After seeing the same monsters with different coloring in many places and running into "you" again . . . I got to thinking what is it I would like to see in a foe?

1. For a starter, I would like to be propositioned by some foes whose gender is male . . . I am beginning to experience an Identity Crisis. A blindly, charismatic male vampire in leather?
A merman? A male nymph, satyr? Seems many of these places are asexual . . . have heard someone enquire where are the toad babes? Research should begin immediately. I am not starting this to begin an inappropriate thread . . . I would have taken a boxer or briefs poll for that.

2. More insect life . . . perhaps, rather large ones.

3. I don't want to kill Oakenmuir or the Dragon . . . can't I have a large nasty thing that deserves to be killed and has lots of XP? Now the leprechaun, he is another story, but he just faded away. At the very least, I would like to have tarred and feathered him.


4. Perhaps, some killer bunnies or deer.

5. I dunno . . . having the to face the same shaped foe who has a different name and more hit points . . . gosh, how can I say this kindly . . . it is lame.

Lame indeed, Lily, but unfortunately, pretty much a hallmark of almost all CRPGs out there. Might & Magic took the lame way out of using the same basic format for the monster types and just coloring them differently (for which they received much flack in the Boards, if I remember rightly). Wizardry was much the same way as W&W, where there would be 8-9 different monster types all based on the same style and with the same sprites.

They also need more female NPC's in the game. It, unfortunately, is very gender-biased. I mean, ladies, who are your role models in the game? Elyssia? S'Keser Da? Come on! I don't think there's a single female guild master in the entire game. (They should fire Sabastio in Brimloch and hire a female wizard; one who's not quite so long-winded, if you know what I mean.)

Your suggestions are good, but I'd like to see fewer Bats. They have got to be, hands down, the most annoying and ubiquitous monsters in the game, and they spawn more frequently than any other opponent.

Great topic!
Sazerac

Maybe some female rogues and female rattlings in those roaming bands of baddies would be good (like toadbabes, I guess)...
Some male vampires (who don't look like the lich) would have been good) ....
but as for NEW monsters....

I like the idea of some giant insects - giant butterflies!
Vorpal Rabbits - kewl
Sand Worms (giant)
Harpies, gryphons, tigers, and bears (oh my)
Golems and trolls
faeries (not all faeries are nice (or female))
Gnomes hehehe
Doors - yes doors - you go up to open the door and WHAM it attacks! (would make you think twice about doors from then on out!)

Gads, will have to give this some more thought because there have got to be tons and tons of possibilities!!

Wyv

waiting to hear what others will add!!!

dragonflys (small flying dragons)
griffens
2-headed wolves
evil witches/warlocks
birds of fire...
giant worms bursting from the ground...
smaller nagas (about human sized snakes with human heads)
dark elves
mermaids/mermen
cast from "Survivors"

ROFL Adam! I almost spit soda out my nose when I read "the cast of survivor"! Excellent choice! Right behind them..."The Mole"!

How about moles? Shrews? They could be rabid (or not) & pop out of the ground or from behind bushes. Porcupines? lol!
Hey at least it is a variety of creatures!
A variety of snakes would be cool too, water moccasins for swamp areas, rattlesnakes for deserts. Green tree snakes for wooded areas & Anacondas for jungles.
Save the bats for the caves and get rid of the slime...it was cool in old games but, well, it's old! There has to be some new kind of cave creature out there...albino lizards?
WHOOSH! Another idea just went through my head and I could not catch it! I'll post later if I figure out what it was!
: )
Moni

Black Dragons
Some forest wurms (biiiig snakes)
Djinis
Bill Gates
more flying thingies(vultures, ravens etc)
Giants(Goshin is a giant?DOH)
Krakens in the sea (more monsters in sea)
Shouldnt it be a part of "Wonderfull Wish List"?
Females(I agree with Sabastio kicked out )
Fallen Angels
Demons
Oomphaz looks stupid, doesnt it?
Cats, dogs
Wyverns (sorry Wyv )
Hydras
Sebastio going back home
My math teacher


and many more.If any1 have some M:TG cards, look at them and think (I dont have, sold them all, taking it back from memory)

