Vandoon

I quite like the role master pen and paper system however it could be customised quite heavily to make more palatable. Different cost structures for different classes to allow anyone to develop the skills they like at a reasonable rate that won’t unbalance the game but show the difference between them.

I do like the dynamic world and would love to see more of it.

How about location and item hit points. You get fireballed your paper hat is toast and your exposed areas take damage leading to negatives to seeing hearing holding and be left being stunned etc. The heavy iron armour gets warm but no damage unless repeated attacks heat it up and you take burn damag unless cooled or removed. What I was aiming at before I got side tracked and waffled was types of damage inflicted and how /what it effects. Not just the players HP but all they are carrying and the area. You dont want to fireball the bad guys in the inn you are staying at it might burn to the ground and sorry no refund infact destruction of property and compensation to be paid.

I have never enjoyed the vancian system but see the mana pool as only marginally better. Reading through the topic there are some good ideas how about a combination of ideas. A mana pool to provide flexibility and to remove the need to forecast what spells you will need. Stronger spells use more mana than low level spells. Skill levels can modify these mana usages Each spell has a time to cast also able to be modified by skill and bonuses Each spell has a time period after being cast that the caster is at a negative to cast. If a caster wishes to spam low level spells the cast time is small and the cool down is short and small negative however the penalty stack and will cause failed casts resulting in loss of mana and other accidents … self-damage item damage loss of spells from repertoire party damage (go nuts here). Large spells use mana faster and you end up with larger negatives and can cause smaller spells to fail with the existing negatives. To stop the resting at every quiet spot make the trickle for mana restoration unaffected by sleep and if the game world has an event timer continuing the world activity will prevent just loitering in a non-combat zone. If you have different schools of magic one school can use mana pools one can use spell components with time to cast and cool down negatives. The number of components required can be a limited as limited resources will make casters careful about wastage. It also makes for more of a differentiation between schools. Another school could require (you guessed it ) natural elements that are present in the game world again in limited supply with similar timer mechanics. The casters that use deities as their source may have and internal sense of how in favour they are with their deity and how much attention is being payed limiting their pool. Also if the actions being taken can cause unwanted attention be their deity or favour if he likes what he sees. While we are on magic systems I really would like move utility magic both in and out of combat. Each school really should have different focuses not just dressed up different colour magic missiles for each school. I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg expand to your hearts content.

I personally like turn based combat however to get the excitement a twist could be simultaneous. Both parties enter the orders for the turn then execute and all action animations play resolving the turn.

I would like to be able to purchase magic and weapons however I would like to see the quantity and quality of weapons be limited unless you make contacts and get it made on request and the quality is dependent on the skill of the maker and components. Magic should be quite a bit more limited than the weapons. It should be special and not traded like coin. With this in mind when you find a magical item it becomes special however if that item is useless pawning it would provide an unbalance in the economy unless the items cannot be sold or could be use in other ways to provide value to the PC (used as essence in creating items the PC does need) I do like items with uses or charges however would like to recharge them. I would like to see more variety in the magical items pros and cons to the item.

I do like level progression and would like to see no level cap. With an evolving dynamic world it would be possible to continue to level forever however it grows exponentially longer and you are no longer able to be trained you have to practice and teach yourself being longer and hard each time. In opposition to this I would like to see a world where the monsters / encounters are fixed level to a degree. The wolves are this tough (range baby to pack leader) I like to see a game where you have to pick your fights. These guys are just too tough and you retreat however later they are a breeze. You have ultra high level entities that you would not be expected to beat however if you spend long enough (even after the main plot has run its course) you could defeat them.

I would really like to see game time have an impact. Over many games I have become desensitised to the pointless cries of “Help we must act now” only to realise that I can spend infinite time in exploring and that said consequences have not been impacted. I do not want to feel rushed however there should be a motivator to rescue someone or stop an attack or the person you are looking for moving on. Sometimes PCs need a push and the death of an NPC if they waste time or the village is destroyed could be applicable. Don’t make the timers too tight because exploring is great but the plot can change down a different path The person is now in location x (further away, harder to get to, more dangerous) The village that had resources and contacts is decimated and now is empty, clues not available, companions dead or injured, A potential house location destroyed. A world event clock can be good with an even more generous time however it would often be too slow to bring any relevance to the speed gamers and those that go everywhere and do everything would be unable to complete it. Unless there was PC driven events that can add time or accelerate time. The bad guys see the PCs actions and move up the clock or the PC deals a set back to them and the timer slows. I feel if global timers are used the PCs should not see it. Implied urgency with consequences generally works better.

