RPG Builder

What is the purpose of this RPG Builder?

The RPG Builder helps you to construct the base data for how your RPG should work. RPG's function as an interaction of characters/enemies based on a chosen or defined archetype and how they are affected by and use weapons, armors, accessories, items, and skills.

How to use the RPG Builder

In order to play an RPG you have to create characters and enemies that will battle each other. The base of a character/enemy is its Archetype. So to use the RPG Builder, the first thing you have to do is to create your RPG's archetypes. Give each archetype a distict descriptive name and fill in the 10 Base Stats. There are two general rules that you should follow for balanced competition, but do not have to:

• Each archetype should have one unique Base Stat that is the maximum of 12. An archetype customarily excels at certain skills or abilities because of this one stat.
• The sum of the base stats for each archetype should be the same. This will give characters a fare and level base to start from. The equipped Weapons, Armors, Accessories, and the Items and Skills used, are the game changers and care to keep them balanced is also needed.

Although Status Effects are not necessary. They are useful for leveling the playing field and increasing the challenge.

• Their is a hierarchy to Status Effects. They can last a number of turns (e.g. Dazzed), the length of the battle (e.g. Slowed), and/or indefinitely until cured in battle or in world (e.g. Poisoned).
• Turn based Status Effects will exist until the number of turns expire in battle, the current battle ends, or it is cured.
• Battle based Status Effects will exist until the current battle ends, or until it is cured.
• Indefinite based Status Effects will exist until they are cured. These are the worse because you will be effected in world as well.
• Not all Status Effects have to be bad. However, good status effects should never be indefinite, unless associated to an Accessory (More on that later).
• If you are going to include Status Effects, it is very important to include at least one item or skill that is a cure. For realism/difficulty, you can skip a cure all together.

If you wish for your game to have an offensive and/or defensive component, the following sections are where you build that out. Weapons, Armors, Accessories, Items, and Skills may be archetype specific or available to all. The identically named stats add to or subtract from your characters base stats.

Weapons:

• Weapons traditionally add more Strength than Defense, but they do not have to. (e.g. Captain America's Shield)
• In fairness, Strength increases should be negated by a loss in Dexterity to wield the weapon. If not, it could have a Stamina Cost and/or Endurance Cost per turn.
• Defense increases could have a Stamina/Endurance Cost per turn. This would reflect the sturdiness of the Weapon or the effort required of the character to "Parry" with it. A fair trade off for preserving Health.

Armors:

• Armors traditionally only add more Defense. We are going to hold true to that for now.
• In fairness, Defense increases should also have a cost. Usually this cost is in Dexterity or Perception as Armor will either slow you down or dull your senses of your surroundings.

Accessories:

• Accessories traditionally provide some legendary or mythological bonus to Defense, Dexterity, and/or Perception. A description of this should be added to the mythos of the game.
• Some Accessories attribute special Status Effects to the character equipping it.
• When the Accessory provides a bonus, it would be fair that the Status Effect on the character if any should be negative in some way.
• When the Accessory has a good Status Effect, it would be fair to leave the Defense, Dexterity, and/or Perception at zero (0).

Items:

• Items are traditionally consumables. They are used once and taken out of inventory.
• They traditionally have a "Buff" or "Debuff" effect on a Stat of a specific Amount.
• Some have a group wide effect.
• An Item with a "Debuff" or "Group Debuff" would typically be used against your enemies during a battle. (e.g. Sleep Dust.)
• Some Items require Stamina to use.

Skills:

• Skills are traditionally reusables. They are used like weapons on a turn base rotation.
• They traditionally have a "Buff" or "Debuff" effect on a Stat of a specific Amount.
• Some have a group wide effect.
• A Skill with a "Debuff" or "Group Debuff" would typically be used against your enemies during a battle. (e.g. Hypnotize.)
• Since the Character is performing the Skill, it makes sense that doing so consumes Stamina and/or Endurance.
• Some base skills like Attack, Parry, or Run can have 0 amounts as they should be dependent on the Base Stats of the Character and the Weapons, Armors, and Accessories equipped.

Additional notes:

• Base on the natural laws of thermal dynamics and conservation of energy, every positive should have a negative and vice versa.
• Some amount of Stamina or Endurance should always be used for perfoming a Skill regardless of it's success.

Characters

Enemies

• Defeated Enemies should randomly reward your characters with some type of "Treasure/Drop" response.
• Enemies that are of the creature or wild beast variety probably should not drop currency. Only NPC type enemies whould have a need for currency.
• Creature and wild beast type enemies should drop sellable or consumable items you define. (e.g. Wyverns [Raptor Bird] can drop Feathers, Wings, Game Meat. Poison Toads can drop venom sacks.)