by Galen Wolf
I then focused on Goblin Town. My bear shaped Guildies had disappeared round the corner of the tunnel. I could hear the sounds of death and combat way ahead, but there was no sign of them. I hurried to catch up. They were a good bit ahead. I turned the corner but still no sight. Luckily, the bears had killed everything in their path, so I wasn't worried.
A big Uruk emerged from the shadows.
How he'd not been seen by Ahn and Ajora I don't know. He rushed at me, swinging a two handed great axe. I dodged, thanks to my high DEX, and the axe whistled over my head. He grunted, shifted his grip, and did a vertical swing. Missed again. The axe clanged on the stone floor of the tunnel in a shower of sparks. He jumped forward, forcing me back against the wall. I saw the killing gleam in his evil AI eyes and he pulled back his axe and prepared to swing right. If it hit me, it would cut me in half. I was wearing cloth armor. It would offer hardly any protection from a direct hit if I failed my Dodge. Then I remembered Flip. I mentally selected the skill and flipped right. The axe swung and bit air. I heard his grunt of puzzlement. The visual effect of Flip was pretty good too, I leapt, a puff of black smoke appeared where I'd been, and I was invisible. Just for five seconds though. The orc looked round for me. I guessed his Spot would be poor, and I had good sneak skill. Once invisibility wore off, I was still hidden in stealth mode in a dark corner. The Uruk came looking. I had seconds.
I flipped forward over his head. Now I was invisible behind the Uruk. I almost heard his low INT. I stabbed him right and got a message to say I'd damaged 2 points of his Strength. I stabbed him left and saw the splash of acid damage, only 2hp, but still okay. With dagger damage I'd done about 10hp. I didn't know how much he had. My dodge was really helping as he swung and missed again. I stabbed again. After my third stab, he was down to 70%. He stumbled forward, swinging, but I managed to dodge.
Then he caught me a grazing blow taking me down to 67hp. I staggered forward, and he hit me again. Red flashed on my HUD and I was down to 48hp. Damn, I needed better armor. I pivoted and rolled between his beefy legs then up and stabbed him in the groin. He roared in pain. I got two more stabs in and he was nearly dead. I flipped backwards causing him to grunt in puzzlement. He was never going to get this I don't think. Over his shoulders I saw the polar bear and the grizzly bear emerge from down the tunnel. Ajora was about to come forward and finish off the Uruk, which she could do easily, but Ahn held her back.
I came out of stealth and rammed my daggers into the Uruk's belly. With a sad grunt he fell to the floor. I got full XP because I'd killed him myself.
Ajora and Ahn morphed back into human form. "Good job with the Uruk," Ahn said.
Ajora shook her head. "He nearly got you."
He was level 10, I've just got level 5!" I blurted indignantly.
"There's a chest down there by the way." Ahn jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
"Oh good," I almost sprinted while they waited for me. The chest had 53gp - always useful. Some candles. Duh? And best of all some +2 studded leather armor with +1 Strength stat. I put it on then and there and felt better instantly as my Strength increased from 8 to 9. I added the Stat Point I'd gained from leveling to 5 into DEX so I now had 21 DEX. My armor rating was improved. I was about to go through my new skills down there in the Goblin Mine when Ajora yelled. "You coming? We haven't got all day."
I ran after them. Outside, Ahn whistled and his eagle came in to land. Ajora did the same. Ahn said, "The boy done good, no?"
Ajora shrugged. She climbed on her eagle. "We don't want any losers in the Guild. We need to defend ourselves."
"So help him out?" Ahn said. I sat behind him.
She brushed back her long blonde hair and looked at me with her eyes blue as cornflowers. "I'll give you some fighting tips."
#
Level 5:
75hp. 20 mana.
