New boss monster (resurrection campaign)

[_Ln_]

So, I was looking through ancientdomainsofmystery.com for some specific info (in my excitement I've already forgotten what was I looking for) and stumbled upon this pledge drive - http://www.ancientdomainsofmystery.c...r-with-it.html

If you are lazy to check it out, donations to get ADOM finally funded in a short time have won "an extra special new boss monster with a special new map, 2 new artifacts, 4 new minion monsters for said boss and 16 new items that only will be recoverable on said special level"

I can't seem to find the info about this in the total updates and these are not included in item totals. Am I missing something? Because this is new content, which is always welcome

[anon123]

Perhaps this is on par with the volcano and Rolf's quests, and just hasn't been implemented yet.

I think I already said this when the crowdfunding campaign was still going, but I'm glad it made it on time, because 16 items and 2 artifacts (assumedly guaranteed) sounds really awesome!

[Stingray1]

Well, TB did ask in his March 28 blog entry for some community input regarding this, I believe.

So, maybe we should post some here?

[_Ln_]

So, maybe we should post some here?

Not much to choose from, I believe. We've got undead covered in vaults and graveyards, dragons covered in Keriax, BDC, fire covered in ToEF, lightning covered in BDC and Air Temple, water covered in Shissyblabla and Water Temple. We've got constructs covered in Darkforge, traps covered in the Maze, humanoids covered in cat lord, D:50 etc.

So, all that is left is acid! I would also like to make sickness and poisoning a real pain.
Why don't we have a remote wilderness "swamp" location with a little dungeon. Each level has patches of gas over it and/or corrosive bodies of water. All this will attempt to poison, sicken, damage the PC and destroy equipment (unless blankets are in place) each turn. Add corruption to all this stuff.
Last level should have some decent symmetry with aforementioned acid lakes in the center, some kind of temple architecture, anything.

Now, actual monsters will be somewhere along The Plague Lord (boss dude) with tons of HP + regen + corrupting, aging, sickening attacks (always nice for orcs and trolls). Let's say he's a construct wyrm. He'll be immune to lightning, cold and acid and vulnerable to fire.

He'll be the following friends:
1) A couple of vampire lords with magic attack and stat drains
2) Swamp demons with poisonous and corrupting melee attacks
3) Humanoid medusas with obvious petrification ranged attack (we have gorgons, but those are beasts)
4) Immobile plant things which spew acid and poison at the PC from the safety of corrosive lakes.

What will we get from this stuff?

Artifacts:
1) The Plague Lord head fashioned into a helmet that is rotting (armor prefix), reduces To, but grants a couple of useful resistances + boost to Wi and Ma. Obviously wizard stuff.
2) Funky bow that slows targets on successful hits. Radically useful unless you care for xp.

I'm completely out of ideas about items. IMHO, 16 different things that can only be taken from (a series of levels) is a bit extreme.
Some thoughts related to the location theme:
* acidproof blanket (realistically on the first level)
* poison resistance ring/amulet (why didn't we even had that one before?)
* poison immunity trinket
* rotting armor with some pleasant bonuses
* poison crystals that explode like crystals of fire
* acidic melee weapons (because we don't yet have such)
* vampire lords should drop radical life-draining bone staffs that give +To. Seriously evil to use.
...

Awesome, right?

[JellySlayer]

I was also thinking something similar to a swamp. Except that I'd add in some suggestions that:
-The "swamp" part is an outdoor area, and many of the effects are treated as weather/wilderness/survival related checks, giving some nice benefits to classes with wilderness class powers that are otherwise pretty useless.
-Instead of making the boss a tank in the form you're suggesting (which, IMHO, we have several similar bosses already), I'd suggest something more like this: Boss has fairly modest HP, but very, very high regeneration rate--he can recover full HP every turn or two (sort of like Jharod, but, obviously, appropriately leveled). This is a somewhat different problem from a lot of other bosses. Also, instead of a strong melee attack, I suggest a strong missile attack--give him reduced movement energy like the cat lord and respectable speed, and make him fight more like a quickling--shoot missiles and retreat, and a more modest melee attack. He could even fire that funky bow that slows you.

As far as new items go:
-Scattered around the swamp area are herb bushes. Rather than producing regular herbs, they produce the following:
--Swamp creeper/Blood thorn: Recovers/Diminishes PP by 5/10/30 for B/U/C when eaten.
--Colossus vine/Swamp carrot: Colossus vines are very heavy and train St when 'u'sed; swamp carrots train Pe when eaten.
--Ambrosia flower: Reduces corruption by 10/30/50 for B/U/C when eaten; lowers max HP by 5/3/2 points per use.
--Gambler's folly: Trains a random stat when eaten; corrupts by 50/30/10.

