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Chapter 2:
An Answer
Departures and Arrivals
Getting to Know Them
Settling In

Omakes
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Character Sheet

  • Name: Little Bee
    Sex: Female
    Age: 11
    XP to Level: 9/30 Current XP: 4

    Level: 6
    Class: Leader
    Specialty: Bestial Adept
    Rank: A-
    HP: 55/55
    MP: 23/23
    Condition: Crippled, Weakened

    Attributes:
    Stamina:
    (13) 22 ******
    Strength: (3) 5 *
    Agility: (9) 15 ***
    Affinity: (6) 9 ****
    Perception: (15) 21 ***
    Luck: 87 ****
    Charisma: (13) 28 *******
    Intelligence: ??

    Color Code: *= Will not grow automatically, **=Slow Growth, ***=Average Growth, ****=Fast Growth, *****=Great Growth, ******=Genius, *******+= Cheating

  • Skills Learned Automatically by leveling up.

    Active:
    Blood Bond: Exchange blood with a willing beast to mix your natures and forge a lifelong alliance.
    Tiger Claw 1: Transform your hands or feet into sharp claws, receiving the same damage bonus as an ordinary iron sword. Activate again to shift back. 5MP
    • Petrifying Claw: Gives your claws the appearance of reddish stone, and adds a small chance to petrify enemies with a successful attack. +50MP when activating Tiger Claw.
    Grasping Vines 1: Transform your hair into reddish green prehensile whips that can be grown by spending 1HP/10cm. Vines can be moved as you will, but greater length makes control more difficult and their use may be difficult without training.. Activate again to shift back. 20MP
    • Agile Vines: Gain Whips with a fixed length that can move far more quickly and add a small part of agility as a bonus to damage +5MP when activating Grasping Vines
    Nourishing Blood 1: Transfer any amount of HP to an ally at a 1 to 1 ratio. May have negative effects if used on humans 3MP


    Passive:
    Monstrous Bloodline 2: The blood of monsters flows in your veins. You may safely forge two blood bonds without fear for your life.
    • Bond 1: Shadow Leopard
    • Bond 2: Carnelian Serpent Vine
    Same Soul, Distant Selves: Retain intuitive awareness of your blood bonded pets' general location regardless of distance.
    Inspirational 1: Grants a small boost to all allies within a few yards. Its power varies with charisma.
    Battlefield Awareness 1: Intuitively sense the locations and conditions of all enemies and allies within Perception/2 yards.
    Beast King's Fierce Gaze 1: The bestial adept's gaze holds viciousness, cunning and pride befitting a king amongst monsters. Boosts your effective charisma by ten percent with regards to non-humans.


  • Skills learned immediately once purchased from the list available to your class/specialty


    • Active:
      Analyze 2: keen perception allows you to divine the level and abilities of monsters and people: 1MP
      Friendship Bond: Make a show of mercy toward a weakened beast to temporarily bring it under your command. Effects fade after two days' time, though some monsters may continue to follow you of their own will. May never be reused on the same monster. 1MP (Committed)
      Rampaging Blood 1: Awaken the bestial nature lurking within your blood. Agility, Strength, Stamina and Perception increase dramatically. Reason is inhibited and HP constantly decreases while this skill is active: 10MP
      • Chimera: May be used when activating Rampaging Blood. Engage all known transformation skills for free at the cost of doing significant long-term damage to your body once Rampaging Blood ends.

      Passive:
      Comprehend 1: Grants a basic ability to comprehend the moods and natures of beast type monsters.
      Cat's Eye: Increases Visual Acuity and allows you to see normally in all but total darkness.

    • Basic Skill Tree
      Analyze 3: Extends the amount information obtained when using Analyze: 1MP (20XP)
      Roar 1: Use a loud roar to send weak-hearted monsters fleeing in terror. 5MP (10XP)
      Comprehend 2: Allows you to completely understand a beast's mood or motivations.(40XP)
      Communication: Allows you to flawlessly convey simple concepts to anything with the senses to understand. 1MP (10XP)
      Order: Tiger's Charge Method: Shout a command to temporarily add charisma to the attack damage of all allied beasts. Very short duration 10MP (30XP)
      Order: Turtle's Shell Method: Shout a command to temporarily add charisma to the defense of all allied beasts. Very short duration 10MP (30XP)
      Order: Wolf's Pace Method: Shout a command to temporarily add charisma to the movement speed of all allied beasts. Very short duration. 10MP (30XP)



      Feline Skill Tree
      Falling Grace 1: Decreases falling damage. (10XP)
      Swipes 1: Launch an incredibly fast flurry of swiping attacks with a claw weapon. 10MP (20XP)
      Plant Skill Tree
      Entangle: Wrap enemy in durable vines. (60XP)
      Poison Lash 1: Strike out with a quick whiplike blow that has a moderate chance to poison enemies. 5MP (30XP)
      Regrowth: Consume HP to passively regenerate even severe limb damage and crippling effects. (100XP)
      Shadow Element Skill Tree:
      Shadow Affinity: Increases damage dealt by and decreases damage received from shadow attribute skills. Those who learn Shadow Affinity may never learn light affinity. (30XP)
      Earth Element Skill Tree:
      Earth Affinity: Increases damage dealt by and decreases damage received from earth attribute skills. Those who learn Earth Affinity may never learn Air Affinity. (30XP)

      Life Element Skill Tree:
      Healing Affinity: Increases effects of healing skills used and received. Those who learn Healing Affinity may never learn Death Affinity. (60XP)



  • Skills not specific to your class, learned through diligent study followed by spending XP.

