Thanks, Sylon--if you want some ideas, check out the class page on Avendar dot com, a MUD I used to play. Their assassins do bleed damage per round, and can poison knives.
Their swordmasters assume martial arts forms which cost mana per turn.
Each form has a distinct advantage, like 'form of the mongoose,' which allows you to slip past enemy defenses, and enemy parries.
The templars are a mix of both warriors, and a magic sphere of choice, such as earth, fire, or air.
The scholars can major in a major sphere, and minor sphere, such as fire and earth, granting custom abilities, a mixture of both. Mixing two spheres of the same type grants access to "greater" spells, such as Void/void, which may allow you lichdom and necromancy, through questlines, as well as an array of higher abilities unaccessible to someone who majors in void, but minors in another sphere; such as earth. Eventually, you become a full avatar of that sphere, such as path of the living flame, where you succumb and become the embodiment of your magick. An elemental, or lich, of sorts--depending on both path, and sphere. Quests for each are required.
I also like the non-cliched spheres, where they have earth, air, fire, water, et cetera, but spirit opposes void; making it a total of six spheres, rather than four basic elements.
Nature, I've always felt, should count as a separate element, dealing with plants, shape-shifting, venom, and growth; which needs an opposing sphere, something dealing in pox, death, plagues, and undeath, necromancy.
Another idea would be to cap each sphere. You can implement a total of 225 points in magic, distributed how you feel. In the original game, this could have been limited to 100%, distributed how you feel. So, 10% healing magic, 15% mind magic, 0% undead, 75% environmental magic--totalling up to 100%, and then caps.
You could also add items which increase the cap, in game, either temporarily or permanently; such as potions, equipment, and elixirs.
Assigning each spell a level based on your power in that element would animate it, and increase it, based on skill.
Even scrolls, staves, or wands could have a draining touch of 37, or a draining touch of 75, determining the power of that scroll, wand, or spell.
Lastly, talking animation, it would be neat to see characters change over time; their animations becoming quicker with more dexterity, their bodies looking stronger with more strength.
Dual wield needs to be animated to show both weapons attack, separately.
Parries need to be animated, too, and perhaps a simple timing-based rhythm game could be used to tap the screen, to intercept enemy attacks, or even counterattack with higher levels in the parrying skill--adding passives as you go along. Some attacks might not be parryable, such as giant ogres, forcing you to rely upon dodge-percentage granted by light armor, and skill; or suffer the blow in heavy armor, hopefully resisting a percentage of the damage.
Spells, based on your power in that sphere, would animate properly; becoming progressively more powerful-looking. Characters, as well, should age; perhaps die.
You can recruit new ones; or perhaps give their abilities to their children after their death--whom retain part, but not all, of parents skills/abilities.
Lifespan could be determined by race, and if races can level, each race should level at a different rate.
By dying, or aging, you lose vitality/constitution: when it reaches zero, you are dead.
An inheritor takes over.
You can keep their parents equipment, but not full skill.
That, or just roll a new character.
Optional perma-death might be included, for each character, as a rogue-like hardcore mode.
Otherwise, faster leveling races might not live as long. Slower levelling races might live longer; or be stronger on average, but shorter-lived and harder to level.
Racial abilities unlock as you go. An undead, or a sorceror who had chosen to become a lich, might never die. But be susceptible to certain spells, which might grant a chance of permanently killing them, or losing several constitution points upon death--thus, they die from repeated deaths, or specific abilities, but not age. Certain short-lived races might obtain the necromancy tree, and rush it to gain infinite life, before their own depletes; at the cost of vulnerability to holy word, or divine magick. Etc.
Once constitution reaches zero, either by age or leveling, that character dies; and can respawn a progenitor with half their abilities, rolled at random.
Or simply dismiss and recruit a new race/class, proportional to your own characters, averaged out, and randomly rolled every 24-hours whenever you enter a recruitment guild.
I am just brainstorming. No reason to take my ideas absolutely, just cherry pick as you choose. I have a zillion ideas.
Though with spellcasting, you should choose to be a jack of all trades, or a master of one; depending how you parcel out your skill points, or percentages, to each sphere of magick.
The racial leveling/unlockable abilities I am partial to, something innovative and new: also, rings-and-amulets that grant certain enchantment buffs and abilities.
And, since their is an astrologer, perhaps even an astrological sign, granted upon birth, but only revealed at an astrologer; which grants certain side-quests and certain perks, and even abilities.
Tarot cards which grant certain buffs or curses, depending on what you draw, until the next time you can visit the astrologer; a minimum of 24 hours.
Gold should auto-pickup.
Regardless, I also like the idea of hidden areas, as I pointed out, using the click-screen--so you can enter a tree stump by tapping on it, rather than restricting the character to simple grid-based movement, much like a point-and-click adventure game like Myst.
Another idea I am suggesting, certain areas might require certain objects, such as keys, to unlock; or even a puzzle, or mini-game, such as a special knock, which requires a rhytm-based mini-game; or even a skill check or a key. Informants could grant clues. I imagine solving a rubics-cube type puzzle to enter an area, as one example. Or a passphrase.
For travel, square-based movement could be used most of the time, with higher ground giving the advantage in both hit chances, and range and accuracy for archers; but some areas could remain hidden until you tap on them, on the screen, with a mouse or a finger.
Lastly, physics-based gameplay, wherein you could lift, burn, or crash wooden objects, even lifting or throwing, or telekinesis, as I suggested earlier. Stealth, as I mentioned, could increase in fog, shadow, or night--various weather conditions--even indoors. But decrease in broad daylight. A strike to the back might deal more damage.
Already, I am imagining a mage teleport spell which allows you to click a square on the map.
Mage uses the spell to teleport behind the target, thief/rogue backstabs the target for double or triple damage.
Extra abilities, or passives, unlock as you get more proficient in skills; so, if you invest in druidry or shamanism, at first you are only able to converse with animals; later, you can take them as charmies, pets, totems, or familiars, depending upon skill level in such a tree; which grants passives to existing abilities. A fireball might damage one person, or many, or do splash damage, or even pass through targets; if, for instance your elemental, or fire magick, ability was upped. A big difference from a level 25 fireball to a level 50 fireball, or up.
Same for hand to hand. You might play monk. Up until level 25, your damage increases; at level 50, you strike nerves, causing your opponent to miss turn; at level 75, your nerve strikes occasionally disarm weapons. At level 100, your nerve strikes can cause-instadeath.
Familiars could even granting hints; or even new abilities.
Again, these are just suggestions. Pick and choose as you please.
Thanks!,
James K. B___