I usually don't post my ideas until they're finished. But this one I was just too excited about and wanted to get an idea of what other people think of it after working on this thing alone for so long. This is a page from my Game Design Document describing character statistics, how they are used, and how they improve. Limdallion is a command-based RPG with an emphasis on twitch elements to dodge or parry attacks (something like Mario RPG). 2.2 Statistics 2.2.1 Level Statistics This section is about character statistics; what they affect, how they affect it, and how they improve. First, the principles of the game design must be restated. Realistic: Do the statistics make sense? Do they affect what they realistically would affect in they way they would realistically affect it? Are statistics increased realistically? Tediousness: Is anything overcomplicated and unnecessary? Does the realism begin to lack flavor and create tediousness that isn't fun? Gameplay: Gameplay is the bridge between what the characters in the game experience and what the player experiences. The player must have simulated experiences through gameplay that reflect the experiences in the story the characters are having in the game. An example of gameplay in action is a shop system where characters purchase items and gear. In the game story, the characters are forking over their hard earned cash that they spent time and energy acquiring for items and gear that benefit them. The player experiences this also; the player has spent his own time, energy, and ingenuity acquiring money for his characters while playing the game and the gear puchased with the money will aid his quest to complete the game. If the player were able to cheat and draw money from an infinite supply, even though the characters in the game were supposed to be treating it as a limited supply, the gameplay effect would be nullified. Economics is an easy gameplay characteristic to simulate. Others are more difficult. How do you simulate bravery for the player? How is agility and wisdom simulated? Read on for answers. Every time a character gains a level, their statistics in this category improve based on a predetermined rate of growth. Here are the core statistics for each character: Durability This is the character’s natural defense, the strength of their skin and bones. How physically tough their bodies are. A rhinocerous has high durability while a jellyfish has low. Humans have low durability; which is why they often wear armor in RPGs and the monsters do not, other than the reason of a lack of intelligence. This has nothing to do with how physically strong a character, how much mass it has, or how fit or in-shape it is. * Adds to defense - In addition to the armor the character wears, their durability score is added to it. Unlike armor, which has random effectiveness. The durability bonus is always constant. * Resistance against physical conditions - Durability provides an increased defense against physical status ailments such as bleeding or a broken arm Health This is the character’s hit points, the amount of damage they can take based on the size of the body. It is not based on how well-fit that body is. It has to do with the physical mass of the body. For example, a very large, fat man may be able to endure more stab wounds than a physically fit, smaller man. This does not mean the fat man has a high constitution of the body, he just has more volume. * Character is "fainted" if statistic reaches 0 - In this game, Health is synonymous with hit points. And we all know that when your HP reaches 0, the character dies or is incapacitated somehow. In this game, the status ailment is called "faint" and if all characters reach "faint" at the same time the game is over. Strength This is the amount of weight the character can lift. Again, this does not have to do with how in-shape a character is. For example, an elephant can lift a tremendous amount with its trunk, but this does not necessarily mean that it is in good shape. * Adds to damage - When a character attacks with a weapon, the attack value is a random number determined by the effectiveness of that weapon. Additional damage is incurred by a character's strength, which creates a constant bonus to that damage value. Much in the same way, durability adds a constant defense bonus. * Increases carrying capacity - The amount of gear a character can carry is also determined by strength. Constitution This is the fitness of the body of a character. Characters with a strong constitution heal from wounds faster and resist poisons. They rarely get sick and live well into old age. * Increases the rate of health recovery - Health gradually recovers in battle and in dungeons. Having a high constitution increases the rate at which wound heal. * Resistance to body conditions - Constituion provides an increased defense against status ailments that affect the body such as poison, plague, and sleep. * Starting Health Points after recovering from faint - A character faints when their health reaches 0. When this condition is cured, the amount of health they start with at that point is determined by how high their constitution is. Luck This is how lucky the character is. How well a hand fate has dealt them. * Increases the rate of critical hits - Critical hit rate is determined entirely by luck, not skill. If the character is lucky they have a higher chance of landing critical