Erad

Dragons, unicorns, pegasi, gargoyles, gryphons, a pheonix or two. I definately agree that a big bad monster to kill with lots of XP would be cool, like an evil dragon. Dryads as NPCs maybe. A bear or two in the forest, lions, or tigers, or some type of large cat. Other types of elementals besides fire. As far as cave creatures go, giant mushrooms, slimes (that are harder to beat), bears, wolves, etc. Could have bigger, meaner rats & roaches to kill.

Haven't been to the underwater city so I'm not sure all the underwater creatures there are, but maybe I'd throw in some dangerous plants like poisonous anemones and strangling seaweed. As far as fish-type creatures, I'd like to see giant squid, electric eels, jellyfish, seahorses, that sort of thing. The sea sharks could probably be a lot bigger and meaner.

There were a couple of monsters in Might and Magic that were really hard - giant hydras, which you had to shoot at from a distance to beat, and armadillos in the desert, same thing. You didn't want to get anywhere close to them. The only monsters of that type I have seen so far in this game are the jungle lilies. Then in the later games, you had the eyes, which really were maddening. They cost you all your spell points if they got a hit, you had to cure insanity and drink lots of potions to get the points back.

And just why do all those guys in the forest have to look exactly alike - and be so cute too!?? Bummer indeed! I want some ugly guys, fat, unshaven, nasty teeth, pimple faced, guys to kill. Even if they wore a ski mask it would be scarier than the cute ones, Know what I mean??? And the sharks are getting to be like "rusty swords" - too many of the same thing with the same results! Oh . . . let me hush, I still love this game anyways! But man what good ideas.

walk out into a open field, you see some sheep and sheperd, then the sheep attack "you".

you see captin "kirk" and gang, and have to kill them before they beem you to death.

make sure that those female rogues are the black leather whip & chains type.

english mad cows, pigs and chickens.

If you are going to have more rogues, then you should put some live and living knights and hard bodied conan types.

And just for old times sake, Beholders, Illithids(that's Mind Flayers), and yes, replace Sebastio with a decent, to the point,helpfull NPC like Deckard Cain (or any other Sean Connery soundalikes, I know they tried it but Erathsmedor's accent definately went Recieved Pronounciation every few lines and had occassional hints of Scotish/ Schotish). No killer rabbits (a bit too Monty Python there), Barbarian raiders, Daft Invader (Darth Vader pun, had to use it), baby dragon hatchlings that aren't hostile but follow you around.If you manage to gather up a certain number and take them back, unharmed, to the mothers nest/ cave you'll get a special quest reward (not a given quest but a secret one that you only find out about after you've done it). A party of Neutral Good Goblin Pilgrims on their way to a holy shrine (those have really annoyed the "kill first, talk later" players in our group) and of course Nilbog's (look it up, Fiend Folio, AD&D 1st Ed). All damage done to a Nilbog is immediately reflected back onto the attacker (through armour etc) as is force(pushing etc).Can be killed by any healing spell.

killer sheep?

Adam: oh my god! it's the killer sheep!
Erin: GAHHH!! blast it! blast it!
TAOQ throws 'Elemental Blast'

Gambyt: oh no.... what are we gonna do...

AZE: we are doomed...
CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!
Baaaa...

OK Adam, that is twice! I am not drinking soda while I read your posts ANY MORE!

LOL!!!!!!!!


Yes, I want KILLER SHEEP!!!

(could that have anything to do with the fact that I have four Border Collies??) naw

And Erad - Wyverns are quite excellent monsters!

Moni - have you tried nose plugs?? no, on second thought, don't!!

