RPG Maker Forums

I'm looking for opinions on something. My only real experience with RPGs is the pokemon games, so I'm drawing some inpiration from them. I have 12 heroes based on the zodiac signs split into four partie based on the four elements fire, earth, air, and water. (Each sign has an element, three signs per each.) I'm creating weapons and skills and adding different elements to them. I have the four elements of the zodiac signs (fire, earth, air, and water) and as I go I'm adding new elements related to those.


I came to a total of 15:


Physical, Fire, Light, Thunder


Earth, Stone, Poison, Time


Air, Lust, Flying


Water, Ice, Dark, Energy

I was talking to my friend who a long time Final Fantasy player and he was telling me that was way too many. That typical RPGs just have four standard elements, although those element might differ. Things like poison don't have their own elements, they just exist as states.


Even before he said that, I was thinking about merging Stone and Earth as they are very similar. I had intended them to behave like Rock and Grass from pokemon. I've also been going back and forth about having Time as it's own element. I thought it would be a unique element. It's intended for the Capricorn based hero as that zodiac's corresponding god is Kronos, the god of time. I could also have enemies that have a degree of influence on time or could be resistant to time-based attack and skills. Lust was intended for the Libra-based hero whose corresponding god is Aphrodite, with the same idea as Time and Capricorn.


Putting thought into it, I know these are the base elements I need for the characters to work how I want them to:


Physical, Fire, Light, Thunder, Earth, Air, Water, Ice, Dark


That's 9. My friend said that's still too many.


Light goes with the Leo hero, as Leo's god is Apollo, the god of the Sun.


Sagittarius has Zeus, so there's Thunder.


Ice isn't necessary, but I feel it's a natural extension of Water.


Cancer is in the domain of the moon, so by extension she represents night and darkness, therefore her element is Dark.


I wanted the extra elements to help give the heroes their own identities.


My question is, is it too much?


Is 15 elements too much for a player to handle? I know I can handle it. I have ways of making them work with each other and with enemies to where they won't require a lot of effort to use, but still factor into play strategies. But he's got me worried that people are going to see the amount of elements and not want to bother it.


On a related note, he says 12 heroes without a central protagonist is too much, too. I knew that going into it, so that's why I split them into four parties and designed the characters to work together in a way that will feel like just controlling 4 characters down their own paths. What do you all think?