hits. Skill Skill is the fighting ability and weapon proficiency of a character. Characters with high skill have a keen combat sense and have a high control over their weapons' effectiveness. * Adds to the minimum damage range - The attack value of a weapon is the most damage it can cause if used perfectly. For example, if a weapon has an attack value of 40 it will attack for a random number between 1 and 40. However, a skilled character can use a weapon so that this is not entirely random. The skill value of a character creates a minimum value of the weapon's attack. For example, if the character has a skill of 20 for a weapon of attack value 40; the weapon attack will be somewhere between 20 and 40. * Increases hit percentage rate - The ability of a character to land a hit without missing is increased with weapon skill. * Increases parry absorb - Characters can parry physical attacks with their weapons. If they have a high skill, the amount of damage that can be absorbed increases. Agility The statistic of agility is a combination of the speed and dexterity of a character; how quickly they can move and how coordinated their movements are. * Increases the frequency a character takes a turn - A character's active battle meter fills faster based on their agility so they can attack more often. * Increases base initiative at start of battle - When a battle begins, those characters who are quick to react to the situation are likely to attack first. Wisdom Wisdom is the aptitude and mental fortitude of a character. It is not the same as knowledge. Wisdom is not how much information a character knows, but rather how powerful their minds are. Characters with a high wisdom are more enlightened. Although this is not the same as wilpower, it represents the strength of mind. * Increases venture learning rate - Characters undertake ventures, or classes, to learn new skills and abilities. The rate at which these new skills and abilities are learned is increased based on the character's wisdom. They are able to learn more quickly. * Effectiveness of magical attacks - Magical attacks and attacks that come from the mind become more effective with a higher wisdom. * Resistance against nonphysical conditions - Wisdom provides an increased defense against status ailments that are magical and nonphysical such as eldercize, silece, and petrify Valor The willpower and bravery of the character. This not only represents how courageous a character is but their seriousness. Their ability to stay focused and fight for their convictions. They are not distracted by anything when it comes to their beliefs. * Increases faint recovery rate - Characters with high valor have such strong wilpower that they can will themselves awake after they are knocked out. Thus, the rate at which they recover from a faint condition is increased. * Resistance against behavior conditions - Valor provides an increased defense against status ailments that affect a character's behavior such as boredom, malice, and possessed. * Increases rate of power recovery - Characters use special attacks by drawing from a power meter that fills during battle like the active battle meter. The rate at which this bar increases depends on their valor. Notice common missing statistics: knowledge and charisma. Knowledge - how much information a character knows - is not expressed through statistics because simply fighting and gaining experience would not increase a person's knowledge. Knowledge is expressed through learned vantages in ventures that characters can undertake. Charisma - the ability to charm another person - may be useful in dealing with enemies and nasty shopkeepers - but this is also expressed in various vantages because charisma would not increase through combat experience. Health, or HP, is a common statistic in RPGs. When it is reduced to 0 a character endures a "faint" status ailment. But Health is just one of nine statistics. The other eight can also be reduced to 0. In addition to enduring the disadvantages of having low statistics; when a statistic reaches 0 other status ailments take affect. This sections examines the opposite ailments of character stats. Faint -> Health reaches 0 * When a character is damaged so much that his health reduces 0 they "faint" * Fainted characters cannot move at all. They cannot be further damaged or inflicted with status ailments * If all characters have fainted, a game over incurs * Cured: - Unlike most other RPGs, a "dead" character cannot be cured by some item that somehow cures death. Faint can be cured simply over time. The character's active battle meter is replaced by a faint meter which slowly decreases. When it reaches 0, the character wakes up. They gain a number of health back depending on their constitution. Also length of time it takes for them to wake up from faint depends on their valor. - While the "Talk" command seems purely superficial it can actually be used to wake up fainted characters. - Some items can be used to wake a character from faint. - End of battle Marshmallow -> Durability reaches 0 * When a character loses his natural physical defenses they become so prone to damage they receive damage simply from the attrition of attacking themselves. * Whenever a character attacks with close range they receive 50% of the damage they cause * Cured: - End of battle Clumsy -> Skill reaches 0 * Characters that lose all their fighting ability become such