    Active:
    None

    Passive:
    None

    Studied:
    Pickpocket 1-5: Attempt to steal an item from another being (20XP)
    Open Lock 1-2: Opens locked doors and chests (10XP)
    Presence Concealment 1: Sneak around enemies without being seen. (30XP)
    Spear Proficiency 1: Slightly increases damage and accuracy with spears. Adds 10 to affinity for purposes of equipping spears and 5 for any other polearm. (30XP)
    Herbology 1: Allows you to understand the properties of common plants, medicines and drugs (20XP)
    Red String Sight: Allows you to see bonds of romantic love as thin red strings. 10MP (90XP)

  • Skills obtained and raised automatically by meeting certain criteria.
    Active:
    None

    Passive:
    With Unworthy Hands: Know by sight when you won't be able to use an item.
    Basic Literacy: You can read, a little.
    Navigator: You have an easy time making mental maps and tracking your location. You'll never become lost or forget the landscape under normal circumstances, and you can sense the path to the nearest bastion of civilization even deep in the wilderness.
    Reckless Hero: You've done the stupid and the impossible. Receive a significant damage boost when attacking an enemy more than twice your level.


    Personal:
    Transcendent Thoughts: Chaotic spirits influence your mind, making you prone to erratic behavior and rendering your intelligence attribute completely immune to any detection skills. All intelligence based skills are reassigned to other attributes instead.

    Variant Bloodline: Increase Monstrous Bloodline's rank by 1 for all purposes. Does not effect the rate at which monstrous bloodline improves. Evolves into ??????? when Monstrous Bloodline reaches its natural maximum rank



  • Practice Spear: A long sturdy, slightly sharp stick sized for a child. (Affinity 0 Needed)
    Basic Health PotionX3: Recovers up to 300HP over a few minutes. High alcohol content
    TorchesX4: Easy to light
    Magic Whistle: Blow it to call for help in the forest
    Cage: Great for keeping a small fox trapped if you can find one in the first place.

 
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Character Sheet
Companions


    • Name: Autumn Shade
      Sex: Male
      Age: 2
      Level: 5
      XP to Level:
      24/30 Current XP: 124


      Race: Feline
      Species Shadow Leopard
      Rank: B+
      Element: Shadow
      HP: 25/25
      MP: 12/12

      Attributes:
      Stamina: 12 ****
      Strength:
      11 *****
      Agility: 20
      ******
      Affinity: 1
      *
      Perception:
      14 *****
      Luck:
      32 *
      Charisma:
      18 ****
      Intelligence
      : 1 *


      Color Code:
      *= Will not grow automatically, **=Slow Growth, ***=Average Growth, ****=Fast Growth, *****=Great Growth, ******=Genius, *******+= Cheating

    • Skills Learned Automatically by leveling up.

      Active:
      Presence Concealment 1: Sneak around enemies without being seen. 2MP/Minute
      Swipes 1: Launch an incredibly fast flurry of swiping attacks with a claw weapon. 10MP
      Blur 1: Step into shadows and conceal your location, blending with the darkness, obscuring your position and gaining a powerful bonus to evasion until exposed to direct light in sufficient quantities. Must be activated in deep shadows, but can be maintained anywhere besides brightly lit areas. 5MP/minute


      Passive:
      Cat's Eye: Increases Visual Acuity and allows Autumn to see in all but total darkness
      Falling Grace 1: Decreases falling damage.
      Shadow Affinity: Increases damage dealt by and decreases damage received from shadow attribute skills. Those who learn Shadow Affinity may never learn light affinity.​
      Shadowy Body 1: Darkness empowers you. Gain +3 to all stats when in sufficient darkness. Does not effect HP or MP.
      Rending Claws 1: Autumn's Claws and Fangs are as sharp and durable as a low grade iron weapon.


    • Skills not specific to your class, learned through diligent study followed by spending XP.

      Active:
      None

      Passive:
      Tracker 1: Enables the user to follow a trail, given a sample to smell and pierce through some weak stealth skills.

      Studied:

    • Skills obtained and raised automatically by meeting certain criteria.
      Active:
      Poison Claw 1: An attack that with a moderate chance to inflict poison status. Life elemental 5MP

      Passive:
      Blood Bonded Beast: Allows the beast to better understand its master, grants improved reasoning abilities beyond an animal's thoughts, allows studied skills to be obtained more easily, ????

      Sole Survivor: Through luck, Autumn survived when others did not. Allows Autumn to evade the next attack after being reduced to critical condition. Refreshes whenever HP is filled completely.

      Personal:
      None





    • Name: Mountain Peak Blossom
      Sex: NA
      Age: 9
      Level: 8
      XP to Level: 25/30 Current XP: 97

      Race: Plant
      Species: Carnelian Serpent Vine
      Rank: B
      Element: Life, Earth
      HP: 45/45
      MP: 28/28
      Condition: Hungry

      Attributes:
      Stamina:
      27 ******
      Strength: 11 *****
      Agility: 3 **
      Affinity: 2 *
      Perception: 6 **
      Luck: 45 **
      Charisma: 17 ****
      Intelligence: 2 *

      Color Code: *= Will not grow automatically, **=Slow Growth, ***=Average Growth, ****=Fast Growth, *****=Great Growth, ******=Genius, *******+= Cheating

    • Skills Learned Automatically by leveling up.

      Active:
      Drain Blood 2: Latch onto an enemy and drain their HP at a rate determined by stamina 3MP/minute
      Drain Spirit 2: Latch onto an enemy and drain their MP at a rate determined by stamina 1MP/minute
      Nature Mimic 1: By holding still it's possible to pass as an ordinary plant to most basic awareness skills. 5MP to activate.
      Harden 1: Momentarily grants the user's body the toughness of stone. 5MP
      Slumber Powder 1: Creates several flower buds that douse a nearby enemy with a powerful sedative. 10MP


      Passive:
      Healing Affinity: Increases effects of healing skills used and received. Those who learn Healing Affinity may never learn Death Affinity.
      Stone Affinity: Increases damage dealt by and decreases damage received from earth attribute skills. Those who learn Earth Affinity may never learn Air Affinity.​
      Regrowth 1: Consume nutrients to passively regenerate even severe limb damage and crippling effects or to extend its shape. Consumes HP. Maximum size determined by stamina.
      Heart Striking Instinct: In lieu of sight this skill enables its user to acquire information about its surroundings. Range and detail provided vary with perception.


