NaNoWriMo Blogging Seven

Now, for my own benefit if no one else’s I’m going to detail a bit more of the fictional mechanics of the fictional game in the, well, fiction I’m writing. In yesterday’s post on attributes I conveniently left out the attributes for the various classes. Well, I’m about to address that oversight as I share a bit about the five classes players have to choose from.

As I mentioned yesterday, underlying most things in my game are the five elementals – Air, Earth, Fire, Metal, and Water. These map to each of the five character classes as each typifies a particular facet of each class. Air is the element of change and it goes with Mentalists who are about making trades and misdirection. Earth is the element of growth and it gets Rangers who are known for being in tune with nature. Fire is for passion and warlike Fighters. Metal is known as the element of knowledge and learning so the scholarly Sorcerers are devoted to it. Water is for soothing and healing so it gets attributed to my healing class, the Monk.

Clans of the Highborn Primer: Classes

Each class comes with its own attributes which affect the basics of the character. Most of those attributes’ focus is improving the special skills each class has. These are divided into three lines each having a linked attribute which when raised will improve certain things about those skills and one general line of skills which are not influenced by an attribute. Classes also have their own armor sets which only members of that class can wear and players can craft their own suits of armor. And they can also craft certain other items that no other class can.

In my book, the game is still under development and the classes are very much in flux throughout the story. New features are added and old ones removed as the developers refine the game prior to release. And the players discover new ways of using their chosen classes as the game becomes deeper and more mature. So, each class undergoes some shift from where it is at the beginning of things.

For starters, as the novel begins each character is limited to one and only one class. But as things progress characters will be able to acquire a second class (In fact all of them and they’ll be able to switch back and forth with relative ease). From their second class players can select one attribute and its associated skill line. These skills and any general skills from their second class can be used by that character just like the skills from their first class. Everything else is unavailable unless they respec and select a new attribute line. Once secondary classes go in, the classes also receive a class-specific attribute that only primary members of that class can use. This helps to set a Fighter/Ranger apart from a Ranger/Fighter, for instance, even though they might both use the same skills and attributes otherwise.


Monks~Adepts
Element: Water
Nicknames: Mon, Monkers, Monkeys, Ade, Adds
Role: Healer, Buffer, Support
Notes: As the only primary healing class in the game (Other classes have minor methods of healing themselves and even others but none are as devoted to it as this one), the Monk is an extremely desirable and important class. A good Monk keeps a party alive whether its in PvP or PvE and are an extremely valuable target for any enemy. They also have the ability to manufacture potions which can heal or cure status effects and even temporarily increase some statistics when used. As the game progresses, the class is overhauled and renamed as Adepts. Once implemented the Monk class-only attribute is Purity which heals anyone “friendly” whenever the player casts a spell on them, which means the Adept heals for more health for less mana than any other class. Originally, the other Monk attributes were Healing, Holiness, and Furor. But as the novel begins the later two have been scrapped in favor of Defense and Divine Wrath, respectively. The Healing attribute restores some of the casters health whenever they use a skill from the Adept class (which when combined with Purity makes them incredibly effective when healing themselves) and ties into the skills a Monk uses which directly heal or recover their allies. Defense lowers the cost of any magical buffs the character uses (again combining with Purity to provide for extremely efficient healing) and includes skills that are protective buffs which lower or otherwise mitigate damage. Divine Wrath is the Adept’s offensive line and compared to the Sorcerer’s skill lines is decidedly underpowered. However, it makes up the difference by ignoring armor and also having a passive benefit that increases its low damage. It also contains several offensive buffs in addition to directly damaging spells. The Adept’s general skill line is Piety which mostly has skills that deal with status effects, debuffs, and other problems for characters.
Crafts: potions
Attributes: (Key attributes – Resilience, Intelligence)

• Purity (Class): Gives bonus health to target when casting spells on allies
• Healing: Bonus health given to caster when casting Monk~Adept skills. Increase effectiveness of Healing based skills and items.
• Defense: Decreases enchantment mana costs. Increases effectiveness of Defense based skills and items.
• Divine Wrath: Bonus damage to target when casting offensive spells. Increases effectiveness of Wrath based skills and items.