awful fighters that they often end up hurting themselves, much less landing a hit. * 75% chance to miss the target. If the target is missed then there is a 50% chance the character will attack themselves for 25% of the damage Famished -> Constitution reaches 0 * Characters that lose all their body constitution become starving and sickly. * Their body resistance and health recovery rate is reduced to 0% regardless of any vantages. * In addition, they will lose health at a rate of 1% per tick. However, the health reduction will stop at 1 health and they cannot die from this condition alone. * Every turn they have a 25% chance of catching a disease, bacteria, venom, or plague. If so, this will nullify the previous ailment. * Cured: - Using a food or drink type item will help to cure this ailment. How much food or drink depends on the level of the famished character - End of battle Feeble -> Strength reaches 0 * Characters that lose all their physical strength become feeble and can barely hold themselves up * Characters cannot attack with weapons because they are too heavy, neither can they parry * Cured: - End of battle Hexed -> Luck reaches 0 * Fate has drawn the death card for these characters, they have no luck and become cursed with bad luck. * All attacks on the character succeed in becoming critical hits because the character is so unlucky * Once per turn, there is a 5% chance the character will be struck by lightning and drop dead; health goes to 0 * Cured: - End of battle - Item: Guru's Foot Foolish -> Wisdom reaches 0 * A lack of wisdom brews laziness and foolishness within a character. * There is a 50% chance that the character will ignore any given command and instead "talk" * The messages of the talk command change to represent the foolishness of the character * Cured: - End of battle - Other character's talking may talk sense back into this character Sluggish -> Agility reaches 0 * The character becomes so slow and sluggish that they can barely move. * Character cannot flee from battle because they're too slow * Cannot use close range attacks because they're too sluggish to move in close enough * Too sluggish to use dodge abilities Frightened -> Valor reaches 0 * The character loses all their courage and becomes hysterically frightened of the enemies * The character attempts to flee every chance they have a turn * The character is too afraid to use any attack commands Training Statistics go up when a character gains a level at a predetermined rate for each character. But another way to raise the statistics of a character is through training. Training can be done at the beginning of every morning, after camping, and takes a whole day. The player selects which statistic for each character they want to train. Each training event is a minigame of its own. Since gameplay must simulate the training experience for the player as well, the player must participate in the training by completing the minigames. The backdrop for each training sequence is the same as the battle backdrop would be for encounters at the location the party camped at. Training Agility Desc: Training agility is a test of speed and reflexes. This training session works by simulating a combat sequence for the character. A series of balls are thrown at a the character. Despite the lack of realism, there is no explanation of where these balls are coming from (another party character could be throwing them in most cases, but sometimes characters are alone in a party). The player must use their own agility to use the dodge arrow keys to dodge the balls successfully. Players can have their characters dodge up, down, left, and right. To succeed in this training session, all the balls must be dodged. Cost: The cost to the player is that they must test their own agility through this minigame. Training Constitution Desc: Constitution is how healthy and fit their body is. How does one build up their immune system and refresh their body? By getting lots of rest; the training here is simply sleeping. When a party camps, the player uses sleeping gear to regain the health of the characters. The player must in the same way use sleeping gear to allow their character to sleep all day. Their is a slight gamble because the player does not know how much sleeping gear will be required; they can supply as much as they want. The amount needed will be 50 to 200% of what would normally be needed for that character to regain 100% of their health through camping in the same weather and terrain. If the player does not use enough sleeping gear, the gear is wasted and the training fails. Cost: The cost to the player is sleeping gear and also a gamble of how much sleeping gear should be used. Training Health Desc: Health is the size of a character and to get bigger, the character needs to eat more. This minigame functions exactly the same as Constitution Training, except instead of sleeping gear, the player gambles with using eating gear. The amount needed is 50 to 200% of the amount that character would normally need eating alone, in the weather and terrain conditions, to recover 100% of their health. If they player does not use enough eating items, the training fails. Cost: The cost to the player is eating gear and also a gamble of how much eating gear should be used. Training Durability Desc: In order to improve the natural sturdiness of a character, the character must endure damage to their soft skin. This