Posted Feb 25, 1997
-------------------

Following last week's discussion of new Warrior classes, I have made
some changes to my version of Angband so that I could experiment with
new classes. What I have done is to split out most of the class-specific
information from the source into a new editable file, called
'c_info.txt', which lives in the lib/edit directory alongside the other
'.txt' files, and is compiled into 'c_info.raw', as you would expect.
This file contains all the information about each class except for
magic, which wasn't needed for playing about with warriors.

I will upload the source diffs for this change to the Angband/Incoming
directory on the export.andrew.cmu.edu FTP site. The file will be called
'pwclass.tar.Z'. The intention is for anyone who is interested to
download the patch and have a go with the new character classes defined
there. You could go further and try tweaking the class parameters a bit
here and there, or even defining completely new classes! In any case, let
me know how you get on, either by E-mail to me, or by posting to
rec.games.roguelike.angband. With a bit of luck, we can come to some
consensus on what good, balanced, classes would be.

Some notes to help get you started:

1. The savefile format has not changed. Provided your 'c-info.txt' file
defines classes 0-5 as the existing classes (Warrior, Mage, etc.), then
savefiles should be completely compatible with Angband 2.8.0.

2. My changes include weapon skills, as discussed in my post of last
week. Each weapon type and each player class has one or more skill
flags. If any flags match between the flags for the class and
the flags for the current weapon, the character gets bonuses:

 - to-hit/to-dam: +1 at level 1, rising by 1 every few levels to a maximum
   of +10 at level 45.

 - extra attacks: like a Ranger with a bow, a specialist warrior gets extra
   attacks with a suitable weapon: +1 attack at level 20, +2 attacks at
   level 40.

3. There are some additional class flags for particular features: priest
weapon penalty, ranger's extra bow shots, backstab attacks, and the
feather fall and speed bonuses for the new Corsair class.

4. The adjustable parameters for each class include not only the stats
modifiers and skills, but also details about object sensing (pseudo-ID)
and the blows-per-round calculation.

5. Another minor change is to move the information about allowable
race/class combinations from the race info table into the new class info
structures. If you want to allow half-troll mages, you can do it very
simply, by adding the HALF-TROLL flag to the Mage class in 'c-info.txt'.

My 'c_info.txt' file currently includes the following new classes:

1. Swordsman
               Trained in the use of long and short swords, the swordsman
               is the noblest of the warriors. His chosen weapon will be a
               long sword, broadsword, short sword, rapier, or a two-handed
               sword of some kind. His noble heritage shows itself in a
               better Charisma than other warriors, and his Magic Device
               skill is better than most.


2. Axe warrior
               "Baruk Khazad! Khazad aimenu!" ("Axes of the dwarves! The
               dwarves are upon you!") is a famous battle-cry that has been
               heard on many a field since the world was young. Not all axe
               fighters are dwarves, however, and a warrior of almost any
               race may choose to specialize in axes, allowing him to use
               an axe or halberd. Since all these weapons are two-handed,
               an axeman cannot use his weapon to its best effect if he is
               also using a shield. An axe warrior does not have the same
               Charisma as aSwordsman, but all those hours spent practising
               with aheavy weapon have increased his Strength.


3. Bludgeoner
               Strong and not at all subtle, the bludgeoner likes to
               flatten his enemies with a heavy crushing weapon, such as a 
               ball-and-chain, mace, war hammer, or morning star. His
               strength is his ... Strength, while his Dexterity,
               Perception, and Stealth all leave much to be desired.


4. Corsair
	       Like the doughty pirates of Umbar, the corsair prefers a
	       slashing weapon, suitable for use on board ship or in other
	       close-quarter fighting. Such weapons are the sabre, cutlass,
	       tulwar, scimitar, and katana. He has a better Dexterity than
	       most other warriors, but his superstitious nature makes him
	       bad at Magic Devices, and gives him a poor resistance to
	       magic. Since he is used to climbing, he is rarely injured by
	       falling. His major advantage is the gain in speed that comes
	       to him with increasing experience.

--
Pete Williams                   Technical Consultant              
E-mail: williams@vmark.co.uk    VMark Software Ltd., Power House,
Tel: +44 1908 234990 ext 216    Davy Avenue, Knowlhill,
Fax: +44 1908 234992            Milton Keynes MK5 8HJ, U.K.
