Re: Gauging interest in a Dominions Roguelike...
Methinks you're going about this the wrong way. Beyond Kristoffer O's "start small" comment, there's also the undisputable fact that the majority of Dom 2's spells have nothing to do with a Roguelike game. Baleful Star, Maelstrom, Lure of the Deep, Fires from Afar, Burden of Time, the list goes on and on.
Furthermore, half the spells which DO make the transition from game to game would look VERY different from Rogue's Eye and God's Eye views.
Maybe instead of trying to recreate Dominions from ground level or recreate Rogue with Dom 2 spells and creatures, you should ask yourself what a Roguelike game can do that do that Dom 2 cannot, and what Dom 2's unique style can do that Rogue cannot.
That is what this is, right? The spirit of Dom 2 in the body of Rogue. Which is why you probably shouldn't focus on Dom 2's stats, but rather on the flavah.
For instance, you know what would make Rogue fun? Battle afflictions.
Oh, and if you do end up using ASCII, instead of sprites, the Vampire Queen should be a navy blue, uppercase N.
Sorry, that was uncalled for.
Heh.
Update: Incidentally, does it have to be dungeons? Above ground raids are so much... more. Villages of ASCII based orcs, trolls, Spaniards* or Asians or whatever to burn down, rows of tall tilde-grass to sneak through, percentile shrubbery to protect against missile fire. There's much more room for simple, but interesting, tactics, and it's easier to weave generic story-like missions into(a la Daggerfall. Which used dungeons, but that's beside the point).
Also, the villain should look like this:
______ v
_____ (S <&
Not wingaling, but such is ASCII.
* Represented by extravagant moustache ASCII, {
|