[CF-Devel] Stats adjudication

[crossfire-devel-admin at archives.real-time.com]

  I agree that the idea of fractional stats is distasteful.

  If anything, I'd rather approximate that via random values.  Eg, there is a 5% 
(or whatever) chance that the potion works and increases your stat. 
Alternatively, have some mechanism to merge/use multiple potions at once.  Eg, 
to increase a stat that is above 20, you need a 'Greater XXX potion', which can 
be made with 10 (or whatever) normal potions.

  I could see the reason to just not make all the bonuses to mimic larger gaps - 
the reason being you would get the odd case where as the stats get higher, the 
gap to actually get any meaningful benefit is larger.  That just seems a bit odd.

  I'd note that if the stats were extended to say 50, but instead the bonuses 
stretched out (so the bonus you get at 30 now you'd get with 50 in the new 
system).  This would actually weaken things a bit for players at perhaps the 
more middle levels.

  I'm also not sure if I like the idea of it being harder to raise really low 
stats - that just seems odd.  I see the idea you are trying to do - if you make 
a stat really low, it is harder to raise.  But it should be that really low 
stats are a disadvantage.

  One reason I'd also be in favor of making the max stat higher is that with 
some class/race combinations, if you focus your stat making, you can get a stat 
in the mid 20's.  I think it'd be more interesting if there was more room to 
grow max stats.

  One could also do something a little different with races- have bonus bonus 
adjustments to the character, and have the maximum be something different.  Eg, 
you could get a +2 str and +2 dex (thus, being able to start at say 22 instead 
of 20).  But instead of the max still being 22, it could be 32 or something like 
that, so there is always room to grow with the stat potions.

  As far as charisma:  Bargaining does not neutralize a low charisma. 
Bargaining basically increases your charisma, for purposes of buying/selling 
objects, by a few points.  So a character with a 20 charisma still gets a 
benefit from bargaining.

  Charisma is used for some other aspects - I think the personality skills do 
use it, so if you want to sing, pacify, etc, charisma adjusts your chances.  But 
those are skills that one does not actually need to use.  Also, by the time you 
start picking up the misc skills jsut for the heck of it, you are more likely to 
be finding stat potions to bring up your charisma to respectable level anyways.

  One thought might be to make improving a stat harder based on what the stat 
started at.  For example, if you start with a 15 strength, it now gets harder to 
improve at 25 (15 + 10).  If you start with a 1 power, it is now harder to 
improve starting at 11 (1 + 11).  Thus, tossing low values into a stat has 
larger term ramifications.  Most fighters might not want spell casting at first 
level, but at some point they probably want to pick some up.  But if they put 
really low stats into pow, int, and wis, it would become difficult for them to 
get good at it.

One could limit pets or other such things based on charisma.  NPC's not talking 
to players with low charisma/appearance is also possible.  There is certainly 
more that could be done here.  I do remember one game (fallout 2) I played where 
npc's gave different amount of information based on charisma or something.

  However, this is really only effective in crossfire if the information is 
somehow made more dynamic - having an NPC give a password only if charisma is > 
15 doesn't do a whole bunch if this is a well known password or other players 
all know it (or you know it from playing the game before).

  Also, just to avoid the problem of a low charisma character being messed up 
for the rest of his life, one could also do something like have level adjust 
charisma (effectively).  So maybe someone would need a combined 'fame' score of 
100 to get the piece of information.  Fame would be based on charisma, level, as 
well as perhaps other things (doing quests could increase fame).  And arguable 
fame should be what is used to determine how much shops give you.



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