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Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Amaterasu - 10-17-2015
Hey everyone! You probably don't know (yet) but I'm planning to make a game WITHIN the Dataverse. I go a little more in-depth about this in this here thread.
So now, while I'm still working on the idea I wanted to ask if anyone is interested in helping out. You can suggest tasks (essentially Quests, but let's call them tasks because I don't want people confusing these and Omniverse quests), NPCs, monsters and bosses, or just about anything you can think of!
What to keep in mind:
-The Shardworld game a medieval fantasy-themed MMORPG-style thing. Suggestions that don't fit into this (mechs, lightsabers, nuclear weapons...) won't be considered.
-Excessively strong or complicated bosses. Please don't do those. A boss which has 50 different attacks, 4 forms, 20 passive abilities and a conditional invulnerability isn't fun to fight against. Same for a boss that can only be defeated by 5 legendary heroes which also must own a hyper-rare item and stab that one square centimeter of its skin where it's vulnerable which happens to be just about unreachable.
-The more, the better! If you can link a picture to that awesome boss character you suggested and you also have an idea about a backstory of how they were made which can be uncovered during a task, that's awesome. Of course not mandatory, but it helps a ton!
-Keep the Omniverse rules in mind. The Shardworld is meant to be a game within the Omniverse with no clashing rules.
A bit of info and lore about the Shardworld:
I'm not very settled down about this and quite open to suggestions, so don't hesitate to offer up changes!
The Story:
[spoiler]The world of Adalor used to be a magnificient land where magic and technology coexisted peacefully. Humankind lived alongside with the elves, dwarves, goblins, non-human animals and a few types of mythical beasts, though they coexisted in relative peace - there was of course the occasional quarrel over land and the like but never anything of grand scale.
That is, until the Gods descended upon the planet. At first they only observed, but then they began to desire worship and obediance and started to command the inhabitants of Adalor to do so. They rapidly crushed any opposition from the populace using enormous magical powers. It was later revealed that these powers come from the so-called Elder Shards, which are items supposedly created by the Elder Deities, which created and shaped the universe and all that live on it, and were tools to shape the universe before they grew experienced enough to not need them anymore. However, these items still hold a notable fraction of the Elder Deities' power, to the point that simply owning them empowers the wearer, turning them immortal and granting them immense magical powers amd resistances. In essence, the wielder of one of the Elder Shards initially is as strong as a mortal, but with every passing day they become more powerful, eventually reaching godhood status.
Adalor happened to be the planet where the Gods had left the most powerful artifact of all, known as Shardstone, although nobody had ever found it. This is why the gods were drawn to Adalor in the first place, after having collected the eleven other artifacts across their respective homeworlds and longing for even more power. They required servants to find the Shardstone of course, this is why they demanded worship.
And of course, it didn't take long for the gods to start fighting each other as they laid claim to entire races, trying to convert the inhabitants of Adalor to their own religion and clashing as their followers collided in search of the Shardstone. Fights turned into battles, battles into wars, and wars into an all-out God War which ravaged the lands far and wide and dragged even those not worshipping any gods into it as they battled for survival.
One day, a couple of worshippers of the self-proclaimed God of Order got lost as they escaped from a group of pursuers and came across a temple hidden deep underground. In the innermost sanctum of that temple they found a large item resting on a pedestal, and though they had never seen it before they knew immediately that this was the Shardstone. One of them was however killed as he approached the stone and accidentally awoke the stone's guardian, a titanic two-headed beast similar to a manticore. The other of the two escaped and returned to his God to guide him to the temple along with a part of his army. However, even with the power of his best soldiers and his own considerable might, the God was only barely able to slay the beast and take the Shardstone for himself.
Days later, he returned to the surface, wielding the Orderly Staff and the Shardstone together - two of the Elder Shards. In an effort to put an end to the God War, he slammed the Staff down and drew upon his power that he had gained through the Shardstone. However he had severely underestimated his power gain and, rather than simply splitting the Earth and separating the god's encampments from the rest of the world by creating islands out of the pieces of land they were on, the incredible might split the very fabric of reality and shattered not only the planet Adalor was on, but its dimension.
