Posted by The Arcane(VIP) on October 14, 2000 at 01:27:30:
In Reply to: Questions about the Rites posted by A Rager on October 13, 2000 at 10:23:18:
I kicked this idea around on IRC a while back, and may have once suggested it to Thror... I forget. Anyway, I think that the combat portion of the Rites would be much more interesting and fair as a test of skill if participants were allowed to gather and bring any non-limited items they desired into the battle. Any good fighter-type player, and warrior-player especially, will tell you that a huge part of strategy and success as a warrior lies in choosing one's armor and armanent appropriately. As it stands, the current format gives a *huge* advantage to those who can apply maledictory effects (assassins notably)... Takashimi observed this fact more than once. As an arial warrior, I got *very* lucky in not having to fight any assassins. Because of my tattoo, I could handle impalement, but kote/kanset, or a crunching kote, would have spelled doom for me. The gear I was given was far from what I'd have chosen on my own... I would prefer two practice swords to the slightly-better-but-much-heavier deeply-hued longswords from Grime, for example. It also introduces a whole new dimension to the contest... do you gear for damage and try to get the guy writhing before he can react? Do you gear for stats and make sure he can't make you drop your weapons? Or maybe heavy +hp so you can take more hits before dropping to writhing? Or a combination of the three? Only allowing non-limited gear, it doesn't give any huge advantage to people who are stacked, but it does make it a more realistic test of skill.