    • Skills not specific to your class, learned through diligent study followed by spending XP.

      Active:
      None

      Passive:

      Studied:

    • Skills obtained and raised automatically by meeting certain criteria.
      Active:
      None

      Passive:
      Blood Bonded Beast: Allows the beast to better understand its master, grants improved reasoning abilities beyond an animal's thoughts, allows studied skills to be obtained more easily, ????

      Tiger Lily Grace: Permanently increases agility by one rank.

      Personal:
      None




    • Name: Quiet Willow
      Sex: Female
      Age: 59
      Level: 38

      Class: Servant
      Specialty: Housekeeper
      Rank: D+


    • Name: Stone Soul
      Sex: Female
      Age: 28
      Level: 44

      Class: Healer
      Specialty: Combat Medic
      Rank: C+
      Element: Life

    • Name: Miren
      Sex: Female
      Age: 14
      Level: 18

      Race: Ogre
      Species: Dream Ogre
      Rank: C+
      Element: Light

    • Name: Laughter
      Sex: Male
      Age: 19
      Level: 13

      Class: Chef
      Specialty: --
      Rank: D+

    • Name: Soft Crash
      Sex: Female
      Age: 25
      Level: 16

      Class: Inventor
      Specialty: Thunder-Calling 'Hero'
      Rank: C-
      Element: Lightning

    • Name: Rocky Ox
      Sex: Male
      Age: 11
      Level: 7

      Class: Warrior
      Specialty: --
      Rank: D

    • Name: Green Stone
      Sex: Male
      Age: 62
      Level: 43

      Class: Hunter
      Specialty: Groundskeeper
      Rank: D+

    • Name: Summer's Night

      Sex: Female
      Age: 53
      Level: 31

      Class: Servant
      Specialty: Cook
      Rank: D
 
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Tutorials

  • Level is the most basic representation of power. Measured between 1 and 1000, level denotes 'fulfillment of one's potential'. In practice, those beyond level 200 are shockingly rare, and even the oldest and most powerful masters and legendary monsters do not rise higher than 500.

    Together with rank, a person's level is the most vital key to understanding his power at a glance.

    The 8 attributes govern one's raw ability, and how well one may use those raw abilities to shape magic. Those who wield power through agility tend to fast spells reliant on quick movement and thinking. By contrast, charisma based magic is largely social, influencing attitudes more than anything else.

    Attributes are ranked from 1 upwards. Higher rank denotes a faster rate of growth. An attribute of 1 is unlikely to rise without dedicated training, while a warrior with an attribute of ten might hit the maximum possible value before even reaching level 100. In practice, even B ranked warriors are unlikely to have their highest attribute above 5, and only S and SS ranked monsters have attributes rated above 7.
  • Ranks represent increasing power. Largely fixed across one's life it becomes possible to use skills like Scan, Analyze, Insight or Eye of God to read a person's status only for those older than 10, leading to the belief that the soul is in flux until that moment of crystallization when one's rank, class attributes and specialty are determined.

    A person's rank is a simple measure of potential. It is commonly thought that Rank is comparable to a container, while level is the water that fills it up. Even a small bucket may hold more than an empty lake from moment to moment, but none would doubt that the lake can hold more than a bucket, no matter what happens to the lesser container.

    In practice, rank is descriptive rather than prescriptive. It simply measures the gestalt ability of a given adventurer. In general, one's rank is fixed from the moment it is first seen, however those who, through instructor or skill book, manage to learn rare skills or obtain unique event skills may manage to raise their rank.

    Within each rank, a + or – may denote something that is strong or weak for its respective rank. However, the gap between a C+ and a B- is still larger than the gap between C and C+.

    E – Those of the lowest rank. Either peasant classes with next to no skills or classless adventurers incapable of leveling up in the first place. This group includes roughly 70% of the population. E ranked monsters are fairly rare and unusually weak.

    D – Better than E rank, D ranked people may be peasants with rarer skills or possess basic ability in one of the other classes. Low on potential, they are nonetheless capable of improving themselves and learning weak magic simply via gaining experience at life. D ranked adventurers include roughly 25% of the population. Most common monsters are D ranked.

    C – C rank can be seen as the local elite or the upper class. A C ranked warrior can naturally rise to the level of a master simply through fighting. The elite of society generally fall within C rank which includes but 5% of humanity. C ranked monsters are powerful threats capable of destroying a small village alone.

    B – B ranked people are natural geniuses. Possessed of powerful or unique skills, rare specialties and incredible stats, B ranked warriors are natural superhumans. In the tens of millions of people in the Empire, there are perhaps 5 thousand B ranked people. B ranked monsters are 'bosses' or rare and powerful beasts that can threaten entire parties of adventurers easily.

    A – The A ranked are unique legends and anomalies whose names spread across the empire. In the entirety of the empire there are perhaps a few dozen A ranked warriors. The majority of those at A rank are those who began at B+ and managed to raise their attributes through diligent training or happenstance. Perhaps 1 in 10 A rank adventurers were born with such affinity. A ranked monsters are unique and terrifying creatures that can menace entire regions

    S – S rank is one given solely to powerful monsters, confronted either by entire parties of A ranked adventurers or by hundreds of others working in concert.

