[crossfire] Game balance: potion of life, healing, cure disease

[mwedel at sonic.net]

 One issue to perhaps better look at is what is the desired penalty for
death.

 If potions of life become relatively cheap or easy to come buy, then the
stat depletion on death actually is fairly meaningless, and we might as
well just remove that.  I think there are already some things in the
settings file that relate to that - I don't know if there is a way right
now to just completely turn stat loss off.

 An interesting thought would be to have different level potions, just
like different level wands and scrolls.  When a player dies, IIRC, right
now the depletion force for the stat is inserted into them.  It would be
simple enough to record the level of the character when that force was
inserted.

 Then, a simple check that the level of the potion (or scroll or other
device, since it is a spell IIRC) is higher, it removes all those
depletions, if not, it doesn't.

 In this way, you could have 'wimpy' potions of life that go up to maybe
level 5, and are relatively cheap, and better ones that go up and up.

 I do think that instead of the current method used for wands/scrolls, it
would be better to make archetypes of these so they can be put in
appropriate treasure lists, and the costs of them controlled.  Maybe the
'supreme potions of life', which is unlimited level, cost 50,000 pp or
something.