Shocked by what he had done, the God of Order scrambled around in a desperate attempt to undo what he had done, or at least mitigate the damage. Before the pieces of the dimension could drift apart never to be rejoined he drew upon his powers again, trying to force them back together but only managing to loosely attach them back to each other, using dimensional chains which, much like a ship is anchored to the seafloor, would prevent the shards from drifting apart from each other too much. This huge amount of effort was too much for him however, and knowing about his impending death he hid the Orderly Staff and the Shardstone in separate places using what he had left from his magic power.
As a result of the Reality Shatter, as the event is known to this day, Adalor or, as it was renamed, the Shardworld, is a highly unstable place. The Reality Chains keep the world together, but cannot keep it from constantly rearranging itself in a seemingly random fashion. The central shard, the biggest shard from where the God of Order split the world, is the most stable location and due to the large number of worshippers of the Order religion who were there during the Reality Shatter it has been kept in relative shape. There is a central city, a no-man's land built around the temple where the Shardstone was once kept, which is considered a non-combat zone - the other gods silently agree to this. The other shards dock and separate themselves from the central shard and each other in irregular intervals, sometimes staying together for years, other times drifting back apart after a week or two. There are hundreds of shards, of which a number holds one god encampment each - where that god's worshippers have their fortress, palace, church or whatever it may be. If two of those shards meet or an unoccupied shard collides with that of a god-shard, large fights may break out though due to the gods being similarly powerful no real winner is ever set - control merely shifts back and forth. Other shards are peaceful, such as the cities of the godless ones which fend off attackers but don't go offensive themselves. Interestingly, the godless people are much stronger than any of the god factions (without factoring in the strength of their respective god, that is) and thus are actually harder to attack than any of the god-shards.
There are some dwarven-design airships which can bring people back and forth between the shards for a fee (the currency in the Shardworld is gold coins), as well as a God-Ship on the central shard which is dedicated to traveling to the god-shard.
Now, recent findings at the temple where the Shardstone was kept seem to indicate that the Shardstone's presence in these halls has empowered the guardian beast to be able to not only wound, but also absorb the power of the gods it strikes, as was indicated by the God of Order. Traces of his magic have been found in the beast's corpse. And the contents of the room, its walls and ground, even the pebbles lying on the ground, have all gained this power. It is believed that the other Elder Shards have a similar effect on the items they are around of, and that discovery has led the gods to outfit their most trusted soldiers with empowered weapons, whilst the godless have bought large amounts of empowered materials from the people on the central shard. Indeed, using an item empowered with this effect seems to enable its wielder to steal a god's power by attacking them with it, and ascending to godhood themselves by killing that god, even without owning an Elder Shard. And while the gods have grown comfortable and laid-back on their thrones in the safety of their shards, what if this discovery led to the rise of new gods? ... only one way to find out.[/spoiler]
What people can do in the game:
[spoiler]Play cooperatively. Because the stats and fighting system is different from the Omniverse rules for player combat, PvP is not allowed as it'd interfere with the site rules. Let's just say that players can't attack each other, their attacks just go through. Thus you can focus on playing together!
Level up, skill up etc. The Shardworld allows for a lot of options, but the levels are the same as the Omniverse levels. Training various survival skills, honing your combat strength in a relatively care-free environment, taking on easy mobs for various supplies and making OM all along the way is a good way to "idle" around the game.
Find ideas for your next move. There's various medieval to semi-modern weapons around (such as dwarven powder-based weapons) which are based on a different power level than the Omniverse counterparts, but you can always recreate that weapon or item outside of the game, using OM.
Do group runs. There's raids in the game that must be taken on by several players, being too hard for just a single person even in strong gear.
Take on the Gods. Well... it's a suicide run if you don't bring a powerful party of people with you. A single player won't even make it to the god as they are protected by hundreds of powerful worshippers that will happily give up their lives to protect their god. Not to mention, they probably won't bother to appear to a single intruder when their generals can take care of the matter.
Taking on the gods can be quite rewarding, especially if you are affiliated with one of their rivals. Kinda like Primes, Gods respawn (unless killed by something that drains them of their powers like an Elder Shard, that'll make them come back as mortals) but dying severely dents their reputation.
Taking on a God with an Elder Shard is possibly the biggest challenge and most rewarding accomplishment, as it writes history in the Shardworld. A player with an Elder Shard will become much stronger than they could by regular means and may even become a god on par with the other gods of the Shardworld. But of course, they'll be a prime target as well...[/spoiler]
How equipment works:
[spoiler]Items you find are not "This sword grants +1 to your attack stat" by default. There might be a few of these, but they would be rare or legendary items. Most weapons, armor, trinkets etc. grant a specific number to a stat or two, such as "Steel armor - 4 DEF". If you already have 4 or 5 DEF because you invested your stats into it, the armor will be useless to you, though you can wear it for looks. If you have 0-3 DEF wearing this armor will bump it up to 4.
