Idea:Liveworld System

The **Liveworld System** is a massive idea in gameplay mechanics created by Chaoarren. Inspired by the "Nemesis System" in the *Middle-earth* games, this system's main purpose is to make monsters truly feel like a part of a natural world.

# What The System Does

## Basic Information

Monsters in the Liveworld System are no longer non-changing enemies that you hunt with no consequence on the environment. This system creates a new, ever changing ecosystem in locales. What this means, is that monsters native to a locale will appear on a miniature map that shows locales as a basic 3D environment, added by this system to every non-special locale. It will display a variety of monsters across the map, placed in areas where they inhabit the locale. As time passes through quest completions, events will occur that can change the monsters environment, which can now have an actual impact on the ecosystem of that locale.

The monsters on the ecosystem map for the locale will appear in quests and expeditions not of special scripted kind. Whenever you encounter a monster, it will not be just a generically generated one, it will always be one from the Ecosystem Map.

The Liveworld System does not include any monsters that can only be fought in special one area only locales, Event Quests, Special Assignment Quests, Guild Quests, Investigations and any kind of quests that have highly scripted events. It also prevents monsters in uncompleted quests from being killed by another monster, meaning hunters must clear the quest the normal way before it can start effecting the ecosystem fully.

## Monsters In The Liveworld System

All monsters have their own unique characteristics, like in the normal games. In the Liveworld System, this is massively expanded. The ecology of all monsters now plays an actual part in the ecosystem. Monsters now behave in a more immersive way to events that occur in their area, and react as how a monster of their species would.

Example: A Noios flock scream over the sandpit in the Wildspire Waste. Other monsters that have good hearing flinch from the noise and may leave the area. A Diablos underneath is enraged by this and bursts out from the sandpit. Unlike in normal Monster Hunter: World, the Diablos will attempt to kill the Noios producing the sound to silence them. Additionally, all Diabloses now have zero tolerance towards any that invade their territory or produce loud sounds. They will battle with any that causes these two things.

### Monster Interactions

Monsters interact with each other more naturally in the Liveworld System. The food-chain is vicious, and monsters all play a part in its structure. Monsters are now able to directly kill other monsters, meaning hunter interaction is not needed for a death to occur.

#### Mates

A variation of the Bond, a monster mating is between monsters who have deeply bonded together. The classic example is the Rathalos and Rathian. With this system, Rathalos and Rathian mates will always stay close to each other to ensure each others survival. The hunter can no longer hunt a mated Rathian and not expect its mate Rathalos to appear and protect it.

### Monster Locale Behaviour

Monsters take notice of their environment, and take care to make good usage of it.

Monsters, if they are able to, may rarely move to a different locale under circumstances they feel they cannot live in their current one anymore.

### Monster Injuries

Since monsters in the Lifeworld System are always part of the environment, any injuries they sustain will remain after the quest ends. Injuries are most commonly caused by obviously breaking a part on the monster. However, excessive damage to a part can leave damage like scars, cracked armour and bruises after the quest has ended.

Monsters are also able to cause special injuries to each other in battle. A Seregios can inflict injuries on monsters that leave them with several deep scars or its scales embedded in them.

The types of injuries a monster can sustain depends on their species and classification. Flying Wyvern injuries are far more different than that of a Temnoceran, which in themselves are different than that of Celloids. Elemental and Ailment injuries also exist, and their effects are also unique.

A monster changes due to the injury; it may heal over time, but it will still leave permanent scarring and other aesthetic changes. If a monster or hunter caused the injury and they are noticed, the injured monster will always gain a hatred towards them. Reptilian monsters can regrow severed tails and reduce their vulnerability to damage, although they are shorter and inflict less damage. A Fanged Beast on the other hand will permanently lose a severed tail, as they cannot regenerate it. Major tier injuries can cause a monster to change dramatically, and may even cause them to develop into a variant of their species. A Yian Garuga that receives a scarred eye may change into a Deadeye Yian Garuga under the right circumstances.

