Least controversial part....

[*] Soul Strength = Magicka
[*] Body Strength = Health
[*] Base Spell power = Max Magicka
[*] Base Weapon power = Max Health
[*] Spell and Weapon resource = Stamina (Mind Strength)
[*] Critical hit power = Max Stamina (biased by health/magicka and stack with health magicka)
[*] Reflex save power = Max Stamina (biased by health/magicka and stack with health/magicka)
[*] Critical Damage = stamina% of total x 100% damage/resist cap (ie 50% stamina would have 1 in 2 chance of a 100% hit or 50% hit bonus every time. This could be 25% crit to 25% spell and 25% weapon damage or 50% crit + 50% weapon and 0% crit + 0% spell damage)
[*] Weapon damage = Health% of total x 100% damage/resist cap
[*] Spell damage = Magicka% of total x 100% damage/resist cap
[*] System based on attribute% of combined attributes vs Level (attributes points increase with level anyway)
[*] Stealth is based on stamina% of total. Those with low stamina% can not see those with higher stamina% or hide from them when sneaking.


Controversial part....

[*] Total Death = 0 Health and 0 Magicka
[*] All attack weapons and spells = x% soul damage and y% body damage (Heavy weapons biased to body damage)
[*] All defense armour and spells = x% soul resist and y% body resist (Heavy armour biased to body resist)
[*] Body Death = 0 Health (Physical combat disabled – Uses Etheric body/gear with soul damage/resist only)
[*] Soul Death = 0 Magicka (Magical combat disabled – Uses Physical body/gear with body damage/resist only)
[*] Revive spell reanimates lost body
[*] Soulgem restores lost soul


This system gives good base damage to Melee fighters using health.
This system gives good base damage to Magic fighters using magica.
This system gives good burst damage to Stealth fighters using stamina where they could hit 50%crit+50%base damage or 0%crit+50%base damage but average 25%crit+50%base per hit.

Would this fix melee vs magicka builds ?

I think it does now we all share the same main resource we are all in a similar boat.
Physical damage is scaled off health and Soul damage is scaled off Magicka as seems completely logical to me as fighters would invest in health and mages would invest in magicka.

Those who invest totally in magicka or health can hit very hard but not very often.
Those who invest totally in stamina cant hit so hard but hit a hell of a lot more.
So the stamina resource is working as it should.

Is the concept of having to destroy body and soul to kill someone too much or would it make the combat/builds/groups more engaging and tactical and tie in with the game lore ?

It means fighters are great at hacking the body but not great on hacking apart the soul. Mages are the other way around. Stamina builds would be somewhere between but have burst damage too.

Anyway, this to me would balance combat (well I know it does I built a spreadsheet). Any gains in body damage/resist are countered by equally severe losses in soul damage/resist. What ideas would you put forward ?