On your stat page it might look like this:
ATK: 5 (2)(Zweihander) <== Using a weapon here.
DEF: 3 <== Wearing nothing.
SPD: 2 (Boots of minor swiftness) <== Wearing boots for looks, because swag.
TEC: 4 (3)(Tome of the Berserker) <== Equipping a tome here.
Legendary items should be able to get someone all the way up to 10 in one stat, however they bring disadvantages. A 10/10/10/10 character should not be achievable without an Elder Shard.[/spoiler]
Elder Shards
[spoiler]These are the equivalent to artifacts in the normal Omniverse. There are a total of 12 in the game. I haven't really decided on what most will be yet.
The Shardstone: The most powerful of all Elder Shards. It was once used to create the other Elder Shards and can infuse the user with titanic amounts of power. It leaks so much power that even a location it is at will retain a residual amount of power after the stone is removed.
It is currently in an unknown location.
The Shardstone holds both near-infinite knowledge and enormous amounts of power which can be directed towards influencing space, time, life and death. Indeed, the user could create or destroy dimensions, kill or revive people provided that they are powerful enough.
The Shardstone has an enormous drawback to using it however: it is protected by spirits from an outer dimension which are breathtakingly powerful. Typically representing mythical beasts such as dragons, chimeras and gargoyles, they suffer great pain when the Shardstone is used and will stop at nothing to kill the user and recover the stone. The more it is used the more they will spawn and the stronger they become, permanently. Currently no god is a match for any spirit.
The Orderly Staff: Currently, like the Shardstone, it is hidden in an unknown location by the God of Order who is now deceased.
It has the power to change the fabric of reality, alter the laws of nature such as gravity and even change the essence of space - for instance it could change a space so that "one mile" becomes something that can be covered by a single step rather than being a moderate distance, or make things which are very close to each other be miles apart instead.
Besides that it costs enormous power to sustain changes applied like that the staff's usage can drive people insane because they alter the fabric that their reality rests on. (ingame this is explained as that the staff causes mental damage which requires a lengthy recovery process. Overusing this will cause your character to die immediately and be unable to use the staff until they recover).
Some sword: Perhaps this artifact could have the power to cut every material in existence except for the other Elder Shards, the disadvantage being that it must be handled with great care. It would be in the possession of a War God (also known as "Big God War Chief") who commands the goblins and orks.
Half-sphere shield: It was intended as a recipient for magic power to collect and redistribute it as needed. It has the power to absorb projectile spells aimed at it entirely and release them as an area explosion. Its downside is that the user can't cast any spells as they immediately get absorbed by the shield.
The Star Eye: A diamond which glows from within. It allows the wearer to locate the other Elder Shards, narrowed down to a specific planet, however everyone who owns an Elder Shard can in return locate the user of the Star Eye. It is placed into a necklace and currently in the possession of one of the gods.
The Horn: A large twisted horn, much like that of a goat, that allows the wearer to mentally control weak-willed beings and individuals (mostly animals). In addition if they have allies, blowing the horn will allow the user to temporarily unite their minds into a single great mind with many bodies, very useful in coordinated combat. The downside is that if someone is forcibly controlled and they break free from within they can break the whole structure. Additionally someone can feign loyalty and betray the entire command structure. If they are sufficiently strong-willed they can submit the entire mind to their will and turn on the horn's owner.
Currently in the possession of one of the gods.
The Mirror: Known as the Mirror of Truth. If someone is reflected in the mirror's image the truth about them will be displayed - this is fairly vague but it allows the user to tell if the other person is lying, for instance, or what their opinion is on something. Its drawback is that if one person looks into the reflection they also must be reflected logically, thus they must reveal the truth about themselves as they gaze into the mirror. It has no offensive power but can still be used as a shield as it's indestructible.
Currently in the possession of one of the gods.
The Wand: A powerful gnarled wand looking quite unseeming when compared to the other artifacts if it weren't for the blue energy coiling around it at all times. It amplifies the magic power of its user greatly, making even small, simple spells very powerful and deadly. It can also be used to return people from the dead, but feeds on the user's lifeforce to do so - meaning that others must either be resurrected as half-dead zombies or are brought back fully alive at the expense of the user's life, if they don't have more lifepower than that person (for instance by owning the wand or another Elder Shard for a long period of time).
