The window before her blinked out and then returned with a list of different stat blocks. The Attendant inspected her nails as she spoke, “Congratulations. Now that you’ve selected a race and finalized your appearance, please select a basic classso that you can be given stats.”

Another series of windows popped up and began their orbits as the control panel once again changed to reflect the options presented. These windows reflected her character as if it were one of the game’s classes. Beside the reflected avatars were the minimum stats required for each class. For example, the Rogue needed a minimum of 9 in [Speed] and a 10 in [Perception], while the Knight needed a minimum 11 in [Constitution] and a 9 in [Charisma]. Below that was a brief description of the different features and abilities of each class. Unlike her racial choices, there were no surprises here. All of the classes were exactly as she remembered them. After briefly flipping through each class, she quickly settled on what she wanted to play: Delver.

It was an easy choice. Not only had she played the class since the game’s initial release on Earth, she had logged more hours as Calista than she had on all of her other characters combined. What was more, not only did she know the class inside and out, but Delvers had always had one of the lowest death rates in the game. While they didn’t have the defense capabilities of the martial classes, they also didn’t have the vulnerabilities of the spell casters. Furthermore, their natural speed and dexterity was usually enough to keep them alive long enough to get away from most assailants and their stealth was like a silver bullet to spell casters who often feared nothing more than a well placed [Backstab] attack. And if I have a ready made audience in this game, I might as well give them what they want. Right?

She highlighted the class and then listened as the Attendant narrated. “Dungeon Delvers, or Delver for short, are a rogue-based class specifically designed to help parties get in and out of dangerous lairs, dungeons, keeps, abandoned castles, fortresses, prisons, or otherwise fortified locations with ease. While not as lethal as the assassin, or as magical as the bard, the delver is every bit as stealthy and pragmatic as any other rogue-based class, if not more so. While the delver is a welcome addition to nearly any adventuring party, they are also very comfortable traveling alone, and so make a great choice for any independently minded adventurer.”

Calista nodded as she reached up into the air and hit [Select].

The Attendant smiled, “You’ve made an excellent choice Miss Calista Stricthaven. Now you may move on to selecting your class abilities. You may choose up to three. I am sure you’re very familiar with your options here as nothing has changed from what you had at your disposal before.”

She was. Scrolling through the Delver abilities, she quickly selected [Trap Sense], [Dungeon Sense], and [Skulk]. Each ability had its own immediate benefit as well long term gain. [Trap Sense] was a passive that told her when traps were near by, [Dungeon Sense] was the signature Delver ability that allowed her to sense the dimensions of any underground structure, cave, or tunnel within her vicinity, and she could activate [Skulk] to enhance her stealth abilities.

[Skulk] had not been available when Calista had first started playing. It was stronger ability that had been patched in to help balance the Rogue-based classes against everyone else somewhere into the game’s second year. She had just gotten used to getting along without it, but now, in light of the fact she was starting over at level one with real life and death consequences, she knew she needed it.

Hitting [Select] again, she watched as the base numbers populated the six attributes of her stat block. Wisdom, perception, speed, constitution, technical, and charisma. She was pleasantly surprised that she had a [Charisma] score well above the average as well as a couple extra points in her [Points Remaining] pool. She had played Sable Unlimited since its release and knew the optimal starting build of each class by heart. When she was finished, she hit [Select] and watched as all the skills populated beneath the attributes. She filled those out too, carefully moving the points around until she felt she had a good balance between immediate survival and the more long term skills that would help her later in the game. She then hit [Select] again.

She then took a moment to admire her character sheet:

Name: Calista Stricthaven

Occupation: Delver (Level 1)

Wisdom: 9

- Survival: 11

Perception: 11

- Stealth: 16

- Bluff: 12

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Speed: 12

- Dodge: 15

Constitution: 8

- Melee Combat (Long Sword): 10

Technical: 12

- Disable Device: 18

- Lock Picking: 16

Charisma: 12

Special Abilities:

Skulk - Provides bonuses to stealth based abilities and skills when active.

Dungeon Sense – Use allows character to ‘sense’ the area around her while within a dungeon, populating the character’s mini-map within a set distance.

Trap Sense (passive) –Using Perception, character may detect traps and hazards at any given time on any given terrain (unless otherwise noted). At later levels, Trap Sense adds a bonus to all Perception checks made in this manner.

Beside the screen, Robin stood up and took a step forward. “Congratulations on completing character creation. You will soon be given access to Calista, your new delver who is ready and eager for adventure! However, first we would like to first introduce you to Sable Unlimited’s newest feature: Background, where your character is assigned a new and exciting personal history that you and only you will be able to discover as you explore the vast world of Wraath.”

