Barkeep
Posts: 4435
Joined: Tuesday, 11th January 2011, 12:28
Yred Revamp Proposal -or- 99 Problems (But a Lich Ain't One)
Background:
I like Yredrelemnul. "Carry the black torch! Rouse the idle dead!" is one of my all-time favorite slogans. And Yred is hardly weak -- free zombies are powerful, Enslave is pretty dope, and who can argue with a Bone Dragon or Servitor (or a few!) not long after Lair?
The problem, in my mind: both Animate and Recall are pretty close to identical to existing spells (yeah, Animate affects all of LOS) and the permanent allies, while great, are somewhat like having a few really good summons really early, who go and stomp everything for you.
And then there's the complete lack of postgame viability
Proposal:
Yred remains the God of Undead Supremacy. In fact, in following Yred, players ultimately choose undeath over life.
Yes, the big gimmick here is that when a living player begins worshipping Yred, the game starts tracking (perhaps) XP-since-joining scaled by XL. When that crosses a threshold, you become a lich (or a shade, if you don't want to call it lichform). I imagine that if you joined at the Temple and killed dudes, you'd change around the time you were going to enter Zot. Once they're ready to change, players would get it as an ability for, say, 1000 turns (with increasingly urgent warnings) so the don't just get changed in the middle of a fight with a necromancer or something. Players who ignore the warnings will be forcibly changed.
Changed players are mechanically equivalent (or at least very similar) to Necromutated players.
Abandonment does not stop the change. Yred wrath will be unpleasant to undrinking undead -- periodic bouts of rot and confusion would be potential wrath effects. Yred may also nullify the effects of potions during wrath for still-living characters.
I'd advocate Yred in this form would replace Necromutation. Worshipping Yred automatically excommunicates players from the good gods and Fedhas.
Piety and Penance:
Appreciates:
* You or allies killing living things or holy beings
* Friendly undead (you or allies) destroying demons or constructions
* You or your allies animating corpses
Depreciates:
* Using Holy Wrath or Holy Word (penance)
* Using Undeadhunter (penance)
* Attacking allied or neutral undead (piety loss)
Abilities:
*: Zombify. Applies the "Zombify" status for 50-ish turns. You and allied zombies get an auxillary (very low damage) bite attack; when a zombifiable monster is bitten and leaves a corpse, it will rise as a zombie after 1d3 turns. Successful bites also slightly heal zombies. Cost: MP, food.
**: Quicken. Allied zombies have the speed of their living counterparts. (Passive)
Pain mirror. As now; for undeads, also shields player from some (10%?) of dealt damage. Cost: piety for reflected damage.
***: Call slave. Calls one (or a few?) of your best (based on HD and HP) zombies to your location, across levels and branches. Will not call zombies into Hell, Pan, or Abyss. Maybe a chance of calling a temporary Yred gift? (Piety)
****: Drain Life. Largely as now. For undeads, will work (albeit less effectively) against demonic and holy monsters. (Piety)
Charm undead. All enemy undead in LOS check HD against player piety and Invo. (This happens only once for a monster.) Monsters failing this check may become confused, permanently neutral, or temporarily friendly transitioning to neutral. Vulnerability biases this check in favor of the player. Pacified monsters give no XP. Yes, this may let you have a pet Boris for a level or two. (Piety)
*****: Enslave soul. As now. Undeads can perhaps enslave demons?
******: Breathe. Yredelemnul will temporarily (Death's Door-type duration) bring a player (including undead species) to a lifelike state -- granting immunity to Dispel Undead, allowing potions, and rendering Revivification effective. Breathing players can be mutated normally. Works even when confused. Has either a MaxHP cost, or a long (1 XL?) cooldown, in addition to a substantial piety cost.
...
So, that's my idea. Viable (maybe even decent?) in the post-game and no longer relying on existing spell effects.
Thoughts? Underpowered? Overpowered? Just plain dumb? Be your usual honest selves
Reason: Changed XL for "Charm" to Invo