There are some injuries that can only be caused by a monster evading death after being defeated (slain) by a damage type. Those injuries will always cause a major change for the monster after they return.

#### Damage Injuries

* Cutting Injuries: Cuts, Scars, Fur/Scales/Armour.etc Sliced, Small Pieces Of Body Part Cut Off
	+ Major Cutting Injuries: Deep Scars, Pieces Of Body Parts Cut Off, Tail Severed, Eye Scarred Out
* Impact Injuries: Bruises, Cracked Scales/Armour, Sections of body parts misshapen
	+ Major Impact Injuries: Misshapen Body Parts, Movement slowed for usage of parts affected,
* Shot Injuries: Puncture Wounds, Scales/Fur/Armour Damaged
	+ Major Shot Injuries: Pieces of Bowgun Ammo/Bow Arrows embedded in body parts, Ballistic trauma wounds in body parts

#### Elemental Injuries

* Fire: Burns (scales/armour burnt black, sections of fur burned off), blistered skin
	+ Major: 3rd-4th Degree burns (darkened flesh and rarely bone is exposed even if parts are armoured)
* Water: Discoloured parts, loosened scales/armour, metallic or rocky parts gain rusted or worn spots
	+ Major: Slightly bloated/saggy parts, metallic or rocky parts highly rusted or worn.
* Thunder: Electric burns, fur stands on end, twisted skin/scales
	+ Major: Wrinkled/contorted flesh
* Ice: Blackened parts, blistered skin, cracked scales/armour
	+ Major: Frostbite on some body parts, frost over a part
* Dragon: Red and black (sometimes purple) burns over parts, lower elemental damage from injured part
	+ Major: Injured parts have skeletal appearance, parts of flesh dissolved away, lowered intelligence, greatly lowered elemental damage from injured part, injured parts lack shine
* Earth: Grazes, dark bruises, dust over parts
	+ Major: Bent parts, pebbles/rocks embedded in parts
* Wind: Bruised skin, shattered scales/armour, bent fur, colours dimmed
	+ Major: Skin/flesh saggy, reddish or blackish parts from deprived oxygen
* Nature: Moss growing over part, small laceration/puncture wounds all over parts
	+ Major: Plant-life growing across part, green tinted and thinner part
* Aether: White/yellow coloured burns, elemental attacks from parts cause slight recoil damage to monster
	+ Major: Elemental attacks have high recoil damage from injured parts and cause more damage to hunters/monsters, burns now have a solid white/yellow appearance and emit a white or yellow glow.
* Matter: Parts discolourised to a blackish/purple shade, patterns on parts greatly faded
	+ Major: Signature abilities of monster weakened, parts lack glow even in bright light, slight x-ray effect on parts

#### Ailment Injuries

* Poison: Purple tinted parts, boils on skin
	+ Major: Severe boils on flesh, parts of skin/scales dissolved
* Sleep: Colour faded on parts, constant dreary eyes
	+ Major: Colourless parts, bloodshot eyes
* Paralysis: Skin/scales/armour/fur tensed up
	+ Major: Parts droop more, constant glaring eyes
* Blast: Scales/Armour burst apart, deep burn marks around parts
	+ Major: Scales/Armour severely burst apart, parts disfigured, skin/fur burnt raw

### Evaded/Faked Deaths

A unique feature of the Liveworld System is the ability for monsters to occasionally evade or fake death after being defeated by a hunter or monster. After a random amount of time, the monster will invade or appear randomly in a quest, with a message stating "This >monstername< has evaded/faked death!". The monster who has evaded/faked death can either be stronger or weakened by having recovered from a very near-death experience. All wounds the monster sustained before the event will remain, and in the case of an evaded death,

### Always Growing, Always Changing

A major addition with the Liveworld System is monster changes. Monsters no longer are stuck as what they are forever, as life passes on on its events, they will experience change.

