G.E.S.S.
Genetically Engineered Super Soldier
The Phoenix Project Book One
Frank Pisauro
Dedicated to my family whose support means everything to me.
Copyright © 2021 by Frank Pisauro
All Rights Reserved. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book or its ideas without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights and hard efforts.
First Edition 2021
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, except by written permission of the author. This book in its entirety, characters, and events, are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. All creative aspects of this book are under full copyright.
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Cover Design by Karen Dimmick / ArcaneCovers.com
Table of Contents
Glossary of Terms
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Description of Class and Race
Combat Sorcerer:
Combat sorcerers, or a mix of fast, precise close combat melee skills, and far-reaching magical attacks. They are a powerful combat focused class but lack versatility.
Class Details:
Class chooses two types of magic to learn, e.g.:
Gravity magic
Ion magic
Two skills are provided with each magic type. These skills are the basis for all spells. An activation of these skills counts as casting a spell. All magic skills are charisma based, e.g.:
Gravity magic:
●Manipulate gravity (skill)
●Dense star (skill)
Ion Magic:
●Manipulate air particles (skill) Haste/Slow
●Ion control (skill)
Armor: Heavy armor is locked out for the class.
Bastard sword (skill) specialization: (includes hand and a half swords and certain long swords) with no other weapon proficiencies.
Precision strike (skill): Adds a five percent increase of critical hit chance per skill level. Damaged is modified by dex score.
Class skills: are limited to physical and magical, not stealth or nature, e.g., swimming is a class skill, tracking is not. Class skill level cannot be more than ten levels higher than an individual’s level. Skill points in class skills can be earned through use. Skill points are gained as follows:
●(4 + int bonus) × 5 at level one.
●4 + int bonus every level afterward.
Class Abilities: are limited to close range damage melee abilities that are speed and agility based, e.g., dodge, quick strike. General abilities are not limited. Magical abilities are limited to boosts, and ease of use abilities, e.g., enlarge, silent casting. No schools of magic can be chosen. Class gets five abilities at level one, and one ability every three levels after level six. So, the first choosable ability is at level nine.
One ability gained at level: 9
Earns one attribute point every two levels.
Combat sorcerers cannot learn any other spells, magic types, or magic schools, but can use magic items. Magic skills are used at a one to one ratio for the total number of spell slots. Skills can be used in any combination, e.g., high levels of skill in both gravity and ion magic teleportation is possible but uses two spell slots. Spell slot gains as follows.
● 8 at level one. 1 + int bonus every level after.
Genetically Engineered Super Soldier:
AKA: Gess.
This race was developed in response to a war of annihilation between a collaboration of powerful intelligent sentient races (the alliance), and dark races from deep in the Earth (the depths). Much like a chimera, different race traits were combined to create the perfect soldier. Unfortunately, the lab facility was destroyed in the war, and the knowledge of how the race was created was lost. Using existing chimera techniques, those who created the Gess were able to splice three sets of parental DNA. Giving the race a huge advantage in genetic abilities. However, some of that is offset by lower starting stats due to the stress of the processes involved. All attributes start at 8 with 20 points to distribute at level 1.
Races used in Gess with racial bonuses:
Changeling:
2 cha 1 dex
●Shapeshifting: (can slightly alter appearance. e.g., eye color. Mostly used to offset mutations due to genetic tampering, and thus is limited in use.)
Dragonborne:
2 str and 1 cha
●Black dragon ancestry: Acid breath weapon. Six-inch diameter stream out of mouth, for a maximum of ten yards. Lasts ten seconds. Does durability damage.
Dwarf:
2 con
●Darkvision
●Poison immunity.
Elf:
2 dex
●Perception
●Mental manipulation immunity.
●Six-hour meditative rest cycle once every forty-eight hours.
Gnome:
2 int
●Magic (all types) resistance 50%.
*Divinur:
(A human mixed race. No other information is known):
2 wis 1 cha
●Mental fortitude: Concentration increase (skill + 5), and pain resistance (through use of mental block. Works on mental pain as well) 85%.
Basic telepathy: Can mentally speak to other Gess. No language barrier (can be understood and understands any language). Can be used on pets and familiars to deepen their bond.
Prologue
...Rho ...Boom.
