RPG Classifications

So, when I was designing Veneficus, I decided that all skills should be Physical, Magical, or Technical. This was based off of a system I had designed for a Final Fantasy RPG, where all classes fell into one of three types - Fighter, Mage, and Specialist. Here's the whole spiel:

Fighters are characters who fight using physical strength and agility. They use their weapons as extensions of their bodies, and are highly trained individuals. They wield powerful weapons with a practiced ease, and their armor, although heavy, slows them down naught at all. Their attacks tend to target individuals (such as single enemies and themselves), and tend to be very hard-hitting. Some examples include Fighters, Dragoons, Paladins, and Dark Knights.

Mages are characters who fight by manipulating reality through the force known collectively as magic. They cast powerful magics at their foes, and can cast spells as easily as they swing a stave. Though they can wield simple weapons, they choose to arm themselves with proper magical implements and vestments instead to empower their magics. Their spells tend to hit many targets at once, and their effects can be long lasting. Some examples include Black Mages, White Mages, Red Mages, and Time Mages.

Specialists are characters who fight using specialized or unorthodox methods. They may use a variety of specialized tools or none at all, preferring their own unique gifts over all else. They can equip a number of simple weapons and armor, which are stronger than those used by mages but weaker than the ones held by fighters. Their abilities differ greatly depending on who uses them, but they have a myriad of effects and uses. Some examples include Monks, Ninja, Bards, Dancers, and Thieves.

Since this was being done for a Final Fantasy RPG, I used FF classes as examples - if I wanted to use more common (i.e. D&D) examples, I'd say Fighters are like Barbarians and Paladins, Mages are like Wizards and Clerics, and Specialists are like Rogues and Bards.

So, when you create a character, you start by choosing which of the three Classifications you want to embody the most. Then, you get to choose a couple of abilities from that Class to keep for your own (in other words, if I chose to be a Mage, I could choose any spell I wanted and add it to my spell-book - I could have Fire, Cure, and Haste at the same time, despite each being from a different school). Each Class's skills are divided up into Schools - each School has a particular theme behind it, and is crucial to Classification Specializations.

At any time during character creation or at level-up the player can choose a Specialization. A Special is a sub-set of one of the three Classes, and changes what the character can do and how well he does it. For example, Black Mage is a Special of the Mage Class. You can only have one Special at a time - when you level-up, you can drop a Special and pick another.

A Special has certain rules surrounding it - break those rules, and you lose all bonuses that the Special gives you without losing any of the penalties! Continuing our example, Black Mage has the stipulation that if you learn any spells over level 3 from a School that isn't Black Magic that you will lose your Black Mage bonuses until the spell is forgotten. As a bonus, a Black Mage gets to add twice his INT modifier to his Black Magic Spells. As a penalty, he cannot cast spells from the White Magic School. As you can see, being a Black Mage makes you a more formidable opponent, but limits your ability to recover from enemy attacks.

In addition, at each level you are allowed to choose new powers to add to your repertoire. You must qualify for the appropriate skills to take it, which usually means having the proper prerequisite powers. In order for a Mage to learn Ultima, he must first learn Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, and must be a Black Mage. To learn Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, he must first learn Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara respectively. And to learn these three, he has to learn Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder first. Typically, the most powerful abilities require a Specialization and multiple prerequisites to prevent new characters from obtaining them early on.

Each ability is placed into one of three groups - Fundamental, Advanced, and Final Techniques. Fundamental Techniques are the first abilities your character can learn, and are the easiest to perform. When you use them, you build up power needed to perform more powerful abilities. Advanced Techniques are a bit trickier to do - they cost some power to use, but they return just as much, meaning the only requirement is to have enough power to use them initially. Final Techniques are some of the most powerful abilities you can learn. They cost power to use, and don't return any!

This "power" that I speak of changes depending on the character - a Black Mage may use Mist, a Paladin may use Prayers, and a Monl may use Ki - so it is merely easier to call it all by the same name: MP. You start a battle with some MP - an amount equal to your level. At high enough levels, you may be able to start a fight with a Final Tech! Because of the flexible way MP works, you automatically heal outside of a fight to full health - of course, there are some stipulations here...

You can lose maximum HP. When you are hit by a critical hit, knocked out, or hit by certain abilities, you will lose max HP. Character abilities cannot heal this - you'll have to depend on magic potions and city doctors to fix it.

Combos - Attacks with '+' signs next to them. Which each successive combo attack you use, your damage increases by 1. If you miss or attack a target that isn't one you hit with your last combo attack, or use a non-combo attack, this damage bonus is reduced to 0.

Anyways, this post has gone on long enough.