Rotting left/right arm is not a weapon, but putrefying arm is?

[mciul]

This bugs me slightly. At some point, I'd like it to be resolved:

If the rotting corpse's arm falls off, it sits around for a little while and then decays completely. If you try to pick it up, you are told you won't touch that.

BUT, if the rotting corpse is not available in the pile of human body parts, you get a putrefying arm instead, which is usable as a weapon and does not decay completely.

Both of these scenarios are acceptable on their own, but in combination they are confusing and annoying. How can we reconcile them?

[ektemple]

I have always been bothered by the fact that the decaying arm can't be used as a weapon. I'd like to see it able to club for slightly more than the damage of hands alone until it rots away.

By the way, I've thought before that the putrefying arm could be amped up into a Hand of Glory. Now seems like a good time to mention it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_Glory

[VictorGijsbers]

Both ideas sound good. (The refusal to pick up the parts of the rotting corpse dates back from Kerkerkruip 1, when I was hastening to finish the game before the comp deadline!)

We could have all the parts of the rotting corpse act as weapons, with the head perhaps acting as a weird kind of grenade? And a Hand of Glory is pretty awesome.

(Note that the putrefying arm is a Planescape: Torment reference. In that game, you can find a severed arm that acts as a fine club, and also contains some useful tattoos. It turns out to be your own arm.)

[mciul]

Sounds cool!

[VictorGijsbers]

First pass at making this happen. I haven't made the Hand of Glory yet, but the limbs now act as weapons, and the head is a weird grenade that can do nothing (50%), act as a scroll of death (40%) or summon an undead (10%) (potentially even a super-undead like Drakul).

[mciul]

Cool!

[VictorGijsbers]

Kerkerkruip now has a hand of glory. There's a 5% chance of finding it instead of the corpse/putrefying arm. Lighting it will allow you to walk through the dungeon unmolested -- everyone else will always fail initiative checks and be considered unable to move. However, the candle has a flat 3% chance of melting each turn, and will melt immediately if you attack someone.

I haven't implemented pickpocketing them yet... hm, need to do that.

Next on my list: the hand of Vecna!!!

[curiousdannii]

Maybe the hand of glory could also be a gift from one of the gods? (As a rare alternative, not an addition.)

[VictorGijsbers]

Danni, I don't know about the hand glory being a god gift, since it doesn't seem to fit well with any of the gods. It is too stealthy for Chton, but too undead for Herm. Or do you this differently?

I have now added the hand of Vecna as a rare find in the pile of body parts. You have to cut off your own hand and apply it to the stump to be able to use it (costs 10 health), but if you do that, you'll be ridiculously powerful. Your natural weapon is a 1d12 lightning bolt. You can 'gesture' to have everyone in the room be stunned and lose concentration; and you can 'point at' someone to have them skip two turns writhing in agony. In other words, you are indefeasible.

Until the hand betrays you, of course, after which your life will be brutish, nasty, and short.

[VictorGijsbers]

Closing this!