The alarm cut off on its own just before her hand slapped down on the plastic, and Madelaine groaned, sitting up to look around. Her room was dark. The fucking power had gone out again. She couldn't hear the singing of her father making breakfast downstairs; maybe he wasn't up yet either.

Welcome.

Madelaine screamed, and swung her fist into the sudden bright blue light. Except it didn't illuminate her room at all, and she only succeeded in tangling herself up in her sheets, starting to kick her way away from the thing, which stayed right where it was.

Do not be alarmed. You have been chosen.

She paused, staring in confusion. Chosen? Chosen for what?

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

Warrior

Magus

Rogue

Other

Okay … warrior. She wanted more information, though.

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 Fortune, 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

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Mercenary

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Noble

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Warlord

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Berserker

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Monk (Special)

You have not been granted additional information about this class

Madelaine considered the choices for a few seconds as she started to wake up, scanning over the descriptions. Wait, had magus been an option? Manipulating randomization? So … manipulating luck itself? Accursed sounded kind of interesting.

Please select your class path. Additional information requested.

Detail

Wanderer

The future is not ours. The Wanderer seeks to find out what fate awaits them, rather than controlling it, although doing so with gusto and energy. Theirs is a fate unwritten, and those seeking to write their fate for them will find the task increasingly difficult.

Fortune Teller

Accept that to which fate brings you. The Fortune Teller, ultimately, seeks to manipulate not just their own fate, but the fate of others, ultimately developing the ability to not only aid their allies, but curse their enemies to unending doom.

Gambler

A flip of the card, a roll of the dice, that's all life is. The Gambler doesn't see chance as a thing to be controlled, but ridden. A Gambler accepts the good and the bad that life gives them, but capitalizes on the good.

She studied these options for a little bit longer, reading and rereading the descriptions, and also starting to wonder what exactly any of this was. Where was her father? She was going to be late for school. And granted she hated school, but also, it was kind of obligatory to hate school, and she didn't actually want to be late. Being late for school is what the kids who would flip burgers did.

Wanderer, then. She didn't like the idea of other people controlling her fate. She had enough of that with teachers telling her what to do and where to go in real life, much less a … game, or whatever this was.

Please select your Background

Detail

Sharecropper

You were raised among sharecroppers, poorest of the poor

Farmer

You were raised among land-owning peasants

Country Craft

You were raised among the children of, or apprenticed at a young age to, a local country craftsman; a wainwright, or perhaps a blacksmith

Caravan

You were raised among a traveling caravan, perhaps the child of a merchant, or a traveling circus

Bandit Party

You were raised in a traveling party of bandits

Army Follower

You were raised among the army followers, mostly composed of prostitutes, craftsmen, and merchants

City Slum

You were raised in the city slums

City Gang

You were raised amidst a party of city thieves and rogues

City Merchant District

You were raised among a city's lower burghers

City Craft District

You were raised, or apprenticed at a young age, to a city craftsman

City Court

You spent most of your young life in the city courts, surrounded by low and country nobility

Country Nobility

You were raised with the country nobility

County Courts

You were raised in the county courts, seeing a mixture of low and high nobility passing through

City Nobility

You were raised among the city nobility

Capital Slums

You lived most of your young life in the slums of a capital city, scrounging for scraps in the wealthiest city for miles

Capital Merchant District

You were raised among merchants in the wealthiest city for miles

Capital Craft District

You were raised, or apprenticed at a young age, to crafters in the wealthiest city for miles

Capital Court

You were raised in the capital courts, seeing mostly high nobility, and occasionally perhaps the ruling family

Capital Nobility

You were raised among the capital nobility, perhaps a distant cousin to the ruling family, and know most of the high nobility with at least passing familiarity

Ruling Family

You were raised in the ruling family itself, and have connections to the most powerful people in the land

The next option came up. What was her background? Her father was an engineer. That would be, like, what? City craftsman? So would City Craft District -

Please select the profession you worked in

Detail

Stat Bonus

Starting Skill

Smith's Assistant

A simple smith's assistant, hoping someday to own a forge of your own.

