Explanations for adom

[kevintrimble]

Hello everyone. This is my first post on this forum even though I have been visiting this site for a few years. Anyways I just thought it would be fun to come up with explanations for some of the odd things in can adom. For example if you kill a rat and it drops armor. Obviously the rat wasnt wearing armor so my explanation would be that dungeons are dark dirty places and when you killed the rat it died on a previously hidden piece of armor. I just think its more fun too come up with reasons for odd things in the game rather then calling it a bug.

[mewmew]

I pictured how the rat is tugging the armor to its burrow to make a nest for its cubs (:

[kevintrimble]

Thats a great explanation too. How about eplaining why iron rations weigh as much as iron shields? My idea is adom takes place before modern technology. So no fridges or preservatives. Maybe your iron ration is stored in a iron ice box.

[melphen]

Thats a great explanation too. How about eplaining why iron rations weigh as much as iron shields? My idea is adom takes place before modern technology. So no fridges or preservatives. Maybe your iron ration is stored in a iron ice box.

They include the oven needed to cook the ration.

[Qui]

That ring that fell out of the rat? It ate it, simple. And the scroll. All covered in intestines. And the plate armor. And the trident, too :P.

Also, how do you explain a bunch of creatures just sitting in a room waiting for an adventurer to open the door? They're having a tea party?

[Jeremiah]

Maybe the it is not just about how much the item weights but also how much room it takes up in your pack and/or how awkward it is to carry. And maybe you found the armor lying on the ground and than a giant rat popped out of it, that you had to kill before you could get the armor.

[mewmew]

Also, how do you explain a bunch of creatures just sitting in a room waiting for an adventurer to open the door? They're having a tea party?

watching tv (:

[kevintrimble]

Also, how do you explain a bunch of creatures just sitting in a room waiting for an adventurer to open the door? They're having a tea party?

Easy explanation most areas are dungeons. The monsters are locked up till you release them. Or they could be resting in the same room before you intrerupted them. In the case of undead and ghost rooms maybe some kind of cult had a suicide pact and offed themselves in that room. Dont drink the carrot juice in that case.

[mewmew]

Or they could be resting in the same room before you intrerupted them.

I imagine a roguelike set on a ship, a cockpit it would be a tension room of sailors... :3

Actually it makes sense.

[grobblewobble]

Also how didn't all those monsters walking around in highly corrupting places not turn into writhing masses of primal chaos long ago?

And what are they eating?

And where is the light coming from in dungeons, except dark rooms?

Or where are the "generated" monsters coming from?

And who is writing all those spellbooks you find, if a level 50 wizard can't write them? Or making all those weapons, if a level 50 weaponsmith can not make an iron sword out of iron ore?

[GordonOverkill]

Some of the monsters came from the chaos planes below, some come from the surface above. Their aim is to protect the chaos gate and other important places from heroes... and they are doing quite well. We all know that there are hundreds of dead heroes down there in these dungeons ;-) I guess they are just waiting for these chaos legions on D50 to start moving and spread across the outside world.

[Blasphemous]

I'm all in for a buff of wizard class ;)
We all know they are so weak in the end game :P
Seriously, I'd trade lvl 40 or 50 wizard class powers for the ability to write spellbooks of known spells.
I don't know what could be the cost - probably a mix of mana, PP and some spell knowledge of random other spells, like 20d5.

I'd also love to see weaponsmiths able to create weapons from scratch.
Collect all that eternium ore, melt it into ingots and create swords, armor pieces, shields...
I just had a new idea for an amazing skill that would nicely cover this, I will make an RFE right away.

[Feorg]

Reading a spellbook takes quite a while, so I think it contains more than a simple incantation. Maybe with each spell one has to learn unique ways to connect to the mana flow and the elements but once learned you can invoke the powers quite quickly. Apparently Dan Brown works 6 hours a day, 7 days a week, and still it took 1,5 years to write Da Vinci Code. As far as I know he's not a level 50 wizard (although with the kind of money he's made he must need a girdle of greed to carry all the gold pieces), but I still think it would take several months of game time to write a spellbook that takes a while to read.

*approaches the ogre corpse hoping to find Frost Bolt spellbook or something*
*finds yet another copy of the Khelavaster Code, dropped by every other monster in Ancardia*
*sacrifices self*

[Blasphemous]

I don't think addressing the time consumption of different activities in ADoM is the right idea as I can cite a huge number of things in the game that don't make sense.
Writing a book would fit right in without seeming out of place.

How would you explain that a char is able to eat a whole large ration in ~5 turns? At the same time eating a much smaller stomafillia herb takes many more turns.
What about drinking huge amount of potions (potentially infinite) without ruptured stomach, all in the time span of a few dozen turns?
Mining a wall tile with pickaxe takes many turns but kicking it down without any tools only takes one?
Reading a scroll takes the same amount of time as swinging a sword or shooting an arrow?
There are countless more examples. Time is not as relevant in this game as in some other games/RL.

[mewmew]

Reading a spellbook takes quite a while, so I think it contains more than a simple incantation. Maybe with each spell one has to learn unique ways to connect to the mana flow and the elements but once learned you can invoke the powers quite quickly. Apparently Dan Brown works 6 hours a day, 7 days a week, and still it took 1,5 years to write Da Vinci Code. As far as I know he's not a level 50 wizard (although with the kind of money he's made he must need a girdle of greed to carry all the gold pieces), but I still think it would take several months of game time to write a spellbook that takes a while to read.

