Pokemon Conquest anyone?

[Tomas Elliot]

So, I lately had this idea for a roleplay: it will take a lot to organize, I will need a co-host, the required autorizations (if any), and to get the "skeleton" ready, so yeah, I will need a couple of weeks at least before I can officially start a roleplay based on this idea I had... But meanhile, I have decided to start this topic to see if there would be people interested in it: since it would take a lot to organize, there's no point in going through the trouble of getting everything ready if the roleplay has to fail because of too few partecipants... So yeah, I will get to work on it only if I see, in this topic, that there actually are people interested in taking part in it.

So, here is the idea: a roleplay based on a concept similar to Pokemon Conquest: you know, the way its battles are more similar to those in Fire Emblem than those in the Pokemon main series, the Link system, the fact that not only can the Pokemon evolve, but its master can undergo a transformation as well, by ranking up... Well, this roleplay would take all these elements and exploit them to create a Pokemon roleplay like there were never before!

The medieval setting would be kept: there would be a vaste region (created ad hoc) ruled by various Warlords: these Warlords would be NPCs, and I would manage them (but since my timezone is different from those of most people on this forums and since I am often busy with university, I would need at least one co-host to manage these NPCs when I am not available for action); under very specific circumstances these Warlords, after being defeated, could be recruited, meaning that the player would get to roleplay and exploit on the battlefield not only their character, but also the recruited NPC(s).

The story would develop through missions: each player would roleplay as a young warrior who, tired of the continuous wars between the Warlords, is trying to take over the ragion, in order to unite it and end the wars in the process (it is important to notice, on this regard, that only ONE player will be able to achieve the ultimate goal of uniting the land, so the various players wouldn't necessarily be allies/friends to one another: actually, they would be in competition with one another...). Each player would therefore try to eliminate the various Warlords throughout various missions, which however would rely more on planning complex strategies than actual fighting (I would personally create the various missions exploiting the game theory, a particular mathematic theory that I study at university): basically, in each missions many players would find themselves fighting together for a common goal (mostly eliminating a Warlord and seizing control on his/her area of influence), however ONLY ONE of the players could in the end claim the prize, while the others, despite having fought valiantly, would return home having achieved nothing; therefore, each of them would be forced to try and find the right balance between trusting the other playes (to cooperate in order to take down the strongest enemies) and acting on their own to try and achieve the ultimate goal, taking home the prize. Creating factions and alliances, joining other players in the fight, and betraying the friends when the right time arises would all be things that every player would do throughout the story.

Just to make an example: in order to achieve a certain mission, players need to collect infos. Every time a NPC (minion of some Warlord) is killed, the player who landed the killing blow obtains a new piece of info. A player has no way of getting to know about the infos in possession of another player, except by agreeing to share them or by trying to take them away from him/her by force (Player A can get to know Player B's infos only by sharing his/her own with him/her, or by fighting him/her with both players' infos on the line). The first player who manages to collect all the infos takes home the whole prize, while the other players are left with nothing: what will you do? Will you trust people and form alliances (maybe planning to betray them later on) or will you work on your own, fighting everybody else as enemies?

From a more technical point of view, each player's gameplay will be influenced by some statistics: Power (which will affect the performances of his/her partner Pokemon in battle), Wisdom (which will affect the chances of making the most from the infos acquired in each mission, increasing the chances of taking home the final prize), Charisma (which will affect the chances of recruiting NPCs) and Capacity (the maximum amount of NPCs that each player can recriut). Upon creating a character, each player will have to specify the values of each statistic, plus of course which will be their starting Pokemon (that is, the Pokemon they will begin the adventure with) and which will be their perfect Pokemon (as in, the Pokemon they can achieve Perfect Link with): they will be given a fixed amount of points to invest in all this stuff. Choosing a very powerful Pokemon will cost them a lot of points, thus leaving them less points to invest in the statistics, also choosing their perfect Pokemon as starter Pokemon (as in, choosing to immediately start their journey with the Pokemon they know they will eventually achieve Perfect Link with, rather than having to catch it in the wild) will cost them even more points, thus leaving even less points to invest in the statistics; therefore, they will have to try their best to find the right balance, using a good Pokemon as partner and at the same time having good statistics. Upon achieving specific goals throughout the game, the players will be able to Rank Up: ranking up will give a player a 50% boost to all their stats, and unlock special capabilities they previously didn't have.

