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It's time to officially launch Leyline!
We tried out the classroom setting, and while it worked, the process was way too slow to get the game running in any sort of speedy time. But, I was able to teach you all the basics and the kinds of characters that will be in the game. So now, we need to create our characters. We're going to do this in parts, 3 to be precise, starting tonight with the basic info, stats, and how the battle system will work in the game.
I'm also going to guide you all in character creation by creating your teacher, Athena, with you. Each part I will leave up for a few days to answer questions, but I will take character applications all the way until the final day -- which I will give you all plenty of notice on. Remember, I am taking 7 characters total, so make them count.
At the end of each part, I want those interested in playing to PM me their character thus far. For reasons of fairness and balance, I will eventually lock down changing anything stat and power wise, before posting the final part where you submit the full character.
I'll be going into detail in each section, and posting what I use for Athena at the end.
Bear in mind, if you do not know what sort of character you are playing, you are NOT required to turn anything in before you are ready. You can wait for all 3 parts to be posted to submit a character if you'd like. I implore you all to ask questions and help each other out as we go.
So, let's Delve right into it.
[Part One -- The Basics]
Here is what I need from you to start.
[Arbiter Name] What is your characters name? Pretty self explanatory, has no bearing on your stats or skills.
[Gender] Once again, straight forward. You do not have to have a Gender if your character is a being of energy or something without sex.
[Anima] This is the kind of soul your character will have, and now we finally get to something that will change how your character works in game. Each Soul type will be a God, of course, but will reflect your roots and the powers you get for being of said type. Each soul will have a permanent Perk, or buff, assigned to it. You will not know what those are until the end of character creation, but I will tell you that they have to do with what happens when you die in battle.
You -WILL- be dying in battle. I cannot stress this enough, this battle system is simple, but potent. You can die in battle, and if you die enough or your whole team dies, you lose the mission and the storyline changes. I will not be fudging rolls to keep you alive. Your soul type also has to do with how easily your memory can be altered when in a soul state. This is for RP purposes.
The four types are as follows:
<Immortal> You were born a God, from Immortal parents. Death in battle can be undone quite quickly and cheaply, but consecutive deaths will stack exponentially in both time and cost. You have no Memory protection when dead.
<Semi-Mortal> You were born of a God and a Mortal, be they one that ascended or was still Mortal at the time of birth. Death in battle can be undone very quickly, near-instantaneously, but the power needed to bring you back is steep. At times this can leave you without anything but physical skills for a while. You have moderate Memory protection when dead.
<Mortal> You were selected, when dead as a Mortal, to Ascend and become a God. Death in battle is slow to recover from, due to the protective nature of your soul, but the cost is the lowest of all Anima. You also have extreme levels of Memory protection when dead.
<Spirit> You are an elemental, and be it by other Gods or just a collection of power and knowledge you have Ascended. You are extremely slow in resurrecting when dead, and the cost is high, however you are extremely hard to kill in the first place. It takes more to kill you than the other 3 Anima and you are granted other forms of protection as well. When dead, your Memories can be read and viewed with little trouble, but it's very difficult to modify them.
[Xenotype] Your race. Most of the races in the Universe are humanoid or near humanoid, but there are some extremely different races as well. This choice is entirely up to you; but keep in mind your Anima. If you chose a Spirit Anima, you may look human... but you also may be a flaming fire elemental creature.
This is part of the application, so don't just put "human" or "Bat Guy", give me background on your race. Tell me what makes them different from other creatures, give me a bit of culture, possible passive powers like seeing in the dark or weaknesses to light. If you give me enough here, I'll grant you a bonus Perk based off your race.
[Ethereal Bias] What sort of powers do you want your God to lean towards? Note that this isn't your Rune Magic or even your final power set yet. It's the kinds of skills and powers you want your God to have. Concepts I've heard thus far are specialized swords, powerful methods of travel, being able to unmake objects or even concepts with ease, or even Athena - whose powers revolve around knowledge and learning. This is a rough concept of what you want your God to do, and will turn into your exact power set as we go.
[Personal Profile] Describe your God. What do they look like? What do they wear? What sort of mentality do they have? This, and the following section, are going to be what I look at when I choose the 7 players that will enter Leyline. Mind, if you don't have a full concept yet, feel free to write down what you know here for now. Nothing will be finalized, or even considered as competition, until the final part has been posted. You can change this as much as you like as you flesh out your God.