*approaches the ogre corpse hoping to find Frost Bolt spellbook or something*
*finds yet another copy of the Khelavaster Code, dropped by every other monster in Ancardia*
*sacrifices self*

Writing a spellbook it is not inventing a whole new spell i.e. it cannot be compared with composing a new book, it's more like writing down what you already know.
Then, for some hard math etc texts reading and making sense of them may take more time than writing.
And finally, we already can write down scrolls which are basically a minor variant of spell books.

[StViers]

Clearly there are 'commoners' with profession (scribe) and (weaponsmith) that hide in the background, just churning things out.

[kevintrimble]

I don't think addressing the time consumption of different activities in ADoM is the right idea as I can cite a huge number of things in the game that don't make sense.
Writing a book would fit right in without seeming out of place.

How would you explain that a char is able to eat a whole large ration in ~5 turns? At the same time eating a much smaller stomafillia herb takes many more turns.
What about drinking huge amount of potions (potentially infinite) without ruptured stomach, all in the time span of a few dozen turns?
Mining a wall tile with pickaxe takes many turns but kicking it down without any tools only takes one?
Reading a scroll takes the same amount of time as swinging a sword or shooting an arrow?
There are countless more examples. Time is not as relevant in this game as in some other games/RL.

Stomafilla is a disgusting tasting herb you have to force yourself to eat so it takes longer. I assume potions pass through you fairly quickly and have magical properties so they are absorbed into your body rather then sitting in your stomach. A pick axe is a tool while kicking is just blunt force however I do think kicking down walls should give a chance for small rocks to hit the pc and a very small chance that the dungeon collapses if you are doomed. Most scrolls are written in runes and would only take a glance to read.

[anon123]

Seriously, I'd trade lvl 40 or 50 wizard class powers for the ability to write spellbooks of known spells.
I don't know what could be the cost - probably a mix of mana, PP and some spell knowledge of random other spells, like 20d5.

I always thought having this ability would be cool too, but it would likely end up balanced in such a way that you don't really need it by the time it you can use it.

[mimhoff]

Well spells are already pretty strange. Using them more makes you more skilled, but unlike other skills, using them more makes you forget what you know?

[Blasphemous]

Stomafilla is a disgusting tasting herb you have to force yourself to eat so it takes longer. I assume potions pass through you fairly quickly and have magical properties so they are absorbed into your body rather then sitting in your stomach. A pick axe is a tool while kicking is just blunt force however I do think kicking down walls should give a chance for small rocks to hit the pc and a very small chance that the dungeon collapses if you are doomed. Most scrolls are written in runes and would only take a glance to read.

Just so you know, stomafillia herb, like many other things in ADoM, is based on Lord of the Rings. In this particular case it's based on lembas bread which Frodo and Sam got from the Lorien Elves on their journey through that forest.
It was explained that a tiny bite was able to fill the whole belly and even the hobbits (notably culinary masters and voracious eaters) admitted it was good. There goes your argument about stomafillia being disgusting.

I could easily derail all of your other explanations but what's the point? None of what you said is in the least based on any actual in-game descriptions, hints and what not.
We're deep in the land of speculation and your explanations are as good as mine.
Let's not attribute divine powers to TB.
He could not have thought about every single detail and some things he designed just don't make sense at all.
That's fine, he's just a human and Adom is his imperfect creation.
But since we're the players that play in his world, we have the right to question the validity of many elements thereof that we feel are inconsistent.

[kevintrimble]

Dear blasphemous, I am very sorry if eithier you didnt read my first post or if I wasnt clear enough in it. So to be clearer and to make sure you read this I wrote your name in this post. I think players should immerse them selves in the game and come up with explanations for odd behavior in the game rather then thinking too rationally about a fantasy game. Which just ruins the fun. As for stomafilla being related to elven bread of some kind from the lord of the rings. Easiest explanation ever. Two foot tall hobbit with a sling gets gross food from the seven foot tall elf who happens to have a long bow and some awesome magic spell. Do you think the hobbit would insult the elf food?

[mewmew]

ADoM has elven bread actually and it's quite nutritious. Not that nutritious as stomafilia though. I suppose stoma is the real stuff which elven drugdea.. I mean bakers dilute with their pastry.

[Blasphemous]

Kevin, immersion is nice and fine but let's not use that to cover up blatant lack of background for certain things in the game.
I can argue how fire bolts damage certain monsters or how slaying powers of weapons work.
However, pondering things like illogical amount of time that some activities take in the game has to be approached from the rational point of view, otherwise this fantastic world will turn into chaos.
There have to be boundaries and limitations to justifying everything like you'd like.

[kevintrimble]

I agree that some things in the game dont make since. But I enjoy making up reasons because it allows me to immerse my self in the fantasy of the game. I am not saying my explanations for odd behaviors in the game are correct. But they work for me and make the game more fun for me.

[magpie]

Just so you know, stomafillia herb, like many other things in ADoM, is based on Lord of the Rings. In this particular case it's based on lembas bread which Frodo and Sam got from the Lorien Elves on their journey through that forest.

Many of the herbs from ADoM are taken from the old Zork games, like spenseweed and morgia and moss of mareilon. Even the effects are taken from descriptions of the herbs in Zork games.

I think the real reason a stomafillia herb takes so long to eat is that the base nutrition it provides is so high. That's it - the amount of time it takes to eat something, is based on how much base nutrition it gives. That's it.

Honestly, if we're going to start picking holes in 'logical inconsistencies' in ADoM, we might as well not even bother to play it in the first place. It's a fantasy roguelike game forcryingoutloud.