Re: Toying with an RP RPG idea..

[Mustakrakish]

Do you want me to come up with spells for the mage, or just abilities that increase their spells power, casting time, ect? Most games have a whole book of just spells, but maybe this game has a little bit of a more refined view?

[Guest]

Just abilities. Let me worry about the rest of the stuff.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Guest]

Just so you know... Abilities and spells for the mage is the same thing. I probably should have mentioned that when I first answered your question.

Sorry.

[Mustakrakish]

So you want me to come up with spells too? No problem, but it might be more than 20.

[Guest]

No.. a class's ability is the same as what they can do. I don't want a book of spells for spell casters. It's not necessary and it's a waste of time.

A mage casting a fire ball spell is the same as saying the mage has the ability to cast a fire ball spell. An ability is what the class can or character can do.

So that means a mage's ability is the same as its spell.

20-25 abilities still is what I want. More will come later on when I see the need.

[Guest]

Alright, so I hit a snag on something. Nothing class related but still very important. This thing is the level system.

I originally was planning on having a level system quite similar to Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA and PSP. The only problem with this is that level system for this kind of RP RPG project is a little broken for my taste. So I was thinking of how to figure out how enemies are worth certain amounts of experience points. I want to stay away from some kind of percentage based award system cause that's even more broken. I like set fixed amount of points being awarded cause that's not only easy to calculate but simply is very easy to work with.

Okay, so my original plan was that each enemy that's exactly the same level as you is worth 10 experience points. This is fine and all but here is where the problem is with this system This system is similar to Final Fantasy Tactics in that each character requires only 100 experience points to level. The problem with having each enemy of the same level being worth 10 experience points is that in a large battle in this project, which there will be, characters could very easily level up three or four times. I know that is a lot, but I kind of want to see how I can move around this kind of level up system.

This is how experience is modified based on differences in level between characters and enemies. If you are one level above your enemy and kill him, you receive a 10% penalty in awarded experience from what you would normally get. That means 9 points. This goes on until your level is ten levels higher and the slain enemy awards no points. Now if the enemy is one or more levels higher than your character, you would be awarded 10% experience on top of your standard 10 experience point reward. There is absolutely no limit to how high this bonus can go to your experience as it means the enemy will be that much more difficult to kill.

Now if this level system works out just fine and everyone is totally okay with it (looks like Musta is the only one even interested in this project anyways) then I can brush this information off and incorporate it into the project.

The level system I wanted to develop started level 1's out with a requirement of 100 points to get to level 2 and then 50% increase in that amount to get to level 3 and so on to whatever maximum level I decide, if any. All decimal points would be dropped for the required amount to simply make things easier to calculate. I like making things easy to understand and figure out. Makes things more enjoyable from my past experiences. The only problem with this system is that I have no clue how to determine a decent amount of experience from enemies of equal level, higher level, and lower level to characters. So that's the part where I'm at a snag with.

---

Now I want to talk about something else that would add another element of character customization and development, which Deadeye said he is crazy about, is Statistic Points. Do you guys think some kind of system for additional Statistic Points should be given or do you think it should only be modified through abilities and items?

I originally didn't want Statistic Points to be stacked up so easily cause that makes for a bad game and I don't like seeing people power game to the top. It's quite a waste of my time and shows I did something wrong in the design stage of this project. However, I do want to know if allowing something like this to be awarded to leveled up characters would be wise.

I'm strongly opposing this idea but I wanted opinions on the matter.

[Mustakrakish]

I am unfamiliar with Statistic Points. Could you please explain their function and effect for me?

As far as the leveling system, I like the idea of an increase or decrease depending on the PCs level to the NPCS level. 10% is easy to work with, so lets stick with that. However, I do want it to be a little more challenging to reach higher levels, so I would propose keeping NPC experience the same for each kill (10 points), and then have the amount of expereience for each level go up by either a percentage (you said 50%, which could work, but for later levels the exp points required would be quite high) or a set amount (maybe 100, then 150, then 200, ect). That way, it is increasingly harder to level, but it is not harder to defeat NPCs that equal your level.

[Guest]

Statistic Points. I thought this was self-explaining as they are in every single RPG ever created.

They help make your character more powerful. If you have 50 Strength with your Fighter, he is clearly going to deal more damage at level 15 than a level 20 Fighter with less Strength when both characters have the same exact gear.

They just simply make your character more powerful the higher the values are. There really isn't much else to explain about them. I just was wondering if players should be awarded points to spend in their Statistics each level. I'm against the idea, but I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility. It's just a matter of how many points are awarded for each new level. Something like 5 would pretty much make a character from level 1 to 2 look really powerful compared to level 1.

[Mustakrakish]

Oh oh oh I know what you are talking about. I just wasn't familiar with the name. In most games I have played your stats stay pretty constant the whole time. Your intelligence level and strength and dexterity are the same for the whole game, save for items or magic that boost stats. I think I would prefer to keep it that way, since at higher levels a character could be simply unstoppable.

