Random starting zone

[Susramanian]

After repeated deaths in beta 14 today, I've become heartily sick of the sight of the Trollshaws. In fact, the only thing less fun than trekking through the Trollshaws for me is trekking back through the Trollshaws after killing Bill. So to kill two birds with one stone, I propose a new starting dungeon with these qualities:

1) Three levels with an exit at the end to avoid backtracking.

2) Random layout. One game it might be forest, one it might be caves, one it might be crypt. Enemies are always selected from a pretty tame pool. No skeletons!

3) Fixed boss at the end that drops the Rod of Recall.

4) Tuned to get characters to around level 5.

5) Next door to Derth.

This cranks out characters armed with the Rod of Recall and the Scrying Crystal. The rest of Maj'Eyal awaits. (Including the Trollshaws; there's nothing wrong with it, it just got overplayed by all the stations).

[Grey]

I agree. The music especially gets annoying, and just seeing the same sort of tree layout over and over can be an irritant. In this version you also feel you can't just skip the end, since the xp for Bill is quite important. Random starting zone would be interesting, perhaps of some overgrown ruins (giving a variety of forest, swamp, ruined building and crypt) with a werecreature boss at the end (type of were could be random - werebear, werewolf, snakeman, satyr...)

[martinuzz]

Yes, some variation after starting anew would be nice.
A refreshing starting dungeon of randomness sounds like a good idea.
Rod of Recall might be overdoing it, but I must admit that dragging yourself back up through the same known dungeon can be somewhat stale.

I don't mind the skeletons actually.
It's the bands of orcs, with a ego wyrmic orc that managed to kill me on my first 3 plays of beta14, on my way back up after killing Bill. I love them already!
I was so excited, having found a (suspected artefact) Voratun plate mail on Trollshaws level 1 and a dragonbone staff on level 5. I guess I'll never know what those were now.

[Vee]

Yes, those wyrmic orcs (OOD) *with* entorage (also OOD!) are pretty deadly.

OTOH you can go to Zigur and get a steel/ash/etc. weapon with your starting money before you even take on the Trollshaws - unless you are a magic user. This makes them not less deadly, but with a bit of running and choosing your battles, I managed to bring most chars out of the Trollshaws without problem... It's the later dungeons I fail at. And I SOOO want to see the east!

[Wombat]

I agree with this idea. The trollshaws is definitely my least favorite zone to go through.

[Sirrocco]

Seems like adding another starting dungeon to get heartily sick of won't fix the fact that you get heartily sick of the starting dungeon. It might make sense, though, to add another starter dungeon or two and then either let you choose between them or select for you based on race/class/whatever. I will note, though, that it's entirely possible to walk out of the Trollshaws before doing much of anything and head straight for Amon Sul.

I'll admit that I've turned my music off entirely just so that I don't have to listen to the trollshaws song over and over and over again.

[Grey]

Heh, I always turn my speakers off when going through the Trollshaws...

A random starting zone would be less repetitive then the Trollshaws. However I'm personally inclined to think players should just start in Derth and decide where to go themselves. But there would then have to be a minimum level to the lost merchant quest (not particularly high though - yesterday I beat it with a level 2 Sun Paladin). At the moment it's tactically best to immediately leave for Derth anyway, as a few pieces of armour with one's starting gold can be very helpful.

[Sirrocco]

In terms of long-running characters, that would be true - but for total newbies, it means that you're dropping them into the overland map without clue. I would suggest that if you're going to start characters in/on Derth (and I would suggest on), then you should have maybe a level 2 or 3 limit for the thief quest, and include a bit about the overland map on the tutorial.

[darkgod]

I might do the random dungeon thing, but I wont start players in town. Starting in town is fine for players hat know the game already(but then they can jsut go to town easily anyway), but for new people I want them right into the action. Trying to find the first dungeon/... will lose players.