Rampant Games - RPG Design & Potions

[Couchpotato]

The Rampant Coyote talks about the positive side of potions in RPG games in his latest blog post. So do you guys agree with him, or hate potions in games?

About ten months ago, I wrote about consumable / expendable resources in RPGs. More recently, Matt Barton penned an article about how much he wants to get rid of consumable items altogether in “Down with Pots!”

Well, I’m gonna answer both him and my younger self. At least in part. Actually, I’m gonna write three answers as to why consumable / expendable items are a Good Thing in RPG Design.

Read his blog post for the three reasons.

More information.

 

[SonOfCapiz]

Keep them in but keep them strategic. I specially hate just pressing a button mid fight and have it heal you instantly, specially if you can spam that button. (I'm looking at you Bethesda". Having a drink animation, heal over time, and non-stacking effects go a long way into making potions tactical rather than the save me button it usually becomes.

 

[Sacred_Path]

Consumables are a great way for an otherwise useless character to carry his own weight (via social skills/attributes or crafting). Unfortunately, only few games make use of them in this way. To add insult to injury, in a lot of RPG's, you have your typical combat situation and then you have your other combat situation that's just a tad more difficult. I much prefer games where hard combat occurs regularly and is built around players' use of consumables.

 

[Asdraguuhl]

I largely agree with Matt Barton. Just like him, I also tend to "save" consumables ending up with so much "junk" in my inventory and I absolutely hate it when it is mandatory to *continuously* drink potions. I see potion spamming as poor game design as it often becomes a stamina battle between boss hitpoints or number of endless minions vs. number of potions devoid of any tactics

This is one of the main reasons why I don't bother with a game like Inquisitor.

A good example where potions were done right is, IMO of course, in the Game of Thrones RPG. There you can have a maximum of four flasks with 3 or 4 uses before they are empty. You can choose to fill them with variety of substances, each having a different effect, e.g. healing, poison, fire and status effects (both for enemy and you). Not only did it prevent potion spamming but you also had to think tactically about what type of substances you wanted.

 

[GothicGothicness]

I love it when there are really powerful consumables and really tough bosses, and I am near to death, and just hit him with everything I got saved up.... to end up barely winning the fight.

 

[rjshae]

I always seem to end up with many potions that I don't use, so they just get sold. Perhaps I'm not playing it right, but I seem to manage okay without most of them.

 

[Deleted User]

Count me in for the camp that loves potions and consumables when used tactically and strategically.

A good example is the game I'm playing now, Baldur's Gate 2. Potions can mean the difference between life or death in a difficult encounter, and even when I buff my party up with strong potions, sometimes I still barely survive a tough battle.

Removing this aspect of the game is just cutting things for no good reason. Any gameplay aspect that adds tactics or strategy to an RPG, I'm all for it.