?

[Sharkman1231]

Deck of destruction doesn't have that many effects, right? Hammer,poison, negative enery, orbs, acid, polymorph. That's not too many.

[CanOfWorms]

Destruction also has Storm.

[Shard1697]

I think giving just a destruction deck is a pretty good idea. Asterion has major destruction, which is a variety of effects that players would know if they play Makhleb. Players would similarly know Sabin's if they play Nemelex. I don't see how that is that different.

Because Asterion's "variety of effects" are all straightforward direct attack spells. I can describe everything Major Destruction can do in three words; how many words do you need to explain Sabin's cards?

"They can do a bunch of different shit, so kill him quickly."

Actually, that's how I'd describe most spellcasters in this game.

[Croases]

a living version of a lich that randomly kills itself

I think the correct word for these is "player character".

That said, he would be an interesting addition to the abyss, where you wouldn't need to spoil yourself for any of his card effects because the optimal way to deal with him would be to run the other way.