Death, Dying, and Exp Options

[Honis]

I had a brainstorm for a "new" idea for death, dying, and exp.

Do it the old-fashioned way, with save points.

Everyone remembers playing console RPG's and saving at particular points in the game. We could implement this also.

When your character dies, you respawn at the last place you saved. You lose the exp you gained, items you acquired (losing items may be a bit much), and completed quests.

This could help encourage people to save and then explore a high-risk area at little or no risk (now scouts/rangers that can sneak won't be alone). It will also discourage running through a high-risk area to finish a quest just before dying (something I have done several times in FF XI and EQ2).

Of course there should still be a revive system so that the tank in a party isn?t screwed out of hours of exp. At some point we could even add an item that is a portable save point (untradable/sellable and can only be got through an extremely difficult high-level quest). I should have a reset time on it so that someone doesn't macro saving every 5 sec's.


note: By EXP I mean, any points gained for any skills.

note2: Items that where bought or traded would not be lost due to death. Only items dropped by fallen creatures or for quests.

note3: The actual quest would not be lost due to death. (save>>get quest>>die>>still have quest in list)


This thread is to present ideas for a death, dying, and exp system. Add your own ideas as well as sage me :D.

[Minthos]

I'm currently of the opinon that permadeath is bad, but that we should still design the game so that people don't die easily.

People have suggested going to hell or limbo when they die, and having to somehow make their way back to the world of the living.

Yellow suggested Karma based on your actions ingame.

This "idea" I propose is a sort of combination of those things.

It assumes that severely wounded characters will be incapacitated (unconscious or disabled), with the possibility of death if they recieve considerable additional damage, or if they don't recieve medical attention within a reasonable amount of time, and that resurrection will not be something one can easily do on the battlefield, even if there is no fighting going on.

When players die, they go to hell, limbo or heaven, depending on their "Karma". There could be several levels of hell (as in Dante's Inferno). Getting back to the world of the living should be a time-consuming procedure, but preferably not too boring.

Heaven should obviously be more pleasant than hell, a reward for nice and honorable characters, while the lower levels of hell should inflict increasingly harsh punishment on the cruel and wicked.

[Jaramar]

I'm currently of the opinon that permadeath is bad, but that we should still design the game so that people don't die easily.

People have suggested going to hell or limbo when they die, and having to somehow make their way back to the world of the living.

Yellow suggested Karma based on your actions ingame.

This "idea" I propose is a sort of combination of those things.

It assumes that severely wounded characters will be incapacitated (unconscious or disabled), with the possibility of death if they recieve considerable additional damage, or if they don't recieve medical attention within a reasonable amount of time, and that resurrection will not be something one can easily do on the battlefield, even if there is no fighting going on.

When players die, they go to hell, limbo or heaven, depending on their "Karma". There could be several levels of hell (as in Dante's Inferno). Getting back to the world of the living should be a time-consuming procedure, but preferably not too boring.

Heaven should obviously be more pleasant than hell, a reward for nice and honorable characters, while the lower levels of hell should inflict increasingly harsh punishment on the cruel and wicked.

Why punish evil more then good? It's a legitiment RP and has been done quite well at times.

[Minthos]

Why punish evil more then good? It's a legitiment RP and has been done quite well at times.

There should be concequences for your actions - if there were no penalties for PKing and griefing, there would be too much of it, and then it would be too difficult for non-pvpers to avoid getting griefed all the time. Thus we would have to prevent it altogether. Harsher punishments means better control, which again means we can let players have more freedom. That's what you want, isn't it?

Specifically, the idea I proposed rewards those who kills evil characters by giving them the satisfaction of literally sending them to hell. This particular point is something that can be expanded upon, for example with fancy graphics involving flames and demons coming to drag their soul down to hell and imprison it..

[Jaramar]

There should be concequences for your actions - if there were no penalties for PKing and griefing, there would be too much of it, and then it would be too difficult for non-pvpers to avoid getting griefed all the time. Thus we would have to prevent it altogether. Harsher punishments means better control, which again means we can let players have more freedom. That's what you want, isn't it?

Specifically, the idea I proposed rewards those who kills evil characters by giving them the satisfaction of literally sending them to hell. This particular point is something that can be expanded upon, for example with fancy graphics involving flames and demons coming to drag their soul down to hell and imprison it..

If you commit evil then the god of evil will want to get you up there for another round and will be cheering you on. Penalties for killing and griefing should be in the game world itself. Guards and hunting parties tracking you down and such... things that are avoidable but make being a bad guy more work then your typical griefer will want. Anyways, if we go along with the factional system then you can only "grief" those who are at war with you already.