There have already been ideas like this that were developed. However, there are some significant issues with an idea like this, such as;
- Players Split Into Factions
- In order to have some territorial battles and objectives, it requires that the player base is split into various areas of the game. E.g. Elves start in Tirannwwn, Humans start in Lumbridge, Undead start in Wilderness, etc. So if you were to have 20 players, you will have 4-5 players in each section and that is if we assume that players divide themselves equally which obviously wouldn't be the case. Of course, you could combat this by having smaller areas and only two factions for starters such as e.g. Humans in Varrock & Lumbridge vs. Undead/Necromancers/Werewolves, etc. But even then you would need to have a quite large player base in order to make the game appealing. It isn't fun to play as one class, when the other class has twice as many players participating. The issue here isn't even about balancing, but just the entertainment of the game. More players leads to more interaction leads to more fun leads to longer and healthier economies and servers.
- Less Profitable
- To create a game that revolves around faction gameplay requires a lot of coding, and a large amount of team. While this isn't necessarily something impossible to accomplish, the question at hand is why would it be done. As already covered by Kris in this post, players tend to enjoy content that is similar to Oldschool Runescape. That is why a lot of servers like Zaros, BitRune, Zenyte, Atlas and many more aren't trying to create something new and innovative. Why would you take a riskier road that requires a bigger team when you can take a safer road with a smaller team which eventually will lead to more profit? While there are a few people that have attempted to create "unique" servers, such as @Jeekusama and @lumplum, they tend to lead to failure. The only RSPS that I have personally seen that stood out in the 317 section was the Runescape Hunger Games - “May the odds be ever in your favor!”
This is just two examples of why it isn't worth pursuing such an idea. However, here are also some ideas to add to your post in case someone actually does decide to pursue this, as I would love to see this become a reality.
Faction Abilities
Each faction have unique strengths and weaknessses that are described below. These are just a few examples. Could also do it for gods like Zamorak VS Saradomin or even include e.g. Zaros, Armadyls, etc. Feel free to copy+paste and expand
Factions |
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
Humans |
Can Use All Styles |
% Weaker In All Styles |
Dwarves |
Specialize in Mining/Smithing (Obtain x2 ores/bars from Mining/Smelting, Coal requirement is 1/2)
Strike Twice When Using Warhammers |
Slower when Walking/Running |
Gnomes |
Specialize in Mass Combat
Ability to Use Mounts (Tortoise, Terrorbirds, etc) |
% Weaker in Smaller Encounters |
Elves |
Specialize in Ranged Combat (Extra DMG/Range) & Assassination (Daggers/Defenders)
Automatically have Ava's |
% Decreased Defence |
Undead |
Restore % of Damage Dealt and % of Target Health on Kill |
Have % Less Health.
Prayer drains twice as quickly |
Faction Upgrades
All factions start at level 0. Factions can level up after a certain amount of items is donated. With each level, a part of the faction is unlocked. For example, Humans that start at Misthalin would have their home set to Lumbridge. In order to reach level 1, a total amount of 1,000 logs, tin, copper, coal and 1,000,000 gold has to be donated. Once that total amount has been donated, Draynor is unlocked. Then Varrock, then Falador, etc. This amount accounts for all players. So if a player donates 100 and another donates 200 then it equals to 300.