Design help

[Azoth]

I am currently working on designing a d20 variant game in my spare time. So far the stat set up has a total of 8 stats (4 physical, 4 mental). All of the classes I am designing will run off of 3-4 of these stats for various functions and uses to achieving the usefulness of their class features.

To give an example of how this affects even casters: they require 1 stat to learn spells, one stat to determine bonus spells, and a third stat to determine their save DCs. Now yes it is possible under my current system design to function with only a care for two out of the three depending on how you intend to build a caster, but to know the highest level spells, have enough spells to go all day, and have DCs that are hard to resist you would need all three.

I am asking the playground if this is, in your varried opinions, a good way to design the game's base mechanics or not?

My reasoning for doing as such has come from playing many games where a class need only pump one stat to truly shine in some instances, while others had to worry about several. The age old MAD vs SAD debate. So I thought that if every class, from fighter to wizard had abilities that required them to be MAD it would help balance things out.

I am a fan of this as well for the breath of diversity it can create unto itself. Again, with spell casters since in most games they are the measure of true power. You can easily follow 4 distinct archetypes of build.

1) You know the strongest spells in existance and can bring them to bare with such skill few stand against you, but it is tiring and you can not make these grand displays often.

2) You know the strongest spells in existance and can bring them forth with such tenacity few could stand for long against the continued assault, but your skill with them is lacking.

3) You have the endurance and skill to use what you know well, and what you know is alot compared to most but you are no master of the arts worthy of legend.

4) You may not be able to grasp complex spells, but what you know you have mastered beyond many others and have the reserve to use it as casually as a man draws breath.

Keep in mind as you answer, that this level of MAD is the norm for all classes I am currently designing. Evenly the lowly D&D fighter would need 4 stats to be a legendary master of war that the world has never seen before.

[Philemonite]

It is a great idea, but it all depends on the implementation. What stat are you using?

One advice, make mental stats important (but not crucial) for physical classes.

[Azoth]

The stats I am using are:

Strength: The measure of a person's physical might and power

Agility: The measure a person's hand eye coordination and nimbleness

Constitution: The measure of a person's physical well being.

Vitality: The measure of a person's livelyhood and personal reserves of energy

Itelligence: The measure of a person's ability to learn and adapt.

Wisdom: The measure of a person's ability to comprehend and understand.

Charisma: The measure of a person's force of personality.

Resonance: The measure of a person's ability to syncronise with their own energy and the control they hold over it.

In the system I am designing most mundane characters will have access to abilities not unlike the maneuvers and stances found in the Tome of Battle supplement for D&D 3.5. The nature of these techniques will not be a mystical or supernatural as most disciplines.

The game system is being designed with each class granting a pool of points to be spent on either martial techniques or spells. There are no slots or readying mechanics. If you know it, you can use it as long as you have enough points in the pool to pay it.

Resonance will determine the save DCs for abilities (spells/martial maneuvers).
Vitality will determine bonus points in a character's spell pool or stamina pool.

So you can see already how for say a wizard, following the D&D archetype, he would suddenly become MAD. He would need Int to learn spells, Vit to have enough energy to cast the, and Res to have strong save DCs.

It also adds Resonance as a stat martial characters that want to use debuff style techniques have to care about.

[SamBurke]

First things first: this system seems to clear out a number of problems, which is great. It sounds like it's got a much more unified theme, and so it should work nicely...

But, you and I both fall into the same trap of game design: making it too complicated. With 3 different stats to consider, each of which governs a different thing, which varies from class to class... I dunno.

Legend does a similar thing, but it limits it to 2: Key Defensive and Key Offensive Modifier. That seems pretty solid, and it made sense... But making more could obfuscate the cool parts of the system. Just a consideration.

[Azoth]

That gets to the very heart of my questions actually.

Is it a good thing that I have 8 stats for players to worry about?

Is it needlessly complicated?

Should I design a system instead where every class is SAD?