So the rom hack I am working on takes place in a world where Noble houses are a big deal. Each specailzing in certain aspects. They all also have a relic passed down in the family that only decendents are able to weild. Gameplay wise, they are powerful weapons (obviously) weilded by the young lords they are the protaginists. There is a sword imbued with wind magic, an ice spear effective against armoured enemies and a dark tome able with ridicolous might and weight. The rom is going to be a short one since this is more for practice then anything else which will be followed up by a more concrete and longer one once I have learned the nesscary skills. My main question is, should they have it? Would it make sense for heirs to the throne to be weilding the house relics or should they only be given to them when deemed worthy? I have already put them in but can as easily remove if needed.
It may be typical, but I’d vote for the latter instance. So you can establish more reason behind the young Lords wielding what are deemed to be prestigious weapons.
A weapon that can only be used by the heir to the throne is not scientific, it is a fantasy.
Therefore, you should make the story more interesting.
If the weapon is too heavy to be used by someone who is not fit, or if it is too special to be used by someone who is not trained to use it, or if it is too special to be used by the person who made it, it can still be explained scientifically.
But we can’t scientifically explain a weapon that can only be used by the heir to the throne.
Even if we add an explanation such as the genes of the king, what happens if he is not a direct descendant, but an adopted son, a relative, or a bastard? The question arises.
Therefore, a weapon that can only be used by the heir to the throne is an item of fantasy.
Therefore, I think it is good to set it so that the story becomes interesting.
For example, in FE8, it is explained that the seal was opened specially for the battle against the Demon King, and it is staged as a special event that is more urgent.
I was leaning to that side really. Just needed some confirmation. The heirs are somewhat experienced in combat but I’ll make it so they earn the respect of their parents or knights first, but ill save that for the sequel.
Fair points. It is made to be a fantasy game and the lore behind it is that a house is established on the foundation of the weapon. Theoretically anyone can use them, mechanically, they are exclusive to their users.
The reason why we create fantasy is because it makes the story more interesting.
Therefore, it is better to focus on whether it makes the story more interesting than on the rationality of the setting.
If it makes the story more interesting, then it is better to use the setting as an afterthought.
If it makes the story boring, then the setting is meaningless and you should reject it and come up with another setting.
For example, there were many countries that used the sword as a symbol of kingship.
Some constitutional monarchies still use it today.
In some cases, it is traditional for the would-be king to perform rituals with the country’s legendary sword.
Therefore, if the nobleman has a tradition of taking his family heirloom sword and doing something with it, it is no wonder that he has it, even in peacetime.
Eventually, you could create a common story of growth, where the sword shows its power when you are involved in a war.
The setting is there to make the story interesting, and you can justify a lot of crazy stuff by saying that it’s traditional in this world.
If we talk about the world of eroge, there is a strange setting in which the main character, a man born into a famous family, has to attend an all-girls school dressed as a woman and graduate without being caught as a condition for taking over the family.
You might think that’s ridiculous, but it’s fantasy, and that’s perfectly fine. 
It’s all just a prop to make the story more interesting.
Honestly, the main conflict of this shorter rom is helping a fallen noble try to reclaim her house’s relic after her defeat. Regaining the relic means she has the right to take back her lands and titles and, if she gains the enemie’s relic, their land as well. There are a fair few things I need to iron out, like what justfies someone to be the king or queen, but I think I have something solid with the premise.
It sounds like your story is one where the royal relics primarily serve as sort of aesthetic symbols of the story concepts that are actually important. Symbolic shorthands for those things, in a sense.
In that case, my primary concern would be with presenting and using them in a way that helps reinforce the emotions you want the associated events to carry. If you want the heroine’s reclamation of her homeland and status to feel glorious, triumphant, I would try to evoke those emotions with her acquisition of her homeland’s royal relic, as well. Same if you want the emotion to be bittersweet, or tragic.
Symbolic shorthands like that are like prisms through which emotions surrounding what they represent are reflected, I think. I guess this is all kind of abstract babble, but I hope it at least gives you some food for thought in regards to developing your story!
It does give me some ideas, though let me clarify that the fallen Noble isn’t royalty. Shes just that, a noble attempting to reclaim her house and lands that were taken from her. The royal capital is still in tact. However, there is a royal character in there who vanished from the capital and works as a solider in the army. Going any further would spoil what I have in mind. But thanks for the thoughts.
Ahhh, gotcha.
Still, I think a lot of the same principles could apply.