LOM2 as an RPG

[Boaster]

Who says you have to stick to the story? This is after all about LOM2, a game not made nor in the making.

LOM2 could be centuries after LOM. And since Balkoth would be "gone" or hasn't been resurrected, the races of Urak could branch out and begin to worship other faiths.

[Venture Industries]

I do agree, race shouldn't restrict faith to some degree. I do feel that certain races will be restricted from playing other classes. Orc life mages don't make sense, nor does a Barbarian Wizard. The writings of Balathustrius allows cross faith humans it seems. I'm for expanding on this idea where it makes sense.

[Boaster]

Apr 4, 2009 11:24:48 GMT -6 Venture Industries said:

I do agree, race shouldn't restrict faith to some degree. I do feel that certain races will be restricted from playing other classes. Orc life mages don't make sense, nor does a Barbarian Wizard. The writings of Balathustrius allows cross faith humans it seems. I'm for expanding on this idea where it makes sense.

Well, I would say that race effects stat modifiers, base and by level. Therefore a Barbarian Wizard of (Any race) would yield him poor mana/wisdom/intelligence but excellent physical stats. So in a sense, it would be self defeating to be a Barbarian spellcaster.

To me, I would prefer no cap on race-to-class-to-faith combinations.

Certain races would have their statistical bonuses, while certain faiths would have their inherited bonuses.

I.e. A Giant would have +2 base Strength and +2 base Constitution and -4 base Dexterity racial modifiers.
I.e. Worshiping Air would endow +2 base Dexterity.
I.e. Warrior Class allows for +4 health per level, rather than +2.

Thus an Air Giant would not be so crippled with his -4 Dexterity modifier. Giants wouldn't make for good Thief class characters.

I would have to re-generate a list of Race bonuses and Faith endowments, so that certain combinations offset and such.



[EDITS]

A rough rudimentary table of racial bonuses:

Race	Modifier
Archon (Human)	No bonus/penalty.
Amazon (Human)	-1 Strength, +1 Dexterity.
Barbarian (Human)	+10% Elemental Resistance, -2 Wisdom.
Dark Elf	+1 Dexterity, -1 Constitution, +1 Movement Speed, -1 Health Recovery.
Elf	-1 Strength, -1 Constitution +1 Dexterity, +1 Movement Speed.
Dwarf	+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Dexterity, -1 Movement Speed.
Giant	+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -4 Dexterity.
Faerie	-2 Strength, -2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity, +2 Movement Speed.
Lizard	+1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom.
Troll	-2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution.
Orc	+2 Strength, -2 Wisdom.
Centaur	+2 Combat Speed, -2 Wisdom.
Goblin	+1 Dexterity, -1 Wisdom
Gnome	+2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity.
Halfling	+1 Dexterity, +1 Stealth, -2 Wisdom.
Minotaur	+4 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom.

Faith	Modifier
Air	+2 Dexterity.
Chaos	+2 Constitution.
Death	+1 Strength, +1 Wisdom.
Earth	+1 Strength, +1 Constitution.
Fire	+2 Strength.
Life	+1 Dexterity, +1 Wisdom.
Order	+2 Wisdom.
Water	+1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom.

Primary Stats
Strength: Effects Melee Attack (x1/2), and physical combat related feats/abilities (x1/10).
Dexterity: Effects Defense/Armor (x1/2) and ranged physical (x1/2), Attack and Hit Recovery (x1/3) and some physical combat related feats/abilities (x1/10).
Constitution: Effects maximum health and health regenerative abilities. Effects base hit points (x2), health recovery (x1/2).
Wisdom: Effects maximum mana (x1/2), Mana recovery (x1/4), Artifact Level equip-ability (x1/10).


Secondary Stats (affected by primary):
Attack (+1/2 Strength), attack power of melee weapons.
Ranged Attack (+1/2 Dexterity), attack power of ranged weapons.
Attack Recovery (+1/3 Dexterity), the character's ability to strike again after attacking.
Hit Recovery (+1/3 Dexterity), speed at which a character can recover from a hit and be able to attack. If a character cannot recovery from a hit fast enough, his defense/armor value is cut by a third until he has recovered.
Health (+2x Constitution), your character's life force and ability to take damage before death.
Health Recovery (+1/2 Constitution), your character's ability to recover health over time.
Mana (+1/2 Wisdom), your mana pool for casting spells. Mana determines how many spells or how powerful of spells can be cast. (No different than how LOM works, more powerful spells cost more mana and therefore cannot be cast as often).
Artifact Level (+1/10 Wisdom) (+1X Character Level), what level artifacts can be wielded and used properly.
Mana Recovery (+1/4 Wisdom) the amount of time it takes to regenerate 1 mana point, over a period of time.


Tertiary Stats (Affected by Level, Class or Artifact, or otherwise unchangable):
Combat speed: how fast your character moves.
Sight Radius: distance at which a character can detect things such as traps, treasures, chests.
Striking Distance: a range at which a character receives no striking penalty for targets moving within this range. Applies to ranged combat only. Striking distance cannot exceed Sight Radius.
Luck: Increases chance to perform feats/abilities by 1%, increases Artifact Level of the character by 1, and replaces the base damage of spells if Luck is greater than the spell's base damage.



All rough ideas. Take them how you will.

[Venture Industries]

Order:_____ Archon_____Gargoyle_____ Spirit________Half-Elf

Life:_______Eldren_____ Dryad________Brownie______Half-Unicorn

Death:_____Golgothan__ Zombie_______Skeleton_____Shade

Chaos:_____Barbarian___Ogre_________Goblin______ Half-Orc

Air:_______ Fae________Storm Giant___Pixie________Eagle

Earth:_____ Halfling____ Earth Dwarf___Gnome______ Mite

Water:_____Viantha____ Lizardfolk_____Sea Nymph___Mermaid

Fire:______ Red Dwarf__ Fire Giant_____Imp________ Balrog

Neutral:___ Centaur____ Troll_________ Orc_________Hobgoblin

These are the Races of Nine. Of the Nine Alliances of Urak, these races have become the largest groups of their respective alliances. The half-unicorns don't have to be a race, they could just be unicorns which have humanoid form. Eagles are the same. The only true half races are half-elves and half-orcs, which are traditionally the half races of the world.

In Balathustrius's writings he writes about how long dead warriors sense of duty is so great that their very spirits come back to assist their Lords. I'm not thinking of them as undead but they are ethereal in nature. The gargoyles are magical creatures. They can fulfill many roles but will have one common design. I was debating incorporating Stags as a Wood Elf in magical form. I wasn't sure, they work as forest elves that help as rangers of the forest. There is one more tier of races for future expansion perhaps.

Mermaids and sea nymphs have been added. They are sea creatures granted a landlubber form in order to help the people of water. There could be a whole magical world in the seas but that is also debated.

Mites are unclear. I haven't encountered them in any lore. Centaurs make some sense in life but I've reserved them for the neutral alliance. Imps are elf-like but speak demonic.

See if you can see the viability of these new races and how they work in game play.

[Venture Industries]

I have some critiques now that I have some spare time.

Besides which, the idea of fire lizards aren't found anywhere nor Order/Life/Death/Chaos Giants (even if there are Ogres and Cyclopses.)

See:

The idea of halfbreeds, as I've touched upon, can be a bit whacky!

I'd hope they not get too whacky!

Then there are half orcs/ogres which adds 6 or 8 more half human species, not to mention orcs and ogres breed with each other.

I don't see any half ogres in fantasy lore. Maybe there are some but IMHO ogres are humanoid enough.

