“I’m recording this so that everyone can review my explanations during the relevant setup stages. I suppose the latecomers can watch the full recording when they arrive…” dad mused before asking, “Is everyone ready?”

We all nodded in confirmation.

After getting our approval, he jumped straight into it, “Firstly, to keep it interesting, six ‘factions’ have been created and will be standard to every external group. The race that you raise will be born from one of these factions. Certain factions will be at war with each other by nature, and members of the same faction will feel kinship on an instinctive level.”

“Wait a second,” interrupted Skye, “You said that like each of us will have a race, but somehow I got the impression that there won’t be just one way to start…”

“I’ll quickly expand on that,” dad replied, “You will start with a group of, um... malformed beings. There are several bases to choose from, ranging from simple ones such as ‘Humanoid’ to more interesting ones like ‘Spectral’. Some will also have subcategories, but I’ll expand on race creation when we actually get there.

The initial biology can be altered somewhat to make room for whatever you have in mind, but they will be crude and undeveloped regardless… though they will evolve as you guide them. Whatever this group develops into, will be your race. The possibilities are endless.”

Skye continued questioning him, “What happens if our… tribes grow too big and become unsustainable? Or if we simply need to get rid of some rabble?”

“Then deal with it,” dad snorted, “But be careful; if the group splits during the establishing stages, then the unguided parts might become a feral race. It’s less of a concern after your race has found its place in the world, but still a concern nonetheless.”

“And how, exactly, are we supposed to ‘guide’ these groups?” Skye asked, “I’d like to know exactly what our role in all of this is.”

“I’ll explain exactly what you’re expected to do, and how you’ll do it, later,” dad said. “I want to explain the inner workings of the system first, that way you can digest the complicated stuff before you make your decisions.”

“What will our goals be?” Caty asked, “Quests of some sort?”

“Objectives, huh? That’s probably a good place to start,” dad nodded to himself, “Each faction has several ‘styles’ which function as your objectives. These ‘styles’ aren’t as clear, and to the point, as a quest objective would be, they’re open to interpretation. The finer points of what they mean to your race… you’ll have to figure that out yourself.

As long as the Core’s AI deems it a plausible interpretation, you’ll be rewarded. By ‘following’ your relevant ‘styles’ you can earn something called ‘EP’-”

“-EP?” Caty interrupted.

“I was just getting to that,” dad said, “EP, or ‘Evolution Points,’ can be used to promote growth, accelerate developments, alter biology and do various other things to further or improve your race. The options and costs are both dynamic, so they will change as your race does.

EP will only apply to you until the end of the second weekend. It will change into something slightly different afterwards, but I’ll explain the changes then. Don’t worry about forgetting to spend it though, I will give all of you some time at the end of each session to funnel all of your points where you can.”

“What happens if we don't spend it?” asked Ryan.

Dad ignored him and kept on talking, he must be annoyed at all the interruptions, “EP isn’t the only way to improve your race. They will naturally develop in the direction you take them; If you depend on subterfuge to survive, then they will become adept at sneaking. If you depend on force to survive, then they will become stronger. If you depend on tactics and cunning, they will grow more intelligent... that kind of thing.

Before you teach your group how to survive, however, you’ll need to choose your starting circumstances and modifiers. There are three primary categories to balance between; People, Environment, and Dangers. Also, several ‘aspects’ lie within each of those categories, and each aspect has four ‘factors’.

It’s hard to put these factors into words, but I’ll try phrase it simply…

There are two parts to each of these factors; ‘quality vs quantity’, and ‘baseline vs potential’. Putting a name to every factor is impossible, but I’ll use the ‘Population’ aspect of ‘People’ to demonstrate.

Can you agree that putting points into the ‘Baseline Quantity’ of your ‘Population’ would naturally increase the number members you start with? And that investing in ‘Potential Quantity’ would improve your ability to expand your race over time instead?”

“No,” I said cheekily.

“Shut up,” dad growled before resuming, “And let’s not forget about quality! Investing in the ‘Baseline Quality’ of your ‘Population’ would mean fewer losses, especially early on!

… But nothing good comes easy, so giving them some room to grow by investing in your ‘Population’s Potential Quality’ is a good idea. It might even let a hero or two appear when things get desperate.”

Sam happily chimed, “I will be the legendary hero, kicking evil-”

“SHUT UP!” dad shouted.

“Sorry…” Sam repented.

Dad took a deep breath to calm himself and continued, “The way you set it up will heavily affect your survival tactics, so think it through. If you are unsure of anything, you can ask during setup.”

“What about-” “SHUT UP NOW!!!” “...”

Well, that was harsh…

Don’t give me that teary face, Sam, that was all on you.

