From the NannyMUD documentation

LAST CHANGE

2001-10-06

RULES

NAME
        weapon - rules on weapons


DESCRIPTION
	WEAPONS WITH WC LESS THAN 18

	There are no limitations of the number of weapons you might
	create with a weapon class of 17 or lower. They still have to
	fulfill some requirements on weight and value (listed below),
	but thats all.


	HIGH CLASS WEAPONS

	"High class" is defined as "above 17". You should keep the
	number of those low in your area; especially should there be
	very few of those compared to the number of weapons with wc
	less or equal to 17. Weapons like this could be rewards for
	quests etc.  Also, for weapons with wc > 17, there should
	be a check so that players with low level (level < 8 or
	con/int/dex/str < 10, xp < 200000, or any other suitable
	check) can't use it properly. Really low-class weapons can
	have the opposite checks, to prevent higher levels from
	snatching the newbie weapons (optional).


	VERY GOOD WEAPONS 

	These are the weapons that have a wc of 20 to 24: You must
	have permission by the admin to introduce those into the
	game. If they have a wc higher than 20, they must have
	drawbacks, and be very hard to get. Players gang up on tough
	monsters, so something special is needed here.


	WEAPONS WITH EXTREME WC 

	"Extreme wc" is 25 and above, or that the effective wc
	including results from hit_functions can be 30 or
	larger. Those weapons do not only need approval and heavy
	drawbacks; they must also be unique. This means that there
	must never be more than one such weapon in the game at a given
	time.


	NAMED WEAPONS

	Named weapons must be unique. It stands to reason that there
	is only one Excalibur, Stormbringer, Mjölnir etc.


	SPIKES IN WC

	It is not a good idea to make a weapon with a hit function
	that returns 100 in 20% of the cases, and "miss" the other
	80. The average is then 20, but the peaks have a bad impact on
	the game. Do not use peaks that give a total wc higher than
	40; such weapons will NOT be approved.


        OTHER HIT MESSAGES

	It is possible to change the hit message written when the
	weapon hits. Feel free to do so, just don't confuse the mortals.


        MORE TO READ

	Check out the documentation on simple_weapon.


        CLASS, VALUE AND WEIGHT

	There are certain limits on class, value and weight for
	weapons. The list below holds the figures. The weight is a
	lower minimum, while the value is a middle value; actual
	figures are allowed to be plus or minus 30%. Weapons with
	class 1 - 10 can cost anything below and up to 100 gold coins.

	If your weapon have extra qualities/powers, you are NOT
        allowed to use the minimum weight!

	 Class Value   Weight  Class Value   Weight  Class Value Weight  
	+-----+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+
	|  1   <= 100    1    |  8   <= 100    1    | 15    700    3    |
	|  2   <= 100    1    |  9   <= 100    1    | 16    800    3    |
	|  3   <= 100    1    | 10   <= 100    2    | 17    900    3    |
	|  4   <= 100    1    | 11      175    2    | 18   1000    3    |
	|  5   <= 100    1    | 12      250    2    | 19   1000    4    |
	|  6   <= 100    1    | 13      320    2    | 20   2000    4    |
	|  7   <= 100    1    | 14      400    2    |                   |
	+-----+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+-----+-----+-------+



	IMPROVISED WEAPONS

	Common items can be coded as weapons, like chairs, shovels,
	hat pins etc. They are allowed a maximum wc of 7. Make sure
	that the items can be used in other ways; the hat pin should
	be possible to use - if you have a hat.


	WEAPONS USING HOOKS

	If your weapon is using a hook, you need to consider if the
	effect in the hook should apply every time it is called, or
	only when your weapon is actually being used. If the hook
	should only be used when the weapon is used, you will have to
	check that using the function 'query_weapon_in_use'.
	
	
        EXAMPLE OF DRAWBACKS

	Here is a short list of drawbacks. Use your imagination and
	come up with other drawbacks.
	* The weapon has a weight of 7.
	* Only players with an alignment of 500 or better can use it.
	* The weapon will not fight evil opponents.
	* The weapon will suddenly self-destruct after some time.
	* The wc is dependent on what area the weapon is used in.
	* The user can't wear any armour.
	* The wielder must not be wimpy in fights.

	This used to be considered a drawback, but it is doubtful if
	it is anymore:
	* The weapon talks with a loud voice, and much.


EXAMPLE
	CODE EXAMPLE FOR UNIQUE WEAPONS 

	This shows how to keep track of a unique weapon. The code
	assumes that the weapon is defined in a separate file and
	loads without error. If you have trouble understanding this
	code, you are suggested to try something less complicated
	first

	void make_spear()
	{
	  object the_spear;

	    /* Let's see if we can find it. If so, it's already in the
	     * game.
	     */
	  the_spear = find_object("/players/me/weapons/sun-spear");
          if (!the_spear)
          {
            /* Ok, not found. Let us load it and move it to where it should
	     * be.
	     */
            the_spear = load_object("players/me/weapons/sun-spear");
            move_object(the_spear, super_duper_mega_monster);
          }
        } // make_spear