Hey there! Again, loving Divinity: Original Sin 2. Larian Studios is doing a fantastic job, and I expect that with player support, this game really could take on other GM-supportive RPGs. Horrorscope is rightly hesitant, but I think NWN1/2 veterans (like myself) understand that this is no small task, and certainly much testing, patience, and community encouragement will be needed.
On that note, many people have mentioned some items they would like for a Game Master's (and consequently, their fellow players') experience, so here are some other basic things:
IN-GAME GAME MASTER TOOLS: Selection Tools
Hotkey + Mouse to select individual (Click) or select multiple (Click-Drag) Player Characters
Hotkey + Mouse to select individual (Click) or select multiple (Click-Drag) NPCs
Hotkey + Mouse to select individual (Click) or select multiple (Click-Drag) characters (any)
Hotkey + Mouse to deselect individual (Click) or deselect multiple (Click-Drag) characters (any)
Ability to Assign a Hotkey to current character selection, for easy selection and commanding
Ability to set camera to follow a specific character
Ability to toggle NPC AI on/off
Ability to toggle NPC immortality (can't die)
Ability to toggle NPC immunity (can't take damage)
Ability to "puppeteer" any character (assume full control)
Ability to "limbo" selected NPC or object (removing it from map, but available to GM via "limbo" menu) ------ Ability to spawn limboed NPCs/Objects back in at any time, any place
Communication
Ability to answer player "help" tickets
Ability to broadcast a message server-wide
Ability to format/change color of current message text
Movement (that overrides Player and AI control)
Ability to move currently selected characters
Ability to temporarily freeze selected characters in place (still animated, but can't move)
Ability to instantly teleport selected characters to any other location ------ Option to Right-Click + "Teleport Characters" to any surface (with enough walkable space) ------ Option to teleport to area or "waypoint" via server menu selection
Ability to arrange currently selected characters into a "formation"
Player Management
Ability to Mute/Unmute Player Character or Player Account ------ Option for a temporary mute period, or to make permanent
Ability to ban/unban Player Character or Player Account off of campaign/server ------ Option for a temporary ban period, or make permanent
Ability to "Boot" Player Character off of campaign/server
Ability to "Look Up" offline characters and set
Combat Controls
Ability to observe combat for selected combat group
Ability to pause combat for selected combat group
Ability to end combat & impose immediate 60-second disengagement for selected combat group
Ability to control NPCs in combat, but still have an option to let the AI play combat on specific turn
Ability to "delay" currently selected character's turn to occur after a # of turns or # of rounds
Ability to add self to combat (good for introducing environmental effects in rounds, etc.)
Automatic Reconnection Attempt Options (in case server/campaign host loses connection)
Ability to set recurring campaign reset (daily, weekly, etc)
NPC Management
Ability to set specific NPCs to be "immortal"
Ability to set specific NPCs/encounters to respawn after a certain time if killed
Player Account Management
Option to force all character files to load from and save to Server (not Client)
Option to force all Players to update account credentials on next login
Option to enforce automatic IP Banning based on: ------ Number of login/logout attempts within 5 minutes
Combat Options
Ability to set availability of PvP Combat and/or Actions on targeted area, map, or campaign-wide
Ability to Limit Player Character turn times (to avoid problems with idle players) based on: ------ Time (i.e. seconds, minutes, etc.) ------ AP --------- Ability to pick minimum turn time (default: 15 realtime seconds?) --------- Ability to pick time allotted per AP (default: 5 realtime seconds?)
Thievery/Pickpocketing Options
Option to disable pickpocketing of Player Characters by other Player Characters
If Pickpocketing of Player Characters is enabled, have option to limit pickpocketing by: ------ Weight of items (i.e., cannot collectively pickpocket items heavier than [x] grams/lbs) ------ Value of items (i.e., cannot collectively pickpocket items worth more than [x] gold at base) ------ Character & Time (i.e., cannot pickpocket character [x] more than [y] times per [z] realtime hours)
Player Character Death Options
Permadeath (only respawns if resurrected by other player or GM)
Respawn (one, several, or all of the below options should be available) ------ At Last Logged Saved Respawn Point ------ At Nearest Respawn Point ------ At Corpse ------ (Each option above should have additional options, below, if selected:) --------- Only available if Resurrected by other Player --------- Only available [time frame, i.e., 1h, 12h, 24h, 1w] in [realtime or game time]
PLAYER CHARACTER TOOLS Autofollow Option
If Autofollowing NPC, autofollow is automatically allowed
If attempting to autofollow a Player Character, that character should be prompted with options to: ------ Allow Autofollow --------- If accepted, either autofollow participants should have option to break autofollow at any time ------ Deny Autofollow --------- Additional option to deny autofollow requests from this character for [x] time or permanently
Autofollow should "stop" if followed character is removed, becomes invisible, etc
Player should also have menu option to "auto-deny" all autofollow requests (to prevent abuse)
Self-Management
Option to set character to "AFK"
Option to set character to "DND" (aka, autorespond to any new personal messages)
Option to ignore other characters/players (aka, mute that character's personal messages or chats) --- Cannot ignore GM
Ability to create queued "GM Ticket" to request help or ask a game-related question to the GM privately --- Can only post one ticket at a time
