《Westward Soul: Duskwood Online》Chapter 2 - Character Creation
Advertisement
The room looked like it belonged in a doctors' office. All it needed was a fake skeleton and an exam table.
"Do I know you?" Samuel asked.
"In a way, yes," she said. "I'm constructed from memories of people you found assuring and honest in your life."
"Do you have a name?" Samuel asked.
"Yes," she said. "My name is Erica, I'm an employee here to help make your entry go smoothly."
Neither spoke for a moment.
"How long have I been dead?"
"Roughly sixty-eight years," she replied.
"Do you know how old I was when I died?" He asked.
A file appeared before her. She opened it and began to read.
"Samuel Lucas Black," she paused. "It's nice to meet you. Male, eighty-seven years of age," she paused again. It was much longer this time. "And you were acquired from New York State Prison Network."
"Huh," Samuel said. "I died as an old man in prison."
"It appears so," she said.
"I was born in twenty-twenty," he said. "That puts my death in twenty-one oh-seven."
"Well," she said. Her smile had turned tight. "The average life span hit one-hundred and fifty. As such, being in your eighties was closer to the early side of mid-life."
"That's not as bad," he said. "I guess."
They fell into another stretch of silence.
"Do you have any questions before we get started?" Erica asked.
"Is there anything you can tell me about this game?" Samuel asked.
"Yes," she replied with a smile. "The current game-world that needs people is set in something akin to what is commonly called The Wild West."
"As in cowboys?" He asked. "Why?"
"Our research shows that it has a steady interest and plenty of room to grow to maintain an audience," Erica replied. "There are plenty of fantasy elements to make it interesting."
Samuel cocked his head to the side.
"What happens now? I'll be an NPC?" Samuel asked.
"Do you have experience with games?" She asked perking up.
"I lived in a town in the middle of nowhere," he replied. "I know what video-games are."
Advertisement
"If you were to accept you would be a part of the D.A.R experience," she said. "You would be a part of the active cast, rather than a background member. Your adventures, whatever they turn out to be, will be broadcasted for people to watch. There is wide variety of content that catches interest. One of the top one-hundred channels is a merchant."
"Sign me up," he said. "What happens next?"
She smiled.
"We'll transfer you into the world," she replied. "After you create a character, that is."
"I get to create a character?" He asked. "I thought I was the character."
"In a way, yes, you are your character," she said. "But we like to give people a choice. The system will assign skills that correspond with those you had in life. Your stats will be something you can customize for yourself. Scanning your physical abilities doesn't translate effectively."
"Alright," Samuel said. "Let's get started."
"Great," Erica said. She flashed a bright smile. "Please step onto the plate."
The wall in front of him slid away as he stepped up onto the plate. A menu hovered in the air.
Beastkin - Dragonkin - Dwarf
Elf - Goblin - Human
Kobold - Ogre - Orc - Troll
"That's quite the list," Samuel said.
"These are the fun range of intelligent species. As a member of the Active Cast you have access to all of them. Players aren't able to choose Goblin, Ogre, Dragonkin, or Kobold. Just so you know, if you choose one of those you will start in their designated areas. Each option has a number of subsets," Erica continued. "Each race comes with extra skills and modifiers to your stats."
"Do I get to choose what I look like?" Samuel asked.
"Yes," she replied. "And you can choose your name."
Samuel smiled.
"I would hope so," he said. "What about classes?"
"The game is based on skill trees," she said. "You earn experience completing tasks. They can also give you reputation, negative or positive, which factions around the world. You buy new skills with your experience points."
Advertisement
"Thanks," Samuel said.
He selected Elf. The other listing faded away. Three options slid into place.
Moon Elf
Royal Elf
Wood Elf
"Royal," Samuel said. "As in they are tall, uptight, and pretty?"
"Pretty much," Erica replied.
"What are the differences between Moon and Wood Elves?" Samuel asked.
Wood Elf +2 Agility +2 Dexterity
Moon Elf +2 Agility +2 Wisdom
"Moon elves focus on magic while their woodland kin prefer shooting people with different means," Erica said.
"Is there an option for half-elves?" Samuel asked.
"That's under the Human option."
Samuel nodded as he let the information settle in. He selected Wood Elf. A short, lithe humanoid with rich golden skin stood before him. Its eyes were blank, it had no hair, and it looked more like it belonged at the North Pole than in the forest. The facial features were all sharp lines. A menu appeared next to the elf.
Replicate Appearance?
Yes/No
"What does Replicate Appearance mean?" He asked.
"The template will look like you do now, with some modifications due to race," Erica answered. "Skin tone, height, and some features have a limited range."
Samuel transferred his likeness onto the elf before him. It was definitely prettier. His new body had a diamond shaped face with a jaw that was accentuated with pointed ears.
Height – Build
Eyes – Nose – Face
Skin - Hair
Samuel added a little more muscle but kept the build athletic, aiming for a look that would fit for a middleweight boxer or gymnast. The eyes he set to a center glacier blue and an edge of green with a vertical slit. He kept the skin the default color since it looked good and reminded him of lion fur. The only option left was one he had dreaded.
Name
"I don't suppose I could just use Samuel?" He asked.
"You could," she replied. "It just doesn't sound very Elfy."
He studied the elf before him. Keeping something close to his name would make things easy. Shortening to Sam would be even better. Wood elves needed something forest sounding to finish things up.
"Sam'uel Willowthorn," he said.
"That is some clever use of an apostrophe. Now to the stats," Erica said. "Your racial bonuses will be added after you've assigned points. The scores are based on a scale of ten. They all start at five and you have a total of seven to assign."
"Can I lower a score for extra points?" He asked.
"Yes," she replied. "But five is the average, anything less and you will see some negative outcome."
