--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abysmal Realms Builders Guidelines
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision: Date: Change: Author:
Rev 1.0 10/14/97 Creation of docs Tamo
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of this document is to serve as a generalized guideline for
builders at Abysmal Realms to use while building areas. While these
guidelines are not carved in stone, they are established to create a
balanced environment. Deviation should be done with utmost care to
avoid imbalanced areas.
Topics:
Mobiles Armor Weapons Wand/Staff/Rod
Potions/Pill Scrolls
Mobiles in general:
Mobiles, being the primary source of experience in the mud, are the
focal points of most areas, and therefore, are the one of the most
important things to maintain balance with. A good mobile will be
a challenge to characters within 4-5 levels of it.
Named v. Unnamed:
For lack of other convention, I have broken mobiles down into two
catagories, Named and Unnamed. An Unnamed mobile is a generic, all
purpose mob that resides in an area. Cityguards, Imperial guards,
vagabonds.. each is a good example of unnamed mobs. They are often
abundant, and while they may offer a few pieces of gear, they should
not have anything too exotic.
Thoul, Diana and MazeKeeper are excellent examples of the Named mob.
Each is unique, with more than standard equipment. Those who wish to
split hairs can argue there there are two types of named mobs..
minor and major. Minor named mobs are mobs that are named to provide
flavor for an area (Gothmog, Diana, ghost of Bal'Karok) while a
major named mob exists for a specific task (Marblefist, Thoul,
or Tarquas) Those three are guards of the realms, serving a very
specific purpose.
-=] Mob Stats [=-
I. Hitpoints
<help hitdice> see also: HELP <HITDICE AC DAMDICE>
lvl hit pts ac damage mean lvl hit pts ac damage mean
=============================== ==================================
1 2d6+10 92 1d4+0 2.5 51 50d10+5000 -308 5d8+20 42.5
2 2d7+21 84 1d5+0 3 52 50d10+5500 -316 6d7+20 44
3 2d6+35 76 1d6+0 3.5 53 50d10+6000 -324 6d7+21 45
4 2d7+46 68 1d5+1 4 54 50d10+6500 -332 7d6+22 46.5
5 2d6+60 60 1d6+1 4.5 55 50d10+7000 -340 10d4+23 48
6 2d7+71 52 1d7+1 5 56 50d10+7500 -348 10d4+24 49
7 2d6+85 44 1d8+1 5.5 57 50d10+8000 -356 6d8+24 51
8 2d7+96 36 1d7+2 6 58 50d10+8500 -364 5d10+25 52.5
9 2d6+110 28 1d8+2 6.5 59 50d10+9000 -372 8d6+26 54
10 2d7+121 20 2d4+2 7 60 50d10+9500 -380 8d6+27 55
11 2d8+134 12 1d10+2 7.5 61 50d15+10000 -388 7d7+28 56
12 2d10+150 4 1d10+3 8.5 62 50d15+10500 -396 7d7+29 57
13 2d10+170 -4 2d5+3 9 63 50d15+11000 -404 4d13+30 58
14 2d10+190 -12 1d12+3 9.5 64 50d15+11500 -412 6d9+29 59
15 3d9+208 -20 2d6+3 10 65 50d15+12000 -420 6d9+30 60
16 3d9+233 -28 2d6+4 11 66 50d20+12500 -428 9d6+30 61.5
17 3d9+258 -36 3d4+4 11.5 67 50d20+13000 -436 9d6+31 62.5
18 3d9+283 -44 2d7+4 12 68 50d20+13500 -444 8d7+32 64
19 3d9+308 -52 2d7+5 13 69 50d20+14000 -452 8d7+33 65
20 3d9+333 -60 2d8+5 14 70 50d20+14500 -460 6d10+33 66
21 4d10+360 -68 4d4+5 15 71 50d25+15000 -468 4d16+33 67
22 5d10+400 -76 4d4+6 16 72 50d25+15500 -476 4d16+34 68
