I was reading another post on this forum earlier, where someone remarked that most looted items should generally be better than most crafted items. From a gameplay standpoint, I agree, but it struck me that players never really have to wonder whether their new weapon is actually an improvement. It’s convenient to just compare damages, to-hit bonuses, and attack-times, but none of that is information that Herrith Sebon or Dick Surges would actually know.
This is why I propose that these stats be hidden to some extent, allowing players to make decisions about their weapons based more on personality, without feeling like they’re actively handicapping themselves. This could be accomplished in a number of ways, I’m sure, but I see two major options.
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Text replaces the current number-values for these statistics, determined by a certain range of numbers for each. (if to-hit is less than zero, output “Unwieldy”. That sort of thing)
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Simply hide all these statistics and groupings in their entirety. This game has good enough descriptions for its items that we shouldn’t need our hands held. “A fire axe? Yeah, I’ll bet that swings a lot slower than some brass knuckles.” I’m sure we’ll manage, and it’ll be extra FUN even if we don’t. Option 2 here is my personal favorite.
I don’t know how this idea will be received, but I love the idea of simply not knowing whether the mace or the quarter staff will work better for me. It would also open the door for players to have more characters with weapons that may have typically seen little use. Of course, it could probably be a toggle-able option if this idea were implemented. And to be clear, I’m not suggesting we hide stuff like weight or volume; just limit our ability to immediately assess the combat capabilities of anything we touch.