The Tavern

I think a background that starts with Gozag would be interesting. It could have some relatively expensive but weak starting items. This could be something like:

starting equipment: Book of Cantrips, dagger of flaming, robe of positive energy, a potion of flight, a ziggurat figurine

starting skills: 2 Fighting, 3 Short Blades, 2 Stealth, 2 Dodging, 1 Evocations

starting food: 1 + ((species_base_strength + 1)/2) rations - so Ogres get 7, Humans get 5, Deep Elves get 4, Spriggans get 3

starting stats: +1 strength, +6 int, +5 dex

What do you folks think?

What if instead of a ziggurat figurine, it started with a bazaar figurine?

It should start with a pile of +2 darts and a camera....

And the Platinum Yendorian Express Card should be gifted by Gozag after you have spent some large amount of gold for shopping.

I like the idea of a Gozag zealot background, but in my musings I've thought of them as low-skill (maybe fighting 2, dodging 2, stealth 2... spellcasting 2?) with wanderer inventories... maybe a couple of extra rations so you rarely starve before amassing enough gold to call a food shop if necessary. I really like Patushu's idea of a bazaar figurine, but I'd want it to create a non-permanent portal so as not to completely nullify the call merchant Gozag ability. Could also skip the extra rations with a bazaar figurine.

I think it's important to consider that most zealot backrounds were removed due to not being significantly different in any way from any backround that found an early altar. Is there any real reason to have a Gozag starting backround other than the convenience of a turn 0 altar?

Xom Zealot is silly/challenge mode and Lugonu Zealot is because it's the only realistic way to have Lucy within the first half or more of the game. Trog Zealot is fair criticism, but not a valid point towards adding more like it.

edit:I suppose the starting inventory could maybe be interesting, but if that was the point I'd sooner want to see a backround that starts with lots of gold and a few unusual items but NOT worshipping Gozag.

This could be interesting. How about a merchant background where:

0) Drop ^Gozag and all starting equipment
1) Begins in a bazaar (a true random one, not a static one like Thunderdome) with shops that favor mundane equipment
2) Starting with enough gold to buy a full kit of mundane equipment (if the RNG cooperates with the shop inventories) or maybe a good piece of magic gear if there's an attractive one available and you skip some other stuff.

Biggest problem I can see with a bazaar start is "Why doesn't everyone start in town?", and I don't have a super answer.

let's skip the step where the player starts in a bazaar and instead randomly buy items for them, then we can call this background "Wanderer"

Trog docet.

Mod note: Moved AK posts to their own thread