Before the process of converting MoD into an RPG (whether that's a tabletop and/or text-based one or a video game one, or both) can begin, it is important to understand that when I first came up with the idea for MoD back in 2015 (over 4 years before I published MoD Chapter I here on Paint), it was originally intended to be a video game, specifically a turn-based JRPG with a heavy emphasis on character customization and battle strategy.
(Not unlike my favorite video game series: Pokémon.)
In fact, it wasn't until I first joined Paint back in 2019 that I came up with the idea of making MoD into a story blog series instead of a video game (although I had also imagined it being made into an anime or manga series before), and so essentially the idea here would be to try to turn my idea for a video game that I wound up making into a story blog instead into the video game that it was originally intended to be.
Unfortunately, this is far more easily said than done for a number of different reasons, but the biggest one (as far as I can tell anyway) is that the world of MoD is just too big, and while I more or less have the main storyline of MoD all figured out, I haven't yet figured out what all I want to exist in the world of Sangai and where.
(Fleshing out an entire world in full detail is incredibly difficult, as I'm sure y'all can imagine.)
Fortunately, while I would very much like to see the entirety of the world of Sangai exist in an RPG version of MoD someday, I am setting my sights significantly lower (and much more within reach) in the short term, and my idea was to focus on a more linear version of MoD that focuses on the main storyline, rather than a massive world that can be explored (relatively) freely like I had originally intended.
By doing this, and by working on it 1 chapter at a time (rather than trying to turn my entire long, convoluted story into a single game all at once), I personally believe that making it into an RPG (or rather a series of smaller RPGs) is very much within the realm of possibility, and it is primarily to explore this possibility that I created this group for.
On the tabletop/text-based front, many of the same complications that exist with regards to turning MoD into a video game RPG (namely the MASSIVE WIP that is Sangai) still apply, but can also be circumvented by focusing on the main storyline instead, and also perhaps playable side-quest scenarios set in specific locations that have already been fleshed out sufficiently.
(Certainly any part of MoD that can be made into a video game should be doable as a tabletop RPG as well.[/Spoiler]
[Spoiler=MoD RPG: A Pokémon-like JRPG?]Back in 2015 when I was first imagining what the gameplay of MoD would be like, I was playing Pokémon Ω Ruby Version like CRAZY (8+ hours a day), and despite the fact that the world and storyline of MoD are quite different than those of any Pokémon game, I envisioned MoD having a similar look and feel to the core series Pokémon games.
Just like Pokémon, I envisioned MoD as a game where you move throughout the world with an an overhead 3rd person view, in a world divided into countless invisible square shaped tiles, in which you basically just go around pressing the A button to talk to NPCs, interact with objects, etc.
(Fans of Animal Crossing and the pre-N64 Zelda games will note the similarities to those games in these areas as well.)
I also envisioned the pause menu being quite similar to that of the core series Pokémon games as well, with your current party, your inventory, and the ability to save the game all being accessible anywhere, except for during battle.
It is in the areas of character customization and combat that the biggest similarities and differences between MoD and Pokémon can be observed, however, and just like with the creators of Pokémon, getting these parts right is my top priority.
(With the storyline being a VERY close 2nd.)
Due to the complexity of MoD's combat I won't be getting into it RN, and I will instead point out another similarity that MoD has to Pokémon, that some people would regard as a negative: the linearity of the story.
As I mentioned earlier, I envisioned MoD as having a MASSIVE world, with TONS of side quests to complete, dungeons to explore, mini-games that can be played, etc., etc., but Helena Dusklight is a character with clearly defined goals and motivations, and so having an abundance of different story choices and endings simply wouldn't make sense for MoD.
(You essentially are just playing out her story about her trying to accomplish her goals.)
The whole "choice" aspect of MoD (like in Pokémon) would come not from being able to alter the outcome of the story, but rather from the complexity of the character customization and combat, to the point where you could potentially have multiplayer MoD competitions where people battle each other in MoD matches, similar to Pokémon, Chess, or any other turn-based strategy games with a competitive side to them.
That isn't to say that I am necessarily trying to create a competitive multiplayer game RN, mind you, but I just want the combat and character customization aspects of MoD to have the same sort of depth to them that they have in the core series Pokémon games, as it is these aspects that have always had the strongest appeal to me personally in the core series Pokémon games, not the storyline or the graphics.
