Whence things have their origin,
Thence also their destruction happens,
According to necessity;
For they give to each other justice and recompense
For their injustice
In conformity with the ordinance of Time.

I have been working on some ideas for a prequel to Shadow over Ragnoth. The story takes place several centuries before the game's events, and details the War of Heaven, along with mankind's struggle to claim the gods' abandoned power for themselves. You assume the role of Anaximander: A knight in the historic kingdom of Osgoth. This is a solo adventure, only featuring one playable character. (akin to game's like Dragon's Quest) The battle sequences are done in a similar style as Shining Force, or Fire Emblem. You're tasked with exploring an area of map with a limited movement scheme, and engage in turn-based battle sequences with targets on the map. There will either be a primary objective, (such as defeating a boss) or you will face a random encounter where you must defeat all present enemies. (or escape)



Anaximander's abilities aren't necessarily limited to that of a classical knight archetype. He'll gain spells throughout the course of the game, and be able to find equipment that will grant him passive abilities. (such as a random chance to counterattack when struck by an enemy)

Battles will feature short animations between character and enemy interactions. This might be a two-frame animation of Anaximander swinging his sword, for instance. There will also be some kind of spell animation, whether it consists of just a couple of frames, or some spell effects that simply flash on the screen. There won't be any need for masking, as the character and enemies will have their own reserved space; and any effects that are super-imposed on top of them would be large enough to cover most of the graphic, anyway. I don't want to do anything extremely fancy and technically-pressing. This is intended to be a fairly short and straightforward explanation of events prior to Shadow over Ragnoth, to set the stage for the game's history.

Status engine-wise, I wanted to go with something much more simple. There will only be a handful of basic statistics, and their ranges won't span very high. I haven't decided on character growth, but I may go with a traditional experience level system. There won't be things like elemental modifiers, per se. I wanted to do something where certain suits of armor would provide protection against specific spells, or allow enemies to have this protection as part of their natural defense. (likewise for the converse)

Platform-wise, I thought it might be interesting to give TI-86 a try. Bearing in mind its technical limitations, I thought a monochromatic game with just a handful of assets might be easier to fit into memory.

To be honest, one reason I started the topic was because I wondered if some people might look at the title "Shadow over Ragnoth" and mistakingly think I forgot to capitalize "over."

Well, now you all know. Intentional grammar-Nazism.

I forgot all about the undead status in Final Fantasy V. It's been so long since I played the game...

It would be kind of funny to have zombie-characters, though. I can just imagine them limping into battle with an unsatiable hunger for monster brains.

You control humanoids, right?

Yes; but your characters are independent of racial types. There aren't any enemies who are more effective against humanoid characters. There's no discernment.

wow very complex considering it's for calcs ^^, I like it. Question, though, when the entire party is undead, is it game over?

They can't be. There is only one unique item that afflicts undeath on the character. The status itself doesn't "kill" the character, in that sense -- it just changes how spell behavior affects them, as well as the status-draining effect of undead enemies.

"Undeath" is slightly misleading. It doesn't really convert the character to an undead creature, as in draining all their HP and making them some immortal corpse. The character is still functional. I wanted to make sure there was some downside to it, so I threw-in the "no curative magic" penalty.

Also I think the -'s should be swapped with x's, because at first, looking at the screenshots, to me, the -'s seemed to represent weaknesses and the like while X's represented neutral state. I thought it might be an idea since the opposite of -, which is +, is used for property addition

I thought it might be more confusing if I used X to represent a neutral state, because that's how most states would normally appear. If you had a large row of X's, it would be hard to discern the appearance of +'s, since they look similar.

Also note that X doesn't appear on the top row, since weakness would only appear in the character's defense modifiers. For the top row, you would only see a neutral state, or a + (added to attack) state.

I plan to make sure this is all elaborate upon in some of the tutorial text. Around the beginning area of the game, you can talk to NPCs or search the bookshelves to learn about things like modifiers, equipment proficiencies, or just basic info about how to play the game. I even have an icon reference on one of the bookshelves, so the player will always have a way to look them up.

