Krika wrote:[...] Well, yes, if you try to make each different combination a unique spell. But they could just have stats behind the scenes that modifiers stuck onto the initial rune alter. [...]
Digging back a little, you could define a grammar and use a finite state machine to parse the combinations. You'd require a set of rules for valid spell sentences, and could even have fun with the end result in case the combination isn't a valid one. Takes a while to design, but doing it that way you don't have to define each individual spell and would still be able to generate a system capable of handling up to however many potential results, depending on how complex you're willing to make the FSM.
For example, I had no idea that you could manually connect with another player in order to do battle. When I came across that 'battle with a partner' section in the Poke Center, my first thought was, "Cool, I get to travel with Misty or Brock now, right?" and I would sit there waiting for either of them to show up and they wouldn't (of course) so I would go back to their gyms and yell at them through the screen like a tool.