[Guest]

True. What you described is exactly what I want to avoid. That's called power gaming and it's total bullshit.

I suppose temporary boosts to stats from items or gear is a better approach, however, I'm not the kind of person to soak people's characters with stat boosts from gear. That's also bullshit.

I just wanted to get someone's opinion and you're the only one that's actually helping me out with this project.

---

Just revamped all the class descriptions. Thinking of working out a revised edition of the Statistics later tonight, but I really wanted to shell out more Paladin abilities instead.

Btw, hows the mage and thief stuff coming along?

[Mustakrakish]

Unfortunatly I have yet to start putting them on paper. I have a few brainstormed ideas, but nothing solid yet. I have been wrapping up college applications and crap, but I will get to work on it ASAP. Sorry that its taking so long.

[Guest]

Don't worry. It isn't like I said, "Get it to me by Monday!" or anything of the sort.

EDIT: Well turns out that Webs.com's free web hosting service has a limited amount of pages you can have for it being free. As a result, I bailed on it (for now) and looked else where. I found tripod, didn't like them. Then I looked at Google Sites and found that their service for free web hosting is more generous of their uses. Just have to have a gmail account to make a Google Site. Although I'm not totally familiar with everything their website builder can do, it's quite interesting and easy to use.

When everything on the website is up and running for people to look at, then I will gladly post the link and everything.

As for the story for this project's RP, I do have some very loose ideas for it. Since I'll be running things a lot differently than my other RPs, it might prove a little more demanding on people's attention spans. I say this because of how abilities will be learned, leveled up, and used. The fact people will have to run through the website and read all the game rules will be a huge requirement cause I'm not going to tolerate people that don't read the rules first. This won't be like D&D where practically every single rule they have is merely a guideline. My game rules are concrete and absolute.

So far I have much of the website made but still there is a lot of information is missing from it. I suppose at some point I will have PDF files of monsters, animals, etc. for people to download and use for the project. I also will at some point have other PDF files that list items, crafted items, recipes, professions, etc. as the project evolves slowly into a more complex work of intellectual property.

Right now I'm just trying to get the class information up on the website and work on the rest of the stuff as I find the time or motivation. I've also shelled out the four different races you can be, the class restrictions on each race, and trinkering with the idea of racial bonuses that players can pick from at the character creation step of the RP. I was thinking something along the times of 3-5 racials to choose from for each class (only get to pick one racial though). It would help give that extra boost to the character's class abilities during combat or maybe non-combat related situations, like selling and buying items. I've got a lot of ideas for content updates and I don't want to go into much detail about them.

If someone has a question, please go ahead and ask it. I'll answer it the best I can.

EDIT 2: Hey Musta, I've been making a lot of progress on the project's website. Things are looking pretty good. Almost done with listing all the weapons and then I plan on getting the main armor items finished today as well. I figured it was a good break from the usual working with class and general abilities. I also plan on working out some basic supply items like potions, scrolls, reagents (stuff needed for abilities), ammunition, and bard instruments. I plan on getting all that stuff done this week and next week.

I know I asked you this before, but how are the Mage and Thief abilities coming along? Have any questions or something?

[Guest]

I have a question to everyone that is still interested in this lovely project.

Now this question can be answered many different ways. It could mean what classes can do, what kind of enemies, dungeons, etc. I plan on continuously working on this project well after it is posted up and running. It has priority above all other RPs I'm in and because of that I will put forth my best effort into this project before anything else role-play related. Do keep in mind that I plan on introducing monsters slowly. Slowly means that I have no monsters made up right now. I will, however, in time introduce them as things unfold. This goes for new races and classes as well. Everything comes within due time but I'm asking the question in regards to other things that can be fleshed out with existing game mechanics and information.

So what kind of things would you like to see me use or do during the unfolding of the game's story?

[Skittle_Overlord]

Hmmm....failure, you should use that.

I find that sometimes the main characters succeed to much in a story, they kind of are...to badass?

Forgive me, perhaps I am not quite understanding the specifications of your question, I hope I answered with anything helpful TKwiget.

Oh and why is it you are listed as a quest?

[Kalon Ordona II]

We haven't heard from him for quite some time. I've messaged him here and elsewhere, and no response. It's quite odd, and a little troubling. Hopefully we'll hear from him eventually.

Until then, I imagine all his projects would naturally fall into some sort of hiatus. *shrug*

He's listed as a guest because he deleted his own account. It's possible he won't be back at all.

[Skittle_Overlord]

Ah, I see, thank you

[Gadreille]

Just so you guys know,
TK posted something a bit insulting in the complaints thread, to which many FOGgers replied with their honest (and honestly angry) opinions. TK left right after that...and I seriously doubt he is coming back.

Sad too, because I really wanted to start up Rivnar again. Oh well.

[Sponsored content]