Wyv

Oh, ADAM . . . sheep not affected. TEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEE! Party closes in on sheep steps in . . . DAMN sheep! OH MY GOD! I'm allergic to wool! What spell could we possibly use on killer sheep? Where is my manual? SLEEP . . . make them count adventures. Erad . . . Bill who? What would his attack be? Balgin . . . not even one rabbit . . . where would the world be without coconuts, sparrows, rabbits and Brave Sir Robin . . . not to mention SPAM! Your D&D critters remind me of the DOPPLEGANGER . . . assumes the shape of one of your party members . . . Gads those leather trousers +2 make my butt look big, kill me!

Lily -

The best spells to use on killer sheep (not counting Babe's "baa ram ewe") would be SHEAR Luck, CARD and carry, SPIN and fluff, KNIT and purl!

Hot water would be good too - make them SHRINK!! (and why don't sheep shrink in the rain???)


Wyv

Moni with nose plugs . . .




Oh Wyv! I knew the border collies would come thru! If the shrink can we keep just one in flask?

ROFLMAO - All of these are very good suggestions - I agree with them all. Im only up to the end of skull castle thos so i geuss i should wait and see.

I'd like to see more opportunity to create evil parties so Dark Elves, Trolls and Boogres (Ogres) as a class we could play would be nice. LESS UNDEAD PLS! there is just way too much undead in this game.

Did anyone mention Orcs? Pixies? Erath looks alot like the dragon from that "Dragonheart" movie Dwarf - i think that's where the Sean COnnery thing comes from =)

Any of You realized that one stupid fact?Open your inventory and look up.What do you see?Something like this ]

[Class] lvl
[Name]---Neutral

Neutral, huh?I kiled Cet, gave the Mavin and Im still neautral, huh.

Erad

Gee Lily, Thanks for the visual!
EEEEW!!!!

No nose plugs! I'll just set the soda aside while I read Adam's posts!
Forget what I said about new cave creatures earlier on too...I had not had the pleasure of meeting up with those spewing spore thingies in Dragon Spire. A true challenge to stay alive as well as something different to look at! What fun!

Wyvern- thanks for the bad puns!

"Survivor"

Erin: what's that up ahead?
Gambyt: it's an island. Let's go check it out
TAOQ: hmmmm... it seems to me this place is full of rats...
Adam: Look! there are half-eaten ones!
AZE: where are we anyway?
Erin: oh no.....it could mean one thing...
Adam & TAOQ: what?
Erin: we may have encountered Richard monster!

ROOOOOOAAARRRR!!! STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!







ROOOOOOAAARRRR! STOMP!
Morik: Watch out! he's taking off his clothes!
Gambyt: say what?
Erin: Look out! he's attacking us with his 'Little Richard' eeewww...
TAOQ: GAHD! he's hideous!
Adam: he's hairy!
AZE: arrrggg... the sight of him alone is offensive... it's killing me...


to add: whatta think of it?
I'm working on the Bill Gates version...

Adam - Survivors - LOL!!!!!


And on the Killer Sheep subject - Smylin Dragon suggested to me that the ultimate spell to use against them is ...
.
.
.
.
(can you guess??)
.
.
.
.
MINT JELLY!!


Wyv

Seriously . . . those spore things are as bad as the amazonii and camoflagued too! The ones at Dragonspire made for frequent reload and comic visuals of six characters trying to back up as quickly as possible in the confines of a very small tunnel while searching for the right spell *testing wind direction, estimating distance, mooooove you fool*

For Richard, may I suggest the invoke lawyer pendant . . . it may be your only hope! Or a high level program director with the cancel series power.

MINT JELLY . . . leg o lamb . . . oh I am so tired of worgur . . . yes, lets have killer sheep :]. *drool* Of course we will need the shears of depilation.
*and after the wool stopped flying, the party found themselves with three pounds of lamb to eat and enough wool to make six good cloaks*

Actually, i think the alignment neutral refers to the gear my party is always shifting to, especially in the serpent temple and stout mines. Mine should read: Generally Good but has an occasional BAD day.

Hmmmm, how about miniature giant space hamsters? (ala Boo from the Baldur's Gate saga)
Insane ranger not included.

