I've been thinking about this idea for awhile. I think it may make for an interesting mechanic if done correctly.
The main idea is the existence of signs. Every sentient being in the game has these signs, and they change how they act and how the world around them responds.
The second mechanic is befriending. Oftentimes, you have to befriend individuals under certain signs to progress through the game. You may have to do something for them before they're willing to accompany you, or convince them in speech.
These signs may be something as simple as an increased ability for manual tasks (e.g., creating items), with the trade-off of lesser ability to do magical tasks (e.g., magical combat). They may also be something more interesting such as having a lesser chance of being harmed, but causing harm, in turn, to the world around you (e.g., friends being injured in combat, people's possessions being broken).
When you begin the game, you get to choose the two or three signs that you'll be under. Some signs may be completely incompatible with others. Most people in the game will be randomly generated, as well.
No sign is all good, however. There's always a con.
Say someone is under the 'Nefarious' sign. They are much better-skilled at things like lock-picking, theft, or certain types of magic. However, they will be shunned by most anyone who is
not under the sign. They're much less likely to get opportunities to befriend people.
As an example, there may be a cave or something you have to get into. You or someone in your company having the Chaotic sign may make an avalanche occur, blocking the entrance. To fix this, you'd get a person with a String sign (which would improve ability with strenuous tasks) to clear the rocks.
That's fairly a straightforward solution. However,
you don't necessarily know who has the sign. You
could get lucky with an arbitrary individual that happens to have the Strong sign. This, however, can be time-consuming and tedious. Another way is to research the Strong sign.
By researching signs, you can better identify individuals that have them, and also find out more things people with that sign are capable of doing. Not just yourself. People in your company may not necessarily know they can do a task, and deny doing it until you can prove they can. Research is a
cognitive task. Research is more effective if you have the sign in question.
You may also find out more about a sign through practice of tasks that are governed by it. This can be a better option sometimes if you don't have the Intelligent sign.
There are a few different kinds of tasks. Manual, magical, strenuous, precise, cognitive, and social.
Doing tasks isn't a matter of leveling or anything of the sort, it's a matter of success. Your ability to do skills determines how likely you are to do the task. Researching skill signs improves success rate of that type. Some tasks may require multiple types. You don't have to unlock anything, you just have to succeed.
Task types have opposites. Governing signs are incompatible with their opposite governing signs.
Manual and magical are opposites.
Strenuous and precise are opposites.
Cognitive and social are opposites, however can be seen together.
Manual tasks involve using materials to create other objects and using machinery. Objects created through manual tasks can usually be destructed to receive most or all of the materials used to make it.
Magical tasks involve using power from the environment around you to improve objects or create magical objects. Magic can also be used in combat, where the success rate is transferred to effectiveness of the attack. Objects created or modified through magic cannot be reverted, but they can be used for equal trade.
Strenuous tasks involve using brute force. Generally this would be combat, but many people or events may require these sorts of tasks to be completed.
Precise tasks involve careful operation and interaction with your environment. Often used in crafting, and useful for operating some machinery. Precision makes you more accurate in ranged combat as well.
Cognitive tasks involve doing research, operating complex machinery, and interacting intelligently with others.
Social tasks involve interacting with others. This doesn't cover as much as other skills, but it's a large part of the game.
Having the "Lucky" sign will improve overall success rates, but researching it does not have this effect.
Close combat involves using weapons such as swords to attack opponents. The limiting factor to the character during combat of this type is fatigue.
Close combat weapons have four qualities that determine their performance in combat: effectiveness, balance, weight, and an aerodynamic rating. Effectiveness is used along with the character's success rate in Strenuous skills to determine damage. Balance is used along with the character's success rate in Precise skills to determine accuracy. Weight is used along with the character's success rate Strenuous skills to determine fatigue. The aerodynamic rating and weight is used with the character's success rate in Manual skills to determine the speed of the attack.
Powerful close combat attacks are used to increase the damage done in exchange for adding more fatigue. The additional damage and fatigue factors in the attack's effectiveness and burden in lieu of the weapon's effectiveness and weight.
Magical combat involves using power from the environment (currently called Mist) to attack opponents. The limiting factor to the character during combat of this type is the availability of the required type of Mist and the presence of conflicting types of Mist. Magical combat requires no equipped weapon, however the player may choose use attraction rods to increase the Mist that can be drawn. There are four types of Mist: Chaotic, Warding, Alchemical, and Energetic. Chaotic and Warding conflict; Alchemical and Energetic conflict. Each magical attack also has effectiveness and stability.
The damage of a magical attack depends on the amount of Mist available around the player of the required type along with the character's Magical skill rate and the attack's effectiveness. The accuracy depends on the amount of conflicting Mist around the player, the attack's stability, and the character's Precise skill rate.
Powerful Magical attacks draw more Mist from the air to increase the damage of the attack. This also augments the instability of the attack.
When a Magical attack is used, the player draws the Mist from the air, meaning that attacks can eventually be useless if the player isn't careful. The Mist regenerates overtime, and an amount is also returned to the environment, but during combat you can quickly find yourself without any Mist available. I'll probably have methods of quickly restoring Mist available, and researching certain areas of the Mystic sign will be able to decrease the amount of Mist the player needs to use.
I haven't thought a ton about ranged at this point.
Researching is not only for identifying people under certain signs. Research can be useful for tons of things. Most/all skill signs will have studies for new or improved applications of the skill type. All signs have studies for identifying people under them. However, research is not necessary to complete the game. It's extremely useful and the game is certainly much more difficult without it, but it's not a requirement. You can just as well befriend tons of people and deduce who has what sign and use the most basic applications of the skill.
Researching is done through studies. You gain progress toward completing studies in multiple ways. For skill signs, you can often get knowledge through practice of the skill. Knowledge is the unit of progress in research. You can apply knowledge to studies to progress. Some studies may also allow for the exchange of certain types of items for knowledge. For instance, a study of a complex machine could require that you get a gear, engine, or piston to gain necessary progress toward completing it. Studies such as these often have limits on how much knowledge you can apply from the sign, forcing you to do this kind of exchange.
However, studying under signs will remove knowledge and progress from any opposing sign. To curb this effect, you can carry logging tools around to and keep notes of your acquired knowledge. I devised this because I foresaw research causing a potentially disappointing difficulty curve. The idea of studies was also a measure against this.
In many ways, it's similar to Skyrim's perk tree system.
Share your thoughts and maybe suggest improvements. If I get positive feedback, I may begin making a game like this.
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