11-20-2008, 02:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-01-2011, 08:07 AM by DragonMasterX.)
Before I start, three important things:
1st. This topic will dedicate its entirety to fully explain every mechanic and maniacs from a forum game I've come up with. Visiting the soon to appear links (Zanea's Tales) will reveal that said forum game first sprouted back in 2007. This claim should have been made then, but in light of recent events I've decided it will be needed from now on.
I, DragonMasterX of the Digiartistsdomain's forums hereby claim full rights over any material mentioned here and all the derivative information also included in the links with related content. I claim Zanea's Tales and any of its evolutions as my intellectual property and therefore it is forbidden to anyone else but me to claim, copy, plagiarise, distribute or even make profit out of it.
This said, this project is a WIP, and as such I do not wish for it to be used anywhere else but in DaD. If there's any problem with that, feel free to notify me personally and we'll talk.
2nd. Kurtz, since you're the Moderator of the zone, could you do me a favor and Stick this? Thank you in advance!
3rd. I will be using these links as a references some times:
- http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 (Zanea's Tales)
- http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=7718 (Zanea's Tales 2)
This is Zanea's Tales, the original thread and Zanea's Tales 2, the successor to the former and precursor of the new one. Feel free to read 'em, but they're both locked, so you may not post in them.
The new, and active thread is in this link:
http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=9516
Now that I'm done, let's start.
Okay, seeing as Zanea's Tales is kinda popular, and many typical errors keep repeating themselves by us all, I decided I'd write this to keep anyone's doubts answered to the best of my ability. Let's review things from the basics, but first, a small introduction:
- Zanea's Tales 2 is a Turn-Based Strategy Role Playing Forum Game whose's concepts radiates from similar games (Minus the forum part) such as Fire Emblem, Legend of Mana or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It is played in a 9x9 chess-board-like battlefield of my design done with ASCII art. Said battlefied looks as follows:
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] A
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] B
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] C
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] D
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] E
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] F
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] G
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] H
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] I
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] J
-1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9
Each cell is a space where a marker, designated by a colored or uncolored key (Be it a number like 7, a symbol like / or a letter like A), may be placed during the game play. Much like Chess, the locations are read according to the intersection between the letters and numbers. (For example, A1 being the upper-left-most cell in the corner). [Note: The map is subject to physical alterations or modifications depending on the mission played, it might not always be the same 9x9 area]
- The Map is where units wage battle and objects scatter. Player Markers appear in blue, Enemy Markers appear in red, Neutral Markers appear in green, and finally, loot/treasures appear in orange.
Here is a basic example of how a common battlefield looks like:
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] A
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] B
[ ][ ][ ][ ][T][ ][ ][ ][ ] C
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] D
[ ][B][ ][ ][ ][ ][C][ ][ ] E
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] F
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] G
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] H
[ ][ ][ ][ ][M][ ][ ][ ][ ] I
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] J
-1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9
Notice that the markers are always 1 (ONE) letter/symbol/number, and no more. They are the assignated markers to the names of the units, and in this very same example, they are distributed in this manner:
Terra (Goblin) [<- Notice that enemies most of the time are differenced into monsters or simply foes of the same race (humans), and when they are, I discriminate them by writing the type of enemy next to their name in-between parenthesses]
Mar
Bag [<- Bags, Treasure Chests and the like are scatters that players need only to approach to a range of an adjacent cell, in this case E1, E3, D2 and F2, and simply pick/open them up to get their contents]
Civilian [<- Many neutral units can be located in various missions. Protecting them or interacting with them (By getting close to an adjacent cell) can yield good results and may change the course of the story.]
- Enemies are controlled by the Game Master, A.K.A. yours truly. They aren't dumb like computer A.I., and they only have one goal: Destroy the opposing party. All enemies have set parameters, status and skills depending on the game's progression and their respective races (If they are humans or monsters and what kind of the two). In addition to normal enemies, there are also Boss enemies, that are powered-up versions of the normal enemies, which have twice the amount of parameters they normally posses. These are rarer, but they leave rewards when they are beaten (Normally Bags).
- Neutral units are also controlled by me, but they move around stupidilly, most of them can only really take damage and move, while some others do have skills that might prove benefical to the Players. Interacting and Protecting them is always good.
- Items, like in any form of battle game, vary and are in this RPG as well; I keep a list of the Items saved in a notepad, which I call the Inventory as default, and I keep the Party's Item list saved as well for their convenience to know what they have at the moment, and what they don't. There are four kinds of items so far, and they are as follows:
--Item: These are your average ones, such as a Potion or an Antidote. Gems (Which are sold for Zeny, the currency), are also included here.
--Equipment: These are sub-divided into Weapon, Armor and Accessory. Weapons boost a character's Attack parameter, while Armor obviously boosts a character's Defense parameter. There is no restriction to what extra bonifications the equipments may grant the wearers though, some Weapons may increase Defense and viceversa with Armors, they may receive the blessing of an element (Will be discussed further down), and so on. Additionally, there are accessories that can be worn to allow characters to receive bonus parameters or effects!
--Zeny: It's the currency of the game, the Party's Inventory stashes this as well, and it's used in the Market (Will be discuseed further down) to purchase Items.
--Special Item: These can't be lost, broken, stolen or sold. They are saved for later use in the story's progression. Always keep check on them!
- Market: The Market is an addition to Zanea's Tales 2. At the end of each Mission a Market will open from where the Party will be able to purchase and sell items. Each new Mission (Will explain further down) cleared (Not counting Side-Missions, will explain further down) provides the Market with an increased selection of goods to be purchased. In addition to this, the Party might trade an Item known as "Item Ticket" to unlock new, rare items for purchase.
Now that you're instructed in the maniacs of what the game is about, it's time to start with the basics of what this game is about:
- Missions: Consider them 'stages' to be played in the game. Each Mission has a complementary, related plot which provides the player the basic pointers of what they must do. Each mission has Map with an unique set of enemies to be fought, and/or set of scrambled markers (Such as Neutral or Loots). The missions aren't just "Go hack and slash!" types, well, most of the time they are, but they have conditions that must be met, or else the Mission will result in failure or it will change the Rank (Will explain further below).
--Conditions: The conditions are three, and they are:
---To Win: If this condition is met, the Mission is automatically cleared.
---Lose if: If this condition is met, the Mission automatically results in a failure, and it must be replayed from its start. Zeny is deducted from the inventory, the penalization is 50% of the total zeny.
---Target Phase: Usually presented with a single number that determines the amount of time the Players have to complete the Mission successfully. Exceeding the time won't result in failure, but it will affect the overall Ranking of the mission (Will explain below).
--Mission Ranking: A grading system which evaluates the Party's performance and awards them with a suitable reward depending on the grade (Ranging from D to S, S being the highest score). The evaluation system consists in the following items:
---Time: Usually presented in this format: #/# The first number being the amount of Player Phases used until the Mission was completed (Cleared) and the second being the Target Phase noted in the Conditions. Any time under the Target Phase rewards an S, a perfect time (6/6 for instance) rewards an A, and as the time keeps exceeding the Target, the score will go down.
---Items: Using no items awards an S. Depending on the items used and the quantities, the rank will go down.
---Tactics: This is where my observation kicks in. I will survey the strategies and tactics the party used against the Enemies, or to complete the objetive of the Mission. This is a mixture of objetivism and subjetivism so you'll have to bear with me.