“Sorry, he’s still in work mode,” mom said apologetically. Dad also looked at Sam worriedly.

A moment later, he gasped like he’d suddenly remembered something, “Ah... let me talk about modifiers and variables before it slips my mind.”

Oh hey, look at that, he really did just remember something!

“In the original system, every aspect was accessible right from the start,” he continued, “but that’s been changed for you guys. You won’t have to spend hours scrolling through that monster of a list to find what you’re looking for.”

“Is there a voice command system to make things easier?” asked Skye.

“Finally,” dad sighed with relief, “an intelligent question…”

Skye smirked as Sam pouted.

“Yes and no,” dad said, “You can buy voice command assistance with EP, but it’s not cheap. So yes, a voice command system does exist, but ‘No’ is probably the appropriate answer to your question.”

“I want to talk too…” mumbled Sam dejectedly.

“Not now, shush,” dad barked, “Now, you will only see three aspects of each category at the start. The rest will be left at the default modifier of +0, but they will be unlockable and changeable with EP… both positively and negatively. EP income has also been increased to accommodate this new usage.

There are three variables associated with modifiers that you need to be aware of; Assisters, Restrictors, and Distorters. Most factors and aspects will have more than one variable associated with them, and it can change depending on whether the modifier has a positive or negative value.”

“How will we know what is influenced by these... ‘Distorters’, and what not?” asked Skye eloquently.

“You can look up the associated details if you want,” dad replied, “but you don’t need to think too hard about it as the system will track everything for you. The cumulative totals of all your variables will be neatly compared in the top corner, allowing for quick review. The factor and aspect tabs will also be tagged accordingly.”

“What will the tags look like?” I asked, noticing that he might miss this detail.

“You can personalise the display details,” he said, “but by default; a green star for Assisters, a red chain for Restrictors, and yellow cyclic arrows for Distorters.”

“Do we really need to know this?” Sam asked, the rolling of her eyes almost audible in her tone.

“The reason you need to be aware of these variables,” dad responded, “is that they will affect the cost of altering modifiers. If the given alteration would make the variable totals more even, the cost will be reduced. If the alteration would make things more unbalanced, on the other hand, the cost will be increased. The greater the imbalance, the greater the effect.”

“Why is balance important?” asked Ryan with a puzzled expression, “Isn't the whole point to become the strongest or smartest?”

“There are diminishing returns on modifiers, but not on variable accumulation,” dad replied, “That makes focusing everything on one thing generally unwise… Keep an eye out for aspects and factors that have an advanced unlock state; being able to tweak the variable influence, can be a powerful tool.”

“I am not certain that I have a proper grasp on the concept...” Skye said sadly, “can you provide us with any examples for clarification?”

“Examples? Sure. Let’s see... The ‘Hostile Presence’ factor is associated with the ‘Restrictor’ and ‘Distorter’ variables because while it makes survival more difficult, better resources also come out of conquering the challenge.

Conversely, just about anything related to taming would only be associated with the ‘Assistor’ variable. Sure, you might die while trying to tame cute wolf you found, but there’s nothing inherently problematic with the ability to tame something.

Now, the two examples I’ve given you are ‘Hostile Presence’ and ‘Taming’. As you can imagine, this is a good combination focus on; you’ll be able to keep all three variables balanced while gaining far more advantages than disadvantages. Lots of things have synergies, use them to get an edge on the competition.”

“So, the best way to go about things is to focus building synergistic advantages like that?” mused Caty.

“You’re not wrong in reaching that conclusion,” dad conceded, “but actually doing that would be a bad idea.”

“... Why?” Caty asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The AI will reward resourcefulness, but punish abuse,” dad said grimly.

“Abuse?” Caty questioned.

“Can a tribe survive by only taming and nothing else?” dad retorted, “Obviously not, but this synergy makes it possible.”

“How, exactly, would the system punish this ‘abuse’?” Skye asked.

“Well…” dad started, “It would target your weak points, or throw you into a situation where you can’t utilise the synergy. In the example I gave you, the AI might cause a famine and make feeding your pets difficult, or spread rabies.”

Several of my friends stared at him in horror, and he calmly took a sip of his coffee in the silence.

“I think this goes without saying,” dad said after putting his cup down, “but certain modifiers, such as ‘Population’s Baseline Quantity’, will be locked after your initial setup.”

That much was obvious. Still, I suppose there’s no harm in affirming it.

“Alright, now that that’s taken care of,” he said, “let me explain the parts that EP was originally used for-”

“Wait, I want to go to the bathroom-” “You can wait,” he interrupted, cruelly denying Sam’s innocent request even though she was rubbing her legs together.

