RMMV Blades of Twilight [Tactical RPG]

[Frostorm]

Here I will post all the info on my project thus far...



Synopsis

• wip...

Main Features

• Grid-based tactical RPG
• Seamless combat transitions
• On map battles (no side-view battlers)
• Environmental interactions (especially elemental effects)
• Small party size (3) so combat isn't a slog
• Highly customizable characters
• 8 Weapon classes
  • Arbalist - "reloading" weapons
  • Archer - "ranged" weapons
  • Assassin - "light" weapons
  • Berserker - "heavy" weapons
  • Dragoon - "reach" weapons
  • Duelist - "versatile" weapons
  • Elementalist - "caster" weapons
  • Guardian - "shield" weapons
• 8 Elemental classes
  • Aeromancy - Wind magic
  • Cryomancy - Ice magic
  • Geomancy - Earth magic
  • Hieromancy - Holy magic
  • Hydromancy - Water magic
  • Keraunomancy - Lightning magic
  • Necromancy - Shadow magic
  • Pyromancy - Fire magic
• 224 class combinations (protagonist)
  • 64 class combinations (party members)
• Balanced stat system (all stats are useful!)
• Deep equipment system
  • Layered armor system (i.e. wear chainmail underneath plate armor)
  • Rune slots for special procs/effects
  • Gem slots for further fine-tuning
• Emphasis on the bond between weapon and wielder
  • Bind a Soul Core to a weapon and it becomes sentient
  • Soul Cores grant Weapon Unleashes
  • Soul Weapons (weapons w/ a bound core) gain XP
• Realistic Blunt/Slash/Pierce system
  • all weapons deal a different proportion of these 3 dmg types

Setting: The game takes place in a world where magic is commonplace and the civilized races are in a state of cold war. The player's starting town is a village comprised of various outcast Orc clans and Elf tribes. (more on this later) Monsters roam the land, often naturally imbued with magic as well. This will be a Dark Fantasy-themed game.

Edit: I deleted all the story stuff due to it being reworked from the ground up.

Gameplay:

• Combat is a grid-based tactical RPG and takes place on the same map you're exploring
• Players get to use a Main Action plus a Bonus Action per turn, adding greater choice & depth in battle
• Seamless transition into and out of combat with visible on map enemies (no random encounters)
• Create your own build with 16 skill trees you can invest points into
• Party size of 3, but enemy troops will usually outnumber you
• Multi-elemental and environmental interactions (think Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2)
• Use your learned skills out of combat as well to interact with the environment, Golden Sun style!
• Bind Soul Cores into your Soulforged weapons, granting it a weapon unleash (like Golden Sun)
• Action XP Gain mechanic - units gain XP after dealing damage or healing an ally
• Level 50 cap

Spoiler: Classes

Spoiler: Arbalist

Spoiler: Archer

Spoiler: Pyromancer

Spoiler: Spells & Skills

Skill System:
Each skill tree is divided into 5 tiers. Tier 1 will cost 1 JP to unlock, Tier 2 will cost 2 JP to unlock, and so on and so forth until Tier 5, which will cost 5 JP to unlock. This means it costs 15 JP to reach the max tier of a certain tree. You gain 1 JP per level, so you will be able to get max tier for any 3 trees of your choosing. This leaves 5 JP remaining, which you can spend to learn a special tier called "Spellweaving" which contains multi-element spells and hybrid physical/magical skills. You aren't forced to follow this layout, you can spread your JP into many different schools/disciplines if you wish.

Each tier will contain 3 skills. The skill on the left is usually a utility skill. The skill in the middle is usually an offensive ability. Lastly, the skill on the right is always a passive. Each skill will cost 1 SP to learn, which is a different resource than JP. You gain 3 SP per level. SP can either be spent to learn skills or on raw stat boosts.