Its likely that the Rock Hurler unit may actually be a Barbarian/Fire Giant crossbreed. I might be wrong about the whole Lesser Giants thing, for it might be the current Fire Giants that are 'lessers' to the ancient Fire Giants that created them.

I like this, however I'm not sure how I would incorporate this. I'm just not using "Lesser Fire giants" (read:Rockhurdlers). In LOM lore they are the creations of the Greater Fire giants:

Dexterity: Death
Agility: Air

I've always assumed they were the same. How are these two different? Perhaps I missed it. I really like Boasters simplistic ones. I was actually going to make stats rather simplistic.

You cannot join the ranks of an opposite faith. A Faerie may never join Earth and a Barbarian cannot join Order.

Balathustrius is part of the story of Urak. His writings allow races to follow a different faith. Take halflings for instance: they weren't created by the giants of earth like the Gnomes and Dwarves of Earth and Fire. They chose their faith, perhaps grew into it. I do agree a Barbarian would have a hard time being a Wizard.

Some Constructive Observations:
Clearly faith is tied to magic. Llanwylen and Golgoth imbues their mages with with their powers. If any thing becomes a Necromancer, it's faith is clearly going to be Death since he would get his powers from Golgoth.

And the idea of ignoring gameply balance can work in a game that doesn't need to be Multiplayer, but in an MMO, many players complain/quit due to imbalances.

You spoke of balance. There is no reason the "Life" Alliances or any Alliance can use a Necromancers to help in a future war. The only benefits to keeping them separated would be for role playing. Players can decide whether they wish to accept Necromancers in their alliance.

Like I said there's more to the world.

Players don't have to sit there a build up their character to the highest levels possible to have fun.

People can build and develop things of their own. I would love craftsmen to be their own part of the world.

Players will have homes, alliances could have castles with a duke or count.

Alliances will guard mines and fight to protect them.

A wizard guild will have it's own tower.

The world will be big.

Players don't have to battle in just combat alone.

I believe future MMO's need to be MODERN! I'm stepping out with the old MMO concept that Blizzard has shown us. Modern MMO's are going to be player oriented. They don't have to focus on just character development and items.

Having another fantasy based MMO with the same underlying gameplay isn't new or original or worthy of LOM, IMO. Having more races to play, more alliances, and more classes doesn't make it any more unique. I think we both agree LOMSE is a great underlying concept, but I feel a MMO needs to be really creative. To be worthy of the spectacular lore the gameplay should be unique because the lore deserves no less. Everyone wants to break out in the Fantasy MMO market by duplicating WoW and Everquests general gameplay.

the idea of so much open ended play gives the player too much power. MMOs are usually static unless the corporate programmers decide a world changing money charging (read: expansion) event that adds new content.

Regardless, the idea of open ended play gives the player just enough power. Until you know more about this specific concept I wouldn't assume too much. Likewise I hope I haven't over stepped myself too much. I don't like basing game play on WoW or Everquest in anyway. I'm actually trying to think, what would actually attract girls to want to play?

As far as thieves and Warrior classes are concerned, the path you take should be open ended. Its just picking up a weapon and learning how to swing it right. All warriors can use Berserking and Parry, it should stand to reason that all faiths should have access to some sort of tankish warrior and a Berserkish style kill warrior... and they do.

This is a very unique and cool. I'd like to hear more about this.

[Boaster]

Things like Brownies, Demons, Mites, Dryads, etc to me are sub-races. Demon, would be a sub-race of Giant and Brownies and Dryads would be a sub-race to Elves. Brownies to Dwarves or Halflings. These are more or less just "Magical Creatures." I wouldn't recognize them as a major race.

[thandu]

Centuries could mean very little to the likes of Elves and Giants, who probably live for a long time.

Even still, new races dont just pop up out of nowhere.

When I say story, I mean backstory. Read the manual, for a game of its time, it has a decently useful story that deserves justice.


While yes, Balkoth is dead, I'd say that this is a time not too far afterwards, this gives conflict and the need for reconstruction. Perhaps under a century, since sometimes war is very devestating.


Sure, you have a few oddballs, but in MMOs, you tend to play the majority. Take common MMOs, usually one race starts in one city and are attached to one side. It's done like this in Everquest (only half-elves and humans have more options,) WoW and many others. Perhaps it is not unique to limit as such, but it will prevent lots of confusion.

Too much open-ended options tend to make balanced gameplay a bit shakey.

Agility vs Dexterity is actually very different... sorta.

Dexterity pertains more to the senses and to the nimbleness of the fingers. Thievish utility skills, spellweaving, even sight, hearing and speach are effect a bit by dexterity.

Agility is flexibility and to an extent, certain finess weapons attack power, such as Rapiers and Daggers as well as all Ranged weapons.


In short, Dexterity helps you hit, Agility helps you avoid being hit and makes your hits stronger. Both have varying importance on critical strikes.


The whole thing of giants is a bit baffling. On one hand, they are the gods for the most part who created the world, on the other hand, they die easily to 'lesser mortal' races, some which they created.

Greater Giants shouldn't be playable, since it is likely them who are the gods. I'd check my manual, but I lost it. I'm annoyed greatly!


In any case, you guys post too fast!

Here's my setup as I promised for class explanations.

Order


Archons: Total Classes - 12 (All Humans will)

Fighter - The Fighter is a disciplined front line warrior. It is no surprise that your Common Footman or knight can ascend to greater warfare status.

Paladin - This one's a bit obvious, though for non-Orderlies, it may not be as such. Paladins have some healing and use some holy skills, but are mostly defensive based with poor combat offense.

Templar - Templars are KNIGHTS, somewhat fanatical, who utilize sorcery to help spread their beliefs.

Ranger - This should also be obvious, Rangers are thievish, but in this game, Rangers also have some fighting skills (like they did in gam) and natural magic.

Rogue - Every Archon knows the viability of basic thieving. The art of Roguish combat is important for adventurous Archons as they come upon locked gates, trapped rooms, and danger around every corner!

Bard - Music at a tavern or on the field, Archons know the power of a rallied or inspired army, even from music.

Wizard - Should be obvious, Archons are adept at wizardry, which is an art more encompassing than just Order spells these days.

Elementalist - Archons are adept with magic, it should be no surprise that they can unleash the elements in balanced fashion.

Sage - These human possess sage knowledge and Wisdom, most humans have this.

Priest - Holy Men for holy men. Crusade away. Priests are rather clerical in that they can wear plate.

Warlock - The dark side. For any Archon ever dreaming of Death, here's their chance. The Warlocks are a secret study of a spreading darkness. Most warlocks try to pass themselves off as mages of a mixed bag, but the leather armor may give it away. Strangely enough, the feral Barbarians do not have this class. Put simply, Archons who use this power against their kin are banished.

Monk - With the discipline and the medieval Eastern European theme, a Monk as a holy man with kung fu action just feels right at home!


Minotaurs: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - Big and beefy, literally, they have the discipline any order follower needs...

Berserker - Then again, a Mino can be the raging bull!

Paladin - A spreading of ideas, the ways of the Archons can be learned by their allies.

Ranger - Who knows the grass better than a cow? To stalk the wilds quietly, even with hooves.

Bard - It's kinda like a Satyr of myth, the piper, but we're using Minotaurs to fit the cliche.

Wizard - There is a hidden knowledge that the elusive Minotaurs know. They have adept magic in this regard.

Sage - The ability to be wise and sense trouble makes these Oracles very sagely.

Priest - The priests find themselves also involved in heavy scryings as of late.

Druid - There is a deep connection with nature and the balance of the world. Strange that Archons, venerators of Balance, aren't druids, but the fact is that Archons aren't champions of nature.

