Hi, everyone. First time posting here at the Temple. I stopped by since I've gotten roguelikes on the brain, lately, and I've got the germ of a seed of an idea for a roguelike game. I thought I'd introduce myself and get some inspiration from more devoted players and programmers. My life's somewhat busy now, so if I ever decide to grind out some code, it'll be a while. So, without further ado, here's some of what I've been thinking about:
Setting: A giant dungeon complex simply known as the Labyrinth, located in its own demiplane. Viewed from outside, it appears as a series of connected floors, offset from one another. Some of these floors are open to the outside "sky" and have a developed ecosystem. No one knows who or what built the place or why it exists. (mostly because I haven't come up with those facts, yet.)
Races: In this one, you're one of the monsters. Some of the races I'm thinking of: Kobolds, goblins, imps, gremlins. In short, small humanoids who are typically the monsters in your average fantasy game. For kobolds, I'm thinking mostly the 'cutebold' version from the Kobold Camp mod of Dwarf Fortress. Gremlins are crazy tinkerers. Goblins will probably be one of the more martial races. Suggestions welcome for everything else. Adventurers who wandered into the Labyrinth will fill in the role of bosses or other tough solo creatures.
Gods: Instead of gods that are just 'out there', your average god will be in the form of a 'totem' you equip. Having a totem equipped will give you benefits if you are in good standing with the god, and you will be subject to certain codes of conduct or risk punishment. The biggest benefits will generally come from the most strict totems. I'd also like some ideas on how altars and totems could interact.
Elements/Color: I haven't fully thought this through, but there are six Colors associated with different concepts. There won't really be a scheme of elemental paper-rock-scissors, so much as a 'style' for each color. I might use it as a substitute for character class in some ways.
Red: Fire, lightning, rage, barbarians, blaster mages.
Blue: Air, water, exploration, trade, movement.
Yellow: Earth, crystal, defenders, stability, tradition.
Green: Nature, plants, animals, tribalism, druids, shamans.
Purple: Raw arcane magic, divination, secrets, madness, metamagic (magic that affects other magic).
Silver: Metal, invention, mechanics, enchanted items.
Starting out: Your character will start in a village of his race on one of the dungeon levels. You can choose to go up or down.
Metagame: I'm trying to think of some fun features. Ghosts of dead characters, totems of ascended characters, named items left behind, that sort of thing.