Class Descriptions

[ruba1987]

Descriptions on what each class is going to do, how they function, and what their motivations are in life.

[dakdaros]

Berzerker - A Berzerker loves to smash things. That is all they ever want in life. To smash. The only things they have ever wanted to learn was how to smash more effectively. As such, they are not smart by any measure, except in the art of smashing shit. They function largely by lifting their big arms up, preferably with a big ass weapon in hand, then bringing them down as quickly as possible with the hopeful result of, you guessed it, something being thoroughly smashed. If the intended target is not smashed, the process is repeated until said object is indeed smashed. They're typical motivations are as follows: Smash shit, get bitches, smash more shit, get money, and smash more shit. Once in a while, they get extremely enraged, and go, get this, Berzerk. That makes them smash things a lot harder, but they take more damage. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. The goofy mood struck me.

[ruba1987]

@ProjectRPG/thinktank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7gzmoqmL7g

Are you saying you don't want the class in there?

[dakdaros]

LMFAO I was thinking about that video during one part of it! No, I actually like the class. I was just reading up on everything and saw that and thought you could appreciate the humor in what I wrote. Next I'll be making references to the original Clerks movie. "Would you like to suck my cock Berzerker, soon we will be making fuck Berzerker"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gFoHkkCaRE

[dakdaros]

I think this will be the next area I work on. That and fleshing out the races a little bit. Like, we all know the intro, which I figured should be edited again, but all we have to go by is the names of the other races. So I should start brainstorming out some ideas for the other races. Like, for starters, some things I imagined are that certain races have longer fingers, or less fingers than human. Then again, I guess this all comes part and parcel with the fact that I should just start sketching out some ideas for how races should look. That being said, I am VERY open to suggestions for what you guys had in mind.

[dakdaros]

Ok, I'm going to try my hand at maybe a couple drafts here. So, here goes.

Champion - Only the strongest and bravest (and possibly most idiotic and crazy) of the Human Alliance members are considered fit enough to fight on the frontlines of battle against the Venrok. These heavily armored forces of destruction use their raw muscular power to destroy their foes with large, heavy objects, while deflecting foes and drawing enemy attention to themselves. Some of them further boost their defensive power by using a shield as a means for stopping attacks. Further along in their training, Champions can become ruthless Berserkers, powerful Warriors, or righteous Paladins.

[dakdaros]

Sorcerer - These forces of nature have learned to harness the potential of their powers for use on the battlefield. Some abilities are meant for pure destruction, while others are meant to support the rest of their party with strong buffs. After further training, the expert Sorcerer can specialize their abilities. A Summoner can enlist the aid of other beings and powerful creatures to do their bidding. A Priest can heal the party from injury and disease. And the Shapeshifter uses his powers to become a powerful creature, and rip through his or her enemies.

[dakdaros]

Rapscallion - The Rapscallion is a necessary evil when it comes to a party. A constant shadow lurker, they strike swiftly and surely, tending to stick to the darkness as opposed to fighting alongside the valiant Champion. They typically use ranged weapons, but when the fighting comes close range, the Rapscallion uses smaller weaponry such as daggers to drive their point home. Further specialization includes the noble Ranger, the nature-tuned Beastmaster, and the sneaky Thief.

[dakdaros]

So there's a few rough drafts. I'll work on edits based on @ruba1987 and @walterthearchitect.

[dakdaros]

Some other things @walterthearchitect and I discussed during our hike today was the classes. We were thinking that the thief class didn't necessarily fit in with what we were going for, because, at least to start, we don't think it will really be that big of a lootfest. That, and it's kind of immersion breaking when you're on friendly terms with a NPC, but then you crouch down and start stealing from them. Also, Do we really want there to be set in stone specializations within each class? Or rather, would we want the players to decide how they want to play each class, and let their character evolve into the specialization based on how they want to play?

[ruba1987]

that's an interesting thought. I don't want this to turn into a game where anyone can do anything at any time. I'm ok with something along the lines of how FFXIV works though. If you look at the larger complaints about games like GW2 it's that there isn't enough class separation. Now, for what we are doing we can't have too much. You need to be able to play on your own but I think there should be some. Also, thief is a specialization that you get at a higher level. In the beginning when you choose your class you pick from Champion, Sorcerer, or Rapscallion and then once you get to a certain level you would "Focus" to a sub class. This would be something like a quest chain or something or maybe an important part in the story where you have some optional people to meet.

Regarding the thief itself, you might be right. Maybe we could change it to assassin or something. That's more what I was going for on it.