As well, gardeners may collect "enchanted herb seeds" that allow these plants to be grown in other (wilderness only!) areas.

[_Ln_]

The "swamp" part is an outdoor area, and many of the effects are treated as weather/wilderness/survival related checks, giving some nice benefits to classes with wilderness class powers that are otherwise pretty useless.

An outdoor area was the first draft which I thought about, but outdoor area means only 1 location. Cramping all new monster and all new items and all new environmental hazard in just 1 level seems a bit too much. Wilderness class powers checks is a nice idea nevertheless.

Instead of making the boss a tank in the form you're suggesting (which, IMHO, we have several similar bosses already), I'd suggest something more like this: Boss has fairly modest HP, but very, very high regeneration rate--he can recover full HP every turn or two (sort of like Jharod, but, obviously, appropriately leveled). This is a somewhat different problem from a lot of other bosses. Also, instead of a strong melee attack, I suggest strong missile attack--give him reduced movement energy like the cat lord and respectable speed, and make him fight more like a quickling--shoot missiles and retreat, and a more modest melee attack. He could even fire that funky bow that slows you.

Now quicklings are only killable as soon as they are not leveled up. Have you ever encountered a quickling king/queen in the Scintillating Cave which typically adds a couple of hundred HP to any monster? They are almost unkillable there.

Modest hp in a boss will be somewhere along 100 hp minimum, otherwise he'll be simply killed in a KO with slaying ammo or ball spells. We've already have Filk for that and I'd like to see a single PC he ever killed. If he recovers all his hp in a couple of turns (yours, I presume, not his), and uses missile attacks, the boss battle will simply turn into an exercise in tedium, where you struggle to roll enough damage to get his health in 1 go.

I agree we have a lot of boss monsters who are tough and that's why require some time to kill. That's why I suggested all those side-effects (aging, poison, sickness etc.) which are curiously absent from our current bosses. Now this will require some strategy, preparation based on your PC's abilities.

Although this needs some more feedback. People don't die from quicklings (low damage and HP with high speed), they don't die from ASB (super HP + PV + super slow + low damage), but they die from cat lord, how not especially tough (PV + HP), but is fast and hits hard. This is probably how we won't to design a boss. If he should have special attacks, we can cut one of (high speed, damage) to achieve perfect balance.

What can also save us some time on actual boss design is environmental synergy, which I tried to actually implement in my idea. Think Maze - you've got confusion + really bad architecture + tough Cow King who can shred you in melee. Independently, these are all manageable. Together - a much better challenge.

Ambrosia flower: Reduces corruption by 10/30/50 for B/U/C when eaten; lowers max HP by 5/3/2 points per use.

Go lvl50 Necros!

As well, gardeners may collect "enchanted herb seeds" that allow these plants to be grown in other (wilderness only!) areas.

Will nicely compliment the buffed gardening.

[JellySlayer]

I said a powerful missile attack. Think titan. Rahetep does sickness, snake does poison as do other uniques such as hotz.

[Stingray1]

Cold isn't covered very much either.

Maybe a icy location somewhere in the higher mountainous areas. With frost titans( with a strong missile attack ) and frost giant kings also as minions.

An cold hearted queen as the boss with a powerful ice bolt that slows.

Will think a bit about the artifacts.

[Grey]

Ice Queen would be good, since female bosses are woefully under-represented in ADOM.

[Tyrnyx]

You could have an overworld section that was 3x3 (perhaps near where the gremlin cave is now and move that to the right) and have it so you needed to visit the 8 outer ones before the 9th middle one. That is if multiple outdoor locations are desired - perhaps ringed by acid or ice spikes or giant trees so that they aren't easy to just walk out of.

Personally I think Ice & Acid (although I dislike Item destruction ) are both great. I'd like for the Ring of Fire to be useful so there's one vote for Ice. I also like the idea of overgrown wreckage with more plants which fits more with Acid so that's a vote for acid (although Ice plants could work in adom I guess :/ ).

Ice would (almost) totally destroy a Drakeling's chance if the monsters are at all difficult. Acid would remove the spitting advantage. I think they need more drawbacks so this'd do it especially if Ice themed.