Sam’s face of despair was priceless, and my Skye seemed to think the same.

Skye, you can drop the innocent act, I saw that smirk.

Oblivious, dad continued his speech, “The most visible thing you can do with EP is forced mutations… If you want angels, this is just about the only way to get there. Humanoids are just not built for flying, but divine intervention and a little magic might make it possible.

Forcing such mutations to occur, however, can be very costly.

If it’s an evolution that would happen without intervention, then it might be better to invest EP into accelerating natural mutation instead. It takes much longer for the effects to roll in, but the changes will be much cheaper and less unbalanced in the end.”

He took a moment to breathe, calm himself, and drink some coffee.

He looked into his cup quietly for a moment before saying, “Babe, would you mind quickly warming this up for me?”

“Sure thing, Dear,” mom chimed. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before taking his cup.

Speaking of which…

TSSS!

“Why are you only opening that now?” Sam asked me with a skew look, “Don’t tell me you forgot about it…”

“Ahaha,” I laughed nervously.

What are you talking about? There’s no way I forgot about it.

“You forgot about it,” Sam nodded affirmatively.

“Lies,” I retorted, “and you know it.”

“Mhmm,” hummed Sam with narrowed eyes.

Ignoring Sam’s stare, I raised the can to my lips.

Right before the can made contact with my lips, a glimpse of Sam’s jealous gaze inspired me.

“You know what,” I said as I lowered the can, “I’m not actually all that thirsty…”

“Then you should give it Sam,” commented Skye.

My god… Skye, why does your evil smirk look so terrifying?! I applaud you for catching on to my scheme, but now I already feel bad for it.

“I-I’ll take it off your hands…” came a hopeful voice.

I turned to the source and… No… Sam... Not the kitty face… You know I can’t resist those upturned eyes… I can’t do this to you! I won’t be able to face you tomorrow if I do! Stop! Please! I… Must… resist…

“Here,” I said as I handed Sam my drink.

Caty’s jaw dropped in horror as she watched my will cave in.

“Thank you!” Sam said with a smile brighter than the sun.

I looked away guiltily, holding my head in shame as Sam downed the drink.

“Puhaaa!” Sam gasped in satisfaction after finishing it mere seconds later, “That really hit the spot! Thanks, Ash!”

I’m a monster.

“Anybody want more drinks while I’m in the kitchen?!” mom yelled from the kitchen.

No…

“Coke please!” called Sam happily while swinging her legs.

Please… No…

“Anything else?!” mom yelled, “... I’ll just bring the bottle over there then!”

Oh god… What have I done…

“Let us continue in the meantime…” said my father, “We’re short on time, so let’s get on with it… The most important thing you can do with EP,” he said, “is buy various upgrades and boosts. These things are similar but different. Upgrades are permanent, and boosts are temporary. I’ll try and use some examples to make it easier to understand...

Boosts are mostly things like ‘Heightened Strength’, which obviously gives greater strength, but there are some interesting ones like ‘renaissance’ that are harder to describe... You can also apply weaknesses, but I won’t go too much into temporary upgrades as they explain themselves when you’re picking them. The only thing you should be aware of when planning temporary upgrades is ‘recursion’.”

“What’s that?” Sam asked before my mother arrived with a two-litre bottle of Coke and several glasses. “Oh, thanks!”

“You can take a boost and make it manifest whenever certain conditions are met,” dad said. Sam filled a glass to the brim with Coke as he spoke, “You’ll pay a once-off cost that is more expensive than the standard version of the boost, but it’ll activate whenever said conditions are met, and you can even improve it later.”

As my dad spoke, the contents of Sam’s glass quickly disappeared down ‘his’ throat.

“The more specific the conditions, the more you’ll potentially get out of your points,” he continued, “Adding weaknesses can make upgrading the benefits easier, so that’s something to consider seriously. If you’re trying to create vampires and rule the night, for example, then you might want to have various powerful boosts that apply ‘in the dark’ and weaknesses that apply ‘in the light’.

Most situational buffs and debuffs are gained this way, but you will also encounter similar perks within permanent upgrade trees, so stay- hey… are you OK?”

I’m so sorry Sam, I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this...

“I’m just… quickly going to the bathroom,” said Sam, trembling as ‘he’ lifted himself off the couch.

Beads of cold sweat gradually appeared on Sam’s forehead as ‘she’ desperately held it in. Sam tried ‘his’ best to run, but it turned into a totter. ‘He’ made ‘his’ way towards the bathroom.

“The handle…” dad muttered fearfully before leaping to action.

Stolen story; please report.

This is why I’m a monster…

“NOOOO!!!” Sam wailed as ‘she’ desperately tried to turn the door handle. Within seconds, ‘she’ had resorted to banging on the door and screaming.