Unspent Points - 7
Agility – 5 Charisma – 5 Constitution - 5
Dexterity – 5 Intelligence – 5 Strength – 5 Wisdom - 5
"What's the different between Agility and Dexterity?" Sam'uel asked. "They are usually the same thing."
"Agility refers to your movement while Dexterity is coordination," Erica clarified. "It's backflips versus card tricks."
"Got it," he said. "Anything else I should know?"
"Charisma effects how much reputation you earn per encounter," she said. "It can also determine the price of good and what services are available. Intelligence factors in to how much skills cost. If you want to do any sort of magic you will need a good Wisdom score."
Agility and Dexterity were already boosted once his racial bonus was applied. Not getting hit was important, but it was also a good idea to take some damage. Erica had gone out of her way to the importance of Intelligence and Charisma. He had no plans to use magic, which meant Wisdom was a dump stat.
Sam'uel Willow Thorn
Agility – 7 Charisma – 6 Constitution - 8
Dexterity – 7 Intelligence – 9 Strength – 5 Wisdom - 4
"Are you finished?" Erica asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"You're going to be stuck with these scores for a very long time," she cautioned.
"I'm good," Sam said.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," she said. "Let's move on to skills and equipment."
Advertisement
- In Serial64 Chapters
The Shards of Sylvia's Soul
In the little village of Nyberg, Sylvia is dreaming of a future with Rebecca at her side. Together, they could move overseas. But when bandits attack, all of her tender dreams turn to ashes. Forced out of her home, Sylvia forges new bonds with the Fri, the women who have taken it upon themselves to protect their little corner of the world. She also meets Afi, a strange bandit with a stern face and a soft heart. Saving each other from certain demise, they join in a bond which irreversibly ties their souls together. So bonded, they attempt to settle down. When a distant heir to the Crown asks for aid to reunite the country, Sylvia sees her chance to finally right all the wrongs committed against her family. In the pursuit of the throne, Afi and Sylvia come to risk their very lives. Sylvia uncovers the relationship between soul, magic, and divinity itself, but even in research, there is peril. It is not an easy task to balance the strain on her soul with the demands of the upcoming battle. In this world, the soul is not an incorporeal concept. To the contrary, the human soul is a physical object, an organ which resides in the chest of each individual. It is a great source of strength, but also of vulnerability. Hardship can leave scratches and blemishes, or even break the soul in two. The soul is each person's connection to divinity, to the magic which is ubiquitous to the world. It enables the cultivation of gods, but old legends warn of demons emerging in the presence of corrupt intention, and of hollow warriors, with no soul at all. There are two sides to every page. Update ScheduleNew chapters are in the works. ScopeThree to four books in total are planned.Book 1: "Fri Women" Chapters 1-64. Find the paperback and e-book here.
8 215 - In Serial17 Chapters
King Eden
Two hundred years have passed and the Earth belongs to the corrupt. Society is reduced to clandestine tribes of survivors who indulge in warfare, battling one another over desolate wastelands. They are the Ancients, and Eden is their Lord. Legends cannot capture her skill as a warrior, but these stories of her ruthless past secure her title as King. A centuries-old war ravages her homeland. The tribes must unite against a force that outweighs the unnatural resilience of Earth's survivors. Mars: a utopia of refugees who outlasted the apocalypse. They spent the nuclear winter pushing the boundaries of military technology, sacrificing their resources to satisfy their greed. Now the Martian Colonies are unsustainable. Their Minister vows to reclaim the Earth for his people's sake--and he will stop at nothing to bring King Eden's reign to an end. When the Martians capture her heir to the throne, King abandons her homeland to regain the one thing that makes her human. This faces King with a savage choice: surrender to Mars in exchange for her son and the enslavement of her people, or challenge the Minister's army of metal titans and nightmarish experiments. Failure is inevitable, victory promises sacrifice. But King is no stranger to an impossible fight. After all, she is the Lord of Ancients, and power is indeed in the hands of the bloodthirsty. This story is also available on Wattpad
8 166 - In Serial24 Chapters
Notebook of possibilities
First of all, to those who started reading this I want to apologize. While it does have a ring of a nice story title, this is going to be a place where I take the Sparks of interest from other stories or random ideas and just put it down, I'm not sure how exactly but the title should summarize the basics of what is held within. To say it's a waste isn't accurate, to ask the question why is a good start, why would I want this? Because when I read a story I want to think of so many things I may see or find in the world they envision, all the possibilities that could come about, and maybe, just maybe, some author out there can get their hands on this and it will be a spark of creativity for them to make a new chapter and see their world even a smidge closer to what I think it could be. It is tagged as fanfiction for it will pertain to numerous stories, not simply one in particular. Currently it will include; Oblivion Online Dungeon Heart And many more to be listed as they appear.
8 246 - In Serial200 Chapters
Dark quotes (#Wattys2016)-*COMPLETED*
Book of creepy quotes and all things scary. NOT RELATED TO SELF HARM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR .***********not good at descriptions********I hope you enjoy my second book and please remember to VOTE COMMENT FOLLOW etc. Please read @mayesha121 book 'my parents killer' and vote HOPE YOU ENJOY Remember toVOTECOMMENTFOLLOWSHAREBLEH BLEH BLEHon with the book-see ya
8 82 - In Serial16 Chapters
Love You Forever
hey guys check my second story ...❤❤...a cute nok-jok 🤗 , cute scenes 😍 ......peep in . . .
8 183 - In Serial7 Chapters
TREASURE&ENHYPEN GROUP CHAT || MGL
↬Сайн байна уу?ENHYPEN грүп чатанд тавтай морил☺️↬Сайн байна уу?TREASURE грүп чатанд тавтай морил☺️ Хөвгүүдийнхээ хөгжилтэй ертөнцөөр аялцгаая😊
8 106