I am designing a Fantasy RPG(how original!) and i wanted to ask your opinion. The spellcasters have a huge advantage over normal warriors, so i was thinking of simply making combat(at higher charecter levels) Matrix-like in order to even the odds a little bit. Can you think of a better way to do this. (I just realized this should be in the Game design forum, But it will factor heavily into the story-line so I guess I''ll leave it)

Two suggestions:

1

I find that in worlds where magic is devastatingly powerful and not available to everyone, it can be used to balance itself. Let non-magical classes equip enchanted gear or use magic items to augment their performance. It winds up being a little bit like Deus Ex, because you''re a tough character, but every once in a while you get to be superhuman, with an upgrade or a temporary surge of invincibility. Maybe a certain piece or armour or jewelry will render you immune to certain classes of magic, or your sword can cut through enchantments. The Matrix idea could take the form of a "haste ring" or a "potion of limited flight" or any number of other performance-enhancing devices.

The flaw in this is that it turns your character into a juicer. No matter how hard you work or how tough you get, you have to have a fix before you can be effective in combat.

2

A different solution could be integrated into your levelling system. Maybe your magic system is only one of the supernatural powers available to your characters. I remember in Final Fantasy Tactics, a strong monk with Earth Slash could rock a wizard from outside his effective range. Wave fist allowed physical damage, against which magic-users are characteristically weak, to be projected over a distance greater than the monk''s arm, which could surprise and decimate a cocky wizard.

So let your fighters get tougher and tougher and learn crazy zen supermoves that fit into the Matrix/Dragonball/Sun Wukong category, and use those against your powerful wizards. A wizard can still own a number of low-level characters without dirtying his robe, but he''s got a real fight on his hands against a teleporting, wind-slashing, force-wave-projecting martial artist. Sabin''s Blitzes from FF6 were more than a match for a large portion of that game''s magic.

Thanks, I was thinking more along the lines of number two. If your level is high enough you will MUCH stronger and faster. Kinda like in the Matrix when Neo and Smith hit each other and the impact sends out a huge shockwave. I thought that would look pretty cool with swords and other medeivil weapons.

There may come a time when your characters can no longer use weapons. No steel in the world could withstand the force behind the strikes at the end of the third Matrix movie, just as no bullet propelled by mere gunpowder could hope to move fast enough to hit either combatant.

When your characters are at such high levels, it would be absurd to give them weapons of wood and metal, unless the weapons were somehow augmented, perhaps with magic or as an extension of the skill.

Either way, I think it would be awesome for an incredibly powerful martial artist to have the ability to destroy the weapons of his enemies, preserving the "purity" of hand-to-hand combat. Like when Japan outlawed guns for fear that they posed too great a risk to the reverence that upheld their warrior elite.

Each player has an armor class starting at 10 (naked) going to infinity (Dura-Plas Nuke-Powered Space Armor).

Now to hit somebody you roll a d20 and add your toHit bonus. If you beat their armor score, you hit.