User:Gregglind

Player Background

1. Never ascended, or anything close to it!
2. I play mostly neutral gnome female healers, and aim for pacifist / protection
3. I like being scared that the run might not work out.
4. I don't mind if it takes hundreds of games to have an ascension.
5. I don't like feeling 'unfair' losses.
   • early boulder traps that kill my pets
   • Getting stupid OrcTown as the minetown level (Altar is awesome, but I need the priest!)
   • Being mauled to death while my pet is off running around chasing butterflies or sniffing hydrants
   • Pet teleportation that takes it levels away (especially down in the mines). Pits that go straight down 1 level seem fair. Same level teleport seems fair.

Some possibly useful ideas, from a newish player.

Life as a healer.

start scumming for healers

1. I start-scum. Without 5 power, I can't cast healing. Staying at level 1 until Minetown means I probably need to heal me or the pet sometime. Plus, casting spells if fun!
2. I don't start scum about the potions. BUC and count seems fair. My usual potion strategy is to hope that on the first two or three levels I find an altar, and if not, quaff them all for MaxHP gains.

Shepherd or Tamer, not Healer

Based on https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/User:Jonadab/ClassOverhaul, I want the Healer to be renamed to Tamer or Shepherd, and go even further toward "personal pacifism / guide pets through the dungeon".

Gnomes seem a weird choice for Shepherd (and Healer!) from a flavor perspective. If gnome, it seems like it should be a different pet as well. (Minor!) This could be as silly as just calling a cat a 'cave kitten => ... => smilodon' or something for gnomes.

Healer items I could use in the early game

1. 5+ power always. Scumming to cast healing seems silly.

1. Anything to help with pets: leashes, whistles, or TRIPE! Plant-only starting food means I don't have treats. Losing my pet for any reason (rock trap, teleport) without treats or taming means I have no easy way of making new ones, even if I see a kitten or puppy (which are rare at level 1!).

1. More sources of level drain. Make it a harder / more interesting choice about *how* to do protection racket, not WHETHER to do it. Should I level up to 2/3 so I have Meatball, then try to drain? This risks making monsters much harder when I encounter new levels.

1. Stethoscope rules!

Pet Telepathy - A new Shepherd powers?

1. Pet telepathy? In particular, when my pet gets teleported, my game is probably over. This telepathy could be limited to knowing "same level, level below, level above" for example. Drawbacks to using this could be hunger, confusion, for a finite number of turns, or other things.

1. I like being terrified when my pet is gone. I like having to run and dodge and avoid, but I want to know if I am going in the right direction!

Pet Personality

• I want more ways to make my pet behave better.
• Some dogs and cats are more attentive than others. Stethoscope maybe should see that?
• Dogs >> cats because they have better personalities.

Limited Wish / Tool Shed / Room of Requirement

Several ideas for "Make wishes more balanced"

Limited wish

1. Scroll / book / Catalog? (A battered and thumb-eared catalog)
2. Can do a mundane item or weapon, never cursed, possibly blessed or rustproof
3. Can be the prize in the Room of Requirement below.

Room of Requirement / Tool Shed

• A closet.
• when first entered by a player, generates a tool / weapon / consumable / corpse / small magic item that is 'useful' for the player. Will never be cursed, but might be blessed.
• These closets are a special room type, and appear early (DL 2-4). It should be a mostly small reward for diving a little into the dungeon. Could be deeper if we want to encourage faster diving.
• (This is the hardest part!). Ideal algorithms would look at user resistances, if they have a pet, etc, and try to do something useful. If there is an aligned altar seen so far, it could even be a sacrifice corpse. The gift should suggest a course of action / new subgoal for the player. A leash, pet food, lock pick, new weak figurine, whatever it is.
• as a small, lockable, closed door room, this is a safe place to "do housekeeping", resting, stash.
• If it's a scroll or something, it is identified (free id!).
• a small sign that the RNG actually wants you to be successful!
• Safer than a shop for establishing apport.
• If we want to teach people about search, it could be behind a hidden door, or give a signal like "You feel like there is something good behind that wall"