Serath

A good old LRP favourite was the notorious Dave Monster.Dave couldn't add up the damage codes quick enough and was often allowed to be a Dave Monster.Blows to kill (damage codes were ignored, he just needed to count how many times he got hit),immune to magic, quins either handed edged (two longswords,doing big damage (enough to sever body locations on all but Dwarfs, human types all got a third of their total life on each location as locational, dwarves got slightly lower total life but HALF of it was locational)).The sight of disbelieving adventurers twatting Dave yelling "quad, quad, quad, trebble"made us laugh.Actually reminds me of a Paladin turning round to the Ref upon sighting the second dragon of the day.

Locklyr the Paladin: I disbelieve this monster.
Ref: Why?
Locklyr: Becuae we've already seen one dragon today and that was an illusion.
Ref: Fine, go on then, but remember that you have to touch it.
Locklyrappraoches dragon(seven peole tied together, one head,four legs,two wings, a tail and a body)and waves his arms at it)I disbelieve this dragon.
Ref(nods his head at the dragon).
Dragon's head: Alright, Quad through (that's through armour, dodge and everything, to his chest )
Locklyr (staggering backwards): Arrrh! Great immortals aid me in my quest, grant me the power to cure this minor wound( healing verbals).Right now I'm definately conscious.
A big fight ensued.

Aren't piranahs fresh water fish?
What are they doing in the sea?
I am sick of fish slaughtering!
How about replacing them with skates? Horseshoe crabs? Venemous Starfish? Urchins with the ability to paralyze? Anything harder than a fish out of its natural environment that only takes one whack to kill!

Ha Ha Ever swum up under a fish, crab or shark & killed it above your head in open air? Takes care of that sinking problem!
(Of course you have to swim back down for any crab shells)
Pretty amusing.

I have not made it too far out into the sea but I was curious, are there swordfish, sea monsters larger than dartha eels or whales we get to battle?

: )
Moni

I don't know if any of you have ever played ADOM (highly addictive DOS Rogue-like game). Anyway, beyond being one of the TOUGHEST games out there (I've only beaten it once, and that's been during 3 years of off-and-on play), it incorporates some excellent ideas. One of these was the idea of the Cat God. One of the "special" quests in the game is that you have to avoid killing any feline creature (lion, tiger, wildcat, etc.; apparently displacer beasts didn't count) during the entire game. Period. Even if they were attacking you. If you could do that, you got a special honor late in the game when you met the Cat God and a fantastic artifact (something like +50 to speed and dexterity, which could mean the difference between life and death on the final level). Anyway, you had to think up all sorts of creative ways of avoiding the felines other than killing them; throwing raw meat to them, running through a door and locking it behind you, using Wands of Creation to create doors around them, etc., etc.

Anyway, the point of this long discourse is that it would be really interesting to place something like this in a W&W environment; a certain type of opponent that if you actively avoided killing, you would be rewarded at some future time. The dragon baby post got me thinking about that one. The only other game I've seen that strategy in was M&M 7, where you had to pass through an entire dungeon without killing a single monster to pass the quest. Talk about harrowing!

It would also be interesting to see monsters from other cultures represented. The Greco-Roman thing gets so overworn (satyrs, centaurs, mermaids, cyclops). What about a good Chupacabra or something like that?

Balgin: Definitely agree about the Illithyds. You'd have to have a magic school like Psionics though to work with that, and the only thing that comes anywhere close is Spiritcraft in this game. Wiz 6 (Cosmic Forge) used Illithyds a lot in the final dungeon, and they were some of the toughest to defeat in the game.

And just why aren't Vampires considered undead-class? It seems that "Dust-to-Dust" should smoke them. Ah well.

Sazerac

Finally the Bill Gates monster...