I’m so sorry Sam… It’s all my fault... I broke the handle this morning…

“Here!” dad shouted as he held the window open, “You can do it out the window!”

Does he think ‘she’ has to puke?!

Sam froze, then slowly turned to him in complete horror- No, it was closer to pure terror… Caty wore the same expression, understanding the severity of the catastrophe unfolding before her.

The room suddenly became deathly quiet. Nobody knew exactly what, but everyone felt that something had just gone terribly wrong - this was confirmed by Sam’s face going even paler.

Sam slowly sunk to the floor, curled over into a kneeling foetal position, and screamed at the top of ‘her’ lungs. After emptying all the air from ‘his’ body, ‘he’ became an incoherent mass of sobs and wails.

That was when mom appeared out of nowhere with a… What is that even? A curtain?

She stepped forward into a crouch in one smooth motion and wrapped the curtain around both Sam and herself. The curtain covered both of them without even coming to a stop, it kept twirling around them.

Not even two seconds later, mom whipped the curtain off them a big statue reveal. She tossed the curtain aside and stood proudly. Sam sat behind her in confusion, struggling to comprehend why ‘he’ was suddenly wearing a miniskirt, crop-top, and high heels.

That looked much cooler than it should have…

“That looked much cooler than it should have…” Caty muttered.

My thoughts exactly, Caty.

Sam pulled the waistband of ‘his’ skirt and paled before muttering, “Even my underwear…”

“Now then,” mom said nonchalantly, “let’s get back on track.”

“Uh, okay…” dad muttered, still a little confused.

Everybody made their way back to the living room and returned their seats, and we were ready to resume much faster than expected.

Sam, though, was still perplexed about the outfit change and clearly had mixed feelings about it.

‘A compliment might help Sam find peace.’ With that in mind, I turned to Sam and said, “Your outfit… Really suits you?”

“Why did that sound like a question?” Sam complained.

“It really suits you!” I exclaimed, attempting to cover up my mistake.

“I agree with Ash,” Caty said while eyeing Sam’s thighs, “It suits you surprisingly well.”

“I’m with the girls on this one, Sam,” Mom nodded, “You’ve got great legs… you should really show them more often.”

“That’s…” Sam trailed off, still unsure how to feel about it.

“Accept our compliments and move on!” I said in a commanding tone.

Sam straightened ‘her’ posture, saluted, and said, “Sir! Yes, Sir!”

Not the response I was expecting but whatever, it’ll work.

“Good,” I nodded, feeling oddly satisfied. “As you were.”

Dad chuckled at my little joke, but it seemed to have gone over everyone else’s heads… Oh, wait! Caty is rolling her eyes.

“Now that we have dealt with that issue, let us continue with the debriefing,” dad said, “Petty Officer Grove.”

“Petty Officer?” Sam commented, “That’s pretty low…”

“Is there a problem,” dad said before grinning, “Major Silvestre?”

What?! Sam has a higher rank than me?! Daaaaaaad!

“Of course not,” Sam replied smugly, “General.”

“Why does Sam have a higher rank than me?!” I shouted indignantly.

“Probably because Sam has a cooler surname than you,” Caty Shrugged.

Dad… it's your surname too…

“An excellent observation,” dad said in a cool voice, “Commander Phoenix.”

“Is that even from the same ranking system?!” I yelled.

“Nope,” Caty stated with a wry smile, “but I’ll accept the rank anyway.”

“Stop getting distracted,” mom growled, “You have an actual job to do.”

“Ah, right,” dad muttered, “Let’s get back to the explanation.”

Not wanting to waste even more time, everyone quietly leant forwards in preparation.

“Before we were interrupted, I had just about wrapped up boosts,” dad said, “So I’ll continue on the upgrades note… This part is quite complex, so pay attention and don’t interrupt. Everyone ready?”

After a unanimous nod, dad started explaining, “Permanent upgrades are the most intricate thing you can handle with EP, and unfortunately I’ll have to go quite in-depth with the topic - especially to convey all the pros and cons. It’s quite deeply influenced by the different factions, and your faction will be your most significant choice.

Most permanent upgrades have tiers, though there are exceptions. The first few tiers always having a linear unlock system, and there are several ways an upgrade tree can develop from there. The rules can also be very unique to the tree in the case of the more powerful ones, but certain patterns will usually occur.

In simple terms, there are three basic types and three basic rule sets. ‘Direct’, ‘Variable’, and ‘Branching’ are the basic types while ‘Linear’, ‘Pooled’, and ‘Conditional’ are the basic rule sets.

