dpeg wrote:I am a bit worried that good players like MarvinPA will go for a mutation free game anyway. The goal is not to make mutations the solution to everything but to have a wider range than "shun mutations at all costs; if you have sufficient !cMut, perhaps try !Mut before the Zot battle".
A potion of good mutations (by the way, the potion name should include the word "mutation" in my opinion) would certainly be a step in the right direction. I would also bring a potion of remove bad mutation to the table (could also be a replacement for the current !cMut).
Finally, regarding stats: It's not worth discussing that mutations are cooler than stats. However, we happen to have those three stats and I believe they can be meaningful... one issue is that the scale is a bit too fine. Or in other words, one point in a stat does not matter enough. (This also affects the stat choice every third level.) The conceptual solution would be stat := stat/2. Regardless of that, the potions of Gain Foo would be interesting (not as cool as mutation) if they allowed you to jump at "cast spell X hungerless right now" or "can use armour Y immediately".
I agree with everything in this post except for the Potion of Remove Bad Mutation. I'd consider it more interesting if Cure Mutation simply wiped all mutations clean, so most players have to decide if, say, getting rid of Blurry Vision warranted losing Teleport Control and Fire Resistance. Losing bad mutations specifically is fine as a Jiyva ability, though.
Actually, I think what I'd really like would be for the Potion of Mutation to grant only good mutations, while making both negative mutagenic effects and Potions of Cure Mutation more common. Accumulation of negative mutations would eventually necessitate occasional use of Cure Mutation for nearly all characters, with the Potion of Mutation making your game somewhat easier until the next time you have to drink one. You could drink an early Mutation to make the early game easier in the knowledge that whatever boost it provides would be long gone by the endgame, or you could save it for later and accept greater difficulty now in exchange for an easier game later.
Just a well-spoken spambot.