Forge of Eternity: Alpha Testing, page 9
Elemental Attunement: Earth - You have learned to channel and control the element of Earth, allowing you to use Earth-based spells without injury. As part of this ability you also gain the spell Stone Strike. This ability also grants you a five percent reduction to Earth damage.
The spell had equal power to Minor Firebolt, but was melee only. That actually worked out, allowing me to cause significant hurt to an enemy no matter what distance I found myself at. I dumped all my stat points into Intelligence and verified there were no other options awaiting input. Leveling allocations completed, I confirmed the selections. A pleasant sensation washed over me as my mana coursed and strengthened within my body. My mind responded to the increased intelligence, feeling more alert and active. It was like waking up from a restful nap as if I had somehow consumed two espressos while still asleep. The effect would fade but for now, I was pleased with the feeling.
Pulling up my character sheet, I verified everything was in order before we continued.
Name: Amalie Valeth
Level: 3
Class: Mage, Elementalist
Race: Elf
HP: 90/90
Stamina: 68/68
Mana: 189/189
Armor: 15
* * *
Primary Statistics
—Strength: 10
—Dexterity: 15
—Constitution: 10
—Intelligence: 21
—Luck: 12
Unspent Stat Points: 0
Gear
—Head: (empty)
—Shoulders: (empty)
—Neck: (empty)
—Chest: Novice Robes, Level 1
——Type: Light Armor
——Armor: 19
——Weight: 1 lb.
——Durability 15/20
—Back: (empty)
—Wrist: (empty)
——Quest item: Stathmore Miner’s Bangle
—Hands: (empty)
—Waist: (empty)
—Legs: (empty)
—Feet: Soft cloth shoes, Level 1
——Type: Light Armor
——Armor: 5
——Weight: 1 lb.
——Durability: 14/15
—Finger 1: (empty)
—Finger 2: (empty)
Weapons
—Main Hand: Simple Elemental Wand, Level 1
——Type: Magical Focus
——Damage: 1 damage
——Durability 10/10
——Special: Removes need for somatic spell actions, reducing both cast time and spell failure.
—Off Hand: (empty)
Abilities and Traits
—Elven Grace (Racial Trait)
—Sleepless (Racial Trait)
—Nature Affinity (Racial Trait)
—Elemental Attunement - Fire (Class Ability)
—Elemental Spell - Fire Blast (Class Ability)
—Elemental Attunement - Earth (Class Ability)
Unspent Ability Points: 0
Spells
—Minor Firebolt
——15 mana
——25 spell power
——Average Damage: 40
——You emit a small bolt of focused Fire at a single target, dealing Fire and Piercing damage. Damage based on spell power and spellcaster ability.
—Fire Blast
——50 mana
——50 spell power
——Average damage: 80, at center of effect
——You funnel mana into a condensed sphere of flame over the course of five seconds. This sphere can be thrown from a hand or projected from a magical focus. The sphere explodes with a concussive force, engulfing a twenty-foot radius in flames and dealing fire and bludgeoning damage. Damage based on spell power, spellcaster ability, and proximity to center.
—Stone Strike
——10 mana
——25 spell power
——Average Damage: 40
——You channel the strength of the earth into a blow with either your body or a melee weapon. Damage is based on your spell power and spellcaster ability, rather than your strength.
Skills
—Elemental Evocation - Level 2
——The potency of the elements you call forth is affected by more than just the spells themselves. Your proficiency in this skill can provide you additional power and, more importantly, flexibility.
—Persuasion - Level 1
——Persuasion is used to influence others to provide you with favorable circumstances, deals, or useful information. The help of others can bring you far in the world.
—Defense - Level 1
——Can you take a hit? Let’s find out. Defense is used to help you mitigate or completely avoid the effects of damage taken.
Achievements
(None)
It was very satisfying to see my spell damage almost double from the additional level and intelligence increase. I started walking up the tunnel, with Deacon following impatiently. After a few minutes, a weak light came into view as the tunnel leveled out from its slight incline. The junction we’d passed through previously was bustling with the same steady stream of softly glowing halfling miners hauling loads in handcarts.
“What now?” Deacon asked, a few feet away from the entrance. “Just pick someone at random or are we looking for something specific in the NPC?”
“Shh. Also don’t call them that within earshot, I don’t think they know what it means but it might make them angry anyway,” I said, peering into the mass of small people. I held up a finger for Deacon to wait, scrutinizing all the miners as they approached from the main tunnel. There didn’t appear to be all that many miners and I figured I’d find the one I was looking for with a little patience. After a couple of minutes, I tapped Deacon on the arm and pointed up the tunnel.
“There he is! Alright, let’s go. Follow my lead,” I said, pointing at a familiar face in the crowd.
“Tack! Hey there, remember us?” I called out cheerfully, waving as I jogged up to meet the stunned-looking halfling.
“What do you want?” the small man said, attempting to mask his stunned confusion with casual disregard for our appearance in the mines.
“Well, my little ball of sunshine,” I started, “I have a business proposition for you.”
