YANI: Ice Ants

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Well, we have fire ants, and those are real (though not quite as mean), it
is only fair to include thier opposites. Now, just another monster type
wouldn't really qualify for a YANI, but the devil is in those details...

Fire Ants and Ice Ants don't like each other. The details of the enmity are
beyond the understanding of your typical dungeon adventurer, as it is an
Ant (i) Matter, but when in close proximity to one another, they will tend
to rush together and cancel one another out by exploding as per a fire
*and* ice sphere. Normally you won't often see them together, but this can
create some interesting problems with create monster and (especially)
polymorph. Picking up the corpses of both would have the same effect, only
focused on your inventory.

I can see throwing the corpse of one at another while in the midst of
nasties, as a magical version of a hand grenade...but don't ever put one of
each inside an ice box.

 

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Matt Frisch wrote:
> Well, we have fire ants, and those are real (though not quite as mean), it
> is only fair to include thier opposites.

In general I oppose this kind of idea in any game. I feel that overuse of
it makes the game too generic and boring. I'm reminded of one iteration
of Final Fantasy where the spells a player could learn were something
like:

Fire I Fire II Fire III
Ice I Ice II Ice III
Acid I Acid II Acid III

....repeat for Lightning, Sound, Water, Shadow, Poison, Heal, etc. The
monster design probably followed a similar scheme; I don't know because I
didn't play it.



--
"Ruleless 'law' will be a political weapon and control of the
judiciary will therefore be a political prize. 'Democracy' will
consist of the chaotic struggle to influence decision makers who are
not responsive to elections." -- Robert Bork

 

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On Thu, 8 Sep 2005 01:06:32 -0400, Rast <rast2@hotmail.com> scribed into
the ether:

>Matt Frisch wrote:
>> Well, we have fire ants, and those are real (though not quite as mean), it
>> is only fair to include thier opposites.
>
>In general I oppose this kind of idea in any game. I feel that overuse of
>it makes the game too generic and boring.

You mean like FooBurn artifact swords? Be sure to drop them in an out of
the way corner next time you get one.

> I'm reminded of one iteration
>of Final Fantasy where the spells a player could learn were something
>like:
>
>Fire I Fire II Fire III
>Ice I Ice II Ice III
>Acid I Acid II Acid III

That's nice, and yet it has nothing to do with the idea.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Wed, 7 Sep 2005, Matt Frisch wrote:

> Well, we have fire ants, and those are real (though not quite as mean), it
> is only fair to include thier opposites. Now, just another monster type
> wouldn't really qualify for a YANI, but the devil is in those details...

Snow ants exist in slash'em.

> Fire Ants and Ice Ants don't like each other. The details of the enmity are
> beyond the understanding of your typical dungeon adventurer, as it is an
> Ant (i) Matter, but when in close proximity to one another, they will tend
> to rush together and cancel one another out by exploding as per a fire
> *and* ice sphere. Normally you won't often see them together, but this can
> create some interesting problems with create monster and (especially)
> polymorph. Picking up the corpses of both would have the same effect, only
> focused on your inventory.

But this doesn't and seems nice. I remember seing a patch about enmity
between some monsters that will tend to attack each other rather than you
when they're together (eg elfs and orcs or angels and devils).

> I can see throwing the corpse of one at another while in the midst of
> nasties, as a magical version of a hand grenade...but don't ever put one of
> each inside an ice box.

a
f - a bag called "fire"
o
1a
F - a partly eaten fire ant corpse
....

Plus you could drop a fire ant corpse somewhere before combat and then
throw the snow ant corpse on it during battle...

Oh, and that would make priest creating insects much nastier.

--
Hypocoristiquement,
Jym.

Adresse mail plus valide à partir de septembre 2005.
Utiliser l'adresse de redirection permanente :
Jean-Yves.Moyen `at` ens-lyon.org

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

Rast wrote:
> In general I oppose this kind of idea in any game. I feel that overuse of
> it makes the game too generic and boring. I'm reminded of one iteration
> of Final Fantasy where the spells a player could learn were something
> like:
>
> Fire I Fire II Fire III
> Ice I Ice II Ice III
> Acid I Acid II Acid III

I agree on this completely. But the YANI isn't an across-the-board
"opposites" equivilence between fire and ice, but just a new monster.

A much bigger problem with the idea is that fire ants are in the game
as a joke ("fire ants" are a major problem in the southern U.S.,
although they don't actually burn things), but ice/snow ants have no
real-world analogue to make them funny.

- John H.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On 8 Sep 2005 20:05:11 -0700, "John H." <JohnWH@gmail.com> scribed into the
ether:

>Rast wrote:
>> In general I oppose this kind of idea in any game. I feel that overuse of
>> it makes the game too generic and boring. I'm reminded of one iteration
>> of Final Fantasy where the spells a player could learn were something
>> like:
>>
>> Fire I Fire II Fire III
>> Ice I Ice II Ice III
>> Acid I Acid II Acid III
>
>I agree on this completely. But the YANI isn't an across-the-board
>"opposites" equivilence between fire and ice, but just a new monster.
>
>A much bigger problem with the idea is that fire ants are in the game
>as a joke ("fire ants" are a major problem in the southern U.S.,
>although they don't actually burn things), but ice/snow ants have no
>real-world analogue to make them funny.

Thus the antimatter reference. Star Trek baby.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (More info?)

On Fri, 09 Sep 2005 21:20:05 GMT, Matt Frisch
<matuse73@yahoo.spam.me.not.com> wrote:

>On 8 Sep 2005 20:05:11 -0700, "John H." <JohnWH@gmail.com> scribed into the
>ether:
>
>>Rast wrote:
>>> In general I oppose this kind of idea in any game. I feel that overuse of
>>> it makes the game too generic and boring. I'm reminded of one iteration
>>> of Final Fantasy where the spells a player could learn were something
>>> like:
>>>
>>> Fire I Fire II Fire III
>>> Ice I Ice II Ice III
>>> Acid I Acid II Acid III
>>
>>I agree on this completely. But the YANI isn't an across-the-board
>>"opposites" equivilence between fire and ice, but just a new monster.
>>
>>A much bigger problem with the idea is that fire ants are in the game
>>as a joke ("fire ants" are a major problem in the southern U.S.,
>>although they don't actually burn things), but ice/snow ants have no
>>real-world analogue to make them funny.
>
>Thus the antimatter reference. Star Trek baby.

Anty matter. ;-)


All the best,

Jove

--
"I don't think you actually meant to condemn such practices,
which are probably those of any professional user. But the words
you used did." - "kanze" <kanze@gabi-soft.fr>

 

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Jove wrote:

>>Thus the antimatter reference. Star Trek baby.
>
> Anty matter. ;-)
>
> All the best,
>
> Jove

I have some very geriatric aunts in old folks homes...
I all I can see in that joke is
"Aunty matter"
I'll leave it the reader to determine which "matter".