Idea Info Name: Nexus: The Convergence Index: Primary Category: RPG Submitted: 2/10/2003 3:15:13 AM Written By: arkainjalex Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition Book Highly Recommended !

STORY:

There is a place where all of reality comes together. A place where worlds meet and overlap, yet they are not one and the same. A place where the fate of everything is born and dies. It is the Nexus, the planar junction of every world. It is that which connects the planes of existence together, the binding point. Through the Nexus, various worlds are connected, allowing passage for those who are educated in the way. A powerful being known as the Null came to gain complete knowledge of the secrets of the Nexus. The Null is a creature that represents non-existence and annihilation. He has succeeded in corrupting the stones that bind the Nexus to all the other worlds, setting in motion a catastrophic disaster. Each plane is now being drawn into the Nexus, where they will be absorbed and made non-existent. Just as worlds are born, worlds will die.

It has long been the tradition that the Magi, an order of powerful mages that pass their power through bloodlines, are the keepers of the Nexus. Their goal is to prevent the unraveling of the planar bindings. When the Null came to unmake reality, the Magi opposed him relentlessly, and through all their power they failed. Every single Magus was killed by the Null, but one woman remained that was carrying the child of the Archmagus- Verodayn Zerithel. With each generation the power of the Magi increases, and this boy was to possess great power indeed. The boy was born on the world of Alancia, and his name was Archander Zerithel. He was the last surviving descendant of the Magi, he was the sole being that could bear the mantle of Magus. His mother died soon after his birth, but he was raised by the great wizard Zimarius, who had known his father and mother well. As time passed his powers developed quickly, and he soon discovered the significance of his past.

All this time the Null had been growing and gaining power from the Nexus, an infinite conduit of energy, and was ready to destroy the bindings and begin the Convergence. He would soon draw the planes into the Nexus to be annihilated, and it seemed there was little to stand in his way. The only obstacle in his way was time, each binding required a special artifact key to unlock, only then could he proceed. The Null created various minions to serve him and retrieve the artifacts. They stormed through the various worlds, ravaging the lands until they could find what they sought. And then they came to Alancia, and discovered the artifact under the care of an old magician- Zimarius. His attempts to destroy the creatures were in vain, on that day he fell to the minions of the Null. Archander witnessed this event, and the theft of the artifact. All that he could do now was set out to find the rest of the pieces and prevent the Convergence. His only hope is the hidden powers that reside within him, he is the last of his kind. He is the Magus.

On a separate world, the plane of Setharia, a kingdom struggles in a war against the Nullites (minions of the Null). The Nagah people are a race of serpentine beings, and they struggle dearly to fend off the marauding monsters. One night in a dream, their princess receives an important vision of what she must do. Her ancestors appear to her and tell her to retrieve a sacred artifact that is hidden far away. She is Selan’thas, princess of the Nagah, and she must do what it takes to save her world and her people.

Far away on the plane of Avalon, the war has not yet begun. This world of paradise is still untouched by the corruptive Nullites. The king of Avalon, Oberon, prepares for a battle that he fears he cannot win. His people, the spirit elves, have only one hope. As it was revealed by the True Oracle, their king must search out the various keys needed to prevent the destruction of the bindings.

The only way to defeat the Null is to gather all of the artifacts together, and arrange all of the seal bearers at the point of the Convergence. (obviously the 12 seal bearers are the party members you acquire. More on this later). Each seal represents a force of reality that must be present to counter the nullification of existence.

