backgrouds starting with Fedhas

[Konebred]

I was just thinking about druid or ranger type characters and had a couple ideas for some starting backgrounds, so I figured I would throw a couple out there. I was thinking you could have a class that started with Fedhas, right. When you select the background it gives you a choice of your races missile weapon or staves. If you choose staves you are classified as a druid and get staves, invocation, spellcasting and earth magic. If you choose missile weapons you get your races ranged weapon, stealth, short blades and invocations. Anyways, just a couple ideas, lemme know what you guys think.

[mumra]

New background "Gardener" - starts with a trowel that can be used to dig shafts and transplant plants. Innate mutation "Green Fingers".

[bobross419]

New background "Gardener" - starts with a trowel that can be used to dig shafts and transplant plants. Innate mutation "Green Fingers".

Would need his own spellbook to go along with Fedhas though...

Summon Badger
Summon Snake

[dpeg]

Sorry to spray water, but we're trying to reduce the number of religious backgrounds. Note how Makhleb and The Shining One had to say good bye.

The reason is that every god who is available on game start makes the Temple less attractive. So we only want starting gods with strong impact on the early game. This is just not true for TSO, Makhleb or also Fedhas. The first one is better taken on later, and Makhleb and Fedhas are broad gods, you can just as well take them on in the Temple. Note how Elyvilon or Zin or Yredelemnul are useful right on D:1.

[Dustbin]

If you got 1 pip of fedhas piety early-game most of pre-lair is trivialized. Wandering mushrooms are very strong early/early-mid game.

[CommanderC]

I have always wondered how it would be to play Jiyva in the early game ...

[pratamawirya]

I have always wondered how it would be to play Jiyva in the early game ...

Kiss all the items on the floor goodbye?

[Stormfox]

I tried it once for laughs when a Jiyva altar generated on D:2. Definitely not good for the early game because Jiyvans pretty much have to make do with the equipment they've got once they take up the banner. (Since there is no guarantee that any item generated from there out will survive long enough for you to get it.) It would be interesting to try with a race highly restricted in equipment/usable items (Fe, Tr, Op), though.

[dpeg]

Stormfox: Yes, that is the reason why I don't want guaranteed early Jiyva altars. The current, random ones are rare, and just a bunch of jellies with a little flavour on top. I am fine with that.

We had discussions in the devteam whether Lugonu should really be a starting god. Doing so means one more starting god (then again, you cannot get that one in the Temple) and may reduce the Abyss's mystic atmosphere. On the other hand, this allows players to examine the Abyss a bit, presumably after their first banishment and I thought that'd be great to reduce the need for spoiler.

[njvack]

On the other hand, this allows players to examine the Abyss a bit, presumably after their first banishment and I thought that'd be great to reduce the need for spoiler.

This alone is a compelling reason to keep Lugonu as a starting god -- playing some AKs (well, CKs at the time) and wandering the abyss made it a lot less scary.

[molari]

This alone is a compelling reason to keep Lugonu as a starting god -- playing some AKs (well, CKs at the time) and wandering the abyss made it a lot less scary.

I remember the first time I was, spoiler-free, banished to the abyss. It was scary and unexpected and incredibly cool because of it (I died brutally and quickly of course). I think it's a shame this is something that is now introduced straight away to new players.

Slightly more on-topic: Having fewer Gods at startup really increases the value of reaching the temple, which for newer players is the milestone you aim for. It's quite a sense of achievement to be able to try out all these cool new Gods, as close as Crawl gets to 'unlockables'.