GMMichael
Guide of Modos
Just started playing Oblivion again, but this time I have the two expansions to look forward to. I really wouldn't want to recreate the persuasion game for a TRPG - it's pretty cheesy. I'm not sure if they did this in Skyrim, but gaining favor with someone should be based on which of your multiple choice responses you choose, not how big of a slice you pick on a dial.
Degrading weapons, after watching the Albion Online video, is a really good idea. It's a pain in Oblivion though; after one or two fights with BBEG daedra, all of your equipment is at 10% and you wonder why you can't do damage or absorb damage. I think it makes great sense though for weapons and armor to occasionally break, because this adds value to a sidearm, sometimes makes dropped or old weapons attractive, and makes arms merchant a career with potential.
Skill improvement - both Oblivion and Skyrim seem to progress skill separately from levels. Oblivion focuses on class skills, while Skyrim treats all skills the same. I think this is easier to model than tracking successes, because I wouldn't want to have a Skill Sheet with room for a tally behind each skill for each time I succeed with that skill. I've thought that awarding skill after a game session, if the character showed progress, would be easier, although I really like the idea of a Skill Progress die that you get to roll in certain situations when there's a chance that your skill might improve.
Wards are like shields...
Oblivion and Skyrim also give you a choice: block or attack. I'm not sure why this isn't a common feature in TRPGs. It's a very economical choice, and pretty realistic. Is it not fun enough? Anyway, I would definitely put active defense in an Elder Scrolls campaign.
House-building: I clearly remember moving into the Haunted House in Oblivion. And the place cleaned up pretty nicely. As a player, I would appreciate my own RPG house more if I had an actual map of it for reference. This would be a very visual thing for me. But...is it an essential Elder Scrolls feature?
I wouldn't necessarily call Elder Scrolls characters generalists, but they definitely have the ability to do ANYTHING. How well they do anything, that's up to the player. If you spend time doing everything, then sure, you're a generalist. The point is, what, all characters are allowed to cast spells if they want?
I like the themes idea for locations, but I think that applies to RPGs in general.
Plotlines for characters: that's downright genius. +1.
Do the plotlines need to persist, and exist independently? That IS an Elder Scrolls feature, but only to the extent that your GM must be a CPU. Playing an Elder Scrolls RPG should be able to improve on this, no?
Degrading weapons, after watching the Albion Online video, is a really good idea. It's a pain in Oblivion though; after one or two fights with BBEG daedra, all of your equipment is at 10% and you wonder why you can't do damage or absorb damage. I think it makes great sense though for weapons and armor to occasionally break, because this adds value to a sidearm, sometimes makes dropped or old weapons attractive, and makes arms merchant a career with potential.
Criticals - yup. I was just eyeballing a backstabbing perk that could be amplified when using daggers or knives only, like the assassin's blade perk from Skyrim.I'd take out the scaling enemies with level bit - that's a video game feature more than a specific Skyrim feature and RPGs are better off without it. I'd also include
- crafting your own gear
- high-power criticals (I once killed a dragon in Skyrim with a single arrow shot from stealth, with appropriate skills maxed of course)
- skill improvement after specific number of successes with the skill
- wards as active magic protection
- active defense options in combat
Skill improvement - both Oblivion and Skyrim seem to progress skill separately from levels. Oblivion focuses on class skills, while Skyrim treats all skills the same. I think this is easier to model than tracking successes, because I wouldn't want to have a Skill Sheet with room for a tally behind each skill for each time I succeed with that skill. I've thought that awarding skill after a game session, if the character showed progress, would be easier, although I really like the idea of a Skill Progress die that you get to roll in certain situations when there's a chance that your skill might improve.
Wards are like shields...
Oblivion and Skyrim also give you a choice: block or attack. I'm not sure why this isn't a common feature in TRPGs. It's a very economical choice, and pretty realistic. Is it not fun enough? Anyway, I would definitely put active defense in an Elder Scrolls campaign.
