Heralds of the Dying Age: Design Forum

[Guest]

Heralds of the Dying Age is a roleplaying game I came up with some time ago after a story idea I had grew out of control. Suddenly too big to fit into a novel, the world I'd created looked like it would just sit around in the back of my mind collecting dust.

So basically, I'm giving it away.

More than one writer (or at least, more than this one writer) can handle alone, I decided to put my roleplaying and storyline ideas surrounding this particular game on the boards where other writers and role players could put their ideas to what I've already come up with. In the end, we will have collectively created something, it's worth determined by those who play it.

For those of you who do, I hope you enjoy participating.

 

[cats]

Well based on your dice page were you mentioned two sets of three skills, I assume the mental skills are used for some sort of magic. What sort of magic set up are you likely to use?

My personal favorite is comon in video games, the MP set up were as you advance you gain more and more MP so spells that were ocne hard to cast become eassy to cast. How ever thsi moves away from the book form of magic. And it becomes possible for one character to gain the abilty to cast even the most pwoerful spell numerous times.

Then you have the slot system such as DnD uses, were each spell has a level or prehaps a form such as water and you can only cast a certin number of spells for each slot type.

Then you have the gear set up, as I am going to call it. You need casting gems or something similar. Each gem has a certin amount of power and then slowly recharges say over a day, never able to gain more pwoer then a set amount. Further more spell can only be cast from a single gem at a time meaning, you can carry two gems with 100 power each but you have to use them for two seprate spells ratehr then one really strong spell for 200.

Then we go into spell aquireing. Which I supose should be talked about latter

 

[Guest]

Dice System: Character Building

Well, since the dice system has received it's fair share of exposure, I figure I'll get right down to the mechanic with little prelude. The only reason I'm listing the dice system is because writers work better with some type of guideline. Knowing the checks and balances system beforehand gives writers and players a good idea of where and how well their ideas fit into the game world. This way, anyone interested can simply be creative instead of worrying how much charisma they need to successfully outwit an elf with a language modifier of whatever.

Simply put, by getting the math out of the way, we can just focus on creating.

Dice system is based on multiples of six. Essentially, six of anything is a complete set. Bear this in mind and you'll be creating spells, skills and abilities in no time.

Character stats are a set of six distinct abilities. They can be grouped, as several are similar to one another, but each is in a class of it's own.

Strength: Obvious, but in the interest of completeness I'll describe it anyhoo. Essentially, this is Physical Power. This determines what strength-based skills can be learned and what strength-based equipment can be worn.

Dexterity: This determines what dexterity-based skills can be learned and what dexterity-based equipment can be used. Dexterity is Physical Speed and also determines accuracy with certain weapons and spells.

Constitution: This determines what...I think we're getting the idea here. Constitution is Physical Resistance. This stat determines a character's hit points as well as their own natural resistance to physical injury.

Intelligence: The flip side of the coin in character creation, this stat defines Mental Power. The higher this number, the more powerful spells can be learned and equipment used.

Perception: Mental Speed. This one doesn't get much attention in RPG's so I'll go in depth. Simply put, just as a strong fighter needs a degree of speed to best apply their strength, a spellcaster can't be scracthing their head trying to remember an incantation or fumbling over the correct pronunciation of arcane words. Whereas Intelligence determines the punch behind a spell, Perception determines how accurate it is. Most spells do exponentially less damage if they do not strike their target directly. For example if a "Seizure" spell strikes the brain or heart, it causes mortal damage. If it strikes the jaw, the target develops an annoying facial twitch. Perception also determines the accuracy of certain "physical injury" weapons like arrows, darts and whips.

Willpower: This doesn't receive mich attention either but if you've been paying attention thus far, you see the pattern. Willpower is Mental Resistance and determines a character's natural defense against spells and charms.

Essentially, the stat system is designed to allow for the greatest flexibility in designing characters. Fighters have their strength, speed and toughness in combat whereas spellcasters have their intellect, wit, and willpower to aid them. If you prefer theives, perception and dexterity are a good combination or perhaps intelligence and dexterity if you like a little spellcasting in your theiving.

