Bast sat on a chair, staring furiously at a pair of scrolls, the first floating above him, detailing his Character Sheet, one that he could access at any time through another scroll known as the Menu. The second scroll was a real, physical scroll, one giving a basic introduction to each Stat, and the various details of leveling and character creation. He would occassionaly scratch at his human ears, the protruding flesh itching slightly. It was yet another frustration for the boy. Not only was he weaker, he was also starting to realize that his sense of hearing was also dampened. Inferior humans, and their weak physiology. It was a miracle his own people had lost the Founding War.
The ire that had driven him to seek a quick departure from the Tutorial had quickly faded, sidelined as it slowly dawned on him just how vital this Character Creation was. He had originally assumed that getting stronger was as simple as killing monsters, and though it technically was, there were plenty of tiny details that turned out to be quite important.
Everything had started when the Tutorial Master asked how exactly he wished to fight. The question was ridiculous, and should have been completely obvious, but now that Bast was starting to understand Stats , Traits, and Levels, he realized just how important such a question had been. Becoming stronger in this world was more complicated than simply training. There were various numbers that controlled how well one’s Character functioned in the world. There were apparently 12 main statistics that determined pretty much everything, from how quickly one moved, to how powerful one’s magic was. These values could be increased by Leveling Up, allowing you to increase any Stat by 1, up to ten times per level. To make things even more complicated, you started with three Traits gaining an additional one every ten levels. These Traits were essentially options that allowed more customization to one’s Build, like access to more diverse and archaic magics, improved senses, magical resistances, or just straight up damage multipliers. All in all, it was too convoluted for Bast’s tastes, and the Demigod refused to do all the work for him, so here he was, pondering over how exactly he would proceed.
One of his biggest issues was in regards to the Strength and Agility Stats. In reality, one’s ability to move quickly depended on muscle strength, familiarity with the movements, and natural reflexes. But in this world, muscle strength was somehow split into two categories, Agility and Strength, with the first improving how quickly and easily your body moved, and the second determining how powerful the movement was. Which made no sense to Bast. From what he understood, the speed of your body was directly proportional to the body’s size, and how much strength was put into it. But apparently, even some of the most fundamental principles of the universe were being rewritten. At least it explained his seeming lack of physical strength and feeling of sluggishness in the world. According to his character sheet, he had 100 Strength and Agility, which was universal amongst all new Players. It was apparently made that way so nobody had an advantage based on their physique in the real world. Not only that, but it was highly likely that, due to his own prowess and natural reflexes being much greater than a normal human, the ‘leveling the playing field’ reduced his own speed and reflexes a great deal more than most players.
The issue of Strength vs Agility was quite a difficult one, given he had to decide how he wanted to split his 10 Stat Points gained per level between the two, as well as the ten other Stats. Should he be faster, or hit harder? It was truly a difficult conundrum, one made more difficult by the rest of the stats. And what about the others? All of them seemed extremely important, in one way or another.
The next two Stats were Toughness and Reflexes. The first governed how physically healthy your body was, increasing one’s HP, and the second how quickly time passes. The second was definitely the most puzzling, and was the second biggest thorn in his side when it came to determining what stats would go where. He could use most of his Stat Points on Reflexes, giving him more time to plan his movements, but he would feel even more sluggish than he was now, and that was NOT a pleasant idea. Though it would be mitigated by the small note that mentioned one’s Reflexes outside of combat could be defaulted to a certain amount, to help with communication, as well as reducing the stress on the mind. Oh, and that was another issue. Apparently, making time go slower kind of messed with the brain a bit, so it was limited to combat, or when a command was given to activate it, for times when you need precision, such as a surgery, or a complex bit of artistry.
Of course, there were other important stats besides those four, but those four were definitely his priority at the moment, all being important to the life of a swordsman. Next were magical stats. There was Power, which made a spell hit harder, or work better. Then there was Capacity, which increased how much magical energy you could carry at once, Mana, as the Demigod called it. Next was Attunement, which increased how quickly one’s magical energy returned, and Malleability, which made spellcasting easier. Bast couldn’t help but imagine how it would be to increase his magical reserves so simply. Weeks of constant magical endurance training had left a toll on him during his training as a guardsman, one that could have been avoided completely if this system worked in the real world.
Though there were four other Stats, all but one were completely useless to the boy. Force of will to make the non-player residents of the realm do what you want, Social Skills to give you hints about a Player or Non-Player’s mood, or even hints about personality of Non-Players. Then Willpower to resist non-damaging magics, and Pattern Recognition to give hints about possible traps, riddles, schemes, and some crafting tips. Willpower was the mildly important one, but the others had no use to him at the moment.
All of the Stats needed to be juggled, depending on how he wanted to hunt his targets. He was a quick and powerful swordsman, so Strength, Agility, Toughness and Reflexes were all important, but did he want to try and learn this world’s magics, or just use his own? No, he couldn’t use his own, or it might attract attention. After all, his own magics would be obviously unique, since it wouldn’t use his Mana, and it would be very different from the human’s, given the magic of this place was apparently a creation of the realm, with couldn’t possibly be based in real magics, given the Templar’s constant hunting of anything magical for the last two millennia.
