You Are Galstaff Sorcerer of Light

OK, I worked out some stuff for Dungeon Quest that I'm happy with. I have no idea if it will stand up over time, but it's what I plan to go with.

The system I've been going with is that on leveling up a character gets three points. Two points can be put on attributes while the third can be used to get a specialization, a technique, or increase an attribute.

What I've completed is determining the specializations and their penalties. Specializations are like classes. They determine what techniques a character can learn. They also give penalties and bonuses. The penalties are important because they create practical limits. While many specialization combinations are feasible, apart from costing points, getting many specializations will severely cripple a character with penalties. Add that certain combinations of skills, penalties, and bonuses stack better than others, and the generally very open system becomes more restricted. I think this sort of limitation helps variety. I also think it promotes characterization and RP to a degree, even if it isn't social RP.

So here are my notes on the different specializations and their negatives.
warrior-vulnerable to magic
berserker-can't defend
knight-slow
swordsman-vulnerable to non-sword weapons
swashbuckler-reduced strength bonus
martial artist-can't use a shield
acrobat-light armor only
knave-vulnerable to holy
artificer-reduced magic effectiveness
ranger-vulnerable to fire
wizard-reduced accuracy
elementalist-reduced hp bonus
theurgist-can't attack unless attacked
sorcerer-weakened (less defense and strength) by charges
psionic-receives part of damage dealt

Next I'll be working on their bonuses and techniques. Techniques will be the hard part because, as you can see, there are many specializations. I also intend do have techniques that require a combination of specializations, probably two.

Oh yeah, I've made a couple of decisions. These aren't set either. There will be no spells that are castable outside of battles, spells won't require memorization or mana or anything like that, and a party is completely healed after a battle. If I did do those things, I'd have to implement items and that would cause far more trouble than it would add to the game.

Yet another feature that I came up with. After defeating a boss you may get a gem or something instead of a piece of equipment. This gem can be used to upgrade a piece of equipment from the tier below to current tier. I want there to be a wide variety of equipment to choose from, but I don't want to repeat the same thing in the next tier, just with better stats. I also want to limit the number of possible drops to reduce how many times a player has to run a dungeon to get a certain item. There are some negatives as well. I'll have to think about this one. Equipment will have to be done while I develop the monsters anyway to properly balance everything, so I won't be able to make any firm decisions yet.