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[Draignean]

I have one-half the skills for one of five sections in one of four main skill branches done for Small Mercies.

This is going to take longer than I initially calculated.


Is it strange that I now want to read a fictional book that I made up solely for the purpose of quoting for flavor text?

[SeriousConcentrate]

If the book is good, then no.

[Draignean]

I have no idea. It's basically Sun Tzu's Art of War, as written by giant sentient housecats.

[SeriousConcentrate]

...Well, it should be interesting then, to say the least. There's probably a chapter on tossing enemies into the air and batting them around, I'd imagine.

[Draignean]

...Well, it should be interesting then, to say the least. There's probably a chapter on tossing enemies into the air and batting them around, I'd imagine.

No, it's more filled with sociopathic and Machiavellian musings on the nature of the world and how to take advantage of the current situation. Excerpts:

"To achieve victory, one must first strike the target. This is the first lesson of both life and war. The lowliest novice and the highest of masters must pay heed to this rule." - Arkan's Pillars; a manuscript espousing the ideal forms of Neo-Cat conduct.

"Most see a small thing, such as a knife or a worker, as a tool. Nothing more. They are wrong. Anything that is seen as a tool becomes a tool, inanimate, static, and useful only when used with intent. But think of this; is our heart not simply a tool to pump blood? But if that is so, is it only useful when we think of it, only animate when we make it so? No, it is a part of us, living because of our will, and through this it becomes an extension of our will. Apply this lesson to all things, and recognize that the objects that surround us are not limited to simply being made useful by our will, but can be animated as a part of our will." - Arkan's Pillars

"There are four claws on each paw, and each claw may serve its own purpose. Take a lesson from the humans, and watch their fingers. Do they act together, always moving in one motion? No; Each acts differently, a coordinated chaos that allows them greater strength and skill. We are no different. Consider each task that you confront, and consider both the ways to divide the task, and the ways in which you can divide yourself. Master the ability to take a problem apart, but also train to take yourself apart in order to deal with each piece simultaneously. This is the only way in which we will advance."  - Arkan's Pillars

[SeriousConcentrate]

As some who's read flipped through the Art of War it could be cool to see a different species's take on it.

[Tiruin]

As some who's read flipped through the Art of War it could be cool to see a different species's take on it.

Well I read that through and through and...

Making your own lore to quote around is ~fun~ 

Good work Draig!

[IronyOwl]

Seems normal to me. I wanna read that too.

[Fniff]

Right, so my brother gave me an idea for a magic system. Players do the game for a while at the start without doing any magic. Then, they get semi-possessed by these entities that give them the ability to use magical like things. However, they have their own agendas and ideas. Similar to Sin-Eaters and Geists, but slightly more abstract and not focused on death. The players also don't choose them: they are created based off the players actions. The players have to personally ask the entities for the thing they're going to use ("I need a fireball to hit that guy on the face and set him on fire!"), but since they have their own thoughts and agendas (And simply so that players are stopped from using overpowered things) the entities can refuse the players.

I'm still figuring out the system. Perhaps the entities could be controlled by a group of antagonist players who approve or deny the requests. One thing is that having a magic system too open can be a bad thing. Perhaps at a certain point the players can choose from a list of several entities like in Eternal Darkness that all have their own themes and focuses, like a spirit of machinery and electricity, for instance.

Thoughts?

[Person]

Right, so my brother gave me an idea for a magic system. Players do the game for a while at the start without doing any magic. Then, they get semi-possessed by these entities that give them the ability to use magical like things. However, they have their own agendas and ideas. Similar to Sin-Eaters and Geists, but slightly more abstract and not focused on death. The players also don't choose them: they are created based off the players actions. The players have to personally ask the entities for the thing they're going to use ("I need a fireball to hit that guy on the face and set him on fire!"), but since they have their own thoughts and agendas (And simply so that players are stopped from using overpowered things) the entities can refuse the players.

I'm still figuring out the system. Perhaps the entities could be controlled by a group of antagonist players who approve or deny the requests. One thing is that having a magic system too open can be a bad thing. Perhaps at a certain point the players can choose from a list of several entities like in Eternal Darkness that all have their own themes and focuses, like a spirit of machinery and electricity, for instance.