I thought I should elaborate more upon the modifiers used in the game. These detail elemental forces, status effects, and so forth.

First, there are two basic elements: Fire and Ice. These encompass some of your offensive spells, and well as a few abilities used exclusively by enemies. (such as dragon breath attacks) Characters and enemies alike may hold a resistance to either element, or even a weakness. When an element is resisted, the efficiency of such attacks will be reduced by 80%. This means you will still sustain some damage from the attack. The game will also factor your own defenses into that formula; so if you already have high defense, that remaining 20% damage might be entirely nullified. If you are weak against a specific element, then the efficiency of such attacks is increased by 60%. There is otherwise a "neutral" / default state, where elemental attacks don't modify the normal damage output in any manner what-so-ever.

Status-wise, there are four modifiers that can be resisted, or added to your own attack: Poisoning, Blindness, Enchantment and Death / Petrification. (referred to as "Cursed" or "Felled" status) Poisoning reduces the target's HP by mHP/8 at the end of each round, until neutralized. If the effect is not neutralized by the end of battle, then each step taken reduces HP by 1. Poison cannot kill a target. Blindness reduces hit % by half, and evasion by 1/3. This condition can also persist after battle, until it is manually healed. Enchantment will cause the target to become dazed, which impedes their ability to act during combat. Although the character can still input commands, there is only a 20% chance they will take any action that round. This effect naturally expires after a few rounds, or at the end of combat. Death / Petrification merely results in HP = 0. There is no distinction between a character who is petrified by an enemy spell, and one who is felled by receiving damage. Both have to be restored by the same means. Death / Petrification persists after battle.



There is also "undeath" status, which only occurs by equipping a specific suit of armor the effect is tied to. This grants the character resistance to an effect that normally occurs every time they are attacked by an undead creature. (stamina drain) On the other hand, it also prevents curative magic from having any effect on the character.

Lastly, there is a set of modifiers directly tied to enemy racial types. The game recognizes the following types of enemies:

Treants
Ogres
Dragons
Winged creatures
Marine creatures
Undead creatures
Humanoids

The only puprose of this is to allow specific kinds of weapons and spells to be more effective against various racial types. For instance:

Axes - additional damage versus treants, because they have many tentacles that are vulnerable to the axe's blunt edge
Bows, and the "Heaven's Wrath" spell (lightning) - additional damage versus winged creatures, because being airborn makes them more vulnerable to missiles and lightning attacks
Dainsleif sword - a cursed sword that is effective against humanoids, but otherwise weak against any other creature (think Blood Sword from Final Fantasy)
Wyrmscorne sword - a sword that is effective against any draconic enemy
Ogrish Axe - an axe that is effective against any ogrish enemy

Some enemies are registered under multiple types, so they might have many weaknesses at once. Some enemy racial types also afford them protection against certain effects; undead, for instance, are immune to enegy-drain. (spells or weapons that drain HP from an enemy and transfer it to the player)

I'm going to balance things so that it's fairly difficult to level at all. Ideally, the average party level should be around 20 at the end of the game, assuming the player doesn't make a habit out of fleeing random encounters. The point-of-no-return at the end of the game will be a suitable grinding spot for reaching max level, if the player wants to invest the effort. (this is considering the numerous boss fights that appear here, as well)

I thought some people might like to peek at the data structure used in the game. It varies significantly from Escheron, in that characters have traditional experience levels, and learn their own devoted skills along the way. There is generally no real character customization this time around. You can equip each individual character with their own guardian, giving them access to various spells; but this isn't a permenant change to the character itself. Characters also have a limited equipment selection. They are only proficient with specific types of equipment, depending on their role in the game.

Characters now have a base resistance table, granting them some natural resistance to various elemental and status modifiers. In Escheron, this was more black-and-white, where a character only had three options: they fully resisted something, they were weak against something, or they were neutral toward something. Now there's an actual number to go along with resistances. If your defense against fire is 50%, for instance, then you will negate 50% of the total damage from any fire-based attack. Resistances are also derived from the items you're wearing, of course.

