Bows & Rangers

[Jigga]

Bows are pretty worthless is MajorMUD right now... and classically in fantasy 'worlds' Rangers have been known to use bows.

I think bows need to have some advantage, and possibly have some that might be Ranger only.

I'm not quite sure how to incorporate this besides a dodge bonus? Or something to have monsters whiff on the player using a bow a lot?
Figure if you're using a bow, you're quite the distance away from your target.

Oh, maybe a good idea would be a 'use' or something similar to a backstab where you would get a free round.

Say I had a bow, and moved to attack you from across the room, you wouldn't be able to engage and get in combat in the same round, so maybe something with bows you would see them move to attack you but would be unable to get a swing in the first round? The bow instead of working like a normal weapon where you get swings, would only have one attack that round kind of like a backstab, but do a larger amount of damage than a regular hit would.

And don't forget burning arrows, poisoned arrows, etc...

[Thergin]

It is true ranged combat doesnt feel ranged, since you are standing in same room, and a round represent more then it looks, with moving around and dodging and all this action, all we get is a line of text to show for it. But that is mmud.

So what you propose would also need to apply to ranged spells, and this makes things complex. I loosing first round, if the ranger keeps moving rooms keeps getting first round?, he allready had break, sneak, backstab to keep doing on a warrior for example.

I wanted to make a majormud module, in NWN, NWN2 but never finished them. I also had to problem of how do I make it feel like majormud, I was going to make the spells range a lot less, and have melee range be the same as spells, so more then normal it would look funny having someone swinging and hitting someone not standing next to them, but it would also give a "room" feeling to the mod.

[DeathCow]

I'm all for working some sort of ranged combat into the game.  Rangers and a possible new class "Archers"(probably with some kind of extended ability, the druid-2 of the realm) could have this ability.  Could be as simple as having an extra attack chance each round with a bow type weapon or an attack that fires during movement.

[geeogree]

or it could be similar to a backstab? Except that each bow could have some of the properties mentioned? Or I guess the arrows of the bow would. IE - poison, fire, ice, etc type arrows and each would have an effect on the mob hit which would be like a spell cast on the mob?

[The Crazy Animal]

And don't forget burning arrows, poisoned arrows, etc...

Theres a post on here somewhere I made a while ago about quivers of arrows which would be an equipable item that gives you a temporary hitspell to simulate different types of special arrow damage.

[dragonslayer1980]

The benefit to using bows is that you "should" be able to go backrank in a party, and not get a -acc penalty since you're using a ranged weapon, but still get the +ac bonus from being backrank, I have never tested this with a bow equip'd but always assume'd it worked that way

[DeathCow]

The benefit to using bows is that you "should" be able to go backrank in a party, and not get a -acc penalty since you're using a ranged weapon, but still get the +ac bonus from being backrank, I have never tested this with a bow equip'd but always assume'd it worked that way

No such benefit is currently in either mmud or gmud.  And, although I'm no opposed to such an advantage, it does limit the extended usefulness of a ranged weapon to being in a party.  Perhapes a bow ability could be added to the weapons that gave the user an additional (agility)/10 (approx) added hidden ac or dodge.  That being said, to balance such an advantage, the max swings of a bow could be reduced to 4 to simiulate the added to it would take to aim a shot.  An new Rapid fire command, rf for short, could be added that allowed for 5 shots, but would forgo the defensive advantages.

[Vitoc]

The benefit to using bows is that you "should" be able to go backrank in a party, and not get a -acc penalty since you're using a ranged weapon, but still get the +ac bonus from being backrank, I have never tested this with a bow equip'd but always assume'd it worked that way

Hmm... I kind of like that, but like DC says then you have to be in a party.  Also, you'd kind of have to worry about shooting your party members accidentally. :P

IIRC, way back when there was a rumor that the fireball spell was going to allow you to cast it into an adjacent room and that bows were originally going to allow you to do the same.  There are all kinds of implications there that would need to be addressed, but it seems as though that would be the most true sense of "ranged" combat.  These wouldn't be used as primary weapons, but more as "I'm going to get a shot or two off with my bow before whatever I'm shooting is dead or gets too close to me, and then I have to switch to a melee weapon."  Also, if were were going that route you should probably have to stock up on arrows every once in a while.  You could have various qualities of arrows, some with magical effects.

At the very least, I'm interested in more discussion on this.

[DeathCow]

I'm really not in favor of room to room combat, I think it alters the game in a HUGE way.  I had pictured ranged combat as being a sort of in-between round spell, maybe handled by the engine during movement.

[Dragon]

u make bow have ac

keep damage 5 swing

10 ac say harder to hit

ranger have 53/10 he equip silvery bow he have 61/10 ac +5 dodge damage normal

[Thergin]

You know something dragon I am sick of reading your bullshit, I have had enough when you first joined you talked normal in the realm so give it up please.

[mad]

With the quiver idea, you could make the item similar to a lamp, just with a time limit, so you need to re-stock every 24 hours, or carry extra (heavy) quivers/ stash them.

[mad]

OR the quiver could replace your 'worn' slot, and give bonus's based on your quiver (not bow), ie +rcol quiver..., +fire damage quiver..(charred quiver), etc

[The Crazy Animal]

OR the quiver could replace your 'worn' slot, and give bonus's based on your quiver (not bow), ie +rcol quiver..., +fire damage quiver..(charred quiver), etc

Very similar... back or worn would be fine with me.