Shaman - There are those who are more feral than their brethren and have a spiritual connection with the world. While not chaotic, Shamanism is about spiritual communication and a connection with the wilds.


Centaurs: Total Classes- 10

Fighter- To stand at the front lines is an easy task for a Centaur as their hooves make them very useful warriors.

Ranger - Skilled wanderers of the wild, many Centaurs wandered, not all were faithless marauders. Some were just wanderers, even faithless, but prefer the sanctity of a homeland to fall back upon.

Hunter - Fact is, the ranged Centaur is the Centaur hunter. Being attuned with animals when your lower half is one should be easy.

Rogue - With hooves, its not easy to sneak, but Centaurs, being so fast, have naturally high agility and are experts with locks and traps.

Assassin - A Centaur Assassin doesn't mind having his gallop heard as long as he can rush the target's back before they turn around... they'll no longer hear anything.

Wizard - You pick up a few tricks when you plunder Mage Towers and frustrate the player who just finished training setups.

Elementalist - See Wizard. Centaurs aren't stupid, and with their tendency to wander, the wilds beckon as their home.

Sage - Sages are a devout kind, and even the Centaurs have their saints and wise folk.

Priest - Some Centaurs have converted fully to the order of the Triad. These priests enjoy the balance.

Druid - Then again, as wanderers about all of Urak, you learn the balance quickly and learn the yingyang of the elements and even how to work with them.


Chaos


Barbarians: Total Classes - 12 (Human versatility)

Berserker - This SHOULD be obvious. I mean seriously!

Templar - Fanatics of war who will unleash elemental FURY. Sure thing!

Ranger - Unlike Order Rangers, these Rangers are more attuned to the wilds, they tend to suffer defensively in return. Expect common starting weapons to be Throwing Sticks or Goblin crafted Hand Crossbows

Hunter - Since they have a Huntress, WHY NOT! The Hunter can really connect with the animal spirits to boost their affinity with any animal companion they get.

Rogue - Rogues tend to be charming, and many are Chaotic Neutral, which is the defining allignment of Chaos. What a perfect fit!

Assassin - Barbarians are deadly at raiding when they feel like it. Stab your back and plunder your treasures, being commonly dressed in simple pelts only adds to their stealth.

Bard - Bards are also usually denied lawful alignments as far as 3rd Edition goes. Wild music from wardrums and war cries are a strategic advantage.

Wizard - Yet there is sorcery. Chaos Wizards tend to have their damage range on their spells be a bit wider, which can lead to better or worse damage outputs.

Elementalists - Fire is furious, Tornadoes are wild, Water engulfs all and Earth just shatters and crumbles things. Where can one sign up?!

Sage - It's not all wild killing. Sometimes there are those of ancient wisdom, spiritual guidances and oracles who dance and chant to the animals while Shamans take closer bearing to the front line.

Druid - Barbarians experience harsh weather and violent elements. It is no surprise that they can commune closely with them and use them for combat. Note that druids are somewhat warbased, as they have Balance Bar skills that are physical combat based.

Shaman - This should be obvious. Any chaos race without a witchdoctor should not be.


Goblins: Total Classes - 12 (Unlike humans, their stats aren't well rounded, but these little guys are crafty)

Fighter - Stout and small, Goblins take advantage of their size to dodge better and compensate for their lack of strength. While more disciplined than other Chaos kindred, they'll be the first to feed on another humanoid.

Berserker - Like the Shaman, a Chaos staple.

Ranger - Wild and curious, Goblins aren't stupid, even if their speech is poor.

Rogue - Did I mention craftiness? Goblins probably have the most focus of any Chaos race and make dedicated dungeon utility.

Assassin - Then again, crafty and sneaky. A goblin loves to kill and destroy. Don't get eaten too badly afterwards.

Wizard - Again, craftiness lets them be viable spellcasters.

Elementalist - Spellcasters of the elements who summon elemental guardians as whacky as they are.

Sage - Some goblins are wise beyond their years and take multiple magics into their wing.

Priest - There's none better to commune with their wild nature.

Shaman - Chaos staple!

Warlock - Where Barbarians wont dare, the Goblins will, and have the craftiness to control the undead and demons they ask to commit chaos for them.

Monk - There's more to monking than a fist or mend, Goblin monks take advantage of their wildness. Monks aren't necessarily always at focus, or rather, focus is sometimes the ability to be completely psychopathic and committing to it.


Ogres: Total Classes - 11 (You'd be surprised how many spell casting classes there are)

Berserker - CRUUUUUSH! Want to crush!

Templar - Ogres are more intelligent than they appear. Ogres have excellent skills with shaping magic, it should go to reason that mixing that with hitting people only falls into place.

Hunter - Ogres enjoy taming wild cats and dogs to do their bidding. They find the fur fun to pet above all else.

Wizard - The Ogre-Magi! An idea seen in many fantasy settings, why not here too?

Elementalist - It almost seems like Wizards and Elementalists go hand in hand, but we'll see differences in due time.

Sage - An ogre sage is commonly two headed, where one head has taken to the arcane with the other divine.

Priest - Ogre priests are a need have with so many reckless grunts and brutes running about practically naked!

Druid - Again, magic comes too easily, even nature magic.

Shaman - Easy magic, Chaos staple, Ogre shamans are bound to be a common sight on RP servers at least.

Warlock - Again, magic is easy and Warlock magic can be VERY unstable. Ogres are far more fearless than the Barbarians are.

Monk - Long reaching fists that want to crush and big smelly feet. Ogre monks have a hidden intellect you can't see until they've caved your skull in.


Cyclopses: Total Classes - 11

Fighter - These one eyed behemoths aren't the brightest out there, but they are brave and can be surprisingly overfocused (almost too so.) Due to their eye, they possess very high charisma which helps them fight more than you'd believe.

Berserker - Then again, flying off the handle isn't out of the question either.

Hunter - That eye's a real lock on, they've got a sharp shot and are curious with wild beasts. Hunters are bound to pop up.

Assassin - Not all assassins are in your back. Some are at your distance and all you need for the kill is an envenomed... boulder... yep! It's deadlier than a knife or arrow and the hit doesn't even need to be direct to break bones.

Bard - Natural charisma, one of the highest of all races, means that even if their music sucks, they'll still bring in large crowds to listen while getting away with their thieving.

Wizard - Even if none too bright, Cyclops wizards do great with melee spells and dang it, they're trying. That's dedication!

Sage - While not intelligent, there's a sage Wisdom that you can't see with depth perception.

Priest - These priests like to smite with Boulders. As far as priest weapons go, it's second only to the Holy Hand Grenade (which you'll never find in game)

Druid - Strange how such a race about Anarchy can have so many balance based classes. Like other Chaos kin, Druids like nature more than balance.

Shaman - Really now? Do I have to explain?

Warlock - Charisma is very important for commanding your pets. Every good Warlock will have high Charisma and Stamina and Cylopses have very high in both base scores. Even with the lowest base int, those stats can easily help compensate.


Water


Amazons/Viantha: Total Classes - 12 (Human staple)

Fighter - Every Amazon, man or woman enjoys a good battle!

Berserker - Some enjoy them a bit too much!

Paladin - Others realize that their healing affinity can mesh well with warfare!

Hunter - Water faith hunters are commonly at the shoreline with a pronged weapon, or even swimming about hunting sharks and krakens.

Rogue - With dark skin, they can hide well in the night, shadows or murky waters (not that they like Murky water)

Assassin - What strange lethal LIQUIDS will be on their weapons. No sex jokes, please!

Wizard - They are adept with magic. You'll find odd a lack of elementalists. Just as well, Viantha aren't very affinitated with elemental magic aside from their own Water and maybe Ice. Faith Bolt will cover most water damage.