---Special Events: During the course of some missions, "?"s will appear in some cells. Walking on them or interacting with them (By getting into an adjacent cell) will trigger an event. If you complete it, you will enter Event Mode. This means you have to clear all events in the Mission to receive an extra S to help your score, however, not all Events are positive, and if you fail them, your score will be deducted, if you don't check them all after you've entered Event Mode, your score will also be deducted, so it's always wise to know when not to risk and when you want to.
--Turn System: The Turns are divided into two kinds of phases (Three if Neutral units come to play). Players always start the Mission. They all must post the command/s their character will execute, and when all of them have posted (Unless they lose their turn or are static-eliminated, will explain below), the Enemy Phase begins. This is where all the foes move and act, and they all do it at once, so be careful where you leave your character! Additionally if there is any Neutral unit, they have a special Phase reserved for them to run around like idiots.
---Turn Losing/Rank Downgrading: Each time an Enemy Phase concludes, a new Player Phase starts, and that means all Players must post commands once again. The Game Master cannot post the new Enemy Phase until all of the Players have posted their commands. The exception to this is when 20-24 hours have passed since the Game Master's last post; and when this happens, the Players who have not posted will lose a turn. A Player who loses a turn three times in the same Mission will lose some of their EXP when the Mission ends. This is to keep lazy people who are around the forum and CAN post from abusing the fact they can keep being skipped and still receive level ups when the Missions are over, due to their partners' effort.
--Party EXP Reward: Each time a Mission concludes, I will survey the activities of each individual Player, and will award them with a Level Up if their contribution is enough for this to happen. The evaluation items used in this instance are as follows:
---Slaying: How much the character contributed to the downing of the Enemy.
---Tactics: Offensive and Defensive strategies used by the player. The better they looked like doing them, the higher the score!
---Team-work: As you might have guessed, this game is about working together. A character that shows commitment and loyalty to its party, like sacrificing possible Attacks to tend to an ally's wounds, or covering for one's weakness with your strength is the sign of a high team-work grade!
^ Not used anymore. Here's how Level up works now:
To Level Up, a character must accumulate 100 points of EXP at any interval. Leveling Up during a mission awards characters Stat and Skill Points as per normal regulations, but the spendage of them will only be able to be done outside of a mission (As always). Keep in mind that the experience counter will add numbers indefinately, but you'll get your level ups at the end of the mission, which will be determined by your score divided by 100. The left over will carry on to the next mission.
To gather EXP Points, the following can be done:
Acting on a Monster: Attacking/Using Skills/Items on a monster the same level you are will grant 10 EXP points per target (For a maximum accumulation of 30 EXP points in the case of multiple targets).
- For every level a monster is inferior to you, the amount of EXP awarded will decrease by 2 (For a maximum penalty of 0 EXP points per enemy you hit)
- For every level a monster is superior to you, the amount of EXP awarded will increase by 2 (For a maximum accumulation of 20 EXP per enemy you hit. Hitting multiple enemies will only yield up to 60 EXP in the same turn)
Dealing the finishing blow: Killing monsters will award more EXP than just hitting them. The EXP scores for defeating monsters, however, will overwrite the "Act" EXP scores. (For instance, you won't get 10 EXP + an EXP reward for killing a monster the same level as you are, you will only gain the EXP reward for killing said enemy)
- Dealing the finishing blow to an enemy the same level as you are will grant you 20 EXP. (If multiple enemies are killed, the maximum accumulation of EXP will not be able to exceed 60 EXP)
- Dealing the finishing blow to an enemy of inferior level as you are will grant you 10 EXP regardless of the amount of levels behind it is. (Killing multiple targets of inferior levels will add 5 EXP per kill, however, without a limit on accumulation)
- For every level higher the enemy you slayed was, the EXP reward will increase by 4 until 40 EXP (the Maximum) will be received per enemy slain. (The accumulation in multiple killings will not be able to exceed 80 EXP, however)
Using Abilities/Items on allies: Everyone will unilaterally receive 10 EXP points by acting on their allies. This will be done in hopes there is no abuse.
Special Conditions:
- Using a Deathblow that successfully damages an enemy will yield 10 bonus EXP points to whatever your score is.
- Using a Deathblow that successfully exploits an enemy weakness will yield 15 bonus EXP to whatever your score is.
- Destroying an enemy with a Deathblow will award a +30 EXP bonus provided the enemy is at least a level stronger than the character.
- White Mages and the Devout branch gain 10 EXP per ally healed/buffed. (It caps at 30 EXP per round however)
- White Mages and the Devout branch gain 20 EXP per ally revived. (It caps at 60 EXP per round however)
- Every character receives 10 EXP each time they act/buff themselves or their party members. (It caps at 30 EXP per round however)
- Afflicting Boss enemies yields 15 EXP regardless of level.
- Destroying Boss enemies yields 50 EXP regardless of level.
--Side-Missions: Clearing Events or Saving Hostages may unlock secret Missions that are harder than normal, but they provide with lots of goodies, and additional EXP! However, clearing one doesn't expand the Market.
--Difficulty: There are two difficulties to choose before starting a Mission, the difference between each other is mainly the difficulty to slay enemies, since in Hard mode they have more Hit Points and higher Attack Values, not to mention bosses are twice as powerful (Which means four times as powerful as a normal monster). However, playing a Hard difficulty might prove a fun challenge, and the good thing about it is that every enemy slain drops an Item!
--Replay: Cleared Missions may be replayed anytime after a Mission is cleared, however, when you entere a new Mission you won't get any reward unless you score higher than before in the Mission Ranking, and additionally, you cannot leave while replaying, so you must first complete the replayed Mission before going off to another one.
-Character Maniacs.
--Profile: For commodity I'll finish with this one at the bottom.
--Abilities:
---Action Abilities: They may or may not consume MP from your Max MP, but using them may prove more useful than simply attacking an enemy or using an Item. Every Character starts with 1 Action Abilities in their arsenal, and by the means of Skill Points (SP, will explain further below) they can acquire more Action Abilities. Abilities can be buffs, attacks, healing spells, magic spells, debuffs, status ailments, or whatever your mind comes across to. However, they will be ligated to your Job/Class. (For example, a Thief being able to use White Magic is a no). Some Action abilities need other abilities to have been learned or a certain Experience Level must be reached before they can be learned, so keep a close eye to that Skill Tree! A-Abilities cost 1 SP to learn.
---Reaction Abilities: Only one can be equipped at a time. They activate when a certain requirement is met (Such as being stricken, your HP is healed, you're affected with a certain kind of attack) So you can reprisal (Such as Countering, Evading, Taking less damage, etc.). Characters do not start with any R-Ability. These cost 3 SP to learn.
---Support Abilities: They are Passive Abilities which are always active so long as they are equipped. They may provide the user with extra statistics (Such as a boost in HP or Attack, extra movement range, attack range) or special effects (Like reduce defense with A-Abilities, or whatever you can imagine). S-Abilities may be purchased for 2 Skill Points each.
--Parameters. Parameters are sub-divided in HP (Hit Points, or Health), MP (Magic Points, or Magic), Atk (Attack) and Def (Defense), Int (Inteligence), Spr (Spirit), Mov (Move) (NEW!) and Rng (Range) (NEW!). I'll explain them now.
---HP: The Hit Points, like in any game, are your Endurance. If you run out of them, you enter K.O. status. You may not move nor act and your turn will be skipped always whilst you're laying on the floor dead. Your Character Marker loses color and your corpse is laid where it fell. Fear not, for the use of Items such as Potions or Spells such as Cure can restore the Hit Points before you meet your end.
