by M J Conlon
Nature Vulnerability
Take 50% more damage from Nature spells and effects.
Light Vulnerability
Take 50% more damage from light based spells and effects.
End of family tree
We all die alone, but you will live alone as well. You will never be able to reproduce naturally or enjoy the touch of another while undead.
*Penalties to the Undead Package can be removed at a cost of 1 respawn per flaw removed. Once all flaws have been removed, a final respawn can be exchanged to resurrect your character. Resurrected characters will be able to retain all merits that are still available. (Undead Flaws removed 0/5).
Character Creation Details
Name
Description
Effect
Random Character Race
Race chosen by Generator (Permanent)
Celestial Gnome*
*Last of Your Race
You are last of your race.
-Double prices offered for bounties against the player.
-Double the reputation lost from your actions.
Celestial Gnome
+10 Willpower
+10 Perception
+1 Spell Power per level
Size: 42 inches tall.
Weight: 12 lbs.
Merits (Purchased)
Merit
Description
Cost
Lucky
Automatically receive +1 to Luck each level
2 Points
Willful
Automatically receive +1 to Willpower each level
2 Points
Intelligent
Automatically receive +1 to Intelligence each level
2 Points
Wise
Automatically receive +1 to Wisdom each level
2 Points
Charismatic
Automatically receive +1 to Charisma each level
2 Points
Psychic Power Bonus
Increase the effectiveness of all Psychic Powers and Abilities by 4%.
4 Points
Merits will remain with Player thanks to purchase of Premium Package.
Flaws (Sold):
Flaw
Description
Reward
Cannot Smell
All smell based checks fail automatically, significantly reduces some forms of tracking and limits progression in smell dependent abilities
2 Merit Points
Cannot Taste
All taste based checks fail automatically, significantly reduces some skills and limits progressions on taste based abilities.
2 Merit Points
Offensive to Animals
Cannot have a mount or familiar.
3 Merit Points
*Flaws will transfer upon death. Flaws can be exchanged for extra lives at a 1 for 1 ratio. (Current count 0/3 exchanged).
Reputation
Default: Friendly
Underworld City Guards: Honored
Chapter 7
Derick sat on the hillside, letting his bony body lie flat in the long browning grass covered hills. Somewhere down below to the south was an ocean. Derick could hear the waves crashing against a rocky shore even from this distance. It took Derick a minute to realize that he now possessed six respawns, enough to make him human once more. Should I buy off the flaws of being undead, or keep my extra lives for a few rainy years?
“We currently have six respawns and only five are required to pay off the flaws of being undead while always being able to maintain the merits associated with the status change.”
Okay, let’s do it then. Let’s buy off the flaws associated with being Undead.
“Are you sure?”
Derick felt a wave of jitters go through him, as he was unsure what would happen, but forced the jitters aside and thought. Yes, lets buy off the flaws associated with Undead.
“All right, bring up your character screen, then next to all of the flaws associated with Undead you need to mentally click them. You will see a line strike through each of the four flaws listed.”
Derick brought up the screen and as instructed found the first two flaws he wanted to get rid of:
An option box appeared once he targeted Light Vulnerability: Are you sure you wish to trade a respawn to get rid of Light Vulnerability? Yes, or No. Derick confirmed Yes. Warning, this will permanently remove a respawn from your counter, do you wish to continue? Yes, or No. Derick re-confirmed Yes. Finally a light first marked its way through the description of the flaws associated with Light Vulnerability then the flaw itself became grayed out, much like his mana bar. Does that mean it is no longer applicable?
“Yes, once it is both marked through and grayed out, that means that part of the effect will not be able to be reactivated.”
Good to know. With that, Derick quickly did the same to Nature Vulnerability, End of Family Tree, and Out of the Running having to both confirm and then re-confirm for each. After each re-confirmation, the noted flaw was struck through and then grayed out. Then Derick looked down at his body, which began to grow back skin and body parts over the Gnomish bone structure. Finally after a few minutes, Derick’s body was covered in yellow dying skin that looked like Derick was on the brink of death. What is going on, why do I still look as though I am dead?
“That is because you are still ‘Undead’, to fully get rid of the effect you must also buy off the flaw section of the Undead status.”
Derick kicked himself, knowing that he knew five respawns were needed to get rid of the Undead status. Derick mentally thought about clicking the flaws section that now hovered over four struck through and grayed out status effects. Surprisingly the same option box appeared for Derick once he targeted the flaws section. Are you sure you wish to trade a respawn to permanently remove the flaws section from the Undead merit? This will permanently remove the respawn from your inventory? Derick selected both Yes to the confirmation and re-confirmations. Once accepted a final lawyer of skin wove itself over and around Derick. Derick was awash with pain, as he could feel nerve clusters forming where none had been a second ago. He could feel tiny prickles of grass that now pressed annoyingly against parts of his skin that had never seen the light of day. Derick looked down and saw, much to his own dismay that aside from two belts strapped over his chest he was now completely naked and performing his rendition of a sun dial.
