build-your-own-spell magic system

[codeWarrior]

I have been playing Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for a couple days and I thought I might create a script that would somewhat mimic it's magic system. Was wondering if anyone else would be interested in a magic system where you obtain runes or magic words or components of some other sort and 'build' your own spells by combining the components with each other. Haven't seen any other scripts like this, so if someone else has done it, let me know.

And to be a little more specific in how it will work, here's an example.

F is the rune for Fire
A is the rune for Air
T is the rune for Area
S is the rune for Summon
M is the rune for Self
C is the rune for Creature

F + A + T = shoot a fireball
F + S + C = summon flame elemental
A + M = float spell
F + M = warm self (reverse frozen status due to ice spells)

Obviously there would only be a certain number of spells one could create. Some rune would do nothing with combined with certain other runes, such as:

C + M + T = not a darn thing


So, let me know if anyone is interested in something like this and if you have any ideas you think would improve upon the system, let me know that as well. I'll see what I can do... ;]

 

[eharper256]

Its interesting. Such a system kinda exists in several commercial games. However, to make it RMXP friendly, you'd probably have to have a scene outside of battle where you come up with the spells. Your database would have to contain all the components AND all of the potential combos, too.

Shouldn't this be script requests, though?

 

[crispychaney]

nah its not a request lol because hes asking whether there is interest rather than asking someone to create it

i think its a good idea, like implement an event where a combo of buttons are pressed and if succesful a spell is cast

like say if
F= up
A= left
T = down

to cast the spell an event is started and if up, left and down were pressed in that order a fireball would be cast?

 

[codeWarrior]

I was actually thinking more along the lines of this:

All spells are defined, but to be able to use them, your character must be able to 1) decipher the runes (for lack of a better term) and B) be fluent enough in the rune language to cast the spell. So there would be two character attributes, something like Literacy and Fluency. Literacy would improve at certain points defined by the game designer (such as at important plot points or by finding certain items like lexicons that would explain what some runes mean), and Fluency would improve through the casting of spells. Each time you cast a spell successfully your Fluency will increase a certain amount at level up.

So, you can essentially put together a spell and not be able to cast it successfully if your Literacy has far exceeded your Fluency. Well, to be more precise, you can attempt to cast it, but if the spell is above your Fluency level, you will experience some unusual effects.

Does that clarify it a bit?

Oh, and there would be a CMS for combining the symbols to create a spell, but once you have created/found the spell by combining the correct runes, that spell will now be in your character's skills set.

 

[___]

Would you explicitly define every possible combination or use a logic system to generate most effects?

 

[Cheeze]

This should be in feed back(I think if you was wanting to know if it is a good idea or not)...But yea its a good Idea...heh...Fat...oh! and CMT could transform yourself into something into a tree >> Or something like that

 

[Mac]

There is no move required, this is a RGSS support forum and he wants your support by giving him ideas to add to what he already has planned. Yes this is Feedback but the feedback that belongs here.

~Mac

 

[codeWarrior]

Well I had planned on using the default spell list in RMXP as the basis out of which the spells are created. So, yes, all spells and their combinations would be predefined but customizable by whoever uses the script. Obviously, this would lead to a script that would be a little more difficult to implement, but it's a pretty in-depth system already and shouldn't take much more time than customizing spells in RMXP does currently.

So, we will have multiple sigils (this is how I will refer to this system from now on, by the way) each of which signifies a specific target, effect, or alignment. These will be defined by the game designer. By combining sigils together, after finding the sigils (dependent on the designer's choice of language or icons and method of obtaining), your character may attempt to combine the sigils to form spells.

If the character's literacy level is not high enough, they will not be able to understand the sigils and will not be able to combine them. So it is possible to obtain a sigil before you can understand/use it.

If the character's fluency level is not high enough, they will not be able to reliably cast that spell. It may cast successfully, or it may fail, or its effects could be reversed, etc. So it is possible to create a spell before you can understand/use it.

Now, the most important aspect of the system would be game-specific, i.e. methods of obtaining the sigils:
-by defeating enemies (sigils could be enemies' names or brains or souls)
-by studying under mentors (various NPC's could be assigned as mentors a la BOF3 who imbue characters with new sigils at various levels)
-by searching classic RPG-style bookshelves for books of spells
-by collecting items (combining different items for different spells)

 

[Hellbas]

This would be pretty cool to have in games, i have a suggestion for this; can you make it that a mage-like class has a higher fluency and literacy than a warrior (so a mage can create better spells earlier)?