Tom Rowe
Game design
The world of Elithia
Histories of Elithia is a living world RPG built and played on roll20.
An evolving and persistent fantasy world whose history is crafted in game by the players.
Anything from renaming an Inn to upsetting the balance of great powers permanently alters the game world.
Advanced players compete with each other to extend their influence over the land and even give quests to newer players.
Player Characters
Characters develop skills and abilities that reflect how the player approaches the challenges they face.
As the player attempts to use their character in certain ways, the character develops skills that give the player tools for that purpose.
This way, the characters development reflects the style and ambitions of the player, helping them feel connected and invested in building their character.
This system involves a web of abilities, each with multiple advancements. And a great network of variables and prerequisites to determine how the characters obtain them.
Development
The development required established pen and paper content and game systems to be translated into roll20's functionality.
Mechanics
Roll20 is a HTML5 browser run platform designed primarily to play Dungeons and Dragons on. The functionality designed for D&D was customised with HTML scripts to create the custom rule set, character system and interface.
All game logic, actions and abilities were coded in a custom roll20 specific script, referencing the HTML for variables.
Content
Having a world to fill with faces and names, stories and legends was the primary drive behind the development of the game.
The scale of the continent, the freedom of exploration granted to players, and the richness of the people and places
they encounter makes this a tremendous task. But one in which the players themselves contribute.
Adding history to the landscape as they travel, Depth to the characters they meet as the they get caught up in the player's story.
Leaving behind them a richer exprience for the next player to come along.
The dynamic lighting system is well developed, and a soundcloud plugin for limitless for music and effects assets can make for some surprisingly atmospheric experiences.
My Role
Elithia is mostly a personal project of mine, all narrative, characters and code to date were made by me. However, good friends and players contributed to the lore and depth of the game. Also an online community of fantasy and roleplay artists, to whom I am very grateful, generously allowed me to use their work for sprites, maps and character art.
““Truly, if there is evil in this world, it lies within the heart of mankind.” ”