RPG Element - Zodiac System

#1 Make it less complicated.

Although making complicated stuff is fun, the players of the game aren't going to spend weeks figuring out your zodiac system stuff. So they'll just ignore it.

Also, unless time moves very quickly, it won't be reasonable to wait long enough for the zodiac to change so that you have a different ability. So what's really the point?

#2 Yeah, elemental archetypes lose their power as ways of classifying people if there are too many of them. Look at how powerful the 4 hogwarts houses are to harry potter fans. Myself, I'm making up a system with animal totems for my worldbuilding, and I think it will only have about 9 totems.

#3 @Steve - my intention was to add a mechanic in the game that was beyond the player's control. The hardcore players might try to figure it out, becoming the game community's equivalent of an astrologer, but if they don't, that's fine with me. The focus of the game is creating successive generations of heroes, the sort of dynasties that you find in Greek and Norse mythology. It's not planned as being a one-shot sort of game where you create a hero, complete a quest to save the world, and watch the credits roll. Probably the best synopsis I can give is "The Sims" meets "Diablo II." Time is going to very compressed travelling from one location to another, and characters are going to live lifetimes in a comparatively short amount of time. *knocks on wood* So, by creating successive generations, the zodiac system comes into play more than once in the game. Moreover, it gives the player a different set of circumstances every time they play. It won't be something they can totally ignore, since it will have some bearing on how their character (for that go-round) is created. Basically, the player plays with the hand they are dealt for that character.

@Mare - Elemental archetypes are the absolute last thing this game is going to have. If the player wants to take a character into a certain archetype (warrior, wizard, thief, etc.), then that's their perogative. But there is nothing to stop a player from playing a character against type, because there will be no types to play against per se. When a character is "born," the month and the positions of the planets dictate certain attributes and abilities/disabilities about that character. Those are the initial inborn stats of the character. The choices the player makes throughout the game are entirely open. In one generation, the character might a burly warrior who has a natural talent for magic. The next generation might have a physically weak but mentally brilliant scholar as a descendant of the previous generation. Again, the player plays with the hand they're dealt for that generation.

#4

Quote:my intention was to add a mechanic in the game that was beyond the player's control.

Personally, I think if you have a game mechanic that's beyond the player's control, you need to make it transparent so that the player really doesn't know it's there or knows it is there but doesn't think about it. If the game mechanic is very apparent, players might not like the idea that they have no control over a certain aspect of the game.

#5 You might want to change those orital rates ... currently it's only planet F's position has any bearing. (After a 128 month cycle, every planet would be back where they started from). So despite all the planets, you actually only have 128 possible combinations.

If you really want to allow a wide variety of positions, use prime numbers as the orbital rates.

If you really want to make this difficult for the player to figure out, just use the planet positions as a seed for a random number generator ... same positions will generate the same result, but good luck trying to find a pattern!

#6 @Chris - A lot of the system is going to be semi-transparent. The player will know there's a calendar, and can probably figure out their "birth defects" might have something to do with the time of their character's birth. However, it can also be used to the player's advantage, to a very minor extent. Some months will grant only positive buffs, some months will grant a mix of positive and negative. But there's a distinct likelihood that the average gamer may not even notice the zodiac system. They get the hand their dealt and mark it up to random chance. "Oh well, what the hell." I'm counting on the bulk of gamers not noticing the connection or not caring about it too much. It's the hardcore gamers, that vocal minority, that might give me problems.

@Glen - I figured I was going to need a random number generator at some point, probably to set the initial positions of the planets when the player starts a new bloodline. I also figured just tweak the orbital rates on some of those planets, though planet C has already been more or less set in stone. But mixing it up with some prime numbers for the other five could prove interesting. On the other hand, at least to start, limited numbers of combinations could be useful. Plenty of food for thought, Glen. Many thanks. :)

#7 The idea is great. I would use a pentagram with 5 different abilities. With chinese above each side of the star. (Even though i'm catholic) Some chinese religion uses the pentagram just like Christianity = cross... One would be Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and the top would be God. In this month/ year or whatever, the player would be 2X stronger with more life. Since this is not the same year/ month for every player, it gives him a distinct advantage. I think it would be more iteresting if the player was contantly switching. By like seconds. Use a random # and wait event.