So, this is all: I apologize for the long post but I needed to explain everything in details. So is everything clear? Would you people be interested in joining such a roleplay should I start it in the near future? Do you have comments to make, ideas to share, improvements to suggest to make the gameplay experience even better? And above all, is there anyone that would co-host such a project with me?

Let me know by posting in this topic!

[Color]

. . .

I love you so much right now.

This is perfeccttt '_______'

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I don't know much about Conquest, but I might take a swing.

[Tomas Elliot]

. . .

I love you so much right now.

This is perfeccttt '_______'

I guess this means you'd be interested in joining in

You know, you and me actually share many interests, specially when it comes to roleplays: would you like to co-host this thing with me? I would really be happy if you did! Unless, of course, you prefer partecipating as a player/competitor to experience the thrill of actually going for the ultimate prize...

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

What is your timezone again? Would I need to know an awful lot about conquest to help you out in running it? I am willing to do either to be honest lol.

[Tomas Elliot]

I am GMT+1. And well, knowing the basic mechanics of the game (which are explained in the Bulbapedia page I linked in the OP) should be enough to help me run it... I would be the one to organize the missions, thus setting the game plan of the NPCs! However, if you had some basic understanding of strategy and game theory, that would only help... But it is not mandatory!

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I see I may go for it, I am EST (East coast of America), you might want another for time, but I am sure I could figure out how it works. What duties would I have lol?

[Tomas Elliot]

Mostly, managing NPCs when I am not around, and/or replacing me when american people like you post at hours when here it is late night and I am sleeping, and they require a quick reply. You'd also help me creating the maps for the missions and figuring out the strategic part, which is a more complex thing that would require a detailed discussion in private, should you take the role...

So anyway, anybody else is interested in this idea? Are there any suggestions to improve this?

[Color]

I mean I coulld.

Can I co-host and participate?

XD

I'm on more frequently (since I check more often then most people on here) so I can keep track of everything if you wish?

I'm on dat Eastern Time anyways ^-^

[Tomas Elliot]

Of course a co-host could not take part into the game as a competitor... As in: you either manage your own character or the NPCs, no compromises allowed on this regard. Since the game will be all about strategies, it is vital that those who manage the NPCs are absolutely impartial, and well, in order to allow you to manage the NPCs I would have to explain to you their strategy, which means that, if you had a character of your own, you would roleplay him/her knowing the strategies of the NPCs beforehand. And that would just be unfair.

So no, sorry, you either play or co-host. And given your talent at roleplaying and the passion you displayed for this kind of ideas, I think I can guess what you will choose in the end

[rustytengo]

this seems interesting though i am just curious about this. In Pokemon Conquest the warlords where based off of figures from the sengoku(probably spelt that wrong) era in Japan so would you be using warlords based of of the Japanese like in the game or a different culture. Just guessing here you probably live in Europe given you say university well we call it collage in America a game like Pokemon Conquest based off of European history would be very interesting. so just kind of curious about that kind stuff.

[Code: PIRULUK]

It's a promising idea for sure, but I have no time QQ. So I'll have to pass. I might be able to help co-mod later on when things settle down for me though

[Jory]

this seems interesting though i am just curious about this. In Pokemon Conquest the warlords where based off of figures from the sengoku(probably spelt that wrong) era in Japan so would you be using warlords based of of the Japanese like in the game or a different culture. Just guessing here you probably live in Europe given you say university well we call it collage in America a game like Pokemon Conquest based off of European history would be very interesting. so just kind of curious about that kind stuff.

I call it university and I'm from America...

[Color]

Damn, this is actually a rough choice now.

I know the characters all pretty well, so I can NPC them no problem

OH boooyyy..you're killin me here!

XD

[rustytengo]

I call it university and I'm from America...

well maybe its just the area i live in like i said it was just a guess and given that its late at night where he is well most people in America are up (at most the time difference is two hours i think) i thought it was a good guess. i have been to Europe twice so that's how the time worked out there so yeah still think its a good guess(stupid jet lag i still remember you well).

