Interesting article, 3 things in particular caught my interest :
- Soul harvesting : In order to resurrect your fallen partner, you'll need to consum a Soul. These souls can be harvested on monsters when they're weak enough, through a special action.
- Environmental damages and bonuses/Dynamic environments, though it's already considered IIRC.
I'm curious, however, to see how will the bonuses be handled here (the example of Super Smash Bros. is interesting but it's quite hard to figure out how, in D:OS, a bonus could appear out of nowhere).
- Movement-focused special abilities. I hope it'll be taken into account, it clearly adds to the tactical depth.
Globally, I think the author had a specific genre in mind (Fire Emblem).
The RPG part is clearly set aside from the battle part. They can't influence each other.
In D:OS, there's a more tangible link. The battles can occur anywhere, you can even "lure" the monsters wherever you want and choose your own battlefield.
We can take advantage of it. What I have in mind is a palliative to point 2, above, where I said it can be hard to figure out how can we "receive" a bonus out of nowhere.
Since we have a link between the "RPG aspect" and the "Battle aspect", what happens in the first one can have consequences on the second.
Example : You lure a group of monsters to the nearest city. Citizen panics, guards intervene.
You then join the battle. The citizen could help you and throw a bonus from their hiding place, in whatsoever shape you want (for instance, a bottle of mana, a crate of explosives, a barrel,...).
A short cinematic would occur, showing the NPC throwing the bonus and the landing of the said bonus (plus, it could be an opportunity to lighten the tone of the fight with a comical intervention).