23 5d10+450 -84 3d6+6 16.5 73 50d25+16000 -484 7d9+34 69
24 5d10+500 -92 2d10+6 17 74 50d25+16500 -492 8d8+34 70
25 5d10+550 -100 2d10+7 18 75 50d25+17000 -500 6d11+35 71
26 5d10+600 -108 3d7+7 19 76 50d30+17500 -508 9d7+36 72
27 5d10+650 -116 5d4+7 19.5 77 50d30+18000 -516 4d18+35 73
28 6d12+703 -124 2d12+7 20 78 50d30+18500 -524 4d18+36 74
29 6d12+778 -132 2d12+8 21 79 50d30+19000 -532 6d12+36 75
30 6d12+853 -140 4d6+8 22 80 50d30+19500 -540 8d9+36 76
31 6d12+928 -148 4d6+9 23 81 50d35+20000 -548 10d7+37 77
32 10d10+1000 -156 6d4+9 24 82 50d35+20500 -556 5d15+38 78
33 10d10+1100 -164 6d4+10 25 83 50d35+21000 -564 7d11+37 79
34 10d10+1200 -172 4d7+10 26 84 50d35+21500 -572 4d20+38 80
35 10d10+1300 -180 4d7+11 27 85 50d35+22000 -580 3d28+38 81.5
36 10d10+1400 -188 3d10+11 27.5 86 50d40+22500 -588 11d7+39 83
37 10d10+1500 -196 3d10+12 28.5 87 50d40+23000 -596 9d9+39 84
38 10d10+1600 -204 5d6+12 29.5 88 50d40+23500 -604 4d22+39 85
39 15d10+1700 -212 5d6+13 30.5 89 50d40+24000 -612 12d7+38 86
40 15d10+1850 -220 4d8+13 31 90 50d40+24500 -620 5d18+40 87.5
41 25d10+2000 -228 4d8+14 32 91 50d45+25000 -628 11d8+40 89.5
42 25d10+2250 -236 3d12+14 33.5 92 50d45+25500 -636 9d10+41 90.5
43 25d10+2500 -244 3d12+15 34.5 93 50d45+26000 -644 10d9+42 92
44 25d10+2750 -252 8d4+15 35 94 50d45+26500 -652 5d19+43 93
45 25d10+3000 -260 8d4+16 36 95 50d45+27000 -660 6d16+43 94
46 25d10+3250 -268 6d6+16 37 96 50d50+27500 -668 13d7+43 95
47 25d10+3500 -276 6d6+17 38 97 50d50+28000 -676 8d12+44 96
48 25d10+3750 -284 6d6+18 39 98 50d50+28500 -684 7d14+45 97.5
49 50d10+4000 -292 4d10+18 40 99 50d50+29000 -692 9d11+45 99
50 50d10+4500 -300 5d8+19 41.5 100 50d50+29500 -700 10d10+45 100
Thief mobiles should read their hp, ac, and damage at one level lower.
Mage mobiles read hp and ac at one level lower, and damage three
levels lower.
Cleric mobiles read damage at two levels lower.
Warrior mobiles read hit points one level higher.
Armor Classes
In order, the 4 armor class values for a mobile are piercing (i.e.
daggers and spears), bashing (i.e. clubs, rocks), slashing (swords and axes),
and magical (everything else). Usually the first three will be fairly close
to each other (it's nice to have them be a little different, however), and
the magical AC will be considerably weaker. Please adhere to the AC
guidelines set out in <help hitdice> above.
II. Mana
<help MANADICE>
A high number of dice makes for less variance in mobiles mana.
The values the server generates for merc-type mobs is
<level> d 10 + 100
where level is the level of the mobile.
In olc medit, "mana default" will insert this value for manadice!
III. Hitroll
A bonus for the mobile to increase its chance to hit, this is one
setting that can change a mobs ability to harm players.
Mob Toughness: Hitroll bonus:
Weak: 0
Normal: Level/10
Strong: Level/5
Unique: Level/3
Where:
weak = very common mob (guards, snails, fox, boar, dwarven youth, etc)
normal = common mob (some guards, dwarven miners, dwarven guards, etc)
strong = minor named mob, or really nasty mob (Diana, dragons, etc)
unique = exactly that.. Marblefist qualifies, as does Thoul, Tarquas, etc.