---MP: The Magic Points are essential to any Mage, and most of the characters, since they are the key to being able to use Action Abilities. MP may be restored via certain abilities or Items (Such as Magic Crystals/Diamonds).
---Atk: The Attack parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and your Weapons. It dictates how much damage you will inflict on the opponent.
---Def: The Defense parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and your Armor. It dictates how much damage you can sustain from attacks.
---Int: The Inteligence parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and Canes or Magic Books. It dictates the amount of magic knowledge your character has. A character with low Int will always suck at Magic!
---Spr: The Spirit is like the Magic Defense, that is mainly influenced by your Build and Armor. It dictates the amount of magical damage you can sustain. A useful parameter when you're surrounded by enemies that only use Magic, which ignores the Def parameter.
---Mov: Move or Movement is a fixed parameter and goes according to your Class. It dictates how many squares your character may move towards when their turn comes.
---Rng: Range or Attack Range is a fixed parameter that goes according to your Class. This affects your Normal attack, but also all those abilities that don't explicitally tell you their range of action. What does this mean? If your Rng is 1, you can only attack adjacent units, and all your abilities with no Range mentioned in them will also have to take part in adjacent spaces.
--Level Up: As explained before, leveling up is achieved by providing with a good performance during a mission. This awards a player with Character Growth Currency known as Stat Points (NEW!) to spend for your Stat Values (NEW!). Additionally, Skill Points are awarded with each Level Up.
---Stat Points: These are like your "Stat Value money", they are used to invest on Stat Values to increase your parameters (With the exclussion of Mov and Rng, of course). To invest Stat Points, simply tell me the name of the Stat Value you'd like to increase and by how much. The amount of Stat Points gained differs with the Experience Level of a character. The Stat Points you gain start at 1 when you first Level Up. Every two Level ups this number will increase by one, so you will be able to invest more of them the stronger you become.
i.e: A Lv. 2 character will only have 1 Stat Point, but when they reach Lv. 3 they will instead receive 2 Stat Points. Leveling up again will again yield 2 Stat Points, but when they reach Lv. 5 they will start receiving 3 Stat Points, and so on. For better comprehension, all you have to do is think that every odd numbered Lv. you'll receive an upgrade in Stat Point earnings.
----Stat Values: These are the values that will determine how tough your character will be. Every time you level up you get Stat Points, and every time you have extra Stat Points you may start increasing Stat Values at your own accord. Increasing a Stat Value directly increases the Parameter it corresponds to as explained below. Before that, however, I'll explain all six Stat Values very briefly:
-----Vit: Vitality corresponds to HP. Increasing this value by 1 will directly increase Max HP by 5.
-----Chi: Chi corresponds to MP. Increases this value by 1 will directly increases Max MP by 5.
-----Atk, Def, Int and Spr are increased in a similar manner. Increasing the Atk Stat Value by 1 will directly increase the Atk parameter by 1, and so on.
-----Increasing Stat Values: The Stat Values can be increased by investing Stat Points gained from Level Ups, however, there are restrictions to how your character can grow. This is marked by their Experience Level. A Stat Value can never be higher in number than the current Experience Level, that's why you'll never see a Lv. 6 character with an Atk Stat Value of 9. With this, I'm hoping everyone will be able to customize their character to their own liking. Keep in mind, however, that currently there is NO way to reset your Stat Values so make sure you don't mess up and choose what parameters you want to raise as you go!
------Stat Value Milestones: Stat Value Increase Costs will continue to be the same for a while for a character, but upon reaching certain Experience Levels the costs will begin to raise. Currently, for Basic Jobs, any stat under 20 will cost 1. After that they will start costing 2, beyond 30, 3. For Advanced Jobs, any stat under 15 will cost 1. After that they will start costing 2, beyond 25 they will cost 3.
---Skill Points: These are like your "Skill money", they are used to purchase new Abilities to add to your list. To purchase a new ability, you must first have at least 1 SP, meet the requirements to learn a new ability and after that, you just need to contact me and we'll talk about your new abilities.
--Equipment: Changing and Updating your Equipment is essential to boost your statistics that normally you would have to wait until you've leveled up to achieve. Switching Equippable items however requires you to be in standby mode (Just before starting a Mission) and not after, or during a Mission. You should watch the Elements if you so chose to wear an elemental weapon or armor.
--Elements: There are eight elements in this game. Some enemies are susceptible to them, while some others are weak and become easy as cake if you know how to manipulate them. Said elements are: Fire, Ice, Lighting, Earth, Water, Wind, Holy and Dark.
Fire and Ice oppose each other.
Lighting and Water oppose each other.
Wind and Earth oppose each other.
Holy and Dark oppose each other.
Any unit of a certain element being attacked by an opposing element will receive two times the normal damage. There are few exceptions with oppositions, but those are explained with the enemies who posses the exceptions. An example of Oppositions is attacking a Bomb (Fire) with Blizzard (Ice).
Any unit attacked with the same Element will regain the total damage as HP. An example of this is a Bomb (Fire) being attacked with Fira (Fire).
There are also neutralities, strengths and weakness, but they are each shown or mentioned when the exceptions occur (Like mentioned in Oppositions). For redundance's sake, Neutralities are not mentioned. For example, Goblins are neutral to anything, so they aren't mentioned in the Missions.
--Movement Range: For detailed information, check this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post#7]
(Keep in mind that with "Mov" there is no default movement range now, but the mannerism of moving stays the same)
--Ability Range: For detailed information, check this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post #12 and #15] Note that Abilities are subject to changes according to their effect. The Default range of 3 cells (Shown in Post #12) is for most Magic Spells. If an ability has any sort of changed Range, it will be explicitally shown in its Effect description.
Additionally, Items have a set range of 1 cell, which means this is the range of an item usage (Counting that a character can use an Item on themselves):
---[I]
[I][C][I]
---[I]
C: Character.
I: Item Range.
- Field Interaction & Posting Format: Here we'll discuss the many things your posts may include!
--The Standard Format for inputting commands is located in this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post #9] Please note that the Movement Range is NOT equal for any unit anymore, however, it is subject to modification according to the circumstances, classes, abilities or character types.
------------------
Those are all the basics of the game covered. Next come the Advanced things that are also important and need to be learned
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(Thanks for sticking it, Kyo!)
-Ailments: There are many Status Ailments that may crush any target they are subjected to, I will list them all down here with a short explanation and a way to cure them:
K.O.: You've been knocked out. You may not post anymore, your character's marker will lose color and will stay there. If a character uses Sacred Water on your character, you will 'Revive', thus you will be able to post again. This status is reached when your HP drops to 0. K.O. can also be attained by some Abilities. Cure with: Sacred Water or corresponding Ability. [Staying in K.O. Status after a Mission has been cleared will kill your EXP]
Poison: Poison courses through your character's body, it isn't very strong, but it will sap 1/16 of your Max HP each turn, for a total of three turns. Cure with: Antidote, corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Venom: A lethal poison courses through your character's body, it is deadly, and it won't stop until your body has been consumed by it. It saps 1/16 of your Max HP per turn. Cure with: Antidote or corresponding Ability.
Stone: Your character has been encased in stone, rendering them useless in the lore of movement and action. You are excused from posting until someone cures you and your character's marker becomes a bold dark. Cure with: Soft Potion or corresponding Ability.