On Sun, May 11, 2014 at 4:13 PM, dakdaros notifications@github.com wrote:

Some other things @walterthearchitecthttps://github.com/walterthearchitectand I discussed during our hike today was the classes. We were thinking that the thief class didn't necessarily fit in with what we were going for, because, at least to start, we don't think it will really be that big of a lootfest. That, and it's kind of immersion breaking when you're on friendly terms with a NPC, but then you crouch down and start stealing from them. Also, Do we really want there to be set in stone specializations within each class? Or rather, would we want the players to decide how they want to play each class, and let their character evolve into the specialization based on how they want to play?

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/ProjectRPG/ProjectRPG/issues/12#issuecomment-42781675 .

[dakdaros]

Rapscallion Abilities/Skills/Spells

Hi guys, so here are some thoughts of mine on the Rapscallion class and its specialties, as well as presenting some ideas on abilities/skills/spells

Rapscallion - I really want this class type to use the environment and objects within to their advantage. As such, I think a lot of the abilities will be based around changing their own appearance in order to move stealthily, or based on the contagion idea of magic (that is the concept that anything once in contact with the character maintains a magically useful connection). So some ideas are as follows:

-I think there should be an extra vision mode, or a spell that the player can cast that functions somewhat like the detect life spell in Elder Scrolls, in conjunction with certain objects that have been recently interacted with by enemies retain a sort of glow, including footprints, which gives the Rapscallion various choices of how they want to debilitate their foes. Some ideas to follow on that as abilities/skills Knife In A Footprint- The player jabs a knife into the ground where an enemy has recently walked. That enemy is now frozen in place (or at least that one foot is). The enemy howls in pain, and may draw other enemies to them, but they are essentially rendered immobile. They can still attack though. Obviously this would only work on specific types of foes.
Silence - Maybe when hearing a whisper in the air, or an enemy talking, the Rapscallion can use his magic to snatch his voice out of the air, rendering the foe speechless for a time, meaning that they are unable to call out for help from allies in the area. A higher level could mean stealing voices from more than one enemy. Distraction - Instead of necessarily throwing a rock in a particular direction, how about the Rapscallion whispers something into the air, and the sound is carried off to a distance by the wind, where an enemy would hear it enough to go investigate.

Or other ideas like that. I’m interested to see what you guys have to say. I have some more ideas for the Rapscallion and the subdivisions of it below, just random thoughts.

Blend- The player shrouds themself in a cloak that transforms its appearance into its surroundings. But only while staying still. The upshot is that they cannot be seen whatsoever, so using the ability right by a guard’s path would mean the player can get the jump on that enemy.

Blink- The player is able to essentially teleport a short distance, which allows for a quick escape from the heat of battle, or to close the gap between themselves and an enemy, or even to gain a vantage point on the action.

In terms of the subdivisions as well as how they would play, I came up with some ideas.

The Ranger- The ranger is more of the noble ranks of the Rapscallions, instead using a communion with the environment and the planet to fight his enemies, as well as a keen eye and many a manner of ranged weapon, the Ranger is both resourceful and cunning at bringing down foes.

Some Ability ideas at play: I think the detect life thing I mentioned earlier would work really well here. Or really if it’s something akin to feeling the ground for tremors, or listening to the wind give away enemy positions. I really like the idea here that anything and everything can be thrown, even weapons that fallen enemies have dropped. I think that being said, one of the abilities that the Ranger can earn is a Keen Eye, which essentially allows them to zoom in and place their throws better. I also like the idea that a Ranger doesn’t have to be tied down to just having a bow and arrows, though if that’s what they want to do, I think they certainly should be able to. I also like the idea of special arrows that have fire or poison or something like that attached. But, I think that the Ranger should also be able to purchase a large amount of throwing daggers and the sort, or for added challenge, just use the weapons they find off the kills of their enemies, since they can retrieve them. Multishot- the Ranger fires or throws several projectiles that are autotargeted towards multiple enemies.

Beastmaster- This essentially sounds like a sort of summoner to me. Granted, in a more organic matter, that they are like a hunter in WoW, but I’m trying to think. I’m wondering that, in order to summon their Beasts, they have to undergo a trial of some small sort first. Whether it’s a direct challenge against the beast, or a side quest or something, I don’t think they should just be able to level up and all of a sudden start being able to summon a new creature. That also being said, I know that we’re planning on having a more organic experience, but I think at high levels, we should include some mythical creatures that account for the ultimate trials, but mean being able to summon powerful beings. Whether they’re creatures from our history (say, being able to summon a phoenix, or befriending a Ruhk that can fly the entire party to a far off land[fast travel essentially]), or we make up some.