IV. Damage
See hitdice table
V. Armor Class
See Hitdice table
VI. ACT_FLAGS, IMMUNITIES, RESISTANCES and VULNERABILITIES.
*Warning*: Some races, when set for a mob, allow preset Immuninities,
resistances, or vulnerabilities. Always check these settings.
a. ACT_FLAGS
Whenever possible, load a mob up with appropriate ACT_FLAGs.
All guards, for example, should be WARRIORS, bandits should the
THIEVES, witchdoctors should be CLERICS, etc.
Always mark mobs STAY_AREA if you want to prevent them from wandering
to adjoining areas, SENTINEL if they are to stay in the same room (great
for statues that are alive, etc)
>From the ROM Builder Docs:
Act flags (short for "action") determine the in-game behavior of your
mobile. Input all of the flags you have chosen into the proper mobile section
(as shown in the examples above). Following is a listing of act flags:
NPC Mobile is an NPC (set automatically by the game)
sentinel Mobile doesn't wander
scavenger Mobile picks up items on the floor
aggressive Mobile attacks any character in the same room
(see the section dealing with aggression)
stay area Mobile will not leave a zone (this should be set)
wimpy Mobile will fly when badly hurt
pet Mobile is a pet (and hence safe from attack)
train Mobile can train statistics
practice Mobile can teach skills
undead Mobile has special undead powers (i.e. life draining)
cleric Mobile has cleric casting powers
mage Mobile has mage casting powers
thief Mobile has thief combat skills (backstab, etc.)
warrior Mobile has warrior combat skills (disarm, parry, etc.)
noalign Mobile is unaligned (unintelligent animals, golems, etc.)
nopurge Mobile isn't removed by the purge command
outdoors Mobile will not wander outside a building
indoors Mobile will not wander into a building
healer Mobile can heal characters (i.e. the heal command)
gain Mobile can grant new skills (i.e. the gain command)
update Mobile is always updated, even in idle zones (rarely
needed)
changer Mobile can change coins (i.e. Otho the Money Changer)
b. IMMUNITIES
Immunities should be vary rare, only being given to a mob for a
specific reason. For example, a 'lightning bug' might be immune
to shocking/lightning.
Level of Mob: Max. # of Immunities: Vulnerabilities:
------------- --------------------- ----------------
01 - 25 1 1
26 - 45 2 1
46 - 75 3 2
76 - 99 4 3
100+ 5 4
Additionally, as shown in the table, mobs with immunities should
have a weakness or vulnerability as well.
c. RESISTANCES
Less potent, but still posing additional brawn to mobs, are
resistances. Named mobs should have at least one resistance,
as they are unique, and mobs greater than level 50 should have
at least one resistance. If resistances are to be used:
Level of Mob: Max. # of Resistances: Vulnerabilities:
------------- ---------------------- ----------------
01 - 10 1 0
11 - 20 2 0
21 - 30 2 1
31 - 40 3 1
41 - 50 3 2
51 - 60 4 2
61 - 70 4 3
71 - 80 5 3
81 - 90 5 4
91 + 6 4
(Minor) Named Mob: +1 Resistance
(Major) Named Mob: +2 Resistance
d. VULNERABILITIES
Vulnerabilities should exist on any mob that has a resistance
or immunity, but may exist on mobs without those. Such mobs,
with only a vulnerability, should be extremely rare, and
are best as weak mobs. It is suggested that only 1 vulnerability
ever be used on a mob, unless there is very good reasoning for
more.