The more exciting and potentially powerful upgrade trees can’t be likened to basic ones. These trees are called ‘Dynamic’, ‘Compound’, or ‘Hybrid’ and don’t necessarily follow the basic rules… You’ll have to figure out how each one works yourself, but I’ll expand on the basics enough to give you something to work off of.

Anyway, as a rule of thumb, each tier will cost more than the last but also be more powerful in return. Completing a skill tree to the very end will often give incredible benefits, especially in synergy with other trees… The ‘Vitality’ and ‘longevity’ trees, for example, can potentially grant you either access to the ‘Immortality’ upgrade tree, or a simpler ‘Immortal’ racial attribute.

Quick side note, upgrade trees always have higher potential than their similar racial attributes, but they start off weaker.

Just to give you guys a baseline of the essentials so you can intuit the rest, I’ll expand on the basic groups of upgrade trees and touch on the advanced ones.

‘Linear’ trees tend to stop dealing with a given tier as soon as you complete it and focus only the next tier. Sometimes you will have a choice between slightly different options along the way - you should consider everything carefully as your choice will usually be irreversible and limiting. There’s a pretty common exception to this, but I’ll explain it in a moment. Regardless, these trees tend to give the most reliable returns on the investment.

‘Pooled’ trees, on the other hand, allow you to eventually obtain every single perk. Usually, you’ll unlock the next tier after you invest enough points in the previous tiers. The freedom to unlock every perk of the tree might seem great, but it comes with a tradeoff. Pooled trees tend to return far less benefit for higher costs when compared to linear trees.

Now, there’s a very common hybrid which combines the best of both types. It’s so common that it is a considered ‘Standard’... Basically, it’s a linear upgrade tree, but you can still buy the alternative options for an increased cost. The specifics vary from tree to tree, but they’re generally not too hard to figure out.

Lastly, ‘Conditional’ trees are just that. There are conditions related to every part of the tree. In return for needing to meet these annoying requirements, the perks tend to be overwhelmingly more cost-efficient. If having some of the most potent perks wasn’t enough, these trees will often grant you perks without needing an EP investment at all!”

“Dear,” mom interrupted, “You’re getting too excited.”

“Ahem!” dad coughed, “Right, now that you’ve got a grasp of the most common rules, I’ll explain the basic structures. You’ll generally be able to figure out the full structure with time.

The first is ‘Direct’. This is the simplest and is practically the basis of all predictable progression. The benefits are set right from the start and can’t be changed much. The benefit of this structure is that you’ll know what you can get out of it later.

The second structure is ‘Variable’. This is what we call it when the upcoming perks are subject to change in any way, but only when the circumstances and relevant changes are predetermined. In the case that it’s not predictable, it’s usually labelled ‘Dynamic’ instead.

The last structure is ‘Branching’. This is essentially the name for when ‘Swords’ derives into ‘One-handed swords’ and then into ‘Short swords’... that kinda thing… It works both ways, so combining a bunch of resistances into a single more manageable one also falls under this group.

And, to quickly wrap this section up, the advanced elements you should be aware of…

‘Dynamic’ is essentially when the system generates the potential perks based on whatever factors. These perks tend to be very useful for your group and will generally harmonise with the way they operate. The benefit of these perks is that they are inherently personalised for you, but the problem is that you can’t plan for them.

‘Hybrid’ is essentially when different rules or structures are mixed and matched in the same place. I can’t explain it better than that.

And finally, a ‘Compound’ upgrade tree is any upgrade tree that has other upgrade trees within it. You’re highly likely to encounter a few of these while studying weapon arts and working with resistances.

Please note that the same upgrade topic can appear in a variety of ways, this is because the system only generates the upgrade trees as they’re needed. The types of trees that appear will be heavily influenced by your faction, so consider everything carefully.”

“So, we will be improving our groups as a whole using upgrade trees, that much I understood,” Caty started, “But what will the eventual players do? How will their levelling system work?”

Dad smiled and said, “Upgrade trees also appear in various places, namely at differing levels of grouping. Ranging from racial to individual, and everything in between. Empires, tribes, clans… they all use upgrade trees.

Future players will also use upgrade trees, but they will spend EXP instead, only racial upgrades use EP. You’ll even use them on a personal level yourselves.”

Caty nodded to show that she understood.

Dad leaned back and took a deep breath before continuing, “That’s it for the workings of upgrade trees, let me move on to the most important part; Factions.

As I mentioned earlier, there are six factions in total - half are neutral, and the other half are not. This brings me to the inter-factional conflict. If we split the factions in half, into the neutral half and the non-neutral half, the three factions within any one half will always be at war, their very instincts force them to hate each other.