Sage - A sage can attune himself or herself (there ARE men) to the elements and still maintain water's high tolerance for restoration.

Priest - Gee, with a unit called Priestess, I can't imagine how not.

Druid - Rejuvination and regenerative magics suit druidry better than they do priests. Viantha druids set their groves up at least a few yards away from the shoreline.

Shaman - Amazons ARE tribal, above all else. Shamanism isn't unheard of.

Monk - Yet they are disciplined. Humans have a high affinity for this new fad of fighting with your fists.


Lizard Men: Total Classes 9 (This is the minimum a race can have)

Berserker - Lizard Men are very lizard and wild. Strong sure, but most aren't too disciplined.

Templar - Templars aren't very disciplined, mostly fanatical and talented. Lizards can be both.

Ranger - These Rangers tend to roam by sea, swimming the oceans as they go.

Rogue - Like a sssssnake issss their sssspeach and like a ssssnake they ssssneak!

Assassin - Some Assassins of this race create their own venom through secretions. Where the secretions come from determine the effect on and humility of the target.

Wizard - Whether its a heritage shared with dragons some many millenia ago or not, magic is fun.

Elementalists - Unlike Viantha, the elements are even more fun for them. Being naturally resistant to a nice variety of them, Lizard Men really only are weak to Electricity and thus can control most magic very well.

Shaman - More than Viantha, Lizard Men are somewhat primal and as animals themselves, affinity with serpents is common.

Monk - Lizard Monks take advantange of their tails, and their clawed fingers for added effects.


Lesser Water Giants (LWGs)/Synoran: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - Creations of the goddess Synora have been shaped somewhat in the image of her followers. They have a healthy battle lust.

Paladin - It's mostly healthy because it's not berserk. There are the holy warrior of the sea with their aquatic curatives and warfare.

Templar - Let's get one thing out of the way. Giants and lesser giants are often fanatical towards their faith. The recently borne Lesser Waters are no exception and will fight for the powers of water at all cost.

Hunter - Like other water followers, they hunt like sharks on the prowl through the seas.

Bard - Synora gifted her latest creations with soothing voices and slippery hands. They're good with melodies and at stealing wallets. Be careful.

Elementalist - Another feature common to all Giantkin are Elementalists. They will find magic pertaining to their faith extra boosted!

Sage - The Water Giants are gifted with their mother's great wisdom. Synorans (the common name for LWGs) can put their sage wisdom and intellect to great use.

Druid - There is a respect for the sea and the bouyant ebb and flow of the tides.

Shaman - In image of their followers, the Synorans have rituals often involving the spirits of sea creatures that most Urakians cannot fathom even thinking about.

Monk - The training of a monk is intense and involves staying under water for long periods of time (Synorans cannot breath underwater, but all water followers have extended waterbreathing)


Fire


Fire Giants: Total Classes - 9 (the only other race at the minimum)

Fighter - Fire Giants have the highest base strength in the game. A clean swipe from a greatsword or Halbred will cut many enemies into five pieces (with one SWING!)

Berserker - Fire is a chaotic and tempremental force, let's face it, most of their Barracks is chaos units.

Templar - Again, a giant thing. Fire Templars can gaft their weapons with fire to better effect than other faiths.

Ranger - To wander the desert or the molten caves, you need the heat resistance that men and women of fire possess.

Wizard - Fire Giants are brilliant and adept with magic, and have a taste for chaos.

Elementalist - Almost a given, beware the infernos that they can rain! Fire magic has the most offensive spells.

Sage - Mixing cauterizing restoration with mass destruction can be rewarding.

Priest - Fireheal, vital to any conquest.

Warlock - Warlocks summon fiery demons. Practically staple for all fire followers.


Lesser Fire Giants (LFGs, seriously): Total Classes - 10

Fighter - LFGs are sturdy, stoic and bulky. They also serve the flames without question. Many as of late have been growing inferiority complexes to their Fire Giant surveyors. Many have been growing to appreciate Red Dwarven forged items compared to those forged directly from the flames.

Paladin - Though it has been difficult to instill a knighthood, the LFGs and Red Dwarves have tried to prove their might as front liners by taking up a more divine course. Smites feel like a ball of lava!

Templar - Many don't care about anything but serving the flame that birthed them. Templars exemplify this fanatical behavior.

Hunter - With sharp eyes and strong arms, Lesser Fire Giants command great power over the beasts of the desert.

Rogues - Lesser Fire Giants aren't all that heavy in spite of their size. They tend to be team players and make for viable rogues.

Bard - Nobody else wants to blaze accross the battlefield quite as badly, and with music to burn their enemy's ears, there's no greater pleasure.

Elementalist - While not as smart with spellshaping as their makers, a Fireball from 'em hurts just as much.

Sage - Not too wise either, many torture their minds to attain sagely powers.

Warlock - Yup, the appeal of fiery destruction works well, some even tamper with the idea of the dead, and mixing them with fire. Burning bones... though it's yet to succeed without turning the skeleton to dust.

Monk - Bald heads and great focus to grab and ball up lava rocks. Yea, that much focus makes a Bhuddist monk idea fit well.


Red Dwarves: Total Classes - 11

Fighter - While not as sturdy or as bearded as their Rocky cousins, a Red Dwarf can make and wear strong metal equipment that he will enjoy wielding into combat.

Berserker - These guys revel in inflicting pain, henceforth the combination working well.

Paladin - Upholding the law of destruction is always a fun chore for these makeshift 'knights'.

Templar - Death by fire!

Rogue - Unlike Rock Dwarves, Red Dwarves are crafty and sneaky...

Assassin - But most would rather slice your throat with a meltingly hot dagger! That's if you're lucky, he's bound to torture you first just because it's fun!

Bard - Oh c'mon! Look at that getup. They look like JESTERS! Some take the outfit to lull the enemy into thinking they actually are simple carnival performers. The mistake can be fatal.

Elementalist - They are spreading the fire!

Priest - Dwarves have a decent affinity for clergies and take any opportunity to wear plate and smite.

Warlock - BURN! BURN!

Monk - This race is the reason why I added Monks. Red Dwarves get more awesomeness points than they already do because they punch their foes. Fire monks will take freezing water and stick their feet in it to raise their discipline and pain resistance.


Imps: Total Classes - 11

Templar - Don't be fooled by their size, Imps have amazing durability for a tiny race. They can't be many warrior classes but make excellent Templars.

Hunter - Some want to understand the creatures of this non-hell plane and enjoy hunting down their foes for sport.

Rogue - There's gotta be a reason why these guys were made into Fire Scouts.

Assassin - It'd probably help explain their ability to kill.

Bard - Nobody can understand the demonic songs they sing, many are strangely catchy, in that they catch your soul by its throat.

Wizard - These semi-demons are great with simple magic. If you level them up... you have a high level Wizard! Duh

Elementalist - Fire worshippers love destructive power.

Priest - More fire healing, can you get enough heat based restoration?

Shaman - Even demons are primal. The spirits these guys best commune with are of hellhounds and other demonically unnatural animals.

Warlock - Imp Warlocks have a bonus to their affinity with other demons since they naturally speak the same language.




I'll get the other four races later.


As can be seen above, everyone is branching out, but here's the thing, you're not an experienced adventurer, you're an average, I just grew up in your homeland [race.] You have been fed the ideologies of your people, the ideas, the knowledge, the fitness and customs. Now, you're of age and can decide your fate... to a degree.


It's not like you can wake up as an Archon and say you just want to be a Berserker. You won't find much to help you grow as a berserker and will thus not have had enough to help you even reach level one.


That's the thing I think is being forgotten. You start out at level one s one of the majority, not a minority.