All three flags share the same fields, which are as follows:
summon Summoning and gating magic
charm Charm spells (the beguiling spell group)
magic All magic (be very careful using this flag)
weapons All physical attacks (be very careful using this flag)
bash Blunt weapons
pierce Piercing weapons
slash Slashing weapons
Fire Flame and heat attacks and spells
Cold Cold and ice attacks and spells
Lightning Electrical attacks and spells
Acid Corrosive attacks and spells
Poison Venoms and toxic vapors
Negative Life draining attacks and spells, or unholy energies
Holy Holy or blessed attacks
Energy Generic magical force (i.e. magic missile)
Mental Mental attacks (such as a mind flayer's mind blasts)
Disease Disease, from the common cold to the black death
Drowning Watery attacks and suffocation
Light Light-based attacks, whether blinding or cutting
Sound Sonic attacks and weapons, or deafening noises
Wood Wooden weapons and creatures
Silver Silver or mithril weapons and creatures
Iron Iron and steel weapons and creatures
Note: Resist the temptation to make "Achilles Heel" style mobiles, that
is creatures that are immune (or almost immune) to all but a single
attack type. Such mobiles are extremely boring to fight, and ultimately
not very hard to defeat. Strive to make a balanced mobile, with no flags
that aren't explainable by its nature.
VII. Special functions
Special procedures are not assigned in the mobile structure itself, but
they do relate directly to mobiles. The procedure for assigning procedures
will be detailed in another document, but the basic function is covered here.
A special procedure gives a mobile some added functionality, allowing it
do more complicated actions than are normally possible. Examples are
Hassan's guardian duties, the fido's ability to eat corpses, and the warring
mobiles in the dangerous neighborhood. New specials can be requested, but
don't rely on someone else being willing to code one for you. At this time,
no mobile may have more than one special procedure..
The following specials are available:
breath_acid Mobile breathes acid in combat
breath_fire Mobile breathes fire in combat (area attack)
breath_frost Mobile breathes frost in combat (area attack)
breath_gas Mobile breathes poison gas in combat area attack)
breath_lightning Mobile breathes lightning in combat
breath_any Mobile may use any breath weapon
cast_adept Mobile casts helpful spells on low-level players
cast_cleric Mobile casts clerical spells (ALWAYS cleric act flag)
cast_judge Mobile fires bullets (for Mega-City One only)
cast_mage Mobile casts mage spells (ALWAYS set the mage act flag)
cast_undead Mobile casts spells appropriate for the undead
executioner Mobile attacks Killers and Thieves
fido Mobile devours corpses
guard Mobile protects good-aligned people from attack
janitor Mobile cleans up junk lying on the ground
poison Mobile has a poison attack
thief Mobile steals gold (ALWAYS set the thief act flag)
nasty_thief Mobile attacks, robs, and runs (ALWAYS set thief flag)
The following specials are coded, but should NOT be used because they
are tailored to specific mobiles. Check them out online for examples of
unique or area-specific specials that can possibly be coded for your mobiles:
cast_judge Mobile fires bullets (for Mega-City One only)
troll_member Mobile attacks ogre gang members (gangland mobs only)
ogre_member Mobile attacks troll gang members (gangland mobs only)
patrolman Mobile tries to break up fights (gangland mobs only)
mayor The Midgaard mayor special (opens/closes city gates, etc.)
VII. Gold
Care should be taken to make mobs balanced in their wealth.
Only sentient creatures should have gold or silver on them,
as a cat with coins is pretty rare.. If a non-sentient mob
deserves some wealth, create a lair that it will defend..
piling the gold there rather than on the mob.
A generic rule of thumb is to not exceed 100 silver per
level of the mob.. of consult the table below for more
specific.
