Random Encounter Frequency

Having said that, there's always ToEE RNG:

http://oglaf.com/bugfuck/

 

I'd like them to be finite.

 

Party makes an opposed d20 roll vs. the monsters, with a bonus equal to (spot + listen + survival)/3, using the highest total value of the 3 (as opposed to using the highest value for each and then adding up). Haven't altered this part in case you're wondering.

 

Indeed.
It's a question of realism vs gameplay&balance.

 

I want to put a thought out here about balance -- to me, the economics of the game are way more unbalancing than the random encounter experience point issue. Once you've traded in that magic item your party doesn't need, and outfitted everybody with good equipment . . . the game changes. Get tons of gold, craft magic everything -- especially items to erase any character weaknesses. Your adventurers come into town where the people are still counting coppers, dump a bunch of unwanted equipment and treasure on these poor folk, and leave with thousands of platinum.

Wait. Where did they get these endless thousands of platinum in this small village out where nobody goes? And the village folk don't even realize they are so rich -- 'cause if they knew there was endless thousands of platinum floating about somewhere in town . . . well then, at the very least prices for everything would be skyhigh, and the streets would be lined with copper.

For me, I'd leave the encounters alone except to make them more interesting (just as you've done -- could you post a tutorial on how to mod the REs? Please?). I'd try to work out a more sane economic system.

 

One does not preclude the other. Inflated XP is as damaging as an inflated economy.

 

See the following link for Sitra Achara's Random Encounters tutorial (note: marc1967 posted this link in post #3 of this thread):

http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7831

 

I agree. I'm just saying that from my point of view it's the overabundance of money that eventually unbalances my games. I can use Survival skill to avoid needless or extravagant encounters --Survival skill seems to me to be a necessary basic skill for any adventurer. But for the money aspect -- a low Appraise skill doesn't negate the overabundance of money. Around mid-level my party usually has enough money to do whatever they want -- to craft or buy whatever they need. At this point the random encounters become too easy most of the time, and I can ignore them for not being a challenge.

This is all just my viewpoint. When I bring a magic cloak to the poor tailor I had to give 20 gold to in order for him to make uniforms . . . and he gives me 1100 gold for the cloak after identifying it for 100 gold . . . OK, where's the balance there? Ain't nowhere to be seen.

Thanks for the tutorial link!


Oh, I know I'm referring to TOEE (Co8 v8.0.1) here, and not KotB v1.0.0, but the situation is the same. It IS a bit toned down in KotB, but the problem I see is still there.

 

tbh, I've come around to accept the viewpoint that instead of carefully tailoring balance via restrictions, cRPGs should just go balls out. Is the player getting too powerful? No problem, just make the enemies equally as crazy and overpowered! It just makes for more interesting and visceral combat situations. Admittedly this is troublesome to implement in a D&D product, which has all sorts of 'strings attached'.

 

One thing that can restore a little balance is give the players something BIG and EXPENSIVE to buy and maintain -- like a tower or small fort. Let there be minions who need pay and supplies and training and upkeep . . . y'know, like those games where you build a castle, town, train armies, feed peasants . . . etc . . . a little side game that the players can engage in if they want (why do you think the player's party has more stuff than Burne & Rufus? Because Burne & Rufus gotta pay for the tower and guards and etc.).

Yes, I know, it's a lotta work. I'm just throwing out ideas.

Making it cheap and easy for the players to get a house or permanent lodging is not necessary -- ALL players will have plenty of ready cash soon enough to buy whatever they want. 5000 gold for that house and 100 gold a month for wood, food, water, etc? No problemo, yo.

 

KOTB keeps things in check much better than the original game. Usually I am scraping up enough gold to craft someone a +1 weapon, or maybe barely a +2 shield. I like this. Then I find a really pricy magic item that can be sold for 15,000 gp and it's +2 weapons for everyone! That's what usually throws things off kilter in my groups. Of course in the original game this glut of treasure leads to +3 Holy Flaming Frost Shock weapons for everyone. :roll:

In regards to the villagers forking over that money and throwing the economy out of whack, I think keeping track and limiting the flow of coin would give the game a Sim City kind of edge. Some would love it, but I think the majority would be annoyed. But if it were to be implemented, wouldn't it be possible to use the san_insert_item() call for each dealers chest, and keep track of how much was sold to that dealer. And if their buying limit is met for the day or whatever just refuse to buy the item. I would kind of like this in moderation, but maybe not.

I agree with the 1 in 20 reality. And I like what you wrote in parenthesis about the encounters not being static KOS and having some unusualness to it. But of course that all takes time to program.

It makes me wonder how Mickey makes the trip to Nulb every night to go drinking, and then safely back to Hommlet to go to work in the morning without ever getting waylaid along the road. Meanwhile my 3rd level group is quaking in their boots in fear of running into trolls or something.

 

What are you talking about? Random encounters are set to never have a greater CR than the average effective party level + 2, so Mickey is completely safe.

Regarding san_insert_item, unfortuantely it works off of items, not chests. Still, while being quite unwieldy and a sort of a mega-project, it might be doable. (I'd add the stipulation that there should be some convenient way of seeing the merchant's remaining gold while trading, such as there being a dynamic pile of gold in his inventory that updates in real time)