Class Design

Description of the design philosophy for each class

Overall Design Choices

The classes in this game all follow some overarching design choices which are described here.

Roles

Player characters can fulfill one of four roles:

Hybrid classes, or uniform, all-encompassing character build paths that forego this categorization definitely have merit. However, the categorization into specific roles aids in balancing, and creating distinct playstyles within each role. Further, this approach rewards players for knowledge of the intricacies of different classes, and therefore the choice of classes to use, in harder content. The rigid categorization also avoids the pitfall of more flexible systems to converge to uniform builds, or a soft categorization into the above roles.

Sub-specializations

The motivation for sub-specializations is that this allows for an overarching class identity that can be played in different roles. The overarching class identity is used as a basis for a playstyle that differs from other classes that fulfill the same role, i.e. the same role can be played in a variety of ways, based on which class is used. This allows players to pick a playstyle that they like for a specific role. Due to the differences in how each class is played, optimizing class choice for specific roles is still incentivized for harder content.

Every class splits into four sub-specializations. Each class can be played in each role by choosing the appropriate sub-specialization.

Flat dps increase cds are boring

interaction of spells

RNG

Kiss/Curse

Geomancer - Celsian

Life is like a rock - full of wonders and often too easily thrown away.

 

 

My brother thinks that I am a geologist, but I am not. It directly follows that there has to be a Geomancer class.

Class Philosophy

The geomancer uses earth-based spells. The class has strong defensive capabilities in all roles, and focuses on slow, strong hits.

Ravages of time, weathering, erosion

low mobility, high defense

Benthic Whispers - Vanados

Background

Her parents had suffered three stillbirths and wished for nothing more than a healthy child. As her mother got pregnant with Agatha, she went to a fortune teller, who told her that she would only ever have one healthy child. All others shall belong to death. As Agatha was born, she did not breathe and her heart did not beat. Desperate, her father appealed to the heavens and all the hells to finally give them the child they had hoped for for so long - after a  while, a calm voice responded. "I shall grant your wish and let your daughter breathe. But know this, if she breathes, she will be as much my child as she is yours, and the doors that I open can never be closed. Do you accept this?". In despair, both parents agreed and not a second later their daughter was screaming, her heart beating and her pale skin turned rose. Soon afterwards, to the surprise of both parents, her mother gave birth to a second daughter, alive and breathing as well - alas, they had two healthy daughters! As they knew that the gods would not grant them this joy for long, they decided to let go of the cursed child and they left Agatha in the woods, where she would surely die, fulfilling the fortune told and granting them to have at least one child. But Agatha did not die.

Cheeky plot twist: Agatha is the healthy child, the other one got yoinked into the void at some point. Now the voices in Agatha's head are (mostly) her sibling trying to escape the void.

Background for different specs

Different roles make the character susceptible to different aspects of the void, which the character needs to resist.

Tank: Veiled in isolating darkness, lured by voices from another world.

Healer: Haunted by a bright future that will never come to pass, and the dashed hopes that accompany it.

Melee: Susceptible to the aspect of overwhelming force.

Ranged: Weighed down by the souls of the drowned.

Class Philosophy

The theme of this class is nautical/abyssal insanity.The class consists of a vessel (the visible character model), and the whispers in its head. The intent is that the whispers escaped the horrors of some other dimension, and attached to the vessel. Beings from that other dimension are attempting to follow, and to drag the vessel into their own dimension, so the whispers and the vessel need to cooperate to remain sufficiently sane to prevent this from happening.

The central class cooldown ability allows the whispers to take full control as an emergency measure to anchor the vessel in our dimension. This empowers the spells of the class. Some abilities affect the remaining cooldown of this major ability, or trigger it for a limited duration.

Use pressure as primary resource. Some spells build pressure, other reduce it. Some abilities are changed based on the current resource value. Healer uses pressure as inverse mana, in that the bar fills up with spell use, and gradually depletes over time.

Basic Spells

Fingers of Frost - Damage spell, instant for tank and melee roles, primarily used as a filler spell.

Mending Waters - Healing spell. Costs insanity to cast. Instant for Tank and DPS roles, slow cast for Heal role.

Deep Current - movement spell, increases movement speed for a set amount of time.

Succumb - Main cooldown spell, empowers spells and interacts with insanity.

Abyssal Shell - Damage absorption shield, used as a personal defensive cooldown.

Role Spells

Tank - Shifty Boi idk Nimble, avoids damage, shifting tether to reality, attacking generates insanity, healing spends insanity, predictive mitigation (RP: voices foresee damage and shield accordingly)

Fingers of Frost has melee range, generates insanity

Succumb causes rapid insanity generation while active, making it defensively potent

Shift - Damage taken is reduced, but damage dealt is also reduced. Lasts for a set amount time.

Heal - ????