[Biography] Here's where the real meat and potatoes are. Who is your God? Are they even aware themselves? Are you a Mortal, freshly Ascended with no clue what Immortal society is like? Are you an Elemental Ascended, looking to make a name for yourself? What have you been through? Who do you know? What have you lost? Where are you going? This section, as well as your Personal Profile, is your Role Playing test that will determine if you get into the game or not. I will not be the only judge -- you will also be, unnamed, presented to my writer Wife who will pick her favorite seven -- we will then compare them, debate it, and ultimately choose who enters the game. Your past matters, however this is more of a test of how well you can write, as it will be your interactions with others that will determine how your character grows. Both of these sections can be edited and changed as much as you please until everything is finalized.
Please also keep in mind I've removed Shells from the immediate game. They are not needed for your characters, but are needed for the plot, so I'm going to make them something a God can get when they are a higher level. I may make these available to you, I may not -- I've yet to decide, but it gives you one less character to create and me one less system to worry about.
[Stats]
Your stats will determine how your character behaves, fights, and ultimately survives not only in battle, but at all times. Stats will be used both in and out of battle. Each stat starts at 1 point and can go to a max of 10. You have 33 points to allocate, meaning only 3 stats can possibly be maxed out. Before I go on, know that the kinds of Perks you get to choose from will have stat requirements, both high, low, and mixed, to be obtained. This, more than anything, is why you won't see the Perks you can buy until your stats are locked down.
So, this is a big section... let's get started.
[Basic Stat Breakdown]
Edge - [Effects Physical Power and Precision]
Flux - [Effects Physical Defense and Recovery]
Keen - [Effects Detecting Objects and Foes]
Beat - [Effects Agility and Reaction Time]
Rune - [Effects Rune Potency and Affects]
Will - [Effects Rune Defense and Duration]
Soul - [Effects Your Attunement and Abilities]
[Stat Descriptions]
Leyline is a world of balance, so min-maxing yourself may not actually yield the strongest results. After your stats are locked, you’ll be able to access the perks for your God that will have both minimum AND maximum stats required to use. If your Beat, for example, is really high it will lock you out of some of the perks you could get with a really low Beat and vice versa. Just because you have a very low stat in something doesn’t necessarily make it bad, especially if you take the right perk.
<Edge>
Edge is your physical power, your strength, or your skill with your martial arts and weapons. The higher your Edge, the more you may describe your character as muscular, or toned; if going a weapon master route or martial artist, they may have a normal looking body but still end up being incredibly skilled when wielding their art. Characters with lesser Edge may look thin, pasty, or small… or you may have a 10 in Edge and make your character look tiny. With a proper RP’d reason you can have your characters physical build be whatever you’d like.
<Flux>
Flux is your defense, your recovery from stuns, how quickly you regenerate physical damage. The higher your Flux, the more you may describe your character as bulky or large, however body mass doesn’t always equal defense; you could have an amazing set of armor, or be a master at redirecting physical energy and block by a martial art style. Characters with lesser Flux may look fragile, wilted or sick… or once again, you may have a 10 in Flux and have your character seem drunk all the time but be a master at deflection with drunken kung-fu.
<Keen>
Keen is your visual perception, your sense of smell, or perhaps an ability to scan a large range through vibrations on the ground. Your Keen won’t really affect your physical look, unless you’d like it to with some slick shades or a Sherlock Holmes hat, but what it will do is let you see things others don’t. A character with high Keen may be physically weak, but due to his perceptions he does more damage than an Edge powerhouse because he knows where to strike. Players with high Keen will need to watch their inboxes as they will be contacted when a Keen roll lets them notice something extra. Those with low Keen will find themselves victims of sneak attacks, blindsides, and will have a hard problem with stealthier enemies.
<Beat>
Beat is your agility, your reaction time, or even the ability to dance while fighting and make yourself extremely hard to hit. Once again it won’t really affect you physically, but it will be your main defense against both Rune and Physical attacks. You try and dodge before blocking, but if you rely on Beat only you may end up taking some hard hits if the dodge fails and there’s no Flux to soften the blow. A character with low Beat will be taking more hits, but it will also allow them to pump more points into the other defense stats. Well rounded defense or concentrated defense? However defense isn’t the only thing Beat does… under the right stat allocation, it can make you incredibly strong.
<Rune>
Rune is your Ethereal power, your potency, how well you can control your Rune based attacks and spells. Players with high Rune may seem very terrifying, or have a visible aura around them, or they could choose to hide it and not reveal it until they use Rune Magic. The higher your Rune Stats, the stronger the Rune types you can use and the more Runes you will start with, but Runic power isn’t everything and it certainly isn’t the only stat that affects what Runes you can get and create. Players with low Rune won’t have as much in the way of Runes… but rumor has it that since they get less, they can concentrate more on the potency of those runes.
