Right, so I have this idea for a Role-Play, but can't seem to get a grasp on what exactly I want it to be.

-I'm thinking a Steampunk universe, but not really sure.
-I want a really gloomy atmosphere, but don't know whether to make it worldwide (IE after/during a senseless and horrible war) or locally within the story (characters are slaves, or what-not).
-The one thing I'm sure on: A magic system based on clocks. The different types and sizes of clocks would do different things, but they all have one little quark. Instead of using magic-points or something silly like that, they take time off of your life to use them.
-Potentially a different name. I think there are plenty of better names out there.

Would anyone be interested in something like this? And does anyone know of any stories centered around clock based magics? Because I don't want to be unoriginal, my hipster side won't let me.

Actually, while typing this I got a story idea.

-After a great war the surface of the planet is all but ruined. Now the choices for survival are slim. You can live in the underground where your whole life is done in shifts, being put in suspended animation in the "Grandfather Clocks" for years at a time. Or try living topside in the "Big Bends" where oppressive and ever changing kings rule, and that could disappear at anytime. But even with these two choices, outside problems raise there heads. Revenants of the war still lurk, and attack both the underground and the Bends.

That is a loose concept of the world's history of course, and it's likely that an attack will happen on a section of the underground, causing a failure of the Grandfather Clocks and other systems there, forcing a mass migration of sorts.

So there's that to comment on too, I guess.

I think this idea, if handled properly has a lot of potential. I may be biased though, as I'm partial to steampunk style.
In any case, there are a few issues that I can see right away. The entire horrible/senseless war thing is a bit cliche and quite frankly impractical. Wars happen for a reason, and should you end up including one in the world's history, the purpose and outcome of it should drive the plot.
Another rather glaring flaw is the clock magic system. If the energy to use magic is taken from someone's lifespan, nobody will be around long enough to feel its adverse effects. The obvious solution would be for magic to have side-effects on the users, such as disorientation, time dilation, or madness. These would, of course, vary from person to person.

As for your story idea, it might be a good foundation to build upon. More fleshing out of society as a whole, as well as the antagonists and their agenda, would be necessary.

EDIT: Way to ninja, Live Grenade. Ahem.

Personally, I think it would be more interesting to skip the apocalyptic war in favor of a more local gloomy flavour. I would love to see a steampunk Gotham-esque setting, a rotting city-type deal where the decaying lower class area and citizens are exploited/ignored/left for dead by the ultra-rich, ultra-corrupt upper class. Work in a clock magic conspiracy, black market clock trading, clock-powered technology, and you're golden.

Just my two cents, make of it what you will. I'll probably join whatever you decide to do because steampunk settings are the coolest.

Also, the results of a quick name-generating brainstorm. Most of them aren't all that great, but maybe you can find the seed of a good name amongst them.

- As time goes on.
- Grandfather(s)
- Timeline
- Forever and a day (No idea what this has to do with anything, just sounded kind of neat.)

Alright, I'm partial the the local gloom too. My idea of the Big Bends (No love on the pun?) could be limited to one Big Ben, as it were, providing a paradise of sorts to the aristocrats.

On the Clock-Magic, I was thinking by the taking years off your life thing, aging (or decaying) of the mind and/or body would be incorporated into it. Or possibly only some people are able to power the clocks, while only others are able to use them. Leading to a sort of, ah, selling of one's body for money, or killing loved ones for power type of deal. The Black Market may not be the clocks, themselves, with this idea. Also: Upperclass=Clockworkers, Lowerclass=Batteries?

Another story idea TBA.

Other name ideas, listed so I won't forget:
Ticking of the Heart
Time-Spiral
A/The Fateful Hour

This is an interesting idea. Comment:

Clock-Magic should involve less ordinary magic(Fire, Blizzard, Thunder), and be more focused on either mental attacks or body assaults(i.e. accelerate other people's growth in certain areas, deforming them)

Story title idea?
Time's of the Essence.

It does make sense for magic to be time-based. That sounds really restricting, but a bit of imagination can fix that.
For example:
Creating a duplicate by jumping backward in time.
Superhuman agility by increasing the timeflow around oneself.
"Teleportation" by temporarily pausing time and moving around.
Healing by turning back the clock on one's own body.
Looking a short ways into the future.
Shifting the temporal state of objects.

Stuff to that effect. Also, love the name idea.

Actually it is true, the time-based magic does make sense, and doesn't interfere with any of my plans so far. IE Big Ben could be causing a temporal rift to a less polluted time- thus a haven of sorts. Even summoning could be bent to the will of time. No time travel though, player characters have a knack for creating unstable time loops, normally unintentionally. 'Teleportation' would also have to be done with object shifting, just on a living, breathing thing. Stopping time in even the tiniest spot would cost a compound interest of time, that would wildly accelerate out of control. Just the amount of energy to hold one mote/speck/tiny-unit/whatever of light, would be a lot then for every second of time you held it would be like holding it for x (where x is all science-y) amount of seconds more, ect, ect, causing a exponentially undefined number of seconds to exist in only a single second. Slowing down/speeding up time would be vastly different. However maybe I should just leave magic as magic, and leave Quantum Science (which I know not about) out of it. ^.^

As for names, while 'Time is of the Essence' is a great title, I'm not sure it will be in-world, depending on character actions, and could only be punny a little (two-three degrees). I'll probably go with 'A Fateful Hour', which there is sure to be one, and has the same (low) quality punniness, at least IMO, unless something better catches my eye.

Thanks to all the commenters so far, everyone has helped me thusly.

New Story Status: Pending (Still)