What? They’re beta testing background already? She new people in Cintensity’s research and design department and had heard that the background feature wasn’t supposed to be ready for months. In fact, the company had only begun to tease the concept on social media. Finally, the page loaded and she began to read.

Surprisingly, her character sheet did not end there. Scrolling down, she found the following …

Background:

The daughter of a gypsy seer and a chimney sweep, you grew up in the slums of Yandmouth. At the age of thirteen, all that changed when you were caught stealing from a baker on the far side of town. Because no one knew what you were doing or where you had gone, you found yourself imprisoned for nearly a fortnight.

Okay, I can handle that, she thought. Sounds pretty normal for a rogue class character, actually.

While imprisoned, you heard the guards repeatedly complain about strange spirits haunting the jail. Important items seemed to move on their own, minor injuries became commonplace, and strange voices could be heard late at night. Finally, one of the constables brought a sage to look at you and that’s when it was determined you were one of ‘the kindred.’ Because you were a child and no one had the stomach to kill you, you were instead expelled from the jail on the spot.

There’s my origins as a kindred. So that’s cool, I guess.

Upon your return, the revelation that you were part daemon immediately destroyed your family. Your father, distraught that his only child wasn’t his, but was in fact a result of his wife’s unholy affair with an otherworldly spirit, killed your mother and then himself. Orphaned, you wandered into the care of a distant uncle. After strange hauntings at his house, your uncle sold you into indentured servitude for a local adventuring guild. They quickly found your knack for getting in and out of fortified places and put it to good use. However, just as you took one last job to pay off your debt, your luck finally ran out as you ran afoul with the law and had to flee to preserve your freedom.

Okay, what the actual hell? That might have been the darkest thing she had read in an video game in a very long time. Below the backstory text were two small lists.

Boons:

(hidden)

(hidden)

(hidden)

Afflictions:

(hidden)

(hidden)

(hidden)

What are boons and afflictions? I don’t remember those ever being a part of the game before. She turned to the Attendant and asked, “Hey, what are these things?”

The Attendant gave her a pleasant smile, “Our new Background feature provides your character with several things designed to enhance your Sable Unlimited experience. First, there is a detailed backstory that places your character within the world of Wraath. This backstory may be only partially revealed now as many of the plot points for your personal story will be things you encounter along the way. Second, because your character already has a personal history, she is also granted a series of ‘boons and afflictions’ which add depth and flavor to your character. These can be anything from bonus starting items, to long lost lovers, to having a bounty on your head with a major crime lord. As boons and afflictions are a part of your Backstory, they may or may not be revealed until further into the game as well.”

As the Attendant finished explaining this a blank space appeared at the bottom of her Backstory, indicating exactly what the blonde woman had just explained.

“That is … odd,” Calista said. “Why don’t I know all of what my character’s backstory is? Wouldn’t my character remember?”

The Attendant stood and straightened her uniform. “Yes, normally this would be the case, but in your case, you do not remember all of what has happened to you or what brought you to where you are now. Because of your long history of good standing in this game, you’ve been awarded a particularly deep Backstory that you must uncover. It will be exciting. Trust me. ”

“I don’t like exciting,” Calista said. “Exciting sounds like dangerous.”

“I’m sorry. This aspect of Sable Unlimited is not optional.” The Attendant then raised her hand and pressed an invisible button. The character creation window disappeared in a blink. A half-second later, Calista’s appearance changed from the basic, translucent female to the slim, auburn haired young woman she had designed. “Congratulations,” the Attendant continued, “you are now prepared to begin your journey here on Wraath. Please know that it has been my honor to initiate you into this game and I hope you have found your orientation process both useful and informative. As I said, you’re my last Very Important Player of the day and therefore the very last Very Important Player I’ll be walking through orientation before my retirement.” The Attendant then sighed. “I’m afraid I’ll be moving on to new players, low-levels, and joke characters for the remainder of the day.”

Calista turned her head sideways, “There … are … joke characters?”

The Attendant’s voice had a hint of disdain, “Unfortunately, yes. They usually don’t last that long, but Concept has found their presence in the game boosts viewership among certain demographics.” The blonde stewardess then took a deep breath as she looked up at the sky. “No doubt you’ve wondered about your friend, the mage?”

Calista nodded, “Yes.”

“You will be meeting him shortly. Provided you both live that long.” The Attendant then paused a moment as she glanced at something Calista could not see. Then, in a hurried whisper, the stewardess leaned toward forward and whispered. “You have the ring. Seek out the game master. He’s lost here and has something for you.”

“What do you mean? What game master?” Calista asked. “What does he have for me and where do I find him?”

However, instead of answering, the Attendant straightened herself, her face passive and unknowable as she said, “Goodbye Calista.” Then as the blonde woman smiled one last time, the world became filled with a bright, white light and then suddenly Calista couldn’t see anything as it all faded to black.