Sitting at the desk, Bast kept mulling over option after option. He could rely mostly on Strength for sheer damage, and just use high Reflexes and his own skill to dodge and outwit opponents, but with higher Agility, he could outperform others in swordsmanship with ease, attacking and parrying faster, and using his knowledge of combat to keep three steps ahead of everyone. Then there was Toughness to consider, since it was important to stay alive. If he was quick, it was less likely he would get hit, but there was still offensive magics to consider. He could deal with those with Willpower though… All the possibilities made him rub at his head, frustrated by his lack of progress. He had been sitting for over half an hour, most of it listening to Master Windless’s endless explanations, and he seemed no closer to his goal.
It didn’t occur to him until after much deliberation to consider what was most common amongst the human Players, and the realization made him feel rather foolish. After all, it was important to consider one’s enemies before choosing one’s weapon. Turning to the monologue-prone Demigod, he asked a rather simple question. “What’s more popular amongst Players. Damage dealing magic-wielder, quick duelists, or strong swordsmen?” The man smiled slightly, standing still for a moment, as if pondering, before saying, “There’s quite a bit more variety than that, my boy. Most Player’s tend to work together, often in groups of four to six, and as such, some focus mostly on HP and defense, with magics to make the enemy focus on them, while others provide substantial damage, healing powers, powerful augments, and potent debilitating spells. However, most players have opted for the heavier armor types, focusing on using armor to augment their low HP, and putting all their stats into one or two stats, usually Strength or Power.”
Oh, right, that reminded him, there was also various armor types to consider, ranging from Cloth, all the way up to Fullplate. At least they had a reasonable variety that mostly reflected reality. Except the leather armor. Leather armor is USELESS in reality! But having a reasonable variety didn't help the fact that they ruined almost everything about armor, because everything in this place stunk. The Developers of this realm were apparently unable to do anything besides numbers and more numbers. Armor in this place just acted as a second set of HP, and it didn’t even matter if you hit an unarmored area, as long as the armor’s HP was above 0, the damage would go to the armor’s HP, rather than your own, which was completely, utterly, STUPID! Well, Bast thought so, at least.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
The new knowledge certainly didn’t make his decision any easier. If most of his targets worked in complementary groups, then it would be extremely frustrating to fight them. Hmmm… wait, if the enemy focused mostly on working together, wouldn’t that mean they would double down on their main stats? That would leave each one lacking in the rest, and would be ineffective on their own. Now THAT was an idea. If he could single out a target, he could probably make quick work of them, which could even open up more targets in the rest of the group. Now, how would he single enemy’s out?
The easiest way would be to teleport them away, but that was almost impossible with real magic, and it would most likely be impossible here, too. A quick question to the Tutorial Master confirmed as much. Next would be… Illusion magic! Oh, now wasn’t this an amazing coincidence. He just so happened to adore the school of Illusory magics, but lacked the proper training in them, due to their lack of effectiveness in the roles of a guardsman. Now, it WAS a good idea, but it would require splitting up his Stats more. Hmmm… What other routes were available? Stealth, obviously, but then it would require plenty of waiting and patience, something he most definitely wasn’t in the mood for. Perhaps basic luring traps, focusing on Agility to slip behind them? No, the results would vary too much between groups, and would also require cover.
Well, how about teleporting himself, getting in close to kill someone quickly, before teleporting back out. That was promising as well, but once again, he would need to split his Stats. It looked like it was going to come down to either Illusion or Teleportation, but he'd have to check what the actual spells were, and what they did. Time to ask the big orange man some more questions that would most likely just end up with the Demigod annoyed, and himself extremely frustrated.
A few minutes later, Bast couldn't help but think he might be able to see the future. After a quick discussion with the orange giant, the boy learned that actual teleportation wasn't possible until much later into the Game, and were only available to specialized casters around level 40, or for those lucky enough to stumble on a hidden Trait option during some quest, granting them some form of basic teleportation a bit early. And according to the Demigod, it would probably take him at least a few weeks, if not more, to reach that point. No way was he wasting that much time, and the Spatial magics that WERE available at the start weren't even close to what he wanted. No, he would have to stick with Illusion. It also didn't quite fit what he wanted, not right away, but it DID open up an avenue that he hadn't considered.
That one spell made up his mind. The other two were decent, one having a long cast time with repetitive chants, which created illusory terrain, the other being a simple appearance change, one that was entirely free of mana cost and long lasting. The second one ALMOST fit what he wanted, but unfortunately, it affected all that could see the illusion. According to Master Windless, he'd get the option for singling out individuals for Illusion spells around level 10, for a Trait Point. Well, he could probably suffice with just the first spell until then.