Skills that can be used both in and out of combat: (these are all tier 1 skills)

• Archer: Mark
  • During combat: Increases the target's chance to suffer a Critical Hit by 15% for 4 turns. Also reveals info on the target and adds it to the Catalog. (this is basically a Scan skill)
  • Out of combat: Reveals hidden objects nearby.
• Berserker: Crush
  • During combat: Reduces the target’s Armor by an amount equal to half your Strength for 4 turns.
  • Out of combat: Breaks down boulders in the way. (like Rock Smash in Pokemon)
• Duelist: Low Cut
  • During combat: Snares the target in place for 1 turn and reduces the target’s Speed by 50% for 3 turns thereafter. (think of this like Improved Hamstring in WoW)
  • Out of combat: Cuts down certain obstacles. (this is basically HM01 in Pokemon)
• Guardian: Provoke
  • During combat: Forces enemies to attack the user for 2 turns.
  • Out of combat: Allows for an extra dialogue option in certain situations.
• Wind: Gust
  • During combat: Pushes the target back by 2 tiles.
  • Out of combat: Blows away certain obstacles or puts out a flame.
• Ice: Freeze
  • During combat: Snares the target in place for 1 turn and applies Chill to the target. (Chill reduces speed by 25% per stack, 4 stacks = completely frozen)
  • Out of combat: Freeze puddles of water. (like in Golden Sun)
• Lightning: Flash
  • During combat: Blinds the target for 4 turns. (-50% Hit chance)
  • Out of combat: Lights up dark areas. (exactly like Pokemon's Flash)
• Earth: Tar
  • During combat: Delays the target’s turn and slows their Speed by 50% for 4 turns. Fire attacks will cause the target to burn.
  • Out of combat: Can be used to create a flammable tile. Required for certain mechanics.
• Water: Drown/Douse/Drench/Submerge? (need to decide on a name)
  • During combat: Silences the target for 2 turns. Applies Damp to the target for 4 turns.
  • Out of combat: Fills containers with water or puts out a flame.
• Fire: Ignite
  • During combat: Burns the target for 3 turns. (DoT)
  • Out of combat: Melts ice or burns certain obstacles. (i.e. use on a torch on the wall)

Spoiler: Stats/Attributes

HP = HP (Health points)
MP = MP (Mana points)
TP = FP (Focus points)

• Strength
  • Increases physical damage dealt (way more than Dexterity's effectiveness)
  • Increases Critical Strike multiplier by 1% per point
• Intellect
  • Increases magical damage dealt
  • Increases spell Crit chance by 0.1% per point
  • Increases spell Critical Strike multiplier by 1% per point
• Dexterity
  • Increases Focus Regen, Crit, & Hit chance by 0.1% per point
  • Increases physical damage dealt slightly (ignores armor)
• Constitution
  • Increases Max HP by 3 per point
  • Reduces physical damage taken
  • Reduces chance to receive a Critical Strike by 0.1% per point
  • Increases Block chance with a shield by 0.1% per point
• Willpower
  • Increases Max MP by 2 per point
  • Reduces magical damage taken
  • Increases spell Hit & Resist chance by 0.1% per point
• Speed
  • Hastens turn order
  • Increases starting Focus
  • Increases Evasion & Counter chance by 0.1% per point

Spoiler: Armor & Augments

• Light- No Movement penalty
  • 10% total resistances
  • high WIL but low CON
• Medium- Reduces Movement by -1
  • 30% total resistances
  • mixed CON/WIL
• Heavy- Reduces Movement by -2
  • 50% total resistances
  • high CON but low WIL

*All units have a base Movement range of 4.

Soul Cores & Soulforged Weapons:
You will be able to craft "Soulforged" weapons, which are weapons that can accept a Soul Core. Soul Cores are obtained from mini-bosses in dungeons and are basically very strong monsters. Binding a Soul Core to your weapon will not only grant it a weapon unleash but also allow it to grow in power alongside you. The bond between weapon and wielder is an emphasized aspect of the game. The weapon becomes sentient once a Soul Core is bound to it. This means you will have random/evented dialogue and banter with your weapon. You can also enter your weapon's inner world, which is a 50-floor dungeon. If you get to the final floor and defeat your weapon's avatar, you unlock the ability to summon the avatar in battle.

Augments:
Certain armors can be layered. For example, a "Steel Breastplate" would have an augment slot called "Hauberk/Shirt" which means you can wear a Hauberk (mail armor) or Shirt (cloth armor) underneath. These items can also be worn by themselves instead of being used as an augment, you decide if it's worth the Speed penalty.

Weapons will have 2 augment slots:

• Gems: generally grants raw stats so you can fine-tune your character's stat allocation
• Runes: includes non-stat bonuses, which can be passive buffs or unique procs
• 2-handed weapons would have 2 of each augment type but still only 1 Soul Core

Other:
I forgot to mention Dual Wielding is a thing.