GAMEPLAY:

This is an rpg game which would be turn-based similar to Final Fantasy and similar games, with the exception of Xenogears-like combos in combat. The game would take place over a variety of planes (different worlds) and would be seen from 3 separate story lines which only come together near the final section of the game. One for Archander, one for Selan’thas, and one for Oberon. As you can see, Archander’s world has already been badly destroyed by the Nullites in search of the artifacts, while Selan’thas’ world is still in a time of critical war. In contrast, Oberon’s world has not yet begun to fight the minions of the Null. So each storyline would be very diverse. Keep in mind that each character would know of the Null, it wouldn’t be some anonymous bad guy until later in the game, they would clearly know their quest from the start. Each character will gain 3 party members (for a total of 12 controllable characters) AND TO CLEAR UP ANY COMMON RPG CLICHES, each character in the game will have some ability in both combat and spellcasting (unlike some games where you get little sissy priests and dumb-as-bricks fighters)

During combat, all 4 party members will be usable at once. Though the 4 varies depending on whose storyline it is. Each character will take turns acting like in FF games, but attacks would be handled as combo button presses. But WAIT, so will spells. Yes, spells will have different effects depending on the combination of buttons you use. It could affect not only power, but range and area of effect. It all varies on the spell used. When a special energy meter is charge, your characters may team up with special combination attacks/spells and do massive damage (like in chrono trigger).

Here are the characters:

Archander Zerithel- the Magus, primarily a powerful spellcaster (the main hero is a mage not a fighter, how about that?) but he is also skilled with the sword. He can also channel power through magical rods. He represents the Seal of Magic.

Selan’thas- the princess of the Nagah, her race appears like serpentile beings that look very human-like but have claws and snake-like hair. She is a very skilled fighter that wield two scimitars, her combat style is highly quick and acrobatic. She is able to use crossbows as well. She represents the Seal of Body.

Oberon- the king of the spirit elves. He is a tall and powerful figure, trained in magic and combat. He wields a mystic greatsword, and is skilled with the elven longbow. He is well rounded between elemental spellcasting and melee combat. He represents the Seal of Life.

Domina Fatalis- a female necrosavant, one who dabbles in dark magics and necromancy. She is skilled in offensive magic and the like, and uses scythes/sickles/slayer chains in combat. She falls in love with Archander later on. She represents the Seal of Death.

Cypher- a sythian assassin, physically superior to most other humanoids. He is first assigned to assassinate Archander, but instead aids him. Extremely fast and agile, master of stealth. Uses katana-like blades in combat and throwing knives/shuriken, along with sythian blades (something like lightsabers). He represents the Seal of Shadow.

Eden- the cosmic guardian, one with great mental powers who must guard the planar gates. She uses powerful psychic abilities, but fights with an astral whip and astral darts. She is not a powerful fighter, but has so many psychic powers she makes up for it. She has energetic astral wings on her back She represents the Seal of Mind.

Phaethon- a being composed of hot nuclear flames, born on the suns of Anaara where he rules as Solar Scion (prince). He appears made of blue/white flames and is human shaped, on his back are great phoenix-like wings made of fire.  He uses a powerful solar staff made of flames similar to him, each end has a blade of nuclear flame. He represents the Seal of the Sun.

Proteus- one of the few surviving Chimerics, a race of ancient shapeshifters. He is able to assume tons of forms during the game, but relies mostly on the natural weapons and attacks of those forms. He represents the Seal of Chaos.

Azura- known as the frozen angel, a mysterious being hailing from the moon of Iziil. She bears cold white skin and crystal blue eyes, with icey wings to match. Her powers revolve around cold and ice. She uses an icey glaive-spear and a star blade for ranged attacks. She represents the Seal of the Moon.

Teranaxia- a construct built by a the long forgotten Exentians. She is highly advanced, able to use her body as a deadly weapon, whether it’s unarmed attacks (similar to martial arts) or built in magical energy cannons. She represents the Seal of Order.

Titania- the queen of Avalon, beside her king Oberon. She is only part elven and part nymph, she is at one with nature. Her powers allow her to speak with animals or command them, control plants and the weather, or conjure up elementals. Despite her appearance, she is very powerful when using warhammers/maces etc. She represents the Seal of Earth.

Fenix Dracon- he is a powerful dragoon knight on the world of Kuran, he was born half man/half dragon. His appearance is highly draconic- scales, wings, claws- but he is human at heart. He is master of the spear and javelin, and is good with magic as well. He represents the Seal of Sky.