And so, Bast settled on Illusion magics. And with that piece in place, it was finally time to decide how to split up Stats, and his two remaining Traits. And with a few more questions about some decent Traits, he narrowed his choices down to the basics, though both were obvious picks, once he thought about them. Much better than some crappy +5% damage with swords. Might as well just give him +5 strength and be done with it.
And with that, he managed to complete almost everything for Character Creation. Though he intended to be more balanced in his future Stats, instead of focusing so heavily on Agility, the feeling of slowness was a real drag, and aleviating that issue was worth spending his points on Agility until the issue got fixed. All in all, he felt very satisfied with his choices, as well as his name. It was a good name, and demonstrated his intents rather clearly. All that was left was to choose how he looked, and where he would begin his journey. Not that those really mattered. He'd just make something like his real form, but make sure it was slightly different from reality, just for added security. As for location, anywhere with plenty of prey to slay. Yes, he could already see it now. Vast forests of foolish humans, ripe for the killing. The boy clasped his hands together, rubbing them as he sniggered in a most cruel way. It would seem cartoon villain-ish, if it weren't for the very real hatred that burned in his soul.
Meanwhile, as Bast gloated over his completed character, the Demigod was clutching his chest, barely containing his laughter at the boy's choice of name. He had seen plenty of angsty teens in his days, but this one most definitely made his top ten. It was even better that the boy had no clue how angsty he was being, and how people would react to his name. He would definitely have to keep track of the boy now, since he had a lawful excuse, which was monitoring the boy to make sure he didn't get too bullied. Not that the Demigod would report such activities unless it got really bad, but still, it passed his protocol requirements, and that was a good enough reason for him. Oh, he was going to love seeing this boy try and handle the Gaming world. Poor thing probably thought a strong sword would be enough in the world of Phasmia Online. How wrong he was.
First, let's go over damage, and do some algebra. Yay, algebra, it's finally coming in handy for understanding game mechanics of a fictional video game from some random web novel. I knew it would come in handy!
Terms:
Damage = W * (Str + X) * L
Pretty simple, right? Well, it's not super simple, but it's better than some half-baked numbers made up on the spot. I'll be doing my best to make sure the numbers are actually balanced, instead of whatever feels good.
Next, what does each stat do, in terms of numbers?
Strength: +1% melee damage, thrown weapons, and applicable ranged weapons ( Bows, blowdarts, etc )
Agility: +0.3% faster movements and attack speed.
Reflexes: +0.3% time dilation.
Toughness: +1% HP, +1 resistance against toxins, poisons, and diseases
Power: +1% spell damage/effectiveness
Capacity: +1% mana pool
Attunement: +1% mana regen. ( Base regen is 100% mana in 60 minutes, so 1.3% mana per minute. 100 attunement makes 2.6 MPM, 300 makes 3.9, etc. )
Malleability: 1% faster casting. ( This one is a bit harder to crack down, since casting varies depending on both the user's practice using the various forms of spellcasting, but since everything is numbers, performing the actions of various spellcasting, whether it be chants, dances, or other ritualistic practices, increases a number, which once passing a threshhold, allows the casting of the spell. each point in Malleability increases how quickly you get to that threshhold by 1%. Phew, that took a bit of explaining. Onwards! )
Force of Personality: No obvious numbers for this stat, except for when it is used in Traits and Spells, but one can generally assume that you can influence an NPC by subtracting their Willpower from your FoP, and the higher that is, the more you can get away with. Reaching the 200+ range, and a commoner could be convinced you are the newest Lord of the area. Get in the thousands, and you could convince a King that you are the real king, and the king's memories are all fake, and that he is actually a hobo with bad acne.
Willpower: +1 Resistance against non-damaging spells. Generally, one subtracts Willpower from the foe's Power to see how effective a non-damaging spell, and the higher the divide, the more effective it becomes, and when dealing with hard numbers, this becomes a simple 1% increase to effectiveness per difference in stat.
Social Skills: Once again, no hard numbers, but acts almost the same as Force of Personality, but instead of convincing someone through sheer force, Social Skills gives you hints and tips about a certain individual, NPC and PC alike, including mood, likes and dislikes, and even general personality information. Of course, for PC's, this data is only generated by info gained in-game, and is VERY limited, so as to keep confidentiality. It also monitors for stalker activity, but isn't always successful, and is a sore spot in the game's publicity.
Pattern Recognition: Simply put, Crafting, Riddles, Schemeing and detective work, all these tasks can be solved by the individual's cleverness. HOWEVER, increasing this stat can give you an edge if you aren't a genius at certain tasks. You think of a task, and a number based on difficulty is generated. Depending on how high your PR is compared to this difficulty, you will get hints and tips about how to do the task in question. This combines with one's Skill level for Crafting and such to give more detailed information. Beware though, that this stat can occassionally lead you astray, sometimes in drastic ways.
That's all for today, Folks! I hope you enjoyed this little filler footnote, and have a wonderful day!