It is currently in the possession of one of the gods.
About obtaining Elder Shards: It would be possible to get a shard from a god by challenging and defeating them. Where it gets complex is player-vs-player Elder Shards. My thoughts here would be that it could either be done through non-Shardworld combat where someone challenges the Shard-owner outside of the game and records the victory to prove their superiority. Alternatively the Elder Shards could be something you can steal from people's bases, sort of like artifacts and items.
Some Elder Shards might also be the object of an ingame event or what have you - a god invading a big shard and giving the players a chance to defeat them without gathering a dozen allies to challenge them first.
Another detail: Nobody should own more than two Elder Shards simultaneously, as it'd just be too much power for them.[/spoiler]
How to play:[spoiler]This is probably gonna be subject to modifications before the actual thing is made. But basically it's a basic idea to how someone can join the Shardworld players.
What you need ICly: A base with a VR or Uplink terminal to access the Dataverse. Alternatively you could use the public terminals in Coruscant.
A Communicator is also needed so that challengers may contact you, provided that you have an Elder Shard. If you don't have one, it's still recommended to have one so you can contact your pals and set up dungeon raids.
How to get into the game: ICly the Shardworld would be located far away from File Island and the other points of interest of the Dataverse, as it is a large construct with its own set of rules within the rules, and Aeris doesn't want it to interfere with the rest of the Dataverse - or for the Dataverse inhabitants to bug her. It can be accessed like any other location in the Dataverse though.
OOCly any thread that takes place within the Shardworld must follow the template
Quote:(Shardworld) Thread-name herewith (Shardworld) showing where it takes place. The first post should also include a quote (to avoid OM gain) with a template I would submit, that clearly states that the thread happens in the Shardworld, along with a link to the thread with the game's rules for people to read up (likely in the Soulsverse).
This is important because the Shardworld has its own set of rules in addition to the Omniverse ones, so if people join your thread (especially open ones) they must be able to tell the difference. And since the Shardworld is not part of the original Omniverse we can't expect the admins to keep track of the Shardworld rules and point out your errors.[/spoiler]
EDIT:
If the game does kick off with a lot of people, perhaps we would need to establish a system so that not everyone posts within the same thread. Perhaps something like "(Shardworld) Thread title here" would be fitting.
EDIT 2:
Some stuff about the Elder shards added. Also, new "how to play" section.
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Ruby Rose - 10-17-2015
As I suggested in the chat, I thought maybe having bosses based around the characters playing Shardworld would be a neat idea. As such, I browsed a couple of monsters I thought might relate well to a handful of characters. I haven't sorted details out yet, only nabbed some pics for inspiration.
First up is myself, Ruby Rose;
![[Image: kdmHjCC.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/kdmHjCC.jpg)
Futuristic, has a scythe, 'nuff said.
As for Lubbock;
![[Image: UcbQvkF.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/UcbQvkF.jpg)
Because spiders create webs, and so does Lubbock XD
However, if we want something more Lubbock's personality...;
![[Image: 5JBP55o.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/5JBP55o.jpg)
Image says it all.
Here we have one for dear Gamzee;
![[Image: HyQPUop.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/HyQPUop.jpg)
Desco may need to have a fight to decide who's the baddest final boss;
![[Image: KqkZSp1.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/KqkZSp1.jpg)
Alex herself;
![[Image: 7Q3JMBw.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/7Q3JMBw.jpg)
Luffy;
![[Image: HF3MUSt.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/HF3MUSt.jpg)
And this one's more unorthodox, but here's one for Mami;
![[Image: yt9n49u.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/yt9n49u.jpg)
YES, it is the Maze Runner maze!
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - King Axorn - 10-17-2015
I've always wanted to do something like this and I would love to help out with the technical aspects, such as spells, abilities, powers, cast times, damage, stats, and basically anything else, even the story or map
. I'm ready to help out in any way I can, after all, what have I got to lose?
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Amaterasu - 10-17-2015
(in reference to Ruby's post)
I really like this idea! Possibly these bosses could be a part of a special location (in MMO terms, a raid) for 5ish people where one person is picked at random. A boss then spawns, which matches that person's fear, kind of like the Boggarts in Harry Potter, and the area is changed to suit that boss.