<Will>
Will is your Ethereal defense, your shields, and how long support or status effects will last on friends and foes alike. Players with high Will shall always have a certain charisma about them, because they are steadfast in what they believe and what they hold dear. The higher your Will, the better you will be able to deflect Rune Magic and in some cases it can replace your physical defenses as well. Players with low Will are going to have problems with Rune Magic and status affects, but their ability to accept what has happened to them may open up new options high Willed Gods don’t have.
<Soul>
Soul is a stat that works a bit different than the other 6. First off, you need to choose what sort of Attunement you wish your character to have in the game, which will be explained below. After that, you put the normal 1-10 points into like the other stats, however unlike the other stats, this doesn’t have any direct effects in the game. Everything Soul gives you is passive, and it gives you this with a series of unique perks depending on your level. Are you a Light based soul? How strong in the light are you? This is the one stat in the game where there is no extra cost or benefits for having a high level or low level. It will simply give you different perks to choose from.
So here is how it works; fewer points put into Soul will unlock more physically based perks, for warriors. More points put into Soul will unlock more Runic based perks, for casters. A mid range of Soul will, of course, give you a little of both. However Warriors who have high Soul, and Casters who have low Soul, won’t be screwed… they’ll get another kind of power. The kinds of perks available will also depend on your attunement, which you choose when you first put points into it. The choices you can pick from are below, but keep this in mind: Soul is fluid. If you pick, say, a Light Soul and you commit a really evil, out of character act in game? Your Soul will switch to Dark, and in doing so you will LOOSE all the perks you picked from. You will be able to replace those perks with new ones based in your new attunement, and if you manage to redeem yourself you’ll get the original ones back. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing mind, as it may be a stubborn Light character that finds peace in the Gray and remains there.
[Soul Attunements]
<Light>
Your character is kind, sometimes stubborn, but generally good natured and on the lookout for others. They believe in righteous causes, protection of the innocent, or any number of good willed beliefs. Perks available for Light side characters revolve around protection, both of self and of others, as well as healing and shields. They also may have perks that empower themselves, as strength of oneself can help others.
<Gray>
Your character is neutral, out for themselves, not really the dark and brooding type but not shining in the light either. They can do what the job calls for; even if some Light Soul characters would find the action unethical. Perks available for Gray characters mainly involve themselves, boosts to their powers and their bodies, honed disciplines, and positive status effects. They also may have perks designed to support others in subtle ways, small nudges in the right directions.
<Dark>
Your character is deep, brooding, and mysterious, but not truly someone who could be defined as outright evil. They are very selfish; looking out only for themselves or ways they can manipulate others. They believe in power, and only in power, as with enough power anything can be possible. Perks available for Dark characters are based in boosts, power ups, and things that will give them an edge. They also may have perks designed to bring an enemy down quicker and in dishonorable ways.
<Balanced>
Your character is the very embodiment of Light, Shadow and Darkness, all intertwined into one. Balanced characters are extremely calm, peaceful, and it takes a lot to rile them; once roused, however, depending on which side they lean towards they can become unstoppable forces of justice, masters of their art, or furious angry berserkers. Perks available for Balanced characters are less potent that pure Light, Gray or Dark side perks, however they are more varied allowing for a greater degree of customization. They also may have unique perks that no other Soul type can get, for they require one to be at harmony with one’s self to use.
[Stats In Game]
Stats in game work with a D10 roll, with your stat amount added to it. For example, if you attacked an enemy with a sword, you would add your Edge to a dice roll I will provide.
d(10) = 7 + 5 Edge = 12 Attack Roll
Attacks are then matched up to an opposing stat, for example Flux, and compared.
d(10) = 5 + 5 Flux = 10 Defense Roll
12 v 10 = Attack Roll wins
In this case, the defender will take a minor amount of damage. But it’s not just combat that these rolls will apply to. The way you interact with your world will also be determined in this with basic “blank” rolls. Let’s say, you walk into a room that has a trap inside it and you have high Keen.
d(10) = 7 + 8 Keen = 15 Spot Check (You detect the trap)
Or you try to blow up a wall with moderate Rune…
d(10) = 2 + 3 Rune = 5 (You slightly char the paint)
Not to worry, however, as your screen will not be flooded with numbers every battle. I am going to keep the rolls I do hidden from view, showing the victor by role playing the results. It will also allow for quicker posting if I don’t have to write every single roll I make down. The battle system will utilize this and there will be more on it later.