Zombie: Your character has been zombified, turning into an undead monster. You lose complete control over your character as it becomes an Enemy, your marker becomes olive in color and you are excused from posting until someone cures you or three turns have passed. Cure with: Holy Water, corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Bind: Your character has become unable to move. You will not be able to use any manner of movement until three turns pass. Cure with: Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Doom: Your character has been doomed, they will die in three turns. Cure with: N/A.
Frailty: Your character's body has become too frail to be healed. All manner of healing will turn into 0 regarding this character. Your marker will become brown in color. Cure with: Tonic of Youth or corresponding Ability.
Silence: Your character can't talk, they may not perform spells. Cure with: Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Addle: Your character has forgotten how to use their abilities! They may not perform any A-Ability until Addling stops. Cure with: Waiting three turns.
Blind: Your character can't see, they may not perform physical offensive actions. Cure with: Eye Drops, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Flu: Your character's sick! They will lose 10% of their Max MP every turn. Cure with: Medicament, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Fear: Your character's afraid of fighting! Mov is fixed at 5, but your character can't Act, use Items or Abilities! Cure with: Stabilizer, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Frog: Your character's been turned into a small frog! All stats except HP and MP are halved, you may not use Abilities. Mov and Rng are fixed at 1. Cure with: Maiden's Kiss, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Stun: Your character's been incapacitated for one turn. You're excused from posting for one turn. Cure with: N/A.
-Enemy Power Up!: Enemies will increase in overall strength and the amount of skills they can use will continue to grow as the Party becomes stronger. To keep an enemy party from overwhelming newbies at replays of earlier missions, players should be wary of the characters taking part in a Mission, and their amounts.
-Party Leader: Party Leaders from now and on are always chosen by a votation held by me. All members shall vote and no one shall ignore a vote forwarded to them. Leadership has a duration of 3 Missions for each leader (Not counting Side-Missions) and once the time has expired a new votation shall be held. Leaders may be re-elected, but no Leader shall forfeit.
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Action Ability Intelligence (This will help you understand the MP Costs I assign to every Ability):
- The Basics.
Action Abilities are various, alternate actions a character may perform during their turn, separate from using Items or Attacking using their Equipped Weapons. Each Ability is unique and has a certain effect which may benefit a character greatly depending on how and when they use it.
- The MP Costs.
Action Abilities are classified in four: Physical, Special, Magical and Buffs. All of them consume MP when used, but their main differences are the stat parameters that influence them.
-- Physical Action Abilities make use of a character's Atk stat, and they are absorbed by the Def stat of a target. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of a Physical A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Atk. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect Cost.
B = Variable.
So, with this formula, we can assume that, an A-Ability dealing 100% (The total) Atk stat in damage will cost 4 MP. But an A-Ability which deals 110% (10% more of the total) of the Atk stat in damage will cost 5 MP instead.
-- Special Action Abilities make use of a character's Int stat, and they are absorbed by the Spr stat of a target. They are also used as Status Ailing abilities. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of a Special A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Int. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 6 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
The base cost of Special A-Abilities is higher due to them having a natural range of 3 cells.
The formula used to calculate the MP cost of a Status Ailing Special A-Ability does not formally exist, since there is no Parameter Boost in them. The cost is assigned by directly deliberating the Effect cost variable in the MP Cost formula.
-- Healing Action Abilities make use of a character's Int stat, and they are used to restore a target's HP, except to those that are Undead, or cure a negative status. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of an HP Healing A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Int. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
The formula used to calculate the MP cost of a Status Curing Healing A-Ability does not formally exist, since there is no Parameter Boost in them. The cost is assigned by directly deliberating the Effect cost variable in the MP Cost formula.
-- Buff Action Abilities are used to modify a target's Stat Parameters. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of an Buff A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Increase/Decrease = Base Parameter x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
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Job Classes.
Here, I'll explain what Jobs are, what makes them tick and how to understand them.
A Job Class is the profession your character has taken. By choosing one, your character is given a set amount of Base Stats (Or Parameters, like the ones discussed above), a starting A-Ability and then you become the owner of that Class' Skill Tree.
A Job Class also determines what items you may be able to equip. In other words, being a Swordsman allows you to use any manner of Sword or Lance but they can't equip Staves or Katars.
The Job Classes are divided into three classifications: Basic, Advanced and Ultimate. A Character starts out as one of the 10 different Basic classes from the roster, when they reach Lv. 10 they can choose to transform into an Advanced Job (A forked branch grows from a Basic class, so every Basic class has access to two different Classes to turn into at the moment of promotion) and when they reach Lv. 25, they may become their correspondant Ultimate Job.
A Skill Tree looks like this:
- A-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Element: <- Its element.
MP Cost: <- Cost for using it.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
- S-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
- R-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
As a character Job Changes, the Skill Tree will begin to add more and more abilities in all three aspects (A, S and R).
The Skill Roster is what we'll use in your Character Sheet. This Roster will include the following:
A-Abilities: [Name], [Name], [Name].
S-Ability: [Name]
R-Ability: [Name]
Deathblow: [Name] [(Element)]
The reason why no description is needed in your character sheet is because both you and I have the Skill Trees, so we both know what the Abilities are and what they do, so the Roster will just be a reference list with what you currently own.
This, a character profile will look like this:
-------------------------
Name: The name of your character
Job: You must choose a class from the initial basic roster (Will be discussed further below). Keep in mind your Stats, Abilities and Equipment allowed will change depending on what Job you choose to be.
Lv. 1.
Stat Values:
Vit: 0
Chi: 0
Atk: 0
Def: 0
Int: 0
Spr: 0
Parameters:
HP: #/#
MP: #/#
Atk: #
Def: #
Int: #
Spr: #
Mov: #
Rng: #
Stat Points: 0
Weapon: The Weapon you will wield when you start. (It will be relatively weak)
Armor: Same with Weapon.
Accessory: Once the party receives an accessory, all you have to do is equip it for it to take effect. Remember, only one accessory may be equipped at a time, and there's nothing good from having lots of accessories and not using them!
A-Abilities: [Name].
S-Ability: [None]
R-Ability: [None]
Deathblow: [Name] [(Element)]
Skill Points: 0
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--Deathblow: Deathblows are special attacks that can be performed by anyone who's accumulated 10 Finishing Points (FPs). The FP counter is posted at the start of every new turn and it increases by one every time a character takes a full turn (Move & Act) and by two after slaying an enemy. (FP doesn't stack by killing multiple enemies, however). The maximum FP obtained can never exceed 10, and when at the max a Deathblow is then allowed. A Deathblow consists of an attack at the default range of a normal Attack but it makes use of a character's highest offensive stat (Atk or Int) and inflicts two times that value as piercing damage. Deathblows may have an Element so they can be used in various ways for advantages. The FP counter of a character is resetted after using a Deathblow or after a Mission's been cleared/lost.
Now that we've discussed all the necessary stuff about Job Classes, allow me to link you to this thread: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=9438 [Post #20]
This will allow you to see the progress of the ZT2 Revamp while it was in its initial stages. If you scroll down to Post #20 you'll be able to see the Basic and Advanced Class Roster, fully updated and complete. Make sure to to choose a Basic class thinking on what kind of gaming style suits you, but also check if the party needs more Spell casters, or Rangers, or Tanks! Don't forget that you're part of the party, not THE party!
[Updated as of May the 31st, 2011.]
1st. This topic will dedicate its entirety to fully explain every mechanic and maniacs from a forum game I've come up with. Visiting the soon to appear links (Zanea's Tales) will reveal that said forum game first sprouted back in 2007. This claim should have been made then, but in light of recent events I've decided it will be needed from now on.