Here's something I thought up around that idea:
Nurnengard (Raid, 5-10 chars)
[spoiler]The fortress of Nurnengard, a grim fortress, jet black and showing with every bit of its cold walls that intruders are not welcome, stands at the edge of a high cliff, overlooking the sea. Once it was the home of an immensely powerful mage and his summoned demons. Now, it is sealed off, but within still lie dark, horrific secrets, and an even darker, much more horrific aberration which protects the fortress. Or does it...?
Meant for: 5-10 people.
Difficulty: Medium.
Gameplay: Rather than a traditional run, Nurnengard is intended to be played as a survival-horror themed story: the fortress is dark, wet and void of all life, even of rats, spiders and other critters that might inhabit an abandoned building. As such, the players will face no "cannon fodder" enemies in these halls.
Instead an immensely powerful demon haunts the place. Periodically it will appear as a fleshy gray mass of maws, eyes and limbs which advances towards the players in tight corridors and instantly devours them if they do not run away. It is immune to everything (damage, blocking, stun effects etc.) during these phases. However it cannot traverse doors for some reason, thus escaping the corridor and closing the door will make the demon disappear 1-2 seconds after the door is closed.
As the players progress through the mansion they need to find keys with symbols on them which fit a specific door in the fortress, backtracking their steps several times. They traverse the various parts of the mansion such as the dining halls, quarters, alchemy room, kitchen, storage rooms and library, finding keys and parts of the original owner's journal, telling about his exploits summoning demons. The entries get progressively dark and evil, boasting about the powerful demons he controls, until the two last entries dramatically change tone and speak about having summoned something beyond his control, and writing about how he is fleeing from this "aberration of pure horror" and is barely able to keep himself sane from the constant terror as he runs but is unable to escape. Other findings may include ancient texts about magic and enchanting, beastiary entries and books about dark magic arts. The original owner has scattered these texts semi-randomly around various rooms in the mansion.
The dungeon reaches its peak when the group finds the Summoning room where the dark mage had summoned the demons. A book detailing the summoning of a so-called Terror Demon and how it takes on the shape of one's greatest fear. One person is then picked randomly (you could roll a die for instance) to become the target of the aberration which appears in the room. The demon then takes the shape of the randomly picked person's greatest fear and causes the entire room to morph into a giant battle arena where they then take on the beast. While in shape and looks it is pure horror it is deceptively vulnerable in this state and can be killed without too much trouble. As soon as it is slain the group is returned to the Summoning room and the demon's corpse crashes through the floor, creating a hole to the entrance hall - using a rope or hover-spell allows for a shortcut here. The group may then loot the corpse for rewards and leave Nurnengard through the main door.
Rewards:-Various books and scrolls on subject of magic, mostly dark arts, as well as enchanting and beastiary entries
-Decorative armor and weapons from knight-statues scattered about the fortress (very weak armor)
-Miscellaneous items which serve no real purpose such as kitchen tools and cutlery, decorative animal skulls, brooms, burnt or ruined books etc.
-(from the demon corpse) demon skin which can be used to craft light magic-resistant armor
-(from the demon corpse) demon bones which can be used to craft heavy magic-resistant armor and daggers or shortswords that can pierce magic barriers to some extent.
-(from the demon corpse) weapons, armor and trinkets based on what the demon's form was during the bossfight.[/spoiler]
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Victor Wolfe - 10-17-2015
this could be fun even from an IC perspective, watching Victor learn about MMO's for the first time lol
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - King Axorn - 10-17-2015
Aeris Wrote:(in reference to Ruby's post)
I really like this idea! Possibly these bosses could be a part of a special location (in MMO terms, a raid) for 5ish people where one person is picked at random. A boss then spawns, which matches that person's fear, kind of like the Boggarts in Harry Potter, and the area is changed to suit that boss.
Here's something I thought up around that idea:
Nurnengard (Raid, 5-10 chars)
[spoiler]The fortress of Nurnengard, a grim fortress, jet black and showing with every bit of its cold walls that intruders are not welcome, stands at the edge of a high cliff, overlooking the sea. Once it was the home of an immensely powerful mage and his summoned demons. Now, it is sealed off, but within still lie dark, horrific secrets, and an even darker, much more horrific aberration which protects the fortress. Or does it...?
Meant for: 5-10 people.
Difficulty: Medium.
