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SKILLS/EXPERIENCE DOCUMENTATION for PLAYERS. |
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-------------------------------------------- |
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- Summary - |
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0. Description of system |
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|
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1. Using the new skills system |
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a. new player commands |
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b. learning a new skill |
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c. about experience and skills |
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d. starting skills by player profession |
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|
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2. Appendices |
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a. skills descriptions |
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b. how stats are related to skills/experience |
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c. Default parameters for skills |
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d. Theory of Experience Gain |
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|
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0.DESCRIPTION OF SKILLS/EXPERIENCE SYSTEM |
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--------------------------------------- |
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|
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When crossfire is compiled with the ALLOW_SKILLS flag defined |
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(in include/config.h) the new skills/experience system is enabled. |
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|
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Under this system the flow of play changes dramatically. Instead of |
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gaining experience for basically just killing monsters (and disarming |
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traps) players will now gain a variety of experience through the use |
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of skills. Some skills replicate old functions in the game (cf. melee |
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weapons skill, missile weapon skill) while others add new functionality |
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(cf stealing, hiding, etc). |
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|
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One important aspect of this new system is the way in which experience |
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is gained -- basically it is the philosophy that "you are what you do". |
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A player who kills monsters with spells gains experience in casting |
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destructive spells. A player who steals from creatures often will |
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get better at stealing, and so on. The player's aptitude (eg stats) |
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will influence the amount of experience gained. |
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|
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The new skills/experience system *is* compatible with older character |
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files. |
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|
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See the skills_developers.doc for a more technical discussion of the |
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skills/experience system. |
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|
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1.USING THE NEW SKILLS SYSTEM |
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--------------------------- |
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|
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a. New player commands |
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|
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Two new commands now exist in CF through which skills are utilized: |
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|
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'skills' -- this command lists all the player's |
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current known skills, their level |
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of use and the associated experience |
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category of each skill. |
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|
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'use_skill <skillname>' -- this command changes the player's |
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current readied skill. |
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|
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Generally, a player will use a skill by first readying the right one, |
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with the 'use_skill' command and then making a ranged "attack" to |
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activate the skill. Using most skills is just like firing a wand or a |
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bow. In a few cases however, a skill can be used just by having it |
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"readied". An example of this is the "bargaining" skill. |
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|
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To change to a new skill, a player will have to using the 'use_skill' |
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command, but not always. The use of several common items will auto- |
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matically change the player's current skill. Examples of this include |
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readying a bow (which will cause the code to make the player's current |
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skill "missile_weapons") or readying a melee weapon (current skill |
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auto-matically becomes "melee weapons"). Also, some player actions |
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can cause a change in the current skill. Running into a monster while |
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you have a readied weapon in your inventory causes the code to auto- |
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matically make our current skill "melee weapons". Casting a spell |
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will cause the code to switch the current skill to "spellcasting" or |
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"praying" (as appropriate to the spell type). |
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|
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It is not possible to use more than one skill at a time. |
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b. Acquiring skills |
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Skills may be gained in 2 ways. In the first, new skills may "learned". |
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This is done by reading a "skill scroll" and the process is very similar |
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to learning a spell. There is one big difference - all attempts to learn |
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skills are successful. Note that skill scrolls are rarely named exactly |
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for the skill they grant (ex "scroll of piety" is the skillscroll that |
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grants the skill "praying" to the reader). |
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|
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The acquisition of a "skill tool" will also allow the player to use |
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a new skill. An example of a skill tool is "lockpicks" (which allow the |
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player to pick door locks). The player mearly applies the skill |
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tool in order to gain use of the new skill. If the tool is unapplied, |
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the player looses the use of the skill associated with the tool. |
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|
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== AVAILABLE SKILL TOOLS == |
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|
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Skill tool Skill gained |
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---------- ------------ |
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Lockpicks Lockpicking |
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Holy Symbol Praying |
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Talisman Spellcasting |
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Writing Pen Inscription |
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|
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After a new skill is gained (either learned or if player has an applied |