+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Intelligence, -1 Perception

Endurance

Blacksmith

A blacksmith, strong and pure of body, from hours at intense labor over hellish heat.

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Perception

Endurance

Tanner's Assistant

A tanner's assistant, aiming to someday be a master tanner yourself.

+1 Constitution, +1 Perception, -1 Agility, -1 Wisdom

Woodcraft

Tanner

A tanner, skin thickened and hardened and stained from decades of chemical exposure.

+2 Constitution, +2 Perception, -2 Agility, -2 Wisdom

Woodcraft

Farmhand

A farmhand, who helps keep the animals in line and performs basic maintenance.

+1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom, -1 Perception, -1 Intelligence

Discipline

Farmer

A farmer, eyes squinted against years of glare, hands and mind strong and firm from years of use.

+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Perception, -2 Intelligence

Discipline

Carpenter

A carpenter, strong of hand, keen of mind, well-versed at turning thoughts into action.

+1 Strength, +1 Intelligence, -1 Wisdom, -1 Agility

Concentration

Builder

A builder, well-accustomed to taking diverse elements and making a complete whole of them.

+2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Agility

Concentration

Dockhand

A dockhand, accustomed to the sway of the boat as heavy loads are carried to and fro.

+1 Strength, +1 Agility, -1 Wisdom, -1 Perception

Grace

Sailor

A sailor, agile and strong, as comfortable on a heaving ship as on dry land.

+2 Strength, +2 Agility, -2 Wisdom, -2 Perception

Grace

Pickpocket

A pickpocket, quick of hands and sharp of eyes, only as rich as his pickings.

+1 Agility, +1 Perception, -1 Strength, -1 Constitution

Dexterity

Thief

A thief, subtle of touch and careful of wit, best never known to his victims.

+2 Agility, +2 Perception, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution

Dexterity

Entertainer

An entertainer, a jack of all trades, from juggling to simple instruments.

+1 Agility, +1 Wisdom, -1 Intelligence, -1 Constitution

Grace

Musician

A musician, master of a single instrument, but skilled with all.

+2 Agility, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution

Grace

Deliverer

A deliveryperson - getting things from here to there, and surviving the trip besides.

+1 Agility, +1 Constitution, -1 Intelligence, -1 Wisdom

Alertness

Messenger

Messengers live sometimes dangerous lives, on account of the dangerous messages they deliver to dangerous people.

+2 Agility, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom

Alertness

Trapper

A trapper, skilled at luring prey with bait and killing or catching it, without ever having to be there.

+1 Perception, +1 Strength, -1 Intelligence, -1 Wisdom

Stealth

Hunter

A hunter, skilled at stalking and catching or killing prey, and skinning and dressing it.

+2 Perception, +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom

Stealth

Detective

A detective - a thief-taker in modern times, following evidence more subtle than a fleeing perpetrator.

+1 Perception, +1 Intelligence, -1 Constitution, -1 Strength

Spycraft

Spy

A spy, slipping in plain sight amongst those who are seen but do not see.

+2 Perception, +2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution, -2 Strength

Spycraft

Research Assistant

A research assistant - the hardest working and least credited in the scholarly staff.

+1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, -1 Agility, -1 Strength

Arcana

Scholar

The scholar, who is most adept at making other people work very hard.

+2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Agility, -2 Strength

Arcana

Scribe

Scribes are universally treasured, but rarely paid commensurate wages for their value.

+1 Intelligence, +1 Strength, -1 Constitution, -1 Perception

Recollection

Librarian

Librarians work surprisingly hard, sorting and placing hundreds of pounds of tomes per day.

+2 Intelligence, +2 Strength, -2 Constitution, -2 Perception

Recollection

Healer

A healer, skilled with poultice and bandage and simple curatives.