Change can come from advancing up the food chain, defeating its rivals and enemies, carting/defeating a hunter, becoming injured or other events.

### Ranking Equals Power

The quest rank the monsters can be fought in determines how strong they are. The longer they live and the more enemies they defeat increases their danger.

* Low Rank: Mainly made up of monsters who have only recently reached maturity or a stage where they can be considered a large monster. Low Ranked monsters are the most common, appearing into a map when there are spots left from slain monsters. They are the weakest monsters, but they are the ones with the most pathways to change.
* High Rank: Monsters who have proven themselves capable of surviving in this world and are now in the upper tier of the monster hierarchy. Here is when they get the full possibilities of the Liveworld system.
* Master Rank: Well established monsters that are above any common individuals. These monsters have experienced and lived through much and may show marks of battle on them. Only other monsters of their rank have much of a chance of defeating them.
* Legend Rank: The strongest of monsters are ranked here. These monsters are true veterans of their species who have survived many hardships and conquered challenges where most peak or die.

### A Monster's Change

A monster now has the possibility to turn into a variation of their species if the right conditions are met. This can be caused by a monster becoming powerful quickly, being inflicted with a certain injury and surviving long enough, building a strong relationship with mates or pack members and many more. Both positive and negative effects to the monster can causes a change, as shown below.

Positive: A Velocidrome builds a strong relationship with its large pack, more so than any common one. Because it managed to maintain this over time, this causes the Velocidrome to change into a Packleader Velocidrome, a Deviant.

Moderate: A Rathian is heavily poisoned, and eventually falls to the toxins. However, the Rathian is powerful enough to evade death, thus surviving the poison. The poisonous evaded death has the Rathian taking control over the poison instead, and it concludes in it changing into a Dreadqueen Rathian, a Deviant.

Negative: A Kamu Orugaron loses its Nono Orugaron mate. Kamu migrates to a volcanic region and eventually changes into a Midogaron from anguish.

The common Rathian is highly influenced by the Liveworld System with its great influence in all the mechanics involved. As like the other Rath species, the common Rathian has many different possible changes. It can become a HC (both canon and fanon depending on relationships), Deviant, Zenith and several more variations. And through breeding via a Rathalos mate, it can create more Raths that have a chance of being Subspecies or a Rare Species.

### Small Monster Interactions In The Lifeworld System

Small monster interaction in the Lifeworld System is very limited compared to the large monsters, but they also play a role. If a small monster manages to defeat a hunter or monster and survive, the small monster has a very high chance of growing into the large monster version of that species after some time. They can also have an impact on large monsters too, as should a leaders pack or a monsters young be killed, it has a high chance of causing a negative effect on the large monster connected to them.

Example 1: A Velociprey manages to take down a Yian Kut-Ku via shear luck and also gets some hits in on a hunter. Having gained a huge boost in confidence, the Velociprey kills its leading Velocidrome in a vulnerable situation and asserts itself as the new leader, becoming a Velocidrome itself.

Example 2: A young Blangonga's troop is slain, and with their loss, the Blangonga migrates to a desert locale and turns into a Copper Blangonga.

### With The Advanced Turf War Mechanics Idea

The Lifeworld System can make full usage of the Advanced Turf War Mechanics Idea to greatly enhance the battles between monsters.

Using the scenarios, monsters can engage in several new kinds of Turf Wars that have a wide range of results.

* Turf Wars can take place between more than two monsters, some which can result in full on battle royale between monsters.
* Monsters who are bonded can help get one monster off its partner, and can fight together to attack one monster.
* Monsters are now capable of dealing Killing Blows, a special scenario that sees the certain death of one of the monsters.
* Monsters can be repelled by another, forcing them to escape from the quest, and may even flee to a different locale.

## Hunter's Interactions In The Lifeworld System

The hunter has the potential of using this system to its maximum potential.

## Creator Notes

* This idea is free for suggestions or implementation in FanGames, and changes are permitted to be made to fit the users choice.