CAPARO'S PROFILE

author=Nivlacart
I like fantasy genres, but I hate it when it's too traditional.
When some modern elements get mixed in, or when a modern setting plays out kind of fantasy-like, I find it a lot more fascinating.

I really just don't like dealing with piles of lore and city names with apostrophes in them.

Yes! Do fantasy settings really need such convoluted names and an overload of lore? Sometimes I can't help but blame Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings books and the people using it as a model on how to build fantasy settings.

Which I don't believe is a good way to build fantasy settings.

I'm with LockeZ on this one.

author=LockeZ
The "generic fantasy" option is one I like to call "era-confused fantasy" because it stems from authors not being able to decide what their setting is. They can't figure out if they want bows and arrows or guns, whether they want people to ride into battle on horses or steam-tanks, whether refrigeration exist or not. They either don't have enough writing experience to figure out how to tell their story while maintaining a single consistent setting, or don't care enough about their story to establish a setting for it in the first place. So they just kind of randomly change the world's technological level by hundreds or even thousands of years from one location to the next, based on what's convenient or seems neat for that particular scene.

^^Quoted for truth.

Edit: I guess what I'm trying to say is that the setting should be believable and be consistent. Personally for me the story is more important than the setting.

As an alternative, you could make it so that players gain access to the better skills only after they complete a trial quest (or exam).

Kind of like a rank up quest that unlocks better stuff in the shops/library; or the masters deciding that the students are skilled enough to learn the higher rank skills.

Ah! Thanks for reminding us Merlandese. All this rule making/breaking/altering had ignored the theme of RPGs.

From my perspective, in the theme of a typical swords & sorcery RPG world, it wouldn't make sense for razor sharp swords to heal enemies when the hero inflicts a slash wound on them. Some level of consistency must be maintained in order to keep the game universe believable. Eg, common sense dictates that fire will melt ice. It would be ludicrous to let fire heal ice enemies.

I understand and agree with your point that the battle system should enhance the game's theme. In this regard, the game's lore should be able to explain the player's abilities to alter the game world's rules.

Anyways, here is my simple story idea for this kind of game:

Player is the wandering soul of a deity who lost most of his/her power after losing a battle against a rival deity. The rival deity, although victorious, was severely weakened and unable to completely destroy the player's body. He/she had sealed the player's body in an ominous temple/ruins/cave/desecrated area, while taking the time to recover his/her power in order to destroy the player's body for good.

Down in the mortal world, the player's worshipers/religious order fell into decline and gradually disbanded (because player deity is unable to answer their prayers or even communicate with his/her oracle). A group of the player's former worshipers decided to become adventurers, earning a living by doing odd jobs here and there.

During one such job which involved hunting beasts that regularly attacked a farmer's livestock (or something similar), the group eventually found themselves surrounded and overwhelmed. Player's soul heard their desperate pleas to the deity they had once worshiped. Player is relieved that some mortals still remember and believe in him/her and decides to help the adventurers. Although the group cannot see the player, they inexplicably feel encouraged and confident despite their dire situation. First battle starts - tutorial battle explaining the role of the player, how the heroes are not controlled by the player, etc.

Player's first usable skill should be something that would strengthen what the adventurers have - eg, if adventurers have shields then player's first usable skill should alter the rules to double the protection of shields.

With the fall of the leader beast, the other beasts scatter. Player absorbs essence of the slain beast and becomes stronger. (may learn/unlock other skills)

Player follows adventurers and tries to influence them into working towards freeing the player's body.

But the rival deity's followers were hunting down the player deity's followers, actively trying to halt their quest to free the player's body. Rival deity was barely able to communicate with his/her oracle and thus the rival religious order survived and became the dominant force.

Later battles can introduce the rival deity, who had by now recovered enough power to influence the mortal world without actually being in the mortal world. There can be a battle between the player's heroes and the rival's heroes, with the rival deity also trying to manipulate the rules to its advantage.

Crystalgate> I agree the trick would become a rinse-and-repeat strategy if it was useful in every fight. However the requirements of pulling it off successfully are tedious. You need a puddle of water, it needs to interact with fire, the resulting mist cloud needs to be hit with lightning, and even when you do pull it off, it isn't guaranteed to be useful because enemies not in the affected area can simply run around the static cloud.

Karins> This could become really tricky to implement. But it sounds interesting. Playing as a god would be refreshing!

Hasvers> Rules about rules that manipulates rules ... ? What extra depth will this add to the game? I'm not sure it is worth the increased complexity.