Hedgerow Hall

The original game had no NPCs apart from the trainers in the hall. Part of this was design philosophy (the player-driven freeform world) and part of it was project management... it would have ben difficult to code a level of AI that suited the style of gameplay without drastically changing what type of game it was.

Due to some changes in the game (including a more wide-open world and more compartmentalized combat system), I am including a random encounter system. This is not just (or even mainly) a "wandering monster" system. In fact, it might be better termed a "random event" system as not all the encounters will be with another creature.

I am testing the system out with a phenomenon called a "wisp weird", which is a going orb of magical energy that can appear at night. The wisps wander randomly with a bias towards the character who spawned them. The first character who touches them gains a random magical effect based on the wisp's color, following the normal color rules for magic. Purple wisps call randomly teleport you, hasten you, or slow you. Green wisps can bestow some random fruits and leaves to you, root you to the spot, or teleport you up a tree. The chances of generating a "good wisp" vs. a "bad wisp" are based on your character's Luck, modified by your color magic score. The accuracy with which the wisp homes on you is also affected by this score, with luckier characters drawing good wisps to them and repeling bad ones.