+1 Wisdom, +1 Agility, -1 Strength, -1 Perception

Medicine

Doctor

A doctor, skilled with scalpel and needle and leech alike.

+2 Wisdom, +2 Agility, -2 Strength, -2 Perception

Medicine

Trader

A simple trader, perhaps owner of a modest store, perhaps moving from village to village, small wagon in tow.

+1 Wisdom, +1 Perception, -1 Agility, -1 Constitution

Spycraft

Merchant

A merchant, more possessed of the trappings of wealth than wealth itself.

+2 Wisdom, +2 Perception, -2 Agility, -2 Constitution

Spycraft

Chemist

A chemist, face marked with the scars of years of experience and learning.

+1 Intelligence, +1 Constitution, -1 Strength, -1 Agility

Woodcraft

Alchemist

An alchemist, discolored and scarred from experiments conducted over years.

+2 Intelligence, +2 Constitution, -2 Strength, -2 Agility

Woodcraft

Her eyes narrowed. Right. At least she hadn't picked sharecropper or bandit. Or army follower. Madelaine studied this next … screen. Statistics. Suspicion firmed. This was … what, some kind of game? In her eyes? She took her glasses off, and put them back on again when the screen neither moved nor changed. Maybe … virtual reality contact lenses? Was that a thing? It was responding to her thoughts. She was pretty sure that wasn't a thing. A dream, then? She tried to will herself to teleport or fly, but neither worked, and after a few minutes her attention drifted back to the massive blue screen covering most of her sight. Huh. More of her sight than she had. That was … weird.

She considered the options, counting the statistics and skills. Six statistics, twelve skills. For some reason Grace, Woodcraft, and Spycraft were represented twice; they must be more important. It was a little weird that … nope, she'd be more careful. Alright, six statistics. Strength, in most games, determined your ability to hit things, and also hit them hard. Constitution would be health; generally important, but she'd always preferred to play characters that didn't get hit in the first place. Agility would probably be useful there, maybe. Perception was an odd one, she wasn't certain if she had seen that one turn up before. And intelligence and wisdom were fairly “normal”, as things went; so probably magic. But she'd chosen warrior.

Well, whatever this was, cross-class choices had to be a thing, right? And she didn't want to get hit. Thief.

Please select your ancestry

Detail

Farmer's Line

The lineage of a simple farmer from the days of Old Haven

+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom, -1 Intelligence, -1 Agility, -1 Perception

Bluebrim's Line

The lineage of the Biomancer Ferran Bluebrim, who singlehandled fed the armies of Old Haven during the First Sundering

+1 Strength, +2 Constitution, +3 Wisdom, -1 Intelligence, -2 Agility, -3 Perception

Scholar's Line

The lineage of a simple scholar from the days of Old Haven

+1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom, +1 Intelligence, -1 Agility, -1 Perception, -1 Strength

Fiern's Line

The lineage of Seam Fiern, who is credited with identifying the source of The Sundering

+1 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, +3 Intelligence, -1 Agility, -2 Perception, -3 Strength

Merchant's Line

The lineage of a simple merchant from the days of Old Haven

+1 Wisdom, +1 Intelligence, +1 Agility, -1 Perception, -1 Strength, -1 Constitution

Tegrile's Line

The lineage of Leone Tegrile, who converted his mansion into a flying fortress - First Citadel, although it has crashed three times since and little resembles its original form - and his collection of rare artifacts into a magical arsenal.

+1 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence, +3 Agility, -1 Perception, -2 Strength, -3 Constitution

Thieftaker's Line

The lineage of a simple thief-taker from the days of Old Haven

+1 Intelligence, +1 Agility, +1 Perception, -1 Strength, -1 Constitution, -1 Wisdom

Heunchmenn's Line

The lineage of Lenne Heunchmenn, whose corps of thieftakers, remnants of six dozen different corps devastated by The Sundering, patrolled the streets even during the war, taking heavy casualties but keeping the city intact.

