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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TwinBahamut" data-source="post: 5775591" data-attributes="member: 32536">D&D can learn a lot from videogames. They're both games, and they share a lot of key elements that are essential to both that make useful comparisons very easy to do. Of course, the videogame industry is also a lot bigger, better funded, and more competitive than the tabletop RPG industry, so some of the mechanics and ideas in videogames have had to evolve much more rapidly than tabletop mechanics have. Sure, some of those ideas don't translate well, but a much greater number do, and D&D rules could learn a lot from those.As for specific examples...Square's SaGa series is something of an odd duck, but it is a gold mine of creative ideas and intriguing mechanics. I personally think the HP/LP it developed is both easier to use and more effective than many systems like the old VP/WP system or 4E's Healing Surges. One particular entry, Romancing SaGa for the PS2, also had a really interesting system combining resources that accumulate mid-battle (Battle Points) with resources that are only restored when resting in towns (Weapon Durability), with varying degrees of how easy it is to even restore the latter (powerful weapons are much harder to repair, forcing the player to use them sparingly). SaGa Frontier 2 also had an interesting system that created a divide between magic-enabling equipment made from strange, fragile materials and magic-negating equipment made from durable steel.The Suikoden series has its share of good ideas. Certainly, its idea of Short, Medium, and Long weapon ranges is a relevant concept for those people who were discussing using battle order as a replacement for the grid, earlier. Some of its ideas on how to implement mass-combat. It even has some interesting ideas on magic item slotting and Vancian magic with its Rune system.Several videogames have all kinds of very fun ideas for things like class promotion (from Fire Emblem or some Shining games) and reincarnation (from Disgaea), which lets a character return to first level but acquire a lot of new power in the process. Final Fantasy 11 and Dragon Quest 9 also have some similarly interesting ideas of being able to level up in separate classes with each class having its own level tracked independently, with the character being able to borrow a limited amount of power from one class to another (which leads to some fun and flexible multiclassing).Different videogames are also a valuable resource for inspiration for new kinds of races and classes.</blockquote>

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