• Grants an extra attack for not just your normal attack, but also ALL physical skills
• Dual Wielding incurs a -15% Hit chance penalty and -25% Focus generation rate

Directional Modifiers:

• Attacking from the front
  • -10% damage dealt
• Attacking from the side
  • ±0% damage dealt
• Attacking from the back
  • +10% damage dealt

 

[Kupotepo]

Thank you for sharing the game plan with us. Wow, I thought I write a lot.

Slavery is legal here as they often purchase Dwarf slaves from the Orcs.

Thank you for not dancing around the big elephant.

High Elven

Do you have only one type of elf in your world? Nevermind

Like the Wild Elves

Since you present the worldbuilding, how about the general geography of your world? Mountain, Ocean, and Forest?

 

[Frostorm]

Thank you for not dancing around the big elephant.

Lol yeah, I'm going for cultural realism here. There are other gritty aspects to my game's world I haven't mentioned yet. I just gotta flesh out more of the story 1st.

Also, I will eventually upload screenshots and videos now that I got the main combat system working.
Here are a few teasers:

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

Sounds very interesting. I like how you've basically taken common/traditional fantasy ideas and smacked them around a bit. I really look forward to a demo, and I expect a great story.

 

[Frostorm]

Sounds very interesting. I like how you've basically taken common/traditional fantasy ideas and smacked them around a bit. I really look forward to a demo, and I expect a great story.

Thank you, I'm aiming for a playable demo by the end of this month.

I'm really trying to make the protagonist's village like a "Konoha" from Naruto in the sense that it's a coalition of various clans/tribes that came together and formed a village despite their differences.

Edit: Btw, do you guys think I should include or exclude the Nephilim and Dragonborn racial choices? I only added them because a friend of mine mentioned he prefers to play Human looking protagonists. Obviously these 2 choices don't mesh with the story as well and would add more work on my part.

Imo, my initial intentions were to have the majority of the world be unwelcoming towards you. Shops in Human towns/cities will be priced higher due to your race. Guards will not let you thru certain areas. Even the Orc and Elf cities will see you as an abomination due to your hybrid heritage. (but perhaps your best friends can help with that) This is meant to be a HARD game, though I could add an EZ mode in the options lol.

 

[Kupotepo]

Btw, do you guys think I should include or exclude the Nephilim and Dragonborn racial choices?

It is depended on you if you are still energize, you might keep expanding. If you would to just get over with, you do not have to it.

 

[Frostorm]

It is depended on you if you are still energize, you might keep expanding. If you would to just get over with, you do not have to it.

But do you think it fits into the story or does it seem forced?

Edit: I added some plot points to the end of my OP.

 

[Kupotepo]

Alanis' mother, an accomplished mage specializing in Holy & Shadow magic had also extracted the soul of the dragon, sealing it within a mystical orb.

You tied the Dragonborn races to this backstory.

Are the Nephilim race is similar to the fallen angels?

I think for the mechanics' purpose, those races are really interesting to play. But, for the story's perspective, you have to justify those races because those two races are a really powerful race. I will say maybe for now.

 

[Frostorm]

I guess I'll keep them for now, but probably won't work on them until later. Thanks, I didn't even realize I could tie the dragon soul Alanis' mother capture to the Dragonborn race! The Nephilim race is basically half Angel half Demon, so yes very powerful. The only way I could justify their existence is either thru Prof. Zaos' experiments for perhaps they just found some random baby one day that happened to be that race lol.

 

[Kupotepo]

@Frostorm, what form of governments in those nations? I feel like you are going to create nations' operations differently for each nation.
It is not important for the story, I just wonder.

 

[Frostorm]

@Kupotepo I'm about to upload the world map, just gimme like 20 mins.
Ok, to answer your question:

• Ainu'thalas - Theocracy, ruled by a High Council of *very* old Elven Priestesses. (females in Elven society typically have more say in things)
• Human Kingdom A - Monarchy, ruled by a King who passes the crown down his lineage.
• Human Kingdom B - Also a Monarchy, but true governmental power/control is in the hands of a council of Archmages. The king is just a figurehead.
• United Hordes of Zog - Zog uses the term "United" to make it seem like his constituents matter when in reality he has absolute power and control. So basically a tyranny.

Also, things like this do matter to the story in my opinion.
For example, there will be a side story where Zog is trying to collude with the King of [Kingdom A] to form an alliance in order to wage war and eventually defeat their long hated Elven rivals. Zog wouldn't be able to accomplish this as easily if Kingdom A's government was controlled by more than 1 person.

