Re: CF: RE: Classes and Races

[David Andrew Michael Noelle <>]

dragonm wrote:
> 
> Can anybody else think of more major implications of going heavily
> multi-species/multi-racial?
> 

    That depends on where you want to set the balance between ease of play
and realism.  It's not too far off base to have humans of all sorts wearing
one-size-fits-all armour, but having a halfling or half-orc wear the same
generic armour as a barbarian (or ogre, if they're added as a player race)
is a little weird.  Generic weapons are acceptable, since a person half the
size of an average fighter, who somehow manages to have the same strength,
shouldn't have too much more difficulty swinging a longsword twice his
height.
    I'm a little leery of changing object structures right now, but if
armour had a size field, players could be prevented from wearing armour too
different from their own size (determined by race).  I don't think armour
uses the damage field for anything, so for now armour damage could be
assigned to mean size.  If armour almost fits, but not quite, it might have
some penalties, like slower movement and worse ac.  Magical armour could
compensate for the poor fit, allowing it to be worn by players of a wider
range of sizes, based on its enchantment level.
    For example, normal armour might be wearable by anyone within +/- 20% of
its size if it's leather or cloth, 10% if it's metal.  If magical armour
compensates for 20% size difference per +1 bonus, then plate mail +2
designed for a 100cm dwarf would fit a 145cm elf as though it were only off
by 5%.
    A new kind of magical anvil could be created so players could drop
armour there, along with some amount of payment proportional to the value of
the armour (and how far off it is), and have the smith rework that armour to
fit them exactly.
    Then again, this might be a little too picky.  A bit much
micromanagement for a hack and slash game.

-- 
            -Dave Noelle,                 
            -the Villa Straylight,  http://www.straylight.org
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