I, DragonMasterX of the Digiartistsdomain's forums hereby claim full rights over any material mentioned here and all the derivative information also included in the links with related content. I claim Zanea's Tales and any of its evolutions as my intellectual property and therefore it is forbidden to anyone else but me to claim, copy, plagiarise, distribute or even make profit out of it.
This said, this project is a WIP, and as such I do not wish for it to be used anywhere else but in DaD. If there's any problem with that, feel free to notify me personally and we'll talk.
2nd. Kurtz, since you're the Moderator of the zone, could you do me a favor and Stick this? Thank you in advance!
3rd. I will be using these links as a references some times:
- http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 (Zanea's Tales)
- http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=7718 (Zanea's Tales 2)
This is Zanea's Tales, the original thread and Zanea's Tales 2, the successor to the former and precursor of the new one. Feel free to read 'em, but they're both locked, so you may not post in them.
The new, and active thread is in this link:
http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=9516
Now that I'm done, let's start.
Okay, seeing as Zanea's Tales is kinda popular, and many typical errors keep repeating themselves by us all, I decided I'd write this to keep anyone's doubts answered to the best of my ability. Let's review things from the basics, but first, a small introduction:
- Zanea's Tales 2 is a Turn-Based Strategy Role Playing Forum Game whose's concepts radiates from similar games (Minus the forum part) such as Fire Emblem, Legend of Mana or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It is played in a 9x9 chess-board-like battlefield of my design done with ASCII art. Said battlefied looks as follows:
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] A
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] B
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] C
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] D
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] E
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] F
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] G
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] H
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] I
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] J
-1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9
Each cell is a space where a marker, designated by a colored or uncolored key (Be it a number like 7, a symbol like / or a letter like A), may be placed during the game play. Much like Chess, the locations are read according to the intersection between the letters and numbers. (For example, A1 being the upper-left-most cell in the corner). [Note: The map is subject to physical alterations or modifications depending on the mission played, it might not always be the same 9x9 area]
- The Map is where units wage battle and objects scatter. Player Markers appear in blue, Enemy Markers appear in red, Neutral Markers appear in green, and finally, loot/treasures appear in orange.
Here is a basic example of how a common battlefield looks like:
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] A
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] B
[ ][ ][ ][ ][T][ ][ ][ ][ ] C
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] D
[ ][B][ ][ ][ ][ ][C][ ][ ] E
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] F
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] G
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] H
[ ][ ][ ][ ][M][ ][ ][ ][ ] I
[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] J
-1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9
Notice that the markers are always 1 (ONE) letter/symbol/number, and no more. They are the assignated markers to the names of the units, and in this very same example, they are distributed in this manner:
Terra (Goblin) [<- Notice that enemies most of the time are differenced into monsters or simply foes of the same race (humans), and when they are, I discriminate them by writing the type of enemy next to their name in-between parenthesses]
Mar
Bag [<- Bags, Treasure Chests and the like are scatters that players need only to approach to a range of an adjacent cell, in this case E1, E3, D2 and F2, and simply pick/open them up to get their contents]
Civilian [<- Many neutral units can be located in various missions. Protecting them or interacting with them (By getting close to an adjacent cell) can yield good results and may change the course of the story.]
- Enemies are controlled by the Game Master, A.K.A. yours truly. They aren't dumb like computer A.I., and they only have one goal: Destroy the opposing party. All enemies have set parameters, status and skills depending on the game's progression and their respective races (If they are humans or monsters and what kind of the two). In addition to normal enemies, there are also Boss enemies, that are powered-up versions of the normal enemies, which have twice the amount of parameters they normally posses. These are rarer, but they leave rewards when they are beaten (Normally Bags).
- Neutral units are also controlled by me, but they move around stupidilly, most of them can only really take damage and move, while some others do have skills that might prove benefical to the Players. Interacting and Protecting them is always good.
- Items, like in any form of battle game, vary and are in this RPG as well; I keep a list of the Items saved in a notepad, which I call the Inventory as default, and I keep the Party's Item list saved as well for their convenience to know what they have at the moment, and what they don't. There are four kinds of items so far, and they are as follows:
--Item: These are your average ones, such as a Potion or an Antidote. Gems (Which are sold for Zeny, the currency), are also included here.
--Equipment: These are sub-divided into Weapon, Armor and Accessory. Weapons boost a character's Attack parameter, while Armor obviously boosts a character's Defense parameter. There is no restriction to what extra bonifications the equipments may grant the wearers though, some Weapons may increase Defense and viceversa with Armors, they may receive the blessing of an element (Will be discussed further down), and so on. Additionally, there are accessories that can be worn to allow characters to receive bonus parameters or effects!
--Zeny: It's the currency of the game, the Party's Inventory stashes this as well, and it's used in the Market (Will be discuseed further down) to purchase Items.
--Special Item: These can't be lost, broken, stolen or sold. They are saved for later use in the story's progression. Always keep check on them!
- Market: The Market is an addition to Zanea's Tales 2. At the end of each Mission a Market will open from where the Party will be able to purchase and sell items. Each new Mission (Will explain further down) cleared (Not counting Side-Missions, will explain further down) provides the Market with an increased selection of goods to be purchased. In addition to this, the Party might trade an Item known as "Item Ticket" to unlock new, rare items for purchase.
Now that you're instructed in the maniacs of what the game is about, it's time to start with the basics of what this game is about:
- Missions: Consider them 'stages' to be played in the game. Each Mission has a complementary, related plot which provides the player the basic pointers of what they must do. Each mission has Map with an unique set of enemies to be fought, and/or set of scrambled markers (Such as Neutral or Loots). The missions aren't just "Go hack and slash!" types, well, most of the time they are, but they have conditions that must be met, or else the Mission will result in failure or it will change the Rank (Will explain further below).
--Conditions: The conditions are three, and they are:
---To Win: If this condition is met, the Mission is automatically cleared.
---Lose if: If this condition is met, the Mission automatically results in a failure, and it must be replayed from its start. Zeny is deducted from the inventory, the penalization is 50% of the total zeny.
---Target Phase: Usually presented with a single number that determines the amount of time the Players have to complete the Mission successfully. Exceeding the time won't result in failure, but it will affect the overall Ranking of the mission (Will explain below).
--Mission Ranking: A grading system which evaluates the Party's performance and awards them with a suitable reward depending on the grade (Ranging from D to S, S being the highest score). The evaluation system consists in the following items:
---Time: Usually presented in this format: #/# The first number being the amount of Player Phases used until the Mission was completed (Cleared) and the second being the Target Phase noted in the Conditions. Any time under the Target Phase rewards an S, a perfect time (6/6 for instance) rewards an A, and as the time keeps exceeding the Target, the score will go down.
---Items: Using no items awards an S. Depending on the items used and the quantities, the rank will go down.
---Tactics: This is where my observation kicks in. I will survey the strategies and tactics the party used against the Enemies, or to complete the objetive of the Mission. This is a mixture of objetivism and subjetivism so you'll have to bear with me.
---Special Events: During the course of some missions, "?"s will appear in some cells. Walking on them or interacting with them (By getting into an adjacent cell) will trigger an event. If you complete it, you will enter Event Mode. This means you have to clear all events in the Mission to receive an extra S to help your score, however, not all Events are positive, and if you fail them, your score will be deducted, if you don't check them all after you've entered Event Mode, your score will also be deducted, so it's always wise to know when not to risk and when you want to.