Gameplay: Rather than a traditional run, Nurnengard is intended to be played as a survival-horror themed story: the fortress is dark, wet and void of all life, even of rats, spiders and other critters that might inhabit an abandoned building. As such, the players will face no "cannon fodder" enemies in these halls.
Instead an immensely powerful demon haunts the place. Periodically it will appear as a fleshy gray mass of maws, eyes and limbs which advances towards the players in tight corridors and instantly devours them if they do not run away. It is immune to everything (damage, blocking, stun effects etc.) during these phases. However it cannot traverse doors for some reason, thus escaping the corridor and closing the door will make the demon disappear 1-2 seconds after the door is closed.
As the players progress through the mansion they need to find keys with symbols on them which fit a specific door in the fortress, backtracking their steps several times. They traverse the various parts of the mansion such as the dining halls, quarters, alchemy room, kitchen, storage rooms and library, finding keys and parts of the original owner's journal, telling about his exploits summoning demons. The entries get progressively dark and evil, boasting about the powerful demons he controls, until the two last entries dramatically change tone and speak about having summoned something beyond his control, and writing about how he is fleeing from this "aberration of pure horror" and is barely able to keep himself sane from the constant terror as he runs but is unable to escape. Other findings may include ancient texts about magic and enchanting, beastiary entries and books about dark magic arts. The original owner has scattered these texts semi-randomly around various rooms in the mansion.
The dungeon reaches its peak when the group finds the Summoning room where the dark mage had summoned the demons. A book detailing the summoning of a so-called Terror Demon and how it takes on the shape of one's greatest fear. One person is then picked randomly (you could roll a die for instance) to become the target of the aberration which appears in the room. The demon then takes the shape of the randomly picked person's greatest fear and causes the entire room to morph into a giant battle arena where they then take on the beast. While in shape and looks it is pure horror it is deceptively vulnerable in this state and can be killed without too much trouble. As soon as it is slain the group is returned to the Summoning room and the demon's corpse crashes through the floor, creating a hole to the entrance hall - using a rope or hover-spell allows for a shortcut here. The group may then loot the corpse for rewards and leave Nurnengard through the main door.
Rewards:-Various books and scrolls on subject of magic, mostly dark arts, as well as enchanting and beastiary entries
-Decorative armor and weapons from knight-statues scattered about the fortress (very weak armor)
-Miscellaneous items which serve no real purpose such as kitchen tools and cutlery, decorative animal skulls, brooms, burnt or ruined books etc.
-(from the demon corpse) demon skin which can be used to craft light magic-resistant armor
-(from the demon corpse) demon bones which can be used to craft heavy magic-resistant armor and daggers or shortswords that can pierce magic barriers to some extent.
-(from the demon corpse) weapons, armor and trinkets based on what the demon's form was during the bossfight.[/spoiler]
I like this idea you have for a raid, although since it only has one boss, I think it would be better off as a 5-man dungeon. The boss seems like an interesting idea although in order to flesh it out more, (going with the 5-man dungeon set-up) the boss could have 7 phases, the first five where it randomly picks a player and creates their worst fear. With each type having a different strategy to defeat 'their phase' of the boss, it would add a lot of replayability, and not much in terms of a meta (a specific strategy that all groups follow). The 6th phase could then be the boss cycling through the different nightmares at regular intervals, requiring players to be very time-conscious. The 7th phase could be the demon finally revealing it's true form.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts, but it's really up to you
.
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Amaterasu - 10-17-2015
King Axorn Wrote:I like this idea you have for a raid, although since it only has one boss, I think it would be better off as a 5-man dungeon. The boss seems like an interesting idea although in order to flesh it out more, (going with the 5-man dungeon set-up) the boss could have 7 phases, the first five where it randomly picks a player and creates their worst fear. With each type having a different strategy to defeat 'their phase' of the boss, it would add a lot of replayability, and not much in terms of a meta (a specific strategy that all groups follow). The 6th phase could then be the boss cycling through the different nightmares at regular intervals, requiring players to be very time-conscious. The 7th phase could be the demon finally revealing it's true form.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts, but it's really up to you
Thanks for the input! I suppose that 10 people might indeed be a lot and 5 would be a better fit. I think that 7 phases would be a lot of work though since each player would be supposed to write at least 1 post when fighting the boss, possibly 2, so that would be 7x5 times 1 or 2 posts in total - 35 to 70 posts only for the boss fight. Perhaps the replayability could come from people running with the same group to confront different versions of the boss as a new player might be picked and they can agree OOCly in prior who will be the boss's target.
