Hamstring/Potshot/Chase skill

[Withered Ocotillo]

The "kill" command has a built in delay for a number of reasons, but one of them is to give your opponent a chance to escape you. The relatively new change to the combat code that allows you a chance to get in a free attack on a fleeing opponent is pretty brutal. The change nearly guarantees that ambush attacks on unarmed or non-combat skilled PCs will result in the PC's death.

If we were to add yet another coded way to prevent PCs from successfully fleeing, we'd need to consider how many more PC deaths would be guaranteed when combat starts, and then we'd have to ask if that kind of guaranteed kill percentage was the right direction to go in for a roleplay focused MUD.

[Norcal]

The "kill" command has a built in delay for a number of reasons, but one of them is to give your opponent a chance to escape you. The relatively new change to the combat code that allows you a chance to get in a free attack on a fleeing opponent is pretty brutal. The change nearly guarantees that ambush attacks on unarmed or non-combat skilled PCs will result in the PC's death.

If we were to add yet another coded way to prevent PCs from successfully fleeing, we'd need to consider how many more PC deaths would be guaranteed when combat starts, and then we'd have to ask if that kind of guaranteed kill percentage was the right direction to go in for a roleplay focused MUD.

This fellow makes sense.  WITHERED OCOTILLO FOR STAFF IN 16'!!!!

[nauta]

The "kill" command has a built in delay for a number of reasons, but one of them is to give your opponent a chance to escape you. The relatively new change to the combat code that allows you a chance to get in a free attack on a fleeing opponent is pretty brutal. The change nearly guarantees that ambush attacks on unarmed or non-combat skilled PCs will result in the PC's death.

If we were to add yet another coded way to prevent PCs from successfully fleeing, we'd need to consider how many more PC deaths would be guaranteed when combat starts, and then we'd have to ask if that kind of guaranteed kill percentage was the right direction to go in for a roleplay focused MUD.

I don't have much to say on the balance issue, and I'm sort of on the fence about the proposal, but as a technical point the built-in delay from the 'kill' command would also entail that the attacker could not initiate the 'hamstring' command, thus giving the opponent time to do an initial flee.  If the opponent sticks around after that, uh.

[gotdamnmiracle]

The "kill" command has a built in delay for a number of reasons, but one of them is to give your opponent a chance to escape you. The relatively new change to the combat code that allows you a chance to get in a free attack on a fleeing opponent is pretty brutal. The change nearly guarantees that ambush attacks on unarmed or non-combat skilled PCs will result in the PC's death.

If we were to add yet another coded way to prevent PCs from successfully fleeing, we'd need to consider how many more PC deaths would be guaranteed when combat starts, and then we'd have to ask if that kind of guaranteed kill percentage was the right direction to go in for a roleplay focused MUD.

I don't have much to say on the balance issue, and I'm sort of on the fence about the proposal, but as a technical point the built-in delay from the 'kill' command would also entail that the attacker could not initiate the 'hamstring' command, thus giving the opponent time to do an initial flee.  If the opponent sticks around after that, uh.

This is a good point. I wasn't aware of the balancing issue. I can see how this idea would negate most of that. Hmm. I'd like to continue brainstorming this, but this is a pretty glaring flaw I hadn't considered, I'll admit.

I suppose the only defense that I could toss out would be that the flee-e could use this skill prior to escaping to ensure their egress. Plus, simply limiting this to scant few animals and intelligent creatures would keep it well controlled. I'm not sure if this would weight the idea enough, though, for us to choose to possibly unbalance the whole combat system.

Further thoughts?