[Boaster]

For some reason, regardless of what anyone says, I think the idea of race and faith being independent from one another is the best idea in terms of an RPG.

Fire Lizards.
Aqua Dwarves (Blue beards!).
Undead Faeries.
Order Giant Warriors.
Dread Amazon (Death worshiping Amazon).

Just adds flavor and diversity!

[Venture Industries]

Read the manual, for a game of its time, it has a decently useful story that deserves justice.

Ditto, let me get you a link to download it.

Boaster, I'm aware they are subraces of Elves. I'm using "race" to signify not a general race, but a race like "Mongols or Caucasians" or like Brownies are to Elves as Archons (Viantha, Barbarians) are to humans. In general a racial super set like Elves will impart various attributes to all Elven kin. Other modifiders will be based on size and class(faith).

I see Demons as their own general race.

Lizardmen fall into a category of Reptiles, which will include playable Half-Thunder Drake and Half-Red Drake(Dragon.) I imagine they would look more humanoid like Lizardmen than Dragon.

I don't exclude creatures from becoming undead, even later in the game. Zombies and Skeletons are unique (maybe just Skeletons) in that I can't find a way a character would turn into a Skeleton. I would be in favor of replacing Zombies with a more appropriate Demon like race. I see that Vampires will be their own "race" where any player can become a Vampire but not go back. These are later.

Some classes:

Order:
Evil Wizard (Possession spells, darker spells, lawful, evil, Arcane magic)
Wizard (Normal, learns a balance of both, lawful, Arcane magic)
Good Wizard (Curative spells, support, lawful, good, Arcane magic)

Life:
Druid (Nature magic, good)
Enchanter (Mix of divine and Nature magic possibly arcane, good)
Priest (Holy or divine magic, good)

Death:
Warlock (Evil Arcane)
Necromancer (Evil Nature)
Summoner (Evil Divine)

Chaos:
Voodoo Shaman (Evil Nature)
Shaman (Nature)
Medicine Man (Alchemy/Good Nature)

Air:
Thunder Sorcerer (Elemental War)
Sorcerer (Elemental Balance, Storm)
Sky Sorcerer (Elemental Peace)

Earth:
Tremor Magician (Elemental War)
Magician (Elemental Balanced)
Stone Magician (Elemental Peace)

Water:
Tidal Priestess (Elemental War)
Priestess (Elemental Balanced)
Spring Priestess (Elemental Peace)

Fire:
Tormenting Sorcerer (Elemental War)
Sorcerer (Elemental Balanced, Fire)
Sparkling Sorcerer (Elemental Peace)

Neutral:
Wicked Witch (Evil, Arcane)
Witch (Arcane)
Good Witch (Good, Arcane)

Alternative Class titles for different races:
Aeromancer
Geomancer
Pyromancer
Hydromancer

[Venture Industries]

LoM:SE Manual
thandu, Now you have no excuse.

Centuries could mean very little to the likes of Elves and Giants, who probably live for a long time.

Even still, new races dont just pop up out of nowhere.

You lost me. Are these two sentences connected? If so, why are they different lines. Please, I'd appreciate a grouping of connected sentence/ideas in a paragraph. Thanks! Also, what post are you referring to with "pop out of nowwhere"?

[Boaster]

Who is to say that the aftermath of Balkoth's wrath and Golgoth's influence wouldn't split races from their faith of origin? Perhaps a cataclysm followed the destruction of Balkoth...

[Venture Industries]

I've chosen for the most part to tie faith to class, but not race. I'm not allowing undead to practice holy ways.

I think much like real life, to be a Buddhist monk and to get all the spells of a Buddhist you must worship Buddha (work with me), to summon altar boys you must worship Catholicism, to cast holy divorce you must be a Anglican minister, to use the four armed attack you must learn the Hindu Vishnu, to marry x number of wives you must go higher in the Mormon Ranks, etc. (In case you're wondering 2 wives per level. ;D)

[Boaster]

Some things would have to be exclusively to their own faith, like Demons, Vampires, Unicorns: creatures of Urak.

[Venture Industries]

Some perhaps. But that won't exclude them from different alliances with say Earthen Alliance perhaps. Since I see Unicorns as having 2 forms like Animorphs.

I definitely see Vampires almost exclusively Death Classes, Maybe an Evil Wizard or two. I do see Order as being Lawful. Anything considered non-chaotic should be allowed to be Order Classes.

[thandu]

Those sentences were odd. I was making that long post over the course of a day or two while you back and forth posted, and much of what I was replying to I began to forget. Wasn't sure if I'd run outta letter space so I didn't bother much with quotes.

As for the PDF booklet, I still do have a slight excuse, part of every other page gets cut off to the left. Otherwise, I'm on nostalgia lane!

Still, we seem to be mixing MMOs and RPGs up.

In an RPG, you can have much more freedom, but in an MMO, you have many paying customers coexisting in the same world.


Thing is, MMOs usually encompass the majority and not the minority.

Let's use Warcraft as an example. I'm sure there are Orcs that want to serve the Alliance, but you can't play as them because they're rare.

Henceforth, while you will encounter Archons who worship death and disavow Order, you will not be able to play as them, sort of like how playing as a Great Dragon wouldn't be viable either.

Heck, using that game still, look at the classes, 10 and both teams have access to all by at least one race. In fact, they at one expansion added races that allowed the opposite side's special class since PvE and PvP to a bit were uneven. That balances things out a bit. One of my main perogatives if one ever wants to get lots of dedicated players is to ensure all sides are fully playable.


In short, the most common Fire Giant serves, well, FIRE! Sure, you'll see Barbarians of the flame, but again, that will be explained as such: a Barbarian who comes of age can take a quest of pillgramage to serve Fire Giants.


It's not like anyone is really gimped by their class options either. Different faiths have different effects. For instance, Order spellcasters deal somewhat less max damage, but their average damage output is normalized.


Likewise, Chaos Magic has a wider range with higher damage potentials.

Not all faiths have this sort of variance though. Others have different effects.

Death followers, for instance, have higher resistance to fear magic and have better control over undead or scavenger beasts.

Meanwhile, Fire Followers better command fire summons, and Imps have an even bigger boost. Fire based healing is also boosted both when received and given out.

Earth followers are better at detecting cave traps, Thief classes have better thief skills when in mountains, caves or the underground.


Sages, Wizards and Elementalists have a shared spell called Faith Bolt, which as I've explained, deals damage based on the user's faith with one added effect if the enemy isn't immune.


Faith Templars (all faiths have at least one race) have a Weapon gaft of their faith that adds special effects to their weapons. These are:

Fire - Burns the target to take fire damage over time, and adds big bursts of extra fire damage.


Water - Adds an icy gaft. This effect will chill and slow foes and may even freeze them to stillness. This effect deals less damage bonus than most because it's ice based damage instead of water.

Life - On top of its great bonus damage against the unliving and demonic, Life Gaft adds life damage and may heal the user with each hit, making it ideal for Templar tanks.

Death - The weapon becomes Vampiric and drains health, though struggles against the undead. Adds death damage as well.

Air - Attacks are slightly faster and may stun foes with a bolt of lightning. Adds Air damage, but the bolts of lightning are Thunder damage.

Earth - Earth boost will grant the user a defensive boost, as well a the ability to entange foes if they are prone to it, making it useful for holding targets in place.


The other faiths cannot get this faith only ability.


Other things are determined a bit too, such as weapon skills, though not to an extreme. This goes down to a race level

A race's favored weapons can vary. You'll find most Dwarves with axes of all kinds and warhammers.

While this makes leveling and travelling to other lands to learn new weapons (if your class can learn them) you'll need to learn the advantage of the weapon you're using.

