Idea for an MMO-esque forum game, brainstorming welcome

[Silverdream]

I want to be the Lion King.

You'll be nothing and like it.

[Olothontor]

So Ross, Arky, and I will take this seriously, period.

So be it.

I want to say one thing, Arkbrik-

You have my sword.

... And my axe.

So, how about maps? You're talking about regions, and I'm imagining a sort of hex-map style system, which I'd be happy to create for you should you wish it. Claiming territories via throne rooms grants you one Hex (or region) and then annexing other regions is simply a matter of gathering the support or taking them by force- whichever the player chooses.

I agree with Ross in that they seem a little baseline and open to player abuse (especially with these forums), but I suppose flexibility for those with an open mind comes with a price. That being said, players will need to be watched keenly for any misdemeanors or unreasonable abuses of the rules.

I kinda like the rules for region attributes, but I feel like that's a lot to keep track of for the GM. Perhaps have multiple game masters, kinda like having multiple servers or "worlds" in real MMOs? Perhaps even come up with rules for inter-world relations and interactions. On the other hand, that splits up our already limited playerbase by however many GMs we end up enlisting, so perhaps not the best approach if you want lots of things happening on a single world.

[mgb519]

@Ross_Varn

Well, this is the foundation. Since you can choose any skill you want for your character there should be plenty of things developing as the game goes on. I think it will depend on the players to make things interesting as much as the GM.

@mgb519

Thanks! It looks like DF because, well, DF is aiming to become this sort of game. But I won't drive myself insane by including tons of different ores, stones, trees, etc...

Technically, DF came first. To that end, let's make this one BETTER.
...maybe we could find out who knows how to program and surpass the limits of "forum game."
Feel free to acknowledge my insanity.

[thade]

I want to say one thing, Arkbrik-

You have my sword.

... And my axe.

And my bow.

This all sounds very interesting. You are defiantely going to need a spreadsheet. The rules for skills are very similar to my advanced roll to dodge rules, which I can post if someone wants me to.

If you need help, I have some experience making rpgs. And a little programming, but nothing this advanced, unfortunately.

Edit: 300 posts!

[Ross_Varn]

Aha! Ahaha! Ahahaha! The trio! Again! This will end well.

Let's talk simplification. Are there slots in resources that you could condense?

[Arkbrik]

@Olothontor

Thanks! A hex map would be a good way to go about it. Having multiple worlds would, as you said, probably stretch the playerbase too thin. But you could play the game on several forums and... no I'll stop here.

I have a program on my computer called Cinnamon Rolls which is made to keep track of Roll To Dodge games - all characters, all locations, all items, etc. I think it will be useful.

@mgb519

DF had the idea first, I'm just jumping ahead. And as a wise woman once said to me, "Be insane, it explains most things and makes life much simpler".

@thade

Thanks! I'd love to see your advanced Roll To Dodge rules. My current idea is that the GM rolls a D6, adds the skill bonus, and looks up the result in the appropriate skill chart. Here's woodcutting as an example:

1: You cut down a tree but it sphincters apart and is useless.
2: You fail to cut down any trees.
3: You cut down 1 tree.
4: You cut down 2 trees.
5: You cut down 3 trees.
6: You cut down 4 trees.
7: You cut down 5 trees.
8: You cut down 6 trees.
9: You cut down 7 trees.
10: You cut down 8 trees.

@Ross_Varn

The resources are pretty condensed already. Flux stone could be removed, I guess, but then you'd only have one type of metal. I think soil nutrition is the least necessary as it is only used for farming and probably hard to balance.

[kerlc]

I want to say one thing, Arkbrik-

You have my sword.

... And my axe.

And my bow.

and my vuvuzela

[Rody]

I think everything on the whole is a good plan, although I think you really should have a somewhat fleshed out world, so that we have some basis to RP off of.
or things like that _could_ develop on their own, I don't know how things will work.

A nice idea might be to have Dwarf Fortress generate a map, and then using that as the world, as it creates fairly interesting and varied maps.

[Olothontor]

Alright! I'll see if I can get a map in the works.

@thade

Thanks! I'd love to see your advanced Roll To Dodge rules. My current idea is that the GM rolls a D6, adds the skill bonus, and looks up the result in the appropriate skill chart. Here's woodcutting as an example:

1: You cut down a tree but it sphincters apart and is useless.
2: You fail to cut down any trees.
3: You cut down 1 tree.
4: You cut down 2 trees.
5: You cut down 3 trees.
6: You cut down 4 trees.
7: You cut down 5 trees.
8: You cut down 6 trees.
9: You cut down 7 trees.
10: You cut down 8 trees.

