I want to stress that I think unique items should mostly be available only through quests or challenges, like the Gundam capsule being a reward for winning the huge deathmatch in the movie.

That is why if you want to buy it you have to have a ridiculous amount of money. Still tweaking that, so no one will be buying anything Unique for a while. Cost of common things I am still tweaking as well, I might just make them bartered for, weapon for weapon, mount for mount, armor for armor.

The plot looks intriguing. So, the Stargate's (love this inclusion by the way) just act as warp points to secret locations but are initially inactive; you need to solve the riddle/clue/puzzle to get the co-ordinates to the first world, then activate the Stargate and go to the next location, presumably find the next clue and so on?

Pretty much. Stargates almost didn't make in, I have a coaster set that looks like Stargates I have a mirror that looks like a Stargate all at my desk. I wanted something special that couldn't be moved from place to place, and as I was spinning in my chair thinking I saw them and voila.

My only issue with the unique setting is if this is a future utopian version of Earth then does it still make sense that Sanctuary has items and locations based on pop culture from decades or even centuries in the past?

You know how every so often they bring back dead franchises to renew interest. Currently the nostalgia wave is hitting Sanctuary. Or whatever reason Star Trek has some really old shit on their holodecks to entertain people. Same reason on Andromeda tv show they read really old books. You are free to make up quests not related to any pop-culture.

I also worry at the inclusion of levels because it seems unnecessary both in and out of universe; if Sanctuary was originally created as just a virtual world with no game elements then there would be no reason to have levels, meaning it was something added to Sanctuary after the badlands was introduced. I also don't really see it playing much of a deciding factor in fight in the RP so I just don't see a reason for it and would prefer a setting where your "power" is determined by your equipment, skill and intelligence.

The way I saw levels working, is like at an old forum I used admin the posters got super upset if we ever purged threads that hadn't been posted in in over a year or whatever reason we had to change post counts, they said something to do about bragging rights or some such bullshit, I didn't care it that wasn't my responsibility there. Think of it like the gamerscore on Xbox or the trophies on Playstation. Means absolutely diddly squat. I'll just scrap it.

I also vote in favour of pets but would want to draw a distinction between pets, mounts and companions. Pets would just be, well, pets; basically a cosmetic item. Mounts would be anything sentient that you can ride, so something like a Chocobo or Shadowfax; basically another form of vehicle. Companions would be combat capable AI allies like the mechanical dog you mentioned. The latter two should be treated like artefacts, with unique and non-unique versions.

I used pets because I am pretty sure that is what WoW used, never played it only learned of it from Starcraft when I bought the special editions that was one of the bonuses you got.

Might also have to distinguish between mounts and vehicles.

... feel free to tell me to shut up if I'm getting annoying.

Nah, helps me develop this better.

@King Cosmos in games with clans do the clans earn cash? If so how? What would the clan use the cash for?

In games with clans do the clans earn cash? If so how? What would the clan use the cash for?

I've never been a part of a clan, so I don't really know how that would work. In most games a clan is just a group of people who regularly play together, even most MMO's I think don't have in game mechanics for clans. This game world is probably closest to an MMO than anything else, though it probably plays more like a character action game or FPS given the lack of levels or abilities.

I think in Sanctuary the reason for forming a clan would be for safety in numbers and to allow for the completion of larger and more difficult quests. If zeroing out is still a thing we are keeping from Ready Player One, then a clan would be a way to protect yourself in the badlands by allying with other players. MMO's also have quests and raids that can require dozens of people working together to beat, often requiring a specific strategy, decent gameplay skills and strong teamwork to beat; sure you can try and do this with a group of random people, if you want to give yourself an aneurysm, or you can join a clan and work with a consistent group of players.

As far as money goes, it would be earned by completing quests as normal. Loot would be divided by a prearranfed method and so would gold. Maybe a portion of it goes towards clan expenses/funds; maybe the clan ship can be upgraded? Either in terms of performance or amenities?

Just for future reference, editing in a tag later on doesn't send that person a message. I almost missed this question.

@MissCapnCrunch given the way Sanctuary was never even intended to be a game in the first place I kind of see clans being a player invention rather than something intentionally added. They clearly added support for clans later on since clan ships are a thing and are limited to one per clan, but I see that as being a response to something the players were already doing, i.e. grouping up and forming factions.

Clan size is probably limited by how much living space your ship has so unless you can get something like a Star Destroyer or a Battlestar you're going to be pretty limited. I imagine something like the Millenium Falcon, Serenity or the Bebop would be more the norm and those things have space for maybe a dozen at most.

Sorry for disappearing. Real life and responsibilities and such.

I'll put my votes in for a unique world and I can work with if we have pets or not (If we decide to have pets, I know I would want a Skag as a mount *if possible*)

I'm not real sure what 2 cents of mine to put in. Sorry.

So for now Clans don't earn money. It's your storage unit, your dance hall, your meeting room, whatever.

Updated the Character Sheet:
Personal Artifacts: (for now leave blank until artifacts are approved)
Pets: (noncombat, i.e. house cat)
Companion Artifact: (limited to one, combat capable "pet") (for now leave blank until artifacts are approved)
Mount Artifact: (limited to one) (for now leave blank until artifacts are approved)
Vehicle Artifact: (limited to one, car, motorcycle, tank, none that are flight capable) (for now leave blank until artifacts are approved)

Across all artifact fields you are currently limited to one unique artifact.

Google drive link to my Artifact spreadsheet