Legend of Zelda RPG

Note - since I'm putting the effort in to make this, I'm going to use the ideas I like. General consensus may disagree, but general consensus can go suck a Cucco edit this later.

The System So Far

Your stats are divided into three main categories: the Virtues of the Triforce (Power, Wisdom, and Courage), your character's basic Attributes (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), and your various skills (most of which are related to item classes -- bows, tools, heavy weapons, etc.).

Conflict is resolved by a roll & keep d6 pool, using linear comparison for opposed checks. This means that you roll X dice (with X = your ranks in the relevant Attribute + your ranks in the relevant skill) and ignore all but the Y highest (with Y = your ranks in the relevant Virtue). Linear comparison means that in cases of a contested roll (such as in combat) you compare your highest roll to your opponent's highest, your second highest to their second highest, and so forth.

Character advancement will be classless and level-less, with advancement by investing XP to improve skills and attributes. Virtues are extremely difficult to improve, and shouldn't change much over the course of a typical game. There will be a number of special abilities available to choose from, available in a tree setup under the relevant skill. More ranks in the skill gives access to more advanced abilities related to that skill. Every even skill level gives you a free technique you meet the prerequisites for, but you can pay XP for more at any time.

Unopposed rolls are made against a set of fixed rolls. For example, if pushing a heavy block was 4,4,4,4,4 (2), two rolls higher than 4 would be required. One would roll one's Physical and keep one's Power for this case.

Core races consist of Deku Scrub, Gerudo, Goron, Hylian and Zora, with more under development. (Well, more development than the current ones.) Races recieve no bonuses to Virtues, save Hylians, who recieve +1 to a virtue of their choice.

Each character has a Mass attribute, determined by race and armor, and influenced by other items. Mass affects movement speed, sinking/swimming, use of hookshot, resistance to knockback, and so on.

Each weapon has a specific increment of damage - i.e a typical sword might deal 1/2 heart per increment, while an Iron Knuckle's axe would deal 2 hearts per increment. When attacking, the number of successes you achieve over your opponent determines how many increments of damage you deal to them. Your ranks in Power also add to the damage dealt by your attacks. Shields add to one's dice while defending, and Armor reduces the base damage increment of an enemy's attack.

A character's maximum heart meter is determined by 1 + Courage + Physical (everyone starts with 3), and their magic meter is Wisdom + Mental.

Character Generation

There are rules for it, yes.

Races

Deku Scrub: Deku Scrub are capable of generating an attack with Ranged 5 and a Damage increment of 1/4 by spending <X> Magic Meter. Deku Scrubs benefit from +1 dice on all Social interactions. Deku Scrubs take +1 Damage from all Fire-based sources.
2 Mass, 8 Movement.

Gerudo: Gerudo are capable of using weapons as a full Shield Defense. ... coming up short.
4 Mass, 6 Movement.

Goron: Goron may spend 1 turn in rolled-up form to generate magical Spikes with a Damage increment of 1/2; each turn this is active, the Goron spends <X> Magic Meter. If the Goron leaves the ball form, this must be reformed from the start. Goron take +1 Damage from Water-based sources.
6 Mass, 4 Movement.

Hylians: +1 to a Virtue of their choice.
4 Mass, 6 Movement.

Kokiri: Kokiri are able to suss out enemy weak spots with an appropriate roll via their Faerie Guide. Kokiri take an extra point of damage from all non-Magic sources.
3 Mass, 7 Movement.

Zora: On successful Shield Defense, a Zora inflicts 1 Damage on the enemy who attacked her; this ability costs <X> Magic Meter. Zora have a natural Ranged-type weapon (launched fins), with a Damage increment of 1/2. Zora gain an automatic 2 ranks in the Swim skill (which negates mobility penalties other races would have). Zora take +1 damage from Ice-based sources.
Mass, 6 Movement.

Stats

While certain Virtue/Attribute combinations go better together than others, there's at least some application for each Virtue in the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual arenas.

Physical Power
Physical Power governs the use of |Heavy| weapons and general feats of strength.
Mental Power
Mental Power governs the use of offensive magic, both of the damaging and debilitating varieties.
Spiritual Power
A high Spiritual Power means an imposing presence. Spiritual Power governs the more forceful forms of social influence, such as intimidation and browbeating.

Physical Wisdom
Finesse, stealth, and that sort of tricky stuff. Think Shiek. |Bows| probably go here as well.
Mental Wisdom
Sounds redundant, I know. This governs knowledge of lore and useful information. It also governs defensive and healing magic.
Spiritual Wisdom
Spiritual Wisdom indicates understanding of subtle forces, including the ebb and flow of social exchanges. It governs social graces and logical rhetoric; a character with high Spiritual Wisdom is not only capable of making well-reasoned arguments, but also of noticing and working with the subtle cues indicating a person's disposition.

Physical Courage
Physical Courage governs the use of most |melee|, as well as riding, climbing, swimming, and other feats of adventurous derring-do.
Mental Courage
Naturally, Mental Courage governs tenacity, resolve, and...well, courage. It also governs the use of magic for travel and utility (think Farore's Wind).
Spiritual Courage
Spiritual Courage primarily governs your ability to inspire -- either to perform heroic deeds, or simply to trust and like you. Courage has a big impact on first impressions, and tends to have an attractive influence -- both on people, and on flighty magical beings like fairies. |Instruments| would most likely go here as well.