General statistics scale much higher now. In Escheron, character HP was based on an 8-bit integer. (255 was the highest attainable mHP) In Rephaim, character HP may be increased as high as 9999. (through the use of HP-boosting items) The most HP a character would have by normally leveling is somewhere around 2500.

Physical attacks function much the same, but there is a more substantial attack multiplier now. In Escheron, the highest attack multiplier was 3, which means your damage output was multiplied by the number of times you could hit an enemy with a single attack. (generally, your attack is calculated over and over until it either misses, or you reach your highest multiplier) In Rephaim, the multiplier is set to 8. Your multiplier depends on both your character level, and the type of weapon you're using. Each character has varying proficiency with the types of weapons they can equip. As a general idea, a melee character wielding a decent sword at level 32 might output somewhere around 800-1400 damage. The highest damage a character might be able to output with a melee attack would be somewhere around 2500.

Due to various limitations, I thought a 16-bit integer for experience would be appropriate. The max character level is 32. The experience table is the same for all characters, regardless of their class. Although the level max seems a bit low, characters won't be leveling all that often in the game. It might be more comparable to D&D, where a level 20 character is considered an immortal by normal standards.

/-----------------------------------------------------------\
| Global Experience Table                                   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| 01 ... 00000 | 09 ... 00989 | 17 ... 04253 | 25 ... 18289 |
| 02 ... 00276 | 10 ... 01187 | 18 ... 05104 | 26 ... 21947 |
| 03 ... 00331 | 11 ... 01424 | 19 ... 06125 | 27 ... 26337 |
| 04 ... 00397 | 12 ... 01709 | 20 ... 07350 | 28 ... 31604 |
| 05 ... 00477 | 13 ... 02051 | 21 ... 08820 | 29 ... 37925 |
| 06 ... 00572 | 14 ... 02461 | 22 ... 10584 | 30 ... 45510 |
| 07 ... 00686 | 15 ... 02953 | 23 ... 12701 | 31 ... 54612 |
| 08 ... 00824 | 16 ... 03544 | 24 ... 15241 | 32 ... 65535 |
\-----------------------------------------------------------/

                     /--------------------------------------------------------\
[Edmund] Giovane     | Base Resistance Table                                  |
Protectorate, LV. 01 |--------------------------------------------------------|
0320 mHP  /  012 mMP | Level     | 01 | 03 | 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 32 |
Strength     ... 13  |-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
Dexterity    ... 08  | Fire      | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
Constitution ... 15  | Ice       | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
Wisdom       ... 05  | Lightning | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
{LUCK}       ... *   | Magick    | 00 | 01 | 03 | 03 | 05 | 05 | 07 | 07 | 10 |
WPN: Bronze Sword    |-----------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----|
SHD: Bronze Shield   | Poison    | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 |
HLM:  (none)         | Blind     | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 |
ARM: Bronze Plate    | Hold      | 03 | 04 | 05 | 07 | 09 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 |
ACC:  (none)         | Curse     | 05 | 06 | 08 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 30 |
                     \--------------------------------------------------------/

/--------------------------------------------------------------\
| Status Progression Table                                     |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|        level 02 - 10      level 11 - 20      level 20 onward |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| mHP | +28-42 per level | +48-64 per level | +72-96 per level |
| mMP | +01-02 per level | +01-04 per level | +02-06 per level |
| STR | +01-04 per level | +02-04 per level | +03-04 per level |
| DEX | +01-02 per level | +01-03 per level | +02-03 per level |
| CON | +01-03 per level | +02-03 per level | +02-04 per level |
| WIS | +01-01 per level | +01-02 per level | +01-03 per level |
\--------------------------------------------------------------/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At levels 05, 10, 20 and 32, a character receives the highest progressions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Attack Multiplier per clv                                             |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sword | x | Nintou| x | Axe   | x | Pole. | x | Staff | x | Bow   | x |
|-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---+-------+---|
| 01-04 | 2 | 01-04 | 2 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 1 | 01-04 | 2 |
| 05-08 | 2 | 05-08 | 3 | 05-08 | 2 | 05-08 | 1 | 05-08 | 1 | 05-08 | 2 |
| 09-12 | 3 | 09-12 | 4 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 2 | 09-12 | 3 |
| 13-16 | 4 | 13-16 | 5 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 3 | 13-16 | 4 |
| 17-20 | 5 | 17-20 | 6 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 3 | 17-20 | 4 |
| 21-24 | 6 | 21-24 | 7 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 4 | 21-24 | 5 |
| 25-28 | 7 | 25-28 | 8 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 5 | 25-28 | 6 |
| 29-32 | 8 | 29-32 | 8 | 29-32 | 6 | 29-32 | 5 | 29-32 | 5 | 29-32 | 6 |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------/