It’s not hard for a neutral group to get along with a non-neutral group. They usually make great friends and allies in fact. Any faction can form friendly relationships, but it won’t be easy between factions from the same group.”

“Uh, before you go on…” Ryan trailed off.

“Yes? What is it?” dad sighed.

“Jess wants to ask something,” Ryan stated.

Jessica panicked at that, she obviously expected Ryan to ask whatever it is for her.

“I see… What would you like to ask, Jessica?” dad said while putting on his friendliest smile.

Jessica was still looking at the floor in embarrassment, which was good because my dad’s smile is fucking creepy.

“C-can we start together?” Jessica asked shyly.

“… Sure, I suppose I can sort that out for you,” dad said, “Assuming you don’t choose conflicting setups, that is. I’ll need to contact my superiors first, but they’ll probably approve of creating a dual-race group. Hell, they might even get excited by the concept - it hasn’t exactly been done before.”

“T-thank you,” Jessica mumbled.

“Anyway,” dad said, “the six factions...

The factions can be split into two groups, neutral and non-neutral. The relationships between the factions are easy to understand.

A race will be inherently friendly to other races from their own faction, and hostile towards races belonging to the two other factions from the same side of the divide.

Of course, the relationship system isn’t that simple, and it crosses the neutrality division.

You will also have a choice of affinities, and your affinity will affect relationships in the same way as factions but to a much smaller degree… That’s on the assumption that you don’t pick one of the more interesting affinity options.”

“There are a few foreign terms in your description,” Skye frowned, “What are affinities?”

“I’m about to explain affinities,” dad replied, “but factions and affinities are closely tied to the relationship system. You have to know about all three to understand how any of them work, so just listen to me for now and ask questions later.”

Skye nodded in consent and dad continued.

“In a nutshell,” dad said, “Affinities are a sub-faction system that can grant you access to another faction’s abilities. Their purpose is to make the factions more exciting and varied.

You will have five options for your affinity which will differ slightly depending on your faction…

Picking one of the three non-conflicting factions, IE one of the factions from the other half is a pretty solid choice. You will gain access to a much broader set of options with very mild efficiency, effect, and cost penalties. You will also take up one of their styles, leaving you with four styles to follow. This is the option we predict will be the most popular.

Alternatively, you can focus on a smaller but more efficient ability pool by doubling up on your faction and affinity. This will significantly improve the abilities granted by your faction, but you might find your options very limiting in some situations. You will also get cost reductions on style-supporting changes and improvements.

If you prefer having a variety of options, then you can leave your affinity ‘Open’. This will allow you to access the abilities of all three non-conflicting factions with moderate penalties. Additionally, you will have to drop one of your faction’s styles and pick up one from each of the others, leaving you with five styles to follow. EP income from your retained base styles is boosted, and income from the added styles is decreased.

That kind of setup allows you to capitalise on enemy weaknesses, and leaves you with less of your own, at the sacrifice of overall strength. Please note that your relationships with other races will be fragile as a side effect of this affinity.

Now, the fourth option is kinda different… we call it ‘Embodiment’.”

“What a self-explanatory name,” Sam comment sarcastically.

“It’ll make more sense once I’ve explained it,” dad returned wryly. “In essence, you choose an element or concept to represent and control. Fire, wind, lightning, death… victory… Whatever you can think of. Some concepts will be open to interpretation, of course.

On that note, an embodiment of fire would control fire and be healed by it, and the case is similar for every embodiment. The concept itself will also be added as one of your styles if you choose to do this.

You understand all that?”

“I think so,” Sam nodded.

“Right,” he returned the nod, “Then I’ll be continuing…

The last option is a bit of a wildcard, it’s the only one that allows the mixing of conflicting factions. This strays a little from the idea of Affinities, we call it ‘Hybridization’.”

Caty asked, “How is it different from the other affinities?”

“Uh…” dad started, “Imagine a race’s factional alignment as three parts their faction and one part their affinity. They are more one thing than any other. A hybrid race, on the other hand, is split right down the middle instead, into two independent halves.”

“And how does that change gameplay?” Caty asked with a frown.

“Well, you’ll have to deal with two sets of potentially conflicting styles for a start,” dad said contemplatively, “and the two parts operate separately.” After a moment of thought, he shrugged and said, “The mixing is pretty unfiltered, so you end up with some pretty severe circumstances in addition to the ridiculous potential.”

“I’m not sure I get it…” Caty trailed off.

Dad sighed before starting to speak, “You have full access to both sets of perks and abilities. The only problem is that the two sets are more or less mutually exclusive… Imagine this; There’s a small business that’s owned by Corporation A. The business gets resources from, and naturally, is managed by Corporation A.