training functions much in the same way as Agility Training with a combat sequence where balls fly at the character. But instead of dodging the balls, the player must do the opposite. They must use the arrow keys to move in front of the balls so the character gets hit by them on purpose. This is how they toughen up. Cost: The cost to the player is that they must play this minigame. Training Skill Desc: A combat sequence is entered where the character fights a dummy. The character has a limited time to cause enough damage to the dummy to complete the training. The damage required is 20 x their combat Attack. Magical and nonphysical attacks do 0 damage to the dummy. This is because the character is learning combat skills, not magic skills. The gameplay bridge works here because the player is also using their skill to decide which attacks to use that will cause the most damage. They must use a strategy to determine what combination of regular attacks plus special attacks is needed to cause enough damage. Cost: Knowledge of the player to use the most effective attacks in a small amount of time Training Luck Desc: People used to blow on the hair of a Treasure Troll for good luck, in the world of Limdallion, a similar superstition is used. Guru's are believed to be mystical creatures and they are often sold as pets. People believe that petting one gives good luck. Gurus are small fluffy mammals that look like guinea pigs with tiny wings. They are actually designated by powers from beyond to be the caretakers of reality. Reality exists through their perception of it. In other words, Gurus are also used to "save" the game. Since Guru's contain a perception of reality; can be re "loaded" by that Guru at any time. In Limdallion, even the trivial event of "saving the game" is fused with flavor and realism. In this training session the player must move a character around on a map of the surrounding terrain and search for a Guru. The Guru's location will vary depending on terrain type and weather. Once found, the player must still catch the Guru as it tries to fly away. If the player can do this within a certain amount of time the character will pet the Guru and the training will succeed. Cost: The skill and luck of a player to find a Guru and catch it Training Strength Desc. The character increases their physical strength by lifting dumbells with each arm. They must do reps on the left arm, then switch to the right. The player must hit the left key fast enough to do a rep with the left arm. If they do not hit the key fast enough, the arm begins to lower back to its starting position. Once a rep is completed, the player must do the same with the right key for the right arm. Five reps with each arm, ten total, must be completed in a certain amount of time. The player's own strength to hit a key fast enough is tested with this minigame. Cost: The strength and endurance of the player to hit the keys fast enough. Training Wisdom Desc: This where gameplay becomes very interesting and innovative. How can training wisdom be simulated through gameplay? When the character trains his wisdom, he sits under a tree in the lotus position and meditates all day contemplating life, the universe, everything. As the character let's go of earthly urges he reaches for infinite patience and enlightenment. The player must do this as well. If the player presses any key, the meditation ends. If the meditation was not complete when the key was pressed, then the training fails. The meditation requires a certain amount of time that is unknown to the player. The time required is somewhere between 10 seconds and 10 minutes; although it usually averages on 2 minutes. The player simply has to be patient enough not to press any keys until they are willing to risk breaking the meditation. Perhaps the player will leave the game and go to the bathroom, get a snack, or even go on vacation for a few days. These attempts are all fine, but be warned, there is 5% chance the meditation will never be complete. In such an event, even if the player leaves their keyboard for weeks, when they come back and interrupt the meditation it will fail. This all must be kept a secret from the player to keep them guessing how long it will take and instead strive for their own patience and enlightenment to resist breaking the meditaiton for as long as they can. If Limdallion can get players to sit in front of a computer screen and watch their character doing nothing and not hit any keys and enjoy the whole thing - then this game design is a smashing success. Cost: The patience of the player is the cost of this training. Training Valor Desc: The courage and conviction of a character can also be trained. But how can this be simulated for the player? The player's own courage must be tested and therefore the player needs to be frightened. When a character trains their valor they must stand still while witnessing supernatural forces assault them. In Limdallion, undead (Erduvala), are quite common and a characte can train their courage by enduring these spirits. The player must be careful not to press any key as their character is attacked by Erduvala. Damage will be caused by Erduvala, in total equalling 50 to 100% of the character's maximum health. That means if the character does not go into this training with full health their is a good chance they will faint during the training and fail it. The pain caused by these