    SS – The rarest class of sacred beast and the most terrifying monsters possess an SS rank. The appearance of an SS ranked creature is enough cause to muster an army. The four directional guardians are the only known living monsters to occupy SS rank.

    ?? - Naturally the great gods and the founding emperor must have possessed ranks higher than even SS.


  • Classes are divided into several category. Martial classes are those associated with various roles in combat, whether large or small scale. Artisan classes are used for those who create items or knowledge and Utility classes are a broad category encompassing all other classes. There is also a 'peasant' class that denotes the absolute weakest classes which possess no particular strengths or skills. Likewise, religious doctrine states that a "deity" class exists above the three categories and is reserved for heavenly beings.

    • Martial classes are the rarest, and in general, the most well regarded within the Empire. Even low ranked martial classes can join the various guilds to work as mercenaries or rise within the army by displaying good judgment in place of skill. At their height a martial class of the A rank may be worth thousands of ordinary soldiers, capable of reversing the course of a war or conquering a nation single-handedly.

      The vast majority of those with martial classes fall into:
      Warrior: Those who specialize in melee combat above all else
      Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
      Archer: those that use ranged combat from magical to conventional methods
      Leader: those most proficient at assisting their allies, commanding and influencing large battles,
      Healer: those who excel at defensive and support skills

      Exceptions exist

    • These are more diverse than martial classes. Artisan class people are more common than martial but less than utility. Accordingly even a D ranked Artisan class can earn a stable income, while a C or B ranked artisan might make a fortune. The works of A ranked artisans are priceless heirlooms possessed of potent magic.

      Some common artisan classes are:

      Smith: Those who specialize in creating works out of metal
      Artist: Those who specialize in creating works of primarily aesthetic value such as paintings or sculpture
      Writer: Those who use the written word to sway others
      Inventor: Those who design and create new works of science
      Scholar: Those gifted in researching the laws of magic or nature
      Farmer: One capable of shaping plants and animals through various methods

    • Utility Classes generally possess the lowest prestige apart from peasants and those without any class at all. The most common utility classes, servant and merchant, provide very little in the ways of bonuses at most tiers.

      However, an A rank merchant would almost certainly possess skills that could sway the fates of countries rather than battles.

      Almost all utility utility classes are:

      Servant: Those who excel at simple, primarily domestic work.
      Entertainer: Performers and musicians that dazzle onlookers
      Merchant: Those skilled at the art of buying and selling.



  • Within every class, there are an uncountable number of specialties. In general, if a class denotes one's general approach, specialty describes a method.

    While both the brawler and the monk are warriors reliant on unarmed combat, the brawler prioritizes incredible strength first and foremost, then uses charisma to intimidate foes. By contrast the monk relies on agility and perception to deliver quick targeted strikes using the chi skill tree.

    Likewise, the sorcerer that uses intelligence to create large scale chant-based magic, the sniper which uses perception and long bows to strike from incredible range, and the 'Improvised Weapon Master' that uses incredible agility and strength to grab and throw anything as a powerful weapon are all archers of potentially equal skill.

    The Strategist, Devil Summoner and Beast Tamer are all basic variations of the leader class with quite different abilities.

    Unlike one's class, it is notionally possible to change or evolve a specialty, though the method of doing so has long been lost.

  • Chiefly, growth happens through experience points. Upon completing tasks, slaying monsters or solving difficult problems, a person with a class will earn XP, a reward from the heavens themselves.

    Experience has two functions. Firstly, earning XP will raise your level automatically at various thresholds. However, simply raising your level will only provide the most basic skills of your class and raise your attributes.

    XP may also be spent to increase your skills directly, or occasionally to raise an attribute. Spending XP this way does not slow the rate at which one levels. Or rather, the total amount of experience you have earned in your life determines your level, while each point may be spent in several ways.

    Not all skills are equal, and the cost to learn or raise a skill with experience varies. Likewise, it is generally not considered valuable to raise attributes with experience. The cost to raise attributes one is not talented in is generally prohibitively expensive. And, while attributes where one has talent are far cheaper, their growth will generally be sufficient without spending XP.

    Lastly, a person may grow in strength through event and personal skills. These rare skills are secret techniques bestowed by heaven merely for meeting certain criteria. They may not be trained or improved with experience, and vary wildly in strength. For anyone cursed with little potential, learning rare and powerful event skills is the only sure way to increase their ability.

    At their weakest, event skills are trinkets and curiosities. The Pearl Diver skill serves only to incrementally increases the length of time one may hold their breath underwater.

    At their strongest, event skills such as General Mu Zen's Celestial Dragon Slayer, can permanently raise someone's potential with multiple attributes, bestow elemental affinities and allow someone to learn rare skills usually learnable only be powerful monsters.

  • All magic is accomplished through skills.

    In practice there are four categories of skills, Core, Supplementary, Studied and Event.

    Core Skills are the basic components of a class, such as the Presence Concealment almost all scouts possess. These are learned and improved solely through leveling up. On one hand this means that these skills require no dedicated investment, however it is also impossible to push these skills beyond their normal growth pace.

    Supplementary Skills are those class based skills that many members may choose to avoid depending on their personal goals. These skills are still natural talent and require no training to learn or master. A person merely needs to spend the necessary XP to learn a Supplementary Skill once they meet all prerequisites, though incredibly harsh and focused training may allow one to improve a skill without spending XP.

    Studied Skills are similar to Supplementary Skills, however they fall outside the purview of one's class and as such may not be mastered through intuition. Generally Studied skills must first require a student to work with a skill book or instructor to understand the skill and then spend XP to accelerate the learning time from years to days.

    Event Skills are a reward from the heavens for meeting certain criteria. These may vary from "Dive to the bottom of the depths of Lake Xia" to "Strike the killing blow against the SS+ monster Handsome Monkey King." Naturally the latter's skill would be far far superior to the former.