“Bravo Squad is gone. Charlie Squad, on our right flank, get there now.”
...Rho. The whispered voice said again. The screams and explosions of the battle echoed all around me.
“What was that? Three hundred dead with that attack?”
...Rho. What? I silently screamed. Fuck.
“Base is gone, guys, looks like this is it! Let’s kill this bitch and die in a blaze of glory.”
...RHO.
“She’s dead,” someone said, fuck, it could have been me, came through the mind link. I was covered in so much viscera I couldn’t tell where I was bleeding from. Doesn’t help that I can’t feel my legs. The ceiling was falling down around me, and I thoughtmy legs were under a huge chunk of it.
“Aaaaagggggghhhhh.”
A scream filled the cavern with enough force that blood started to stream from my nose, eyes, and ears. Don’t they have specialty doctors for that, my warped mind thought. I didn’t see the blood, though I could feel it trickling down my face and neck. My head felt like it was splitting its own atoms from the sound wave produced.
“You said she was dead...” I started but was cut off by the dweller’s queen.
“The end of time is here, but before you die kn…”
I stopped listening. The blood loss combined with the pain made it through the mental block, causing the world to fall away slowly. I noticed a flash and boom drowning out the screaming that instantly ensued
“Ha, no evil speech for you,” were my final words before darkness took me.
...Rho. I sighed mentally, the voice was back, calling from a great distance. Whoever the fuck you are, leave me alone. I’m dead. Seriously, what’s a guy got to do around... Wait, what? This time, I didn’t drift back into the great beyond, and surprisingly, or not—I guess it would depend on who you asked—I debated with myself. I didn’t remember what it was like on the other side.
With my survival instinct kicking in, my anxiety was rising at the thought of returning to the land of the dead. The beyond came rushing to the front of my mind just out of focus. I was in danger of losing myself, instinctively knowing that if I crossed that gate again it would be for the final time. For a moment, I even thought about heading there. Seeing my family again, forgetting all the pain. The mental blocks kicked in, having been healed enough to start functioning again.
I tried to open my eyes but found that I couldn’t, nor could Imove my body in any way. This did not help my mental state. Come on. Calm down, jackass, panicking won’t help. I had to stop and take a deep breath to center myself. Okay, I’ll meditate, check my stats, maybe that will help, or at the least give me a clue. I thought as I drifted into my mindscape.
Chapter One
I opened my eyes to a small, empty sealed cave with bare granite walls. That was the first surprise in a long and depressing list of things that had changed. None for the better. Before the final assault on the dweller queen, and the end of the world, I thought it was the end at least. My mindscape was the size of a planet, well, a small moon at best, but still, what the fuck. Next, I pulled up my character sheet.
Character sheet:
Name: Rho
Race: Gess
Class: Combat Sorcerer
Level: 1
Age: 3573
Base speed: 30’/s
Weight: 220lb
Spell Slots: 8/8
Healing factor: 2in^3 × con bonus (3) = 6in^3 per min. Raising by 2in^3 per level.
Six cubic inches a minute.
Maximum achieved at level five.
Attributes:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 8
Class Skills:
Manipulate gravity:
Dense star:
Haste/Slow:
Ion control:
Telepathy:
Shapeshifting:
Perception:
Precision strike:
Concentration: 5*
Bastard swords:
*These points do not count toward an individual’s skill point cap total.
Skill points available: 35
*Learned skills:
Light armor: 1
Medium armor: 1
Skill levels are as follows and grant a perk when each new rank is achieved (no perk for unranked): 0-9 unranked, 10-24 novice, 25-49 journeyman, 50-74 adept, 74-99 expert, 100-149 master, 150-200 grandmaster.
* Learned skills progress on their own and can be learned and taught by anyone. Skill points earned through leveling cannot be used to increase learned skills. Learned skills are still limited by an individual’s class skill restrictions. Ex: cooking (skill).
Spells:
●Manipulate gravity (skill): Can increase or decrease gravity by 5% in a three-foot radius centered on target when channeled. Increases or decreases gravity on individual by 5% when targeted. Gains 5%, and a one-foot radius per skill level. Duration one minute per skill level. Individual or self, line of sight. Instant cast. No cool down. Can be channeled. Uses one spell slot every five seconds channeled.
