There were five of us in the planning session. That is, four of us and Susie, sharing her knowledge in lecture form. If she doesn’t grow up to be a college professor, she’ll grow up to be one of those folk that narrate history documentaries. Sometimes, I feel like she already might be doing that in her free time.
Clockwise, from Susie, was my sister, Jenna. She was a year older than me, but with none of that big-sister bossiness that is apparently so common in fiction and other families. She’s pretty cool, but don’t tell her I said that. Gotta maintain a semblance of sibling rivalry, you know.
My friend Mika was sitting astraddle her chair next to Jenna. A bigger tomboy, you’ve never seen. Mika’s hair was short and I don’t think she ever wore a skirt a day in her life. We met way back in first grade when she launched a flying roundhouse kick into the bigger kid who had been bullying me in the park. And she’s stuck close to me ever since.
Mika’s older sister, Naomi, was Susie’s friend, and was sitting next to her on the other side from Jenna. While she wasn’t as rambunctious and energetic as Mika, no one would ever accuse her of being traditionally feminine. She was the quiet and scholarly type, which is perhaps why she got along with Susie so well -- they both had the brains of this circle.
That left me, between the sisters. And as the only guy and the youngest (Mika had me beat by three days), I was somewhat the odd one out. But Mika was my best friend, which consequently meant I had been around and friendly with Naomi most of my life, and through Naomi, Susie. And of course, being related to Jenna meant she was naturally a part of my circle as well.
Okay, maybe not naturally a part of my circle, but she and Naomi got along ever since they were assigned to be partners in a class project some years back. And when your sister’s friend is your friend’s sister, well either the two sets of friends hate each other, or they hang out.
“So. Plans?” Mika asked Susie.
“Plans? Log in, get our characters, meet up, kick butt, and get famous, right?” Jenna answered before Susie could reply.
“I meant characters,” Mika said. “Who wants to be what? Healer, shieldwall, artillery, that sort of thing.”
Naomi raised her hand to speak. “It’s going to be difficult to make any firm plans if there’s randomness involved. I’m going to be on the Path of Identity so I can be a centauress. Who knows what my class will end up being.”
“Lancer, probably,” Susie said. “There aren’t a lot of centaurs playing, but the breakdown is about 60% Lancer, 30% some sort of earth or nature mage, and 10% a mix-match of other things, typically crafters or archers of some sort.” Of course Susie would have had those numbers on hand; she knew Naomi’s preferences just as the rest of us did. I don’t see the appeal in being part horse, but everyone who knows Naomi knows she’s been into centaurs since she was old enough to have read about them in stories.
“A skirmisher-type, then,” Naomi nodded, “at least probably. We can’t really plan party composition, but we can make guesses knowing what paths we’re trying for. Suze, what’s your path going to be?”
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“Either Fate and hope I get a cool crafting job or Action to choose what sort of crafter I’ll be. Maybe a weaponsmith, that might be the best way to support our group and community,” she replied.
“Oh, be careful if you go Action. What would you do if you got a guy character?”
Susie shrugged. “I’d deal with it. I’m not Cousin Hilde who walked the Path of Identity in order to be a guy in DVI, but better for me to be a guy crafter on the sidelines than a sword-and-board type gal in the thick of the action. Besides, it doesn’t seem to be hurting James any to be a guy. If he can deal with it,” she winked at me, “then so can I.”
“It would be nice to have a little more balance in the force,” I teased back. “Then I’m less likely for people to keep assuming I’m the sultan of my own little harem.”
I had been expecting Jenna’s rolled eyes and muttered “Ewww, they know I’m your sister, right?” I had also been expecting the not-too-light punch on the shoulder from Mika and the startled giggle from Naomi, but I hadn’t been expecting Susie to blush. And from the looks both Mika and Jenna gave her, neither had they.
That was … interesting, but that was a thought to file away for another time, because Susie quickly regained her composure. “Anyway, Jenna, what about you?”
My sister shrugged. “I’m not really interested in being someone else, but magic might be more fun than swords and armor. I’ll be the boring one and stay to the Path of Self from the start. I don’t really have the experience with these sorts of games like the rest of you do.”
“Nothing wrong with the Path of Self,” both Mika and I said in near unison. I gestured for her to explain.
“Unless you really, really want to be a specific race or specific class, it seems that path would be the best option because it gives you the most control over your own character,” Mika said. “It also makes it easier to plan groups around, too. Susie, what were the numbers again? How many players are on the Path of Self?”
Susie consulted her notes, “Just under 90%, but maybe 15-20% of them had started a different path and dropped back to the Path of Self when their rerolls or random selections weren’t to their liking.”
“Yeah,” Mika nodded. “It’s probably the best option for me, too, but I’m going to try the Path of Fate and see if I get something special. Otherwise, it’s Path of Self for me, so I can get a basic fighting class and develop it from there. We’ve got a probable skirmisher, crafter support, and magic artillery,” she pointed to Naomi, Susie, and Jenna in turn, “and very likely a healer of some stripe,” she patted my arm, “so we’re going to need a shieldwall for the rest of you to hide behind, anyway. James?”
“Well, yes, probably a healer,” I admitted, then winked. “Gotta keep my harem alive, after all.” Again the punch, the giggle, the “eww,” and … the blush. “No, seriously, I almost always play healers in games, so it’ll make sense to be the healer in virtual reality, too. I kinda want to try the Path of Fate and see if I get lucky with a rare healer class. Susie, you did say that people starting on the Path of Fate can abandon a result they don’t like and go to any of the other paths instead, right?”
Susie nodded, “Yeah, but if they go from Fate to Action or Identity, they don’t get to leave those paths to go to the Path of Self.”
“Okay, so that’s what it will be, then. Path of Fate to start and probably Path of Action for a good healing class once I know what’s available.”
“And if your good healer class is a girl?” Naomi asked.
“Then I’ll be a tomboy like Mika, and it’ll be Susie’s crafter guy’s harem instead.” That got laughs all around and a bigger blush from Susie.