[MUD-Dev] Secondary characters as a mechanic

[Edward Glowacki]

On Sun, 2003-02-09 at 12:21, Damion Schubert wrote:
> From: Brian Hook
 
>> These characters can be played simultaneously, but the game would
>> focus on the "party as character" and "primary as character".
>> For example, faction would be carried at the party level.
 
> I've considered this idea before.  Where I end up getting stuck is
> why anyone would join a group with another person if they could be
> this self-sufficient.  It does have the possibility of working in
> a more war-oriented game (like Shadowbane), but then again, one
> could argue that it already exists in the form of Nexon's MMORTS
> Shattered Galaxies.

I've been pondering this one as well, with the same conclusion that
multiple characters would probably have a negative impact on
multiple player groups.  It's the self sufficiency thing that's the
hangup.  But "self sufficient" need not mean "efficient" or
"optimal".  You may be able to go anywhere and kill anything with
your party.  But if it takes 3 hours and 200 rest breaks kill a foe
with just your party, and only 20 minutes and 6 rest breaks to kill
a foe with your characters and those of some friends, then even
accounting for loot/XP split you can still be more efficient while
grouping.

Another thought would be to have joint spells/skills.  If two
characters cast compatable spells (or engage compatable skills) at
the same time, the total has more effect than the sum of the parts.
i.e. 1 + 1 = 3.

Or maybe each character can have an aura (ala Diablo II) that helps
nearby allies or hurts nearby foes.  Joining with other players then
would provide additional auras for each of your characters.  Another
take on this could be that the auras don't do anything directly, but
rather they enhance a subset of skills, i.e. a "cleric" type might
give bonuses to all other nearby healing spells, or a "warrior" type
might give a bonus to nearby sword attacks.

Then there's leadership skills.  Maybe the better leadership a party
has, the stronger it is, with leadership being a skill that
characters can acquire.  You could setup a feedback loop of sorts
there, where the more people in the party, the better the bonuses
the leader provides. So players with strong leader characters will
seek out other people to join their party, and everyone is looking
for parties with strong leaders so they can get good bonuses.

-ED

--
Edward Glowacki <glowack2 at msu.edu>

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