+1 Intelligence, +2 Agility, +3 Perception, -1 Strength, -2 Constitution, -3 Wisdom

Mariner's Line

The lineage of a simple mariner from the days of Old Haven

+1 Agility, +1 Perception, +1 Strength, -1 Constitution, -1 Wisdom, -1 Intelligence

Vexbeard's Line

The lineage of the captain Sern Vexbeard, whose ship, sole survivor of the raids on the ports during The Sundering, held off six dozen behemoth off-worlders for the six days it took for reinforcements to arrive

+1 Agility, +2 Perception, +3 Strength, -1 Constitution, -2 Wisdom, -3 Intelligence

Smith's Line

The lineage of a simple smith from the days of Old Haven

+1 Perception, +1 Strength, +1 Constitution, -1 Wisdom, -1 Intelligence, -1 Agility

Tongesh's Line

The lineage of the enchanter Irem Tongesh, who forged and enchanted the armaments of the First Company, who first turned back the invasion of The Breach

+1 Perception, +2 Strength, +3 Constitution, -1 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence, -3 Agility

More statistics. She considered the pattern for a second, and frowned. So the total stats would always be zero. Additionally, there was some asymmetry to the choices provided. Hm. She didn't know this game; was min-maxing the way to go? Well, if this was a dream … this had to be a dream … it didn't matter too much. She wanted to penalize strength, intelligence, and wisdom, and boost constitution, agility, and perception, but that didn't seem to be an option. How bad would -4 constitution be? Probably pretty bad. But … well, whatever this game was, might as well be great at something, and terrible at something, rather than trying to be decent at everything. Tegrile.

Please select your quest

Detail

Destiny

The world has a destiny in mind for you, and you must pursue any means to fulfill it.

Repayment of Debt

You must repay a debt, whether to an individual, to society, or to the gods.

Hero Complex

You must help others, and will seek to help anybody in need.

Guardian

You must protect the innocent, defend the harmless, fight the power.

Find Purpose

You are motivated primarily by a lack of motivation, and are seeking to find a purpose in life.

Greed

You are motivated primarily by a desire to acquire more of something - money is the typical target.

Justice

You have an overwhelming desire to visit Justice upon the wicked.

Power

Your objective is to attain power - but even becoming emperor of all creation won't satisfy this drive.

Chaos

You seek to disrupt order and introduce a little bit of chaos into the world.

Overcoming Failure

You are haunted by a great past failure, which you seek to overcome and/or rectify.

Honor

You are defined by your sense of honor.

Spreading Joy

You just want to make everybody happy.

Glory

You are haunted by the desire to attain ever-greater glory - it isn't enough to die in battle, unless you do so strangling a dragon to death a mile above the ground to plummet to a fiery - but glorious - death.

Collector

You must complete a collection. Stamps, the heads of the enemies, kingdoms...

Entertainment

You just have to entertain everybody, all of the time.

The Buddha

You have no motivation, nor does you feel the need to acquire one.

Overcoming Weakness

You must overcome a weakness of body or spirit.

Vengeance

You need to visit vengeance upon an enemy, or perhaps a kingdom, or perhaps the world or the gods themselves.

Utopian

You seek to make the world Perfect.

Return Home

You just want to get Home.

Okay. Character stuff. Madelaine scanned the list quickly. Then scanned it again, a little less quickly. These all sounded a little terrible. Guardian seemed to least bad.

What is your greatest value?

Detail

Money

Whoever has the most money when they die, wins.

Honor

Honor isn't a way of living life, it is the way of living life.

Home

Home is where the heart is, and also where you stash your loot. Treat it well.

Self

Selfishness is only a fault when you do it wrong.

Mind

You have one tool, one weapon, that is always at your disposal - hone it well.

Body

You have but one canvas to paint with yourself, paint a masterpiece.

Soul

You have but one soul, treat it well.

Victory

The point of living is to win. Winning -is- living well.