Assassin- To be honest I haven’t given much thought here, but I think we need to follow along the same lines as what I was mentioning for the Rapscallion. Definitely fully DPS, like a glass cannon. Super deadly, but has to be careful and stick to the shadows to properly pull it off. Maybe have buffs that occur when in darkness/shadow, as well as rewards for backstabbing and stealth attacking.

As far as weapons for this class and its specialties, I think that there should definitely be bow and arrows, throwing knives/axes, as well a short swords and daggers in case things get ugly at close range. Well, that and the assassin would mostly thrive on melee and sneak attacks.

[dakdaros]

Champion ideas As far as the Champion goes, I'll definitely need some solid input from you guys as far as what skills and abilities there should be. I know there are a few things I would definitely like to see, especially as we try to make things quite a bit more organic. Some things that come to mind is that, as a melee class, he needs the ability to quickly close in on a target, but I really hate the idea of the standard charge attack that tends to be in every damn game. Some skills I think should be in it are... Shield Bash - I've come to realize that a shield bash is a very underrated action that a warrior could do. I think we could do this in a really awesome fashion with the way we are making this game. I'm thinking a bit of the shove move from Left 4 Dead, but can also do damage according to the size of the shield. Feasibly, a heavy shield in itself is a deadly weapon in the right hands. I think it would be a good way to stun/stagger a foe, and even knock them flat. Flat of the Blade - This skill is for wielders of two-handed weapons. The Champion makes a savagely powerful swing with the flat of his blade. Even a defending opponent is staggered/stunned, or even knocked back. Think of this kind of like a shield bash for two handed weapons.

There needs to be some ability like a shout or yelling where the Champion draws attention to himself (essentially drawing aggro).

Some things I'd like to put on the table. I think the two handed weapons, especially at a higher level, should be huge. Think how big the Ultra Greatswords are in Dark Souls (I'll make some sketches to illustrate). They should be big and menacing. Also, I like the idea of using shields as more than just simply putting them up to block. I've played a lot of games like Rainbow Six where the shield is an awesome block, while you can still wield a pistol. What about having a technique or techniques like the ancient Greek and Macedonian warriors would form a phalanx. I see a bitchin' battle where a Ranger stands behind the Champion in a corridor, firing arrows or throwing daggers while the Champion presses forward, soaking up enemy arrow fire, while a Sorcerer brings up the rear lobbing fireballs.

I see the Paladin using not only healing spells, but some of what we would consider holy magic. Though, not fully sure how we can implement that on an organic level. Especially because I don't think we're going to have undead in this game.

Berzerker I think should be the Dual Wielding specialist. I see the obvious berzerker rage thing going, I think that's a given. So the Berzerker can deal a lot more damage at the expense of taking more damage during the period of the rage. Maybe some other situations where the Berzerker can grab and kill a weaker enemy instantly with his bare hands. Something like "snap neck" or something like that. Oh oh oh! Ha ha! I got a good one! Bear with me here, this is just a conscious stream of thought. So the Berzerker is a brick shithouse of muscles and anger. So I think a cool way to make use of this is that the Berzerker has the awesome ability to lift up objects in the environment and either wield them or throw them. Like tables, chairs, enemies. Like, if there's a ranged enemy that is firing at the player, they can grab a nearby table, smash a for or two with it for huge damage, then either use it as a shield to close the gap, or actually heave the whole fucking table at the enemy. great for crowd control! Human shield - On humanoid/weaker enemies, the Berzerker grabs a stunned foe and hold them as a human shield. The options here presented are to hold onto the enemy for the time and soak up blows from their comrades, or use the snap neck or slit throat command. Of course, after a length of time, if the enemy isn't dead and the player hasn't snapped their neck, they manage to break free. OR, the Berzerker can pick up the human shield, and then throw them into another enemy/group of enemies. OR, swing that foe around as a weapon. Beat a mother fucker with another mother fucker! Long story short, I really want to catch the visceral, savage nature that a Berzerker would have.

As far as the Warrior, I'm kind of at a loss of how that is different from the Champion himself. I see the warrior being the main tank in a group, drawing attention and fighting on the front line.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on the Warrior class. Let me know what you think!

[walterthearchitect]

I made a mind map doc for this issue. I think it will help visualize. I've invited you all.

[dakdaros]

Sorceror Notes

And for the third class! First of all, I think we need to evaluate the summoner and the beastmaster classes. Especially if we are going to go for a more organic approach in this game. I think really one or the other is more than enough. That being said, I also noticed a lack of a straight offensive spell dps-like person in that list. The shapeshifter is a kick ass idea. I think that can be a really fun character class to play as. I'm still thinking up ideas for that one. I'm thinking a lot of ideas like being able to morph into one of the enemy to infiltrate installations, then backstab enemies and create a sense of confusion in the ranks while the rest of the party comes in and starts wrecking house. Hmmmm, in thinking about it, I wonder if somehow there can be a way that the shapeshifter manages to sabotage the environments. I actually think this would be a great class to lay down traps (even if magical in nature).

