Option 3
Class: Squire (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Strength, toughness.
Attributes per level: +1 strength, +1 toughness, +1 free point every other level.
Although many classes focus on melee combat, squires are committed to advancing along a martial path. While not as specialized as other types of fighters, squires are versatile and have a guaranteed route to reaching the rare knight class if they train diligently with their skills. Squires are frontline warriors who are adept at taking blows and dealing damage, and they are a welcome addition to any party.
Ability: Minor regeneration (passive).
The regeneration ability grants the user a modest boost to the rate at which they naturally recover health. It also provides a weak resistance to certain ailments that deal damage over time, such as acid, frostbite, and hemotoxins.
Skills: Sword. Axe. Hammer. Spear. Great weapons. Shield. Medium armor. Heavy armor. First aid.
Trait: Stalwart.
Squires can take heavy hits better than most. They are especially resistant to being knocked aside or bowled over.
That’s more like it, Nick’s eyes sparkled with the promise of power as he read the words on the screen. Although he was not inclined to choose a pure melee class, the Squire was undeniably amazing.
This class was worthy of his full consideration, unlike the two that had come before. The Squire offered solid attributes per level, including an occasional free point, and provided more skills than any class he had seen yet.
Becoming a Squire would dramatically improve Nick’s battle prowess as he advanced, although he would prefer to have more free points, as they offered him the flexibility to guide his growth beyond the dictates of his class.
Additionally, this option offered him a powerful passive ability; a hole in his profile that he was aching to fill. Better still, regeneration sounded flat-out amazing and would be useful in almost any situation where he was injured. An occurrence that had become a regular part of his life since the System had entered his world.
He wasn’t sure what the differences between traits and abilities were just yet. But Nick believed that traits were bound to a class and were lost when a class was changed, whereas abilities could eventually become permanent, although he had no idea how to do so at this time.
While all the skills offered were melee oriented, they included a nice selection of weapons and defensive choices, including a shield and options between armor. If Nick had been a Squire during the arena battle, he could have used almost any weapon in the ready room. Better still, it would allow him to upgrade his arsenal every time he found a superior weapon, as well as swap out his sword on the fly for a killing tool that was better suited for a given battle.
Wearing heavy armor and a shield would reduce Nick’s mobility but would boost his survivability on the battlefield, especially when paired with the regeneration ability, whereas medium armor would be useful across a wide range of situations. Although mana dart did not directly synergize with the Squire class, the spell would still provide him with a ranged attack and a means of distracting his opponent, which he knew from experience was a highly effective tactic.
He wasn’t crazy about the Stalwart trait, but it wasn’t too bad now that he thought about it. Falling over was generally a bad thing when something was trying to eat or otherwise kill you. It was also the first step in unfortunate events such as falling over a cliff or into a pool of lava.
He could even go big if he wanted, with the great weapon skill on the table. Nick laughed as he imagined wielding a comically oversized sword, like something straight out of a JRPG or anime. When all was said and done, this option was strong enough to make him rethink his desire to become a mid or long-range specialist. The cherry on top of these powerful advantages was a guaranteed path to the knight class, which he assumed was strong since the System had mentioned it by name.
Thus, Nick kept Squire in the running as he moved on to the next entry, which was odd enough that he had to read it twice before deciding what to make of it.
Option 4
Class: Beast-friend (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Charisma, toughness.
Attributes per level: 2 free points.
You have spent a prolonged period of time in the company of beasts, working side-by-side and befriending individuals from a species other than your own. A beast-friend can communicate to a limited extent with non-verbal beasts. He gains various bonuses when allied beasts are nearby, and can eventually learn how to cast spells that will strengthen his furry friends. This class provides various skills and abilities that will help you survive in rugged, untamed lands.
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Ability: Sense beast (passive).
This ability grants the user the power to sense the presence of nearby beasts, friend and foe alike. It can directly counteract beasts using abilities of stealth and concealment, an invaluable asset when traveling in the wild.
Skills: Evaluate beast. Non-verbal communication. Foraging (advanced). First aid (beast).
Trait: Beast Warrior.
Your physical attributes are significantly enhanced in the presence of friendly beasts, and their attributes are enhanced in turn.
Hard pass. Nick dismissed this option out of hand. While he had enjoyed befriending Bandit and the lemur tribe, he had no desire to become some kind of beast specialist. Although sense beast and advanced foraging seemed generally useful, most of the powers would require him to travel alongside beasts and wouldn’t be practical in a wide range of situations.
That being said, he had fond memories of the tribe and he hoped that he would run into Bandit and the Elder again. While he was annoyed to have one of his options taken by this questionable offering, it confirmed that his choices played a major role in the classes he was offered, a piece of information that might come in handy later, helping him to guide the path of his development to a greater extent.
