Raising PCs & Selling Spell Books

Raising PCs

The code for raising PCs is now done ... but once again, there were a few more complications than I first thought there would be. Part of the problem is trying to make a system that is intuitive as possible and take into account all the combinations a player may encounter with the system.

In this case, if a PC dies, it can happen to either the Main PC or one of the PC's companions/party members. (Since SoZ, I will refer to "party members" as synonymous with "companions" from now on. When I mention one, I also mean the other.) In the case of a companion's death, a headstone appears and their equipment goes into its inventory (as I explained in my last post). In the case of the Main PC, however, no headstone is created as the player can still access the equipment (apart from that worn).

The player can take an object representing the fallen companion from the headstone, which has an estimated weight according to race and equipment on the companion at time of death. This weight figure does not change and carrying the body object only is the easiest way for a player to move the body (and all equipment) in one go. I have coded it so that if either the "original corpse" of the companion has a raise dead/resurrect spell cast on it or the "body object" has, then the companion is brought back to life with all the equipment that has been left on the headstone - and even equipped items will be re-equipped. However, if the player decides to take one or two items from the headstone prior to the raising, then these items will no longer be given back to the risen companion.

The other advantage of having a body object that can be carried by another PC, is that it can be taken to an NPC who can cast the spell if none of the player's PCs currently can. I have tested this and it works fine. I had a PC carry the weighty body to an NPC cleric, and after paying the cost of the Raise Dead spell (500 gp), the cleric cast the spell on the body object and the PC was raised. I decided not to use an altar for the target of the raising PC (see last post), but simply made it the closest dead PC to the cleric, with a dead Main PC taking priority over any companion body objects.

In the case of a Main PC body, they do not require a body object, as the Main PC corpse follows possessed companions whenever they change areas ... as if the body and equipment were being brought along anyway. The player has a slight advantage if the Main PC is the dead body, as I have not coded anything for the Main PC weight. I don't think this to be a major issue in this case though as there is the pay-off that they cannot access equipped items.

Selling Spell Books

I have been updating my Captured Spell Books hak over the last couple of days, as I have also been coding the wizard NPCs who will offer gold for any spell books with spells in them. This is not finished yet, but I have a working prototype that shows all is well. In fact, I had to spend more time updating this hak for the Vault than on my own module, as there were some other changes that I had missed since the release of SoZ.

Moving Forward

I am nearing the end of my systems for the campaign now. The idea is that with these core systems in place, I will be able to write the story and adventures around them, incorporating some of these ideas into the story as I go. How much they will be a focus of the adventure or just a flavouring, only time will tell. Here is a list of those systems I want to get done over the coming weeks/months before I can will feel comfortable about doing more story writing. I mention them here as much to remind myself as for information:

1) Finish the ambient system. (Environmental activity.)
2) World Veins. (Part of a mapping system.) (*)
3) Chameleon Puzzle Interface. (Using GUI instead of previous designs.) (*)
4) Finish off Holy Book system. (Clerics require Holy Books to study prayers.)
5) Develop crafting system from new SoZ code.
6) Finish off player introduction into new campaign. (*)

(*) Keeping details vague to prevent spoilers.

Any one of these could take time, or (hopefully) be a lot easier than I first think. On the other hand, I may consider taking a break from these and start that story I had in mind a few posts back. I did go to start it and got distracted by another system I needed. Doh!