--Turn System: The Turns are divided into two kinds of phases (Three if Neutral units come to play). Players always start the Mission. They all must post the command/s their character will execute, and when all of them have posted (Unless they lose their turn or are static-eliminated, will explain below), the Enemy Phase begins. This is where all the foes move and act, and they all do it at once, so be careful where you leave your character! Additionally if there is any Neutral unit, they have a special Phase reserved for them to run around like idiots.
---Turn Losing/Rank Downgrading: Each time an Enemy Phase concludes, a new Player Phase starts, and that means all Players must post commands once again. The Game Master cannot post the new Enemy Phase until all of the Players have posted their commands. The exception to this is when 20-24 hours have passed since the Game Master's last post; and when this happens, the Players who have not posted will lose a turn. A Player who loses a turn three times in the same Mission will lose some of their EXP when the Mission ends. This is to keep lazy people who are around the forum and CAN post from abusing the fact they can keep being skipped and still receive level ups when the Missions are over, due to their partners' effort.
--Party EXP Reward: Each time a Mission concludes, I will survey the activities of each individual Player, and will award them with a Level Up if their contribution is enough for this to happen. The evaluation items used in this instance are as follows:
---Slaying: How much the character contributed to the downing of the Enemy.
---Tactics: Offensive and Defensive strategies used by the player. The better they looked like doing them, the higher the score!
---Team-work: As you might have guessed, this game is about working together. A character that shows commitment and loyalty to its party, like sacrificing possible Attacks to tend to an ally's wounds, or covering for one's weakness with your strength is the sign of a high team-work grade!
^ Not used anymore. Here's how Level up works now:
To Level Up, a character must accumulate 100 points of EXP at any interval. Leveling Up during a mission awards characters Stat and Skill Points as per normal regulations, but the spendage of them will only be able to be done outside of a mission (As always). Keep in mind that the experience counter will add numbers indefinately, but you'll get your level ups at the end of the mission, which will be determined by your score divided by 100. The left over will carry on to the next mission.
To gather EXP Points, the following can be done:
Acting on a Monster: Attacking/Using Skills/Items on a monster the same level you are will grant 10 EXP points per target (For a maximum accumulation of 30 EXP points in the case of multiple targets).
- For every level a monster is inferior to you, the amount of EXP awarded will decrease by 2 (For a maximum penalty of 0 EXP points per enemy you hit)
- For every level a monster is superior to you, the amount of EXP awarded will increase by 2 (For a maximum accumulation of 20 EXP per enemy you hit. Hitting multiple enemies will only yield up to 60 EXP in the same turn)
Dealing the finishing blow: Killing monsters will award more EXP than just hitting them. The EXP scores for defeating monsters, however, will overwrite the "Act" EXP scores. (For instance, you won't get 10 EXP + an EXP reward for killing a monster the same level as you are, you will only gain the EXP reward for killing said enemy)
- Dealing the finishing blow to an enemy the same level as you are will grant you 20 EXP. (If multiple enemies are killed, the maximum accumulation of EXP will not be able to exceed 60 EXP)
- Dealing the finishing blow to an enemy of inferior level as you are will grant you 10 EXP regardless of the amount of levels behind it is. (Killing multiple targets of inferior levels will add 5 EXP per kill, however, without a limit on accumulation)
- For every level higher the enemy you slayed was, the EXP reward will increase by 4 until 40 EXP (the Maximum) will be received per enemy slain. (The accumulation in multiple killings will not be able to exceed 80 EXP, however)
Using Abilities/Items on allies: Everyone will unilaterally receive 10 EXP points by acting on their allies. This will be done in hopes there is no abuse.
Special Conditions:
- Using a Deathblow that successfully damages an enemy will yield 10 bonus EXP points to whatever your score is.
- Using a Deathblow that successfully exploits an enemy weakness will yield 15 bonus EXP to whatever your score is.
- Destroying an enemy with a Deathblow will award a +30 EXP bonus provided the enemy is at least a level stronger than the character.
- White Mages and the Devout branch gain 10 EXP per ally healed/buffed. (It caps at 30 EXP per round however)
- White Mages and the Devout branch gain 20 EXP per ally revived. (It caps at 60 EXP per round however)
- Every character receives 10 EXP each time they act/buff themselves or their party members. (It caps at 30 EXP per round however)
- Afflicting Boss enemies yields 15 EXP regardless of level.
- Destroying Boss enemies yields 50 EXP regardless of level.
--Side-Missions: Clearing Events or Saving Hostages may unlock secret Missions that are harder than normal, but they provide with lots of goodies, and additional EXP! However, clearing one doesn't expand the Market.
--Difficulty: There are two difficulties to choose before starting a Mission, the difference between each other is mainly the difficulty to slay enemies, since in Hard mode they have more Hit Points and higher Attack Values, not to mention bosses are twice as powerful (Which means four times as powerful as a normal monster). However, playing a Hard difficulty might prove a fun challenge, and the good thing about it is that every enemy slain drops an Item!
--Replay: Cleared Missions may be replayed anytime after a Mission is cleared, however, when you entere a new Mission you won't get any reward unless you score higher than before in the Mission Ranking, and additionally, you cannot leave while replaying, so you must first complete the replayed Mission before going off to another one.
-Character Maniacs.
--Profile: For commodity I'll finish with this one at the bottom.
--Abilities:
---Action Abilities: They may or may not consume MP from your Max MP, but using them may prove more useful than simply attacking an enemy or using an Item. Every Character starts with 1 Action Abilities in their arsenal, and by the means of Skill Points (SP, will explain further below) they can acquire more Action Abilities. Abilities can be buffs, attacks, healing spells, magic spells, debuffs, status ailments, or whatever your mind comes across to. However, they will be ligated to your Job/Class. (For example, a Thief being able to use White Magic is a no). Some Action abilities need other abilities to have been learned or a certain Experience Level must be reached before they can be learned, so keep a close eye to that Skill Tree! A-Abilities cost 1 SP to learn.
---Reaction Abilities: Only one can be equipped at a time. They activate when a certain requirement is met (Such as being stricken, your HP is healed, you're affected with a certain kind of attack) So you can reprisal (Such as Countering, Evading, Taking less damage, etc.). Characters do not start with any R-Ability. These cost 3 SP to learn.
---Support Abilities: They are Passive Abilities which are always active so long as they are equipped. They may provide the user with extra statistics (Such as a boost in HP or Attack, extra movement range, attack range) or special effects (Like reduce defense with A-Abilities, or whatever you can imagine). S-Abilities may be purchased for 2 Skill Points each.
--Parameters. Parameters are sub-divided in HP (Hit Points, or Health), MP (Magic Points, or Magic), Atk (Attack) and Def (Defense), Int (Inteligence), Spr (Spirit), Mov (Move) (NEW!) and Rng (Range) (NEW!). I'll explain them now.
---HP: The Hit Points, like in any game, are your Endurance. If you run out of them, you enter K.O. status. You may not move nor act and your turn will be skipped always whilst you're laying on the floor dead. Your Character Marker loses color and your corpse is laid where it fell. Fear not, for the use of Items such as Potions or Spells such as Cure can restore the Hit Points before you meet your end.
---MP: The Magic Points are essential to any Mage, and most of the characters, since they are the key to being able to use Action Abilities. MP may be restored via certain abilities or Items (Such as Magic Crystals/Diamonds).
---Atk: The Attack parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and your Weapons. It dictates how much damage you will inflict on the opponent.
---Def: The Defense parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and your Armor. It dictates how much damage you can sustain from attacks.