While I don’t generally play evil I would like to have the evil options however they should be a bit cleverer than the thuggish brutes and psychopaths that are normally portrayed. Why not and an evil ending (if it is appropriate) Stir up trouble, run the smuggling ring. Sell stolen goods.

I personally do like the idea of a residence however as many others have stated it should be relevant to the character & class. That being said I would love to see the opportunity for a house to be implemented in such a way to make it unique. What I mean by this is that there should be multiple locations that could become a house. Old ruins, empty villages dungeons that have been cleared abandoned houses / vessels and straight up places to buy. While some of these may have side quests or main plot implications they may be quite remote to the plot and places you need to be. People that have no interest in a dwelling are not forced into anything and those that want such can travel as they please to find something that works for them. When the PC identifies the location they wish to claim it would be great if there could be, as someone else suggested before, events to be linked or triggered. If left insecure break-ins and theft. If in a remote area bandits attack and potentially take over and need to be dealt with. If someone wants a dungeon finding monsters to populate it, or when the monsters break out get them under control. Having a dwelling gives the PC a way to empty their purse on hiring staff/ guards and customising the look and feel. It should become more than a loot drop. I do like the idea that a loyal companion can add value and income to the inn or guard and train at the fortress. If there are potential random events that can occur at the dwelling the PC should be able to take preventative measure to combat them, Hire / train guards. Install traps, Upgrade locks and hide valuables to reduce loss. If goods are stolen they should have the opportunity to track down and recover however the longer it is lost the less chance and less recovered, These can be plots on their own. I do like the idea of an inn and you would expect to generate an income depending on the improvements added. If you have the warriors itching to own a fortress they will need to fund this somehow and while taxing the locals can be one avenue fleecing tourists can be a bonus. For the less reputable characters running houses of ill repute and gambling dens however the local criminal elements might just muscle in if the local law doesn’t shut you down (unless they are persuaded- how is up to you ). All points to consider and I fear I have gone a little sideways.

I do like mini games if done well but will not be dissapointed if there are none. Depending on the impact of the mini game your character skill should be involved or if not make the mini game optional or not plot action related. I do like the odd distraction in game from time to time.

I would like to see multiplayer however it is not essential and certainly not if it will reduce the finesse of the single player game. I would also like to see the ability for multiplayer being co-op and adversarial. 3-4 PCs for a good ending 3-4 trying for an evil ending.

I would like to be able kill everyone in the game world however there should be penalties on the character. Popular standings drop party member drop approval. Party members and other NPCs can hear of your wicked deeds and become negative to downright hostile. Depending on the act and visibility of the act the spread through the world of your infamy could be faster or slower. Slaughtering 5 innocents in the main village in front of witnesses will travel fast and the longer you spend the further from the location it gets. If no witnesses your party can spread this as you travel especially if they don’t agree. Party member should leave or attack if you are too misaligned. Punishing evil can swing you the other way unless killing evil is seen as bad by NPCs. There should be friendly fire all the time and damage deaths could be mistaken as an accident be NPCs or intentional if too blatant. If a crime has no witnesses so character reputation damage unless a deity is watching and takes offence or delight. There should be a legitimate information path for NPCs to hear of deed the hermit that sees nobody would not know about you.

I would like to see real consequences. You should be able to kill important characters however there should be few single points of failure just many things that will limit your ability to succeed or change the difficulty to achieve the end you desire. These choices could also lead down different paths to alternate endings. A combination of these would be good. Some choices lead to alternate endings some make it harder and a handful that will lead to failure or an inability to resolve an end you could just wander the lands and never end just be left to fret over the situation you could not surpass. Where the action taken results in this it would feel cheap to get an instant message indicating failure however an increasing number of subtle signals that warn the player. Examples –Increasing numbers of dreams of hopelessness , NPCs commenting on world events indicating failure. There should be varying levels of hints and clues depending on the criticality of the choice,--- items and lore books about plot lines, NPC comments . Some of the clues can be missed other you walk right into. Many should be a long distance from the event not just in the 5min lead to the choice even in different scenes. There should be myths and legends that are not real example Star Trail. Players can spend days looking for something that does not exist, hey it’s a rumour not a fact.