Tack let out a burst of short, mocking laughter and spread his arms wide. As he did so the light emanating from him brightened in intensity just a bit.
“Business proposition?” he asked, looking around. “I’m a glorified rock hauler. The hell you want me to do for you? Actually, don’t tell me, chances are it’s either gonna get me in trouble or killed.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said, pouting slightly. “We were willing to offer you double your daily pay to set up a little mining equipment for us if you could spare a moment. I guess I’ll just ask someone else.”
With no delay I turned with a flourish and took a step away, waving for Deacon to follow. The small man reached out an arm and caught my wrist, his actions much quicker than I’d expected.
“Hold up,” he said, lowering his voice and looking around. “You’re telling me I can walk out of here with another 10 silver in my pocket? I’m interested but no promises. I need to know more before I agree to anything. Let’s get out of the thick of it, eh?”
“Sure, we were down this tunnel over here,” I said, leading us back to the less crowded tunnel.
“Okay, so what exactly do you want from me?” Tack asked as soon as we were away from the main body of miners.
“Well,” I held out the word a little longer than necessary, “we may have had a little trouble down this tunnel here.”
Tack looked up and down the tunnel, before finding a beam near the entrance with some crude symbols cut into it. He froze as he saw it and backed out of the tunnel entrance.
“No way, I know where this tunnel goes. I’m not going back down there, I was with the crew that knocked out the wall into the cavern,” he said, shaking his head and cutting his arms in front of him in a negative gesture.
“What if I told you we caved it in and all the locusts are dead? We just want to get back to the cavern for proof,” Deacon asked before Tack could get too far away. He paused in his retreat, cautiously walking back to the entrance of the tunnel and keeping his eyes fixed on my face.
“Okay, first off, you’re telling me the tunnel isn’t stable anymore, which was our big concern,” he said, holding up one finger. “Secondly, it’s the tunnel that led to a locus nest. Third, you’re asking me to help you punch back into the cavern that was full of locusts. I’m sorry, but 10 silver isn’t worth that headache. Thanks but no thanks.”
“What about 10 gold?” I asked, Deacon wincing as I spoke. The halfling’s face flickered to a stupefied expression before a mask of neutrality returned as he made a show of thinking the offer over. It was clear that he couldn’t turn that offer down, but it looked like he was trying to decide whether to press for more.
“That’s as high as we go on this offer, I’m sure someone else will take us up on it if you decline,” I said, looking at an imaginary watch. “We want to get this done quickly, can you help us or not?”
“I’ll need the pay upfront,” Tack said, crossing his arms.
“No can do,” I said, shaking my head. “You’ll get paid when we get paid.”
“I’m not going to just take you at your word, I don’t know you and can’t trust you to honor a debt.”
“Would this work for a down payment?” I asked, producing ten silver coins from a pouch. The halfling eyed them greedily, his rigid stance of defiance started to weaken. I flicked a coin at him and he caught it with both hands, grumbling as he nodded and held out his hand for the rest
“Fine, stay here,” he said, moving to leave our tunnel.
“We actually have to head back to town, can you have the equipment set up by tomorrow morning?”
“Not a problem,” Tack shrugged before leaving the tunnel.
Your Persuasion skill has improved.
“That was pretty good,” Deacon said, nodding in approval.
“Glad you thought so because now I’m broke.”
Deacon sputtered, with a confused expression. “Why would you give him all your money?”
“Because you’re going to spot me until we complete this quest,” I said with a smile.
Deacon didn’t respond, shaking his head in silence as we started making our way back out of the mine.
We emerged from the mines, squinting into the bright early afternoon sunlight. Deacon’s armor was covered in dust and grime. Looking down at my own robes showed I hadn’t fared much better, though my fair elven skin probably made the dirt stand out significantly more than Deacon’s rough granite hide.
“You’ve got a little dirt on your face,” I teased, receiving a mocking laugh from the large tank. “Let’s see if we can get back to town before nightfall”
“Don’t want to stop by and let the foreman know what’s going on?”
“Do you?” I countered, receiving a grunt in response.
We gave the foreman’s building a wide berth and started down the switchbacks.
“How was tanking, by the way?” I asked. “The hits I took hurt like hell.”
The phantom pains from the battle were still vivid in my memory. The VR unit had been very convincing, and I was curious about whether it felt different for someone actually in the game. While we walked I slowed a bit, flicking through semi-transparent menus looking for a pain threshold setting.
“I have made a terrible mistake,” Deacon said flatly, falling silent for several seconds before continuing. “I was in a car accident once, just out of high school. Banged up my head and broke my collarbone, but it was a level of pain I’ll never forget. This wasn’t quite that intense, but it got close.”
“There don’t appear to be any settings related to pain thresholds,” I said, dismissing the semitransparent overlay I’d been browsing.
“Yeah, I looked too,” he said, drumming his fingers on the hilt of his sword as he thought. “The weird thing is when I think back to the battle with the bear I remember the pain, but distantly. Like how I remember the pain of my car accident. But right now when I think of the locust fight it feels more, I guess real is the right word for it.”
