Chapter 6: Character Creation Part 2

"Character Creation was unique in DO. Each person had a certain number of Character points to spend to get varying starting skills, gear, equipment and status."

"This can range from starting as a noble to a farmer, or a rich merchant; however, each came with its problems and challenges as one must never forget."

"DO is like a second world."

"With people like AI who will do anything to fight and keep what they have earned and hidden systems and skills making every decision important."

Theodore Felond, CEO of Felonds Fashionable goods.

…..

[Age 18 selected! Granting the user 200 character points or CP to spend on upgrading skills, choosing a background, and choosing Dynasty upgrades. Due to the young age of the Player's character player gains +1 to all physical attributes for their character]

[Please choose your character's starting attributes. You will get 20 attribute points to spend! There are 4 physical attributes and 3 mental attributes]

[The physical attributes are Strength, Agility, Dexterity and Vitality, while the mental attributes are Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, please look at the descriptions and information provided on each stat to find out what it does and what it affects in the game.

[Versatile Race Trait activated, making a more balanced and customisable attribute distribution; however, the balance is still slightly skewed due to half race. Please note the +1 has already been added to the physical-based attributes.]

Strength: 7

Agility: 5

Dexterity: 5

Vitality: 7

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 5

Charisma: 5

Reginald looked at the window in front of him, which showed his attributes and clicked on one of the attributes, intelligence and then it came up with a screen. On it was a description of the attribute and what it does.

Intelligence – How fast you can comprehend things such as specific things about skills and represents your mental prowess skill. A higher intelligence also increases a person's magical prowess. A person with higher intelligence will be able to learn different languages and learn skills that require brainpower, such as medical knowledge, etc., quicker than those with low intelligence. Also, it affects what knowledge you have access to in-game. Those with higher intelligence will know more about the systems of governments and their laws and have a better general understanding of the world.

Reginald thought long and hard as he continuously tapped the arrows next to the numbers removing and adding stat points as he contemplated for a while and checked the description of all the remaining attributes.

Strength – represents physical strength. How strong you are increases damage with melee weapons and decreases penalties for heavy weapons such as large clubs or swords.

Agility – How fast you can move effects, ability to dodge and avoid damage.

Vitality – How tough you are and resilient to damage and how much health you have. This applies if no major organs are destroyed. A headshot with a crossbow, for example, will almost always end in the death of a character. Having a higher Vitality allows you to survive more severe and mortal wounds.

Dexterity – How fast your reactions are and how dexterous your hands and body are. Most weapon skills are based on this, as no matter how strong you are, a more agile fighter may outmanoeuvre or show more skill with their weapons which may lead to their victory. Also helps with aiming weapons such as bows as your hands are steady.

Wisdom – your ability to decern people's motives and common sense and access divine and supernatural entities also affects your ability to notice anomalies and your perception.

Charisma – Leadership ability helps keep the morale of troops and helps recruit people and persuade people to your side of things. This also affects things such as lying, although outside factors like blackmail can help alleviate the need for this attribute.

The minutes turned into an hour as he worked, pondered and tweaked his stats, trying to decide what attributes he wanted to put where as he decided what kind of character he wanted to create. As the clock ticked on the 90th minute, he finished his final stat distribution.

They were as follows:

Strength: 8

Agility: 7

Dexterity: 7

Vitality: 7

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 10

When all the stats were inputted, and he pressed the next button, a notification asking for confirmation of his decisions appeared before him.

[Would the Player like to confirm the stat distribution of his attributes? Please note that past character creation attribute points are rare and must be acquired naturally; please choose yes or no.]

Slightly suspicious, as in most games, attribute points will be gained through levelling. However, Reginald had already thought long and hard about his decision and the note about traits being acquired naturally made him even firmer.

Deciding to go away from the more fighting-based attributes at the start. With the focus on realism for the game and the warning reminding him, he imagined that physical training could help to increase his physical attributes. At the same time, it would be much harder to raise things such as Wisdom and Charisma, which are essential in leading and information gathering.

