by J. J. Lorden
Worse, if raised Gnome, Jaded View gained the sub-trait Prone to Betrayal, which made his character 5% more likely to be betrayed by allies.
This sub-trait literally made him feel sick; it was so antithetical that Austin strained to imagine the kind of person who would willingly accept it for any upside. Trust was precious, it was everything.
Permanently increasing your chance of being betrayed, well… yeah, that was just vile.
He took a mental step back from the situation to clear his head. Yes, Jaded View was frustrating, but there had to be a way around it, and he couldn’t help but feel the answer was right in front of him.
Another axiom, one his father frequently quoted when struggling with something, came to mind.
“I move forward because I am unlimited,” he said in a whisper.
These were more than just words. They were a way of being.
Trusting them in the past had led to experiencing the truth they pointed toward, a world without limits.
The memory teased his creative self to the forefront, silenced the internal criticism, and opened him to possibility.
The internal shift transformed his view of the task he’d already spent hours working on, making it look new. He moved Enderial, his largest and least flexible race, to the top of the list and considered.
Enderial—29%
Dramogan—28%
Gnome—19%
Dwarf—19%
His mind combed through connections and searched for an inspired mental string to pull. Then his eye was drawn to two races that couldn’t have been more different, Hobbit and Aasimar. He added another line to the racial mix and put in Hobbit at 5%. The resultant avatar shrunk 4 inches, lost the Heal your Bloodline quest, and gained a new trait.
Racial Trait (Typical): Content—Hobbits are intrinsically happy with their situation and unlikely to participate in or even care about external events. Thus, they frequently live long lives in one place, never traveling far.
Effect: +10% to Intellect when you are within 10 miles of your home. Traveling beyond 10 miles from home results in a 10% penalty to all stats. Traveling penalty is removed if on a quest. If on a quest, gain +20% to Intellect, Constitution, and Willpower.
Huh. What a realistic trait. Still, it was too restrictive. He removed Hobbit and added Aasimar. The avatar grew a few inches, lost Content, and gained a different trait.
Racial Trait (Typical): Choose a Side!—Your divine roots compel you to take a clear stance on all things pertaining to right and wrong. For you, being neutral is simply impossible. You must choose good or evil and devote yourself to banishing the other. The life of the righteous is driven by purpose, decisive action, and knowledge that you are right!
Your chosen divinity will require that you preach the truth to the masses and destroy those that oppose it. Go forth and cleanse the world of the unfaithful!
Effect: When in the presence of a non-believer this trait grants -30% Charisma, +15% Strength, +15% Constitution, and +10 Stubbornness*.
*(Stubbornness is a non-standard attribute that boosts focus and makes it possible to dominate verbal disagreements by filtering out everything irrelevant in a conversation. Undistracted by whatever it is the other person is jabbering on about, you will be able to formulate brilliant responses to crush their will and win any argument.)
“HA!” Austin barked loudly. He chuckled a bit, then smiled around a deep breath, it felt good to laugh. “Ahhh… definitely not.” He deleted Aasimar.
But the two races kept tugging at him, and he considered them side by side. The two racial traits felt so different, not opposites, more like water and flour. Maybe I can make bread, he thought and smiled.
Choose a Side was probably the most comically horrible trait he’d ever seen. Although he had no doubt some would think just the opposite and be glad to have it. He’d met people like that, dated one too, and there was nothing more frustrating that someone who approached every difference of opinion like a fight.
He didn’t want it, but he also couldn’t deny it mirrored religious zealotry. He supposed, or at least hoped, that the full Aasimar build would also include the positive traits religion inspired.
He couldn’t think of what those were... but surely they’d be included.
More importantly for his purpose, Choose a Side felt like a powerful balancing agent alongside the laissez-faire Hobbit, who was just Content with everything. Austin nodded to himself; they were close to a net zero.
Using the races to negate each other and fill the gap seemed like a long shot. But there was also something about both races that appealed to different parts of who he was. Being honest, a small part of him wanted to win every argument and another just wanted life to leave him alone.
“Well, it’s worth a try.” Pushing the game envelope again, he added a 6th racial line, then filled one with Hobbit and the other with Aasimar. He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping the game would allow the split and share his perspective on the balancing effect.
Focusing his desire on the percentage bars, he moved them both to 2.5%. It worked.
The game accepted the mental nudge and split them evenly, filling in the bottom two racial percentage lines.
Enderial—29%
Dramogan—28%
Gnome—19%
Dwarf—19%
Hobbit—2.5%
Aasimar—2.5%
Bong! A clarion gong rang, suddenly filling the glade, and the text of his character racial blend turned golden. “Ooh-ho-hoo!” Wide-eyed, he pulled back and looked around in anticipation, waiting for… something. As the sounds faded, though, nothing else happened.
“Okay… that was a good sound… right?” Quiet continued to dominate. “I mean the script turned gold, so that can’t be bad.” He looked at Ink. Ink looked back, placid as ever. Austin turned back to the character data, searching for his prize. A sonorous female voice spoke.