●Dense star (skill): creates a mini star with a gravitational pull towards it. Density and size are related to skill level. Will decrease the speed of individuals in affected area. Once speed is below zero, sun pulls target toward it, doing crushing damage that increases exponentially the closer the individual is to the center. Depends on mass of creature. Area of effect, line of sight. Duration: 20 seconds per skill level. Can be terminated early. Recharge of skill: thirty seconds.
●Manipulate air particles (skill) Haste/Slow: Can increase or decrease speed of target by 5% percent. Two percent change per skill level. Dependent on mass. Targeted, line of sight, touch. Lasts one minute per skill level. Five second casting time. No recharge, but not usable in a vacuum.
●Ion control (skill): Can manipulate the charged particles in the environment to cause damaging effects. Targeted, touch, discharged through weapon (may cause weapon damage due to durability loss). Damage output dependent on skill level and cha score. Can be channeled (no target needed when channeled). Instant casting. Recharge dependent on environmental conditions with a minimum of one second to a maximum of ten seconds. Channeled spell uses a spell slot at the rate of 1 slot every 10 seconds.
*All magic skills can be used in any way that the combat sorcerer can imagine, within the boundaries of the skills, and relative skill level. Ex: Individuals cannot make a fireball (spell) with gravity magic. As well as not being able to call a meteor strike at skill level one in manipulate gravity.
Abilities:
Shapeshift: Can alter body at will. Cannot grow new appendages, however, can regrow existing appendages. Ability to change shape grows with skill points, but this does not grant the ability to change shape into another creature. e.g.: elven features are doable, but becoming a dragon is not.
Perception: Increased senses and magical sensing.
Identify: Combat sorcerers are able to identify magic items and potions. Increase perception to identify higher level items.
Darkvision: Can see in complete darkness.
Acid Breath weapon: Six-inch diameter stream out of mouth, for a maximum of ten yards. Lasts ten seconds. Does durability damage.
Dodge: Allows an individual a small window of time to get out of the way of an attacker’s strike.
Parry: Parries an opponent’s strike leaving them open to a riposte. Can be used with Precision Strike and is improved through it as well.
Quick strike: a lightning-fast strike that is unavoidable but does not guarantee damage. An example of such is hitting an opponent’s armor. Can be used with Precision Strike. If used with Precision Strike critical damage possible.
Silent casting: Individual does not need to speak in order to cast.
Spell recovery: Can restore spell slots at a rate one every five minutes of meditation. Does not count toward necessary meditative rest cycle.
Finesse: Dex based damage instead of str based.
Basic telepathy: Can mentally speak to other Gess. No language barrier (can be understood and can understand any language). Can be used on pets and familiars to deepen their bond.
Resistances:
Pain resistance (through use of a mental block. Works on mental pain as well) 85%
Acid immunity
Poison immunity
Magic (all types) resistance 50%
Mental manipulation immunity
Special:
Old Soul: the geneticists who made the Gess pulled souls from the beyond to inhabit the bodies of their creations. Your attributes, skills, and abilities from your old, and somehow remembered life, have transferred to this new body.
Military and war veteran: Your old body was trained and then tested in war. 4 str 2 wis 4 con 2 dex.
S.T.E.M. background: You studied technology, math, engineering, and science. 4 int 2 wis 2 dex.
Cultured: You have traveled around the world and studied other cultures, and beliefs. 2 wis 4 cha.
Old Man: Your old body lived a long, full life, unfortunately for you. -2 str -2 con -2 int -2 dex -2 cha -2 wis. Due to the time that has passed since you traveled, were in the army, and with
old age taken into account, you have not been able to transfer any skills or abilities to your new body.
Memories: Your new body has its original memories. Learned Skill learning speed increased by 50%.
Alright, level one noob. Fucking, fantastic. I thought as I reviewed the downright pathetic sheet. Let’s see level one check: 3573 years old. Pretty sure that’s not right. That’s 3,461 years older than I was when I checked last, and that was with the old body’s ninety-four years attached. Let’s see, attributes are at eight! My knees gave out, luckily, being in my mind a chair popped up to catch me. Damn, no wonder I can’t move, I thought.
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