After some very useful suggestions and points from a few enthusiastic Wheel of Time fans at Dragonmount.com I've had some evolution in the process and potential outcome of the Role Playing Game.
After a bit of discussion the point came up that perhaps an RPG with its own mechanics would be more efficient at honing the elements of the world of A Wheel of Time. This may require a little more work but in the long run it will produce a much more enjoyable and unique RPG.
There are several element I am currently working on which may seem familiar to RPG players but are in fact very different when you look beneath the surface. A good example of this is the Perk and Feat system. Perks are now what used to be feats in traditional RPG's, however their accessibility is directly relevant to the levels of skills under the new skill system. Feats are now similar to what most role-players would know as Prestige, Paragon, or any other connotation of paths. However you can gain one of these feats at first level as long as you meet the prerequisites. My issue with paragon and prestige has always been the fact that every class with every character has that option at a certain level or point. In reality this isn't likely. Sometimes people are naturally better than others and this new mechanic is an accurate representation. It will allow players to more easily hone their characters. So as long as you have mastered enough blade forms and have high enough skill in Bladecraft and Concentration and your particular abilities are high enough you could be a Blademaster by 5th level instead of 10th.
Now I have mentioned it so I wont leave you in the dark, the new skill system. What people would traditionally consider as skills under standard RPG are now split in to two groups. The first is Attributes and the second is Skills, I'll only talk about skills for the moment. Skills will essentially be the important things in the life of your character. The things you'll come across regularly such as Concentration, Weaving, Bladecraft, etc. When you make your character or level up you will find yourself with a number of skill points that need spending.
So what can you do with these points?
Well the first option is the most straight forward. You can use these points, point for a point to increase your skill. Higher the skill better you are with it. The second option is where the fun stuff starts. You can spend your skill points to buy perks. Now not every perk can just be bought, some will depend on the level certain skills are at. This allows player to more readily build the uniqueness of your character faster that one feat every two or three or even four levels.
The other thing I wanted to talk about was Character Backgrounds. These are basically what you would consider races. They identify who you are and give you bonuses to some relevant stats. Luckily though it doesn't stop there. Once you choose your Background you pick a Background Archetype; this identifies more specifically where you are from. SO say your Background is Andor your Archetype could be Camelyn , Baerlon or The Two Rivers. So far there are a planned 18 Backgrounds each with 2 or 3 different Archetypes and sometimes even more.
Fan of A Wheel of Time? or just Bored? then head over to www.dragonmount.com everybody there is friendly and the content is very interesting. I personally suggest listening to some of the 4th Age Podcasts; those guys are interesting and worth listening too.
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