Roles in design

I can't do this all by myself. There are at least three more roles needed to be filled in designing (not programming, mind you) Bellicose. The first of these is probably going to be the toughest to fill. I need a role player. Not someone who just plays Final Fantasy or Ultima Online, but someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons, Vampire, and all of the other pen & paper rpgs. More than just a player, I need someone who is so committed to rpgs that they've tried to create a few of their own. You see, what's important is someone who understands the systems of rpgs. In the same way that someone who plays Unreal, Quake, Half-Life and Doom understands the systems of a FPS, someone who's tried (preferably succeeded) at create their own rpg understand the way these systems work. They understand the pros and cons of using complex player character make-ups. They understand how to construct a combat system that is easy to use and doesn't involve a calculator to find out whether or not you hit someone. I need someone who can create the basic and advanced rules of roleplaying games.

The next role would be somewhat similar, but would relate to strategy and team-based games rather than rpg systems. I need someone who's had experience in being in Quake Clans, Ultima Guilds, MechWarrior Clans, etc. Bellicose will have the qualities of each of these games, and we'll need to know what features promote the gameplay experience that I'm after.

Finally, an artist. I need someone who can draw. This is primarily because I have no artistic skills when it comes to drawing, although I could probably render anything that I have sketches for (the proof is in the pudding.

Item properties vs. Item stats

This is an important concept that must be stressed in Bellicose. The problem lies in the fact that gamers will decipher every algorithm, every ratio, and every statistic. It will eventually seep out. Once these results are public, gamers will only use the very best possible, even if they gain only a marginal gain. Let me illustrate. (Again, my illustrations will fall back on my experiences in Ultima Online.) In UO there are a great many shields, swords, armor types, etc. Shields, for example, come in many different sizes (visual appeal) and each has a different bonus to your armor. Namely, heater shields provide the best armor bonus, while kite shields provide a slightly less bonus. That's pretty much the only difference in shield types [Note: this has recently been changed]. Once the gamers knew which shield provided the absolute best, no one used anything but the best. So all of the other shields were not used unless it was the last possible alternative.

That's the problem. Items differed by stats only and not by properties. There was no other reason to use the smaller shields, so they were abandoned. Essentially, it has to be worked out so that every item has an advantage that no other item has, or an advantage that no other item has as much of. Continuing with the shields example, Ultima recently changed the chances of deflecting a blow based on the shield type. Namely, extremely large shields provide the best protection, but have the least chance of being effective. So if you had a smaller shield, it would defect more attacks, but it would deflect a much smaller amount of damage. Another idea that was posted along those lines was that different shield (and armor) materials, such as shields made out of copper rather than iron) would provide better protection against different elements, such as magic, cold, fire, etc.