But there’s a problem… The business is also owned by Corporation B. This means the business will have to live up to the expectations of both Corporations. You can imagine the hell of figuring out what to do when the two Corporations have different interests…

Fortunately, both Corporations hired the same person to oversee the business, so they manage to stay coordinated. That doesn’t stop the two Corporations from expecting different things from the business, and the business will have problems if it strays too far from either’s expectations.”

Caty stroked her chin in thought. After a few seconds she looked up and said, “Okay, I kinda get it… Am I right in assuming that EP earned from one side can only be spent on that side?”

“That is correct,” dad nodded, “you’ll have to manage several resource pools.”

“Sounds difficult,” she remarked.

“It is, but the sheer potential is more than worth the headache. I mean, can you imagine an entire horde of legend-class individuals marching towards you? It’s a terrifying image.

Your inter-racial political situation will be a problem though, it will be rocky at the best of times. You will have many enemies and very few friends, so you’ll be in a pretty tight spot even if your race is properly united.”

“And that’s why you call it a wildcard?” Caty mused, “They are the enemies of the world, strong enough to threaten even warring species into peace?”

“Something like that,” dad said with a wry smile.

“Alright, I think I’ve got it” Caty nodded, “You can continue.”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“No, he can’t,” I remarked sarcastically.

“I’ll get it,” mom said, “You can continue in the meanwhile.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” dad said as he stood up, “If it’s who I’m expecting, then it’s for me anyway.”

A few seconds later dad moved… what was once the front door, aside.

When did they even prop that back up?

Anyway, on the other side of the hole was a guy my age holding a stack of paper. He absent-mindedly handed the papers to dad while looking at the debris in wonder. Dad thanked him before coming back to continue explaining to us, not caring to explain what that was about.

As he walked back towards us, he began, “I’ll start with the neutral groups.

First up is ‘Natives’. This faction exists at the centre of the world, they are the representatives of the land, they are the face that outsiders will see. Native’s styles are dubbed ‘territory’, ‘trade’, and ‘civility’.

Power-wise, Natives have various magics, enchanting, etc. Essentially whatever you’d imagine a classic mage or sorcerer doing. This power set synergises with others to create new classes of magic.

The possibilities were left quite open, so achieving a state of ‘few but powerful’ with natives is just as possible as ‘weak but many’. If you choose this faction, you will see ‘Linear’ upgrade trees most often, almost exclusively in fact.

The second neutral faction is ‘Legends’. This is a group that lives in myths and tales, they’re powerful and reputable. Their styles are called 'domain', ‘superiority’, and ‘renown’. Of course, you can fight the system in favour of quantity if you really want to… If you choose this faction, your upgrade trees will be mostly ‘Conditional’.

Regarding abilities, the Legend faction relies on unique racial powers. These have to be developed over time and usually manifest as types of enhancements, but can be some of the most effective tools in the system. Other power sets will influence the manifestation of these abilities but do little in the way of raw empowerment.

The last neutral faction is called ‘Horde’. Individually, the members of this group are the weakest among the factions, but as a group, they form the most terrifying forces in the world. This is a bit of a complex group to play with since they tend to develop lots of divergent sub-races and hybrid upgrade trees. Their styles are ‘collect’, ‘cooperate’, and ‘devour’.

Horde’s powers are, unfortunately somewhat limited. They have minor telepathy which allows them to coordinate with incredible precision, but not actually talk to each other with it. This telepathy is available for upgrading right from the start. Other than that, all their reproductive and co-operation upgrades are beefed up while their individual abilities are lowered.

“We just want to play already,” Sam moaned, “let us figure it out for ourselves. We aren't pros anyway.”

Dad sighed and said, “I also want to move on to the next stage, but this choice is irreversible and will have lasting consequences. There are no do-overs. You don’t want to make the wrong decision and be stuck with that forever, do you?”

“No,” Sam said in defeat, “I suppose not.”

“Thought so,” dad said wryly, “Anyway, moving along, the non-neutral factions…

First, ‘Chaos’, an invading group. This group exists to cause havoc and indulge in their desires. Their styles are dubbed ‘treasure’, ‘whim’, and ‘ruin’. You can liken them to demons and other such things, but there’s no guarantee it will turn out like that. This faction gets bonuses and discounts on boosts and recurring boosts but suffers from much costlier permanent upgrades.

Chaos’ strongest point is their destructive powers, and use corrupting or manipulative powers as the circumstances require. They also have accelerated natural healing rates, to the point of even regrowing limbs, but it’s impossible for a third party to practically heal them in return. You can spend EP to lessen that drawback, but there isn’t much point in doing so. The synergies of their powers are kinda hard to describe concisely since the effects are so varied.