Exceptionally well done Austin! You have unlocked a personal Equilibrium racial blend. Equilibrium type: Golden. Through a perfectly balanced mix of racial genetics tied indelibly to various beliefs, moralities, and principals, you have created an avatar made in the image of your personal truth. This blended race gains unique characteristics and benefits. You are uncommonly self-aware. In Kuora, the return on investments in yourself are measurable.
And there it was, a rare avatar. Austin felt victorious. He pumped a vapory fist that quickly dissipated.
“Hellll, yeah.”
A list of modifiers appeared next to the avatar.
+20% resistance to elemental energy damage
+20% elemental damage done
+20% bonus to all skill gains in elemental energy manipulation
+40% bonus to all non-combat experience and skill gains
Below them were all of the avatar’s abilities, skills, and traits.
Racial Trait (Blended, Rare): Curious—This trait manifests from two of your bloodlines in different ways. From your dwarven heritage you are driven to explore the unexplored, and from your gnomish blood you possess an insatiable desire to experiment with the mysterious.
Effect 1: Gain a boost to Agility and Constitution whenever you are exploring or adventuring in areas unknown to you.
Boost = current avatar level x .25 (minimum gain is +2)
Effect 2: Gain a boost to Intellect and Agility whenever you are experimenting, learning, or attempting to craft or forge something new.
Boost = current avatar level x .25 (minimum gain is +2)
Racial Trait (Atypical): Forest Sense (weak)– Your blended Enderial blood binds you to the forests of Kuora. Even with this weaker version of the pureblooded Entish trait, you have an empathic capacity to gain information from the spirit of the forest.
Improve your connection to the woodlands of Kuora to strengthen this trait to an affinity and discover what skill evolutions are possible.
Effect: When in a forest, you can sense what is occurring in nearby areas. In times of dire need, the forest
may respond to your call for aid.
Obligation: Like the full-blooded Entish, if a forest is threatened you may also be called upon to act as its champion. Should you be capable of responding and fail to heed such a call, you may lose this trait.
General Trait (Rare): Observant—You pay attention, and your mind absorbs details lost on most; because of this, you are an excellent student and naturally drawn into opportunities to learn and experience new things.
Effect: You can learn any skill that you focus upon, including skills typically limited by racial lines. A teacher is not necessary for you to learn new skills; however, if you are instructed, the skill level of the teacher directly affects both how quickly you learn and raise skill levels.
Racial Ability (Blended, Very Rare): True Vision (passive/active)—Your varied heritage includes races that can see in the dark and the essential energy spectrum. This ability scales with level.
Passive Effect: See in the dark as in daylight up to a certain range. Outside that range all is obscured. (range dependent upon avatar Constitution)
Active Effect: View all active and inactive essential energies of those resonances you have awakened within yourself. Essential energies you have not awakened are partially visible, but their type is unclear.
Racial Ability (Exceptional): DrakkenWood Skin—Your combined Enderial and Dramogan blood grant you this legendary ability. Activate to cover your body with overlapping scales of DrakkenWood*.
Effect: +20 armor and 100% resistance to piercing attacks from enemies with a Strength attribute lower than your Constitution attribute. Effect lasts 30 minutes. Cooldown: 60 minutes.
Unlocked Advanced Attribute: Presence—You have become aware of your connection to all things. In a sense, the universe speaks to you, and as a result, you have a powerful feeling in your gut that can guide you at critical times. As this attribute levels, your connection will increase, and new abilities will be unlocked. Presence can only be leveled with Advanced Attribute points.
Level 1 Effect: Unquantifiable, as sensitivity varies per player. However, your gut feelings have merit. Ignore them at your own peril.
Advanced Attributes Note—It is impossible to light the way for those unwilling to open their eyes. For this reason, any discussion of Advanced Attributes with players who have not unlocked them will be met with confusion or disbelief.
Avatar Equilibrium Bonus: Golden—Your avatar genetics are an exceptional balance that reflects your personal truth. This has a multiplicative effect on your starting power and ongoing growth. Also, your blended race avatar has been awarded with more and higher rarity starting characteristics.
As the path of the Equilibrium balanced grants greater power so too it requires greater effort from those that walk it.
Effect 1: +15% experience needed per level per race included in the equilibrium mix. Your avatar, with 6 genetic components, will need to gain 90% more experience per level. After level 40, this effect is halved to +7.5% experience per level per race.
Effect 2: Gain the standard 6 attribute points per level plus 1.5 points per race included in the equilibrium racial mix (rounded up). With 6 genetic components, you gain an additional 9 attribute points per level, for a total of 15.
Attribute points are distributed as follows: 6 are automatically allocated based upon racial genetics, 5 are automatically allocated based upon how your experience is gained, and 4 can be freely allocated. *
Effect 3: Your starting standard attributes have been increased from 10 to 12, and Strength, your dominant attribute, has been increased to 16.
Effect 4: Your assignable attribute points have been increased from 10 to 15. Due to the complexity of your racial mix these points have been assigned by the system and cannot be changed.
(*Note: Free attribute points held in abeyance until level 10 or until additional requirements are met.)
