I had an idea about a game centered on a fantasy kingdom where a powerful and deeply troubling prophecy is revealed.  The kingdom involved summons every willing wizard and magic user of great reputation from across the realms to help decipher the prophecy and counter it.  But by doing this, they become tied to the prophecy.

I thought characters could be considerably powerful humans or demihumans (not exactly sure what races I'd use yet), as well as powerful supernatural creatures with magical skill.  The game would be a mix of magical discovery, intrigue, and social interaction.

In reply to gladiusdei (msg # 1):

And adventure? :D

Sounds very interesting! Count me in. And I'd be OK with doing some collaborative world-building before starting the game.

I could see some fun here. I would want to know more details if it gets off the ground.

Microscope could be a cool system if it is just story telling.

If it is adventure just about anything would work to some degree. I imagine DND 5e would get you the most players.
This message was last edited by the user at 12:26, Sat 24 Mar 2018.

If it's freeform, why be restrictive on what races are available? This concept kind of calls for a kitchen sink.

Well, I wouldn't be using a system like d&d.  In my experience on rpol that takes the focus off playing your character in the setting and onto how to max out your numbers.  Also draws in a lot of players only interested in using powerful characters in combat, not playing those characters outside of combat.

I can take a look at microscope, never used it.

I guess I could be fairly open about races, it just depends on how extreme it gets.

But the game is designed to focus more on the characters interacting, solving mystery and working to stop a great calamity,  definitely not a dungeon crawl type thing.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:37, Sat 24 Mar 2018.

I thought of setting the game in a late medieval/early modern setting, possibly even with gunpowder weapons.  With a magic prophecy being revealed, that's why this kingdom with little magic of its own has to call on any and all possible help from around the world.

Take it or leave it, but I've always wanted to play steam punk setting flavoured by runes and magic spells rather than tech.

My idea was for it to be more 17th century, maybe late 16th.  So I'm not sure how steamy it would be.

I feel like if I push the steampunk idea too much, then it would force all players to be steampunk-esque.


or I guess I could make it a bit like the old game arcanum.

I guess my problem is how to create a balanced playing field between high powered magic beings and steampunk individuals.  They wouldn't really be on the same plane of personal power.

In reply to gladiusdei (msg # 9):

Simple. In Arcanum, high-powered mages, technologists and plain melee fighters were all high-powered enough to wipe out nations in that game, both in gameplay and in lore. Aside from one buggy-and-broken spell, a tech-fighter is probably the strongest build in the game (the one I last used to take on Stringy Pete).

Inside baseball about semi-obscure video games aside, even if you do go for Maeven's suggestion of blending steampunk and high-magitech, that doesn't force everyone into that paradigm - it's still possible for a human technomancer and a traditional elf wizard to walk into a bar, and then fight on an equal playing field.

Or, if you want to stay in the Renaissance like you originally planned, plain magic can stay dominant.

that's in a video game with rules focuses on combat effectiveness.  This is a more freeform setting.  In a game focused on magic, intrigue and prophecy, you're gatling railgun isn't that important, or balanced with an archmage.

It could be more of a setting function, with the rise of steam power and the decline of everyday magic.  But it still pales in comparison to a dragon, or demon, or true sorcerer.

Ahe, perhaps I should clarify- I didn't mean steam punk AND magic, I ,eat steam punk that IS magic. So, think of the usual steampunk- but instead of it being powered by technologies like chemical reactions and gears and such, it is powered by runes and spells. That way, both are on even footing, steampunk or rraditional- both use magic in this case.

I have created the game.  Come take a look if you are interested.

link to another game