He felt that some would fall into the trap of making powerful, physically able characters who would struggle to command respect and may fall behind in their skills and knowledge. As intelligence affects the initial knowledge you have in the world and will help in the upgrading of many skills and crafts if Reginald ever decided that he wants to learn one. As a popular character said in the past, "knowledge is power", and there was no way that Reginald was going to be disadvantaged due to not knowing the customs and common information of the world.

However, this would come at the cost of combat power at the start of the game. As such, Reginald would have to rely more on his intelligence to survive than on raw power. He also remembered the searing pain he felt when the damage system was tested and decided that he would be happy to fight if required. But it would be nice not to get hurt as much and having his combat power reduced at the start will encourage him not to get into fights with insurmountable odds.

Reginald pressed the yes button, happy with the distribution of his stat points as more notifications appeared in front of him.

[Attribute points have been distributed, moving on to the next step of character creation]

[Please choose your starting skills alongside your background and other character and dynasty traits. Reminder user has 200 CP to spend on various skills. Due to this being the Player's first dynasty and the dynasty being made before the server has opened, the user gets 10% off everything in this stage of character creation. Please do not think of yourself as unique. Everyone who makes their first dynasty before the servers are opened to the public gets similar bonuses for being a pioneer in DO. Due to not having the wisdom of players past in the forums from which to take advice.]

[A skill costs 10 points per level and gold costs 0.5 points per 1 gold coin]

Then another window opened the pure amount of sections' abilities, skills, and backgrounds, creating a treasure trove of knowledge and options never seen in a game before as Reginald stood in place dumbfounded by the customisation this game offers your character. Hundreds of backgrounds, from landed nobles to lowly slaves, created endless lists which would take weeks, if not years, of research and contemplation to make an informed decision. From Swordsmanship to craftsmanship to the murky waters of politics, all types of skills and abilities were present as players created their dynastic history through both dynastic and background traits. At the same time, hidden features stay in the gloomy darkness waiting for the god Lithrandil's light to shine and reveal their ancient power and content to the players and world at large.

His brain, overloaded with the information presented before him, tried to propel the tired cogs of his brain to work and come up with a stratagem to survive in the harsh fantastical game world.

He first looked at traits that could affect his status in the world as those with a more noble heritage would most likely enjoy connections that others would struggle to obtain. So he looked at the options for starting with nobility.

…..

Landed noble CP cost varies. (Inheritable Dynasty Trait)

Description: A landed noble or heir to a landed noble allows you to start as a landed noble with a small territory in a kingdom sworn to one of the realm's great lords. This will give you status and some power and influence, especially in your territory. However, Baron is the highest rank in a kingdom and a viscount Is the highest rank in an empire. This can go higher under certain circumstances or with hidden systems present in Dynasties Online. The effect of the Dynasty trait will change once starting bonuses have been received.

Effect: Grants the status of noble worldwide, granting you more rights and privileges than others.

Allows you to network easier with influential people due to your status and lineage, especially those in the kingdom in which your territory belongs.

Grants great starting wealth over other backgrounds, but power depends on the noble title chosen.

Grants a Retinue of servants, knights, guards etc., depending on the landed title chosen and background and created history of the noble family.

Starts with lands legally under their name, which the noble family's descendants can inherit.

Grants Player the Landed Noble Starter Kit.

Landless Noble - 100 CP (Inheritable Dynasty Trait)

Description: Landless Nobles are knights or nobles with honorary titles, such as wealthy merchants who have bought a noble status to further their goals and help expand their influence. These individuals start with a noble status but have no territory and, as such, have more rights and privileges than people of non-noble status. However, with no territory, their power is limited to what their wealth and connections can influence.

Effect: Grants the status of noble worldwide, granting you more rights and privileges than others and allowing for better networking.

Grants Player the Landless Noble Starter Kit.

Grants a small number of servants, guards etc., to serve the noble house effect will change once bonuses are received.

Fallen Noble - 50 CP (Inheritable Dynasty Trait)

Description: A Noble of a fallen house. It could be a house of traitors, a noble who has lost his territory due to conflict with another, or other reasons for a noble house to lose its power and lands. These nobles start with powerful enemies and are out to get them. They include nobles who survived the calamity of their house and now live in exile elsewhere.