(Although I obviously like the storyline of Pokemon games a great deal as well, especially the Gen 6 Hoenn games.)
On a somewhat related note, I would want MoD to be a REALLY difficult game to complete as well (WAY more difficult than any of the core series Pokémon games), and it is in trying to equip your party and come up with working battle strategies to defeat various types of opponents that would be the core of MoD's gameplay.
(Again, just like Pokémon.)[/Spoiler]
[Spoiler=MoD RPG: Pokémon Meets 5D Chess?]As I mentioned before, the core of MoD's gameplay would revolve around character customization and complex turn-based combat, just like Pokémon.
Were I to describe this "complex turn-based combat" that I envisioned MoD having, I suppose the best way to describe it would be a cross between Pokémon and 4D 5D Chess.
(Although it's only "5D Chess" because some physicist decided that time was a dimension for some reason.)
Allow me to try to explain what I mean...
First of all, the core battle mechanics of MoD would be quite similar to those of Pokémon. There would be various stats that affect damage, the hit rate of attacks, the turn order, etc., as well as a type matchup system that is even more complicated than that of Pokémon's.
(Which I will revisit in a moment.)
The "5D Chess" part, however, refers to how combat in MoD takes place on a "board", similar to a game of Chess.
Now, what exactly do I mean by "5D" or "4D", and what is this "board"?
Now, let's suppose that you are roaming around Shadewood Forest (a beginning area right outside of the town of Shadewood where Helena was born), and you run into a monster...
Well, this part would happen in a very similar manner to how encountering monsters occurs in other JRPGs (including Pokémon), and you could just happen to run into monsters whenever you are moving around in an area where they are present, such as a dungeon, a forest, or "tall grass".
Once combat begins, however, Helena and each member of her current party would assume their positions (which would be set by the player in the menu outside of combat) on the battlefield, which would be a 5 dimensional chessboard of sorts.
Now, as y'all probably already know, a traditional chessboard is an 8×8 square board, and 2 rows (16 squares) on each side are set aside for each sides pieces, each of which start in set positions based on the well-established rules of the game of Chess.
As I mentioned before, in MoD the player would determine where each of their party members starts on the battlefield, and it's sort of like getting to choose where each of your pieces starts out in a game of Chess, although they can only start out on your side of the battlefield.
In the case of regular combat, it would typically take place on a 8×8 battlefield just like Chess, and just like in Chess, 2 rows would be set aside for up to 16 party members.
(And your enemies would get the same.)
It is worth noting that larger battles (such as certain boss fights, especially during the later chapters of MoD) would take place on larger boards, similar to what I implied in [A=/blog/view.php?id=99528#:~:text=Helena%20summoned%20around%2090%20more%20skeletons,%20to%20match%20the%20numbers%20of%20Witherot's%20forces]the MoD Halloween special[/A].
(Which was why the size of Helena's skeletal army was constantly being adjusted, to match the size of the battlefield.)
Now, I didn't say "5D Chess" for no reason, so allow me to (try to) explain the multidimensional nature of theese battlefields in MoD.
While I admittedly have no idea what an actual 3D chessboard is structured like, these battlefields in MoD would have altitude as a dimension to them as well, with the certain characters (such as Necky) having the ability to fly in the air, whereas others would be able to burtow underground or (depending upon the area) underwater.
The just like the first 2 dimensions, the altitude of the battlefields in MoD would vary from area to area and encounter to encounter, and so combat in one battle might take place in a 8×8×9 cube, whereas another battle might take place in a 16×16×17 one.
(There are supposed to be some pretty epic battles later on in MoD...)
Now before I get to the turn order (which IG is technically the 4th dimension), allow me to try to explain this mysterious other dimension that I've been dying to (try to) explain this whole time: overlapping space.
Now, a regular chessboard is 8×8, and as I mentioned before, a standard 3D battlefield in MoD might be 8×8×9 (I'm still trying to decide that BTW), right?
Well, imagine 9 different 8×8×9 cube-shaped battlefields, with 1 of them representing the "regular" dimensional space which we are used to, and 4 different 8×8×9 cubes going in opposite directions across this additional dimension of space, essentially making it a 8×8×9×9 battlefield.
