#2587 A Chaotic good god: Jerihod
Sorry if I'm being talkative here - I guess I have nothing better to do right now.
I think that it'd be cool to add another god like Xom that the player can worship but not direct for variation in gameplay. Whereas Xom is purely chaotic, this one would be good and chaotic, and thus not necessarily allied with the other good gods. He could be described as follows:
Jerihod is a mysterious god of the desert nomads of Sherfid. Although he generally is seen as being beneficial in the long run, if not a bit quirky, his true nature remains under debate. He seems to liken to the concept of "one step back, two steps foreward" and "what hurts us makes us stronger."
Jerihod can cause the following things to happen:
He can put a worshipper under penance seemingly without cause.
He can forgive a worshipper already under penance seemingly without cause.
He can occasionally cause worshippers to receive the benefits as of drinking a random potion. (including bad ones)
If in sight of a neutral or friendly monster, may cause monster to suddenly become hostile. (very small chance per monster in LOS per turn)
If in sight of any non-undead or non-demon monster, occasionally casts a non-necromantic enchantment on the monster, except for Tukima's Dance and Tukima's Vorpal Blade. (very small chance per monster in LOS per turn)
If in sight of any demon, occasionally casts abjuration. (small chance per demon in LOS per turn)
If in sight of any undead, occasionally casts dispel undead. (small chance per undead in LOS per turn)
He occasionally protects worshippers from harm.
He occasionally casts a non-necromantic enchantment upon a worshipper, except Tukima's Dance and Tukima's Vorpal Blade. (including the undesirable ones like confusion)
If a worshipper is low on HP and in sight of a hostile or neutral monster while praying, he occasionally causes monster to become a servant as per a wand of enslavement. (small chance per monster in LOS per turn)
He occasionally casts (successful) divination spells for worshippers.
Jerihod doesn't seem to appreciate any actions. He dislikes:
Casting necromantic magic.
Casting Necromitron. (excommunication)
Summoning imps, demons, greater demons, shadow creatures, and horrible things.
(thus, he is a more lenient good god than the others)
For worshippers under penance, Jerihod does not take any action, except when the worshipper takes actions that he dislikes while under penance, resulting in an immediate negative result of one of his random actions listed above.
Like all the good gods, Jerihod does not accept demonkin or undead worshippers.
That's probably a bit too long on the list of stuff for the god to do, but, hey, brainstorming is cool.
The list of actions looks about as long as Xom's list so I don't mind. However, some of Xom's abilities are *way* stronger than this god's, including randart jewelry gifts and incredibly good mutations. I like the idea of a Xom whose abilities are more directly correlated with the player's current situation, but I think Jerihod is way too naughty with too little nice. In fact, his best ability - a passive abjure demon - is bad, since you might abjure a pan lord or Geryon by mistake if I'm reading it correctly.
poop
Good point. The demon attack should be damage dealing, not abjuration. Perhaps a unique high-powered smite against demons?
I would think that an idea behind this guy would be for the god to not provide worshippers with material goods, but for worshippers to trust in the god despite his caprciousness. Perhaps some of these to make up for no gifted items:
He occasionally adds great strength to the damage dealt by his worshippers.
He occasionally protects worshippers from the elements, life drain, poison, magic, and from torment.
He occasionally satiates his worshippers.
He occasionally regenerates his worshippers.
Geesh, he basically does everything, just not in a predictable manner.
Makhleb, Lugonu, and Trog are chaotic gods, but they still appreciate evil things. Xom is the way he his because he is neither good nor evil, just chaotic. A chaotic good god would probably be more lenient about necromancy and only forbid the ones that leak negative energy into the world.
Sorry, but I don't see the point. Apart from the Necromancy restrictions this god proposal sounds a lot like Xom, including casting random spells and the potion effects. Some of the rest are being planned for Xom (such as occasional protection from harm) or could be added without problem. Even the penance system sounds a lot like Xom's mood swings.
Also, I can't imagine Zin agreeing to work together with a chaotic god. Then again, he doesn't sound terribly "good" to me.
> Geesh, he basically does everything, just not in a predictable manner.
Xom.
If you'd read more, you'd see that Zin would NOT be working with this "chaotic good" god.
And, yes, it sounds a lot like Xom, except without the gifting or mutations, and with some situation-specific perks.
Ah, sorry, overlooked the "not allied with good gods". However, the idea of all good gods working together and allowing switching between them is a very interesting one.
Also, the new (0.5) Xom is _built around_ situation dependent actions: teleportation attempts only if actually possible, lightning bolt only if adjacent hostiles, potion/spell effects only if they have an effect on the player, etc.
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Hey, thanks everyone for providing some great feedback on this wacked idea! I appreciate it.
So, he is too much like Xom. Let me throw out this new, reduced list of abilities:
Without prayer:
Jerihod occasionally protects worshippers from all kinds of harm.
He occasionally smites demons and the undead.
He occasionally contributes to a worshipper's damage.
He occasionally heals worshippers.
He likes to protect worshippers from harm caused by demons and the undead.
With prayer:
He occasionally hastes worshippers. (with mp and food loss, if enough mp available, as per forcing a casted spell)
He occasionally berserks worshippers. (w/ losses)
He occasionally makes worshippers mighty. (w/ losses)
He occasionally makes worshippers invisible. (w/ losses)
He occasionally imbibes worshippers' weapons with a temporary brand, depending on the resistances of the monsters in the vicinity. (w/ losses)
He occasionally gives worshippers confusing touch. (w/ losses)
He occasionally does those other things he usually does without the necessity of prayer.
Jerihod does nothing for worshippers under penance.
Jerihod still dislikes the things listed in the opening post.
There. He's still kind of chaotic, but not harmful. Not always useful, either. But an interesting alternative for people who want some benefits from enchantments without training enchanting. And he should be useful to a wide variety of players. Plus, the different effects while praying or not provides a different set of prayer effects from the other gods, which should be good for game play.
All righty - I'm just taking this space to brainstorm. Jerihod version III:
Jerihod is a wandering god worshipped by the nomads of the Shefid desert mountains. Worshippers seek to gain temporary boosts in battle and to take advantage of temporary detriments in enemies. However, Jerihod is a notoriously absent-minded god; thus, while potentially very powerful, no worshipper can count on his support at any particular time. Because Jerihod particularly reviles demons and the undead, worshippers say that while he is often unreliable, he is ultimately a good god.
Penance for Jerihod means that he ignores the worshipper.
Jerihod can ignore a worshipper seemingly without cause.
Jerihod can focus attention on an ignored worshipper seemingly without cause.
The following actions will cause Jerihod to ignore worshippers in addition to his arbitrariness:
He hates the casting of necromantic magic.
He hates the summoning of imps, demons, shadow creates, and horrible things.
Without prayer:
Jerihod occasionally protects worshippers from all kinds of harm, and often specifically protects from some specialized attacks of some demons and undead. (Hellfire, draining, disease, rotting, vampiricism, pain, torment)
He occasionally smites demons and the undead.
He occasionally contributes to a worshipper's damage.
He occasionally heals worshippers.
With prayer:
He occasionally casts a positive (non-necromantic) enchantment upon a worshipper, using the worshipper's magical and food reserves but always succeeding in the casting.
He occasionally casts a negative (non-necromantic) enchantment upon a worshipper's enemies, using the worshipper's magical and food reserves but always succeeding in the casting. While doing this, he tries to be situationally supportive.
His personality does not allow him to mingle with the other ecumenical gods; thus, his altars can only be found in isolation in the various parts of the dungeon.
Closing. This is not really good.