Unlike most MMOs, a weapon's strike type is important. Skeletal undead wont take as much damage from slashing attacks, but a blunt weapon will easily grind it to dust.

Some weapons have multiple properties such as Halberds and Flails.



Also to note, based on faith, there are shamans for all faiths. While not all chaotic, they are tribal, and are more in tuned with spirits of animals.

Each faith has a different set of transformations, but all of them use the warfare bar to fight with.

Life, for instance, has unicorns and Panthers

Death has giant bats and vultures

Air has Eagles, tigers and lesser drakes

Fire has Lesser Dragons and desert creatures

Chaos has lions and wolves

Water has Krakens, Gulls and Serpents

Order has warhounds and Gargoyles

Earth has Great worms and Elephants



In any case, I continue!



Earth


Gnomes: Total Classes - 11

Templar - Gnomes are perhaps one of the most fanatical races of the Earth faith. Even the Stone Giants are more gentle in nature. They ignore their height and strength disadvantages and press onwards.

Ranger - They got a spell called RANGER'S Vision. I wonder...

Rogue - One of the smallest races, makes clever rogues who can see ancient dungeon cave traps with heightened earth senses.

Assassin - Some Gnomes are vicious, and will use the natural venoms of the earth to make a point.

Bard - Yet some are aloof. Gnomes tend to be neutral, like the bardic call often is.

Wizard - With the game's highest int, and a decently high wisdom, you'd have to be crazy to deny it.

Elementalists - As if you need to ask.

Sage - The tradition of Earth Magic has been past down since time began!

Priest - Some wish to use the power of soil or unleash a lodestone smite!

Druid - Some see the Earth as needing balance. As if any Earth race needs to be denied Druicide!

Warlock - Again, Gnomes are a varied bunch. Many Earth Warlocks know the power of reaching their magic deep into the earth to pull out slaves that shouldn't really be walking. The Earth holds the bodies of many after all.


Rock Dwarves: Total Classes - 11

Fighter - Almost obvious. Dwarves are built for warmachines and thus get all Warrior classes!

Berserker - CRUUSH! But seriously, the power of a battlerager is mighty!

Paladin - Servants of the faith and with their natural defenses, Dwarves make the best smallfry tanks you could imagine. Earth based Healing spells are better in this game than in the original Lords of Magic

Templar - Again, the call of a Warrior is too easy.

Ranger - There are those though who wish to meander and Rangers are definitely warriors of a hybrid kind. Many are dual wielding axemen with a healthy supply of axes that are meant to be thrown.

Rogue - More of a thug rogue, they have also a natural affinity for trap finding.

Bard - It's no secret, Dwarves have more pubs in one city than Ireland does in its entirety. Many minstrels and wordplayers make their best craft steeling in these fine establishments. Many Dwarves love both Ale and Gold, it's what bards thrive on!

Elementalist - Many learn under Gnomish tutelage. Some manage...

Sage - Dwarves are wise, Sage knowledge befits them well.

Priest - It stands to reason that the plate wearing Priest fits well with his warhammer or spiked mace.

Monk - Like their cousins the Red Dwarves, Monking is common. Some Dwarves have even managed to make their skin into stone or iron through sheer meditation.


Halflings: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - Halflings are nimble. Not too fast on their feet, but nimble nonetheless. They're also small targets and have easier times dodging.

Paladin - Some take Earth seriously and are knights amongst their kin. They tend towards short swords as their weapon of choice and lighter armors, but some will tote in the heaviest platemails.

Ranger - With their bows and Wandering nature, how could they not?

Hunter - At home on a farm or in the wilds rather than in a barracks or a library, some enjoy hunting and befriending wildlife all over the Urak.

Rogue - As if anyone needs to guess. Halflings are excellent rogues and not just by Roleplay standing.

Assassin - While not out for blood, many Halfling assassins fight for a nobler cause.

Bard - Halflings are playful and agile. They too are in the pubs of Earth, and they're making off with the most wallets.

Elementalist - Halflings are also curious creatures. Magic is fascinating.

Priest - Holy magic is fascinating as well. Being spirited creatures, Halflings make good use of the Piety Bar.

Druid - Many Halflings are farmer druids. They raise their farmland and worship nature to defend these crops that the balance deems fit to grow.


Stone Giants: Total Classes - 9 (last at the minimum, I swear!)

Berserker - Big and brutal, they lack the discipline for soldiered fighting.

Templar - They are definitely favoring their faith, many are calm natured however unless you push them too far.

Ranger - Nature is pretty, and while their speech is simple, their wisdom is great.

Hunter - When you're this tall and have a metabolism as slow as molasses, you need to hunt with boulders!

Wizard - Wise Wizards that draw raw arcane energy from the earth!

Elemenralist - Brilliant Elementalists who draw the elements from the earth! Is there an echo in this cave?

Druid - It's an earth thing, and being Giants formed of the earth, worshiping it should be second nature... no pun intended.

Shaman - They look tribal and the Earth is composed of many animals to be akin with. Stone Giant Shamen tend to be melee oriented.

Monk - Unlike Dwarves, these guys need little effort to give you a boulderfisted smash!


Air


Storm Giants: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - An obvious choice, Air Warriors tend to be frail like actual solid wind (which ya know, isn't solid at all) and take advantage of how difficult it is to actually grab wind. They are evasion style fighters.

Paladin - Smiting with the power of ZUES! Well, not really Zeus, it's one of the Greater Air Giant gods, but still, no race has a comparable smite to actual thunder.

Templar - More smiting!

Rogue - When you are one with air, your enemies will not be able to touch you, yet they will be within your reach. Sounds like a mantra of Thieves all over the Urak should take!

Assassin - This mantra helps Assassins even more. Bonus points if they give their enemies a chilling wind before the coup de grace!

Bard - Storm Bards sing with birdcalls, and usually several birds to accompany them as chords and chorus.

Wizard - Storm Giants have the second highest Intellect in the game. Spells just form in midair, literally!

Elementalist - Should be obvious enough, I'm sure. Storm Giants have shown elemental variety with poisons, ice, thunder and wind.

Sage - Truly one with air.

Priest - None can deny White Winds.


Faerie: Total Classes - 10

Ranger - The first race without a direct warrior class. Fae folk prefer to avoid the brunt because being hit in flight has DEVESTATING results for the sake of balance. In any case, wandering with a bow and twin daggers is no sweat.

Hunter - Who else can hunt birds of prey so effectively as those who can actually fly almost as fast as them? Exactly!

Rogue - Unmodded game's stealthiest thieves, must be some reason for that...

Assassin - Stealthy or no, if they swoop in and administer the kill fast enough, wing flapping noises won't matter.

Bard - Many Air races can whistle with the wind or play wind instruments. Faeries have melodic voices and playful natures.

Wizard - Avoiding the fray is important for a Faerie. Strangely, there is no elementalist. Many fear the heavy weight that elemental magic has which can disrupt aerial casting.

Sage - Sage Faes tend to be well travelled of Urak and live to teach others. Because they're so fast and nimble, many do return and some are Sage trainers.

Priest - If you could fly, you'd worship the sky too.

Druid - Sky worship of thunder and rain and the storms. Many druids of this ilk worship weather powers.

Monk - They put a new spin on the term 'Flying Kicks'!


Pixies: Total Classes - 11

Berserker - These guys fight dirty. Against a seasoned Pixie zerker, shut your eyes, you'll just be blinded by Pixie dust anyway before you get turned to ribbons.

Paladin - Pixies wander in colonies within groups mostly for strategic reasons. Many of their leaders have ascended to higher order captains of inspiration. Their Pixie dust preludes their thundery smite!