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skill tool) it will appear on the player's skill roster (use the |
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'skills' command to view its status). If the new skill is related to a |
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particular kind of experience, it will automatically be gained at the |
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player's current level of experience in the appropriate category. |
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c. About experience and skills |
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|
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Successful use of many skills will result in the player gaining |
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experience. No special commands from the player are needed for this |
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to occur. All gained experience is modified by the relevant stats for |
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that skill and then the appropriate experience category automatically |
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updated as needed. |
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|
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All players may gain experience in any of the experience categories |
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irrespective of player class or stats. All new players start with zero |
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experience in all experience categories. |
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|
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There are no inherent restrictions on player skill use--any player may |
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use any acquired skill. How well a player uses a skill is related |
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to their stats and their appropriate level of experience. |
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|
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For most skills both the chance of success and effect of the skill are |
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tied to the player level of experience (eg 'melee weapons', 'stealing', |
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'writing', 'hiding', etc). |
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|
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But there are a smaller number of skills whose use will automatically |
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be 'successful' with every attempt: (eg 'use magic item', 'bargaining', |
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all miscellaneous skills and the 'identification skills': smithery, |
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woodsman, alchemy, etc.), |
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The default array of stats for associated skills is in Appendix B. |
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d. starting skills by player profession |
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All players start with the skills "melee weapons", "find traps", |
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"use magic item" and "disarm traps". Under the current release of the |
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skills system, further skills are parceled out as follows: |
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|
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Player profession Additional skills |
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----------------- ----------------- |
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Barbarian Missile Weapons, Woodsman, Mountaineer |
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Cleric Missile Weapons, Praying (holy symbol), |
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Oratory |
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Dwarf Missile Weapons, Smithery |
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Elf Missile Weapons, Spellcasting (talisman), |
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Bowyer, Woodsman |
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Fireborn Missile Weapons, Spellcasting, Praying, |
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Flame touch |
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Human Missile Weapons, 2 Random skills |
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Mage Missile Weapons, Spellcasting |
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Monk Missile Weapons, Meditation, Karate, |
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Sense Magic |
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Ninja Missile Weapons, Jumping, Hiding |
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Priest Praying, Spellcasting (talisman) |
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Quetzalcoatl Missile Weapons, Spellcasting, Clawing |
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Swashbuckler Missile Weapons, Stealing, Singing |
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Thief Missile Weapons, Stealing, |
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Lockpicking (lockpicks) |
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Viking Missile Weapons, Bargaining |
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Warrior Missile Weapons, Punching, Oratory |
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Wizard Spellcasting, Praying (holy symbol) |
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Wraith Spellcasting, Praying (holy symbol) |
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2.APPENDICES |
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---------- |
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|
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A. skills descriptions |
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The following is the current (8/15/95) roster of skills and the |
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description for each. Use the command 'crossfire -m5' to see the array |
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of skills and experience in your version of crossfire. |
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(Note: you need to have compilied with the DUMP_SWITCHES and |
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ALLOW_SKILLS flags for this to work!) |
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|
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+ -denotes a skill which monsters/NPC's may also use. |
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|
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Skill description |
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----- ----------- |
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|
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alchemy User can identify potions, containers, and |
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amulets. (One day I would like to see this skill |
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allow mixing of potions -b.t.). |
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|
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bargaining While this skill is readied the user has added Cha |
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for purposes of purchase and selling of items only. |
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Cha is never allowed to exceed 30. |
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bowyer User can identify missile weapons and missiles. |
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|
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+ clawing User can make a "bare-handed attack". Damage |
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is based on the user's Str and level. |
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|
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find traps User can search (more effectively) for traps. |
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Not a 'passive' skill, it is applied in order |
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to gain the advantage in discovering traps. |
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|
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+ flame touch User can make a "bare-handed attack". Damage |
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is based on the user's Str and level. This |
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is the default hand-to-hand fighting skill |
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for the fireborn character class. |
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|
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+ hide User enjoys limited form of invisibility. If |
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they attack or move too much they become |
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visible. Right now it is possible to |
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hidden while next to hostile monsters. Not |
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a reasonable feature! |
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jeweler User can ident gems and rings that they hold. |
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+ jumping User can 'skip' over 1-2 spaces in a selected |
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direction. Distance depends on weight carried, |