Edited October 11, 2013 by rustytengo

[Tomas Elliot]

Rusty actually gave me a great idea: I could very well take inspiration, for the setting of this RP, from European Middle Age. Come to think of it: Pokemon Conquest is inspired to the real events of the life of Japan's most famous Warlord, Nobunaga Oda... Now, who is arguably Europe's most famous Warlord from the Middle Age? Charlemagne, right?

So yeah, the various events of the RP could be inspired to events in the life of Charlemagne, with Warlords being inspired to important people from that time and the final boss being inspired to Charlemagne himself... I think it would actually be very interesting...

Also, @Acquiescence: I am sorry to hear that you are so busy, but since I will probably find somebody else to co-host this thing with me, I hope you can at least partecipate as a normal player... Actually, partecipating as a competitor would actually require much less effort (and time) than co-hosting, so yeah...

And now some stuff I was thinking about the gameplay, about which I would like to hear you people's feedback:

1) I was thinking that, like in PMD, each species could have all the possible abilities at once. For example, a Blaziken would have both Speed Boos and Blaze (which would actually cause Torchic to cost quite a lot, should you pick it as starter/perfect Pokemon ). However, abilities with out-of-battle effects, such as Pickup, would not exist.

2) Actually, items as a whole would not exist: there would be specific, highly strategic areas in each map where you can heal your Pokemon, also when a mission is cleared and you return home your Pokemon would be automatically healed. The only existing items would be those needed for evolution (which would be obtained upon meeting specific requirements) and Mega Stones (each player, upon ranking up, would be given the possibility of acquiring one single Mega Stone, however only a Pokemon with Perfect Link would be able to Mega Evolve during a battle).

3) The Link system would be used over the experience/level system: basically, the more time you share with your Pokemon (as to say, the more missions you clear with it) and the more your Pokemon will grow stronger, eventually being able to evolve. Each player will begin with a Link of 10% with their initial partner: the results of the missions they take part in would then increase this value (the Wisdom stat would play a role in this); Pokemon that evolve via level up and those that evolve via friendship would instead evolve, in this RP, when a specific level of Link is achieved (let's take, for example, a standard 3-staged evolutionary family like Bulbasaur's: Bulbasaur would evolve into Ivysaur when a Link of 40% is achieved, and then into Venusaur when a Link of 70% is achieved); this of course would also aplly to those Pokemon that evolve when leveled up while holding a specific item: in this RP, they would evolve if they achieve a specific level of Link while holding said item (for example Gligar would evolve into Gliscor upon achieving a Link of 50% or higher while holding a Razor Fang). Pokemon that evolve when exposed to an evolutionary stone (this include those that evolve by trade, which would require Reborn's own Link Stone) would evolve whenever the player obtains the stone and decides to use it, at the cost of 10 Link points (a Growlithe with a Link of 60% reduces its Link to 50% upon being forced to evolve with a Fire Stone). Please note that this means that those Pokemon that need to be traded with a certain item held in order to evolve would require, in this RP, 2 items to evolve: the Link Stone and the evolutionary item to be held (for example, Protector for Rydon to evolve into Ryperior): these Pokemon would actually be tricky to evolve, and therefore they wouldn't have the 10% Link cost to evolve that other Stone evolutions have. Eevee would evolve into Jolteon, Vaporeon and Flareon via stone, into Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon and Glaceon upon achieving 70% Link in specific locations (a place revolving around the theme of light for Espeon, a place revolving around the theme of darkness for Umbreon, a forest for Leafeon and a very cold place for Glaceon) and into Sylveon upon achieving a 70% link in a location that is not any of those required for the others.

