In the kingdom of Antaire,
the land was ruled by the king's former adviser, a black mage by the name of Sinclair who rose to power after the aging but well-loved king had what was widely considered an untimely and highly suspicious demise. The delicate crown princess, a beautiful, quiet young woman named Madeleine, had long since been ready to take control of the throne but her father's adviser had kept the power firmly within his hands, disobeying the king's last mandate, that his daughter take the throne after him.
Well, the truth of the matter was that both Sinclair and Madeleine were in their twenties, and they were in love. The reason that Sinclair had taken the throne was that the king's mandate that his daughter be his successor was not viewed with a great deal of respect, and to compensate for that he added in a little footnote allowing Sinclair to become his successor if Madeleine was "unable". She, to her credit, had absolutely no interest in being the ruler - or even the wife to the ruler, as she would have been had she and Sinclair married. Old laws forbade the public from ever hearing too much about the underage children of rulers - and because of the mandate, Madeleine would always be considered "underage" by the law. This suited her just fine, as she and Sinclair got to spend a lot of time together and didn't have to deal with balls or social events, which neither liked.
Now, a traveling group of adventurers - a brave young knight, Arex, his young white mage wife, Anya, and their best friend, an elven archer named Kito, were passing through this very land when they heard the first story without the second, and you know that of course they jumped to conclusions. So they all mounted up onto their bold horses and rode off to the castle, where they forced their way inside, knocking out all the loyal guards who attempted to stop them until they reached the throne room, where Sinclair and Madeleine were busily engaged in a game of chess. And, it was because of this that Sinclair didn't hear them enter in time to seal the doors and windows so that the invaders couldn't enter. So the three burst into the room, and immediately attacked Sinclair while at the same time pulling Madeleine towards them in order to "protect" her. Because Sinclair was so occupied with the archer and knight, Anya was able to take her away to a storeroom, where the well-meaning but misguided lady explained to Madeleine that the group was going to take her to safety while they battled Sinclair to take his throne. Madeleine of course protests, but Anya believes that she has been brainwashed by Sinclair and is forced to knock her out to take her away. Meanwhile, Arex and Kita succeed in knocking Sinclair out, and they quickly join forces with Anya and take Madeleine away.
As Sinclair wakes up in the infirmary, he realizes what has happened and immediately sets out to rescue Madeleine and make these brash young idiots realize that nothing is as it seems.
And as for the actual playable part, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it should go. I want the entire game to happen within Antaire, which means that all NPCs will recognize Sinclair and either worship or shun him. I'm really not sure how to get around this, actually.
---The Main Protagonists---
Sinclair Arran
Age: 27
Fighting Class: Black Mage
Sinclair is a very friendly and intelligent person who is unfortunately given a bad reputation due to his innate skill in black magic and his lower-class background. The late king was able to see past his social shortcomings to the man's true nature and as such found him his most trusted adviser. After the king's death, Sinclair became the ruler because of a small clause in the king's last law, which makes him unpopular among the nobles but popular among the poorer classes, with whom he sympathizes and has given much aid.
Madeleine DeMonte
Age: 24
Fighting Class: Fire Mage
Madeleine is very kind, quiet and generous; at first glance she seems the typical gentle princess until one notices that her fingernails are painted black and that she is fond of creating sparks on her fingers. After her father's death she began to learn the mage arts from Sinclair, and although she dislikes fighting and it greatly decreases her morale, she is quite skilled at it.
---The Main Antagonists---
Arex Alun
Age: 19
Fighting Class: Knight
Overly idealistic and rather singleminded, Arex is always convinced that he's right. He's quite a precociously accomplished fighter and has the weapons and trophies to prove it, but instead of settling down with his riches he's taken to roaming the land with his wife and best friend.
Anya Alun
Age: 17
Fighting Class: White Mage
Anya loves to help people, and before she left home to travel with Arex, she worked as an assistant nurse. She still refuses to move on when someone needs help, and this has led the three into many dangerous situations. Still, the two men both like her to be around - no surprises why, she's the type of ditzy white mage who dresses in a bikini and then throws on a little sheer fabric and is ready to go.
Kito Renault
Age: 21
Fighting Class: Archer
Kito is a serious young man who isn't the type one would expect to hang around the likes of Arex and Anya. Although he and Arex appear to be best friends, he actually isn't too nice to either one of the teenagers, and more often than not has to bail them both out of some stupid, idealistic plan.
Sinclair Arran
Age: 27
Fighting Class: Black Mage
Sinclair is a very friendly and intelligent person who is unfortunately given a bad reputation due to his innate skill in black magic and his lower-class background. The late king was able to see past his social shortcomings to the man's true nature and as such found him his most trusted adviser. After the king's death, Sinclair became the ruler because of a small clause in the king's last law, which makes him unpopular among the nobles but popular among the poorer classes, with whom he sympathizes and has given much aid.
Madeleine DeMonte
Age: 24
Fighting Class: Fire Mage
Madeleine is very kind, quiet and generous; at first glance she seems the typical gentle princess until one notices that her fingernails are painted black and that she is fond of creating sparks on her fingers. After her father's death she began to learn the mage arts from Sinclair, and although she dislikes fighting and it greatly decreases her morale, she is quite skilled at it.
---The Main Antagonists---
Arex Alun
Age: 19
Fighting Class: Knight
Overly idealistic and rather singleminded, Arex is always convinced that he's right. He's quite a precociously accomplished fighter and has the weapons and trophies to prove it, but instead of settling down with his riches he's taken to roaming the land with his wife and best friend.
Anya Alun
Age: 17
Fighting Class: White Mage
Anya loves to help people, and before she left home to travel with Arex, she worked as an assistant nurse. She still refuses to move on when someone needs help, and this has led the three into many dangerous situations. Still, the two men both like her to be around - no surprises why, she's the type of ditzy white mage who dresses in a bikini and then throws on a little sheer fabric and is ready to go.
Kito Renault
Age: 21
Fighting Class: Archer
Kito is a serious young man who isn't the type one would expect to hang around the likes of Arex and Anya. Although he and Arex appear to be best friends, he actually isn't too nice to either one of the teenagers, and more often than not has to bail them both out of some stupid, idealistic plan.
Planned Features:
#1
Some sort of custom, more engaging battle system that will make people actually want to battle. This includes battles being part of the storyline more than just randomly.
#2
Another "attribute" or stat for Sinclair and Madeleine and any other party member they get: Morale. Have the character do things they enjoy and it goes up; have them do stuff they don't and it goes down. I'm not sure what other stats morale will affect but I'm leaning toward it giving every other stat a lowering the lower it goes and a boost the higher it goes.
So! I know my concept isn't the best out there, but it's the first I've actually put down on paper and actually planned to finish. Any comments, noted discrepancies, plot holes, ideas that are better than mine that follow the same story? Please, please, please tell me so that I can develop the story and plot better! Thank you. ^^