Gold on mob:
Generous: Normal: Stingy: Mean:
Level/2 Level/3 Level/5 Level/10
Remember, wealth values are in silver,
so a level 60 mob would be:
Generous: Normal: Stingy: Mean:
3000 2000 1200 600
VII. Affects, Aggression, Alignment, Mobile group
Affect Flags
Affect flags are used to assign various spell and spell-like effects to
a mobile, such as sanctuary, hidden, or detections. The following list
contains all usable affect flags:
blind Mobile is blind
invisible Mobile is invisible
detect evil Mobile can sense evil
detect invis Mobile can see invisible. **
detect magic Mobile can see magic
detect hide Mobile can see hidden (sneaking/hiding) characters
detect good Mobile can sense good
sanctuary Mobile is protected by a sanctuary spell. **
faerie fire Mobile is surrounded by faerie fire (a hindrance)
infravision Mobile can see heat sources in the dark
curse Mobile is cursed
poison Mobile is poisoned
protect evil Mobile takes less damage from evil characters
protect good Mobile takes less damage from good characters
sneaking Mobile is sneaking (hard to detect while moving)
hiding Mobile is hiding (cannot be seen without detect hidden)
sleep Mobile is affected by sleep spell
charm Mobile is charmed
flying Mobile is flying
pass door Mobile can walk through closed doors
haste Mobile is affected by a haste spell
calm Mobile is affected by calm spell
plague Mobile is plagued
dark vision Mobile can see in the dark without a light source
berserk Mobile is affected by berserk
swimming Mobile is swimming (or capable of swimming)
regeneration Mobile recovers hit points and mana faster than usual
slow Mobile is affected by slow spell
** Sanctuary and detect invisible are often overused, so please be
careful with them. Not every mobile should be able to see invisible, or the
spell is worthless, and similarly not every hard mobile should have a
sanctuary spell.
Example: a glowing ghost might have faerie fire, flying, and protect
good, for an affect flag of IOT. There is no limit to the number of affect
flags that may be set on a mobile, but be sure not to type the same letter
twice.
Alignment
Alignment, ranging from -1000 and 1000, represents the morality or
ethics of a mob. With -1000 as the pinnacle of evil, and 1000 just shy
of being a saint, you must find a setting that best suits the mob.
It is recommended that animals range from -150 through 150, as most
beasts are not as petty as sentient creatures.. they exist to eat, sleep,
piss, shit and rut.. (Then again, so do most rednecks..) Unless the animal
is extrememly cruel (Pit Bull guard dog?) or extremely helpful (Flipper the
happy dolphin?) keep animals near neutral.
Sentient mobs, however, are subject to the creators interpretation.. not all
thieves are going to be evil however.. Robin Hood would have an align of
approx. 500.. good, but still taking a bit for himself.. while some of the
historical Inquisitors, while being part of the church, surely would have had
alignments of -500 or more (Time to visit the rack again..)
Care should be taken to avoid oversetting alignment.. an area with nothing
but -1000 mobs will make angels out of the most bitter plays in no time, just
as an area of sweet, pure, cherubin like mobs will make even the happiest
player a vile monster.. Named mobs should have a their alignment set a bit
firmer than the generic mobs in the area.. so an area with evil (-500) mobs
should have a named mob with no more than -750.. however, if you want the
blackest heart possible, make a few minor named mobs at -750, and your major
badass at -1000..
Mobile Group
The mobile is used to group mobiles into allied groups. They are
assigned by XXYY, where XX is your zone number (for Midgaard 30) and YY is
some increasing number (so Midgaard's groups will be 3000, 3001, etc.). Any
mobile in the same group as another mobile will assist it in combat. The
actual number has no real meaning, but please use the numbering system above
so that each area keeps unique grouping.
VIII. Level, Damage types:
Level
This is a very important statistic, as it determines the recommended
values for your mobile's combat abilities. Try and make the level choice
reasonable to believe. Just as a level 2 Ancient Blue Wyrm makes no sense,
neither does a level 50 snail. Look over the recommended values for the
level and please try to stay fairly close to them, otherwise your mobile may
well be out of balance with the others in the game.
