Temporary Level Drain?

[Des]

I was just wondering if anyone has actually placed, or is planning to include an experience draining monster in their custom? It could be quite fun to have a scary vampire, wraith, or spectre but wouldn't just about everyone revert to their previous save if characters get slurped?

Maybe it would work better if it was temporary and the levels came back after a little while. That way level drainers would be challenging to fight, and not a tiresome "restart if you don't kill them for no wicket" proposition. Alternatively, any other ideas to make level draining a goer in RTC?

[George Gilbert]

Well, the drain needed be a whole level at a time - it could be, say, just 1% of a level and so the player never notices until they've fought loads of them and they've saved already

Also, you could put loads of them into a section so that getting past without getting hit at all is near impossible.

Or you could disable saving in the general area...

[beowuuf]

I've always planned to do that with a vamp or lich, but not a temporary drain, or else where's the risk? I think these creatures just become as boring as anythign esle...you sleep of the poison or have apotion for it, you sleep of the experince drain or have a potion for it.

The whole point of a level drainer should be they are a deadly proper challenge to fight...so either used sparingly or the challenge they pose is compensated by their positioning in the story or reqrds in their lairs. I agree with George's methods for makign sure the risk stays real.

And yes, players would whine or cheat, but then they can do that with damage or anything.... whatever, thye play the game how they would play the game. After all, any charatcer death and players can just restart the save, rtaher than rush aroun for VI altar.

[Des]

I take your point Beo. Temporary level drain would have to be quite severe to pose a real threat in a fight, and yes it would just be a variation on taking damage, albeit quite an entertaining (?) one. Whereas permanent level drain has a unique fear factor.

I guess the GM just has to be cunning in the placement of the monsters so that the challenge is to get past without losing too many levels and players can have several goes if they want to.

[beowuuf]

I'd have to check the machanics myself, but in theory I am guessing you can have your temporary drainers by filtering the attack through relays, one of which instantly enacts the XP drain action, and another which, after a long delay, ennacts the XP gain action.

It might allow you to have a crypt of vampires that, while nasty, are not completely debilitation. While allowing the real henchmen and uberboss vamp have the permenant drain.

Personally with the vamp i was goign to go with easy to kill and alos use tactics to engage them in small numbers (plus perhaps protective/fear talismans) and with the lich have it be such an uber villain that really you should be high level and using every means necessary to take it on anyway : )

[Ameena]

Speaking of vampires, could you have a mob that drained an amount of hp (per hit) equal to the damage it dealt out? That would be rather an arse, especially if it had high resistances and hit for a lot...