It would be easy enough to create a Mad-Libs, or OGRE generator, for random side quests. They're not that complex. And winging it would be a pretty important part of that. Hard to do if you're playing a crunchy game, but I bet lighter games could make that sort of thing pretty easy.I disagree with people saying that this is a hard thing to do in actual play - it's not. You just need to have a few general dungeons kicking around within a few levels of your PCs, and adjust as you see fit. To play this sort of game, you need to be able to wing it... which happens to be my favourite part of RPGs.
Having characters be able to enchant their own gear, smith their own weapons, build their own houses, and progress in their preferred guilds are all good, "elder scrolls" ideas. And all of these are pretty easy to do in both 5th and Pathfinder, so that's a plus.
I've noticed that players in any Elder Scrolls game tend to be generalists with a focus on one area. So, everyone can cast healing magic, but some might be conjurers and others might just use a huge axe. Whether you want to do that, or just use the D&D class system is up to you. Personally, I'd just go with classes.
I love using alchemy in Skyrim. Stealing that system, and having players try to figure out what to combine with what to make potions would be pretty cool. It's like a campaign-length puzzle you can throw at them. And doing similar things with other parts of the game - enchanting and disenchanting items, finding metals to smith your own gear, and the like - could help your game feel "skyrimmy".
Also, I'd keep your individual quests short and sweet. In an Elder Scrolls game, the over-arching plot is something you visit occasionally, but you'll spend most of the time accomplishing short quests that are easy-in, easy-out.
Give each place a theme to it. For example, in Skyrim, all of the holds have a different vibe to them. Riften is a wooden Venice that's home to con artists and thieves. Winterhold is built on an icy cliff and has a bunch of decaying buildings and a frozen castle full of mages. There's the city of Solitude, a city of "civilization" in the north (it reminds me of Baldur's Gate). And then there's Morthal and Markarth, which I always get confused - one's a horror-vibe swamptown plagued by ghosts and vampires (with a young heir who seems to have epilepsy!), while the other is busily involved in an uprising from the local natives. If you can provide one "hook" to each settlement, you're well on your way to an Elder Scrolls game.
House-building: I clearly remember moving into the Haunted House in Oblivion. And the place cleaned up pretty nicely. As a player, I would appreciate my own RPG house more if I had an actual map of it for reference. This would be a very visual thing for me. But...is it an essential Elder Scrolls feature?
I wouldn't necessarily call Elder Scrolls characters generalists, but they definitely have the ability to do ANYTHING. How well they do anything, that's up to the player. If you spend time doing everything, then sure, you're a generalist. The point is, what, all characters are allowed to cast spells if they want?
I like the themes idea for locations, but I think that applies to RPGs in general.
Star Wars revolved heavily around Luke. Did that make Chewy, Han, or Leia less important? Or R2...As with most single-player video games, Elder Scrolls has a plot that revolves heavily around the character. In my experience, trying to push that into a larger group can be disruptive, since really only one of them can be "the chosen one" or whatever. I've seen campaigns like that fall apart as the party gets divided.
However, there are often sidequests that have pretty epic plotlines. What I would do is have several equally important plotlines that each revolve around a different character. So one might be the chosen of the Dark Brotherhood, the next might be the Dragonborn, a third might be destined to become the new Sheogorath (I know I'm mixing games here, but it's just an example).
Also important would be making sure that no single plotline gets resolved all at once. So the party might do a quest for the dragonborn, then a quest in the Shivering Isles, then head over to the Knights of the Nine, then go back to the dragonborn plotline, etc. That gives each character time in the spotlight, while also maintaining the general style of Elder Scrolls quests.
Plotlines for characters: that's downright genius. +1.
Do the plotlines need to persist, and exist independently? That IS an Elder Scrolls feature, but only to the extent that your GM must be a CPU. Playing an Elder Scrolls RPG should be able to improve on this, no?