Hunter - Said groups were often how these little guys made hunting parties. Pixie dust has become an important part of how Pixies who've wandered manage to avoid Darwinism in all forms.

Rogue - Small size, blinding dust. Lets you get an extra sneak attack or two.

Assassin - If your backstab misses, dust off and try again!

Bard - They are musical creatures that practically can chime as they move.

Elementalist - Unlike Faeries, Arcane discipline is boring, but sheer elemental force is grand!

Sage - Some are so curious that they want to cast everything! They're crazy to be sure.

Warlock - Others are tempted by infernal powers, and with volcanic activity all about the frozen Air lands, this may be important to saving the skies.

Monk - Never fight a monk if you're eyes are incapacited or the rest of your body will soon be as well.


Witcar/Witch: Total Classes - 12 (They're green skinned humans)

Fighter - Witcars have the stamina to fight in close quarters and thusly they do just that.

Berserker - Many are chaotic like a typhoon, and will want to kill on the fly.

Templar - Not Air Fanatics, Witcars are fanatical about whatever secrets they do. Even still, they have recently attained the favor of Greater Air Giants... somehow!

Ranger - Once a maraudous creature, Rangery is a common field.

Hunter - They thrill in the battle lust of hunting more than the enjoyment of the outdoors.

Assassin - Witcars are, by all evolutionary accounts, an abomination. Not like Vampires or demons in that they're unnatural and thus respected for their mystical gifts, but Witcars have a mongrel mesh of heritages. Many want to stab those that mock them in the back... and they do!

Bard - Some use their exotic looks to their advantage in bars. Many are dancers instead of singers, but the pilferring is just as potent!

Wizard - Rejected by Chaos, many hold their polymorphing skills in high regard still.

Elementalist - So far, Air has not rejected Witcars who are now still utilizing its power and all elements for that matter.

Sage - Though their mantra is hatred, Witcars are brilliant with magic. Sagery should be a breeze!

Shaman - Witcar shamans have discovered the value of winged animals and drake spirits. Expect Witcar shaman transformations to have the same advantages and disadvantages that all fliers have.

Warlock - Witcars tend towards the forbidden art of unnaturual summoning and pull it off well. Be sure to expect non-wish granting Djinns from the planes of air to serve.


Life


Eldren/High Elves: Total Classes - 11

Fighter - Many Eldren warriors use quarterstaves. This makes them prone to use defensive strategies instead of offense oriented ones. By nature, all staves have parrying bonuses to make use of deflection.

Paladin - Defenders of life with life magic makes them more paladinal paladins than Archons... almost.

Ranger - What elf isn't dual wielding longswords when he's not launching his longbow and using Nature Magic.

Hunter - What elf isn't dual wielding longswords when he's not launching his longbow and using a cool animal friend.

Rogue - Elven Rogues are more for sniping tactics with their longbows but are apt with nimbleness.

Bard - Elves are musical creatures. They're good at thieving and at the manastic side as well.

Wizard - Elves are natural wizards as we all know.

Sage - Long lived elves are wise beings.

Priest - To life, to life! L'Chiam!

Druid - Nature and life go hand and hand. Rejuvination is their specialty.

Monk - Many Eldren monks use staves as a defensive implement. They fight mostly with their fancy feet!


Dryads: Total Classes - 11

Paladin - With peace in mind, many Dryad Paladins are healers first and warriors second.

Templar - Dryad Templars are a step away from the peaceful Dryad mentality.

Ranger - As if a forester is not obvious. It has a focus on the druidic side.

Rogue - With their charm, a Dryad uses her or his (there are males, just not commonly seen) allure to steal from their enemies.

Bard - Dryads, like siren creatures, have alluring voices. Songs are just part of their natural order.

Wizard - Like the elves, Magic is easy to them.

Elementalist - Dryads are very in touch with the balance of the elements and see them as part of nature.

Sage - Also long lived, Dryads are filled with proverbs and sagely magic.

Priest - The power to heal is strong, they have a strong tendency to blast undeads first.

Shaman - The Shaman of life are heralded by Dryads, who commune with and take the forms of meadow creatures such as Unicorns.

Druid - This SHOULD be obvious.


Brownies: Total Classes - 12 (diverse little buggers)

Berserker - We can already see that Brownies are going to be full of trouble. Scouts have discovered violent warfare styles and take it up just for fun. Some may become deadly with it should they practice and level up.

Paladin - Some use divine favors from Llanwyllen to compensate for size and reach. It works well to smite with life.

Hunter - Brownies love to hunt for food. Brownie cities have hunters as a vital source of survival. A bear can feed one for a long time.

Rogue - Natural scouts! No puns here.

Assassin - More of he curious meanstreak. Cruelty in the anti-thesis of life is cold blood. Something stirs in Brownie-kin.

Bard - Brownies love music and dance like all happy life people.

Elementalist - Scouting and plundering unattended Mage Towers have garnered many spell scrolls. Some want to study these scrolls.

Sage - Most of the knowledge Brownie Sages have are stolen from the Faiths they've spied upon.

Priest - Most just like the shiny lights but prove invaluable medics.

Druid - It's the call of life.

Warlock - Yet more darkness. Many Warlocks are those who've spied on Death or Fire mages in action and survived, sometimes barely, and sometimes not at all and only live due to life magic's best asset. Either way, they are enticed, and promise to use their powers for the benefit of their peoples.

Monk - When you're parrying or ripositing axes twice your size with your forearm, you deserve a moment of Badass award!


Death


Golgothans/Dark Elves: Total Classes - 12 (Yup!)

Fighter - What Dark Elf isn't trained in basic warfare? After all, mass death usually requires plague or war!

Berserker - Some just thirst for death more than normal.

Paladin - Strange, yes. Golgothan Paladins are feared Anti-paladins of sort who uphold Evil Law (Lawful Evil) but are vital to take front lines and provide medical help for their kin who lack the capacity.

Templar - Some are just infused with Golgoth's hatred for all and employ death by sword and spell.

Ranger - Go ahead and be a Drizzt clone, but be sure to spot and slaughter any Lifers you find in your travels.

Hunter - On with the glorious hunt! Many Golgothan hunters live to skewer with javelins. Their pets commonly include carrion birds and travelling companions are often necromatic. Picture this: You kill a foe then your bird eats the carcass and the Necromancer makes the bones come alive. Sometimes the last two steps are in reverse... but still. Hunt for sport, kill for death!

Rogue - When you're a Dark Elf of Death, Shadows call out to you.

Assassin - These guys named the class. These assassins are more range based with poisoned daggers, but sometimes go in for a good stabbing or throat cutting if they can't do so with thrown.

Wizard - Wizardly death magic is something to die for... from?

Sage - Ancient Golgothan wisdom and proverbs are one of the reasons why Dark Elves still thrive and don't all just kill each other. Sages hold the race together.

Priest - These are war clerics who prefer to smite... you do know healers of evil gods do exist, right?

Warlock - It's a unnatural fit. Expect dead servants from skeleton to Vampire... and beyond!


Orcs: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - Orcs are skilled warriors with muscles that their height doesn't show.

Berserker - They're also feral and obsessed with slaughter. Watch out for these guys!

Templar - So devout to the kill, they'll eat em when they're done!

Hunter - Sometimes Orc hunters go for herbivore pets so they can eat the corpses themselves.

Assassin - Most are thugs, and the poisons they use tend to run their cousre quickly to prevent food poisoning.

Wizard - Some were fond of spellcasting. Most employ death and chaos arcana above all else.

Elementalist - Others enjoy burning, freezing, or crushing their foes with elements. A rare breed that is growing daily!