Effect: Grants status of noble across the world, granting you more rights and privileges except in the country or lands to which an enemy of the house is actively hunting the dynasty to extinction.

Grants the Player the Fallen Noble Starter Kit

Depending on house history house may be granted servants and other human resources.

...

After thinking about the options for a few minutes, he decided to go for Fallen noble. Even starting as a landless noble takes up half of your starting points, meaning that starting as a landed noble would cost even more. Even if it were just a knight acting as the lord of a village. So, deciding he wanted the status of noble but also to be able to choose other powerful traits, he took the fallen noble trait. Even if he had enemies at the start of the game, that would be inevitable as conflicts of interest lead to men turning against one another in a never-ending quest for power.

[Fallen Noble trait selected spending 45 CP due to the 10% discount. 155 CP left.]

After getting himself the status of a noble, Reginald's next objective was to find a way to increase his combat power with skills. Even if his attributes were not the best, as long as he was more skilled, there would be a certain amount of leeway. Looking through the many different weapons that he may want to be skilled in, he chose to specialise initially in 1 weapon, the sword but would later like to learn to use both the spear and the bow as a spear was very useful if he ever were to fight while mounted and a bow was useful in a siege. While glancing through the many options, traits and skills that lay before him, two caught his eye.

The first was Martial House, and the second was Martial Mentor.

…..

Martial House (Inheritable Dynasty Trait) - 80 CP

Requirement: Noble Status or a high military position with great power and respect.

Description: A noble house famous for its martial prowess as either great warriors, generals or both. This usually means that the noble house has military power in some shape or form. It also normally grants reputation and contacts within the military that can help bearers of these traits get good positions in the army.

Effect: Gaining a military command is easier. Can enter a kingdom's army easier. Has respect amongst the military increasing morale of soldiers under your command by 10%.

Grants military contacts to make influencing the military of a nation easier. Enemies enter the demoralised state easier and may be afraid of the family due to their prowess in the past.

Members of the dynasty can gain 1 free skill point/upgrade in strategy if educated primarily in marshal practices and enough time is devoted to learning about strategy.

Members of the dynasty can gain 2 free skill points/upgrades in 1 combat skill of your choice If trained and enough time has been spent in training the combat skill.

Members of the Dynasty can gain 1 free skill point in leadership if enough time has been spent training the skill.

When forming nations and factions, there will be more combat-orientated options for customisation.

Upgrades any Noble Starting Kit to a Martial Noble Starting Kit.

Allows for military skills to go to the adept rank during character creation.

Martial Mentor - 60 CP (Character Trait)

Requirements: This trait needs 1 of 3 prerequisites to be allowed to be taken:

15 in either strength, dexterity, or intelligence.

10 in Charisma and Intelligence + above 8 in a physical trait.

The Dynasty Trait Martial House or Landed Noble with a military.

Description: Trained from a young age under a mentor skilled in using weapons and the art of war, you are skilled in both martial arts and strategy. This mentor could be a marshal. Or captain of the guards to a noble family or an old, wizened general who has retired from military service and has taken on a disciple or student to pass on his knowledge and skills. Usually, only those with significant mental or physical prowess or leadership get this opportunity unless it is through connections.

Effect: Depends on which prerequisite you meet.

…..

This put Reginald into a conundrum almost immediately as he did not want to spend all his CP on combat and military-based skills; however, when he thought about it more and noticing the more mental attributed version of the Martial Mentor trait, he started to reconsider. He thought about combining it with the Marshal House trait to help him with the combat skills he may need in the future and overcome his character's lack of physical attributes. After thinking about it for a bit, he chose them both. However, as he added and confirmed his first choice, which was the Martial House skill, he was immediately surprised by the notifications.

[Martial House trait selected.]

[Checking character meets the requirements for the trait]

[Fallen Noble trait detected changing Martial House trait to Fallen Martial House hidden trait]

[Please can the Player confirm whether he wishes to take this new trait or not]

…..

Fallen Martial House (Inheritable Dynasty Trait) – 60 CP

Requirements: Fallen Noble Trait

Description: A Fallen Martial House is a noble family with a reputation for being good military commanders and strategists. They used to lead armies and be well respected among their own and neighbouring nations for these traits. However, due to political intrigue or for some other reason, has lost their power and are now in hiding or exile.