Damage Types
A mobile's damage type defines three things: what message is seen when
it attacks in combat, what armor class is used to defend against the
attack, and what type of resistance or vulnerability affects the damage
received from the attack. The following damage types are supported, listed
by the type of attack and the damage messaged sent (if a name follows the
damage message, you should use that name in your area file, otherwise just
use the message itself). If you can't find a damage type that fits your
mobiles, by all means make a new one (but be sure to note that a new damage
type was added and how it should be defined, or your mobile will not function
properly!)
piercing attacks (pierce ac):
bite pierce sting
chomp scratch thrust
peck stab
bashing attacks (bash ac):
beating crush smash
blast peck(peckb) suction
pound punch thwack
charge slap
slashing attacks (slash ac):
claw grep slice
cleave slash whip
acid attacks (magic ac):
acidic bite (acbite) digestion slime
cold attacks (magic ac):
chill freezing bite (frbite)
energy attacks (magic ac):
magic wrath
fire attacks (magic ac):
flame flaming bite (flbite)
holy attacks (magic ac):
divine power (divine)
lightning attacks (magic ac):
shock shocking bite(shbite)
negative attacks (magic ac):
life drain (drain)
The acceptable kinds of damage (some with no damage messages as yet)
are:
bash disease light
pierce drowning lightning
slash energy mental
acid fire negative
charm harm poison
cold holy sound
Harm, disease, and poison are generally used only on spells, but are
included here on the outside chance that a mobile might need them.
This list is by no means exhaustive, so please feel free to expand it as
your write your area.
IX. Offensive flags:
Offensive Flags
Offensive flags control mobile behavior in combat -- allowing some
variety in how your mobiles fight back against players. A typical mobile
should have a few (2-3) attack abilities and one or none defensive abilities,
more skilled mobiles may have more, but try not to make them too flexible.
The following offensive flags are available, although not all are currently
active (please use them anyway if they are appropriate, as they will be
enabled at some future date):
area attack Mobile hits all characters fighting against it. Very
powerful.
backstab Mobile can backstab to start a combat
bash Mobile can bash characters off their feet
berserk Mobile may go berserk in a fight
disarm Mobile can disarm _without_ a weapon wielded**
dodge Mobile dodges blows
fade* Mobile can fade "out of phase" to avoid blows
fast Mobile is faster than most others, so has extra attacks
kick Mobile can kick in combat for extra damage
kick dirt Mobile kicks dirt, blinding opponents
parry Mobile can parry _without_ a weapon wielded**
rescue* Mobile may rescue allies in a fight
tail* Mobile can legsweep with its tail or tentacles
trip Mobile trips in combat
crush* Mobile can crush opponents in its arms
Offensive flags also control the assisting behavior of a mobile, by
using the following flags:
all Mobile helps all other mobiles in combat
align Mobile assists mobiles of like alignment
race Mobile will assist other mobiles of the same race
players Mobile will assist players (by race/alignment)
guard Mobile assists as a cityguard
vnum Mobile assists mobiles of the same number only
Assisting by race and vnum are by the far the most common assist types.
Mobiles also assist mobiles in the same group, as defined by the group
number.
Notes: The area attack and fast flags are quite powerful, and mustn't be
overused. Only the most powerful mobiles should be capable of area
attack, and only mobiles that really are faster than most should be
fast. Proper assist flag setting can greatly enhance the
cooperation within an area.
Example: An orc might have bash, kick, and kick dirt (it will probably
be a warrior, so will parry and disarm if armed), and will assist by
race and alignment, for an offensive flag of CIJQR. There is no limit to
the number of offensive flags that may be set on a mobile.
X. Form, Part, Size, Material
Form flags
The forms flag is used to define a body form for your mobile, and also
related data like what happens to its corpse when it dies, and whether or not
it is edible. Much of the forms code is not yet implemented, but please be
as thorough as possible when defining your mobile, as it will all be used at
some future point in time. The acceptable flags for body form are as follows
(use your best judgment to determine which flags should be mutually
exclusive):
corpse-related flags:
edible Mobile can be eaten
poison Mobile is poisonous when eaten (should also be edible)
magical* Mobile's magic nature causes strange effects when eaten
vanishes* Mobile vanishes after death (i.e. a wraith)
other* Mobile is not flesh and blood (defined by material type)
form-related flags:
animal Mobile is a "dumb" animal
sentient Mobile is capable of higher reasoning
undead Mobile is an undead, and not truly alive at all
construct Mobile is a magical construct, such as a golem
mist Mobile is a partially material mist
intangible Mobile is immaterial (like a ghost)
biped Mobile is bipedal (like a human)
centaur Mobile has a humanoid torso, but a beast's lower body
insect Mobile is an insect
spider Mobile is an arachnid
crustacean Mobile is a crustacean (i.e. a crab or lobster)
worm Mobile is a worm, that is a tube-shaped invertebrate
blob Mobile is a formless blob (when used with mist, a cloud)
mammal Mobile is a mammal
bird Mobile is a bird
reptile Mobile is a reptile (and should be cold-blooded)
snake Mobile is a snake (and should be a reptile)
dragon Mobile is a dragon
amphibian Mobile is an amphibian (and should be able to swim)
fish Mobile is a fish (and should be able to swim)
cold blood Mobile is cold-blooded, cannot be seen with infravis.
