chabba990

I believe that there are some things that shouldn't be changed. I think that value and money have always been connected somehow with glamour. As such, making a currency that doesn't even look like something precious is irrealistic. On the other hand, inventing new names are also useless in my opinion, 'cause people have certain appearance-name correspondences. (e.g. even if you call something Zahavit instead of Gold, if it has a shimmering yellowish color, than it will be still remembered by MOST people as gold anyway, in an English based game at least...) So the point is, I think that famous fantasy settings has a deep effect on most of us, and if something would be really against some axiomes, than perhaps it would be out-of-place. (just like in marketing, creating someting really new and unique is always a high-risk strategy... it might be an incredible succes, or it just as well be a great failure.) Regardless, I believe that the game should contain some new materials, like stones, metals, crystals, or anything else, but this is off-topic.

I think the idea of a Shared Inventory is very good, and it would be proportional both in size and capacity with the number of NPCs in your party. However, I also think that it would be the right time to implement a Self Selecting Inventory. Any item you pick up will be automatically sorted into one of your sub-container. These containers should be: 0. Equipped Items: Clothing, armor, weapons, hidden weapons/ secondary weapons, as well as jewellery, and any other accessories. 1. Main Bag: Large items like weapons, armors, and devices should be placed in this. I have no problem with the grids, in fact it is the easiest way to visualize the whole capacity of your backpack. Maybe it should have 3 layers or something, and on such layer should be like 10x20 slots. 2. Pocket: It would be like a wallet or purse. Coins of all type, as well as gems, jewellery, and other small but precious things should be placed in this. The point is, that even though it has the same dimensions (grids), it would obviously smaller in game-reality. It should be on your belt of course. 3. Scroll Case: Scrolls, tomes, and any important paper should be placed into this. I imagine it somehow attached to your backpack, or on a handbag on your shoulders. 4. Potion Case: Potions, oils, and philters. I always thought that potions are as small as a nail-polish thingy so they should definitely be placed around your belt. :D 5. Key Holder: If the game uses keys than this is a must have. Aside from keys, it should also contain runestones, or any miscalleneous item. I remember how annoying it was in both BG and NWN.

I always try to make fantasy worlds as realistic as possible. I know it sounds stupid, but I believe this is only a prerequisite of completeness. I would vote for the "multiple currencies" or more precisely, the multiple changes of the same money. And yes, gold, silver, and copper are the most obvious choices, mainly because players will adept to such a well-known system quickly. To make it simple, I wouldn't make denominations, and different types of coins (like the € has specific images of it's host countries), because it would take a lot of time. Instead, it should be defined that 1 Unit of Gold = 100 Unit of Silver, and 1 Unit of Silver = 50 Copper. (On the other hand, it would make an exciting new aspect to the game, if the exchange rates would change day-to-day etc... ) But why is it good? 1. Differentiation: Naturally, one can assume that the city core of a capital is wealthier than the slums. As such, it is really irrealistic to use the same object to trade with. Copper should reflect the poor people, so mundane foods, non-magical weapons, clothing, etc should be. 2. Normalization: I also found it really irrealistic, to have 345.674 Gold pieces, because it clearly meant that I possess more money than any other NPC in the game. Not to mention, that such a great amount of gold would be impossible to contain/ carry. In my opinion, it is easier to read: 245 Gold, 124 Silver, 233 Copper. 3. Banking: As other things, this has also been mentioned here. I'm studying economics, that's why I'm really interested in this one. :D But please, imagine the new aspects of this as well. A bank could provide you with a lot of new services: exchange money, "account number" or more precisely, a safe place to hold all your valuables (I can even imagine a "debit card", an arcane stone with runes, that is in direct magical connection wtih the bank, and it can magically teleport the amount of gold, scribed in it with the hands of it's owner), trading with jewellery and precious metals/ gems, buying incredibly expensive and powerful/ unique artifacts, investing (say, you give 2.000 Gold, and you have a chance of winning back more, or less gold in the end of a given period), as well as buying property and estates. If the game is about to contain so much money (like BG), then I can imagine to "buy" Quests. (e.g. you buy a land, an estate, servants, a name or possibly a rank, than you have new responsibilities, and duties, etc...) That would be a possible way to spend your money when you have no other things to buy. P.S.: Sorry for any mistakes or repeated ideas. I just wanted to express my point of view.

I really think it depands on the "power of magic". For instance, Gandalf is in a world where magic is incredibly scarce. He himself is a member of a demigod-like race, and that's how he can perform magical deeds, which is still very small and weak compared to d&d spells and magics. But the point is, that a wizard must spend a LOT of time learning forgotten languages, experiencing with magical substances, revealing obscure secrets, etc.... All of these things takes a lot of time, whilst a fellow warrior spends all day in the gym, and he trains himself in combat. That is why they shouldn't be close to the combat capabilities of a true warrior. And it wouldn't be fair anyway. On the other hand, on possible solution could be to implement specific magical weapons to wizards. So for example, a magical staff, that causes magical damage + special effect on hit, and it can only be used in the hands of the wizard. I also believe that this is the most fitting weapon for them anyway, so why not augment it with additional combat powers?

I think that introducing "Combat Modes" especially for the primary warrior/fighter class is incredibly important. Do not consider is as a distinct Fighting Style or Stance or something, however, it's more like the way you want to solve a problem. For example: we often see in movies or series, that cunning heroes can defeat opponents, merely with a "new method" of dealing with the foes advantage. I would suggest 3 main Modes for such a character: 1. Power Attack Mode: Increased damage amount in melée, but decreased to-hit chance (e.g. THAC0). 2. Defensive Combat Mode: Increased defense, but decreased damage amount. 3. Critical Strike Mode: Increased to-hit chance, but decreased defense. Explanations: Power Attack is the perfect "way" to deal with a group of weaker creatures, those creatures that the fighter can hit anyway, so an increased damage amount would finish them off sooner. (By weak I mean low Hit Dice creatures, which especially suggests low Armor Class and so on.) Those who played BG2 must know that it is very annoying for a high level fighter to spend time on lesser foes. Defensive Combat Mode is feasible in two situations. First, if the fighter faces a lot of ranged attacks, and second, if he faces one powerful foe that has a good THAC0. (This is obvious in many cases, e.g. if one assumes this from a specific monster type ...) Anf finally, Critical Strike designed against 1vs1 fights of two powerful tank characters, and it technically make the fighter a "glass cannon". That's why he should face more than one opponent at a time. Furthermore, all these modes should evolve into more powerful forms. In BG2 we had High Level Abilities, that allowed somewhat similar options like Feats does in 3.E. So e.g. Defensive Combat Mode should be improved with Improved Defensive Combat, which decreased the penalties incured by the skill. Through this feat, one can choose Deflect Missiles, which gives extra bonuses (immunities) to missile weapons, and finally, Deflect Magic should allow supernatural or extraordinary defenses against spells and spell-like abilities. The other Modes should also be upgradeable in a similar way. For example, Power Attack eventually should cause stunning, max damage, knockback, ... etc. And Critical Strike mode should also increase the chance of critical hits in the long run. So the point is, that this would give a good flavour to the combat system, in a BG style game, and it would encourage people to play the figther once again. This would really give them a huge advantage compared to the other classes that cannot utilize the full potential of warfare.