Another idea for having a mist like health indicator is to use the system from the game Oni.

Basically, everytime you hit an enemy a circular mist with color going from red to green and to blue indicate the target\'s relative health.  Blue means full health.  Green means high health, and pregress towards red and finally bright red means very low health (one or two hit will finish it off),

Hm... I was havnig a similar idea before I found this post.  I have been thinking a lot about combined forces, but not just limited to mage, but can also include other combination such as swordman and mage (think Chrono Trigger).

I suggest a system where the circle/combo can consist up to 2-6 players.  Also it\'s hard to get all into position, so here\'s my suggestiong on how initiating a circle will go, broken down into steps.

1. A player takes a glance at a list, which list the circle/combo that the player can initiate and complete with others.  Note that the list only display spells that can be completed by party members nearby.  If a party member is too far away, a spell that needs that member won\'t appear on the list.

2. A player select the spell and activate it.  A notice will send out to all players that will need to be involved.  If more then one player can fulfill the circle/combo\'s requirement, both of them will receive a notice.  A circle also appear on the ground that indicate how close the required players needed to be for the circle/combo to activate.

3. The players receiving the notice has a set time limit to move into the circle and trigger the it by clicking on the notice (15 seconds or something) before the circle/combo dissolve.  If two players can fulfill a requirement that only require one.  The player that first respond by entering the circle and trigger the notice is the one that will be in the circle.

4. When, within the time limit, the requirement is met, the circle is triggered.

A player can only trigger a circle once.  And the players that assist in activating that circle will not be able to initiate their own for 30 seconds.  Also circle initiator will bear a larger portion of the spell cost then other assistance.

Too much chance for this to devolve to monopoly stores.

I know there\'s a thread for guild owning buildings, but this is a much broader expansion to it.

A short summary.
1. Guild Reputation/Influence in City.
2. Discount in Reputable Cities.
3. Safety.
4. Better chance of having a city-sponsored guild quests.

1. Guild Reputation/Influence.
Reputation measures the guild\'s behavior in city.  Influence measures a guild\'s effect on the city.

A Guild could gain positive reputation and influence in a city by one of the following.
a. Winning a guild war in city (held on a semi-regular basis).
b. Killing evil creatures near and around the city (small effect).
c. Completing city-sponsored guild quests.

But a guild could also acquire negative reputation in a city by one of the following.
a. Killing innocent players/NPC.
b. Moderator effect (for abusive and bad behavior).
c. Destruction of a city.

A Guild could lose their influence by one of the following.
a. Losing a guild war.
b. Not taking enough city-sponsored guild quest (being idle).
c. Moderator effect.

The above is a rough idea that will need much refining.  In general, a guild with high reputation and influence in a city could acquire become Patroned by the city.  The members of a guild with a very low reputation in a city could become the target for guards.

2. Discount.

Basially, shops in general will give small discount to guilds with high reputation (good will) and/or high strength (fear), maybe up to 5% discount.  A patroned guild will have even more of a discount, maybe 10%.

3. Safety

Bascially, a player killing another player in the guild would become an enemy for the guild.  And every other member of said guild could PK said person with impunity (once PKed, that player\'s record is clean with the guild, unless he killed more then one guild member).  Of course, the PKing against a guild member must be unprovoked.  Which means a duel or self-defense kill don\'t count.

4. City-sponsored quests are basically quest for a guild to accomplish.  These quests can only be accepted by the guild master.  Examples of quest could be to clear out an area around the city with massive infestation (another suggestion thread).

Hm... I assume, of course, the player has to stock the store themselves.

Ighase... I think that\'s what I was suggesting...

A tutorial might be nice.  I hate be one of those noob that run around asking something like...

\"Um... how do I attack?\"
\"How do I trade?\'
\"How do I do *foo*?\"

A tutorial will be very nice.

Walking through people is... a bit weird...  Maybe if we implement the ability to push/pull them out of the way if they just park their character there.