[XMark]

Here's some ideas for the base character stats in ARC Legacy Gold. I've started playing Dungeons & Dragons and Neverwinter Nights and I'm taking some of the less complicated aspects of D&D style and combining it with Final Fantasy-style elements for what I hope will be good results.

Every character has three different stats:
Strength
Dexterity
Wisdom

After every level up for each character you get the choice of which stat to increase by 1, up to a maximum of 30 each.

STRENGTH
Strength determines how much extra attack damage is added past a weapon's base damage range. Also, with every level up, the amount that your max HP is increased is determined by your strength. Some weapons and armor will have minimum strength requirements.

Strength combined with dexterity determines your base hit chance, and strength combined with wisdom determines your chances of doing a critical hit.

DEXTERITY
Dexterity affects how easily you can evade hits from your opponents.

Dexterity combined with Wisdom determines your chances of running away from a group of enemies.

WISDOM
Wisdom determines how powerful the effects of the spells you cast are, and your resistance to enemies' spells. With every level up, the amount that your max MP is increased is determined by your wisdom (unless you do not have spellcasting ability)

I haven't decided whether I should introduce a "skills" system. Or perhaps each character should just have their own special skill throughout the game.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
I PLAYS THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!

[Rainer Deyke]

This sounds somewhat unbalanced. DEX defends against physical attacks. WIS defends against magical attacks and increases magical attacks. STR defends against both types of attack (by increasing HP) and also increases physical attack. WIS might be useful depending on the power and variety of spells, but it sounds like STR will always beat DEX. Both defend against physical attacks, but STR also increases physical attack and defends against magic.

Of course it might still be balanced if you give DEX a disproportionately large defense bonus.

[XMark]

I guess for the base hit chance it could be like 1.5 * DEX added to 0.5 * STR. Also, I forgot to mention that your action meter will fill up faster with a higher DEX so you get more attacks the faster you are (as well as gaining the initiative over your opponents at the start of battle). I'm going to do lots of tweaking with this system once I get a real engine going under it.
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Mark Hall
Abstract Productions
I PLAYS THE MUSIC THAT MAKES THE PEOPLES FALL DOWN!

[MMandrake]

so you going to use ATB for Arc:Gold?

Nifty :)

anyway, I do like this idea....but have you thought of using a skill-based system rather than a level-up based system?

(heh, never played never winter nights, but I have played 3rd ed AD&D which is what the combat is based on, and it is sweet. I don't know if NN has the same cool multi-classing/prestige class stuff thats in AD&D 3ed, but it rocks. I noticed DW7 (which I'm playing right now), uses that system. Who knows....I might end up using someday for something....)

[XMark@school]

Yeah, NWN has multi-classing, but not prestige classes. You can multiclass up to three different classes but the total levels added together can't exceed 20.

I'm gonna stick with a level-by level system for ARC Legacy gold. I even got a chart written up that shows how your hit chance and dodge chance multipliers increase with each level, and got the curve of experience required for each level up. I'm taking a "hybrid" approach here because I want the powering up of your characters to be as customizable as possible while still retaining the traits of the characters written into the game's storyline. (like you could turn Malcolm into a heavy axe-wielding warrior but it would be very difficult, and you'd be wasting his spell-casting abilities)