Make Demigods a class instead of a race... somehow?


If it doesn't fit anywhere else, it belongs here. Also, come here if you just need to get hammered.

User avatar

Eringya's Employee

Posts: 1783

Joined: Friday, 7th October 2011, 19:24

Location: Athens, Greece

Post Monday, 27th October 2014, 19:24

Re: Make Demigods a class instead of a race... somehow?

varkarrus the Felid Vampire Demigod comes into view.
MuCK;
  Code:
612 | D:1      | Xom revived you
614 | D:1      | Xom revived you
614 | D:1      | Slain by a gnoll

Halls Hopper

Posts: 76

Joined: Sunday, 15th December 2013, 19:43

Post Tuesday, 28th October 2014, 23:30

Re: Make Demigods a class instead of a race... somehow?

I know what you mean but I don't think "class" is what you're after here. Class describes something they work towards, something that can be altered or changed over time. Race is heritage, your bloodline, something permenant that you're stuck with.

However, I also find it odd that demigods (not to mention the undead and arguably also demonspawn) are races in their own right rather than the equivalent of D&D templates. I mean, I get why it's done from a gameplay perspective (alternative is too fiddly, impossible to balanace, adds little aside from complexity) but from a fluff and lore perspective, it irks me that I can't play a vampire elf or a halfling ghoul or a tengu mummy. So I can see why someone would wonder why they couldn't play as a naga with divine heritage.

Especially considering that demigods feel lacklustre as a race, are difficult to get to grips with. They're like humans except they suck at everything aside from stats, and maybe their HP and MP pool if memory serves. Unlike some, though, I'm fond of the idea of demigods. Well, the vague idea behind them as I understand it. I have thoughts on how I think they could be implemented better. But everyone has thoughts on how they could be implemented better. And when you average out all those ideas, you get demigods as they presently are.

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 2996

Joined: Tuesday, 28th June 2011, 20:41

Location: Berlin

Post Wednesday, 29th October 2014, 05:38

Re: Make Demigods a class instead of a race... somehow?

BobIsDead wrote:They're like humans except they suck at everything aside from stats, and maybe their HP and MP pool if memory serves.


This and godlessness makes a pretty big difference in how they play. I think Hu vs. Dg are more different than some other races you could compare (HO vs Mi and Mf vs HE, for instance) and you could write similar sentences (they're the same, except for this significant difference) for these and others. If a new player midjudges this, they should notice that Hu and Dg are very different once they play a Hu and a Dg.

Halls Hopper

Posts: 76

Joined: Monday, 12th May 2014, 15:51

Post Wednesday, 29th October 2014, 17:09

Re: Make Demigods a class instead of a race... somehow?

When I think of "class" in Crawl I feel like deity choice best reflects what RPGs usually consider to be a class. It's sometimes a more important choice than species (depends on the species). Many traditional RPGs define a character by combination of race+class; Crawl primarily defines a character's style by species+god. And like classes often do in other RPGs, deities are the main limiting factor in what your character is "allowed" to do. It's not selecting Fighter as background that prohibits spellcasting; it's choosing to worship Trog that prohibits spellcasting. Some backgrounds will synergize more effectively with some gods than others, such as Enchanter with Dithmenos.
I like how it works. It reminds me of the now mostly defunct pen&paper RPG Runequest, in which the most defining choice of a character was religion.
Previous

Return to Crazy Yiuf's Corner

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests

cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by ST Software for PTF.