Oh, and if anyone can help me come up with names for Human Kingdom A & B, that'd be awesome. I'm getting rather sick of calling them that lol.

Edit: Doh, I just realized there exists a "Games in Development" board. I wonder if I should've posted this over there instead...oh wells!

 

[Kupotepo]

@Frostorm, ok, the worldbuilding is important to your story. That is great to know.
In your map, I wonder why didn't United Hordes of Zog and High Elven nation of Ainu'thalas invade the Myth Zultash land?

Yeah, that is true about the "Games in Development" board. You can inform the moderator if you would like to move. The rules changed in the past.

 

[Frostorm]

@Frostorm, ok, the worldbuilding is important to your story. That is great to know.
In your map, I wonder why didn't United Hordes of Zog and High Elven nation of Ainu'thalas invade the Myth Zultash land?

Because it's hidden in the mountains. Once I'm done with the village map I can show you. It's basically surrounded by mountains on 3 sides. So it's technically considered a "vale", making it a natural fortress. People only learned of its location recently, which is why assassins were sent to kill Vulca and steal the Soulforged blueprints. Another reason they don't invade, assuming they can find the place, is because the village is the source of the highest quality enchanted weapons and armor available. (I've mentioned that is their main export) Most nations have an arrangement for goods to be imported on a regular basis, and people rarely mess with the status quo if it's working for them. Lastly, who'd want to attack a city full of pseudo-immortal beings? lol

Don't get me wrong though, if either the Orc or Elf nations decided to attack in full force, they would definitely be able to wipe out Myth Zultash with sheer numbers. This is why the village council is so worried about their economy. They need to survive and serve a purpose or risk being invaded.

The white area in between the Orc and Elf lands is also home to the Wild Elf tribes and nomadic Orc tribes, so I imagine the soldiers would be upset if ordered to kill their own race. The Wild Elves and Orc Nomads have good relations with each other due to their fondness for hunting and nature in general. Though they are different enough that they don't want to live together. The terrain there is mostly forest and plains, where the Wild Elves prefer to stay in the forests and the nomadic Orcs tend to stay in the plains, only meeting with each other to hunt and trade.

 

[Kupotepo]

@Frostorm, no rush ok. Take your time, ok. I am just really excited because your world is very similar to mine.

The terrain there is mostly forest and plains, where the Wild Elves prefer to stay in the forests and the nomadic Orcs tend to stay in the plains, only meeting with each other to hunt and trade.

Ok, I get it now. It is like an international special trading area.

Most nations have an arrangement for goods to be imported on a regular basis, and people rarely mess with the status quo if it's working for them. Lastly, who'd want to attack a city full of pseudo-immortal beings? lol

Whatever flow your boats just excited to know.

 

[Frostorm]

Your question is a good one though. It really made me think about why they don't attack. I will probably add a side story where you learn that the Orcish Horde is planning to invade and conquer Myth Zultash.

Oh, and those colors on the world map are just the nations' borders. The setting is not like modern-day, it's more medieval so the cities and towns are spaced far apart. There is a lot of empty space throughout the lands. An army would take a while to march from a capital city all the way to Myth Zultash. Some mages can use teleportation, but the range is limited and they cannot teleport entire armies.

 

[Kupotepo]

The setting is not like modern-day, it's more medieval so the cities and towns are spaced far apart. There is a lot of empty space throughout the lands

I understand it is not real, but I have to imagine those things you referring to. I forget that some countries in your map are pacifist while another nation is militaristic.

 

[Frostorm]

I updated the world map to give Humans more land.

 

[Kupotepo]

Is the reason behind of why you give more land to the human kingdom? I just ask for fun.

 

[Frostorm]

Because Humans have a habit of making babies? lol

Edit: Zog renamed Skar (if anyone has a better suggestion for the Orc Warchief's name, please let me know, thx)

Edit2: Added more characters.

Edit3: Which name sounds better? Zog, Zaard, or Skar? His surname will be Skullgrim.

Edit4: Added Granny Zaela and Village's History: "The Great Blight"

Edit5: Formatting and added Archery & Dueling skills. (other trees are done but I'm too tired to type it out rn...)

 

[Kupotepo]

Wow, you are really organized. Do you draw your own pictures for icons? It is looking unique and I see you pick the taller characters from the standard RPG Maker MV.