Example Skills:

• Health Ball: Healing. Spell. Target ally gains x health.
• Healing Words: Healing. Chant. Target ally gains x health regeneration. Costs y mana regeneration to maintain.
• Divine Shield: Defense. Enchantment. Absorbs the next x damage to target ally.
• Spirit Armor: Defense. Enchantment. Target ally gains x armor for y seconds.
• Wrathful Strike: Divine Wrath. Spell. Target takes x holy damage. Ignores armor.
• Zealot’s Furor: Divine Wrath. Enchantment. Target ally gains x% attack speed and does y bonus fire damage per attack.
• Uncurse: Piety. Remove once curse from target other ally.

Fighters
Element: Fire
Nicknames: Fi, Fit, Fits (tanks), Hits (offensive), Meat
Role: Melee attacker, Tank, Offense
Notes: The Fighter class is the prototypical melee banger typical of any RPG. They have short range, good offense, great defense, and are generally regarded, as my story begins, as a meatshield to absorb the damage that would otherwise kill weaker classes like Sorcerers who provide the real killing damage. They have the highest armor in the game and they can craft the weapons they use to attack. However, as the test progresses there emerges two different ways of building a Fighter. Fits are high-defense tanks who absorb punishment and protect their teammates. But Hits are offensive battleships who use some of the nicer special tricks that get designed into the Fighter class to provide the best damage in the game, easily outpacing the previous dominant Sorcerers (But, because they require melee range being much easier to deal with). In the test, Fighters are somewhat looked down on but at release they’re the most popular class. A Fighter’s class-only attribute is Durability which gives them more hit points and making them harder to kill. Their attribute Arms makes them deadly with a weapon even without the many attack skills it provides. Fear makes a Fighter much more effective in battle by allowing them to bypass some of their target’s armor with their attacks, it also grants direct damage skills and crippling debuffs to further devastate the enemy. Rage lengthens the duration of any buff the Fighter casts on themselves which is nice because it has several buffs for a character to use. Their general skill line is Chivalry which provides defensive measures.
Crafts: melee weapons
Attributes: (Key attributes – Strength, Dexterity)

• Durability (Class): Increases health.
• Arms: Increases critical hit rate of melee weapons. Increases effectiveness of Weaponry based skills and items. (direct damage offense and weapon proficiency)
• Fear: Increases armor penetration when attacking. Increases effectiveness of Fear based skills and items. (direct damage offense and debuffs)
• Rage: Increases duration of self-buffs. Increases effectiveness of Rage based skills and items. (self-buffs and movement)

Example Skills:

• Strong Attack: Arms. Melee Attack. Target takes x bonus damage if hit.
• Taunt: Fear. Shout. Target loses x armor for y seconds. Attracts aggro.
• Fighter’s Edge: Rage. Style. Your attacks gain x% accuracy and y bonus damage for z seconds.
• Defender’s Cant: Rage. Chant. Increase nearby allies armor by x. Costs y mana regeneration to maintain.
• Gird Your Loins: Chivalry. Skill. Gain x health regeneration for y seconds. Ends if you stop attacking.