A 2-phase fight (nightmare form and true form) might also be a good option, perhaps. We'll have to see
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - King Axorn - 10-17-2015
Aeris Wrote:Thanks for the input! I suppose that 10 people might indeed be a lot and 5 would be a better fit. I think that 7 phases would be a lot of work though since each player would be supposed to write at least 1 post when fighting the boss, possibly 2, so that would be 7x5 times 1 or 2 posts in total - 35 to 70 posts only for the boss fight. Perhaps the replayability could come from people running with the same group to confront different versions of the boss as a new player might be picked and they can agree OOCly in prior who will be the boss's target.
A 2-phase fight (nightmare form and true form) might also be a good option, perhaps. We'll have to see
You've got a point with the number of phases, I got ahead of myself on that one :balls:
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Erik Vrell - 10-17-2015
I think this sounds like a really cool idea. I want to help out with this so if I think of something I think is a good addition to the game I'll let you know.
Re: Shardworld: Game within the Dataverse - Amaterasu - 10-31-2015
Here's a couple more ideas for Raids
I might also open the Shardworld up for Beta testing, if you're interested you can subscribe to the shardworld thread in the messageboards: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://omniverse-rpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4389">viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4389</a><!-- l --> I will announce it there when I open it up.Off the Island! (Raid, 1-5 chars)
[spoiler]This is a "tutorial" raid which is the last part of the Introduction Island Shard. It primarily teaches the players about group raids and combat, but can also be accessed by people who are already off the Introduction Island Shard so as to avoid people getting stuck in the Introduction Island Shard.
It can be skipped if nobody is to be found, or the difficulty can be reduced so fewer players are able to play through it. Skipping it entirely is not advised of course.
Meant for: 1-5 people.
Difficulty: Easy.
Gameplay: The raid begins in the underground of the island Shard. An Island Master is about to open up a portal to the rest of the game to let players leave when an otherworldly demon uses the portal stones to open up a rift from his homeworld. Ignoring the party he laughs and teleports away. The Island Master identifies that demon as a Lesser Chaos demon, which likely intends to cut the influx of heroes from the Introduction Shard by eliminating the Island Masters who teach people about the game. As the demon's presence keeps the rift open and the Island Master is only able to keep it from letting more demons in, but not fully close it, he tasks the adventurer(s) with slaying the demon so that they can leave.
The players must then backtrack their steps through the island. A number of cannon-fodder demons have been spawned by the Lesser Chaos demon which are fighting the Island Masters, although they are holding their own very well as they are all seasoned adventurers themselves. There are three encounters with minor bosses which happen to be linked to the skill whose skill area they are fighting in. For instance, the Fishing Teacher is fighting an octopus-style demon that is in the training pond and must first be forced out of the water with a fishing rod before it can be damaged, and the Mining boss would be a demon which is using the ore rocks from the Mining Area as armor - which can be mined off. The players can choose any three skills that they want to fight the bosses for.
(Placeholder: I'll add a list of bosses once I have all the skills figured out)
At the end near the starting area lies the Lesser Chaos demon who has defeated and knocked out the Island Master that welcomes players to the Shardworld. Before being able to deliver the death blow the players arrive and interrupt him, upon which the demon attacks them. This is not a hard bossfight: the Lesser Chaos demon uses melee against close opponents and ranged missile bolts against others. He may hop around the battlefield to switch targets on the fly, and periodically affirms how resisting him is futile. His strongest attack is Chaos Cloud, which he rarely uses: he releases a large amount of a black fog-like substance from his body which coats the battlefield in darkness and teleports everyone except Lesser Chaos demon around at random in intervals of ca. 5 seconds. It is possible to escape the cloud to avoid being teleported, and very much advised so, as after ~1 minute it explodes, dealing moderate damage to everyone caught in it.
When the Lesser Chaos demon is defeated he conjures up a portal with his last strength and escapes, claiming that he will be back. The Island Master can then be woken up: he will congratulate the adventurers for their victory, and allow each of them to pick a skill-book which will teach them about that certain skill, unlocking more advanced recipes. More experience is also awarded in the three skills that the bosses were fought for. The Island Master then teleports the players back to the portal room, where they can leave the Raid and escape the island.[/spoiler]
City in the Clouds (Raid, 3-5 chars)
[spoiler]Sae'Nua, the City in the Clouds, is a city built upon a shard which floats very high above the Central Shard and is stationary. It is mostly independant and the people living there worship no god. It has tech levels similar to the Godless factions, and even has developed magic-powered wings that allow for flight between the island pieces. They are a very peaceful population though.