It’s also possible to put Edge up against Will, or Rune against Flux, provided you take the proper perk to allow you to do so. Also bear in mind those both attacks from Edge and Rune stats will have to pass through Beat first if it’s not done at extremely close range or in a sneaky manner. All the stats, with the right perks, will be matched up against each other so when you choose your stats now you can do so safely knowing that if you put nothing into your defenses except for Will, you’ll still have a way to defend yourself from physical attacks. Even those with high attack power and low defenses can still block and dodge, and the opposite is also true. What you have to consider, however, is that you won’t know exactly how until you lock your stats down. Will chance it and go all points into a few stats, or go with a more even distribution? The choice is yours.
Without perks however, you should know how the stats add up normally.
Edge – For physical damage: Edge Vs Beat, then Flux.
Flux – For defending physical damage: Flux determines your Health (HP).
Keen – For observation: Certain perks can turn this into an attacking stat.
Beat – For dodging attacks: Goes up first against Flux and Rune attacks (less potent for Rune).
Rune – For rune magic damage: Rune Vs Beat, then Will.
Will – For defending runic damage: Will determines your Ether (MP).
Soul – For special perks and alignments: Some of these perks will be of use in battle.
And that's it for part 1! Here's a handy little Arbiter Application that will be expanded upon as we go. Use it for your records and to turn in the first part of your character, should you chose to do so now. Remember, nothing you turn in is final yet.
[========== Arbiter Profile ==========]
[Arbiter Name – Name]
[Gender – Sex (If Applicable)] (Any sort of creature)
[Anima – Soul Type] (Elemental Ascended, Mortal Ascended, Demi-God, Full God)
[Xenotype – Race Description] (You can be any sort of creature you wish, describe it well and I will assign you a perk based off of your race.)
[Ethereal Bias – Power Type] (What type of powers will your Arbiter have?)
[Personal Profile – Self Annotated] (How does your Arbiter look?)
[Biography – Public History] (What is your Arbiter’s Past?)
[========== Arbiter Status ==========]
[Registered Status] (What are your starting Stats? Please allocate 33 points with the form below. When adding up the stats to see if you spent the right amount, it should total 40 points. You get 7 automatically allocated to 1, hence 33 points to spend.)
Edge: 1/10 [Effects Physical Power and Precision]
Flux: 1/10 [Effects Physical Defense and Recovery]
Keen: 1/10 [Effects Detecting Objects and Foes]
Beat: 1/10 [Effects Agility and Reaction Time]
Rune: 1/10 [Effects Rune Potency and Affects]
Will: 1/10 [Effects Rune Defense and Duration]
Soul: 1/10 [Effects Your Attunement and Abilities]
Soul Attunement: [Light, Gray, Dark, Balanced]
And last but not least for tonight, here's an example for Athena. Mind, I'm not going to do her Biography -- I have a very particular back story for her in mind, and I shan't spoil it now ^_^ This is a very quick example, mind, that I'll be expanding upon as we go -- that way you see the creative process at work. I will expect more than this for your Personal Profile and Biography, at least the final submission of them. Feel free to work them out and ask questions for now.
[========== Arbiter Profile ==========]
[Arbiter Name – Athena, Goddess Of Wisdom]
[Gender – Female]
[Anima – Full God]
[Xenotype – Humanoid]
[Ethereal Bias – Knowledge, Wisdom, reading foes in battle and exploiting weaknesses.]
[Personal Profile – Medium in height, slender, fit for her age (in terms of how slowly Gods age). Light brown hair, kept up in a bun at all times. Dresses in a formal manner with a variety of glasses to match her outfit. Prefers robes.]
[Biography – Classified]
[========== Arbiter Status ==========]
[Registered Status]
Edge: 4/10 [Effects Physical Power and Precision] (Less than average physical power)
Flux: 3/10 [Effects Physical Defense and Recovery] (Low physical defense)
Keen: 7/10 [Effects Detecting Objects and Foes] (High Senses)
Beat: 8/10 [Effects Agility and Reaction Time] (Very High Reflex)
Rune: 7/10 [Effects Rune Potency and Affects] (High Magic)
Will: 7/10 [Effects Rune Defense and Duration] (High Magic Defense)
Soul: 4/10 [Effects Your Attunement and Abilities] (A nearly balanced level of Soul)
Soul Attunement: [Balanced]
What you can take away from Athena's stats is that she depends on Rune Magic in battle, as well as her senses and her ability to Dodge. She's a balanced Soul, as well, nearly a balanced level of Soul, which will award her a certain Perk.
Please, post questions, post comments, and PM me your first draft if you so wish based off what you read here tonight.
I'll give this quite a few days before part two, which will get into Shifts, Rune Magic, and how our battle system will work. As well as a nice example from Athena about how to win WITHOUT fighting. ^_^
Good night all! Enjoy!
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