Logic

The only correct decision is the provably correct decision.

Loyalty

Friends, family, and fine spirits, these are what make a life grand.

Friendship

Live alone, die alone; live together, instead.

Love

Whatever you achieve is meaningless if you can't share that achievement with somebody.

Freedom

Liberty -is- life, anything else is to be mere machinery.

Patriotism

For one's nation, for one's people, for glory.

Knowledge

Acquire all the knowledge, acquire all the power.

Order

A well-ordered life, a well-ordered universe.

Inebriation

Better living through chemistry.

Faith

Be true to yourself, be true to what you know, that is the heart of faith.

Abstinence

Restraint is what separates man from beast.

Excess

What's the point of life if you aren't living it?

Pfft. Mind. Obviously.

Choose two characteristics

Detail

Lust

You can figure this one out yourself.

Pride

A Prideful character is unlikely to engage in acts they consider beneath themselves; this can avert catostrophe in some situations, but in others may prevent that character from doing what is necessary.

Sloth

A Slothful character will generally prefer to do nothing over doing something, or to do less rather than more.

Wrath

A Wrathful character is prone to flashes of great rage, and may overreact to simple provocation - but may be the only character willing to rise to the occasion when the occasion merits it.

Gluttony

A Gluttonous character is one prone to excess - not necessarily of food, but to any of the pleasures of life.

Loyal

A Loyal character is unlikely to stray from their friends - whether or not their friends deserve to be strayed from or not.

Honorable

An Honorable character sticks by their own brand of ethics, even - or perhaps particularly - when those ethics handicap them.

Ambition

An Ambitious character is always seeking to improve their lot in life, sometimes to the detriment of others.

Perseverent

A Perseverent character is less likely to give up, even when giving up is the right thing to do

Diligence

A Diligent character dots every i and crosses every t - which can delay necessary action, or ensure that that action goes according to plan.

Honesty

An Honest character is disinclined to be untruthful, even when the truth is harmful.

Passion

A Passionate character is inclined to brash action and enthusiastic responses.

Mirth

A Mirthful character is disinclined to take anything too seriously.

Valor

A Valorous character is inclined to rush in, in spite of any danger a situation may pose, and whatever wisdom might say.

Stoicism

A Stoic character doesn't take anything too personally, or respond strongly to any particular situation; a Stoic tries to stay in control of him or herself at all times.

Devotion

A Devoted character pursues their values to extremes.

Humility

A Humble character doesn't think too highly of themselves - and perhaps doesn't think highly enough of themselves.

Resourceful

A Resourceful character is always looking for the advantage in a situation.

Prudence

A Prudent character is inclined to wait for more information before taking any action, perhaps delaying action until it is too late.

Peacefulness

A Peaceful character is disinclined to engage in violence until it becomes absolutely necessary.

These were … what kind of game was this? She was eleven, for crying out loud. She was pretty sure the first choice implied something about what kind of game she was about to play, particularly its placement as the first option. And these all sounded … kind of terrible. She had to pick two? Sloth for sure; everybody thought about sloth entirely incorrectly. The modern world was built upon sloth; do less work to achieve the same results. Sloth wasn't about not doing work – it was about doing the right work, so you could do as little as possible.

Trait: Sloth satisfied. You have accepted your nature as a slothful person, and then moved beyond it. You have earned ten customization points. You've reached class level 3!

What? Wait … Madelaine stared at the message until it faded away. So … okay. She looked back at the list. What else would be easy to “Move beyond”? And there it was. Honesty. Telling the tru-

Avatar creation complete. Please stand by.

She blinked, then continued the thought. Telling the truth was important. It was about staying true to who you were as a person; lies weren't something you did for your own benefit, but something you did at your own cost, at the cost of yourself, for the benefit of those who couldn't bear to hear the truth.

Trait: Honesty satisfied. You have accepted your nature as an honest person. You have earned five customization points. You've reached class level 4!

Both messages faded before she could finish working through the thought.