Adam: Maaaannn... this adventure is boring...
Erin: shut up and keep going... you want experience points or not?
Morik: where are we? this place is weird-looking....
AZE: what's that flying towards us? they looking like...
Erin: little windows?
AZE: Look OUT! there's a guy with glasses and a swelled head coming! It's....it's.... BILL GATES! The International Man of Microsoft!
Adam: He looks kinda wimpy-looking...
TAOQ: I'll deal with him....

Adam uses his Long Sword +1

Erin uses her 'Binding Force'

Morik: I want my mommy....

TAOQ: nooooooooo.... I just upgraded my Windows 95 to an 98!
Adam: you think YOU got problems! I can't find any PC games that are compatible to this 2000 update!
Erin: GAH! NO! I got Linux! NO!
Gambyt: HAH! I'm not affected! I don't have a computer! nah... nah...*

Gambyt: NO! It's too expensive! I'll be in debt! nooooo....
TAOQ uses his Sherman Act at Bill Gates

Morik: WAIT! I have an IDEA!
Erin: it's better be QUICK because he's taking our money and our independence! His monopoly is killing us!

AZE: HURRY UP!
Morik screams at Bill Gates: GIVE CONSUMERS A CHOICE! DIVEST YOUR MONOPOLY!


to be continued....

does anyone else knows how to defeat Bill Gates?

Adam,
How about a spell called "Monopoly Money"?
It turns all his American greenbacks into little orange, yellow & pink pieces of worthless paper.
: )
Moni

Moni, you must be thinking of Canadian currency.

Serath

The most horrifying, disgusting monster imaginable: my old hockey socks. I swear they crawled out of my equipment bag by themselves. Slow yet deadly, an adventurer struck by the socks must make a successful saving throw or suffer a condition much like athletes foot for 5 rounds. The monster also gives off a foul odor that can paralyse its foes. Ewwwww!

Serath

Killer bunnies and deer got me thinking.

"The Search for the Holy Grail" can't remember the guys name, but the comedy one.
-and-
The shooting game where your the deer shooting all the fat, lazy hunters. (Deer Avenger?)

at the Toadem Quest, there should more monsters there.... how about killer frogs on the lily pads, striking you with their tongues? Or tadpoles with teeth? mean mosquitoes that will drain you dry? Snapping turtles....

oh hey! how about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Efreeti - MONTY PYTHON . . . "I'm not dead yet." "We are the knights who say, 'Nee'" . . . Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Serath,
LMAO! No! I was actually thinking of Monopoly money, but that was good!!!

Yep that was it. Monty Python. I always get a good laugh out of his movies.

Hi,

Gosh, this forum is addicting, just like the good ol WW days.

Serath - Minsc is not crazy! I just started playing BG and I think him and Boo are great.

Monster Ideas:

First, I think the most important thing (other than exploding sheep) is the monsters INTELLIGENCE and the AI of your foes. Some of you may remember my crack the other day about Spaceship Warlock. It was one of the very first 3D action games that no one may remember. Despite it being almost 10 years old, the AI was unique, I mean its still way ahead of many games I see today. For instance, talking to people was better than WW, certain words or combinations could set people off! The programmers were freakin' geniuses (or super nerd neener heads) and programmed almost every foul curse word into the script. So, I remember talking to this babe with white hair, and if you said anything even slighty naughty, she's either glare at you, or slap you as I remember. Going to the bar, you could order about 200 different drinks. Now, this was almost 10 years ago! I am woefully unimpressed with computer AI at present. Especially with the dialogs with NPC's. Let me recant a little story for you that expresses my feelings best. And its about yours truly!

About 5 years ago I started working on a text based RPG. I was a Mac user (shut up) and was did it all on a mac with some of its weird software (shut up again). I wanted to make a fun little RPG, but I wanted to make it very unique, something that would test the players mettle. And while having classial RPG roots, but with a new twist. I ended up making a pretty good game with a little cult following (mainly twerps who wanted it free after all my hard work), but one thing stood out it in that I got many compliments on.

Its AI.

Only one person ever finished it, poor guy since I got stressed near the end and my beta testers flaked (hmm, that sounds famillar, eh DWB?), and the game wasn't perfectly balanced. However, my point here is below if you are still reading...

