The Tavern

Ice cave cloud generators kill the native ice cave monsters. They make you go to specific (non-obvious) locations to rest. They break autoexplore in ice caves. And they don't present any sort of challenge. There is already a portal vault (volcanoes) that uses clouds for flavour at the cost of gameplay, there don't need to be two, let alone at almost the same depth, and freezing clouds popping out of nowhere isn't very good flavour in the first place.

Ice statues, the other source of freezing clouds in ice caves, exclusively function as an obnoxious turncount tax for some characters, and are free xp for the rest.

Ice clouds from statues are acceptable.

But I agree that removing them from randomly popping out is a good idea. It actually serves to harm the flavor of the ice caves, really, so there doesn't really exist any reason for it to stay(and there seem to be plenty of reasons to have it removed).

Good thoughts minmay, a fine thread as usual.

While I thanked OP because I'd like freezing clouds removed from ice cave I have a different reason for that. Ice Caves are already very hard without rC+ due to all those monsters with cold attack (Anaconda simulacra, for example) but those freezing clouds make it impossible to survive as low HP species who would enjoy the challenge otherwise. As Sp without rC+ I no longer enter Ice Caves after losing one in 3 turns from full HP without monsters in view.

I just had a character killed because I forgot to memorize the locations where freezing clouds spawn. I completely agree that something to stop that happening would be nice.

Agree on the random clouds, which are more annoying than even volcano clouds because there's no obvious reason for them to exist/predictable pathing and they generate in corridors to encourage even more waiting around/screwing auto explore. Fire clouds in volcano are still dangerous sometimes, but they're markedly less annoying and more thematic.

Ice statues are annoying but I'm okay with them. They *are* different from volcanoes and turn count attempts can skip ice caves or back out after seeing these if that's an issue (most games where you just try to win it doesn't matter).

My personal "favorite" is when you completely a relatively long/winding ice cave, get the loot...and realize the only exit is back at the start, through all those cloud corridors. Auto path to exit portal? Nope, "sorry, I don't know how to get there" .

This isn't a new suggestion

The thread is 3 years old

So what you're saying is we should be demanding to know why it hasn't happened 2 years ago?

I kid, I kid, but yeah I'd like the randomly spawning clouds to stop as well.

I hadn't noticed, but I think it's fair to say it's still a relevant one.

It's a good suggestion. The freezing clouds can do a lot of damage, but they're just an uncomplicated rC+ check with no tactical play, especially because the squares aren't marked.

Ice caves are already the deadliest of the Lair portals so removing the freezing clouds won't hurt.