It's important to realize that many of the underlying game mechanics in EQ were created with the real-time environment in mind, and don't always translate well into pen-and-paper game concepts.
Another thing to note is that the developer (Verant Interactive) is not in the habit of revealing exactly how the rules work in all cases. So what we know about the rules in the online game fall into categories of certainty. There is the basic, obvious stuff that's in the manual and is required knowledge just to play the game. There is a large body of player knowledge gathered from practical experience that Verant has verified explicitly or implicitly over the years. There is some knowledge (particularly of the combat mechanics) that players have gleaned only through extensive analysis of controlled experimentation. Then, of course, you have the realm of rumor, superstition, and hearsay, hehe...
Having said all that, most of the hidden stuff is pretty much irrelevant from the point of view of a pen-and-paper RPG. For example, while the exact inner workings of the combat system are somewhat fuzzy, its a bizzare contraption that only works within the quirky real-time gameplay that is EQ. You'd never want to actually try to model that in a real RPG. Expect to see a d20-based combat system. The effects of character ability scores in EQ are fairly minor - you can double your STR score in EQ, and you might get an extra 5% damage out of it. There are a lot of strange artifacts of game play like this because of the realtime nature of the game. If I'm playing a Warrior character, dual-weilding a pair of swords, I might easily get
several hundred swings on a tough opponent in a battle that takes two or three real minutes to finish. In a game like that, small changes in probability can have a huge difference over time. The EQ servers make
thousands of virtual die rolls for you in the course of one single fight. Also, while a six player party is the standard for experience gathering, most big monster encounters like dragons and such often require upwards of 30-40 players or more. You can do that online, but I can't fit that many people in my apartment for sure.
Still, there's a bunch of good ideas in EQ that can be conceptually translated into a d20-like RPG. It just requires a lot of liberal (very liberal) rescaling. So here's an outline of the online game, the RPG could look quite different...
There are currently 14 playable character races to choose from. Race determines your base stat modifiers, and any racial abilities like special vision or whatnot. The current races are:
- Human
- High Elf
- Wood Elf
- Dark Elf
- Half-elf
- Dwarf
- Gnome
- Halfling
- Erudite (humans, brains over brawn types)
- Barbarian (humans, rough north men types)
- Ogre
- Troll
- Iksar (lizardmen)
- Vah Shir (cat-people)
Charatcer in EQ have classes and levels, some straight out of AD&D. The level range is 1 to 60. The current classes are:
- Warrior
- Rogue
- Monk
- Cleric
- Shaman
- Druid
- Wizard (nukes & teleports)
- Necromancer
- Magician (summoner)
- Enchanter (mentalist with some magic crafting)
- Ranger (warrior/druid hybrid)
- Paladin (warrior/cleric hybrid)
- Shadowknight (warrior/necro hybrid)
- Bard (limited melee with unique magic system)
- Beastlord (monk/shaman hybrid)
Characters have the usual set of stats (I won't go into what they do exactly, see above). The stats are roughly on a percentile scale, but acutally go as high as 255 in some cases:
- Strength
- Stamina
- Agility
- Dexterity
- Wisdom
- Intelligence
- Charisma
Saves are:
- Poison
- Magic
- Disease
- Fire
- Cold
You gain Experience Points for killing monsters and completing quests (but mostly for killing monsters). When you get enough exp, you automatically advance to the next level.
Characters have skills. Each time you level you gain a batch of practice points which may be spent at a class-trainer NPC to improve some skills. However, the vast majority of skill increases come through use. There is a small chance any time a skill is used to gain an increase. Skills are percentile-based (but again can go as high as 250 or so), and many are capped according to your level and class.
Combat features slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon attacks, and some limited archery as well. Some weapons can be dual-weilded with the off-hand, and there is a shield bash as well. Unarmed attacks go from simple punches and kicks to special monk attacks. Rogues have a backstab attack. Besides normal melee attacks, there are also parries, repostes, and "double attacks". There is an Armor Class stat that contains both damage avoidance and damage mitigation factors. Damage is modeled with hitpoints.
The main magic system uses spell slots and a mana pool. Magic using characters (even Bards) have all their spells scribed into a single spell book. Magic using characters are limited to 8 memorized spells (8 slots) regardless of class or level. Once a spell is prepared, it may be cast as often as desired as long as the mana required is available. Some spells also require reagents (material components). In addition to a mana cost, spells have a casting time and a recast delay. There is a chance to "fizzle" any spell casting attempt, which still consumes a partial mana cost. Spellcasting can be interrupted by damage or movement. Spell scrolls are only used to scribe spells, but there are spell potions anyone can use. Some magic items allow non-caster to cast a single mana-less spell enchanted into the item.
Bard spells are actually songs, which can usually be continuously in effect. Only one song at a time can be sung, but the effects of a song last a short period of time after the bard stops the song. This allows bards to "twist" 2 or 3 songs together and maintain several song effects continuously. Bard songs generally use no mana.
In EQ gameplay, efficiently managing hitpoints and mana while destroying as many monsters as possible is the key to successful exp advancement. There is a huge variety of healing and mana regen spells and effects. Clerics, Druids, Shamans, Paladins, Rangers, and even Necros have some kind of healing or hitpoint regen spells. Enchanters, Bards, Necros, Wizards(?), and Shaman all have some form of mana regen magic.
Another area of spell magic that is emphasized in EQ is buffing/debuffing. Any stat can be increased or lowered - attack speed, movement speed, resistances, mana - you name it.
There are corpse management (locating and summoning) spells that make sense in EQ, but not an RPG. Rezzing (ressurection, etc.) is almost routine, too.
If they create a d20 clone RPG, I expect the best areas of crunchy bits it will offer to the d20 domain are...
Some interesting but familiar class mechanics.
A boatload of spells. Tons of em!
Another boatload of monsters. Some really good ones, too.
Magic items. EQ has ridicuously huge database of magic items, some of which are useless, but many are very cool. There could be some conversion issues here, though.
Possibly a new magic system based on the mana pool concept.
Possibly a new crafting system. EQ has a diverse catalog of crafting 'recipes' allowing you to make anything from a backpack to enchanted plate armor.
