Classes

Some title ideas and their 6-matrix + notes:

• Pirate - [danc, illu, summ]
• Ranger - [danc, monk, stra]
• Archer - [illu, stra]
• Paladin - [danc, monk]
• Necromancer - [monk, illu, summ]
• Overseer - [monk, stra, summ]
• Sculptor - [summ]

Not all titles have to come from the 6-matrix, some can come from just tradeskill specialization or playstyle:

• Baker - Good at making cakes
• Chemist
  
• Swordsmith - Specialized in swords
• Diplomat - Specialized in political and social tree
• Politician

These ‘titles’ might better be referred to as ‘class’ or ‘profession’. Something about class is that it may give players less of a feeling that they’re playing Minesweeper on the battlefield. You’re free to make assumptions. You’re also free to be wrong. Also an Illusionist ability to hide the class from casual eyes, or misrepresent them.

Titles

A second field in a character might have a status title from faction status or play awards.

• Mayor
• Duchess
• Coward
• Slaughterer
• General
• Master

These might combine to form a wholistic title:

• Master Swordsmith
• General Archer
• Mercenary Shadowblade

If in a given titlespace, multiple things qualify, or in the class sense, you are very close to multiple things being ‘most applicable’ (i.e. ‘tied for first’), the player could choose.

Advantages

Now, short of status, there can be a real reason for getting a title. Each title could come with a single skill or set of skills that you have for as long as you have the title. Some might not do much (Pirate - “Avast!” - Makes everyone in range talk like a pirate in battle chat), while some may be very useful (Coward - “Escapism” - Once per day, can escape from battle all locks and teleport to home city). When you have multiple titles to select from, you can only pick the one you want, even if you qualify for many.

In short, I’d like to use titles as a friendly identifier, a status symbol, a ‘collectors boon’ (gotta catchemall / find the hidden easter egg titles), and a customizer.

To one side of it is medals (I plan on giving medals of honour for things like in BF2), and to the other side is Starsign (Astrological sign at character creation, gives very minor stat / attribute customization). Basically as much customization for a character as possible and more feeling like this character is ‘mine’ and unique. The down side is we might have to make a lot of little icons.

Apprenticeship and the socio-economic ramifications of any related game mechanics have been the forefront of my thoughts lately. Some visibility:

• Some rite of passage grants someone a Master Craftsman status (also vote). The craft guilds could be handled as factions, with one ranking ladder.
• Each Master can take on a number of Apprentices. The Apprentices take care of doing low-level sub components, gathering, and anything else menial. There is an exclusivity arrangement with the Master (the Master will likely fire the Apprentice if he goes and sells his sub components on the auction without the Master’s permission).
• In exchange, Apprentices gain a mentoring bonus to their craft progression and ability that makes them want to stay with the Master.
• Eventually, they begin to be able to make simple sellable finished items. After a specific level, Apprentices may raise to Journeymen. Journeymen traditionally are day-labourers, and are payed for their services by their masters, and may travel working under different masters to round out their training. I’m not exactly sure how to work in either concept if feasible [making money for services / employment] and [going from Master to Master], but I think they are worth exploring. Especially if you have some sort of ’stamp’-like system where certain advancements (for example getting a Master skill level, or getting certain skill trees purchased) require some sort of quest/trial/service/apprenticeship to complete under a different or number of different masters to be able to go forward. This is not unlike the ‘pyramid inversion’ of specialism in knowledge I was discussing with skills.
• When a Journeyman is of the Master ability level and meets the requirements of journeying and apprenticing times and certificates, they may attempt to make a “Masterpiece”. This is a huge endeavour, perhaps one that must be completed entirely (all sub components) by the crafter, and one that takes a considerable amount of time and toil. It should be not something we make easy enough that ‘everyone’ can get it. Only the truly craft-dedicated can approach this.
• I have toyed with the idea of patenting a Masterpiece with the Master’s own choice of naming or their name on it, and perhaps some graphical customization above the normal (and possibly being able to submit their own image for approval). I’ve also toyed with the idea of them gaining a bonus to the future creation of that Masterpiece (as replicas) for clients, a bonus large enough that they would become famous for making that item.
• When a Journeyman has completed their Masterpiece, they must approach the guild that they wish to join and show it as a resume of their skills. The Guild Masters must vote on the addition of another Master
• On a successful vote, the Journeyman is now a Guild Master and can vote on Guild decisions and partake in all of guild politics.
• Grand Mastery is still a possibility (more vote weight, status)

Make crafting an actual game in of its own:

1) Make puzzle like components and the player has to figure out how to fit the peices together.

First this sounds strange, but this would give another element to the game besides combat and would take skill to achieve. Not only would you need the in character knowledge of the recipe the player would need to know or be able to solve the puzzle. Puzzles could be built up to. Easy puzzles from learning how to craft build components used for later. This would allow the accumilation of knowedge and skill on the player’s part.

The down side I can see is people getting annoyed with crafting when you have to do a lot of puzzles to make quanities of items. Mass crafting could either a) be discouraged by the puzzles and taking emphasis off of making a lot of items to get better at crafting, or b) helped by allowing them to specify batch quanities. They solve the puzzle, specify quantity, and the system crafts that many.

It’s an odd idea, let’s see what ya guys think.