User:Chris/dNetHack/Projects

This is a list of open projects in dNethack

Increase Game-to-Game Variability

• Orctown
  • Orctown as implemented in vanilla nethack is all downside.
  • Orctown could be tweaked so that it offers some of the same benefits as regular minetown, but in a different format.
    • Per FIQ: Pair orctown with a mines end variant containing refugees from minetown
    • Current thoughts:
      • Deli shopkeeper and Tool shopkeeper were killed. Their shops' inventories are scattered around orctown.
      • The aligned priest was killed. His inventory is scattered around orctown. The temple altar was converted to Moloch
      • The watch (including the watch captain) was killed. One or two regular watchmen could escape to mine's end, but the captain at least should be dead.
      • Several gnomes and dwarves were killed.
      • Quite a few orcs would also have been killed
      • Therefore if you kill the orcs, you get 9 random tools, 4 random food items, drained wands of striking and/or magic missiles, a mace, a small shield, 2-4 spellbooks (SMOP), a robe/CoProtection/CoMR (SMOP), the starting inventory of any dead watchmen (including a 50% chance of a silver saber), the starting inventory of several gnomes and dwarves, the starting inventory of several orcs, and simulated death drops for all the casualties. Additionally, the altar can be converted to the character's deity
      • Orctown should probably generate orcs as enemies, at least until all the orc captains are dead (probably easiest to do with another level-type altering flag, like those used by demon lords and dread seraphs)
      • Gnomes and dwarves should fight orcs while on orctown (clever player might be able to take advantage of this fact....)
      • Izchak and the General store shopkeeper survived and moved shop to mine's end
      • No clue about the disposition of the mine's end luckstone. FIQ suggests a mini-quest from the aligned priest (who would be changed to a survivor) to kill all the orcs (or maybe all the orc captains given the above generation rules), in return for which he turns over the luckstone (SMOP)
    • Alternately, in dNethack the minetown survivors could flee UP the mines instead of deeper into the mines, ending up on either the branch level, the 2nd floor of the mines, or outside the windowless tower.
      • Current thoughts: Outside the windowless tower. They could fortify (wall + locked doors) the right-hand side of the river, and build a couple of shops. If the player checked up there first, they would be able to prepare themselves for the existence of orctown.
    • Obviously, in order to coordinate all these level variations, orctown vs normal would have to be determined at the start of the game. dNethack already does this for several features in the law quest, this would be one more.
• Elements of the early branches should be randomized
  • Randomize Chaos Quest
    • Since this quest is currently based on FFI, this would be a good place to introduce almost anything
  • Randomize Vlad's Tower
    • Vlad & Co don't always have to be the boss, either
  • More minetown/mines end variations
    • One suggesting is an Orc-occupied minetown paired with a refugee-occupied mines end, see Orctown above
  • Medusa variants (note: Medusa has a wide-area instant-death attack that targets a rare resistance (stoning), but that can be blocked/reflected by a rare-but-necessary extrinsic (reflection), and that can be ignored through the use of a more common effect (blindness). Variant creatures should be similar in impact but preferably should target all-different resistances. Medusa's level also has a rarely-used ward associated with it. Also, in recent versions Medusa is tameable, which does NOT make the character immune to stoning from her gaze, variants should likewise be tameable and have interesting effects if brought along with the character)
    • Echo: if the character makes a loud noise near her, the echo has some seriously bad effect (level drain to 1/2 current?). Should be made to test Stealth + player skill, Concave amulet 'reflects' the noise, Convex amulet deflects it harmlessly. Drain resistance would protect against the level drain.
    • Grue: Done by User_talk:NeroOneTrueKing
    • Siren
• I think it would be really cool if (something similar to) the Laws of the Grokodus were in effect in the dungeons of doom.

