Ch 1. Avatar Creation_Thomas the Brawler

Thomas sat upright, looking around with a jolt of panic, the light filtering in through his window far, far too bright. He was late, he had overslept! His eyes swung around to his alarm clock; a blank black screen greeted him. The covers on his twin bed were thrown aside, and he moved quickly to the closet in the corner of the room, nearly slipping on the dirty clothes discarded on the hardwood floor. The closet door opened, and he flicked the switch three times, on, off, and on again, before his sleep-addled mind caught up that the power was out.

He dressed quickly, grabbing whatever of his nicer button-down shirts was closest on the rack, as well as a pair of slacks and a belt – no clean underwear, no time. No socks, either, but he slipped on a pair of black socks from the floor, mismatched as finding a matching pair would take too long, and slipped on an already-tied pair of black wingtips that needed both cleaning and polishing, and he was out the door.

The darkness outside the door didn't fully register – too dark, too complete, even without power - the sunlight from his window not filtering in at all – until he had already stepped through, and the world lit up in blue.

Welcome.

Thomas stopped, staring at the all-encompassing blue. What?

The message abruptly changed.

Do not be alarmed. You have been chosen.

What?

Please select an archetype. Please be aware this selection cannot be changed once made.

Warrior

Magus

Rogue

Other

Thomas stared, turning his head back and forth – or trying to. He didn't feel like his head was moving, but neither did he feel like his head was being constrained; the image didn't change, and he felt no sense of motion. What? Archetype? A warrior would be something like Cona -

Warrior archetype chosen. Please select a class.

Warrior

Spellsword

Vanguard

Barbarian

Brawler

Phalanx

Accursed (Special)

Knight

Warden

Sergeant

Paladin

Mercenary

Noble

Warlord

Berserker

Monk (Special)

Thomas froze. Okay. He was a … no, don't even think the word. Oh gods. Alright. He had no idea what was going on. He knew what some of those classes were, whatever they were classes for. Could he get more inform-

Warrior archetype chosen. Please select a class.

Detail

Warrior

The Warrior is the prototypical - well, Warrior. The Warrior specializes in dealing and absorbing damage, with a low critical hit chance but a high general hit chance. The Warrior typically chooses a single weapon and battle style to develop mastery in and of, and branches out into other fields of expertise only opportunistically. The Warrior gets a high number of Martial Distinctions, which permit either exceptional specialization into a particular form of combat, or broad mastery over a range of styles of combat. In battle, the Warrior is exceptionally good at dealing with Rogue and Rogue-like classes, soaking up their critical hits with a substantial Health pool and avoiding everything else, but may have more difficulty with Magic-wielding classes, whose less direct abilities can stymie attempted attacks and wear down the Warrior's effectiveness over the course of a battle.

Spellsword

The Spellsword is a Warrior-like anti-Magus, emphasizing magical resistance, with a lighter emphasis on melee combat. Not as good in direct melee combat as most other Warrior-like classes, the Spellsword instead relies on a pool of mana and a small set of spells, which permit the Spellsword to more readily adapt to circumstances. The Spellsword is strongest in group combat, at higher levels providing a passive shield against offensive spells directed at nearby party members, and is exceptionally good at fighting Magus and Magus-like classes. The Spellsword is somewhat more vulnerable to Rogue-like classes, however, and is particularly vulnerable to other Warrior-like classes.

Vanguard

The Vanguard is a Warrior-like class with an emphasis on one-on-many combat, and the class is at its strongest in exactly this situation. The typical Vanguard wields a Halberd or Axe, wears Heavy Armor, and is the first into and out of every fight. The Vanguard relies heavily on the ability to get in and out of combat without impediment, and so may take Distinctions which improve Movement Speed. Each opponent beyond the first in melee attack range makes the Vanguard hit more often, and that much harder to hit, which results in a curious situation, whereby the Vanguard may be overwhelmed in a one-on-one fight, but completely in control when fighting three of the same enemy. The Vanguard is particularly vulnerable to Magus-like classes, who can hinder the Vanguard's advance without entangling themselves in the fight, and particularly strong against other ranged combatants, whose movement speed can't avail them much.

Barbarian

The Barbarian is a damage-and-armor oriented Warrior-like class, for whom every weapon is ultimately disposable. The typical Barbarian is a master of every weapon, and destroys weapons on enemy's heads with disturbing regularity, pausing only briefly in the massacre to acquire the next stick to break on the next skull. The Barbarian deals extremely high damage, and has the potential for considerable protection using Heavy Armor, but the low Health pool mean the Barbarian is a very challenging class to use effectively, being vulnerable both against Rogue-like classes and offensive Magus-like classes.

Brawler

The Brawler is a Health and Damage Reduction oriented Warrior-like class, who excels at surviving pretty much anything. The typical Brawler is wielding bare fists and wears no armor, and is somewhere in the middle of the fighting, pounding on and getting pounded back for long, sustained bursts. The Brawler tends to be best against other Warrior-like classes, simply outliving them, and is weakest against Magus-like classes, who can gradually wear the Brawler down without ever getting directly involved, and Rogue-like classes, who the Brawler can never quite catch up to.

Phalanx

The Phalanx is a Warrior-like class emphasizing prolonged defensive combat. The typical Phalanx is to be found dual-wielding spiked tower shields and covered in Heavy Armor from head to toe, side-by-side with two or three allies, in the middle of the densest knot of enemies. The Phalanx gets more powerful the more allies are nearby, and is a potent force multiplier with other group-oriented classes, pairing particularly well with Sages. The Phalanx in group combat is particularly vulnerable to Magus-like classes, and in solo combat is vulnerable to other Warrior-like classes, although high Stamina regeneration and Health mean the Phalanx can simply outlast opponents.

Accursed (Special)

The Accursed, as a class, is all about randomization, and manipulating the results of randomization. A typical Accursed could be any class type whatsoever, but probably has a dense pool of Luck, used partially to help offset the otherwise completely random nature of leveling up, but also to offset situational disadvantages as they arise. An Accursed can be found in any role, in any position on the battlefield - and is, as a rule, doing very well, or doing very badly, with very little room in the middle.

Knight

The Knight is a tanking Warrior with slow but deadly attacks. The Knight's core powers use large amounts of Stamina to deal incredible damage, and recharge Stamina while turtling against attacks. Typically found in Heavy Armor in the midst of the most violent fighting, wielding Sword or Mace and a sturdy shield, the Knight is an asset to any fight.

Warden

The Warden is a staff and crossbow wielding tanking Warrior who spins from opponent to opponent, keeping targets distracted and harried, disrupting their assault. Typically found in Medium Armor wielding a Staff against the opponent's flanks, the Warden does best holding lines that would be abandoned by a lesser soldier.

Sergeant

The Sergeant is a two-handed weapon wielding tanking Warrior who is equally at home at the front or the rear of the battlefield, throwing opponents into constant disarray with a dizzying range of strategies and tactics.

Paladin