Idea for Summoning System

A game I'm working on at the moment allows you to summon Ghosts to fight with you. I have been playing with a couple different ways to go about it. Initially I was planning on using a Conversation system like the Shin Megami Tensei game where you can acquire a demon during battle. I also had the idea that you approach "Alters" and you can spend some sort of currency on a Ghost, and each Alter will sell different ones.

Currently I'm thinking of giving every Ghost a sort of Task that needs to be done first so that they will join you. Tasks could range from giving it a gift, defeating it or another Enemy in battle or just based on the Choices you make. Does this sound like it could work or would it be too tedious? Maybe I should go and do one of my original ideas?

This sounds like an interesting take on summoning. It kinda reminds me of Phantom Brave. I think it would be a grand idea as long as fits in with the game story and isn't just one of those awkward features that feels alien to the rest of the story.

What are some of your more original ideas?

I'm not sure if its all that original but the reasoning behind summoning is that Ghosts are for the most part bound to their own area of the world (in this case where they died). You and other special Ghosts have the ability to begin a pact with the ghosts that allows them to break free from where they're bound but have to stay with you at all times (unless theyre cast off by the owner, being the player).

So, I think it fits well but some people may not like the idea of having to perform a task for every possible ally, and I plan to have a good amount of them.

I think it's a good fit. Kinda like Chrono Cross, the player doesn't have to recruit every possible ally. Just the ones they want. More difficult task = better ally.

It might be an interesting system.  At its best, it would allow you to deeply explore the backstory of your world, through the ghosts' pasts.  I assume many of the tasks would relate to something which had meaning for the ghost, while it was alive. 

I would definitely start the player out with at least one Ghost, perhaps his/her ancestors.

I think what you're proposing can work pretty well; it would definitely make for a more rewarding set of sidequests than we normally see in RPGs.  That being said, I like the idea of recruiting ghosts by "talking" to them in an evented sequence (either inside or outside the battle screen) even better.  There's no reason the two can't both be used for different ghosts in the same game, of course.

By the way, the word you're looking for it 'altar', not 'alter'.

All of this is really good to hear! @Wavelength Many ghosts can be recruited from basic conversations which will suffice as a Task for them. When it comes to combat with them I'll probably set it up as a sort of test of strength where the Ghost can determine your worth in a way. And you're right about the altar thing.

You will get a starting Ghost, he'll give you a run down of how to form pacts and things like that. It's been really fun coming up with different Ghosts to use, since I'm kind of stretching the definition a bit to include more fantastical Spirits and Spirits from Folklore. I haven't really thought of including an ancestor as a party member, but it would really make a lot of sense to do so.

You could always say the player character forms a connection to the Ethereal Plane.  Ghosts are there, as well as other spirits and forces.

It's just that, the strength of the ghost/spirit/force the player can summon directly depends on the player character's strength.  Some powerful spirit forces require a great deal of summoning ability.

And, I think the first ghosts/spirits the player character contacts could be ancestors as well as other people who were significant to the player --- perhaps the depth of emotional significance is the connection which allows the summoning to happen.  So, the player would need to develop some type of connection to a ghost/spirit/whatever to summon it in the first place. 

Part of that would be doing a quest for each ghost, but before that, perhaps the player needs to do research to find out about the existence of the ghost, or hear about it from someone else before researching it.

So many ideas were just generated by that post Whitesphere. You may have meant "Strength" in a more figurative sense, but I could apply it literally, since I'm using a stat distribution system. Also, I have a Karma system, so that could affect possible Spirits you're able to summon. Together they could add a bit more replayability to the game.

That's something I'm going to do for sure. A huge part of the game is based on learning how you died (So you're a ghost who can summon ghosts), so sometimes your body dips back into the Living World. From there you have access to the Folklore Spirits that I mentioned, so you can learn information and rumors from overhearing people or studying things in that world.

This idea reminds me of Shin Megami Tensei <3. I approve it =D!. In the Megami Tensei series, talking to enemies is a common mechanic. I'm going to talk specifically about Shin Megami Tensei from the SNES.

You can talk to them in-battle, and ask them several things, most of the time ending on them either hating you with passion (don't know how to say it, but overall being overly aggressive), or asking to follow you, giving you money or this other kind of currency used when summoning monsters that I can't recall its name.

When you ask, let's say, for their help, they ask in return items, or money, or anything else. At other times they make silly questions like "do you like me?" (female-ish monsters). And saying yes or no doesn't makes them like you or hate you. You say them "yes" and they get aggressive anyway! Responses are almost always based on your stats and theirs, AND on top of that there is alignment, so there is not like a list of correct answers you learn.

That's all I can share from the top of my head. Oh! And you can fusion these monsters! Now that's it.

Yeah, SMT was a huge inspiration for the game, but I didn't want to directly use the enemy conversation mechanic. I don't plan on using the fusion system, but you can sell ghosts for a special kind of currency to get other ghosts.

Also I believe the currency you're thinking of is MAG.