The problem here is that with a high enough skill there's no chance at all for you to fail to cut down trees; with a related skill of 2, you will ALWAYS be able to cut down at least 1 tree.

Not necessarily a major issue, but expect that to be taken advantage of. One solution is to make it so that things that you make out of wood require a decent amount of wood, so one tree every other day will only get you so far. That way someone will have to actually dedicate points into that skill in order to make it actually efficient, as opposed to now where you can assign 2 to Profession: Lumberjack and be set with a lot of the basics within a single in-game day.

Just a thought.

[thade]

Aha! Ahaha! Ahahaha! The trio! Again! This will end well.

@thade

Thanks! I'd love to see your advanced Roll To Dodge rules. My current idea is that the GM rolls a D6, adds the skill bonus, and looks up the result in the appropriate skill chart. Here's woodcutting as an example:

1: You cut down a tree but it sphincters apart and is useless.
2: You fail to cut down any trees.
3: You cut down 1 tree.
4: You cut down 2 trees.
5: You cut down 3 trees.
6: You cut down 4 trees.
7: You cut down 5 trees.
8: You cut down 6 trees.
9: You cut down 7 trees.
10: You cut down 8 trees.

That's fairly similar to what I used, I think... It's been a while since I played. I'll post the rules soon, I have to go to a class right now.

Also, is this "cinnamon rolls" program free? sounds like a life saver.

[Ross_Varn]

Isn't it odd how brainstorming in the shower always leads to interesting ideas that you can't bloody write down?

Some ideas for:

Characters:
Skills- 10 points to assign, some basic ideas. Skills would give bonuses to specific, detailed actions that your character is good at. A player's title would be their best trained skill.
Prefixes- Dabbling: 0, Apprentice: 1, [None] :2 Adept: 3, Master: 4
Skills-
Combat; Swordsman[melee], Archer[ranged], Mage[magic]
Tactics; Commander[heat of battle], Tactician[prebattle], Noble [town relations]
Crafting; Craftsman[general], Carpenter[construction], Ironsmith[weapons]

Other, player imagined skills, would split off from these, like Hunter[vs monsters], Shopkeeper[selling bonus], Healer[magic heal], and Thief[stealing].

So, a character creation would look like;

Ironsmith Miles
12 HP
Swordsman [+2]
Adept Ironsmith [+3]
Apprentice Carpenter [+1]
Farmer [+2]

In game, players would need to reference the OP to find their stats. Instead, the in-game character sheet would track their current stuff, like;

Ironsmith Miles
10/12 HP
Iron Sword, Rations, 20 Gold, Health Potion, Head of the Monster Nrio

Towns:
Town Screens- A list of buildings and inhabitants of a town, along with it's resources and loot.

Town of Brigstone: Forest
Keep- Noble Lomar
House- Ironsmith Miles
House- Swordsman Archon, Baker Brisit
Walled
Smithy- Weapons, Iron
Warehouse- Grain, Food, Iron
Millhouse- Grain

Monsters: Legendary beasts intent on devouring the whole of mankind. Determined by the GM.

Beast of Lorgaina
The Dragon Borm
Warchild Mos
Banshee
Giant Lizard

and all the rest.

Combat: Now needs to be decided. There are several directions that could be taken with this, from a simple head-to-head rolloff to use rolls vs. defense rolls.

Relative, death. How would we deal with it? Players could respawn, but not in a position where they could continue the fight, or simply die and be forced to create a new character to continue.

Inactive: Players would use 1 action a turn, doing their titled skill, unless they are attacked, in which case, they use all their actions in combat as usual.

The Map:
Olothonor! To arms! We require your spriting skillsets!

Operating off a hex system, the region squares would have to contain town, player, active combat, and region information.

That's all I've got at the moment.

[mgb519]

@Olothontor "Be insane, it explains most things and makes life much simpler".

[Ogel96]

Can I come too?



I do take this sort of thing seriously.

Cerulean Mage Geoffrey
9 HP
Mage[+3]
Librarian[+2]
Historian[+2]
Scribe[+1]

And a Town to add.

High Redicule: Mountain
Library: Cerulean Mage Geoffrey
Academy: High Mage Lord Venfrikus
Walled, Magically
Shops: Various Supplies
Library: Books, Maps, Information
Fountain:Water

[Ross_Varn]

Well, we aren't starting the game yet. Those are just examples...

[Ogel96]

Oops, Sorry.


Well, I'll try to think of ways to help, I guess.