[MUD-Dev] Re: Levelless MUDs

[Richard Woolcock <KaVir#nospam,dial.pipex.com>]

Larry Homer wrote:
> 
> Relating to my query of a few days back about the proper regulation of
> IC Telepathy, I now would appreciate hearing about anybody's experience
> with regulating IC Prescience!
> 
> Prescience, i.e. "knowing the future," is a common talent in a variety
> of pre-existing SF / Fantasy / Superhero themes, though usually the
> writer tries to muddy the waters by having the "prophetic vision" be
> loaded with symbolism, or only random "snapshots" of one second's worth
> of something to come without knowing how it will happen or what will

Well if you coded delayed actions into your mud, you might have something
like:

   Bubba walks into the room.

[Bubba types 'kill <your name>'.  Bubba is more powerful than you.]

   You momentarily envision your corpse lying at Bubba's feet!

[2 seconds later Bubba attacks]

If you wanted to try something a little different, you could even 
totally predetermine the combat at that very moment - and have the
result turned into a vision.  Another idea would be to keep track of
all your characters 'friends', and whenever one was in trouble have
a chance of it sparking off a vision, eg:

   You are standing in the inn.
   You momentarily envision Buffy sitting by a lake, while a black form
   approaches her from behind.

This could also be combined with information your character wouldn't
normally know, for example.

   A tall, dark-haired man walks into the room.
   You momentarily envision the man standing in darkness, a coiled viper
   around each wrist lashing out at spectral figures which surround him.

Perhaps this is the great swordsman who goes by the nickname 'snake'? ;)

Finally, there is no reason why you couldn't create a number of future
events that will happen to the character sooner or later, and allow those
events to show up in visions.

KaVir.