4) The maximum Link a player can achieve with a Pokemon would be capped, depending on which Pokemon was selected as Perfect Pokemon at the time of the profile submission. Let's say for example that I choose Bulbasaur as Perfect Pokemon: I will be able to achieve at most 50% Link with those Pokemon that have type advantage over Bulbasaur (Fire, Flying, Ice, Psychic), 70% Link with those that have type disadvantage and/or are neutral to it, 90% Link with those that are of the same type as it (in the case of a dual-type Pokemon like the Bulbasaur of our example, BOTH types will need to be shared for this condition to be met, as in, I will achieve 90% Link only with dual-type Grass/Poison Pokemon) and 100% Link with Bulbasaur and its family only. In case of branched families, like the aforementioned Eevee or Ralts, picking the unevolved form as Perfect Pokemon will grant the capability of achieving 100% Link with all the final formes (this will make such Pokemon more expensive at the time of profile submission, however). Winning battles and/or completing missions will increase the Link with the partner (and I repeat, the bonus obtained will be influenced by the Wisdom stat) while being defeated will decrease such value. A Pokemon that is in a Perfect Link state (this means of course 100% Link) upon entering the battlefield during a mission, will be able to Mega Evolve during that battle if the player owns the appropriate Mega Stone. Pokemon that have less than 100% Link upon entering the battlefield won't be able to Mega Evolve even if the player is in possession of the required Mega Stone (this is to keep this uber-strong feature at check, allowing only the best strategists to exploit it). A Pokemon that has 0% Link (yes, in theory this is possible) may refuse to obey its master. Negative Values of Link will not be possible, nor will values over 100%

5) As for the battles, each player will have to think out of the box, exploiting the moves known by their partner not only to attack the opponents directly, but also to try and take advantage from the environment, hide to ambush unsuspecting enemies or spy on them, escape from dangerous situations and so on. Each Pokemon will be able to use, since the very beginning, all the moves that its species is capable of learning via level up, plus all the egg moves. The player will have the possibility of having their partner learn a move it could only learn via TM and/or tutoring, but it will cost them 10% Link (this includes the moves that are marked as "Start" in the learnset of a fully evolved Pokemon but not in the learnset of its pre-evos, thus requiring a Move Relearner to be learned). To know which moves your partner will naturally be able to use, and which moves will require to be taught at the cost of Link, please refer to the Bulbapedia page of the selected species.

So, these are the gameplay features I have figured out so far. What do you think of them? Any feedback/suggestion to improve them? Any additional rule you would like to suggest?

[Skullkin]

I've never played fire emblem or Pokémon Conquest. There's my two cents. :|

[Tomas Elliot]

lol. But seriously, all I was asking for was some feedback on the actual gameplay features of the RPs that I came up with in my last post (which I will admit is a bit long ;-; ), rather than on the game itself...

[Color]

Are there still gonna be Pokemon that can only inflict status on opponents?

you know how Munna only could knew Hypnosis in the game?

[Tomas Elliot]

Are there still gonna be Pokemon that can only inflict status on opponents?

you know how Munna only could knew Hypnosis in the game?

Well no, as I said the idea is to let every Pokemon use any amount of moves, to the discrection of the player. Remember this is not a videogame: this is a written RP, which means that the effects of the moves, both in terms of damage output and side effects, will bue determined more by the way you describe your strategy and your actions, rather than a fixed system.

This being said, the basic idea is this: a Pokemon is capable of using, from the very beginning, all the moves that its species learns via Level Up, plus all the Egg Moves. You will also be able to teach your partner moves that its species can only learn via TM and/or Tutoring, but it will cost you Link points.

Or at least, this is my idea, but if anyone can come up with something better...

[Color]

No, that's fine.

It was just something that I was thinking about, while I was going through all of your listed rules.

Honestly, I think that's the best way to go since it is not a fixed system, and since I always thought it was unusual that suddenly all the Pokemon in this region only knew one designated/signature move.

[Tomas Elliot]

Well, it is not a matter of usual or unusual... It is a matter of roleplaying! Can imagine how boring a roleplay would be if each player was forced to stick to one move?

Also, we would have warriors capable of transforming, each with a cute monster partner that only knows one signature move anc can evolve up to level Mega: lolDigimon...

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I am willing to co-mod with you, you just got to bring me up to speed and the go ahead. I have a job starting soon, and I don't currently know my hours, but I think they will be reasonable as it is just a day job for me. It will be at least a year until I attend a University or any secondary schooling so that isn't something to worry about now...I will look forward to working with you (We may want to grab one more co-mod, but I will leave that up to you).

[Tomas Elliot]

Ok then, as soon as I myself figure out the details I'll PM them to you (this might take untill monday due to university business getting in the way), and then we will decide if we can get the job done by ourselves or if we need a third co-host. Meanwhile, if anyone else wishes to share ideas for improvement, comments, feedback and the likes, please feel free to

[Ringabel]

i'll join.