@Prizrak I do not have the experience to run a DnD campaign. If any of you are qualified and would like to turn this into something like that, I am more than happy to hand the lead and step back into a character only role.
I was thinking of a floor clearing game with increasingly difficult levels/scenes to get through. I am aslo willing to work with people on traps and puzzles that we have to get through in order to progress. I'm also thinking that boss mechanics will become more important as we descend. I'm really shooting for a video game style dungeon dive. Everything is cake in the beginning, but by the end we are fighting to crawl past one enough to avoid the beasts gnawing at our heels.
One of my favorites is the original Diablo.
I am a strong believer in changing equipment and progressing as the story unfolds. When you enter the dungeon, you will not exit the same. It's also why I'm not placing a heavy emphasis on the character sheet, especially not the gear and weapons. It is going to change.
I need to figure out how we are going to determine what's "better", but I believe it will have a lot to do with the mage and a rip off of Diablo's Scroll of Identity.
Skills are going to be a little different.
The Mage isn't going to step onto level one and obliterate the floor with a meteor. I'm going to leave it to the players to decide what skills they use, but there will be limits.
Just like a Mage, a Rogue won't be able to turn invisible and gut the boss and steal all of the treasure for themself. Your Invisibility will wear off; you will get mangled; and, I may let you get impaled as well. If you play your character responsibily and wait for the right time to be a bad ass, you will probably make it past floor ten.
I'm also floating the idea of Reserve Characters, should someone die and we still enjoy playing with them. Players that lose their character have the option of playing a ghost until the players reach a checkpoint. At the checkpoint, if the living players want to, they may spend currency to ressurect the dead player. If not, the dead character, now playing a ghost, can become enraged and become an Angered Spirit. Angered Spirits may interfere during the dungeon and try and bring harm against the party. The only way to quell an Angered Spirit is to resolve the turmoil and ressurect the player.
I know this is disorganized and I promise I'll work on it. Just like any good game, battles reward experience and ability. The furthest I'm going to control your character's abilities are their power level. A level one ability will not one shot a boss. A level one ability that has been upgraded to the Max and is legitimately the character's signature spell? It's going to hit like a freight train.
Not every melee attack needs to have a name. If you're slashing, you're slashing. But if it is something extraordinary that is worthy of naming, do so. You don't have to shout out the name as you're doing the attack. The same goes for magic. If you're healing, explain what you're doing but you don't have to shout "HEALING CIRCLE" and slam your staff down. But that's kinda cool, so you might want to.
My best suggestion would be to use your knowledge of every fantasy game you have played and then apply it here. A hidden rogue attacking from behind does more damage. An archer that is well concealed and has time to aim their shot properly is going to have a better chance at a critical strike.
A battle mage is not going to be as effective as a true bred Elven mage that knows only the Arcane. A Mage that casts both Fire and Water will never master either.
Am I helping?
I am open to any other suggestions. This is not a " I am the GM, this is my story, enjoy" type of game. I want it to be the best it can be and I am but one person with one idea of how to do that. I urge people to reply with their suggestions here so that others have the chance to read them and add on to the idea as well.