Stats:
STR 9 (incl. +1 from the leather armor)
DEX 21 (including 1 level up at Level 4)
CON 14
Int 10
WIS 8
Char 8
Saves:
Doge, 11; Toughness 8; Willpower 0 (at least no penalty now)
Gear, mostly meh, except -
+2 studded leather armor with +1 strength
+1 Bow of Flame
+ Dagger of Poison "The Weakener" (1-4+1 plus 1-6 Strength Damage on Critical Hits)
+1 Dagger of Minor Acid "Biter"
Blowpipe
Leather Net
Two pipes for smoking herbs (bought in Vinab market)
Skills (only showing new skills got at Level 5)
Stealth:
Flip - "Conduct a flipping maneuver that takes you 10 feet away in a the direction you choose. You become temporarily invisible for 1 second per level, then remain hidden when you land."
Light on Your Feet - half damage from falling.
Ranger Skills:
Net-Wielding - rangers are adepts with nets. Throw a net at an enemy to entangle them. A successful reflex save negates. Enemies save against using Dodge save every 3 seconds."
Dual-Wielding. Rangers are a whirling tempest of steel - you can now use a weapon in both main hand and off-hand with no attack penalties."
Survival:
Horseriding. I had no horse, but at least I could ride one.
Truesight. That looked more interesting. It allowed me to see through the disguises of hidden (but not invisible or disguised) people. So when my enemy first jumped me and all I saw was his blurred face, now I'd get his name.
Poisons:
Mandrax, causes heavy sleep. Victim is woken by offensive action. Toughness saves.
Harlequin, causes victim to dance for 2 seconds per level of the player afflicting the victim. Willpower saves.
Herbs:
Liquorice Root - cures the affliction of vomiting caused by Vomwort.
Fool's Cherry: Apply to create a barrier to spitting. This was the antidote to enemies spitting poison at you.
#
I sat with Ajora high up on a wide branch looking down at the Stone Cross in the heart of the Old Forest. People passed this way and that, merchants, NPC workers returning to Vinab with produce they'd harvested further up the road, and the odd player character either walking boldly around like the Knights Guild of Vinab, looking to right wrongs and save maidens.
"Soon you'll start fighting," Ajora said. "The easiest way to learn is to accept challenges. Usually players who are roughly the same level will challenge each other to hone their fighting skills. Mostly, there's no grudge or bad blood in it. It's just learning."
"But you lose a level if you die?"
She nodded. "It's the cost of learning. You'll soon get the XP back."
I rubbed my eyes. "I've never fought a duel before."
"You should. Really. Lots."
"So what's to know?"
She bit her lip. "The first thing to remember is that each attack can be countered by a specific defense."
"Sounds helpful."
"And that, though each class has its own skillsets, often the effects are mimicked from class to class."
"What do you mean?"
Ajora studied him. "You really know nothing, do you?"
I shrugged and smiled. "Guess not."
"I thought you'd been here before."
I blushed. "Yeah but I didn't fight."
"What did you do? Trade?"
I shook my head. "This and that. Wasted my time, you know."
She frowned. "That won't do now. You have to get serious. You have to build your fighting skills or you'll be harassed every day you're here."
That didn't sound appealing. I sighed. "What's this about mimicking effects?"
"Well, for example, the poison Tinnis causes deafness, but so does an Ear Rune made by the Loremasters and the green potions made by the Alchemists. Same effect, different method. So to heal deafness, from any of these methods, you apply the herb Milk Thistle."
"I see." I rocked my legs under
the branch. Though she was stern, I was enjoying her teaching me.
"And a ranger will typically have attack combos. They vary from person to person, but a lot of them are tried and tested."
"Why don't you just stab them through the heart rather than mess around with all these complicated poisons?"
She shook her head as if I was a true idiot. "The combat system is designed that any competent player can heal themselves most damage from weapon attacks alone. That's why wizard skills, bard skills, runesmith skills - them all really - focus on messing you up so you can't heal. If you can heal, you just heal straight damage and the fight goes on and on. So like I say, you need to learn your poison combos."
"I could do with knowing about those. What do you use?"
She brushed her hair behind her ear and her brows knitted in concentration. "You want to stop them healing first and foremost. So that means stopping them eating herbs, drinking potions, or smoking cures. To stop them eating or drinking, poison them with Vomwort. That's cured by Lion's Mane, which you smoke, so before you give them Vomwort, poison them with Riddlewort to give them asthma so they can't smoke. Get it?"