Mentalists
Element: Air
Nicknames: Men, Ments, Mentos, Mentals, Psychos (PvP), Crazies
Role: Spell-caster, Counter, Mana management
Notes: The Mentalist class has the tools to counter every other class in some way or form. In addition they have the best abilities for managing their mp pool (Not to mention the pools of their teammates and enemies) and for controlling crowds of monsters. It’s a tricky class to play, though, and not one that’s easy to pick up, so it’s the least played of any of the classes. As my novel begins, Mentalists are extremely poorly regarded. Most testers and fans consider them poorly suited for PvP and useful in PvE only because of their ability to snare, root, or mez mobs to prevent them from attacking. Their ability to craft magical, stat boosting items like rings and necklaces isn’t highly prized either as better options are available from other sources. However, thanks in no small part to the efforts of one of my characters, the change in the Intelligence stat, and gradual improvements to the Mentalist’s skills they soon prove their worth in every aspect of the game. By the game’s release a Mentalist’s ability to juggle mana – draining it from an opponent and shunting it to a teammate – becomes impressive. With their many specific counters a good Mentalist can spoil the efforts of any monster or PvP team all by themselves. Their class-only attribute is Empowerment which picks up Intelligence’s previous ability to increase the rate at which a character regains their mana – making a Mentalist a real mana engine. As for their other attributes, Enlightenment increases the duration of magical buffs and powers the skills that a Mentalist uses to drain mana from opponents and buff their teammates. Entrapment lowers the recharge of any spell cast and it contains the many mezes and snares and other counter-measures for physical attackers. Enervation increases the length of any magical debuff cast as well as providing skills that cause damage indirectly through those debuffs and can shutdown opposing casters. Meditation is the Mentalist’s general skill line and it has those skills that let a Mentalist regain energy and transfer it elsewhere as well as some other “meta” skills which improve the effectiveness of other skills.
Crafts: magical items
Attributes: (Key attributes – Intelligence)

• Empowerment (Class): Increases mana regeneration.
• Enlightenment: Increases enchantment duration. Increases effectiveness of Enlightenment based skills and items.
  
• Entrapment: Lowers magic skill recharge. Increases effectiveness of Entrapment based skills and items.
• Enervation: Increases curse duration. Increases effectiveness of Enervation based skills and items.
  

Example Skills:

• Mana Drain: Enlightenment. Spell. Target loses x mana.
• Spirit Bonds: Entrapment. Curse. Target cannot move for x seconds.
• Enchanter’s Bane: Enervation. Spell. Target loses all enchantments. They take x damage for each enchantment lost.
• Sudden Inspiration: Meditation. Skill. Your next spell recharges instantly.

Rangers
Element: Earth
Nicknames: Ran, Archers, Archies
Role: Ranged attacker, Scout, Stealth
Notes: The “rogue” class. Rangers start out as a difficult class to play and, for the most part, remain a class that appeals to expert and skilled players. For starters, ranged weapons in the game don’t automatically hit the target but must be aimed with the mouse as in an FPS, so to deal damage with a Ranger’s preferred weapon requires greater twitch skills than Fighters or Sorcerers. They also have fairly weak armor and must rely on avoiding damage either by sneaking around enemies or through careful use of their defensive skills. While they initially have devastatingly high damage potential, their offensive output is gradually reduced over time in the test until they require extensive buffing and intricate skill chains in order to be effective. They craft bows which are of use only to Rangers. It all makes them slightly undesirable for the average player, though, so as the game develops the Ranger gets several features to attract other characters. First, they become the only class in the game to have pets, giving the Ranger a companion to absorb damage and another weapon to attack with. Pets – any sort of normal animal creature like a bunny or a wolf - must first be captured from the game world and can be leveled up to be even more effective. Next, Rangers are given the ability to duel-wield any single-handed weapon (Although they need the Fighter attribute “Arms” to be truly effective with it). And Stealth is the Ranger’s class-only attribute. As it gets higher, the character is harder for enemies to detect resulting in a smaller “aggro bubble” and a smaller distance before they show up on enemy player’s radar. At the same time, the player’s radar gets more accurate and has a longer range for detecting others (essentially, two Rangers with equal Stealth cancel each other out). It, along with a tanking pet, makes them great for players who want to play the game solo. And since Fighter/Rangers can duel wield, too, it makes them a popular second class choice for that Fighters. Their attribute Archery increases their effectiveness with a bow or other ranged weapon and offers several attacking skills to further increase their damage. Call of the Wild is the attribute linked to their pet and features several attack skills for use with the pet as well as several buffs for increasing offense. Huntsman provides protection against characters using weapons and has some debuffs and trap skills for providing indirect damage. Survival is the Ranger’s general skill line and offers mostly defensive buffs.
Crafts: ranged weapons
Attributes: (Key attributes – Dexterity, Intelligence)

• Stealth (Class): Affects radar and aggro ranges.
• Archery: Increases damage and critical hit rates of ranged weapons. Increases effectiveness of Archery based skills and items.
• Call of the Wild: Increases pet attributes, accuracy, and damage. Increases effectiveness of Wild based skills and items.
• Huntsman: Gives a % chance to evade physical attacks. Increases effectiveness of Hunt based skills and items.