Shaman - Should be obvious. What setting hasn't had orcs somewhat shamanistic?

Warlock - Something about death fascinates these brutes, who utilize their stamina for their spell fuel.

Monk - These guys want to turn their fists into literal implements of death as they neckbreak and skull crush!


Trolls: Total Classes - 10

Fighter - Trolls are untiring and regenerative. They make excellent fighters as long as they're kept away from fire or wind magic.

Berserker - Many trolls enjoy berserkergang, knowing that if they feel no pain, they heal more pain. It's inverse logic that sometimes works.

Ranger - Once patrons of Earth, the idea of Ranger Vision hasn't faded all that much,

Hunter - These guys might not eat the corpse directly. They may cook it a bit, even their animal companion isn't too safe (but for gameplay reasons, it is)

Rogue - In spite of their height, Trolls are lanky and skinny, able to bend and fit through tight corridors. Their skill at disarming dungeon traps aren't too great, but they still try hard.

Bard - By following death, they sing dirges of hopelessness that shatter enemy dreams and hopes. They use instruments because most vocals come off as wild hollerings!

Sage - While not adept with magic, they can put it to some sagely use.

Priest - Healing mixed with regeneration factor is awesome. Non-trolls dare wonder what gods the trolls worship.

Druid - Troll body composition includes soil and compost. It is no surprise that druidic teachings appeal to them very much so.

Shaman - As tribal and feral, Trolls have an affinity for the spirits of bloodthirsty beasts.





And... that's it! That's every race/class combo. Though my ideas clash horribly with everyone else's, mine is purely for an MMO stadpoint.

[Venture Industries]

That's quite an idea. I think the ideas mesh well with fantasy lore in general. I know you don't exacly follow the lore (Shamans of all faiths). Those are your ideas and we have to respect them. I'm biased toward my own ways and I don't expect you to agree with me 100% on all aspects of lore or gameplay.

Speaking of Shamans and their animal spirits, I was kinda hoping if a race were to become a Chaos Mage I'd hope they pick an animal spirit from their homeland as a unique spell that is available to them.

I studied and read a lot of lore, while mapping out connections between the Classical Elements of Antiquity and LOM:SE. Much of what inspires me is the connections of LOM in it's raw form to so much lore. Yet LOM is unique. It's been a balancing act of creating inspiring classes and races with diverse gameplay.

I've only posted a fraction of my ideas but yet I lack some key things I'm still working out. That is why I've came to this board full of ideas similar (and different) to mine. If LOM:SE were to become an MMORPG I envision it with player oriented direction and creativity.

I'd like to hear more from other members of this board about which of the Races of Nine could become what 81 Classes. That is one where I don't know whether to be liberal (races are free) or conservative (very limited on races and class). As a general rule I thought there shouldn't be any limitations other than racial modifiers hindering player choices, also alignment modifiers. Since undead are naturally unholy and evil they wouldn't even be able to cast a life spell or do life skills and talents.

[EDIT:]
I'd like character title suggestions for race class combos. I'm thinking like an Archon Death Warrior would be called a Bloodgaurd or something to that extent.

[thandu]

When game lore tends to fail, go back to the generics to gather ideas or come up with your own.

Shamans are more of a tribal war/priest of sorts. They can shapeshift to change their playstyle, usually to take hits.


Another aspect of gameply is the secondary action bars.

Different classes have different bars.


First is Warfare:

Warfare is used by Fighters, Monks, Shamans, Berserkers and Templars. It starts empty, but fills up by using certain abilities, dealing damage and taking damage. Warfare rarely grows in maximum capacity unless by quest or special abilities and skill points.


Eluding:

The bar for thieves used by Rangers, Rogues, Assassins and Bards. Eluding bar usually starts full, and will refill very fast regardless. It is used for brutal assaults, though many skills have cooldowns that need to be reloaded, even if they're deadly. This bar also has a limited size and may refill slower than Warfare therefore.


Mana:

Simple as you know it, Mana is raised by Intelligence and Wisdom scores and its refill rate is influenced by Spirit and to a lesser extent, Dexterity. Mana can be accumulated to high amounts, but it takes a while to refill sometimes after battle. Sitting down will help it restore faster, but not by very much. Mana is used by Bards, Templars, Wizards, Warlocks, Elementalists and Sages.


Piety:

Sacred characters use Piety. Paladins, Shamans, Sages, Priests and Monks use piety. Piety is like Mana, but it tends to be harder to accumulate. It's mostly based on your wisdom, with a bit of its maximum value being based on Charisma and int. Piety bars tend to empty fast, even if spirit highly helps its restore rate. The fastest yet most dangerous and important way to restore Piety is to kneel and pray. In prayer, you are unable to make any other actions and any attack made will score a critical, stun you and remove you from prayer. You will retain what Piety you've gained (which is about 1/8 of maximum per second.) In combat, using Prayers can draw a lot of enemy attention, which can be important for Paladin tanks to hold the attention of many foes.


Balance:

The balance bar is curious because you'd think it's impossible to run out of steam, but you're wrong. A balance bar starts in the middle and any increases in size are by even numbers only. Balance encompasses every stat except for Stamina and strength to determine its growth.

Balance is used by Rangers, Hunters, Druids, Sages and Bards and has magical and physical abilities. When using certain skills, your bar will tip in one direction. Using too much to one direction will prevent those skills unless you use skills to tilt the other way. Beware though for how much you tilt the other way will remove half from each side.

Example, let's say I have 600 Balance, my centerpoint is 300 (MADNESS! SPARTA!) If I am at 580 Balance, I need to use -X balance skills. Lets say Im using a 40 balance subtractor. That's great, but for a time, my balance bar is reduced to a size of 560 until I stop using skills or drink an Equillibrium Potion. The bar will continue to shrink in this way if constant use is applied. Otherwise, the bar will slowly inch back to the center.


A Balance bar requires good... BALANCE!

Now you'll see lots of classes doubling or tripling on skill bars: Templars, Monks, Shamans, Rangers, Sages and Bards. What you have are buttons hat let you switch bars, and therefore to an extent, playstyles.

This will change your status as well a bit. For instance, a Bard in Balance has stronger effects from his performances, but weaker damage output from non-musical sources (its built for BALANCED party play.) The other bars switch it up with Mana having better magic and Eluding being better at physical combat hitting and damage taking.


True, this all seems a bit generic, but it's worked for better ideas than mine... dunno how.

[asutinrandom]

Maybe the plot revolves around the heroes, but it is not limited to them, I.E. you could make armies or follow the path of few. And although you are powerful, you are only one of many pawns in the great game of life. You can make the difference in battles, but in larger ones you can only fight on and do what you can. And I'm not saying it would exactly be an RPG... but it sounds so much more real than having just heroes run around fighting each other. It's kinda morphing into a MMORPG/RTS hybrid, which I think needs to be done, and what better universe than Lords of Magic?
Am I drugged or something? Does anyone else long for this sort of game like I do?

[Venture Industries]

I definitely don't care whether or not it's RTS, MMO, or RPG or any combination. I like to fantasize about character types and such. I feel the LOM universe is ripe for an epic in any category of game. All one can do is hope.

[pigtails]

Not really along the same lines as the subject but I remember a long wile ago when I last picked up LOM that I ran into another group discussing the idea of fire dwarfs and death dwarfs and various other cross breads of a more accepting urak or a less faith strick race.

It would certainly allow for some interesting characters.


That aside I'm feel some times that not all RPG's are created equal and I have to worry what a LOMRPG would play and look like. I get the feeling it would look a lot like WOW does now which makes me think it might just be enough to play WOW and pretend that it's urak.

I'm guessing the hypothetical game is online based?