Best/worst ideas used in a rpg

[J T]

Best ideas:

Puzzle Quest- one part Bejeweled, one part cliched RPG. It works really well. The storyline in that game is weak, but a puzzle based battle system is a great idea.

Persona 4- Social links and character attributes. I love how this game is balanced. If you don't develop your social relationships in school, then you won't be able to create the strongest personas to do well in battle. On the other hand, if you don't develop your attributes like courage, dilligence, understanding, etc., then you have a harder time developing those relationships and you are prevented from acting out behaviors that would naturally require those attributes. For example, you can't flirt well if you lack courage. You have a difficult time managing a relationship with someone angry at you if you lack understanding. This allows for a great balanced game where it makes sense for you to devote time to each of the various activities available in the game. I also like that it occurs on a time limit so you can't be a completionist about it and you just have to decide how to best spend your characters limited time.

Worst ideas:
Having to talk to every boring villager just to find some tiny nugget of information. So many RPGs have a million townspeople that just talk about nothing important, but you feel like you have to talk to all of them because sometimes you miss something important if you don't.

I also think it's funny how in just about any RPG you can walk into some stranger's house unannounced, smash all their pots, rifle through their private space, take items out of their storage chests, and steal any money they have lying around, but they never treat you like a thief. Instead, they are kind and tell you about some local legend or let you know that there is a cave under the waterfall south of town where treasure is hidden.

[spiritplx]

I also think it's funny how in just about any RPG you can walk into some stranger's house unannounced, smash all their pots, rifle through their private space, take items out of their storage chests, and steal any money they have lying around, but they never treat you like a thief. Instead, they are kind and tell you about some local legend or let you know that there is a cave under the waterfall south of town where treasure is hidden.

I think they tell you this so you will leave their house and stop robbing them.

[MrPopo]

I vaguely recall a few RPGs actually mentioning that convention. They usually went the route of "Feel free to take my shit, hero". And I think one time whenever I tried to search the owner stopped me.

[Niode]

I like how the elder scrolls games kick you in the balls when you try that kind of stuff without thinking about your actions.

[the7k]

Worst Ideas:
High-Fantasy is the only way.

Anyone else get sick of seeing Tolkien-esque elves, dwarves, half-elves, etc.? Don't get me wrong, it was a great way to start, back in the 8 and 16-bit era, but for God sakes, move out the nest! Just because life began with Dungeons and Dragons doesn't mean we should stay there forever.

[marurun]

Maybe not the worst idea, but a bad idea. Swords do more damage than guns in crazy worlds where technology and swords and armor somehow coexist.

[MrPopo]

Maybe not the worst idea, but a bad idea. Swords do more damage than guns in crazy worlds where technology and swords and armor somehow coexist.

Corellary: If the sword is made out of pure energy it is allowed to do more damage than guns.

[J T]

Never bring a knife to a gun fight.... unless you're in an RPG.

[sakicfan84]

Maybe not the worst idea, but a bad idea. Swords do more damage than guns in crazy worlds where technology and swords and armor somehow coexist.

Getting stabbed is generally more traumatic to the body than a typical gunshot. A deep stab (which would occur if someone decided to slash you with a sword like in an RPG) would do much more damage to nerves and cause more blood loss than a gunshot wound.

[marurun]

Maybe not the worst idea, but a bad idea. Swords do more damage than guns in crazy worlds where technology and swords and armor somehow coexist.

Getting stabbed is generally more traumatic to the body than a typical gunshot. A deep stab (which would occur if someone decided to slash you with a sword like in an RPG) would do much more damage to nerves and cause more blood loss than a gunshot wound.

If I have a gun and you have a sword, you probably won't get close enough to me to use a sword. Besides, if you're in a fight and you expect swords, you wear armor. Armor is decently effective against swords. Not so for guns. Also, while a nice deep slash would probably do more damage to a non-fatal area than a gunshot wound, a straight stab likely would not. Besides, most RPG guns involve multiple shots and who knows what kind of projectiles.

So yeah, swords should not be more effective combat weapons in RPGs than guns.