--------------------------------=[ Abilities ]=---------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quickening: Rivening Sword

"Pious sword -- rend evil!"

Base damage is calculated by STR + WIS*3. Additional damage against undead
creatures. (Edmund's LV*24) Damage all enemies. No attack multiplier. Magical.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passive Skills: +04% evasion with all shields; cover allies

If an ally is at critical HP and Edmund's current HP is 60% of maxmimum or
greater, then he will suffer damage in place of that ally. (physical attacks
only) Damage from the attack will be reduced by 15% total.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 ------------
  Spellsword
 ------------

This is Edmund's initial command ability. Each character has a unique command
ability which either functions stand-alone, or allows the character to access a
multitude of special skills learned at later levels.

/------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Cleansing        | Hit% 100 | Level: 01 | MP Cost: 08 | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Restore HP to the entire party (WIS/4 +6..12) and cure poison status.        |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Bloodrend        | Hit% -30 | Level: 03 | MP Cost: 12 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| -30% attack; restore own HP equal to damage dealt. Use attack multiplier.    |
| Target single enemy.                                                         |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hallowed Strike  | Hit% *** | Level: 05 | MP Cost: 15 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Attack and accuracy *2 when targeting undead creatures; 20% chance to fell.  |
| Use attack multipliers. Target single enemy. Cannot target non-undead.       |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Vajra            | Hit% -10 | Level: 08 | MP Cost: 15 | Initiative: last     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Lightning-elemental attack, with 60% chance to hold enemy. Use attack        |
| multipliers. Target single enemy.                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Blood Eagle      | Hit% -10 | Level: 12 | MP Cost: 08 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Damage self by -20% mHP; add result to attack. (per hit) Use attack          |
| multipliers. Target single enemy.                                            |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sanctuary        | Hit% n/a | Level: 14 | MP Cost: 02 | Initiative: n/a      |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| When used, prevents all random encounters until the party leaves the current |
| area. Not a battle skill.                                                    |
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

 ----------------
  Eldritch Sword
 ----------------

When Edmund undergoes his class-change, his command ability is changed to
"Eldritch Sword." All previous abilities are retained, and any abilities that
haven't been learned will still be acquired at their respective levels.

/------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Radiance         | Hit% 100 | Level: 16 | MP Cost: 18 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Increase party attack 12..24. (stacking)                                     |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Shieldwall       | Hit% 100 | Level: 18 | MP Cost: 18 | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Increase party defence 12..24. (stacking)                                    |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hypostasis       | Hit% -10 | Level: 20 | MP Cost: 20 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Standard attack with multipliers / ignores 24..48 defence per hit.           |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Devotion         | Hit% 100 | Level: 22 | MP Cost: ** | Initiative: critical |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Drains all current HP and MP. Restores all allies to full status.            |
|                                                                              |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Ruination        | Hit% -15 | Level: 24 | MP Cost: 28 | Initiative: normal   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Inflicts poisoning and blindness, and brings enemy HP to critical if HP<1200.|
| No attack multiplier. Target single enemy.                                   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Inviolable Sword | Hit% -08 | Level: 28 | MP Cost: ** | Initiative: last     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Attack (WIS*3) and MP cost (WIS base) depend on wisdom. Use attack           |
| multiplier. Target single enemy.                                             |
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------/