---Int: The Inteligence parameter is mainly influenced by your Build and Canes or Magic Books. It dictates the amount of magic knowledge your character has. A character with low Int will always suck at Magic!
---Spr: The Spirit is like the Magic Defense, that is mainly influenced by your Build and Armor. It dictates the amount of magical damage you can sustain. A useful parameter when you're surrounded by enemies that only use Magic, which ignores the Def parameter.
---Mov: Move or Movement is a fixed parameter and goes according to your Class. It dictates how many squares your character may move towards when their turn comes.
---Rng: Range or Attack Range is a fixed parameter that goes according to your Class. This affects your Normal attack, but also all those abilities that don't explicitally tell you their range of action. What does this mean? If your Rng is 1, you can only attack adjacent units, and all your abilities with no Range mentioned in them will also have to take part in adjacent spaces.
--Level Up: As explained before, leveling up is achieved by providing with a good performance during a mission. This awards a player with Character Growth Currency known as Stat Points (NEW!) to spend for your Stat Values (NEW!). Additionally, Skill Points are awarded with each Level Up.
---Stat Points: These are like your "Stat Value money", they are used to invest on Stat Values to increase your parameters (With the exclussion of Mov and Rng, of course). To invest Stat Points, simply tell me the name of the Stat Value you'd like to increase and by how much. The amount of Stat Points gained differs with the Experience Level of a character. The Stat Points you gain start at 1 when you first Level Up. Every two Level ups this number will increase by one, so you will be able to invest more of them the stronger you become.
i.e: A Lv. 2 character will only have 1 Stat Point, but when they reach Lv. 3 they will instead receive 2 Stat Points. Leveling up again will again yield 2 Stat Points, but when they reach Lv. 5 they will start receiving 3 Stat Points, and so on. For better comprehension, all you have to do is think that every odd numbered Lv. you'll receive an upgrade in Stat Point earnings.
----Stat Values: These are the values that will determine how tough your character will be. Every time you level up you get Stat Points, and every time you have extra Stat Points you may start increasing Stat Values at your own accord. Increasing a Stat Value directly increases the Parameter it corresponds to as explained below. Before that, however, I'll explain all six Stat Values very briefly:
-----Vit: Vitality corresponds to HP. Increasing this value by 1 will directly increase Max HP by 5.
-----Chi: Chi corresponds to MP. Increases this value by 1 will directly increases Max MP by 5.
-----Atk, Def, Int and Spr are increased in a similar manner. Increasing the Atk Stat Value by 1 will directly increase the Atk parameter by 1, and so on.
-----Increasing Stat Values: The Stat Values can be increased by investing Stat Points gained from Level Ups, however, there are restrictions to how your character can grow. This is marked by their Experience Level. A Stat Value can never be higher in number than the current Experience Level, that's why you'll never see a Lv. 6 character with an Atk Stat Value of 9. With this, I'm hoping everyone will be able to customize their character to their own liking. Keep in mind, however, that currently there is NO way to reset your Stat Values so make sure you don't mess up and choose what parameters you want to raise as you go!
------Stat Value Milestones: Stat Value Increase Costs will continue to be the same for a while for a character, but upon reaching certain Experience Levels the costs will begin to raise. Currently, for Basic Jobs, any stat under 20 will cost 1. After that they will start costing 2, beyond 30, 3. For Advanced Jobs, any stat under 15 will cost 1. After that they will start costing 2, beyond 25 they will cost 3.
---Skill Points: These are like your "Skill money", they are used to purchase new Abilities to add to your list. To purchase a new ability, you must first have at least 1 SP, meet the requirements to learn a new ability and after that, you just need to contact me and we'll talk about your new abilities.
--Equipment: Changing and Updating your Equipment is essential to boost your statistics that normally you would have to wait until you've leveled up to achieve. Switching Equippable items however requires you to be in standby mode (Just before starting a Mission) and not after, or during a Mission. You should watch the Elements if you so chose to wear an elemental weapon or armor.
--Elements: There are eight elements in this game. Some enemies are susceptible to them, while some others are weak and become easy as cake if you know how to manipulate them. Said elements are: Fire, Ice, Lighting, Earth, Water, Wind, Holy and Dark.
Fire and Ice oppose each other.
Lighting and Water oppose each other.
Wind and Earth oppose each other.
Holy and Dark oppose each other.
Any unit of a certain element being attacked by an opposing element will receive two times the normal damage. There are few exceptions with oppositions, but those are explained with the enemies who posses the exceptions. An example of Oppositions is attacking a Bomb (Fire) with Blizzard (Ice).
Any unit attacked with the same Element will regain the total damage as HP. An example of this is a Bomb (Fire) being attacked with Fira (Fire).
There are also neutralities, strengths and weakness, but they are each shown or mentioned when the exceptions occur (Like mentioned in Oppositions). For redundance's sake, Neutralities are not mentioned. For example, Goblins are neutral to anything, so they aren't mentioned in the Missions.
--Movement Range: For detailed information, check this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post#7]
(Keep in mind that with "Mov" there is no default movement range now, but the mannerism of moving stays the same)
--Ability Range: For detailed information, check this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post #12 and #15] Note that Abilities are subject to changes according to their effect. The Default range of 3 cells (Shown in Post #12) is for most Magic Spells. If an ability has any sort of changed Range, it will be explicitally shown in its Effect description.
Additionally, Items have a set range of 1 cell, which means this is the range of an item usage (Counting that a character can use an Item on themselves):
---[I]
[I][C][I]
---[I]
C: Character.
I: Item Range.
- Field Interaction & Posting Format: Here we'll discuss the many things your posts may include!
--The Standard Format for inputting commands is located in this link: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=6175 [Post #9] Please note that the Movement Range is NOT equal for any unit anymore, however, it is subject to modification according to the circumstances, classes, abilities or character types.
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Those are all the basics of the game covered. Next come the Advanced things that are also important and need to be learned
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(Thanks for sticking it, Kyo!)
-Ailments: There are many Status Ailments that may crush any target they are subjected to, I will list them all down here with a short explanation and a way to cure them:
K.O.: You've been knocked out. You may not post anymore, your character's marker will lose color and will stay there. If a character uses Sacred Water on your character, you will 'Revive', thus you will be able to post again. This status is reached when your HP drops to 0. K.O. can also be attained by some Abilities. Cure with: Sacred Water or corresponding Ability. [Staying in K.O. Status after a Mission has been cleared will kill your EXP]
Poison: Poison courses through your character's body, it isn't very strong, but it will sap 1/16 of your Max HP each turn, for a total of three turns. Cure with: Antidote, corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Venom: A lethal poison courses through your character's body, it is deadly, and it won't stop until your body has been consumed by it. It saps 1/16 of your Max HP per turn. Cure with: Antidote or corresponding Ability.
Stone: Your character has been encased in stone, rendering them useless in the lore of movement and action. You are excused from posting until someone cures you and your character's marker becomes a bold dark. Cure with: Soft Potion or corresponding Ability.
Zombie: Your character has been zombified, turning into an undead monster. You lose complete control over your character as it becomes an Enemy, your marker becomes olive in color and you are excused from posting until someone cures you or three turns have passed. Cure with: Holy Water, corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Bind: Your character has become unable to move. You will not be able to use any manner of movement until three turns pass. Cure with: Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Doom: Your character has been doomed, they will die in three turns. Cure with: N/A.
Frailty: Your character's body has become too frail to be healed. All manner of healing will turn into 0 regarding this character. Your marker will become brown in color. Cure with: Tonic of Youth or corresponding Ability.
