OneMoreNameless
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 131
Registered: 07-31-2010
IP: Logged

What I mean is, there are no shortage of enemies who rush towards you in various ways, and even a few who retreat away from you. As I'm starting to play around with the editor though, what it feels like DROD is missing is an enemy who mostly keeps to themselves and protects their own 'turf'.

You'd probably use an animate statue or traditionally solitary monster as the styling, but the important thing is the behavior. It would wait at its starting position until either you or an enemy moved into a set range from it (initial line of sight, perhaps, or a set number of pathable tiles from its starting point). The 'guard' would then move to attack that target. If the target dies or leaves the protected area, the 'guard' moves back to its starting position. The only exceptions would be targets it couldn't see (invisible Beethro, spiders) or kill (serpents bodies, presumably seep).

But to make it interesting, you give it an attack radius of two squares. So after it steps, every vulnerable creatures standing next to it dies. (Save those on relevant walls, arrows, orthos.) This attack only applies on its turn, so you can still step next to it to sword it.

The 'guard' could find paths, but limited to within its protected area. If it could see a target but couldn't path to it, it would move to the closest square. A brained guard could path outside of its protected area to reach a nearby - but blocked - target, ignore targets that it knew it couldn't path to at all, but gain most of the usual Brain (in)Visible Object quirks while pathing.

Someone Else
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1306
Registered: 06-14-2005
IP: Logged

I really like the idea, except for how it kills. Maybe make it a slayer-like character (can kill with its body as well as with its sword, and smart). It would be better if it had a fixed range - maybe 7 or eight squares. A vision token would make the range visible.

As for a name, how about a sentinel or a warden?

12th Archivist
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 789
Registered: 12-07-2008
IP: Logged

Ooh! Very interesting!

I would prefer it if the 'guard' killed like a slayer, like Someone Else said, by both stabbing and stepping on enemies, as opposed to automatically killing everything in range, although that may reduce puzzle potential somewhat.

I can think of many enjoyable puzzles using this monster element. I give this my green stamp of approval, pending some more tempering opinions.

____________________________
It was going well until it exploded.
~Scott Manley

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