Swing attack and zero level fighters

[Des]

The bash attack method has a minimum level of 0, whereas the Swing attack method actually specifies level 1. However, a 0 level fighter normally gets the swing attack anyway (which seems sensible). If you clone a club, and give it an additional attack of swing, then in this case our rookie fighter cannot use it until he makes neophyte.

So, er, just checking really - the engine's rule is to always allow "Swing" when it is the first attack mode of a weapon?

[Des]

Having fiddled a bit more I think the rule is more likely to be to enable the lowliest attack method should the character not qaulify for any of them. A custom weapon, the Zo Sword which does Swing, Chop and Open Door gives a wizard with no fighter levels "Open Door" as the only option. If however, a freshly reincarnated character holds the sword he gets "Swing".

[George Gilbert]

Yep - you've worked it out already. If a character doesn't qualify for *any* of the possible attack methods, then the they'll be given the nearest one.

That means that any weapon can be used by anyone (so when designing very powerful weapons, you should bear this in mind and probably give it one "ordinary" attack method).

Of course, if you don't want this behaviour, then you can enforce the limit by sending the attack method via a conditional relay that checks the level of the character and have the attack method do nothing if the level isn't high enough.

[TheMormegil]

Shouldn't Swing be available to zero level fighters though?
It's a change from FTL DM if it is not.
I noticed this in my last game and was going to report it but later forgot

[George Gilbert]

Seems plausible - now fixed for V0.39

[Lunever]

Actually I can't tell about the comparison to FTL here, because all weapons with "swing" in FTL have that as the first action anyway. And I suppose that in FTL too there is at least 1 attack mode usable, so if you'd create a weapon with "berzerk" only I suppose that both, FTL as well as RTC would allow anyone to use it.

[Des]

I think it always allows the *first* attack on the list where none are qualified. I did a test using a weapon with Beserk, Swing and Melee. In the hands of a zero level fighter, Beserk is enabled, but a first level fighter gets Swing.

So I guess you could get a situation where the designer has placed the attacks "Swing" and "End World" the wrong way round on the Sword of Armageddon...

"Arthur Pleb, nought level scum of no fixed abode, you stand accused of destroying the planet RTC. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, it was an accident, honest!"

"So how exactly did you accidentally destroy the world?"

"Well I just nipped down the dungeon to get 20 B&H, you know, like you do, and suddenly this screamer started giving me some aggro. Then I saw this bloody great sword so I thought I'd smack it one with it, make the little bleeder shut up. So one minute I was waving a sword about and the next thing four ugly blokes on horses turned up and there were loads of explosions and things....."