Whoops. Derick thought to himself as he began rummaging through his bag of holding for items that he could wear. He came across his pants that offered a +10 to perception, which he quickly put on. Then he took off his two criss crossed belts, put on his robe of the sage portalist that offered +10 to Luck, Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, and Perception. Finally he added the two rings of aether and umbra resistances, not knowing why he would necessarily need them, but knowing that if they were given as a profession reward they might be needed for his profession.
“You are correct. Portalists often attract beings of the inbetween, the aether if you will. While beings that are bound to a place or hidden realm are considered to be part of the Umbra. Oh and congratulations on the new title.”
Derick checked his character screen to see that the entire ‘Flaws’ section that had been part of his Undead merit was now completely missing. Similarly the ‘Undead’ Merit now displayed the word ‘Resurrected.’ Scrolling up to his Titles section he also saw the Title Resurrected. Derick then saw a flashing blue pop-up box, which Derick opened. The box read: Greetings Traveler. You have gone to the brink of death itself and have come back stronger for your efforts. Title Gained: Resurrected: You will keep all the merits that were associated with your undead status while forever losing the undead status. Your actions are that of legend and will inspire faith and renown with religious groups. +1000 reputation points with all religious sects. Reputation gains with religious groups are now doubled. Be warned once discovered, you will be expected to join a religious group and shunning a religious group could be dangerous. As the first T
raveler to achieve the status ‘Resurrected’ you will be more desired by the gods, this is both a blessing and a curse. Title Gained: Divine Attention: You have gained the attention of the Gods, you are now able to add unallocated stat points to your luck attribute. Good luck. While Derick liked the ability to add points to his luck attribute, the last sentence gave him pause. Should I be worried about the Gods?
“Normally I’d say no, but as you are a portalist, you do run a very distinct chance of gaining one’s attention. Just know that the Gods cannot hurt you in any direct way. This does not rule out their getting a nearby king to rally an army against you or to encourage followers to hunt you down on every continent of every planet. Though fortunately for you the Gods are currently confined to a particular planet. All external temples and avenues of spreading one’s influence have been destroyed by other Gods, or followers of Gods. Which is likely why they would show you interest. Not only are you worthy of praise, but you could also spread their word from planet to planet offering them a monopoly planetary worshipers. It might be best to avoid the attention or ire of the other Gods in favor of one.” HAIL thought mentally, still in a subdued tone.
Derick wanted to press him on it, but then decided better against it. Instead Derick found the blue pair of boots that Taftinator dropped on his first kill, found that they adjusted to fit Derick’s tiny feet, put them on, put on his two criss crossing belts over his robe and began walking East towards civilization. Being a Portalist and having scanned the entire planet and observed the lay lines of each planet, Derick knew there was a civilization less than two miles to the east of his current position. The only bad thing about portal travel was, that while Derick knew where most major settlements were and where people and monsters were at the time of travel, he would not know the names nor factions of the different cities until he arrived. Would this city even be kind to celestial gnomes? Derick thought rhetorically and HAIL fortunately stayed quiet if he had anything to say about the whole situation.
“Might I suggest going in incognito mode?” HAIL offered, as the outline of the city could start to be seen while going over a large hill. From this vantage point, Derick could see that this was a port city that harbored many large sailing vessels. Derick took a minute to enjoy the view of the ocean, Derick had never seen a sea side image so clear of smog and debris. There were images in books and old movies, most modern movies had computers digitally remove the dirt from all recoded media devices. While it made the memories seem more impressive, Derick ultimately thought of those types of modern advancements as window dressing. It was a sign of the whole culture of the planet, if we avoided looking at the problems eventually they would all go away. That’s what they did to me, once I no longer fit their agenda, they moved me to an area where I could no longer be viewed and then ultimately forgotten. Derick thought angrily to himself, as he approached the city.
Derick quickly went to his character sheet and selected semi-incognito mode. This meant that his level, profession, and any titles after the first one would be hidden from anyone not using a scan power or ability. That said, Derick applied the title Professional as his main title. The other titles all seemed to denote killing, or his being a high level. Derick then pulled the hood of his robe up over his head, looked in his bag, where he was happy to find a broken spear shaft. Derick pulled out the shaft and began using it as an impromptu walking stick. Derick saw a group of people who all sprinted wildly from the city gates. The group ran like a pack of lions, wildly running to and from place to place. Derick watched them intently, especially as one of the group ran close to Derick. Derick instinctively positioned his walking stick in front of him for protection.
“Hey guys wait up.” One of the guys dressed in mostly leather armor with a sword and backpack on. “I think this is a traveling npc.”
NPC? Derick thought, looking around, then realized the guy was coming straight towards him.
“Hello good sir,” The Leather clad warrior spoke. “Which profession do you teach.”
Teach? Then Derick remembered the title he had chosen professionalist. Do they think I am an NPC?
“Oh no way, a wandering professions trainer?” Another human asked, while joining his friend. Soon the entire pack all turned and began encircling around Derick. Derick thought about stating how he was another player just like them, but then realized they might want to kill him, if they thought he was another player.
