One of the many challenges with trying to make a VR-game realistic was how to handle logged out characters. If they just disappeared or faded into nothing on logout, it would take away some of the magic of the world. At the same time, the avatars couldn’t just remain standing around lifeless and vulnerable, like they were in stasis.
Immersion Online had solved this dilemma by having “safe” logout areas where the avatars automatically would move to and walk through an otherwise locked door, leading nowhere. While on route, they would be controlled by the game, and respond to attacks and such things as if they were an NPC. It didn’t take much to be considered a safe area. Any place with some sort of NPC community qualified.
It was outside such areas where things got tricky. If you were in the woods, there couldn’t be any random doors to escape through. Instead, your avatar would remain for a time, and if there were no hostile NPCs or player characters around to see it, it would disappear. The time between logout and when the avatar went away was dependent on the perceived danger level of the area in question. In some areas the avatar would never go away.
There were some ways to shorten the period until your avatar was safe while in the wild, mainly by creating a camp. A rudimentary camp would help some, a tent would help more, and in theory you could also bring your own lodging that would give the same advantages as a safe logout area. Examples of this would be ships, caravans or even a blimp. While the camp itself would remain, the avatar would not.
Therefore, as Nathan had logged out while inside Ollie’s establishment, when he logged in, he found himself walking out through a door on the second floor, not able to move until the door closed behind him. He curiously turned around and checked the door, finding it locked. Not having much choice, he walked downstairs looking for Bruce.
He looked around for a bit, but the tavern wasn’t big, so he quickly concluded that Bruce wasn’t there.
He then checked his inbox through the menu. After clicking past a warning that said messages could only be received while in-range of official messaging services (normally found in cities or near Eternal Phoenix temples), he found that he had received a message from Bruce. It said that he’d found enough people and had logged out. It also gave a time for them to meet, which was a bit over an hour away. Nathan decided that it was time to get some new gear.
“Hi there, Eclipse! Welcome back. What can I get you today?” Ruth said as Nathan walked back into her shop.
“Hey Ruth. As per our agreement with the village, I am here to pick up a weapon of my choice,” Nathan said, already looking around for a suitable pick.
“Hah! Weapon of your choice, eh? It’s true that I agreed to donate two weapons for the good of the village, but there are limits to my generosity. You can have your ‘choice’ of the weapons in the corner over there. You want anything else, it’s out of your own pocket.”
Nathan looked in the corner Ruth indicated, and while the weapons there looked fine, it greatly limited his selection. There were some beautiful weapons on the wall, with fancy engravings, and even one with something that looked suspiciously like circuits. He’d much prefer one of those.
“Now wait just a minute,” he started to argue, “the agreement was for a – “. While talking, Nathan checked the quest reward, discovering that it specified a basic weapon.
“You know what, never mind. One of the weapons from the corner should do nicely,” he corrected himself.
He walked over and looked at the alternatives. There were quite a few weapons there, but as a lot of them were identical, his choices boiled down to a pair of daggers, a shortsword, a handaxe and a spear.
“What would you suggest for someone that doesn’t have any training with any of these?” he asked Ruth, who had followed him over.
“I suggest you get some training.” She picked up a sword and twirled it around some to emphasize her point. “I’d check with Bernard over by the well if I were you. His fighting days are far in the past, but he used to be something back in the day. I’m sure he could give you some pointers… for a price. That said, none of these weapons are too complicated. They’re not as hard to handle as flails or a sword-breakers.”
“That’s true, I suppose. Still, I think I’ll go look for this Bernard character later,” Nathan said thoughtfully.
He picked up the different weapons and waved them around a bit, trying to get the feel for them. The daggers weren’t too different from the knives he’d used in the past, and the shortsword felt like a sturdier version of a machete he’d used when operating in the South Americas. Both of those were good options. He already had an axe he’d used a bit, and while that had gone ok, it was the weapon he was least comfortable with.
In the end, the choice was simple. While he was sure he could effectively use the one-handed weapons with a little bit of practice, they would also allow any enemies to get close enough to hurt him. He preferred to keep them as far away as possible. Crossbow range was ideal, but if they got closer the spear would help him get the first attack while also allowing him to keep some distance. While he hadn’t used a spear before, it should be fairly easy to learn the basics. After all, there was a reason the spear was the most used weapon through the ages. Anyone could use if effectively. Even him. Probably.
[Steel spear]
Common spear – Melee
1d8 piercing dmg
30/30 durability
A 2 meter long reenforced shaft with a 30 cm steel blade attached at one end, with a round guard to limit the penetration. Intended for two-handed use. Simple and well made.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“I’ll take a spear,” Nathan confirmed as much to himself as to Ruth. The only downside of his selection was that it was cumbersome to walk around with. “Do you have a harness or anything like that which would make it simpler to carry around? Some way to carry it on my back while hunting?”
“I could get something made, but if I were you, I’d just store it in my pouch. It would take a bit longer to get it out, so I guess it’s up to you if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.”
“In my pouch? There is no way there’s room for a…”, he stopped and looked down at his pouch. Maybe there was room? He tried to insert it with the sharp end first, and instead of reaching the bottom, it just kept going until it was gone. “Oh!”
Ruth smiled in a way that looked weirdly sentient. “So, are you gone actually buy anything, or was that it?”
“I need some pants, a proper belt, and perhaps a shirt? And I guess I need a cloak. Wool, perhaps? I’ll trade in the robe, if that helps. Oh, and I also have a giant rabbit carcass I’d like to sell.”