In character creation, players choose a primary stat and a secondary stat. The primary stat increases at three times the speed of all other stats, the secondary at twice the speed of all others. So....

Primary stat: +1 per level
Secondary Stat: +1 per 2 levels
Base Stats: +1 per 3 levels

This creates a nice combination of "Power Leveling" that computer and console RPGers have come to enjoy, and "Stat Building", the reason pen and paper RPGers come back week after week and month after month. If you're a spellcaster and want that Signature Battle Axe, then you have to either wait or sacrifice an item that increases your mental power for one that increases your strength. Balanced characters are definately in a class all their own, but players who shoot for balance are going to have to sacrifice effectiveness for versatility, subtracting points from primary and secondary stats.

Classes are based upon what primary and secondary stats a player chooses.

Standard Fighter: Strength = Primary / Dexterity = Secondary

This character can wield powerful weapons due to his high strength and is a force to be reckoned with in close quarters thanks to decent speed. Of course, this comes at the expense of resistance to injury, mental accuity, and intellect. Strong as this character is, he can still be dealth with by a player that knows these weaknesses and exploits them.

This post on character building is lengthy, but since many of you want to create that uber-character, I figured I'd let you know what you were up against as far as the game mechanic goes.

Next Post: (from me anyway) Combat System.

 

[cats]

As I see it your going to run into a problem latter on. If a character is say level 60, (A very high amount), they have 60 in there primary stat, 30 in there secondary and 20.

You could simply not let them get this far ofcoarse. I'm not sure how high your going to be able to level to. But if you do go this high that gap could pose a serious problem. Especilly if say your primary was Constution. If thats the case no physical attack could harm you, assumeing you chose gear to enhance that, and your secondary trait isn't as useful as it once was, so even if that second trait was will power. A decent spell caster could still destroy you with little effort, furtehr more the group most likely to use physical attacks, fighters, how offense roughly equivolent to your defense nullifying both stats and puting you on equal footing. As a result you gain no ground on physical attackers and those who avoid meele combat still hold a strong ground agaisnt you.

As you noted the Balance chara are in a league of tehre own because they can beat any none balanced chara with realative ease if they take the time to plan properly. The characeter that balances threw gear ends up with one stat at sixty and the rest at least 40.

Any how I feel this set up makes equipment more important then the base character.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I was playing with the math on that. Originally, I was thinking of simply using dice rolls.

The Original system went like this...

Every level, the player receives three points...two for their primary stats, one for their secondary. Then, the player rolls a die (six-sided of course) and applies the resulting number to their remaining stats. No stat could receive more than three points per level so even if you rolled a perfect six every time you level, you can only raise three stats to the maximum. If you do that, then you create a wildly unbalanced character (the one my new leveling system would undoubtedly create).

I think I'll stick to the original leveling system. The new one does cause some problems.

 

[cats]

Yes I can see the system is as good as it going to get at the moment, it can be revised latter. How ever tehre is another way that the atributes you pick at the start could become more of an important factor.

Have each ability have two skill lists. The primary ability detimines a list of skills that expands with level, say sword techniques for power, and range techniques for dexterity, and defensive techniques for constiution.

Then your secondary skill deteimines another technique but this is a single technique that is present trhew out the entire game, it may improve but essentially the same. For example Perception can be ambideterity, inteligence can be quicker casting times, will power, could be a specil mvoe that cuts damge or the effect of a spell in half.

Abilities like this linked to stats would reinforce picking certin stats as a primary for your base over another. Most Archers would Choose dexterity as the base rather then increase it latter on with a simple item, becaus ethey want the range attack list how ever flexability is still tehre because they then choose a secondary stat with something else they like.

 

[Guest]

I was thinking of using two types of skills. Fixed and expandable. Fixed skills are learned based upon a stat level like "Extra Damage" being directly linked to strength. As Strength increases, so does the extra damage inflicted. Something like a weapon proficciency would have to be increased through use, not just leveling. Just because a character gets stronger doesn't neccessarity make them a better swordsman, using a sword does. I figure with two types of skills, one based on leveling, and one based on using the skill, characters will have something to do while waiting to get to that next level.