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Str and Dex of the user. This skill may also |
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be used as an attack. |
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|
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+ karate User can make a "bare-handed attack". Damage |
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is based on the user's Str and level. This attack |
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is the fastest and (at higher levels) most deadly |
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of the "hand to hand" attacks available. |
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|
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literacy User can ident books and scrolls that they hold. |
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Since scrolls are currently always identified, |
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this is not the greatest of skills. |
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|
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+ lockpicking User may 'pick locks' (open doors). User needs |
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to have readied some 'lockpicks' to use this |
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skill. |
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|
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meditation Player can regain mana/hp at an accelerated rate. |
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Player must first strip off encumbering armour |
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however. This skill is only available to the 'monk' |
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character class. |
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|
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melee weapons User may use hand-held weapons (eg swords, |
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spears, mace, etc). One day this skill could be |
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made to allow the player to make special attacks |
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with various weapons. (For example, a disarming |
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attack with Sai). |
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|
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missile weapons The user is allowed to make attacks with |
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ranged weapons (eg bow, crossbow). |
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mountaineer While the skill is readied, the possessor will |
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move faster through "hilly" terrain (hills, |
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mountains, etc.) |
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oratory User may 'recruit' followers. Recruitees must be |
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of lower level, and unaggressive to start. Use |
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of this skill may anger the audience. Also, |
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'special' monsters are immune to recruitment. |
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Success depends on User Cha and level. |
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|
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praying User is allowed to cast "cleric" spells. In addition, |
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this skill may be used to accelerate the accumulation |
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of grace. This skill may be either 'learned' or |
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acquired through the use of a "holy symbol". |
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|
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+ punching User can make a "bare-handed attack". Damage |
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is based on the user's Str and level. This is |
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the most feeble of the hth attacks. |
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|
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remove_traps User may remove previously discovered traps. |
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|
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sense curse User may discover whether items that he holds |
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are 'cursed'. Controversial skill, may go away |
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in later versions. |
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|
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sense magic User may discover whether items that he holds |
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are 'magic'. Controversial skill, may go away |
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in later versions. |
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|
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set traps Unimplemented. |
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|
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singing User may pacify hostile monsters with this skill. |
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Certain kinds of monsters are immune. Success |
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depends on user level and Cha. |
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|
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smithery User may ident arms and armour that they hold. |
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Right now this is a powerful skill, and I |
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am considering breaking it up into 2 ident skills |
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in the future. |
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|
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spellcasting User is allowed to cast "wizard" spells. This |
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skill may be acquired either through the use |
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of a talisman or learned via a skill scroll. |
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|
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+ stealing User can take items from the inventory of other |
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monsters. |
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|
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thaumagragist User can ident rods, wands and horns that they |
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are holding. |
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|
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throwing Unimplemented. |
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|
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use magic item User can use magic items like rods/wands/horns. Note |
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that by default, you do not gain experience with this |
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skill, and thus, you don't get experience for using |
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rods/wands/horns to kill monsters. |
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|
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woodsman While the skill is readied, the possessor will |
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move faster through "wooded" terrain (forest, |
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grasslands, brush, jungle, etc.) |
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|
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writing User may rewrite spell scrolls with a previously |
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known spell. Sp, time and an old scroll are |
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needed. Backfire effects are possible. Only |
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available as a 'writing pen'. |
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|
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b. how stats are related to skills/experience |
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Table of how experience is modified by the the stats associated |
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with a skill. Each skill which may 'generate' experience |
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(the "associated skills") have a number of stats which are |
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associated with them. Each time experience is gained by the player, |
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the base value is modified according to the value of the |
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player's stats associated with the skill in use. The effect |
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of the modification is shown below (wherein all the associated |
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stats have been taken as an average). |
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|
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Average of Base exp | Average of Base Exp |
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assoc. stats multiplier| assoc. stats multiplier |
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------------- ----------|------------- ---------- |
