Temple Termagant
Posts: 14
Joined: Friday, 31st August 2018, 21:50
Improving the Snake Pit
Teleport Other
I don't think that the AI of Crawl monsters is smart enough to use Teleport Other effectively. As far as I can tell, the only times it's strategically advantageous for a naga mage to cast Teleport Other on you is if you are near a staircase or if the mage has no nearby allies, and even then there's a high chance it will be just a minor nuisance. Teleport Other is at odds with the Blink Allies Encircling spell of guardian serpents, since you can get Encircled by a mob of nagas, but then be teleported out of it by a mage.
Suggestions: Removing Teleport Other from enemies altogether is a simple solution, which may be enough, though some kind of self-blinking spell could take its place. They could also be given Force Lance instead, as I believe they used to have at some point.
Nagarajas aren't distinct enough
Nagarajas are identical to naga magi, just with higher stats. Nagarajas are the most dangerous non-unique enemy in the Snake Pit, but there's nothing really distinct or memorable about them. There are other instances of genuinely scary and memorable "upgraded" enemies, like orc warlords, but nagarajas don't have quite the same impact.
Suggestion: There are any number of different spells and abilities that could be given to nagarajas, though some that immediately suggest themselves to me are Leda's Liquefaction, Invisibility, Air Strike, Lightning Bolt, and Iron Shot/Stone Arrow. Pretty much any change in spell set (or even giving nagarajas multiple spell sets) would be an improvement. They could also be given unique spells or abilities (maybe a "Summon Snakes" spell, something sandstorm related).
Floors are too similar
For the most part, the floors of the Pit don't have much differentiating them, apart from deeper floors having more enemies and stronger enemies becoming more common. In comparison, the Swamp and Spider Nest (and to a lesser extent, the Shoals) are all much better at keeping distinct, powerful enemies (emperor scorpions, spark wasps, thorn hunters, etc.) consigned to lower floors.
Suggestion: With a more diverse list of enemies, this can be avoided more easily, but with the current set, making the monster generator stricter about more "special" enemies, like shock serpents, mana vipers and salamanders being generated lower would help. I don't know what the exact probabilities are and I might be totally off-base, but it feels like the chances of encountering 0 of any particular monster on a given floor are pretty low.
Lack of unique environmental features
The Swamp has clouds and berserkable trees, the Shoals have tidewater, and the Spider's Nest has web traps. The Snake Pit is mostly just the Dungeon but with more stone walls and occasional tiny pools of water.
Suggestion: To me, the Snake Pit seems very much like some kind of temple. One way this can be emphasized environmentally is by adding reliquary "traps". There would be certain tiles which have an artefact or highly enchanted item on them, and when the item is picked up/apported, the trap goes off, summoning or animating large statues/golems to chase you down. A reliquary trap could also make a good rune vault, kind of like a mini orb run. Quicksand might be another idea for an environmental hazard (maybe mechanically like shallow water that drowns you if you stay in it too long). More frequent appearances of lava and water would also emphasize the salamanders and snakes.
Endings and rune vaults are too similar
Apart from a few endings involving pools of lava or water, most of the endings for the Snake Pit are just some pattern of halls and rooms filled with hordes of the same enemies you've been fighting the whole time. Compare this to the undead rune vault in the Swamp or the death scarab rune vault in the Spider's Nest, which feature enemies the player at least hasn't seen yet if they're playing in conventional order.
Suggestions: Really there's not much to do besides change the rune vaults and endings that are less distinctive. The above suggestions on environmental features can play into them. I'll leave this one in the hands of people who know how to make layouts.
Easy for Gargoyles
Poison immunity and innate electricity resistance make the Snake Pit much easier for Gargoyles, and their high Strength makes it easier to escape constriction.
Suggestion: I'd suggest giving naga ritualists Smiting and changing their spells to have the Priest flag.
Thanks for reading!