Changing the way the starting equipment works

[ninjinto]

One thing I've noticed in my own gameplay is that the starting equipment is more for extra gold than for it's own usefulness. More often than not, a character will die before gaining enough gold to buy different equipment. Also, the starting equipment is not suitable for all classes.

What I think would be a great solution to this would be that instead of getting a generic set of good items, you get a few simple but eternal items when you choose your first[/i] class. The idea here is that every character will get something that they can use, and that will stay with them until they are ready to upgrade their equipment.

-A warrior would get a short sword, a hard studded leather, a pair of gauntlets, and a pair of hard leather boots.

-A mage would get a random rod, a robe, and one random elemental spellbook. Crystals for the rod would have to be bought separately.

-A priest would get a mace, a robe, a lantern, a heal spellbook, and a light elemental spellbook.

-A rogue would get a poison dagger, a sling, and a cloak. Shots would be bought separately.

-A ranger would get a dagger, a soft leather armor, a pair of soft leather boots, and a long bow. Arrows would be bought separately.

-A paladin would get the same equipment as a warrior.

-A monk would get the same as a priest, but with a spiked knuckle instead of a mace.

-An archer would get the same as a ranger.

-All advanced classes will get nothing. Cheaters can make their own starting eternal equipment.


A side effect of this is that people (like me) who choose their first class (priest or mage) around getting a useful first ability (missile or divine blood) would be stuck with the equipment for that class. But the fact that people will not have to worry about replacing their basic survival equipment will make it easier to choose the class they want to play instead of the class they need to survive the first few levels.

[Lipa]

This sounds like a nice idea, but I’m not sure that New Angband actually *needs* it.

Consider the story: In the beginning, your character is a totally common adventurer. It has the most important items, some armor, a reliable weapon, and that’s it. He has yet to decide which class to choose, which abilities to learn…

As to the money – well, I think that 1.000 $ is more than enough to fully equip yourself, no matter the class you choose to play (you can buy most if not all of the items that you listed for each class). This is just the starting point – later, good items will be brought back form the dungeon. Remember – any really good and useful items could never be found in the town anyway.

To sum up: the idea is nice, but IMHO unnecessary. With the amount of money given at birth, everyone is able to equip himself good enough to face the dungeon for the very first time. Later, magical items will all but take over.

Have fun!


P.S.: I must admit that another reason why I wouldn’t want this implemented is the general New Angband motto: “Be different!” Not having any initial classes whatsoever to start with is one of New Angband’s most daring features! If we changed this, we would IMHO degrade the game closer to all the other all-alike Bands out there…

[Variaz]

I agree with Lipa's last remark about NewAngband being different. If you give, let's say, an eternal mace to a priest, that will kind of "force" player into using the blunt weapons with a priest. So a sword priest will start with a disadvantage here, because he won't have an eternal weapon.

Also, I don't really like the idea of eternal items at the start. Eternal items are supposed to be rare and magical, not some common stuff. And like Lipa said, 1000 golds is more than enough to buy whatever you need at the start.

And finally... I don't like the idea of items magically appearing in your backpack when you change class!