However, not all is fun and light up there: a group of cultists worshipping some avian deity have assaulted and occupied vast parts of the city with little resistance. If left unchecked, they could take over the entire city and acquire a strategically important point to launch assaults against the central shard from above. This cannot be allowed: they must be stopped.
Meant for: 3-5 people
Difficulty: Hard.
Gameplay: The players are teleported to a military airship from the Godless faction outside of the Sae'Nua shard which is overlooking the city. Because it is nearly impossible to travel between the city islands after the cultists have torn down most bridges, the Godless have replicated the wing tech to allow for long jumps between the islands, but aren't powerful enough to reach the higher levels, for which the adventurers would need original Sae'Nua wings. Their order of business is to get to one of the fortified locations where Sae'Nua citizens are, and obtain proper wings from them. After that the adventurers are able to fly to the upper levels and confront the cultists leaders in a final battle.
Sae'Nua is not only very dangerous because one wrong step or one misplaced jump can spell death by falling off the shard, but it is also filled with cultists in the maze-like lower levels, and powerful high priests in the upper levels where the Sae'Nua nobles reside. The cultists are powerful magic users and will stop at nothing to defeat the adventurers, happily throwing themselves at death to service their god. The high priests on the other hand use highly powerful spells and may even try to knock players off the island with wind spells or breaking off pieces of the ground they are standing on.
There are four bosses to be encountered:
First is the relatively easy Sparrow, a cultist group leader who fights with the assistance of five cultists and hovers above the battlefield while peppering the players with powerful weather-themed spells. He will periodically consume the life essence of his cultists to heal himself. He guards a massive bridge which the players must cross to get to the slums.
Second comes Owl, who oversees the battering rams that are trying to breach the fortified refugee camp where the adventurers will get their Sae'Nua wings. She periodically coats the battlefield in total darkness which requires the adventurers to use light sources to find and battle her, other than that she relies heavily on sneak attacks with her sharp talons to attack unsuspecting foes from behind. She may also periodically swallow a player whole, dealing periodic damage to them and requiring the other players to attack Owl's stomach to force her to regurgitate the player before they can be digested.
Third comes Condor. This boss fights by himself and darts around the battlefield extremely fast, being nearly unhittable most of the time. He will however periodically descend upon one player, slam them against the ground and viciously bite them, healing with each successful hit but also being a stationary target. It is also possible to prevent him from flying around freely by attacking his wings. Although this deals no direct damage it will ground him. Being a very high ranking priest, this boss is not to be taken lightly even on the ground though!
Last are Hawk and Crow - indeed, the cultist group is led by two individuals. They are encountered in the Halls of the King, where they have set up shop and are bringing in the other cultists through portals. Hawk is a white-feathered female who flies in circles over the battlefield and fires down various solar-themed attacks such as beams and blinding flashes, usually scorching the ground and leaving fires everywhere. Crow on the other hand is a black-feathered male who battles with a two-handed sword that is coated in a dark magic which freezes what it comes to contact with. Despite being polar opposites they work very well together, but this is also their downfall: the players can use mirrors such as the polished marble surfaces encountered everywhere in the throne room to reflect Hawk's solar attacks at Crow. When Crow is defeated, Hawk swoops down and coats herself in a mantle of fire, becoming harder to damage and scorching everyone near her. One player must then pick up Crow's black sword and use it to damage Hawk past her fire protection, ultimately defeating her.
At the defeat of Hawk and Crow, an ominous voice tells the two of them that they have failed "him" and tells the adventurers not to get overly confident - "he" will be back. The Sae'Nua King then appears with an escort and greatly thanks the adventurers for defeating the cultists and defending the city. The Godless forces are cleaning up the remains, but it was them who did most of the work. As such, the king awards them with the honorary title of "Sae'Nua Knight", gifts them with a pair of Sae'Nua wings that the adventurer can freely customize with an NPC in Sae'Nua, and complete access to the kingdom of Sae'Nua. (before that only the slums are accessible, wings may not be purchased).[/spoiler]