Silence: Your character can't talk, they may not perform spells. Cure with: Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Addle: Your character has forgotten how to use their abilities! They may not perform any A-Ability until Addling stops. Cure with: Waiting three turns.
Blind: Your character can't see, they may not perform physical offensive actions. Cure with: Eye Drops, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Flu: Your character's sick! They will lose 10% of their Max MP every turn. Cure with: Medicament, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Fear: Your character's afraid of fighting! Mov is fixed at 5, but your character can't Act, use Items or Abilities! Cure with: Stabilizer, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Frog: Your character's been turned into a small frog! All stats except HP and MP are halved, you may not use Abilities. Mov and Rng are fixed at 1. Cure with: Maiden's Kiss, Corresponding Ability or waiting three turns.
Stun: Your character's been incapacitated for one turn. You're excused from posting for one turn. Cure with: N/A.
-Enemy Power Up!: Enemies will increase in overall strength and the amount of skills they can use will continue to grow as the Party becomes stronger. To keep an enemy party from overwhelming newbies at replays of earlier missions, players should be wary of the characters taking part in a Mission, and their amounts.
-Party Leader: Party Leaders from now and on are always chosen by a votation held by me. All members shall vote and no one shall ignore a vote forwarded to them. Leadership has a duration of 3 Missions for each leader (Not counting Side-Missions) and once the time has expired a new votation shall be held. Leaders may be re-elected, but no Leader shall forfeit.
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Action Ability Intelligence (This will help you understand the MP Costs I assign to every Ability):
- The Basics.
Action Abilities are various, alternate actions a character may perform during their turn, separate from using Items or Attacking using their Equipped Weapons. Each Ability is unique and has a certain effect which may benefit a character greatly depending on how and when they use it.
- The MP Costs.
Action Abilities are classified in four: Physical, Special, Magical and Buffs. All of them consume MP when used, but their main differences are the stat parameters that influence them.
-- Physical Action Abilities make use of a character's Atk stat, and they are absorbed by the Def stat of a target. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of a Physical A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Atk. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect Cost.
B = Variable.
So, with this formula, we can assume that, an A-Ability dealing 100% (The total) Atk stat in damage will cost 4 MP. But an A-Ability which deals 110% (10% more of the total) of the Atk stat in damage will cost 5 MP instead.
-- Special Action Abilities make use of a character's Int stat, and they are absorbed by the Spr stat of a target. They are also used as Status Ailing abilities. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of a Special A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Int. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 6 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
The base cost of Special A-Abilities is higher due to them having a natural range of 3 cells.
The formula used to calculate the MP cost of a Status Ailing Special A-Ability does not formally exist, since there is no Parameter Boost in them. The cost is assigned by directly deliberating the Effect cost variable in the MP Cost formula.
-- Healing Action Abilities make use of a character's Int stat, and they are used to restore a target's HP, except to those that are Undead, or cure a negative status. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of an HP Healing A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Bonus = Base Int. x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
The formula used to calculate the MP cost of a Status Curing Healing A-Ability does not formally exist, since there is no Parameter Boost in them. The cost is assigned by directly deliberating the Effect cost variable in the MP Cost formula.
-- Buff Action Abilities are used to modify a target's Stat Parameters. The formula used to calculate the MP Cost of an Buff A-Ability is as follows:
Parameter Increase/Decrease = Base Parameter x [100 + (10 x B)]%
MP Cost = 4 + B + Effect cost.
B = Variable.
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Job Classes.
Here, I'll explain what Jobs are, what makes them tick and how to understand them.
A Job Class is the profession your character has taken. By choosing one, your character is given a set amount of Base Stats (Or Parameters, like the ones discussed above), a starting A-Ability and then you become the owner of that Class' Skill Tree.
A Job Class also determines what items you may be able to equip. In other words, being a Swordsman allows you to use any manner of Sword or Lance but they can't equip Staves or Katars.
The Job Classes are divided into three classifications: Basic, Advanced and Ultimate. A Character starts out as one of the 10 different Basic classes from the roster, when they reach Lv. 10 they can choose to transform into an Advanced Job (A forked branch grows from a Basic class, so every Basic class has access to two different Classes to turn into at the moment of promotion) and when they reach Lv. 25, they may become their correspondant Ultimate Job.
A Skill Tree looks like this:
- A-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Element: <- Its element.
MP Cost: <- Cost for using it.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
- S-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
- R-Abilities:
Skill Name: <- What it is.
Effect: <- What it does.
Requirements: <- What you need to do before being able to purchase it. If it says "None" then it can be learned as soon as you've enough SP to buy it.
Needed for: <- For help's sake, this will mention what other ability/ies this one will help you get in the future.
As a character Job Changes, the Skill Tree will begin to add more and more abilities in all three aspects (A, S and R).
The Skill Roster is what we'll use in your Character Sheet. This Roster will include the following:
A-Abilities: [Name], [Name], [Name].
S-Ability: [Name]
R-Ability: [Name]
Deathblow: [Name] [(Element)]
The reason why no description is needed in your character sheet is because both you and I have the Skill Trees, so we both know what the Abilities are and what they do, so the Roster will just be a reference list with what you currently own.
This, a character profile will look like this:
-------------------------
Name: The name of your character
Job: You must choose a class from the initial basic roster (Will be discussed further below). Keep in mind your Stats, Abilities and Equipment allowed will change depending on what Job you choose to be.
Lv. 1.
Stat Values:
Vit: 0
Chi: 0
Atk: 0
Def: 0
Int: 0
Spr: 0
Parameters:
HP: #/#
MP: #/#
Atk: #
Def: #
Int: #
Spr: #
Mov: #
Rng: #
Stat Points: 0
Weapon: The Weapon you will wield when you start. (It will be relatively weak)
Armor: Same with Weapon.
Accessory: Once the party receives an accessory, all you have to do is equip it for it to take effect. Remember, only one accessory may be equipped at a time, and there's nothing good from having lots of accessories and not using them!
A-Abilities: [Name].
S-Ability: [None]
R-Ability: [None]
Deathblow: [Name] [(Element)]
Skill Points: 0
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--Deathblow: Deathblows are special attacks that can be performed by anyone who's accumulated 10 Finishing Points (FPs). The FP counter is posted at the start of every new turn and it increases by one every time a character takes a full turn (Move & Act) and by two after slaying an enemy. (FP doesn't stack by killing multiple enemies, however). The maximum FP obtained can never exceed 10, and when at the max a Deathblow is then allowed. A Deathblow consists of an attack at the default range of a normal Attack but it makes use of a character's highest offensive stat (Atk or Int) and inflicts two times that value as piercing damage. Deathblows may have an Element so they can be used in various ways for advantages. The FP counter of a character is resetted after using a Deathblow or after a Mission's been cleared/lost.
Now that we've discussed all the necessary stuff about Job Classes, allow me to link you to this thread: http://www.digiartistsdomain.org/phpboar...p?tid=9438 [Post #20]
This will allow you to see the progress of the ZT2 Revamp while it was in its initial stages. If you scroll down to Post #20 you'll be able to see the Basic and Advanced Class Roster, fully updated and complete. Make sure to to choose a Basic class thinking on what kind of gaming style suits you, but also check if the party needs more Spell casters, or Rangers, or Tanks! Don't forget that you're part of the party, not THE party!
[Updated as of May the 31st, 2011.]
![[Image: FearthatPlushy.jpg]](http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c40/BlackSpyromv_33/FearthatPlushy.jpg)