    Lastly, Personal Skills are a subtype of event skills unlocked for 'being yourself'. Very rare, their effects can vary dramatically. Personal skills may not normally be learned, but personal revelations or character growth may cause one to evolve.

    In principal, the right Studied or Event skill may allow a person to rank up, particularly if it synergizes with their abilities or removes a key weakness.

  • The Empire is the greatest country in history.

    Its Emperor is a descendent of heaven and a living demi-god incapable of error.

    Supporting the Emperor, the Four Imperial clans are the strong pillars of society, bearing the sacred blood of the royal family.

    The Eight Great Noble Clans descended from the first Emperor's closest advisers are the strong backbone of the country. Their righteous and talented descendents govern the many cities of the empire into prosperity.

    The Celestial Conquering Army, led by the Four Great Vanquishing Generals fills the empire's sacred task of expanding its territory and bringing its enlightened rule to all.

    The guilds solve problems for common people of the empire, working for the happiness of their fellow citizens.

    Citizens, from the first rank of nobility and elite warriors to the 12th ranks of E rank peasants are blessed with knowledge of their place and their destiny. Everything is as it should be.

    The Four Imperial Clans are:
    1. Qin
    2. Tang
    3. Song
    4. Cheng

    The 8 Great Noble Clans are:
    1. Mu
    2. Han
    3. Tan
    4. Yin
    5. Di
    6. Liu
    7. Yuwen
    8. Zeng

    The current emperor is Qin Yu, but it's illegal to use his name.

  • You know, like Fire and Lithium and stuff.

  • Monsters are any non-humans capable of movement that possesses a character sheet. For example, some plants will register as items, but a plant monster will always have stats, a rank and a level when viewed through successful analysis.

    Strictly speaking all animals are monsters, but common usage does not include unranked animals in the category.

    Monsters can roughly be divided into four categories

    Beasts: Are living monsters that are not devils. Whether a plant, bug, animal, fungus, etc any organic lifeform is a 'beast' type monster.
    Spirits: Are those monsters that lack a physical form. Elementals, ghosts, spirits, etc are all spirit type monsters.
    Artificials: Are created monsters that are not, strictly speaking, alive. The zombies a necromancer raises, a flying sword or a clockwork monstrosity that moves under its own power.
    Devils: Are intelligent monsters. Generally any creature that is both non-human and capable of speech is a devil instead of, or in addition to, one of the other types.

    Some monsters fall into more than one category. A lich is both a devil and an artificial monster, as it has human intelligence and a non-living body. A panther that had part of its body turned to stone might count as both artificial and beast.
 
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A New Wind Begins to Blow
You've been on the streets since mom got knifed by some drunk bastard who thought she was a whore. You were four then, and now you're ten. You've spent six years picking pockets, begging whatever poor saps you can find and...

[ ] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[ ] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck
But you're ten now, you have to go and get scanned. Oh sure, you know a few kids who thought they could get away or just never learned what day it was that some jackass tossed them into this shithole of a city. Some made it a few weeks, but the guards always got 'em in the end, they always do, and then the kid went anyway with a little extra beating and maybe a few broken bones as thanks for making the city guard work for once.

So you go to the squat gray building, statues of the four sacred beasts lining the doors to show it's all official and everything. Even you know about the Rebellion 15 years ago, and how it changed everything for the lower city. There's always been kids on their own or whose family can't afford a home that's all proper and stuff. So they built some fancy little place to analyze everyone. No one wants another upstart, and you guess they figure the best way to do that's to make sure they find any kid who might be some B ranked general by the time they're 20 and make sure he grows up all happy and trusting authority.

From what you've heard about growing up, your soul's gone all weird or something since you're ten and that means you're level 1 now, though you definitely don't feel any different. Some bastard with the right active skill can just take a look at you and know all your stats just like that, can look at you and know just how pathetic a brat you're going to be for the rest of your life.

It makes you

[ ] Scared. You've wanted to be good, but face the facts, 9 out of 10 are just Ds or Es, ain't worth feeding or smartening up. At best you could be some foot soldier or merchant, but you're from the lower city so best ain't going to happen.
[ ] Excited. Here it is the moment where everyone realizes how awesome you are, sees that nice sweet C+ or, if you're lucky enough to be a true genius, B-. All those doors that shut whenever people see your dirty face and bare feet will open up all nice and proper.
[ ] Both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.​

So you go, let them hand you some fancy marker with all sorts of squiggles and writing on it. You think it's a number, but you haven't tried to learn reading in 6 years so you're not really sure. The lady working out front argues for a bit, wondering how a girl as small as you could really be ten.

The guard making sure no one walks off with those fancy statues says something about a street brat that can't be bothered to go grab an honest meal in the kitchens. Of course he thinks that no one would starve in the Emperor's city. Idiot.

You almost let slip how a little tiny brat like you'd never get into the kitchens, that only the proper beggars can manage most of the time, the ones who look pathetic enough or honest enough or tough enough that the guards—and the other residents of Low Town that spot 'em leaving—don't think they'll steal or don't think it'll be much fun to give 'em a good trashing for 'impertinence.'

But it's a guard saying this, even if it's a fat one who probably couldn't chase you worth a damn, and if you say anything, he might just throw you out, then get you beaten for trying to dodge the scan. So you smile and grin like you're some idiot that don't know anything about anything, then make a gesture at him when he's not looking.

Too soon, they call you in. You haven't quite toughened up your heart yet enough for this. Some skinny, worn down gray-robe, who can't afford the proper purple trim to look like a real official, looks at you through a pair of glasses and tells the guard that there's "No way a rat this small could possibly be of the appropriate age."