“Greetings young travelers.” Derick began, his voice was deep and gravelly for coming out of a body so small. “Do you wish to traverse the stars, to see the locations only dreamed about in your books of lore?” While speaking Derick could feel the words he was saying bring a chill down his spine as they were the words he had heard as a pupil while obtaining the memory crystals he needed to unlock his Profession.
“I offer you but a glimpse of the worlds that lie before you.” Derick said as he waved his hand dramatically, though no movements were required thanks to his instant casting ability his first tier 1 ability that he gained by trading away a respawn.
Derick was immensely happy that this ability transferred to his profession skill as well, though wasn’t quite sure why. In a second five simultaneous locations all appeared, each showing the external view of five different planets, then each view zeroed in on a specific place and showed one city in each. It took Derick a second, but he recognized the fifth one, and it wasn’t on the planet he was currently on, it was an image of the Underworld? Derick quickly broke away his gaze from the last city as it was supposed to be impossible to go there, without dying, wasn’t it? Derick could feel HAIL buzzing to want to answer him, but blessedly kept quiet, while he was in the middle of this presentation.
“Do you have what it takes to travel the universe? To walk between the stars to the unknown? This is not a profession for just anyone.”
Instantly the group of six people around him began to shake their heads and almost all answered in unison “Yes, I do.”
Derick paused for a second, thinking about what would be needed, then he remembered the disk that his first Portal Trainer offered him, the one that unlocked his whole chain of quests and ultimately his profession. Pulling it out, he now inspected the disk. He pulled it out seeing it now for what it was, a compass and a runic dictionary that could be used to describe the direction and location of every known planet and the galaxy that hosted it. Even now it glowed with a dark purple energy, much darker and more powerful than when he was first given it. A quick inspection showed that this was the stone of a meteorite that held some of the powers of the universe that it traveled through.
“This is a meteorite that has been inscribed with the runic constellations of the five main planets. Your first step towards discovery is find a meteorite and one ancient location of power each. As there are six of you.” Derick quickly counted twice to make sure there were six. “I want to see six meteorites and six recorded locations of power on a map, if you wish to continue your journey to the stars.” With that Derick began to walk away, before he was stopped by a pop-up menu.
Portal Beginnings: You have assigned each member of the group to find one meteorite and one ancient portal location on planet Triton. Reward, unlock portalist profession training. Accept? Yes or No. Derick mentally accepted the prompt.
“OH no way, it worked.” One of the Rangers in the back exclaimed.
“The first profession outside of the underworld.”
Almost instantly Derick was spammed with six acceptance messages, each explaining how the six different members accepted the quest. Once each accepted Derick got a message about who each player was, their race, their level, their class, their alignments, and any deities worshiped. HAIL, make a list of these players and keep their statuses on the quest ready to go at all times, but in a minimized window.
“Affirmative, boss.” HAIL responded.
Derick not knowing how to end the awkward conversation, bowed his head, then turned and began to continue walking toward the city.
/>
“Wait, how will we find you?” The first player asked. Derick could tell now that the warrior’s name was Galmindrier_Typhoon.
“No need, I will find you.” Derick said, before continuing his path.
“Did you see the way he conned. He was not just red, but crimson red.” Derick heard the ranger state, who Derick now knew to be RangerRick_FireStarter.
“Well yeah, you can’t have a professions trainer get killed by just any random noob with a bow.” Galamdrierier_Typhoon added.
“But can you all just imagine it, us portalists, we could open up trade routes and make millions off of the import and export taxes alone.” Leandra_StillBlade8, a female Rogue, stated. Derick listened to the six as he slowly made his way towards the city, listening in on their conversations. Taxing supply convoys, that is brilliant.
“I don’t know, something feels a bit off about this. Our first real time out together and we find possibly the rarest professions trainer in the land?” Rokella_ScarletBunny, a female priestess added. Derick wondered what the Priestess knew or might have known. Maybe she suspected that I was a fellow player?
“He was wearing the robes of a sage portalist and we all received the quest prompt.” Galmindrier_Typhoon responded.
“That’s just it, would you be able to inspect the clothes on a normal NPC?” Rockella_ScarletBunny asked.
“Yeah, but he has a four letter name. How many Players have that easy of a name? Also did you see his hair and his eyes, they were both violet.” Scarlet_PuffingTon188, the last member of the group
Just as Derick was about to think about the comment of his eyes and hair being violet, he felt a slight tickle go down his spine. He turned back to see Rokella staring at him. Derick held still for a second, wondering if she would attack. While his posture stayed relaxed, mentally he was prepared to unleash his daggers at the girl and port away to nearby mountain top in the process. Finally Rokella looked away, then began to follow the rest of the group away. Instantly the group started to jog at first, then they got into in all out sprint as they began traveling down the road no doubt towards their original destination. Yet Derick couldn’t help but feel the tingle of eyes watching him as he turned around back toward the city.