Basically put, my game was kind of lame compared to most commercial ones, but I put excessive amounts of details into the enemies. I programmed them with artifical intelligence, but it was so simple it wasn't even funny. Each monster had programmed attacks it would do, but had special scripts that allowed it to adapt. For instance, the first Dragon had two attacks, one where it would bite and claw you, the other it breathed fire. Its default when it attacked you was to flamebreath you, however if the attack failed to do much damage to you, my script analyzed this and the monster would switch attacks. It would then resort to physical attacks to see if they worked. Since the monsters breath weapon was related to his current HP, if it healed itself, it would try the breath weapon at full power, this is just one example of many many details that the enemies had. As the game progressed, you'd have monsters with 4 to 6 attacks of different elements (I had 15 types of magical damage in the game), usually like wind, fire, acid, poison, etc. It something didn't work, it switched attacks on you. Also, if you're HP dropped to lower than 15% of max, the monsters would sense you were dying and their critical hit ability would go through the roof. Basically put, they were sensitive to the player. The main joy I've always had in RPG's are the many and fascinating ways in which to attack enemies. Should I beat him with a big stick, a sword, a space hamster or a fireball? I got tired of so many RPG's that just had a big dumb warrior in a tin can suit of armor beating monsters over the head. Whack, 2 damage, Dodge, whoops the slime missed me! Whambo, 4 damage with my toothpick. Ohh, critical hit, 16 damage!

I made my game with 8 very different character classes (one of which was a Demon that had turned good, so much fun!), each of which had many, many attacks that you could use. But the weirdest thing about it, the enemies were like you. They varied in nature, and changed their fighting styles to match your characters particular strengths and weaknesses. And if I could show you the code I used to do this, it was so simple!

I'm sure there are some RPG's out there that do this, but despite the 3d rendering, the fancy graphics or even the monsters yelling "Chit Chit, we pays fah pies" at you, it still seems they are programmed to just attack, attack, and attack more. Gee George, look at the pretty mouse. I will hit him with my Long Sword of Stupidity +1, whack! I hit him George. Hey George, why are you pointing that gun at me? George, look at the rabbits.

*BANG!*
Rip Lenny....

Sure, WW could use some different enemies, but I say it could use INTELLIGENT ones. This would make the battles difficult and fun, pushing the player to their limit of things they could do. Also, I feel WW has a sincere lack of boss characters, aka the big nasty 8 eyed freaks. I LOVE to fight big henchmen and bosses, and IMHO, this is one of the most important parts of ANY video game. I just loved the end of Crusaders of the Dark Savant with the 8 Gorrors. I was disappointed to see no final boss in that game though.

And finally, when you get to the meanest, nasiest overlord of them all, they need to have a pretty good can of whoop ass! If any character should have a clever AI, its the bosses. Cet was a big sissy.

Well, I will retire to bed and shut up now, but I've had my time on the soap box.

Scronan

P.S. Despite my ranting, I do love WW a lot. One of favourite games of all time.

I agree with you Scronan. Minsc and Boo are awesome! I put them as the leader of my little party so that I can hear his dialog every time I perform an action. I do stick to my opinion that Minsc is a little off his rocker however. I guess that's what makes him so hilarious.

Serath
"Butt kicking for goodness!!!"

Scronan, I wish YOU would create games! Your ideas sound great. It's too bad that so many games nowadays sell out to graphics at the expense of AI and storyline. Anyway, your game sounds like it would beat 95% of what's out there commercially today. If ever you decide to publish one, I hope I get a chance to try it out.

Sazerac (and I'd be a paying customer, too!)

LOL, I have a Siamese cat named "Boo"

Not named after the character you all are discussing, lol but he can be mean when he plays & downright evil when he fights.

He's fixed too, supposed to mellow the males somewhat (?!) Makes me wonder what a terror he would be had we not had the operation done!

Back to the top!