(This was an elaboration on the last concept I posted except it was in a more formalized single player RPG format (could be swung to become an MMO though as well). Players are given a set of life choices to make and the results grant them different skills.)
Paths of Combat
Race/Gender/Faction
Path of South Brook
You are from the small rural community of South Brook. You learn how to Track.
Path of the Northaven
Your life starts in the industrial city of
Path of Eastwick
Your life started in the imperial court. You picked up Diplomacy.
Learning (Tutorial)
Path of the Crocodile: Observe everything. Be patient, the reward comes later. You learn how to Parry your weapon.
Path of the Monkey: Skip the tutorial! You like to jump the gun. Just play! You learn how to execute a Feint.
First Blood
Path of the Martyr: You take more damage than you deal. You learn to use the Shield as a result.
Path of the Slaughterer: You kill every enemy before the time runs out. You learn to use Great Weapons as a result.
Path of the Hunter: You must use your sling exclusively. You learn to use Bows.
Path of the Skirmisher: You don’t take a single hit and kill at least half of the enemies. You learn to use Twin Weapons.
Path of the Saint: You don’t hit a single enemy. You are assigned to Standard duty.
Conflicting Orders
Path of the Soldier: You won’t refuse a direct order. You kill all of them. You unlock the ability to use Heavy Armor because of your induction into the army.
Path of the Opportunist: The bandits are paying you better. You attack your teammates. After seeing your prowess you gain the ability to Hire.
Path of the Beast: You refuse to fight an animal. You need to deal zero damage to the wolves but kill the bandits. Seeing your kind soul the wolves befriend you. You gain the ability to Train.
Path of the Legend: You need to punish evil! You kill everyone before the combat ends. After starting your legend you gain the ability to Recruit.
Path of the Kingdom: You decide to defend your homeland. As such you complete quests for the Kingdom exclusively. You are rewarded by learning how to Duel.
Path of the Rebel: You decide to overthrow your corrupt government. You decide to do only the dirty work of the rebels. In order to properly serve the Rebellion you need to learn how to Assassinate.
Path of the Profiteer: Who cares who wins so long as you can turn a buck? You accumulate over a certain amount of money doing quests for either side. You pick up how to Pay Off the right people.
Path of the Pacifist: You don’t want bloodshed. You work exclusively for the Priesthood. You learn how to Abstain.
Path of the Mercenary: You don’t care who wins. You work for either side. You learn how to “Mercenary”.
Path of the Pirate: Money? Women? Sounds good right? You mostly do Pirate quests. You learn how to Raid.
Pillaging
Path of Order: You decide to stop the pillaging. You flee on a horse to warn the town ahead of time. You are taught how to Ride.
Path of Chaos: You join right the fuck in! You take a few pointers and learn how to Pillage.
Path of the Unspoken: You decide to do nothing. That seems to work. If no one notices you, you’re ok with that. You learn how to be Incognito.
Path of Bloodshed: You decide to stop the pillaging with your weapon in their skulls. You kill them all and learn the true nature of Bloodshed.
Abilities
Track- A character or NPC occasionally leaves behind “track” every so many steps. By locating this track you are then pointed in the direction of the next track.
Craft- A crafting system allows you to make useful items and repair gear. It requires the appropriate regents.
Diplomacy- By executing a quick-time event you can smooth talk NPCs. This has a wide range of implications. From getting a lower price to getting into a secure area. This is a gamble however because you only have one chance and failure if worse than not trying.
Parry- You jerk you weapon sideways to parry an attack.
Feint- You have to hold down your mouse button to attack. If at any point you release it you immediately stop your attack and re-execute the same strike.
Shields- You learn to use full shields. By holding down your right mouse button you can move your shield out of your way and attack. (This can be changed in a setting) You can still use normal off hand weapons.
Great Weapons- You learn to use two-handed weapons. These have the advantage of range but lack in speed. Common weapon types include spears, great swords, staves, and great maces.
Bows- You can notch a bow with the best of them. While difficult to wield (your aim is an “area” not a “point”) you gain the advantage of range.
Twin Weapons- Skirmishers are some of the most feared combatants on the battlefield. They attack the flanks with rapid strikes. Using twin weapons (equipped as a single weapon) you can use weapons like, short swords, daggers, sai, clubs, foil and parrying dagger.
Standard- A simple non-violent weapon. You can still use your main weapon but your other hand hold a standard. This is a rallying point. People heading towards it gain different benefits depending on your standard. They are normally stat dependant.
Heavy Armor- Full armor is hard to move in and slows down your movement speed by 50%. However, it prevents all but the most brutal blows. Piercing weapons need to do more damage than the damage cap or deal 75% less damage. Blunt weapons are jut reduced by 10%.
Hire- You can pay an unsavory lot to fight with you. They are normally few in number but very strong. They act on their own but generally have good AI.
Tame- You can tame animals. Animals have a “focus” gauge that dwindles. The more you train your animal the longer its focus gauge is. You can issue commands to it with the number pad. The higher its focus gauge the more likely it is to follow that command. You can raise its focus gauge by issuing commands (it “levels up”) If an animal dies you have to tame and train a new one.
Recruit- You attract a few followers. They are normally very numerous but lack in strength. (An army of farmers is still an army right?) They act on their own but generally have poor AI.
Duel- You can challenge anyone to a duel. During combat that person can only attack you and you can only attack them until one of your is dead.
Assassinate- You can enter the combat state whenever you want by toggling this.
Pay-Off- You can avoid an encounter by offering an amount of money. If it is accepted the enemy can not attack you for 1 hour. (Or whatever it is you decide on)
Abstain- You can toggle Abstain. When you do so you can’t attack for 1 hour but you can’t be attacked as well.
Mercenary- You can offer your services with a “mercenary” offer when combat begins in an area near you. The first one to hire you gets you on their side.
Raid- You can enter into combat on either side.
Ride- You can ride a horse. This alleviates any movement penalties, however you can be knocked off.
Pillage- When you kill an enemy you can occasionally loot a piece of equipment from them. (Even players)
Incognito- Unless someone is looking at you they can’t see you.
Bloodshed- By clicking the middle mouse button over someone you target them and gain tunnel vision. Everyone outside them disappears but your strength goes WAY up while targeting them.