“Hellll yeah, Baby!” Austin cried out. He felt like he’d won an Olympic medal and wanted to high five someone. He looked around for Ink, forming a vapory hand. Ink just sat at the edge of the clearing, a small and knowing smile on his face, but showing no sign of moving to participate in his celebration. “Oookay, then.”
He air-high-fived Ink. “Yeah!” Ink remained a statue. “Right.” Austin pointed at Ink with both hands. “Monk stuff going on over there. Celebrations not allowed.”
He formed an upper body, shrugged his shoulders up, and lifted his arms, palms inward and elbows bent. Effecting a raspy Mob accent and cocking one eyebrow he said, “It’s alright. I’ll remember this, eh.”
Austin held the pose until Ink reacted with one raised eyebrow. Then he dropped his arms and bent his head sideways with a dismissive pursing of lips.
“Ahkay. I understand.” He nodded slowly while squinting; his lips still pursed. “Seems like its ahh… jus’ common courtesy to share in another’s moment of joy. But, I can see you’re busy. After all, sitting on your ass can be quite taxing.”
Ink lifted his chin, single brow still raised. Austin chuckled and dropped the act. “Tough crowd.”
He looked back at his avatar, smiling and more than a touch impressed with himself. He took a cursory look at everything, then–always one for due diligence–he closed his virtual eyes and took several deep calming breaths. Or deep digital breaths?
His mind and body were being flooded with oxygen by the program, his physical body wasn’t actually breathing deeply. Doesn’t matter; it feels like I’m breathing deep.
Centered again, he set himself to review the avatar in full before accepting.
Austin found himself wondering if Racheal and Matty would be as fortunate. Racheal could be impulsive, but she was also determined and insightful.
In contrast, Matty was a goof, but his intuition could be scary on point. Oddly, when it really mattered, he could also be more of a number cruncher than Austin.
After thinking about it for a moment, he felt good about their chances. Particularly because he’d forewarned them that something like the Equilibrium bonus was possible.
His bonus had significant impacts on advancement. The +20% to all skill-based experience gains was amazing. While crafting, he’d level skills faster, and he’d be able to create better gear sooner.
The elemental energy resistance and damage bonus were also particularly impressive. Usually, resistances were to one element, like fire, water, or poison. To have a starting resistance to everything was a considerable leg-up.
Considering, he wasn’t sure if poison would actually be included in his resistances. Probably not. He eventually concluded. Poison’s not really an elemental energy.
Curious made him happy. He was curious, so the trait felt like recognition. The effects seemed to quantify what people typically called being ‘in the zone,’ when you found yourself fully engaged, energized and with heightened senses.
Combined with that, it also quantified the wanderlust many found themselves affected by; that sense of being more alive when you were exploring or doing something new.
The Observant trait would give him a ton more opportunities for crafting experience gains, and those skills would level faster. That would allow him the chance to work on more advanced projects which, in turn, would grant greater experience.
“An upward spiral of wonderfulness.” Austin loved crafting in real life, so naturally he also did in games. The desire to create was part of who he was.
He moved down to Forest Sense. Certainly, it was an ability that a Ranger would make ample use of, but he didn’t really know how it would affect his gameplay. One benefit he saw was its use in avoiding ambushes when traveling through the woods.
Being summoned to fight on behalf of a forest as its champion sounded a bit intimidating. If that happened, hopefully it would be a threat he could handle.
Presence, the Advanced Attribute, made him tingle.
The description spoke of being aware of unseen connections and being able to harness that hidden power at important and stressful moments. Thi
s rang true to him; its effect description of basically trusting your gut was something that modern science supported.
He knew from his own research that, in the womb, the cells that formed the brain also formed the gut. After birth, those gut cells stayed connected to the nervous system and functioned as a sort of secondary brain.
When the gut was well balanced, it boosted mental capacities and the feel-good brain chemicals, thus making it easier to make good choices in stressful conditions. At the extreme, he figured an average human on Earth could probably experience something like the gut-feeling mechanic of the Presence attribute.
Austin’s gaze landed on his avatar’s defining characteristic–Golden Equilibrium. Its benefits were far and away the most powerful. Fifteen attribute points per level instead of the standard six! That was 150% more points! The benefit was partially reduced by the extra 90% experience needed per level, but the net gain was huge.
He did a little bit of math while speaking aloud to himself. “So, if it’s typical to need 50,000 experience to reach level ten, I’ll need 95k. But while the base player will gain 60 attribute points by then, I’ll have gained 150. Plus, I’ll have the five extra initial attribute points.”
He smiled wide. It was absolutely worth the extra work.
Still smiling, Austin looked closely at his avatar’s appearance. The face appeared as if darkly tanned. It had large ears, a broad chin, and a Romanesque nose. Through all that he still recognized himself, which was odd, still he was grateful for the connection to his human self.
The avatar’s shoulder-length hair was dark green and thick, certainly the Enderial influence, and the overall build was broader than his, a linebacker’s build, with long arms and big hands. The nails were pointed and dark, and the feet were gigantic, nearly twice as large as his human feet. He wondered if footwear sizing would be a problem.