Effect: Will be famous amongst your home nation and the nations around for coming from a family of generals and will find it easier to enter a kingdom's military due to family reputation; however, trust will be hard to gain.

Members of the dynasty can gain 1 free skill point/upgrade in military strategy if educated primarily in marshal practices and enough time is devoted to learning about strategy.

Members of the dynasty can gain 2 free skill points/upgrades in any combat skill of their choice. If trained and enough time has been spent training the combat skill, this includes skills such as riding.

Members of the Dynasty can gain 1 free skill point in leadership if enough time has been spent training the skill.

When forming nations and factions, there will be more combat-orientated options for customisation.

Due to the family being well known, it is easier for them to be recognised and for information to go out to their enemies.

Upgrades Fallen Noble Starter kit to Fallen Noble Martial Starter Kit allows you to take the martial mentor trait as if you were from a Martial House.

Allows for military skills to go to the adept rank during character creation and when members of this Dynasty enter maturity.

…..

Reginald was surprised at the change, not expecting the game to change traits during character creation and have him already discover a hidden trait as he pondered. 'How many more are hidden inside this character creation with hundreds if not thousands of different paths and choices?' After seeing this, he was eager to see how the Martial Mentor trait would change and reveal its effects due to his choices and pressed confirm after looking over the skill.

[Fallen Martial House trait confirmed spending 54 CP. 101 CP remaining]

After that, he then went on to choose the martial mentor skill.

[Martial Mentor Skill Selected]

[Checking player meets at least one of the requirements]

[Player meets 2 of the requirements]

[Creating Effects]

…..

Martial Mentor General Path (Character Trait) – 60 CP:

Description: Trained from a young age under a mentor who is skilled in the use of weapons and the art of war. You are skilled in both martial arts and strategy. This mentor could be a marshal or captain of the guards to a noble family or an old, wizened general who has retired from military service and has taken on a disciple or student to pass on his knowledge and skills. Due to your inherent attributes of both high levels of charisma and intelligence, you were mainly taught how to lead men in battle and the logistics of war while being taught basic self-defence for when he inevitably goes to the battlefield.

Effect: Grants 2 skill points in military strategy

Grants 1 skill point in a weapon skill of choice

Grants 2 skill points in leadership

Allows you to use your mentor's connections and build friendships amongst his other disciples to help further your aims. These may be connections within the military and friendships among people in the game that you can use to your advantage.

Hidden skill upgrade available due to fallen martial noble house. Upgrades skill to Sworn Martial Mentor, which forfeits the effect of having a mentor's connections for the ability to have the Martial Mentor as a loyal man who serves your family, protecting and educating you. This will allow you to start with a skilled subordinate who will likely never betray you. Upgrade costs 20 CP.

…..

[would the Player like to upgrade the trait]

Reginald stared at the notification and description in front of him, stunned for a second before tapping on the confirm button. Then the updated skill turned up in front of him.

[Martial Mentor trait successfully upgraded]

[spending 72 CP 29 CP remaining]

[Hidden Trait Sworn Martial Mentor General Path revealed]

…..

Sworn Martial Mentor General Path (Character Trait) – 80 CP:

Description: Was trained at a young age by a skilled warrior and strategist sworn to the noble family in some sort of high position. Your sharp intelligence and your charismatic ability outshone your physical abilities. This led to your mentor focussing mainly on strategy and leading armies. However, it also included basic training in self-defence for when you inevitably go to the battlefield to test your strategic skills.

Effect: Grants 2 skill points in military strategy.

Grants 1 skill point in a weapon skill of choice.

Grants 2 skill points in leadership.

Grants a skilled subordinate who will serve you loyally and is proficient in martial skills.

…..

Reginald began to assign his skill points and using his last remaining CP, bought starting skills, gold and equipment he thought might be useful. After checking what his starter pack gave him, he finalised his character and finished off by designing his dynasties heraldry and sigil. Happy at his choice of traits which lead to a more army commander role rather than just pure fighting ability.