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1 0.00 | 16 1.05 |
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2 0.01 | 17 1.10 |
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3 0.03 | 18 1.15 |
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4 0.05 | 19 1.2 |
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5 0.20 | 20 1.3 |
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6 0.35 | 21 1.4 |
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7 0.5 | 22 1.5 |
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8 0.65 | 23 1.6 |
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9 0.7 | 24 1.7 |
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10 0.75 | 25 2.0 |
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11 0.8 | 26 2.2 |
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12 0.85 | 27 2.4 |
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13 0.9 | 28 2.6 |
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14 0.95 | 29 2.8 |
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15 1.0 | 30 3.0 |
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|
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c. Default parameters for skills |
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|
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Table of stats associated w/ each skill. Miscellaneous skills |
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never have any stats related to them. This is the default |
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table. Your release of CF may have difference bindings between |
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experience categories (ExpCat) and relevant stats may differ. |
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Use the -m5 flag to investigate this for your version of CF. |
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|
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|
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sk# Skill name ExpCat Time Base xlvl Stat1 Stat2 Stat3 |
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--- ---------- ------ ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ----- |
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0- stealing agility 0 25 2.5 Dex Int --- |
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1- lockpicking agility 0 10 0.5 Dex Int --- |
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2- hiding agility 0 5 1.5 Dex Int --- |
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3- smithery mental 5 1 0.5 Int Dex --- |
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4- bowyer mental 5 1 0.5 Int Dex --- |
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5- jewelry mental 5 10 1 Int Dex --- |
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6- alchemy mental 5 100 1 Int Dex --- |
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7- thaumaturgy mental 5 10 0.75 Int Dex --- |
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8- literacy mental 5 100 1.5 Int Dex --- |
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9- bargaining NONE 0 0 0 --- --- --- |
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10- jumping physique 0 0 2.5 Str Dex --- |
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11- sense magic magic 0 1 0 Pow Int --- |
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12- oratory personality 1 1 0.5 Cha Int --- |
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13- singing personality 1 1 0.5 Cha Int --- |
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14- sense curse wisdom 0 1 0 Pow Wis --- |
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15- find traps mental 0 3 2 Int Dex --- |
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16- meditation NONE 10 0 0 --- --- --- |
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17- punching physique 0 0 0 Str Dex --- |
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18- flame touch physique 0 0 0 Str Dex Int |
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19- karate physique 0 0 0 Str Dex --- |
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20- mountaineer NONE 0 0 0 --- --- --- |
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21- woodsman mental 0 1 0.5 Int Dex --- |
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22- inscription magic 0 1 5 Pow Int --- |
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23- melee weapons physique 0 1 0 Str Dex --- |
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24- missile weapons physique 0 1 0 Str Dex --- |
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25- throwing physique 0 1 0 Str Dex --- |
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26- spellcasting magic 0 0 0 Pow Int --- |
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27- disarm traps agility 0 10 0.5 Dex Int Str |
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28- set traps mental 5 3 2 Int Dex Str |
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29- use magic item NONE 0 0 0 --- --- --- |
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30- praying wisdom 0 0 0 Wis Pow --- |
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31- clawing physique 0 0 0 Str Dex --- |
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|
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|
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In the above table, "skill name" refers to the name of the skill |
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as used by the player, "expcat" refers to the name of the assoc- |
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iated experience category, "time" is the number of 'ticks' re- |
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quired to perform the skill, "base" is the base amount of exp |
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given for successful use of the skill, "xlvl" is the level multi- |
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plier to the amount of experience gained, and "stat1, stat2, stat3" |
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are the associated stats for the skill. The values of these stats |
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will be used to reference a multiplier (see preceding table) to |
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the amount of gained experience. |
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|
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|
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d. Theory of Experience Gain |
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|
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[excerpted from the code in skill_util.c, as if you can't tell :) ] |
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|
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/* calc_skill_exp() - calculates amount of experience can be gained for |
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* successful use of a skill and returns value of the experience gain. |
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* Here we take the view that a player must 'overcome an opponent' |
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* in order to gain experience. Examples include foes killed combat, |
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* finding/disarming a trap, stealing from some being, etc. |
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* The gained experience is based primarily on the difference in levels, |
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* exp point value of vanquished foe, the relevant stats of the skill being |
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* used and modifications in the skills[] table. |
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* |
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* For now, monsters and players will be treated differently. Below I give |
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* the algorithm for *PLAYER* experience gain. Monster exp gain is simpler. |
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* Monsters just get 10% of the exp of the opponent. |
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* |
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* Example: the basic exp gain for player 'who' how "vanquished" opponent |
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* 'op' using skill 'sk' is: |
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* |
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* EXP GAIN = (op->exp + skills[sk].bexp) * (1 + lvl_mult) * stat_mult |
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* |
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* where lvl_mult is |
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* |
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* for(pl->level <= op->level):: |
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* lvl_mult = skills[sk].lexp * (op->level - pl->level) |
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* for(pl->level > op->level):: |
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* lvl_mult = (op_lvl/pl_lvl) - 1; |
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* |
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* and stat_mult is taken from stat_exp_mult[] table above. |
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* |
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* Coded by b.t. thomas@astro.psu.edu |
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*/ |
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|