Wishing Overhaul

• In general, there are too many wishes given out at the castle
  • Remove wands of wishing
  • Replace with djinn candles (candles of invocation?)
    • Accidental D&D wish item
    • Acts as a magic candle when applied (2 square light, doesn't burn out)
    • When #invoked, asks if you want to make a wish or call a servant
    • Making a wish calls a djinni to grant your wish (100% success rate, btw, not 80% like a magic lamp)
    • Calling a servant uses a version of the wizard mode monster creation function to allow you to specify a pet
      • Allows pet-based roles and pacifists to skip the 20% failure rate of figurines
      • Need to review what should and shouldn't be wishable
  • Replace with rings of three wishes (rings of spirit command?)
    • D&D wish item, makes no sense for it to be a ring in nethack
    • Gives three wishes and can't be recharged
    • Could have a pentagram or hexagram ward engraved on it (Seal of Solomon).
    • Could also call pets (see candle, Tarmunora notes that this would make the wish items less distinct from each other)
• I believe the ~50% failure rate for artifact wishes after the first few is bad, and that a given wish should either allow artifacts or not
  • The djinn could be able to grant one artifact wish, further artifact wishes would result in a "that is beyond my power"-type answer followed by a request for a different wish (ie, wishes are not wasted by wishing for ineligible artifacts)
  • Sitting on the castle throne could unlock a second artifact wish
  • Returning a wished-for artifact to the priests of an unknown god should allow another djinni or castle artifact wish, as appropriate given the returned item.
  • Giving artifacts to all five priests of an unknown god could unlock a third artifact wish
  • Most wishes would be re-fluffed as djinn wishes, ie, throne wishes result in a djinni appearing, and water demons are classified as a type of djinn.

Dungeon Rooms

• Upper dungeon should be more distinct from lower dungeon (The upper dungeon should be more ruined
  • Example is dilapidated armory vs barracks
  • Have been wanting to make "cave room", an irregular eroded room for the upper dungeon.
• Statue garden/figurine room: Done
• Trip back up the dungeon should be distinct from trip down it
  • Ex: Dread Seraphs wake up, weeping angels call in friends and become more aggressive, Uvuudaums cease meditating and attack.
  • Amulet should probably block even things like cursed gain level potions, def things like teleport-to-upstairs.

Quest Improvements

• The early part of the Neutral quest (the neutral quest proper, before Lost Cities) could use to be made more neutral-y (In progress, Chris_ANG)
  • One potentially-interesting idea is to introduce a 3 or 4 way fight between Rilmani, Kamerel, and servants of Tharizdun
    • Neutral characters would probably be ignored by Rilmani and Kamerel, Tharizdun followers would be hostile to everyone, the three sides would fight each-other via grudge.
    • Downsides: Requires a new monster class for Rilmani, Kamerel probably added to the already-overcrowded @ symbol (though Kamerel should theoretically also have a caste system and need their own sysmbol), and whatever ends up representing Tharizdun's followers would probably need to be added.
• Quest changes
  • Pantheon-specific Priest home levels
  • Race-specific Binder locate levels (ie, Drow should have an underground city, elves should probably have an elf village, etc.) The goal level remains the same, but the left-hand side could be re-dressed to account for different locate levels.
  • Binder needs Astaroth bell solution fixed (Astaroth should ring the bell once then set a 10%-of-normal cooldown on itself), needs method to retain atheist conduct and still ascend.

New Roles

• Reverse role: Start in gehennom, travel up to heaven to steal the Amulet back before it can be returned to the Gods
  • How can starting in gehennom be made interesting?
  • Want to use Charon's crossing in place of the castle
  • This one has... ?dnethack lore?... considerations.
• Alchemists might be nice to have, if a good mechanic could be created. I recently saw someone suggest letting them split dangerous potions into vials that could be thrown, stretching their potion ammo.

Demon Lords

• Alrunes (Demon Lady of Sisterhood and Protection) needs a lair (Abyss 1).
• Obox-Ob (Demon Prince of Crawling Things) needs a lair, and better abilities (Brine Flats).
• Dagon needs better abilities and behavior
  • Perceiving him in any way should cause a permanent fear of water and swimming things
  • Can 'sing' a Doomsong (presumably sounds something like whalesong). In D&D this causes hypnosis, self-drowning, and paralysis. Probably would not want to do all those things in nethack.
  • Should probably be out swimming in the water, not in a building.

Engine Improvements

• Other kinds of clouds
  • Fire clouds for Plane of Fire