Melee DPS - Slappi Boi Water, cold, frost, slappy tentacle boi, execute damage, single target focus

Execute damage in the form of overwhelming force, which builds up over time => increased effectiveness as target hp decreases

Abyssotrauma

Ranged DPS - Baromancer Pressure, drowning, mid cooldown burst

Fingers of Frost is ranged and has a cast time. Used as a builder for resource

Barotrauma mid cooldown, opens a burst window, the trauma is inflicted on the player, which triggers a strong connection to other dimension, which in turn empowers spells. Core idea is to line up the strongest spells for the 9 second burst window. Talents should change spell usage during Barotrauma by having additional effects. For example, fingers of frost might spread a DoT while Barotrauma is active, and this DoT might snapshot during Barotrauma, allowing for strong mid cd burst AoE. CD builder spell might increase the damage of direct damage spenders, or all spenders, or spenders might increase the damage of fingers of frost or the cd builder

Other barotrauma idea: have effect depend on resource available when used.

Crusade Boi / Fanatic - Meritus

Background

Meritus joined the Fratelli di Cucchiaio as a young boy, when he was picked up from the streets by a brother called Giovanni, who took him in, fed him and gave him a big spoon - the first ever possession he had received in his life. As he grew to a young man he was mesmerized by the work of god and was drawn deeper and deeper into the lessons given by the monks and he was taught to create the work of god with his own hands, to construct tools and buildings, to cultivate the land, till the soil and grow crops and finally, the highest virtue of all - feed the people. As the time came, he was also taught the way of the sword as a means to defend.

As the unholy wars raged he implored upon his elders to let him join, but they would not have him raise the sword in aggression. Finally, as word came in that there would be an enourmous joint effort for a triumphant march against the unbelievers he could no longer hold back and he joined the ranks of the fanatic battle monks where his hatred toward the unbelievers could finally be unleashed. 

Background for the different specs:

Cleric, but with a big sword. Probably a shield for tank spec. Legally distinct from paladin, I swear. Need to give proper class identity. Kind of a crusader, really. Fanatic, aggressive, catholic. Maybe some desert themed things. A holy desert crusader.

Resource: Purity - gained by essentially committing war crimes

Basic Spells

Purge - Basic attack spell that increases the duration of Deus Vult. Short cooldown to emphasize uptime.

Nourish Soul - Basic healing ability.

Persecute - Passively increases movement speed, can be activated to increase it further.

Deus Vult - Throughput cooldown. Short cd, with the intent of reaching 100% uptime by extending buff duration.

Spiritual Bulwark - periodically replenishing absorb shield, only triggered when Deus Vult is active. Increasing in potency, up to a specified maximum

=> High mobility, focus on active time, different specs have different ways of increasing buff uptime

Tank - The most faith-based spec, empowering his defense with his belief in a higher power

active mitigation and sustain:
Spiritual Bulwark remains passive, but receives active component with mid cooldown to maximize shield potency instantly
Unwavering Faith - high spell damage reduction, mid cd
Absolution - The righteousness of your cause absolves you of your sins, healing you for X damage. (Sacrament of Penance talent idea: make heal party wide, as a minor healing cooldown)

AoE:
Burn the Wicked - Initial damage, places a DoT effect on targets

Heal - Also faith-based, with a strong focus on bringing others closer to god, proselytism, mending, nourishing

Melee - Hatred for the infidel, the incarnation of war crimes, there to persistently slap around anything with a pulse that does not worship his god
Overwhelming Hatred - Execute damage

Ranged - Agile, with strong support elements, opening burst windows for other players, increasing their survivability, etc.
Deus Vult increases damage for everyone

General Spell Name Ideas

Sacrament of Penance, Sacrament of Anointing the Sick

Physician of Soul and Body

Animal Boi - Krashali

Are you still gonna eat that?

 

Shapeshifter, but locked to one form per role. Melee form is sort of a raven, not sure about other ones

Void Girl - Agatha

Background

Her parents had suffered three stillbirths and wished for nothing more than a healthy child. As her mother got pregnant with Agatha, she went to a fortune teller who told her, that she would only ever have one healthy child. All others shall belong to death. As Agatha was born, she did not breathe and her heart did not beat. Desperate, her father appealed to the heavens and all the hells to finally give them the child they had hoped for for so long - after a  while, a calm voice responded. "I shall grant your wish and let your daughter breathe. But know this, if she breathes, she will be as much my child as she is yours and the doors that I open can never be closed. Do you accept this?". In despair, both parents agreed and not a second later their daughter was screaming, her heart beating and her pale skin turned rose. Soon afterwards, to the surprise of both parents, her mother gave birth to a second daughter, alive and breathing as well - alas, they had two healthy daughters! As they knew that the gods would not grant them this joy for long, they decided to let go of the cursed child and they left Agatha in the woods, where she would surely die, fulfilling the fortune told and granting them to have at least one child. But Agatha did not die.

(Secret background story, probably not for the game itself: The void is not one thing, but consists of a plethora of worlds, a mixture of demons, creatures and the souls of the deceased. Her father of the void is a god of death, not violent, not cruel, but only the law of nature, that all living things must die. In this sense, the fortune teller was right, and Agatha also belongs to death, though very different as her siblings. The voices she hears in her head are a mixture: one childish voice could be that of a deceased sibling, a warning and caring voice could be her father, an angry and chaotic voice could be a demon who snuck in.)

Background for different specs

In each spec, Agatha is the vessel for one of her deceased siblings.

Spell Ideas

Tank:

Healer:

Melee:  Ouroboros, reflecting the cycle of violence