There may be others that I forget.. if so, fill em in :)
parts flags
The body parts flag is used to detail what limbs and organs a creature
has, and currently has no game effect beyond determining what hits the ground
when you kill a monster. In the future, body parts will also determine what
can be worn by the creature in question, and possibly special attacks (i.e.
the tail attack) that the mobile may do, so please do try to be thorough in
describing your mobile's body parts. The following body parts are defined:
head Mobile has a head
arms Mobile has arm(s) (usually assumed to be 2)
legs Mobile has leg(s)
heart Mobile has a heart
brains Mobile has brains (not all mobs with heads have brains)
guts Mobile has intestines
hands Mobile has hands capable of manipulating objects
feet Mobile has feet
fingers Mobile has fingers capable of wearing rings
ear Mobile has ear(s)
eye Mobile has eye(s)
tongue Mobile has a _long_ tongue (like a lizard)
eyestalks Mobile has eyestalks (it should also have eyes)
tentacles Mobile has one or more tentacles
fins Mobile has fins
wings Mobile has wings
tail Mobile has a usable tail (no stubs)
claws Mobile has combat-capable claws
fangs Mobile has combat-capable teeth
horns Mobile has horns, not necessarily dangerous ones
scales Mobile is covered with scales
tusks Mobile has some teeth elongated into tusks
size
The size of the mobile has many game effects, and should be chosen
carefully.
The acceptable sizes are as follows:
tiny: small birds and anything smaller
small: large birds (ducks and up) to halflings
medium: elves and dwarves to humans
large: ogres, gnolls, and other large humanoids
huge: giants, small dragons, and wyverns
giant: for VERY large critters, i.e. dragons, titans, and the biggest
giants
material
The material type for mobiles is not currently supported. It should be
left blank (0) for flesh-and-blood creatures, or spirits, but golems and
other animated beings should have a material appropriate to their body
construction (i.e. stone, iron, diamond). Put the material in single
quotes if it is longer than one word.
A. Scrolls/Potions/Pills
i. The object level should be no less than the minimum level required to
cast the spell normally. (i.e. a heal pill must be at least level 21
because that is the level at which clerics can cast it)
ii. The maximum level of the spell should not exceed the level of the
object by more than 10 or 40%, whichever is GREATER.
iii. The value of the item should reflect the power of the spell. The
value should be NO LESS than twice the cost to create a homemade
scroll or potion. (i.e. A heal potion should cost no less than
10000 gold and sanc no less than 15000 coins.) This value guide
applies only if you are putting these items for sale, in a shop.
B. Wands/Staves
i. The same level restrictions as Scrolls/Potions/Pills for both
object level and spell level.
ii. The number of charges should be inversely proportional to the power
of the spell. This also should be modified by the relationship of
the level of the spell to the level of the object. (i.e. an level
40 object will have more charges of a level 35 spell than it would
of a level 40 spell.)
iii. Here are some guidelines for some of the more powerful and popular
spells.
Spell Max Charges Minimum item level.