This is essentially what I mean by "5D Chess", and certain characters (different types of interdimensional beings and magic users) would be able travel across and/or use abilities across this addition dimension of space, and having to take into account everyone's positions across all 4 dimensions of space (as well as their ability to move and use abilities across them) on the battlefield would a key aspect of battle strategy and tactics in MoD's combat.
Now, I mentioned the turn order before, and since time is technically a dimension too (as stupid as I think that is), I suppose I should explain that next.
First of all, just like in Pokémon, turn order in MoD would be determined primarily by the Speed stat, but the way in which Speed affects the turn order in MoD would be quite different than in Pokémon.
Now, let's say that there are a total of 4 combatants on the battlefield (Helena, Winter, Necrofyrmythyr, and Misandria), and that their Speed stats are as follows:
Helena: 169
Winter: 100
Necky: 1000
Misandria: 500
Now just like in Pokémon, the one with the highest Speed stat (in this case Necky) would go first, but what happens afterwards would be quite different than how things work in Pokémon...
First of all, in MoD we would divide 1 by each character's Speed stat to determine the frequency at which each character will be able to move:
Helena: 1÷169=0.0059171597
Winter: 1÷100=0.01
Necky: 1÷1000=0.001
Misandria: 1÷500=0.002
Now, for the sake of being able to explain this I will use the term "minutes", but MoD has COMPLETELY turn-based combat, so when I say "minutes" I do not literally mean 60 seconds.
After 0.001 minutes of battle time Necky (the fastest one) would be able to act, and then after another 0.001 minutes of battle time she would be able to act again.
Since Misandria can act after 0.002 minutes of battle time, a coin toss (a virtual one in a video game version of MoD or an actual one in a tabletop version of MoD) would determine who would go first, and then the other would immediately get to go next, and then after another 0.001 minutes of battle time Necky would get to act again.
Winter, whose Speed stat is 10% of what Necky's is would have to wait a full 0.01 minutes of battle time before she could actually do anything, meaning that Necky would get 9 turns to do things during the battle before Winter's first turn, and after 0.01 minutes of battle time a dice roll would determine whether Necky's 10th turn, Misandria's 5th turn, or Winter's 1st turn occurs 1st, and then another one to determine who goes 2nd, and then whoever lost the previous 2 dice rolls/coin tosses goes 3rd.
Now, in scenarios where there isn't such a dramatic difference between everyone's Speed stats it obviously wouldn't be quite this extreme, but essentially if your Speed stat is twice as high as someone else's in MoD you get twice as many turns to do things during battle.
(And the same if it's 10% higher, 50% higher, or even 900% higher like in the example given earlier.)
Now I already covered a lot here, but I had also wanted to (briefly) touch upon the stats and type matchups in MoD, both of which (unlike everything that I just described) have much more in common with Pokémon.
First of all, there are supposed to be 12 different stats in MoD, and I will briefly describe them: 1. HP (Hit Points)
Essentially the same as HP in Pokémon or any other video game.
2. MP (Mana Points)
Again, similar to MP in other video games, and this stat is depleted by using magical abilities such as spells.
3. SP (Stamina Points)
A bit unusual for a JRPG to have both SP and MP in it, but essentially where MP is depleted by using magical abilities, SP is depleted instead when physical abilities are used, such as when using special martial arts moves or sword techniques.
(And certain abilities that are both magical and physical would deplete both.)
4. STR (Strength)
Essentially the same as STR in most RPGs (or Attack in Pokémon), and this stat would determine the effectiveness of most physical abilities that are used, among other things.
5. DEF (Defense)
The physical defense stat, essentially serving the same purpose in MoD as it does in Pokémon or other JRPGs.
6. MAG (Magic)
The magical equivalent of the STR stat, essentially serving the same purpose as the Sp. Attack stat in Pokémon, or the MATK stat in other JRPGs, although it would also affect the strength of some beneficial spells.
7. RES (Magic Resistance)
Essentially the same as the Sp. Defense stat in Pokémon, or the MDEF stat in other JRPGs.
8. ACC (Accuracy)
Unlike in Pokémon, Accuracy would be a full-fledged stat in MoD, with some characters having a higher ACC stat than others, and everyone being able to increase it further through equipment, buffs, allocating stat points to it, etc.
9. EVA (Evasion)
Just as Accuracy is a full-fledged stat in MoD, so too is Evasion, and everything that I just said about ACC applies to EVA as well.
