So, I've been thinking about possible additions to SoaW: here are some of my ideas for what could turn up in future versions, do take or leave as you see fit
Extra CharactersThere are so many options here! I'll just go through a few that I've thought quite a bit about.
RogueMelee 80, Magic 30, Archery 60, Health 80. Starts with a throwing knife, a rope, and +1 speed compared to most characters.
The rope (or it could also be a smoke bomb) is a special item with no attack that basically works the same as the teleport staff's mana ability. This means the rogue is very quick and can maneuver easily but also relatively fragile and doesn't have great starting stats. Possibly the character should have an extra boost to backstab damage, maybe instead of the +1 speed.
PaladinMelee 80, Magic 50, Archery 50, 100 start health. Has some extra defensive abilities: possibly a sword that gives +1 shielding with each kill, plus regenerates 5hp per battle.
Dwarf80/60/70, 120 health. Starts with a pickaxe weapon (axe-type, 16dmg, creates bombs with mana like the bomb bag as special). Lowish stats but tough and good at blowing things up, basically.
Extra Room Ideas- Castle: tavern users. There could be 2-3 different options for people you can find in the castle tavern and pay to accompany you (a dwarf, a bushido, a third sister who's a warrior-princess) - they'd need to be a lot tougher than eg castle guards or they'd die too quickly, but having more of a "companion character" could be fun in 1p games sometimes.
- Castle: wizard's study. With a high powered wizard who's got some imps loose that need getting rid of. Maybe kind of like the hornet room, but you have to take them down in a certain period of time or they all reset to being alive again to make the challenge harder?
- Dungeon: mimic room. This would have a bunch of barrels and boxes and a couple of chests. Most items in the room are normal, but one or two will either explode or turn out to be mimics and attack you back when you interact with them.
- Dungeon: sewer room. This would have 2-3 slimes in, like smaller baby versions of the slime king, without the crown attack but still throwing slime blobs everywhere and with the close-quarters slime jump attack.
- Catacomb: Restless Ghost. A room with a ghost and a special type of chest that can’t be unlocked with a key. You need to bring the ghost a special item from somewhere else on the level (maybe an amulet or necklace or something that was important to it in life), and only then will it unlock the chest.
- Catacomb: Vampire Hunter. Another adventurer found her way down and wants to prove herself by slaying a vampire. If you agree to help, she’ll follow you (only on this level, not through the portal) until either she dies or you kill a Vampire with her in the room, at which point she’ll give you a reward item and teleport out.
- Ice Mountain: dwarf’s hall. A dwarf blacksmith who has a tunnel to a bonus room which is his family tomb: if you go and retrieve an heirloom (past a load of traps of all 3 types and maybe a couple of golem-type monsters), he’ll make & give you a super-extra powerful runestone (like 3x the effect of a normal one), of type depending on your class (blacksmith for the melee characters, ranger for the archers, warlock for the wizards)
- Ice Mountain: Skiing. A room which, apart from a little path around the walls, is extra super slippy, such that you basically can’t stop moving until you hit the other side. Have an obstacle course of traps etc in the middle, and a reward item if you ski through all the checkpoints to the other side.
- Desert: oasis. You can choose to drink the water: it will permanently cure/protect from thirst effects BUT will give you one of Poison(1b), Hypochondria, or Reversed Controls(1b).
- Desert: medusa's lair. Only for levels where medusa isn't the final boss. This would be a room containing 1 medusa to fight, and a bunch of human soldier statues of some kind (maybe castle-type, or a "good" skin variant of the desert swordsmen), who will join your side if you un-petrify them.
Extra Item Ideas- Archmage's Emblem - rare item, gives a +30% boost to magic, similar frequency to the Warrior's emblem, found in chests. Gives mage players something to hope to find even if they're *really* unlucky on potion selection.
- Alchemist's Visor. - gives you the special ability to be immune to bomb blasts from the Master Blaster challenge.
- Summoning staff - 7dmg, summons some sort of flying spirit that fights at range with 6dmg orbs for 2-3 mana. This would be a more durable (because less close combat and immunity to floor traps) option compared to the castle guards.
- Rod of Asclepius (greater healing staff) - 6dmg, heals 15hp + cures poison to all allies in the room as well as player. Would be really useful for general-style play.
- King Cobra Staff - 7dmg, poison-buffs the current weapon of all allies in the room. Because an army of poison-buffed castle guards would be really fun.
- Runecaster's staff - 8dmg, turns any runestone into another random type for 2 mana.
- General's Sword - 7dmg, rage attack boosts ally attack by 20% for the rest of the battle.
- Sword of the Heavens - 8dmg, rage attack summons a single meteor (like the ones from the meteor staff).
- Assassin's bow - 35dmg, 15% chance of doubled damage (separate to crits, so if you have a crit + damage double it will do 4x).
- Scroll of Call Monsters - Makes some random monsters appear. Potentially very dangerous if you trigger it early in the game - potentially useful if you need something to fight or you need a distraction for some enemies, though.
- Scroll of Heroism - Makes you invulnerable to all attacks except those dealt by bosses for one battle (so you can either get a free battle victory, or do a boss fight whilst being able to ignore the minions).
- Pangolin Pandora: gives 15% damage reduction (stacks with shielding, so you get 65% damage reduction if you're shielded and have the pet).
- Octopus Olivia: Goes and opens blue chests, including if they're behind rocks etc (so then you know if it's worth going to them and getting the items).
- Skunk Sammy: Occasionally sprays a stink cloud, which causes confusion to one enemy at a time (and doesn't work on bosses).
- Panda Pei: Makes fire and ice effects wear off in half the time.
- Cow Cody: +20% extra damage to rage attacks.
Misc Extras- Tavern barkeep/drunk: just have a regular character in the tavern, because it's still weird the place being empty.
- Level-appropriate traders: dwarfs on the Ice Mountain, either some kind of bedouin-like types or maybe djinn-like things for the desert level.
- A post-credits scene of returning the Tar to the goblins or something: it feels like the "wrap-up" at the end of the game is a bit rushed at the moment with no ending visuals other than flying home