MelonBallZMaking Monsters Magnificent
#1
Currently the Monster system is an absolutely fantastic idea. The ambient ECs floating about help create development for the players without all the organizational needs and time investment of being a DM. The restriction that they are only about for two weeks, cause a bit of havoc, and eventually call down the angry mob upon them is just.. Utterly fantastic in every way. As of writing this I was approved 11 hours ago and already I've been in three dangerous fights.

And I've got a backlog of five players waiting for scenes which I expect to grow as time passes along. I stated that I wanted to play a stepping stone antagonist to contribute to the growth of other characters and this has been a dream come true.

As we play this I'm sure we will stumble upon ways that this system can be improved to get the most out of what it has to offer.

Currently the most glaring issue I see is that Temporary Injuries are rather debilitating. -35 Vit for four days (1/5th of a Monster's Lifespan) takes away a great chunk of health. Monsters have no access to typical healing services like Medics or even shops to purchase medical supplies and well that they shouldn't. Instead I have a couple ideas bouncing around to alleviate that as possible with the code in place to ease the workload on the admins and keep the system autonomous in function.

Add a Monster flag to the characters.

This would be something the code could check before a temp is applied, if positive then it applies temps differently.


When temps are applied it could search for the flag then either 1.) Reduce the Temp to a -5 like a perm that last for four days. 2.) Allow it to remain a -35, but it last less time like 24 hours. Someone could just AFK during that time and stay logged off, but that's time that they are losing out on playing the Monster.

Beyond that it could be interesting to have an ability for Monsters that allows them to heal perms/temps, but not without risk.

During a resting/recovery phase the monster is reduced in power and vitality for say.. An hour in game. This would be a counter that only passes while the monster is online/active and could put out a global narrate wherein the player describe their location or links their appropriate thread in the IC forums. During this time they can only be 1v1'd (adjustments possible given the power and relevance of the Monster character. Higher-tier could be suitable for a 2v1) which gives players incentive to hunt them down actively during their resting period.

This could lead to an epic final showdown where the Monster player has to evaluate the risk vs reward of using the ability.

Ultimately though we're here to provide an ambient and organic story, but also to perish at the hands of the brave heroes that seek us out.

Be sure to post your suggestions to help make this an excellent experience for all who come in contact!
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#2
good point about temps. if you're a monster and you want them healed, a-help for it (will edit the thread)
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#3
I really enjoy scenes with EC's. And that does sound rather crippling to have a temp like that.

Maybe give them a passive ability that recovers them after X hours online/offline? Not like fully heal! But as an example:

I take a temp. -35 vit. After say X hours it reduces to say -25. Then as time proceeds it reduces until back to full health.

Or maybe if they win their temp time is reduced?
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#4
That could be an interesting gimmick.

Mostly I liked the second point I made, though it was geared toward removing perms/temps as a sort of Monster Hunter reference, because it creates an organic story and incentive to investigate and pursue the Monsters. With a global narrate that informs the player that a monster in X region has entered a phase of rest or some kind of required forum post on behalf of the player, etc., that would create a natural event with risk vs reward for the Monster player in question. Maybe they heal their wounds, maybe the opportunistic come out to hunt them in their weakened state.

Still Brahm your own point is not too far off from that as well. Personally, and I say this as a Monster player, I would prefer to avoid offline healing/advantages for the Monster players. The whole point is that you should be around and active to receive such boons that way players can catch you in state that is favorable to them and consistent with the story that is being told altogether. This is why I have been encouraging those I fight with to visit my monster thread in the IC section to help keep the tale alive and growing.

Other than that little hang-up I like the direction.
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#5
I agree with all these things and my solution is to just have a rule where monsters can get any nerf admin-removed after 2 days. Honestly it's not that bad to deal with for a few days even for an active monster, but still gives you an incentive to scrap and not feel like you're just getting weaker and weaker.
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