Skills

Here's what we have for skills so far. As you can see, most are related to item use, in keeping with the theme of the video games. The list is currently open to expansion as needed.

|Melee| - Sword, Club, Halberd, etc.
|Heavy| - Ball and Chain, Greatsword, Hammer, etc.
|Rod| - Cane of Somaria, Fire Rod, Cane of Byrna, etc.
|Bow| - Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, Light Arrows, etc.
|Instrument| - Ocarina, Flute, Pipes, Drums, etc.
|Magic| - The spells from Ocarina of Time, the medallions from A Link to the Past, etc.
|Tool| - Hookshot, Boomerang, Grappeling Hook, etc.
|Armor| - Magic Armor, Zora Armor, Darknut Armor, etc.
|Shield| - Mirror Shield, Hylian Shield, Kokiri Shield, etc.

|Alchemy| - Potion Brewing, Bomb Crafting, etc.
|Stealth| - One of the few skills not specifically related to item use.
|Atheletics| - Another non-item skill; can be used in place of shields for defense and also covers wall-running, back-flipping, long-jumping, etc. For the more nimble, Shiek-like among us.

Skills for social interaction and most physical feats such as climbing, jumping, riding, and so forth probably will not be necessary, since they can probably be resolved simply through the Attributes and Virtues alone.

Techniques

There are quite a few of these, yes.

Character Advancement

Virtue: 7 x Next Level XP
Attribute: 4 x Next Level XP
Skill: 2 x Next Level XP
Technique: Level XP

Pieces of Heart and Heart Containers can't be brought with XP, but instead are a reward for defeating bosses, solving difficult puzzles, etc.

Tags

Universal

• Ranged X: Can affect things out to distance X. [Bows with "Ranged 20"; Hookshots with "Ranged 10"; Longshots with "Ranged 20"; Octorocks with "Ranged 5", etc.]
• Immobile; Cannot move under its own power [Sliding Blocks, etc.]
• Burn X: Ignite effects destroy it in X turns. Gains the Ignite tag until destroyed. [Ice with "Burn 1"; Deku Sticks with "Burn 5"; Keese and Torches with "Burn N/A", etc.]
• Hold (X): Objects with the Grip tag and tag X can attach to it. [Wooden Posts with Hold (Pierce); Gratings with Hold (Claw), etc.]
• Switch X -> Y (Z): Changes X to Y when something with tag Z affects it. [A room could have a target with "Switch Bridge [1,3] -> Bridge [2,4] (Pierce)" that causes a bridge to link different points when hit by an effect with Pierce, such as a Bow; Gibdos with "Switch Self -> Stalfos (Ignite)", etc.]
• Blow: Moves away from Wind effects (spins on the spot if Immobile). [Poison Gas, Fan Switches, etc.]

Items

• Ignite: Destroys objects with the Burn tag, makes Bombs explode, etc. [Fire Arrows, etc.]
• Freeze: Turns water into ice platforms, puts out fires, etc. [Ice Arrows, etc.]
• Smash: Destroys objects with the Crack tag, activates certain switches, etc. [Hammers, etc.]
• Explode: Destroys objects with the Crack tag when destroyed, etc. [Bombs, etc.]
• Cut: Removes objects with the Taut tag, affects certain enemies, etc. [Sword, Boomerang, etc.]
• Grip: Attaches to enemies/object with the Hold tag. [Hookshot, Clawshot, etc.]
• Fetch X: Brings objects with Mass < X to the wielder. [Boomerang, Hookshot, etc.]
• Pull: When attached, brings the lower Mass to the higher Mass (Rupees to item-holder, item-holder to wall, etc.). [Hookshot, Clawshot, etc.]
• Pierce: Activates certain switches, affects certain enemies, etc. [Bow, Hookshot, etc.]
• Claw: Attaches to certain objects, etc. [Clawshot, Grappling Claw, etc.]
• Wind: Moves objects with the Blow tag, etc. [Gust Jar, etc.]

Monsters

• Flying: Can only be hit with ranged attacks unless it's attacking in melee. [Keese, etc.]
• Surprise: Covers any stealth-based ability such as Bongo-Bongo's invisibility, Queen Gohma's scuttling or Lanmolas' digging. It allows the creature to take an action to hide itself, and make a Wisdom/Physical check (which we'd give some base rating per trait I guess, like we were doing for Attack?) to make a surprise attack against the target(s).
• Spawn X (Y): The creature is capable of spawning X copies of Y. [Wallmasters, etc.]
• Shell: Functions like Shield Defense for a PC, up to and including Reflecting.
• Knockdown: The monster's attacks have the Knockdown/Knockback capability. Large monsters like Bongo-Bongo or Iron Knuckle would have this.

Environment

• Crack: Can be destroyed with Smash or Explode effects.
• Taut X: Can be removed with Cut effects; can support something of Mass X.

External Links

These need to exist.