Thoughts?

Perhaps the entities do have magical limits, but cannot, or refuse to tell their host/owner/whatever what they are?

[Tiruin]

Right, so my brother gave me an idea for a magic system. Players do the game for a while at the start without doing any magic. Then, they get semi-possessed by these entities that give them the ability to use magical like things. However, they have their own agendas and ideas. Similar to Sin-Eaters and Geists, but slightly more abstract and not focused on death. The players also don't choose them: they are created based off the players actions. The players have to personally ask the entities for the thing they're going to use ("I need a fireball to hit that guy on the face and set him on fire!"), but since they have their own thoughts and agendas (And simply so that players are stopped from using overpowered things) the entities can refuse the players.

I'm still figuring out the system. Perhaps the entities could be controlled by a group of antagonist players who approve or deny the requests. One thing is that having a magic system too open can be a bad thing. Perhaps at a certain point the players can choose from a list of several entities like in Eternal Darkness that all have their own themes and focuses, like a spirit of machinery and electricity, for instance.

Thoughts?

This is actually something I'm employing in my RtD, and I find it as a great idea (well, as far as my own hypotheses and simulations go). Problem is if you DO choose to give control to players as 'antagonists' or in fact, rather characterize those entities with their own personalities or goals.

If by players, then said player needs a background concept regarding the entity--wherein it depends on what sheet-details you give them to fill out, instead. Next is on whether or not you'd tie a dice roll to them (I'd advice you to, however the meaning to said dice is not whether it will fail/succeed but on the degree of power or efficiency the spell is in regard to the entity's...whim. Say, as the GM, you also have power yourself to influence how the spell is done leading to quite a ton of ways it can happen:3)

Meaning: Do it.
DO IT.

[Tsuchigumo550]

Etrian Odyssey-based RtD.

Mostly, this is all about building a warrior from the ground up and watching gigantic deer destroy them.
Classes-
The Arcanist, who can create circles and cause horrible afflictions to an entire field of enemies, as well as relieving said effects on friendly units. Can later perform non-ailment debuffs on enemies with a gaze and dispel circles for damage.
The Bushi, long-lasting beastkin warriors who sacrifice health for damage and recover it by dealing damage.
The Dancer, who's dances buff and heal the party, while evading attack and following up a friend's attacks.
The Fortress, who acts as a shield as well as a sword, able to take hits as well as deliver them. Able to protect a friendly unit and grow stronger from it, Fortresses are formidable foes indeed.
The Imperial, user of the enigmatic Drive Blade, it's devastation only limited by it's tendency to overheat.
The Landsknecht, warrior who is good overall at all positions as well as able to follow elemental attacks. Their sword skills are rarely matched in versatility.
The Medic, tasked with keeping the party alive and well. Able to fix nearly any ailment that comes your way, they can also learn fairly potent bashing skills.
The Nightseeker, able to make any foe's bad day much much worse. Dealing extra damage to any foe suffering an ailment as well as having many attacks with a chance to cause them, the Nightseeker's subterfuge is unmatched by any other.
The Runemaster, squishy mage with potent magic, able to increase the number of runes as well as their potency through study.
The Sniper, long-range damage dealer and disabler, able to critically wound foes and stop their attacks.