The last two choices on the list, however, were both strong contenders, fully worthy of his full consideration.
Option 5
Class: Kineticist (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Dexterity, magic.
Attributes per level: +1 magic, +1 free point, + 1 dexterity every other level.
Kineticists specialize in the manifestation of physical and pure mana, forever forsaking the paths of elemancy. They are mid-range specialists. Although they have means of fighting in both melee and long ranged combat, they are generally less effective than classes specializing in those distances. Kineticists use swords and thrown tools to supplement their offensive magic and can eventually learn defensive powers as well.
Ability: Piercing ray (active spell).
This spell creates a mass of pure kinetic energy (force mana). This energy can be attached to a target to launch a penetrating beam at high speed. Piercing ray is a purely physical attack and will not affect ethereal life forms in any way.
Uses per day are determined by the user’s mana pool and all parameters scale with energetic attributes. This spell will take ten seconds of concentration to cast with your present energetic attributes.
Skills: Sword. Evasion. Throwing. Light shields.
Trait: Force Adept [permanent].
Force Adepts receive a bonus to mana efficiency and the scaling from energetic attributes when casting spells that use force and pure mana (such as piercing ray and mana dart). However, Force Adepts are unable to cast elemental magic and receive a substantial penalty when manipulating elemental-aspected mana. They may cast non-elemental spells without restriction (comprising the majority of all spells).
Warning: this trait will become a permanent part of your bloodline (taking 1 of your 2 remaining slots). It will remain with you after changing classes, significantly altering your future class options.
After reading it over for the third time, Nick decided that the Kineticist was a fascinating option. He liked the primary attributes it came with, as well as the free point per level. Although he already had an active spell, mana dart was apparently considered to be a pure mana ability.
Meanwhile, piercing ray utilized force mana, giving him both a physical and pure mana attack at range. Nick wasn’t sure what situations would warrant which spell, but he already knew that mana dart wasn’t all that useful against creatures with high health pools, such as the lurk and the fallen rhino. It would likely be ineffective against opponents with innate magical defenses, whereas force magic should work on anything lacking heavy armor or other forms of physical resistance.
Pure magic sounded like it would be useful against opponents that force magic would not effect, and vice versa, offering a nice synergy despite the other limitations. Furthermore, the Force Adept trait would let Nick cast more spells per day and add extra power to each, significantly increasing his combat potential here and now.
The skills all sounded great, except for maybe light shields, and having a sword skill would enhance Nick’s primary means of fighting. Evasion was perfect, since the best way to avoid taking damage was not to get hit to begin with. He had already used throwing to great effect during the tutorial, even without a skill to supplement his aim. All in all, the Kineticist class felt like a great fit and Nick would have picked it then and there if it wasn’t for the trait permanence warning.
He was still standing at the starting line of his new life in the System, and although he wanted to survive at any cost, locking himself into a path that restricted most types of magic was a serious drawback. One that he had no way of calculating the costs of here and now.
Thinking the matter through based on his inner library of fantasy knowledge, elemental magic was a staple of most games. Nick had accumulated a wealth of information regarding potential uses, synergy, counters, and the like. Closing the door forever on elemental forces made him extremely nervous, although his concern was not strong enough to dampen the lure of the class.
Unable to resolve his dilemma, Nick decided to consider the Kineticist for a while longer. While he pondered the matter, he went ahead and read the last class offered by the System, which appeared to be more of a pure mage type that also fit his needs well.
Option 6
Class: Magician (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Mind, magic, creativity.
Attributes per level: +1 magic, +1 mind, +1 free point every other level.
The Magician is a common entry point to many advanced spellcasting classes. Weak in melee, strong at range, the magician can master a wide range of spells and abilities, making them useful in almost any situation. They tend to be bursty in nature, dealing massive damage early on in a fight. The downside is that their attacks quickly drain their mana pool, although this limitation can be overcome with intensive training and proper gear.
Ability: Meditation (passive).
The Magician can enter a trancelike state at will. While meditating, his mana will regenerate 25% faster than the usual rate, although his perception of the world around him will be dulled.
Ability: Fireball (active spell).
Fireball consumes a large amount of mana to create a destructive sphere of flame. This spell can be targeted by the caster and thrown at a considerable distance. On arrival the fireball will detonate, spreading its flames out in a modest radius. All spell parameters scale with energetic attributes.
Skills: Offensive magic. Defensive magic. Ritual magic. Sense magic.
Trait: Generalist.
The Magician casts a wide net and can use most spells effectively. Generalists receive a minor mana cost reduction when casting any spell and gain a minor increase to the scaling of all spell parameters with energetic attributes.
Not bad at all, Nick rubbed his chin as he weighed his options. Now, which one do I want?