Well, you aren't the only one. I also just returned a few days ago to
a similar number of messages.
> 1.) Emphasize role-playing & fun.
A good idea. You may remember that I suggested something similar to
this as a rumor system some time ago. The reception wasn't exactly
overwhelming. :-)
> 2.) Get rid of large factions.
I agree. Again Rich suggested something similar a few weeks ago. But
I can almost guarantee that everybody else is going to hate this and
we are going to get flamed to a crisp for it. Another problem with
this approach is that it requires an instruction language for your
companions which is very much more complex than the current one. I
think that would be interesting and fun, but then I like programming.
Most people don't.
> 3.) Limit inter-player communication
Again I agree. But people are going to hate this even more than the
previous suggestion. In addition enforcement is almost impossible,
not only because it would be so easy to cheat, but because it would
be very very hard not to cheat even unintentionally.
> 4.) Armies
I agree in general, even if I think some of your specifics are
somewhat rigid. In a perfect game realism would dictate eg. that a
player character is not distinguishable inside the game from any
other character.
> 5.) Player-contributed creativity
I agree (*this is getting tedious, isn't it ?*). But I don't think
that a god system really is the right way of doing things. Favoritism
is almost inevitable and I for one would consider god powers to be a
very unsatisfying compensation for the requirement of objectivity and
fairness.
> 6.) Make learning experience-based instead of
> money-based.
I absolutely disagree. This is ludicrously unrealistic and is one of
my main reasons not to play most RPGs. Skill should require time,
money and talent. Having characters run around killing each other and
other creatures for points instead of for some realistic reason
destroys the feel of a game.
Carl Edman