dtilley24 wrote:
1. Was it always your intention to have the time pass by in months when you rest at the inn. I am finding that i am having to make the majority of my characters elves just to keep them from losing stats due to old age. If this were changed to weeks it would make things a lot easier and allow for time to build the characters before progressing into the deep. With the shortfall of gold early on, characters are forced to use the free option at the inn, thereby aging characters prematurely.
We want aging to be a significant factor in the game. Even with 1 month per rest, it is actually pretty easy to get to high levels without aging too much, and here is how you do it.
As you noticed, money is pretty tight at the beginning, but once you get to the deeper levels you will find that it is no longer a problem. So at the beginning of the game you want to build up a pretty generic party high enough so that you can go down to level 3 or 4. Using the starting party is not a bad idea. You should not worry about resting too much (but do not rest in the streets), because these first characters are pretty much expendable.
Once you have a good supply of gold, you should then start creating your second generation characters. These should be Rangers, Paladins, Samurai, and possibly Ninja. Starting all of these characters is somewhat tough, but if you use your established party as support, it is not that hard. Never rest these new characters to get hits, always heal them before returning to the Castle, and always rest in the Pleasure Palace.
You will find that if you do this, then your second generation characters can reach high level without aging excessively. Also note that some races level faster than others. Kobolds are one of the best (and they have a decent life span), and Elves are by far the worst.
dtilley24 wrote:
2. What is the purpose of companions?
Companions will fight for you. If they only have melee attacks, then they can only attack if they are with the first 2 players. If they are spell throwers, they can attack from any position in the party. Also, if first two players have companions, then the companions will absorb some of the melee damage from the monsters.
Since the first two players are often fighters, they cannot charm or hold companions. However, mages can summon monsters, and if the monsters that are summoned only have melee attack, the monsters will be attached to one of the first two players in the party.
dtilley24 wrote:
3. Does the item shop eventually sell more than just basic gear?
;
We are actually considering having it sell magical items. As it stands now, once you get to the lower level, gold becomes pretty useless. It would be nice to give it some value by having high level items available in the shop.
dtilley24 wrote:
4. What are the stat criteria for the ranger? Is it limited to only certain races?
Only Humans can be rangers. The requirements are: STR: 12, INT: 14, WIS: 14, LDR: 14, CON: 15 and DEX:12. They are hard to roll, but they get the best hit bonus in the game, and get both magic and priest spells at higher levels. They can only wear leather, however, and are a little tough to get started.
dtilley24 wrote:
5. Is the elf race actually immortal or do they eventually suffer the age penalty the other races encounter?
No, they are immortal if they are not killed, and never suffer any penalty from resting. You can rest Elves in the streets without any ill effects. To offset this, they make levels very slowly.
dtilley24 wrote:
With respect to the first two characters being the attackers, i find that this is great for having your two tank characters attack and level, but makes it extremely difficult to level new characters or characters with low hit as they are constantly dying(and the cost of resurrection is extremely high early on) when you place them in the upper two slots. Even if the character in the third slot only delt/recieved half damage it would be more useful.
Yes, it is difficult (especially for classes such as Rangers and Samurai who cannot wear decent armor). However, it is possible. You need a Mage as support. Then go down and any monsters that can kill your character in 1 blow, you use your Mage's Narpic (darkness) to end the encounter. Otherwise you let your guy fight (I like to have him fight alone, and just use a support fighter to help absorb damage). After he starts fighting, bring up the Mage's Narpic spell, but do not cast it. If he gets hit, then immediately cast the Narpic, to end the battle. Then heal and repeat. If he gets killed, you can use the Temporal chamber to ensure that he makes raise.
dtilley24 wrote:
The pooling of the money would be useful as it is a real pain trying to figure who has the money especially when characters die. If the ability to sell loot is introduced, would you reduce the amounts recieved from jewels?
You are absolutely correct, and the next version will have that.
dtilley24 wrote:
My last comment is about the aging in the game and how rapidly it occurs. Provided that characters attain their guild the first time around, by the time they are level 7 or 8 their age is getting up there due to the time taken to heal at the inn(can't afford any other options), increase levels or relearn spells. Perhaps a rest option could be implemented so while in the dungeon you could relearn spells or heal with a reduced time penality but with the possibility of being attacked.
Note that there ARE magic items that restore spells while you are in the dungeon. Also, try and never heal by resting. Use your Priest's remaining heal spells to heal everyone before you return to the castle. You may find that you need more than just a couple of Priests to have enough healing power for extended trips.