spirits also strengthens the character's discipline and wilpower. There is another test that can take place in this training. An Undead Guru may attack the character. When the Undead Guru attacks, the game will attempt to close. Normally, players can quit the game by going to the menu and selecting "quit". A box pops up that shows a ten second countdown to quit the game unless cancel is selected. As discussed earlier Guru's contain reality through their perception of it, and therefore control the save files of the game. The Undead Guru will attempt to bring up the quit countdown box. Faced with shutting down the game without saving, the player will be very tempted to press cancel, which would cause the training to fail. This trick is similar to the insanity effects of Eternal Darkness. When the countdown reaches 0 the game does not really quit. Or does it? Actually, the problem with Eternal Darkness is that the player eventually realizes that the insanity effects are never real and would never effect anything. But in this case, the Undead Guru has a 50% chance of actually quitting the game. Half the time this is a fake out and the other half the game will actually be reset to the start page. The player will have to resume his game where it was last saved. It is a cruel trick to do to the player but when the Undead Guru appears, they will be frightened and will want to chicken out and abort the quit countdown which would break the training. It seems very cruel but is really no worse than getting a "Game Over" because both force the player to start back at their last save. An Undead Guru will also attempt to delete save files. Messages will pop up, asking if it is okay to delete the save files and a countdown will begin. But unlike the ability to quit the game, this is always a fakeout by the Undead Guru. However, after the player realizes that the Undead Guru was not bluffing when it turned off the game, the player will be terrified to see their save files disappear and be tempted to chicken out and break the training. Another interesting thing tha tmight happen during valor training is for people and things to appear from the character's past. Perhaps past regrets and heartache. But at the same time include some subliminal, one-frame, images of creepy faces; like those used in the movie, Exorcist.

very nice and well thought out. I didn't really get why eating a lot would make a character more healthy. I see that you could withstand more stabs to fatty areas, but all hits don't land there and you can still loose a lot of blood just as fast as anyone. I would say the thing to do to get healthy would be to figure out what balance of available food to eat and how much based on the build of the character. There would be a certain specific amount and combination that would have to be discovered. It could change as things progress. A stronger,agile character would need more meat and protein, while a wise character might need more anti-oxidants and supposed 'brain foods'

Anyway, just an idea. By the way, do they actually get better at these skills (like skill in fighting) just by doing it? I totally understand that just racking up experience shouldn't be applied to unrelated stats, but if you are actually fighting and dodging and moving and excercising, wouldn't you get more skilled, faster, stronger, etc?

Keep up the good work.

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Original post by ironore very nice and well thought out. I didn't really get why eating a lot would make a character more healthy. I see that you could withstand more stabs to fatty areas, but all hits don't land there and you can still loose a lot of blood just as fast as anyone. I would say the thing to do to get healthy would be to figure out what balance of available food to eat and how much based on the build of the character. There would be a certain specific amount and combination that would have to be discovered. It could change as things progress. A stronger,agile character would need more meat and protein, while a wise character might need more anti-oxidants and supposed 'brain foods'

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. Maybe health isn't the right word since being "healthy" sounds like it has more to do with constitution. HP has to do with size. For example, in some RPGs you might fight enormous monsters and they usually have lots of hp because of their size. So in training, the characters are trying to increase their size and the only way I thought of to do this is to eat a lot of food so the character becomes physically larger.

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Anyway, just an idea. By the way, do they actually get better at these skills (like skill in fighting) just by doing it? I totally understand that just racking up experience shouldn't be applied to unrelated stats, but if you are actually fighting and dodging and moving and excercising, wouldn't you get more skilled, faster, stronger, etc? Keep up the good work.

This would be like FF2 right? Where you didn't gain levels but just increased your stats based on what characters did in battle. I decided not to go that route and stick with regular stat gains at level up; which is a less specific method of saying experience in battle increases battle stats. Being able to train stats is just an additional, but not as common, way for players to tweak characters if they like.