Of course the guard apologizes, then tells gray robe to get on with it and promises he'll take you out back and 'treat you right' if you're wasting all their important time. Get on with it, like your entire future isn't worth five minutes of this guard's time. Still there isn't much the robe can say to that, so he waves at you with a hand and mutters a quiet "Analyze". You've seen thieves in the lower town, and sometimes better guards too. The good ones wouldn't bother to say the name just to use a skill, but a talented official wouldn't be down with the muck and the beggars in Lower City either.

You don't see anything, but it's not an obvious magic, instead Gray Robe's eyes get kinda droopy and far off as he reads something only he can see.

"Name:"

[ ] Little Bee
[ ] Uncrushable Wild-Flower
[ ] Pebble
[ ] Write-in
It scares you that he can just look at you and know all that, but the gray robe doesn't care about that.

"Age: Ten. Gender: Female, not that you'd know it looking at her," bastard, "Highest and lowest attributes:"

Attributes are your basic raw abilities. What you're voting on now is your potential. Your high attribute will scale very quickly as you level, while your low attribute will barely increase at all. Intelligence may not be chosen as either your high or low attribute. Any attribute may pair with any class. With the right specialty, there will be a way to use them, though some attributes are more easily paired with some classes than others.

Magic, if influenced by an attribute, may use any of them depending on the skill in question. There is no dedicated magic attribute.

Stamina- Determines HP and MP. Enables someone to act for longer without succumbing to exhaustion.
Strength- Influences damage, accuracy, as well as how much weight you can carry and use.
Agility- Influences accuracy, movement speed and defense
Affinity- Slightly adjusts MP, Determines what magical items and equipment you can use, and
increases your compatibility with them.
Perception- Determines what you can notice both by strengthening senses senses and your ability to interpret them. Slightly influences drop rate.
Luck- Influences both defense and HP. Increase drop rate for rare items as well as events. Helps with all actions.
Intelligence- Influences reasoning ability. You may not pick this as your high or low attribute.
Charisma
- Allows you to influence others and hide your intentions.

[ ] Your high stat is _____________; your low stat is ______________
Well, that's sounds right. If it was anything else you wouldn't really be you would you? But now it's gotta be the important bit. You hold your breath. Here's the moment where he tells you you're worthless, a peasant or just entirely classless.

"Cla..." he pauses, rereading. You try to hide the shakes in your hands. That's good right? He wouldn't get all surprised if it just said 'nothing' or 'peasant.' You fight back the urge to scream in joy, to dance like mad, to do anything that might come crashing down when he decides it's just something in his throat and you're E ranked after all.

Then he takes a deep breath, then looks at you again, focused, awake, "Scan" he says a second time, more forcefully. So he messed up the skill? Lost it before he could grab your class, your stats and your rank?

"Name, age, gender, class," he takes a deep breath, "Class:

Classes divide into several categories both in terms of how 'good' they are, and what they do. Yours is a martial class, which is to say a class that will be most relevant to combat situations rather than crafting or daily life. Each class is very broad, and most people with a martial class have a specialty as well as a class which governs how you approach your class' focus.

The most common martial classes are:
Warrior: Those who specialize in melee combat above all else
Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
Archer: those that use ranged combat from magical to conventional methods
Leader: those most proficient at assisting their allies, commanding and influencing large battles,
Healer: those who excel at defensive and support skills

[ ] What's your class?
-[ ] (Choose from above)
-[ ] Write-in (Subject to GM Approval, will be counted as another if it falls under that instead)
You collapse to your knees, not ever trying to stop the tears and snot and mucus and stuff that seem to be leaking from everywhere. You don't really know how good or bad or whatever that is, but it's not a peasant tier class. It's not 'no class' at all. You have a future now. You'll be able to join a guild or the army. If nothing else you could sell yourself into indentured servitude for a few years, earn enough money to buy admittance to the sixth or fifth rank of citizens and work as a merchant or something.

You can be a real person, a true servant of the emperor. No one will beat you or starve you now. You're valuable.

[ ] And you're never going back there.
[ ] And won't everyone be excited to hear about this!
You're so excited, and his voice drops to such a shocked whisper, that you almost miss the last part of his scan.

"Rank... That's, Rank: A-"

Any thoughts about anything flee from your head. The guard stares at you, eyes wide with shock. The scanner doesn't even sound like he believes himself. You don't either of course. It just doesn't happen. People aren't that talented. Maybe a once in a generation hero might be a B+ or something and work their way up if they can find the right event skills or learn something particularly nasty and be a legend. And of course, as little as you know about them, you know that an Imperial Prince, chosen by heaven, probably has to have something somewhere around A. But no one real, no person like you starts out higher than C. Even B's a dream..

The scanner speaks first, "It has to be a mistake of course. Maybe a personal skill that defeats simple scanning skills? incredibly rare, but more likely than.." he hesitates. Of course he would, it's his job to note down what your class and abilities are for the official census, but he can't just write A-. They'd execute him for forgery or incompetence or something.

At length he glances at the guard, then sighs, "We'll need to bring her into the inner city of course. Experts more skilled than I should be able to see the truth of the matter at any of the more central offices."

So that's it... But... a personal skill? You've heard of those, unique abilities someone has for being them instead of from their class. But, they're rare as hell. Even a gutter rat like you knows General Zen has one of course, but you don't know of anyone else that does, and Mu Zen's a living legend.

Then the gray robe really actually looks at you for maybe the first time. He winces and looks back to the guard.

"Take that thi.. her to the nearest relatively clean inn and arrange for her to be washed. I doubt she knows what a bath is. Have her clothes burned as well. We'll have to arrange something, but it would be far better to walk the streets naked in the real city than wear those rags. Shave her head as well, I shudder to think about what's living in that hair."