Legacy Classes- Classes from previous generations (currently EOIII only) that aren't quite the same as above.
Arbalist- Sniper with less durability in exchange for greater damage. Good at taking out foes much larger than themselves. Less binding opportunity.
Buccaneer- Indirectly linked too heavily to any one class. Bucaneers use swords as well as guns, and uses their speed to chase after a friend's attack to deal more damage as well as attack many times in a row. Tricky to deal with, Buccaneers are swift as they are strong.
Farmer- Dear god. You want to die, I assume? Any other class can fight better than you can even hope to, though you are useful if you can be kept alive. You probably can't.
Gladiator- Landsknecht-like warriors, they sacrifice some armor for physical power- they can continue to forego armor, or even cut their own HP, for even more damage output. They can possibly lower enemy defense and offer the ability to attack enemies over and over again.
Hoplite- Fortresses with sharper points. Able to nullify elemental attacks, guard friendly units, and even recover while defending, the Hoplite may be a defensive class but it is not purely for shielding- they have spears and can use them well.
Monk- Not truly related to other classes, the Monk is a great healer and a good fighter. They make for good direct healers while gaining abilities to return some damage.
Ninja- Similar to Nightstalkers, the Ninja is all about disrupting an enemy. Able to create clones as well as offer a myriad choice of ailment-causing attacks, the Ninja may not be able to take hits, but can evade and cause chaos well.
Prince/Princess- Specializing in making the party stronger through buffs and passive healing, eschewing offensive capability for pure boosting power. Durable enough to survive combat, they can even buff themselves, allowing for a powerful, if plain, unit.
Shogun- Gaining the ability to dual-wield swords, the Shogun is all about attacking as much as possible. A true leader in combat as well as able to hold their own, the Shogun works well with teammates but can hold their own.
Wilding- Able to call and commune with the beasts of the land, Wildings are able to attack and cause ailments fairly well- just not directly. Bad with direct combat but better with fewer friendly units, Wildings walk a fine line between a good offensive supporter and a bad attacker in general.
Yggdroid- An interesting class, they seem weak in offensive power until a closer look is taken. Able to command some of the most powerful attacks with some planning, the Yggdroid constantly binds and unbinds itself with it's attacks. They are also able to command Bots, which are durable summons that, while unable to be healed normally, can chase elemental attacks. Quite powerful overall stat-wise, the Yggdroid requires patience- but rewards with potent attacking strength.
Zodiac- Similar to Runemasters, the Zodiac are experts in magic, able to hit singular targets, multiple targets, or counter magics of a type they've learned. Able to manipulate mana to reduce cost to allies or empower skills, they also gain a single physical skill in the form of a meteor.

Subclasses may be taken in one of three ways.
1. Secondary Learning
This style unlocks some of the skills from another class, allowing mix-and-match. Legacy as well as all highest-tier abilities are not allowed.
2. Style or Theme Cross allows you to take a custom class title and gain a mix of the two constituent classes that went into the subclassing. A Zodiac and a Runemaster, for instance, gives you an insanely powerful wizard with likely eldritch connotation (the Zodiac are already space-oriented, adding runic lore to it gives a Lovecraftian feel).
3. Spiritual Cross allows you to take on new abilities in a supernatural form, such as symbiotic possession or something akin to a Stand or a Persona.

If you choose to play as a Legacy class from the start, you may choose to subclass with Secondary Learning with a Legacy class.

Right now this is just used to come up with interesting concepts for characters, such as a Bushi/Wilding combo (master of beasts, beastkin).

[IronyOwl]

Glad to see you're back, Tsuchi.


Random Thought: Opportunistic/Parasitic God/Crafting Game. To successfully perform an action requires at least two participants... but each participant performs the action separately, and mutual consent is not required. Meaning if two people team up to create treefolk, each has their own roll for it and produces their own tribe of treefolk. But more interestingly, anyone else who can swing trying to make squidfolk out of that can latch on and go for it.

Not entirely sure how it'd work out, but most likely you'd get clusters of people cooperating ringed by more opportunistic, less planned actions.

ADDON: Somehow merge this with Perplexicon. I have no idea how that'd work, but something about it seems to fit. Maybe limit each person to one word, but everyone gets the effect of every word thrown into the pot, so you get Cat Lords throwing the word for Cat into everything and people who want armor turning summoning attempts into bear-shaped armor crafting.

[Tsuchigumo550]

I'm sort of blending and condensing that class list into interesting classes that might show up in a magic-ish game.

Such as a cross between the Arcanist and (unshown EOII class) Curse Maker.

This is a type of mage who has picked up magic from reading obscure tomes and making... queer connections. Gifted with powers from godlike entities beyond comprehension, their bodies become host to a part of a monstrous creature, allowing them to use very strange magics. Their skills include deadly glances, manipulation of the world around them, and control over dreams.

They become very physically frail, but the creature inside of them is quite formidable, taking many a shadowy form...

[Darvi]

Etrian Odyssey-based RtD.

I actually considered that, but couldn't figure away to implement maps 'n stuff.

Also I can has Highlander class?