“I imagine if the memory of the pain didn’t fade quickly UPCs wouldn’t be inclined to go into battle,” I suggested with a shrug. “Probably end up with a lot of PTSD cases.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens anyway,” Deacon said, blowing out a breath. “Nothing to be done for it though, but I’ll definitely be investing in some worthwhile armor the second we get out payout from this quest.”
“When we join up with my faction I can probably get you a nice armor set as a sign-on bonus if you’re interested,” I suggested.
“Faction?” Deacon asked, looking back over his shoulder at me. “I didn’t choose a side when I started the game. What factions? You mean like a guild?”
“You didn’t pick a faction because the game is still in Alpha testing. In order to create a more organic feel to the game, the developers are trying to get things to evolve more naturally,” I explained. “My sister created Meritum, that’s the faction you’re joining. There are guilds within the factions if we find one we like.”
“I’m glad I got a say in this,” Deacon said dryly. “What are the other factions? Not that I don’t trust your choice, I’m sure some nepotism will work in my favor here.”
“Rude,” I said, feigning indigence. “Well, there’s Meritum, Ferventus, and The Inevitable. Each of the developers got to make a faction and set it up with whatever framework they wanted, these are the three that managed to survive. Meritum was based on a sort of warrior merchant concept, modeled off the British and Roman empires in function. My sister was very proud of it.
“The Inevitable is weird, it just acquires and incorporates other guilds, cultures, or towns and pools resources for mutual support. It’s like some sort of confederation of socialists, or whatever. Basically, pay high taxes, receive good benefits, and you can leave at any time. I’m actually surprised that one’s still around.”
“I assume the NPCs were set up with some sort of feudalism or something to start,” Deacon suggested. “The idea of voluntary taxes and choice to leave was probably appealing. Did the devs have all the political systems represented as factions?”
“I’m not sure, not really my thing. You can talk political theory with my sister later if you really want,” I said, pushing the politics aside. “The last faction is Ferventus, which is going around and recruiting gods instead of other characters and letting that draw people in.”
“Wait, there’s a faction full of gods? And we’re not joining it?” Deacon sounded concerned.
“The only deities really endorsing it are the gods you normally see as warlock patrons. They’re headed up by a sort of theocracy of warlocks from different deities. Despite that being, well, contentious at the best of times, they did manage to unearth some more benevolent forgotten nature gods. These additions made them popular with farmers and commoners, even with some of their darker aspects being in plain view.”
“I see,” Deacon ran his hand through his short hair and shrugged. “Meritum would have been my choice of the three anyway.”
“Well I’m glad we’re not mortal enemies,” I smiled brightly, “those of us in the alpha testing were given the option of starting with a faction or unaffiliated. I have a passive quest at the moment to find a place of value and set up a Faction Shrine. If I find a suitable spot and get the shrine built, we can claim this territory for Meritum and allow for fast travel to other locations, along with a whole host of other benefits.”
“Alright, well, you build your shrine thing and I’ll join your guild.”
“Faction, not guild.”
“Whatever, so long as it helps me earn my keep in the game.”
I rolled my eyes and set my character to follow him, logging out of the VR unit to step away for a few minutes. My perception shifted as the headset released its hold on my senses, my body feeling slightly foreign and unnatural for a moment. I put the headset aside and stretched, despite not feeling any discomfort from the hours sitting in one spot. I checked the time on my phone and figured that I had enough time to make a quick meal before we’d be back in town.
Amalie - Looking for Group
The VR headset gave me a brief sense of vertigo as it took over my sensory input, dropping me back into my character in the warm, late afternoon sun. It was still eerie how the hardware managed to trick my brain, placing me seamlessly inside the game world. I bounced on the toes of my feet for a couple of steps, getting used to the smaller elven frame. As I reoriented myself, I saw that the town gate was just coming into view on the horizon. Seems like I had better timing than I’d expected. A notification burned for attention in the edge of my vision, asking if I wanted a recap of what occurred while I was away.
Curious about what the recap would entail, I activated the feature with a mental command. I figured I’d probably get a short montage or maybe a text recap. Instead, Forge of Eternity poured data into my head, full sensory details of everything that had occurred while I was logged out. The effect was unexpected and unsettling, like deja vu on a longer time scale. It was a lot of information to suddenly have in my head, quickly shifting from strange to painful, and I stopped walking for a second to recover.
“I take it you’re back,” Deacon said, stopping a couple of steps ahead and turning back. “You alright?”
“Yep,” I said, gritting my teeth as the pain in my head started to subside. “It looks like the recap feature needs some work. It probably won’t go over well too well with players if the first thing they experience after login is an icepick-in-the-brain headache. I was just thinking about how good of a job the VR does right before it split my head open virtually.”
“Yeah, that sounds unpleasant,” he said, pausing to watch me as I visibly shook off the last of the pain. “So, inn or temple?”
“Temple?” I asked, looking down at my dirt-encrusted robes. “I think we’ll want to stop by the inn first. I’d figure we could clean up there and secure a room for the night before it gets too late. Plus, I think we’re more likely to see players spawning there.”