Mass Heal 1 38
Mass Sanc 1 45
Heal 2 21
Sanc 3 20
Acid Blast 2 37
Chain Lightning 3 33
C. Weapons
i. For New format weapons, damage is calculated as a roll of dice
(like 4d6)
If you set a damage of XdY, you can calculate the following:
Minimum damage= X
Maximum damage= X * Y
Average damage= ((X * Y) + X)/2 NOT (X*Y)/2, be careful!
ii. Average damage is not to exceed (0.5*weapon level) + 4.
eg.- Average damage on weapons : Maximum should be 5 to start plus 5 for
every 10 levels. So, for example, a level 30 weapon maximum average
damage would be 5 plus 15 (5 per each 10 levels) for a total of 20.
D. Armor
i. Values for each AC type should not exceed 1/3 of the item level.
eg, a level 40 bracer should not have an AC of more than:
-13 -13 -13 -13 -13.... some of the values should be only 1/4 of
level. That level 40 bracer AC ideally should be:
-13 -12 -10 -11 -13 for example.
II. AFFECT_flag guidelines for all object types.
i. The average 'score' of all 'usable objects' in your area should not
exceed 0.60.
ii. A 'usable object' is any object intended to be worn/wielded/held.
Do not count staves or wands in the average unless they have
AFFECT_flags.
iii. The 'score' for an object is calculated as:
(actual 'points')/(maximum allowed 'points')
iv. One 'point' is equal to any of the following:
+1 Str OR +1 Int OR +1 Wis OR +1 Dex OR +1 Con
OR (+1 Hit AND +1 Dam)
OR +20 hitpoints or +20 mana
(ROM guidelines suggested:+10 hitpoints OR +10 mana)
OR -2 Save_spell OR -2 save_breath etc.
Added by Tamo:
Adding bad effects can cancel the cost of a good effect..
add a vulnerability to offset an affect, but be fair about
the offsets. Also, there can be some variation, such as
the leveling gear that can be found about, for example, the
pearl of wisdom: level 0, +2 wis, +50 mana, found in a lair
of a level 75 mob..
Example: A level 5 ring of +2 wis, -1 dex would have
a point total of 1.0, the max suggested.
v. The maximum allowable points are (by level of object):
Level range Points
1-5 1
6-15 2
16-25 3
26-40 4
41-55 5
56-70 6
71-91 7
Example: You area contains the following EQ.
1. Weapon, level 55, 6d10 (ave 33), +1 dex, +1hit, +1dam (2 pts, score 0.5)
2. Armor, level 65, AC 16/16/16/5, +1wis, +1int, +20hp, +20mana
(6pts, score 1.0)
3. Treasure, level 43, +1 hitroll, +5 hp, +5mana (1.5pts, score 0.3)
Average score for all objects = 0.6.
Note: Objects are not allowed to have scores over 1.0, obviously.
Note: For mana and hp bonuses on objects, do not allow more than one point
per level. EG a level 25 object could have +25 hp OR +25 mana OR +12 hp
AND +13 mana, maximum.
Note: A bit of thought and reasoning should go into the flags set on
equipment.. and a bit of trickery as well. Feel free to add bad affects to
counter good affects, such as adding a vulnerability.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Input and information were gathered from many sources, including:
Abysmal Realms Staff:
Msocorcim - Geahlan - Hakan - Tamo - Sabyna - Silverthorn - Nesmai - Boreas
-----------
A Very kludged Doc by Whitey and Etaine
Rom 2.4/2.5 docs version 1, compiled by Satin (Gabrielle Taylor)
7-9-1995.
This file contains material and information from the Merc release 2.1
Area help files (done by Furey, Hatchet, and Kahn), material from the
Merc Diku Mud code itself, material and examples from various area files
that are found in both ROM2 and MadROM, as well as coding material that
was adapted and modified by Alander for ROM1 and ROM2, and later by
Madman for MadROM. It also contains information from Alander written
for ROM 2.3 and ROM2.4x, from Zump for Rom 2.4x, and information from
ozy.doc by Ozymandias. It was compiled and rewritten by Satin for Tesseract
(hypercube.org 9000), and then adapted by her to Rom 2.4x. Starbird of
Quicksilver (res.com 9000) did a little reformating, added some things and
fixed some bugs.