You glare at him. The bastard thinks you're stupid! You totally know what a bath is, and you went swimming a month ago! So what if the lake's got a bit of trash and mud in it? It's water so that counts, doesn't it. Besides, it's just unnatural to be too clean, like you think you're better than folks or some kinda smarmy fancy noble whose never had to work.
 
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[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Uncrushable Wild-Flower
[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Stamina
[X] Leader
[X] And won't everyone be excited to hear about this!
 
[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Luck; your low stat is Strength
[X] What's your class?
[X]
Healer
[X] And won't everyone be excited to hear about this!

...why'd I want to play Healer? Man, I have no idea. Here it is!

Scout is interesting, but I really want to play character with actual, pre-existing relationship.
 
[X] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck.
[X] Both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Uncrushable Wild-Flower
[X] Your high stat is Affinity; your low stat is Charisma
[X] Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
-[X] Warshaper: those who learn to shapeshift themselves for combat and utility
[X] And you're never going back there.
 
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Warshaper, or shapeshifter, is valid.

Nah, I'll say it's a valid specialty in most of the more direct classes: warrior or scout most likely.
 
[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Stamina
[X] Healer
[X] And you're never going back there.


Plan 'getting princely D' a-go
 
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[X] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck.
[X] Both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Affinity; your low stat is Charisma
[X] Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
-[X] Warshaper: those who learn to shapeshift themselves for combat and utility
[X] And you're never going back there.

I like it. Prefer Little Bee as a name though. We can do insectile shaping! Chose Affinity for high stat, given we will be wanting to shift our gear as well as our flesh and that probably needs bullshit levels. Chose charisma for low stat since I don't see us doing much leading as a scout. Plus I like playing low charisma characters in quests, less propensity for always going the diplomacy route.
 
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[X]theweepingman

It's almost guaranteed that we'll have friends and allies considering our relative importance, even if they're the kind with quotation marks around them. I'd like to bring along the people who might actually care about us as a person while we still have the chance.

On top of being relatively hard to kill, this build also makes it important to have allies to buff, but not quite as important how personally strong they are, since they'd be acting as a proxy for our own power.
 
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[X] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck.
[X] Both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Affinity; your low stat is Charisma
[X] Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
-[X] Warshaper: those who learn to shapeshift themselves for combat and utility
[X] And you're never going back there.
 
[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Stamina
[X] Healer
[X] And you're never going back there.
 
[] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[] Little Bee
[] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Stamina
[] Healer
[] And you're never going back there.


Honestly, given how ridiculous A- is reducing how much of a threat to the existing power structure we are is pretty damn important.
Leader is pretty much a coup in the making and Scout seems like it'd get people paranoid we'd ditch them and join up with someone else.
And both of those possibilities come with a high chance of preventive assassination.

A high Charisma healbot can make herself indispensible and really hard to assassinate subtly more easily.

Also, ditch the streetrats.
Kind of heartless, but where we're going we'll be facing enough problems of our own.
 
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Stamina covers MP, having it be the lowest and not having much growth as a healer seems unwise.
 
Stamina covers MP, having it be the lowest and not having much growth as a healer seems unwise.
Magic is explicitly not determined by any single attribute.
Low Stamina means we won't have much staying power, but we're going to have to take a significant hit in some area.
I suppose low Strength might be a bit better, but ultimately I don't care enough to split votes over the issue and assume there will be some specialization that makes it work.
 
If you're worried about assassination, why not pick the stat that gives us double defence boosts? We'll be indispensible because we're an A- healer, and we won't need to socially dominate if we keep our friends close instead of ditching them like you intend.
 
Magic is explicitly not determined by any single attribute.
Low Stamina means we won't have much staying power, but we're going to have to take a significant hit in some area.
I suppose low Strength might be a bit better, but ultimately I don't care enough to split votes over the issue and assume there will be some specialization that makes it work.
Stamina- Determines HP and MP. Enables someone to act for longer without succumbing to exhaustion.
Magic isn't, MP however is mostly determined by Stamina. Magic most likely covers spell strength and such. MP on the otherhand will cover how many spells or duration of a spell you can cast or in other words magical stamina.

Look at the sole person who liked my post.
 
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Magic isn't, MP however is mostly determined by Stamina. Magic most likely covers spell strength and such. MP on the otherhand will cover how many spells or duration of a spell you can cast or in other words magical stamina.
... Hence not having much staying power.
A low MP pool doesn't necessarily preclude powerful bursts of magic.
Not to mention that there might be workarounds like pumping out very high quality potions or non-magical healing bullshit.

Look at the sole person who liked my post.
Which is admittedly a lot more worrying.
I was operating under the assumption that low Stamina wouldn't be truly crippling, especially not for the second most support focused class.
Changing vote, then:

[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Little Bee
[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Strength
[X] Healer
[X] And you're never going back there.
 
[X] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck.
[X] Both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
[X] Killer Bee
[X] Your high stat is Affinity; your low stat is Charisma
[X] Warrior: Those who specialize in melee combat above all else
-[X] Warshaper: those who learn to shapeshift themselves for combat and utility

I want our motto to be "Float like a butterfly sting like a bee".
 
Leader is pretty much a coup in the making and Scout seems like it'd get people paranoid we'd ditch them and join up with someone else.
And both of those possibilities come with a high chance of preventive assassination.

A high charisma leader or strategist type might be. A pokemon trainer or user of a few animals might not.


A high Charisma healbot can make herself indispensible and really hard to assassinate subtly more easily.

Super charisma is pretty useful even ignoring the whole martial aspect. It might be wise, if you're worried about being a threat to a status quo or getting assassinated for being a potential coup, to realize that most everyone will know you're a super-diplomancer in the making and may adjust plans accordingly vs just an A ranked warrior. In the long run, being the best combat medic in history without a decent party would really end up sucking for you, so charisma does synergize well here, but, trade-offs.