Next is ‘Order’, another invading group. This group strives to control the world and turn it into a utopia. Their styles are ‘virtue’, ‘law’, and ‘hierarchy’. Order is usually a good thing, but this group takes it too far. This faction will have almost exclusively have ‘Pooled’ upgrade trees, and the ‘weakness’ elements of boosts are locked to them.

Order doesn’t have any proper straightforward attack methods. Their powers are more oriented towards utility, but there are plenty of ways for those skills to aid you in battle… Precognition, for example, allows you to sense a few moments into the future. They also have restorative powers that can keep you fighting for longer, and their cleansing powers can erase hostile magic. They also have a variety of defensive abilities to keep them alive for longer, making them very effective tanks… and poor assassins.

Lastly, we have ‘Harmony’, the protector group. This group strives to support and protect the world itself. Their styles are dubbed ‘perception’, ‘preservation’, and ‘symbiosis’. This group will mostly see ‘Variable’ upgrade trees and gets great bonuses from territory-based buffs.

Harmony specialises in using the resources around them to cast their spells, allowing them to perform well beyond their personal limitations. They can manipulate their environment - be it ashes and toxic fumes, overgrown plant life, or even the barrier between life and death. As they adapt to a particular environment, their power over it will grow dramatically, but they’ll also lose their ability to control other places and things.”

“It only makes sense that your faction would be a permanent choice,” Skye started, “But I’d like to know if you can, in any way, alter your affinity later on.”

“Kind of? It depends on your choice of affinity,” dad responded, “If you choose one of the three compatible factions as your affinity, then you can improve your attunement to it with EP later. Hybrid races can also purchase certain affinities, up to a maximum of two, later on, to make up for the restriction made during initial setup… Otherwise, you’re limited to adding weakened versions of Embodiment.”

“Weakened versions of embodiment?” Skye asked, “As in, similar in every way, but weaker than the Embodiment affinity you can take up during setup?”

“Pretty much,” dad nodded, “You’ll get the extra style, but it’ll generate less EP.”

“While we’re on the topic,” Caty said, “How would it work for Hybrids? Would they only be able to spend their EP from the extra style on the Embodiment?”

“There’s a reason Hybrids can take up two affinities,” dad responded, “Each one you pick up is tied to one of the factions that make them up.”

“Even if they have lots of political tension, wouldn’t running two races’ worth of resources on one make hybrids completely and utterly OP?” Sam asked.

“Not really,” dad shrugged, “It’ll take them a while to unlock everything, so they’ll be less developed in the end. The heightened level of power isn’t too severe for political tension to offset.”

“Oh, okay,” Sam muttered, “Fair enough.”

“...”

Silence.

“... Is that it?” Sam asked dubiously.

“For this part, yes,” dad said, “The rest is either irrelevant at the moment, or intended to be figured out along the way… Though I suppose you’ll want to know the actual schedule for the weekend.”

“That would be much appreciated,” Skye remarked.

“To start with, we’ll pass around this tablet,” dad said as he held the tablet up, “One-by-one, everyone will decide on their factions, affinities, and other setup factors. After that, we’ll all enter a linked virtual space and repeat the process for modelling your race’s initial appearance.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just have us all do it at the same time?” Sam asked.

“It’s for the sake of having an open discussion,” dad replied, “Although some of the groups are geared more towards being a business operation and will probably work that way, your group here is meant to be a social operation.”

“I see…” Sam muttered.

“Anyway,” dad said, “We’ll have dinner after that and give the system a chance to generate the world. Then, at 9PM, we’ll start the first session… Beyond that, you’ll spend pretty much the entire day inside. You’ll get three breaks a day, two hours each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“Wait!” Sam shouted, “That’s four hours of ‘break’ time. What about sleep?”

“There isn’t any time planned for sleeping,” dad replied.

“What?” Sam’s jaw dropped, “But that’s like… eighteen hours a day!”

“Your maths is correct,” dad responded with a hint of sarcasm.

“What about reality confusion?” Skye asked, “Spending so long in simulated reality could certainly confuse us.”

She’s got a point, that could be really problematic.

“That’s a real concern, and the higher-ups didn’t overlook it,” dad answered, “We have implemented certain countermeasures for issues like that. Unfortunately, scheduling all the necessary sessions for every group was a rather messy affair… We had personal plans to deal with, technical requirements, and a project deadline. From a business point of view, there was very little that could be done about the schedule.”

“That’s understandable,” Skye said.

Dad snorted derisively and said, “Yes, understandable indeed.”

After a moment of silence, dad looked up and said, “Alright, let’s have a quick question and answer session about the system before we move on… Do you guys have any questions?”