I nodded. It sounded very complicated.
"Then you want to hit them with Crabapple to make them double in size so they can't run. Or you might try Stryk to break their legs, so again they can't run. Or you could try Reza to break their arms so they drop their pipes and weapons. You with me?"
"Uh-huh."
She was lost in thought. "Though, it's always good to net them first, or make them dance with Harlequin or make them sleep with Mandrax." She smiled. "And then there's Pan. That gives them weapon phobia - they throw down their weapons and can't pick them up again until they cure it by smoking Liquorice Root. If you're good they'll already have dropped their pipes due to broken arms, so they won't be able to do this."
I scratched my head. "And while I'm doing all this to them, what do they do?"
Ajora sighed. "Yes, that's the problem. They tend to fight back and mess you up in the way you're trying to mess them up."
"Yeah." I did not feel confident about any of this.
"It's just practice," she said. "Oh, and by the way, you may be tempted to use your bow or dagger to deliver poisons, because reason is telling you that you want to be doing health damage at the same time."
"Reason did tell me that."
"That's a fine strategy," Ajora said, "But, remember blowpipe has a 0.5 second cool down, spitting poisons a 1 second and your dagger and bow about 1.5. So you can deliver more poisons faster by blowpipe."
"What's the drawback to blowpipe?"
"You can only use it in forest."
"Ah."
"Later I'll tell you about healing sequence. Poisons always heal in a certain order, so you can load them with a dummy poison, that you really don't care if it does anything or not - its only function is to take a healing slot so when they want to heal the poison you do care about, their cure herb will heal the dummy first and the serious poison will go unhealed. You follow me?"
I exhaled. "Oh my god. This is so complex."
"Then there are the save reducing poisons. Because, of course, most poisons can be saved against - Harlequin, the dancing poison is a Willpower save and Blacktip, which you know, is a Toughness save. Use Mazath to reduce enemy Willpower save by 10, and Uckneen to reduce their Toughness save by 10 to give you a better chance to land these important poisons. Of course the smart player will recognize the warning signs and cure them. Mazath is cured by smoking Liquorice Root, Uckneen by smoking Lion's Mane, by the way. It's important to memorize all of this."
"How long did it take you to learn it?"
She smiled. "Years. But I'm a quick study."
She could see the look on my face. "Don't despair, Little Barcud. You'll learn too." She gave a sweet smile, "But you're going to die a lot first."
My head was spinning with the information.
She slapped me on the back, almost sending me tumbling from the branch. "So," she beamed. "I think you're about ready for your first duel."
#
It was about mid-day the next day when a message scrolled across my HUD:
YOU HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED TO A DUEL BY SAMWISE
A thrill of adrenalin ran through me. My first PVP duel. Another name for an adrenalin rush is fear. I'd been happily bumbling around The Greenwood, taking up minor quests to help me level. Now my bumbling was interrupted. I'd been noticed.
The way combat worked in The Greenwood was that you could get jumped, you could end up taking part in a skirmish or a battle for your Guild or your home city or you could be formally challenged to a duel.
"Stone Cross?" The message whispered through the system. I checked him out. His stats and identity weren't stealthed. Samwise was a Level 5 Cavalier from the evil city of Horrabia. I was a Level 5 Ranger. Equally matched.
"Sure," I said back.
The Stone Cross was the traditional meeting place for duels, right in the middle of the Old Forest. Often there would be spectators.
When I got the message I'd been idling in the Guildhouse high up in the treetops. Ahn was nearby sitting on a chair, whittling. It's what rangers do to pass the time.
"Go kid," he said. "You can do it. I'll be rooting for you. Remember what Ajora taught you. She's the best."
I cleared my throat. "Thanks." If I could have refused the challenge, I would have but I couldn't—honour wouldn't let me.
I used my Swing skill to cross the Old Forest until i was sitting in a tree high above the Stone Cross. My opponent couldn't get to me here, but it was unsportsmanlike to wait in a tree and swoop on him. I dropped to the ground, landing lightly on my feet. I had a health potion and some Hale Fruit, for my healing.
