While working on my new mod, I took an old sprite from my previous work. It was an "evil potion" themed item that offered a strange and difficult to predict benefit with dangerous downsides. (I don't want to spoil the suprise until the work is finished), and it led me to think about how harmful/wierd/scary substances play a role in dredmor. I feel like there should be more weird stuff for the player to bumble about and harm/help/kill/save himself. Stuff that doesn't necesarily offer good benefits unless the player uses them appropriately. Now... I feel that strictly harmful items, while fun for a first time player, quickly lose thier appeal. I attempted to do some of this with Alchemical Ooze (by dropping a hint of possible mutation from drinking ooze). I feel like there should be more weird/scary/deadly/helpful substances out there. More stuff for the player to look at and think: "hmmm... is it safe to drink this?" I especially want stuff that offers benefits, but only if the player manages to not kill himself with the side effects. I also like stuff that does things the player can't really predict, and stuff that confuses the player or otherwise challenges his perception of what can happen. I'd like this thread to be a place where we can collect ideas on crazy/weird/harmful substances for possible implementation if future mod work.
How about polymorphs? We could make Potions of Mutation that can give a high chance of a minor buff or debuff for a limited amount of time. On a really lucky or unlucky roll, the player could be polymorphed into something as fearsome as Dredmor himself, or as weak as a Sickly Digglet. (For a limited duration again.) Potions of random balanced buffs and debuffs? (They would need a better name obviously.) They would give a buff to one stat at random, while debuffing another also selected at random. Let them last until removed, but mark them as bad so they are entirely removed whenever one uses a potion of Purity or something similar.
I had a brainstorm for a mutation mechanic while I was working on YHTNTEP. It's totally doable with the current modding tools, but there is a bit of a problem of buff icon clutter.
Hopefully the next version of the game will have a buff window instead of the buff icon clutter on the side. This is in several of the suggestion threads. I hope they can make it happen.