As for low stamina, I can work with it definitely, but your choice on specialties may become pretty limited. It's doable, but it's probably going to be hard-mode, given that most anything that will be on your level will probably be able to kill you with a glancing blow if they actually hit and you'll be able to get 1-2 ordinary skills off at most without gear to boost your MP (A bit more if you slam down on affinity). You'll either try to rely mostly on overlapping passive effects or work out some way to cheat your MP cap enough to actually have enough to use better skills.

In short, healer+Charisma+Low Stamina has a good deal of potential eventually, but living that long and getting stronger is going to be hard. Outside of a few leadership specialty options that wouldn't help you generate or train up your own pets/allies, this is probably the hardest option I can think of.
 
Here... have a tally. Organized it a bit to make reading easier.
Vote tally:
##### 1.1.1

[X] Running with a gang to watch your back. You need friends to get by on the streets.
No. of votes: 7
Xicree, theweepingman, VictoriousCoyote, rcnr, Biigoh, BFldyq, Pipeman

[X] Making it alone. Gangs are nothing but trouble. Trusting anyone in the Lower City's a great way to end up on a cart with a collar on your neck.
No. of votes: 4
Bailey Matutine, redaeth, Cassiemouse, AZATHOTHoth

[X] both: You know you're supposed to be special, you're awesome, but.. Yeah, the analysis guy or whatever might lie or get it wrong, that's all. He's working in lower city and there's no way anyone worth a damn would be.
No. of votes: 11
Xicree, theweepingman, Bailey Matutine, VictoriousCoyote, redaeth, rcnr, Cassiemouse, Biigoh, BFldyq, Pipeman, AZATHOTHoth

[X] Little Bee
No. of votes: 7
theweepingman, VictoriousCoyote, redaeth, rcnr, Cassiemouse, Biigoh, Pipeman

[X] Uncrushable Wild-Flower
No. of votes: 3
Xicree, Bailey Matutine, BFldyq

[X] Killer Bee
No. of votes: 1
AZATHOTHoth


[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Stamina
No. of votes: 4
Xicree, VictoriousCoyote, Biigoh, BFldyq

[X] Your high stat is Affinity; your low stat is Charisma
No. of votes: 3
redaeth, Cassiemouse, AZATHOTHoth

[X] Your high stat is Luck; your low stat is Strength
No. of votes: 2
theweepingman, rcnr

[X] Your high stat is Stamina; your low stat is Strength
No. of votes: 1
Bailey Matutine

[X] Your high stat is Charisma ; your low stat is Strength
No. of votes: 1
Pipeman

[X] Healer
No. of votes: 5
theweepingman, VictoriousCoyote, rcnr, Biigoh, Pipeman

-[X] Warshaper: those who learn to shapeshift themselves for combat and utility
No. of votes: 4
Bailey Matutine, redaeth, Cassiemouse, AZATHOTHoth

[X] Scout: those that specialize in stealth, evasion and self-sufficiency as well as travel
No. of votes: 3
Bailey Matutine, redaeth, Cassiemouse

[X] Leader
No. of votes: 2
Xicree, BFldyq

[X] Warrior: Those who specialize in melee combat above all else
No. of votes: 1
AZATHOTHoth

[X] And you're never going back there.
No. of votes: 6
Bailey Matutine, VictoriousCoyote, redaeth, Cassiemouse, Biigoh, Pipeman

[X] And won't everyone be excited to hear about this!
No. of votes: 4
Xicree, theweepingman, rcnr, BFldyq
 
Okay, this might not have been clear. I'll be going and manually counting class/stat as a pair and the rest piecemeal. This is largely because something could happen where say, the most common class vote has none of the votes for the most common attribute vote.
 
Okay, this might not have been clear. I'll be going and manually counting class/stat as a pair and the rest piecemeal. This is largely because something could happen where say, the most common class vote has none of the votes for the most common attribute vote.
Huh, Leader, Healer and Warshaper are all tied at 2 then since no one really can agree on priorities hah. If only AZATHOTHoth hadn't decided to go warrior instead of scout, then it'd be in the lead.
 
Could we still be a warshaper as a healer?
 
Could we still be a warshaper as a healer?

Nah, I'll say it's a valid specialty in most of the more direct classes: warrior or scout most likely.
I wouldn't call healer a direct class. If you want to be a warshaper I suggest either convincing people why high stamina\low strength is better then high affinity\low charisma or simply accept that vote is clearly the superior choice and change your own.
 
I'm still of the opinion that Luck is a much better choice to minimize the risk to our person, since while Charisma makes us a political entity, all Luck does is make us useful and hard to kill. We attract loot and repel death. People who don't even particularly like us will want to be around us, and we don't pose much of a direct threat.
 
I'm still of the opinion that Luck is a much better choice to minimize the risk to our person, since while Charisma makes us a political entity, all Luck does is make us useful and hard to kill. We attract loot and repel death. People who don't even particularly like us will want to be around us, and we don't pose much of a direct threat.
Depends on how the luck manifests. If its the 'everyone but me dies' variety no one would want to be around us.

In all honesty Luck is a solid choice to pick as a high stat, I just think Affinity is better choice for a Warshaper given how magic items and shapeshifting generally don't mix unless you are powerful enough.

And since there are going to be Artifact grade magical items around I don't want to lose the ability to use them because we picked a dead end specialty due to lack of stats.
 
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I wouldn't call healer a direct class. If you want to be a warshaper I suggest either convincing people why high stamina\low strength is better then high affinity\low charisma or simply accept that vote is clearly the superior choice and change your own.
Maybe some kind of biokene though?

Doing for others what a warshaper does for themselves?
 

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