Example Skills:

• Kill Shot: Archery. Bow Attack. Target takes x damage if hit and begins Bleeding for y seconds, losing health over time.
• Charm Beast: Call of the Wild. Spell. Capture high-level creatures.
• Call Pet: Call of the Wild. Skill. Summons your pet. Will revive them with x% health if they are dead.
• Animal Rage: Call of the Wild. Style. You and your pet attack x% faster.
• Hunter’s Balm: Huntsman. Curse. Target foe cannot evade projectiles.
• Calm Waters: Survival. Spell. Lose all enchantments, curses, and styles. Lose all aggro.

Sorcerers
Element: Metal
Nicknames: Sor, Sorcs, Sores, Wounds, Spellchuckers
Role: Nuker, Spell-caster, Support
Notes: The basic offensive spell casting class. As my novel begins the Sorcerer is what everyone wants to play. Their ability to deliver massive damage nukes combined with the technique of spiking damage from multiple players means that this class has come to dominate the fledgling competitive PvP scene. Their AoE ability and high DPS makes them pretty nice in PvE play, too. Combined with the overpowered Intelligence stat they are lethal spellcasters. However, by the game’s release their damage output has been lowered and other classes have improved to the point where the Sorcerer is something of an afterthought. Other classes provide better offense relegated them to using their utility skills – buffs and debuffs - in support of other players. Most players select them for their crafting possibilities as they alone can craft powerful enhancements which upgrade armor and weapons – other classes have to rely on NPCs or acquiring such things through item drops or quests. They are a popular choice for a second class, though, because of the mana management available through their general skills. The class starts out with an attribute for each of the five elements – giving them the most attributes of any class, by far – but the Metal attribute is removed and many of its skills turned into the Sorcerer’s pool of generic, non-attributed skills. Their class-only attribute is Craft which gives a Sorcerer more mana to cast their mp hungry skills with and once it’s added they again have 5 attributes compared to the 4 every other class has. Their other attributes, one for each remaining element, each provides some protection against damage from that element as well as enhancing the Sorcerer’s skills. Air skills are the quickest to cast and the cheapest but have the lowest overall damage. Fire skills have the best damage and affect the most targets but are the most expensive. Earth skills have fewer damaging skills but compensate with lots of defensive buffs. Water skills offer the most debuffs and status effects but are slow to cast.
Crafts: item enhancements
Attributes: (Key attributes – Intelligence)

• Craft (Class): Increases mana.
• Aeromancy: Increases resistance to lightning damage, increases effectiveness of Air based skills and items.
• Geomancy: Increases resistance to physical damage, increases effectiveness of Earth based skills and items.
• Hydromancy: Increases resistance to cold damage, increases effectiveness of Water based skills and items.
• Pyromancy: Increases resistance to fire damage, increases effectiveness of Fire based skills and items.

Example Skills:

• Arc Lightning: Air Magic. Spell. Causes x lightning damage to target.
• Fire Lash: Fire Magic. Spell. Causes x fire damage to target.
• Iced Feet: Water Magic. Curse. Causes x cold damage to target. Target will stumble if they stop moving.
• Unnatural Growth: Earth Magic. Enchantment. Target gains x Strength and y health for z seconds.
• Deflect Magic: Metallic Magic. Enchantment. Gain x% chance for spells target against you to fizzle.
• Mystic Gemstone: Metallic Magic. Skill. Lose x% maximum mana for y seconds. Gain z mana.