A new flavour of dungeon, with new monsters and such to make the game "feel" substantially different to V. This will naturally lead to a rebalance of the dungeon, which can perhaps make areas where things are found more well-defined, and levels at which you need given resists. If there's better dungeon generation, then there can be themeing of monsters (i.e. a dungeon with lava streamers can have lots of firebreathing things).

Monsters also need slightly more thematic drops, a la OAngband. Also allow monster association (associating eg. ogres and orcs, priests and angels).

• Rationales and Principles
  • Monster drops
• Level breakdown
  • 1 - 5
    • Disembodied Eyes
    • Giant animals
    • Humaoids
  • 6 - 10
  • 11 - 20
  • 21 - 30
  • 31 - 50
• Ideas
  • Gemstone creatures
  • Terrain monsters

Rationales and Principles

• No breeders!

Monster drops

Humanoids' physical attacks should be traceable to the weapons they use, and therefore their drops. Similarly with armour drops.

Level breakdown

1 - 5

Disembodied Eyes

Tentacled Eye

"An eye of the Shadow, watching your every move. It is massive, slippery and tentacled, and floats some distance above the ground. It stares and stares at you... "

Bloodshot Eye

"An eye of the Shadow, floating some distance above the ground, placed to keep track of events close to the surface. It oozes sticky, foul-smelling pus onto the floor beneath it."

Mystic Eye

"An eye of the Shadow, sparkling with energy. It follows everything you do meticulously." Can move, can cast spells.

Twineye

"Two attached eyes, acting as servants and eyes of the Shadow. They speed towards you, angered at your presence." Can move, can cast spells.

Giant animals

Giant rats and mice

"Mutated and feral rodents, noses twitching. One can only hope that they have not turned carnivorous..."

Giant ants

High piercing AC, low bludgeoning AC.

Humaoids

Lost

"Once a man, now a host for the Shadow. They are called the Lost Ones, for there is no chance to ever return them to their humanity. They are used to filch supplies from the town and act as scouts amongst humans." If a Cast Out Spirits spell is cast, revert to townspeople, with some effect on reputation. Some of them are spellcasters in the smallest sense.

6 - 10

Deathslinger

"Little men firing flaming pellets." Group monster. Good missile damage, low melee. Tactic: sling once, then run; keeps distance from the player.

11 - 20

21 - 30

31 - 50

The Shadow

actually split into eight monsters, over the last four levels. each one has its own resistances/weaknesses.

Ideas

more animated items (Dancing Scimitar)
animated body part (flying skull, skeletal hand).

terrain altering monsters. Taking monsters that have eat wall a step further. maybe lava slugs which leave a stream of lava in their wake, and water slugs that leave rivers behind them.

Phase Reaver - claws, bites and blinks away a lot
Nightmare (horse) - well, horse posessed by evil
"Tan" (smallish race) (spearmen, slingers, firestarters, hammerers, clubbers, ralliers, scouts (AI!))
Battleflies, Firefly, Lightning bug

Gemstone creatures

Have lots of Monks, of various "gemstone" orders. Dragons should also be "gemstone" instead of "coloured". gemstone golems.

Various gemstones for consideration: Amethyst, Azurite, Bloodstone, Cassiterite, Citrine, Demantoid, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Hematite, Jade, Jasper, Jet, Kunzite, Lazulite, Obsidian, Onyx, Grey Moonstone, Orange Moonstone, White Moonstone, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Tigereye, Uvarovite, Zircon.

Terrain monsters

Armageddon Clock

unmoving. does localised destruction when it's killed or x turns after first being hit by something.

Spawning Well

spawns evil creatures until destroyed

Livingstone

walls that move