I was wearing my +2 Studded Leather armor, and I had my Flame Bow, my weakening dagger and my acid dagger. I also had my leather net, given to me by the Guild. I knew my Guildies would be watching to see how I did.
I had listened to Ajora's fighting tips for PVP so I had pre-rubbed the poisons, some of which she'd given to me, on my bow and dagger. My plan was to go into stealth, spot my opponent and shoot him with an arrow tipped with Mandrax poison. That would make him sleep. I would then run up and Net him. That would wake him up but I planned then to stab him with Vomwort to make him vomit and unable to take healing potions. I would then stab him twice with Stryk poison (which I couldn't pick yet, but had been given as a gift) to break both his legs so he couldn't run away. Then twice with Reza to break both his arms so he dropped his weapons. Even if he managed to break out of the net by now, he'd be pretty helpless. Then I'd stab him to death. As a knight type he'd have more hp than me—maybe 80 or so at Level 5. Even so the plan should work. I cleared my virtual throat. I was trembling as I waited.
I went into stealth and lurked near the Stone Cross. The sky was blue; birds flitted from bough to bough and my heart rang like an alarm bell. It was so loud in my chest I thought my opponent, Samwise, might hear it.
I saw him arrive on his horse—a tall grey stallion. He was dressed head to foot in plate mail. A red feather nodded from his helmet as he dismounted. He was dual wielding two swords. I crept closer. He looked around but clearly didn't see me. As a knight I expected his spot skill to be shit. Up higher in the Survival subset of the Ranger tree there is a skill called Appraise, that allows you to see the actual hp of any opponent. I didn't have that yet, so I'd have to guess.
Here goes. I fired the arrow, and it struck true. The mandrax took effect, and he fell to the ground in a sleeping heap. I rushed over the ground, breaking stealth, but just as I was about to throw my net, he saved. How come he had a good enough willpower save to save versus sleep? Why would a knight put points into Wisdom, usually a dump stat? Maybe because people had tried him with this before. He started to get up.
I hurled my net anyway. It landed on his head and tangled him as he was rising from his snooze. Okay. I leapt over the distance and stabbed him with my Weakener, 1-6 health damage, 2
Strength damage and some Vomwort to make him sick. The Strength damage would reduce his roll to break free of the net by 1 and sure enough he barfed. Next, dagger with some Stryk. I heard the crack as his left leg broke. He struggled against the net. At best I'd damaged him 16hp, at worst 3, out of a total of around 80. I stabbed again, his right leg cracked, then he threw off the net with a roar.
The bastard sipped a blue healing potion but threw it straight up. I laughed and stabbed him again. This was going my way. This time it was Reza so his left arm cracked and he dropped one of his swords. I noticed him lean his head towards a thin pipe like Gandalf has in the Lord of the Rings. It was attached to his shoulder and lit—I could see a curl of smoke. Damn him, it would be the Liquorice Root which cures Vomwort poisoning. He took another sip of blue potion and reached into his pouch and pulled out a leaf which he ate. His right arm cracked back into place and he grabbed his fallen sword. I was in a panic because my plan wasn't working out: I had mind freeze. I stabbed him again and his left arm cracked again, but he ate another leaf - athillias I guessed, and it set straight. He picked up his sword and came at me.
He hit me with a flurry - the first sword did 8 and the second 4, taking me down to 63hp. But worse than that, the fucker had poisoned them. Knights don't get poison skills so they can't pick but they can sure buy. I felt my stomach heave, and I vomited my breakfast all over the floor. Hp now 49. I had no Liquorice Root pipe - a noob error. The second sword had Stryk on it and my left leg cracked and I stumbled over.
He hit me again. I was down to 37hp. I tried to sip my health potion but threw it straight back up. 34hp. I rolled and stabbed. He paused to sip his health potion and was probably back to full health. But Biter had Blacktip on it. Death within 5 seconds unless he took athillias. I knew he had athillias because the same herb just cured his broken arms and legs, but I just hoped he didn't recognize the signs he'd been poisoned with Blacktip: your vision went black for a split second then everything seemed fine. If he was a true noob, he might miss it, but to make sure, I stabbed him with Harlequin.