In thinking about it further if we added another subdivision of the Sorceror that's bent on magical destruction, we should have something that's based around seriously dark magic, and inject a severely evil personality into them. I'm drawing from the 8 Bit Theater rendition (http://www.nuklearpower.com/8-bit-theater/), only no humor, just evil as shit. But sometimes even the good guys need a few bad guys in their ranks. I really kinda like the idea of a "stabbity death" rampage involving ethereal daggers or something of the sort. Maybe making it rain knives or something. Seriously, I'm talking a sincerely dark and sinister character, and just have death follow in your footprints. Like a super glass cannon. Can die really easily, and is difficult to manage, but can positively destroy the enemy. I know we've said it before, but the magic using classes should be more of a challenge to play, but offer the greatest reward in terms of damage and, to a certain extent, fun.

Some spell ideas Fireball - The fireball is just that, a ball of fire. But, it has the gravity and physics of a grenade. Think of it like a contact grenade, as it explodes on impact over an are of effect.

Ice Rain - The player aims and throws a ball of ice into the air. In midair it shatters and rains icy death down upon enemies. I'll need some more help, or longer rainstorming sessions to come up with some more ideas for the Priest. we need to figure out how to set this class apart from the standard priest class. Wall of Protection - The Priest summons an ethereal wall that blocks real missile attacks, both magic and physical.

In terms of actual weaponry, I think staves and knives. Those sound pretty self explanatory. At any rate, I should probably post this since we're going to have our meeting shortly. But I wanted to get some of these ideas out there.

[walterthearchitect]

So the basics of what I had envisioned are committed. Basically it's the 4 races, with two class options for each. The player can choose one path, or spend the time to unlock both. This is determined by the initial playstyle and shown on an alignment meter. Both sides of the meter are fill-able, making each player versatile.

Human: Knight (close quarters) or Ranger (ranged) Robur: Beast (close quarters) or Machine (strategic engineer type) Opacis: Priest (healing and crowd control) or Wizard (DPS) Sicarius: Shade (ranged sneaking and visual trickery) or Illusionist (melee sneaking and mental trickery)

Each class has 1 Ultimate, meaning each race has the potential to have 2. These would be very skill based and not just based on long cool downs. My vision for the Ults:

Knight: "Weapon Density" turns whatever he is holding into a super dense object. It can then be used for a few blows or thrown.

Ranger: "Multiple Targets" is like a rapid fire. Spray multiple projectiles, but be quick because the enemies movement is still in play. No slo-mo. Or just send them all at one poor bastard.

Beast: "Dismembering Roar" is basically a super shout that rips people apart, with the caveat that it takes time to cast and locks you in one direction. Timing is key.

Machine: "Deploy Sentry" puts down a turret (for lack of a better word). Placement is everything, because its not re-position-able, and wont go away till its destroyed.

Priest: "Levitate" sends you up in the air, allowing you to easily see your teammates to heal them, or have a vantage point on the enemy. The caveat is, you cant fly, just go straight up, and only for a short time.

Wizard: "Rain" throws a ball into the air and explodes, raining down death. They key here is "cooking". You need to treat it like a grenade, and in order to get maximum area of effect, it needs to explode in midair.

Shade: "Sabotage" destroys enemy cover. The catch is, you need to touch it. So you've got to get close. This will require teamwork and/or your other abilities. A good way to cripple the enemy's defenses though.

Illusionist: "Force Suicide" is just messed up. Send a bolt of this at an enemy and he will harm himself. catch is, he only harm the part you hit. You need a head or chest shot to kill. Anywhere else will only cause him to wound himself.

So there are other abilities too, that's just the Ults. We can get into that later.

Comments?

[ruba1987]

I like this a lot. I think it's really heading in the right direction.

I like the idea of so many things being skill based too. I think how you have laid that out is pretty good. I think as we start implementing it and playing around with it for real we will come up with more.

I also moved some things in the mindmup doc around. I added a core component to each race. I think there will be something that you do that won't impact alignment at all. like push/pull/deflect

[walterthearchitect]

Ok i've been trying. How the hell do i see the new version of the file?

[ruba1987]

you should just have to reopen it... I would think that if you have the realtime collaboration extension enabled it would just update but maybe not. TBH i'm not 100% sure how to do that.