
  Balance on Haven is vital to the continuation of the game.
  Players with too much equipment, cash, or too powerful of
  items do not truly enjoy the game as much as those who are
  forced to struggle.  For this reason, it is required that
  all areas meet the following codes and checks in order to
  be approved for use in the game.


** Objects **

  Value:
    The value of an item is something that is determined by
    the individual Immortal.  However, please attempt to keep
    values as low as possible, to error on the side which does
    not give too much money to players is far better than to
    error on the side which floods the game with money.

    Please note the following table of value ranges. This
    should be followed at all times when creating new items.

    ITEM                 VALUE

    normal hand axe     100-200
    normal short sword  60 -150
    normal long sword   80 -200
    chainmail vest      150-300
    chainmail helmet    60 -120
    torch               10 - 15
    shield (wooden)     10 - 20

  Mass:
    Allowing players to carry too many items around has killed
    many muds.  Rather than limit a hard number of items,
    Haven allows players to carry a weight value based on their
    strength stat.  Please keep your masses as close to the list
    as possible.  Remember that a mass of 20 is approximately
    1 pound (US) or .34 kilos.

    ITEM                 MASS

    normal hand axe     100-200
    normal short sword  150-200
    normal long sword   200-400
    chainmail vest      300-600
    chainmail helmet    100-200
    torch               40 -100
    shield (wooden)     40 -120

  Damage Points:
    Damage Points will control how often a player must replace
    a given item.  Objects with low damage points will be used
    up at a much higher rate.  Please keep in mind that players
    inventories SAVE WITH THEM, meaning an object can only be
    taken out of the game by wearing out.  Keeping objects
    wearing out faster is a good thing, as this keeps players
    in a cycle of getting items, using them, and going to get
    them again.

    ITEM                 DP

    normal hand axe     500-700
    normal short sword  400-800
    normal long sword   600-900
    chainmail vest      500-800
    chainmail helmet    200-400
    torch               40 -100
    shield (wooden)     200-400

  Class:
    Class of an object refers to its usefulness as a weapon.
    Objects that can be used effectively to cause more damage
    should have a higher value.  Once again though, it should
    be noted that items should NOT have too high a class, as
    it overbalances the players by giving them too much hitting
    potential.  Objects should always follow the following rules.

    ITEM                 CLASS

    normal hand axe       8-11
    normal short sword    9-12
    normal long sword    10-14
    chainmail vest        1-2
    chainmail helmet      1-5
    torch                 3-4
    shield (wooden)       3-5

  Repair Skills and Difficulty:
    Objects repairability should be based on the type
    of object. For weapons and armour of a standard
    nature, it should follow the guidelines below, however
    objects of a special nature may be higher, lower, or
    even non-repairable (leave out SetRepairSkills() to do so.)

    ITEM                 REPAIR SKILLS/ DIFFICULTY

    normal hand axe       1-2 each    /  5-10
    normal short sword    1-3 each    /  5-15
    normal long sword     1-6 each    /  5-20
    chainmail vest        1-5 each    /  5-25
    chainmail helmet      1-3 each    /  5-15
    torch                 Non Repairable
    shield (wooden)       1-2 each    /  5-10

  Protection Values (armour):
    The protection values of a given piece of armour
    reflect the amount of damage it can absorb before
    some of the damage leaks through onto the wearer.
    Please note that Haven has a system of balance
    which makes armour very weak where possible, but this
    is not required.  Also, all armour types should react
    better to some forms of attack than others, for example
    chain mail should block SLASH damage considerably better
    than it does BLUNT or PIERCE, just like plate armour would
    be very good against SLASH but only moderate against the
    others.  A good example of this is leather armour, which
    can stop PIERCE generally very well, but is nearly useless
    against a blunt attack.

    ITEM                 PROTECTION

    normal hand axe         N/A
    normal short sword      N/A
    normal long sword       N/A
    chainmail vest          5-8 each
    chainmail helmet        5-8 each
    torch                   N/A
    shield (wooden)         3-5 each
    platemail body armour  10-20 each


** NPCS **

  Making npcs balanced on Haven is very easy.  They must not
  give more of a reward than they were worth.  Also, they
  must be easy to determine difficulty by looking at them.

  Long Description:
    The long description of an NPC should describe the NPC
    fully while giving a fair to good idea of the level,
    class, and overall abilities of the NPC. Exceptions to
    this rule will be allowed only when deemed vital to the
    area for a quest or main theme.
    Examples would be having children be no more than level
    5, and not giving chain lightning to a person not noted
    for having a dangerous ability.

  Level:
    As noted, the level should match the apparent difficulty
    of the long description.  However, it must also match
    the needs of the area.  This means not putting level 47
    NPCs in a newbie area.  In general, players should be able
    to challenge with a reasonable chance to kill anything within
    5 levels of them.  This is not to say that NPCs cannot be
    killed by others, only that it will require more or less work
    as the case may be.  Keep in mind that players advance based
    on skills.  If a battle lasts only a few rounds, the player
    will not advance.  Also, if the NPC's level is too high, the
    player will not get enough reward in terms of skills to
    warrant the risk.  Level determines the skill and stat bases
    for the NPC, but is not the ONLY factor in making an NPC
    difficult.  If you want to create a difficult NPC, the Admin
    strongly suggest use of Friends, Fear, Spells, or special
    CombatAction functions rather than a simple adding of the level.

  Currency, Equipment, and other rewards:
   An NPC should not have more than 25 X its level in total
   monetary value.  This includes cash, equipment, and other
   special objects.  This is NOT a hard coded value, so NPCs
   that have high powered special effects (fear, friends, spells,
   CombatAction functions) will be allowed to give greater
   rewards to entice players to die to them.  Keep in mind that
   the total reward should always be slightly LESS than the
   effort it took.  Players will respect a challenging NPC more
   than one that hands out an extreme amount of money or items.

  Magical Items and rewards:
    Magical Items will be allowed only on very difficult NPCs
    and only with special reason.  Remember that players' 
    inventory saves with them, so once a player has an item,
    that item is in the game for GOOD.  Special items should
    have charges (which limit the number of uses it can have)
    and, if possible, should have a way to negate the effect.
    Magical Weapons should be given only by high level NPCs
    that have special attacks and abilities.  Remember that
    players like to know they did something special: If every
    player has a sword of slaying newbies, then what makes it
    a special weapon?