“A good cloak is expensive, but I have a used one I can let go on the cheap. Say 3 silver for the cloak and three more for the other stuff. I’ll be generous and give you a silver for the robe. The rabbit I’ll have to have a look at outback.”
Nathan produced the carcass in the yard, and after some haggling, they agreed on a silver for it. If he’d skinned and butchered it himself, he would probably have gotten more. Ruth would resell all the meat to Ollie, and he could have taken that profit himself. But that would be time-consuming and probably messy.
Ruth didn’t mind him changing in the middle of the shop, so at least he wasn’t dressed like monk anymore. Now he looked like a poor farmer. The poor part was accurate. All in all, Nathan spent 4 silvers, which left him with 3 silvers and 4 bronzes. He still needed to get some armor and a new secondary weapon to replace the shoddy dull axe, but that would have to wait. One step at a time.
It was almost time, so he headed back to the tavern, finding Bruce standing with a group of others. None of them looked to impressive. Quite the opposite, actually. Two of them had managed to get some hide armor, but the others had starter clothes. And starter weapons.
“-outnumbered, but if we keep close, we should do fine. Strength in numbers!” Bruce was saying to those around him, looking smug, before he grimaced and added. “Our numbers that is. Strength in our -Oh, here is Eclipse. Eclipse has been at the goblin camp. He will be our guide. He is also the next in the chain of command and will take over as party leader if I fall. Listen to what he says.”
“Chain of command?” one of the guys snorted. “I just want to kill some greenies and get some XP. I’m not taking any orders.”
“Figure of speech. All I’m saying is that we have a better chance if we are a bit organized. If you want to ignore our advice, that’s your prerogative” Bruce clarified with a mild annoyance.
While he spoke, two other people turned up, and after a headcount Bruce declared that all 10 had arrived and that they had 5 minutes for last-minute purchases and other preparations before meeting up again just outside the village.
Outside he had everyone stand in a circle and introduced the different group members by name. Nathan didn’t care enough to remember any of them, but he discovered that if he analyzed players, their name didn’t show up. Once he was told their name, however, it did, so if he needed their names later, he could always check. He briefly pondered on what would happen if any had given a fake name. Would the fake name show up, or would it still be unknown? A question for another time, as after the introduction Bruce explained his role.
“I am the organizer and by necessity party leader and will give some instructions from time to time. That said, as was pointed out outside; you are free to do whatever you want. I don’t have much experience with fighting -neither in game nor in real life- so I will leave that part to others. One of those others being Eclipse here, who does have some experience fighting greenskins. He will function as scout and, as can be surmised from his crossbow, will fight from a distance. Eclipse, do you have anything to add?”
Nathan looked around at his party members. While the physique of the players looked impressive, their attention was lacking. Some were obviously looking at their menu, while some were looking at their gear. Well, if that was what he had to work with, so be it, but he didn’t trust this lot to sort themselves out. “Yes, I have a couple of things. The walk to the goblin camp shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, and as we have to keep quiet on the last stretch, I will go through the battle plan here. Please pay attention, as your virtual life may depend on it. Are there any other ranged fighters here?”
One small athletic looking guy raised his hand. “I have a crossbow as well. And a knife,” he added.
“Good,” Nathen nodded to the crossbowman, who a quick analyze showed was called ‘Semishade’. “You and I will be ranged and will make the first attack. The rest of you will have to get in close. Are there any of you who’ve gone for a dexterity build?”
Two more raised their hands, Bluelock and Margos.
“You two will be part of the hammer and hit the goblins from behind, while the rest of you will be the anvil.” Nathan found a stick and started to draw the goblin camp in the dirt. “We will come up to the camp from this direction. I will quietly take down the scouts -if there are any- before repositioning and starting the attack from the position right here. We should get two or three shots each before they understand what is happening.”
“Why there?” one of the larger guys asked. “Why not just rush in?”
“If we rush in, we will get surrounded. Nobody wants that. At this location there are some trees on one side and a group of rocks formed as a natural barrier on the other, making it harder to be flanked. The ‘anvil’ group will make a line between the trees and the rocks, with the intention of keeping the goblins in front of them. Once engaged, the middle of the line should slightly move backwards so that the line forms a crescent. Bruce will stand behind the line and direct you, and also plug any holes in the line.”
He looked over to a wide-eyed Bruce, who nervously touched the hilt of his brand new shortsword while looking at the sketch of the camp. “I… Sure, whatever you need”.
“At that time, we,” Nathan indicated himself and Semishade, the other crossbow user, “will circle around and join the ‘hammer’ group. The five of us will hit the goblins from behind, so that they will be engaged on all sides. That is the plan, but if anything goes wrong, we might have to improvise. Communication is key. Any questions?”
The same one who had argued about the chain of command took a step forward, squinting as if he had trouble seeing what Nathan was drawing. “The noobs here might need a plan, but I’m level 5, and with my hide armor and my twohanded sword no dumb little goblin is a threat to me. While you stand around in the bushes, I’ll be harvesting XP.”
Nathan knew better than to argue or try to change the man’s -or more likely boy’s- mind. “Ok, we’ll just call you the decoy, then. Once the attack starts, run in and do whatever the hell you want. Just create some havoc, at least. Can you do that?”
The guy flashed a nasty grin while trying to contain what he probably thought looked like a superior demeanor. “I can do havoc. Havoc is my-”
“Any other questions or comments? No? Then let’s get going.”