🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <399@wjvax.UUCP> ron@wjvax.UUCP (Ron Christian) writes:
...cockatrices...
>A single life and death decision should NOT be a matter of luck only.  This
>part of the game needs to be thought out a little better.  Even if you had
>*one* turn to do something after you hear the hissing, it would mean something
>(save against magic, rather than blind chance).
>
>By the way: in mythology, it was the *glance* of the cock that turns you to
>stone.  The breath of the cock (or the basilisk) was so foul it would melt
>stone and wither vegitation.
>
>I think this monster needs a little work.
>-- 

I have to agree with this.  I should also point out that poison works the
same way - at times its a sure kill (i.e., The dart was poisoned! -more-).
This attitude is a hold-over from AD&D, I think, where there is a saving
throw against some things (stoning, poison) and if you fail, you're dead.

The question is, how can it be (easily) fixed up.  HACK doesn't have fuses
like some of the other versions of ROGUE, so it is difficult to implement
things that happen some time in the future (i.e., so you could have the
hissing be a warning of impending stoning, or have the character die after
3 turns of poison).  I'm not sure how hard it would be to add fuses to
HACK.

Another possibility is to make stoning in HACK be like stoning in SROGUE.
In this case, you start to feel your limbs stiffening (slowing you down)
and if you don't do something about it, you eventually turn to stone and
are unable to move (curiously, you don't die).

As far as making the cockatrice a line of sight monster (like U), I think
that would be a bit too deadly.  One has to remember that the mythological
cockatrice was a very rare creature.

						-- Scott Turner