10. SPD (Speed)
I already explained how the Speed stat affects the turn order in MoD, and aside from that it is just like any other stat, being able to be increased or decreased by allocating stat points to it, wearing certain equipment, being affected by buffs/debuffs, etc.
11. WIL (Willpower)
This is one of the more unusual stats that exists in MoD, although it's far from unheard of to have a Willpower stat in RPGs.
Essentially, it would function similarly to the (nonexistent as of Gen 2) Special stat in Pokémon, governing both the strength of and resistance to the abilities that it affects.
Whereas physical abilities are based on STR vs. DEF, and magical abilities are based on MAG vs. RES, the effectiveness of mental abilities (such as mind control magic) would be affected by the WIL stat.
12. SPI (Spirit)
The other unusual stat in MoD, although again, not exactly unheard of in RPGs.
Just as WIL affects the strength of and resistance to mental abilities, SPI affects the strength of and resistance to spiritual abilities (such as demonic possession), and in the same way that the magical stats would be more important to a mage than to a warrior, the SPI stat would be of particular importance to the priestly classes such as Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Dragon Masters.
(At one point I had considered naming it the Faith stat instead BTW, although I ultimately opted for the Spirit stat instead.)Now that I've covered the stats in MoD, I will get to what is undoubtedly the biggest similarity between combat in MoD and combat in Pokémon: the type matchup system.
(Or rather the Element system, as it would be called in MoD.)
The Element system would essentially be a much more complicated version of the type matchup system that exists in Pokémon, determining the effectiveness of different types Elements of abilities based on how they matchup with the Elements of their target(s).
Firstly, here are the 20 (or 22) different Elements that would exist in MoD, with those that overlap with Pokémon types being highlighted in the color of that type:
0. Neutral
1. Water
2. Fire
3. Air
4. Earth
5. Lightning
6. Ice
7. Wood
8. Poison
9. Disease
10. Metal
11. Light
12. Dark
13. Chaos
14. Order
15. Time
16. Space
17. Radiation
18. Ether
19. Crystal
20. Dragon
21. Perfect
It is worth noting that the "Neutral" and "Perfect" Elements aren't actually Elements per se, and that Neutral would essentially just be the absence of any other Elements (meaning that it wouldn't be affected by type matchups at all), whereas something with the "Perfect Element" would essentially act as whatever Element(s) would be optimal in any given situation.
(Which I will attempt to explain at some point in the future.)
I haven't figured out what I want all of the different type matchups to be quite yet, but I have figured out certain things, such as that Dragon and Light Elemental abilities would be effective against Dark and Disease Element opponents, and I'm planning on coming up with my own type matchups here, rather than just copying Pokémon's.
(I plan on making both Fire and Ice super effective against one another, for example.)
One other difference between type matchups in MoD and those in Pokémon is that there would be type matchups for beneficial abilities as well as detrimental ones.
For example, if Helena cast a Dark Element buff or healing spell on a Light Element target, it wouldn't be quite as effective, as beneficial Dark Element abilities aren't as effective on Light Element targets.
If she instead used a Light Element buff or heal on a Light Element target, however, it would be "super effective", and heal or buff for an increased amount.
This is just one example, but all sorts of abilities (not just attacks) would be subject to type matchups in MoD, and using abilities that have a good Elemental matchup with their intended target will increase their effectiveness.
Using Fire Magic to harm Ice creatures would work well, but using it to heal them or buff them wouldn't, yet using that same Fire Magic to buff or heal a target with a Fire Element, or with some other Element that reacts positively to Fire (such as Dragon) will yield better results.
Using offensive Fire Magic on a Fire Element or Dragon Element opponent would be a bad idea, though, and so you may want to use a different Element of offensive ability if fighting against opponents with those Elements.
(Although using abilities with the same Element(s) as you grants a bonus to their effectiveness as well, similar to STAB in Pokémon.)
Also, while Pokémon can only have up to 2 types (under normal circumstances anyway) and their moves can only have 1 (again, under normal circumstances), characters and abilities in MoD can have any number of different Elements, such as how Winter has the Light, Ice, Crystal, and Dragon Elements all simultaneously.
Anyway, IK that I put a lot of information out there this time, so I think I'll stop here for now.[/Spoiler]
