by J. J. Lorden
The list continued on and included feline races, a couple bestial races, and others that were even more obscure. He marveled at the expansive possibilities. Elle had definitely delivered on his intent for Kuora to be a diverse world.
He noted the asterisk’s with curiosity, then focused on the one beside Fae, a message appeared.
*Limited zones, restricted interaction with other races.
A check of the others revealed the same message. Well, those won’t be popular. Without the limitation, Fae and Merfolk would have at least been worth considering.
He imagined a tiny, flying, magic-wielding Fae avatar, maybe even with super-strength. It would be a nightmare for bigger creatures to deal with. Wait, that would be a Pixie, not Fae. Fae are the remorseless Gaelic creatures that slip between realms, make deals, and steal babies.
He caught himself stereotyping. Or maybe not. Either way, he wasn’t interested in Fae.
Alternatively, he’d also always considered the King Neptune archetype appealing, but limited, in that it was water-based. Even more so in Kuora with its reduced ocean area compared to Earth.
He absently noted that the races without the limited zones qualifier were not explicitly excluded from those zones. Although in practice, it seemed improbable for an Elf to reach the depths of the ocean. And, spending long periods of time in the Fae realm was almost always deadly, at least in literature.
The list was not part of his HUD. Instead, it was sticky and stayed beside the avatar no matter where he looked. Austin stepped forward to engage with the list, but he didn’t move.
Looking down, he observed one leg begin to materialize from the mist. Seeing it startled him, and it reverted back to fog, which left him as an immobile cloud.
Unsettled, Austin tried to remake the leg, but the mist just swirled a bit. The sense of his limbs was there, but the legs weren’t.
Having unusable ghost legs freaked him out, and then the impact of not having a body hit him. He suddenly felt trapped and mild panic started to set in.
Sensing his distress, Ink spoke up. “Yes, as I mentioned, your ability to interact with the game interface in Kuora is a mental ability. Here, you can train yourself to interact with the system.
“Additionally, your growth and development within the world will be largely based upon your capacity to intuitively grasp concepts and act upon that intuition. This is an exaggerated environment for teaching. You will not be able to leave the avatar creation realm until you’ve gained a minimum level of proficiency.”
Ink’s words calmed Austin, he wasn’t trapped and alone–he was just ignorant. After a brief moment reflecting, he had to chuckle; his big, logical, programming brain wasn’t going to be such a big advantage here.
That’s kind of perfect, he thought. Intuitive leaps and quickly adapting a new programming modality had been critical in the process of training Elle. It had forced him to think differently, and this would continue strengthening that flexible part of his brain.
For his exploratory attempts at manifesting body parts, Austin worked on forming the mist into hands. Initially, he attempted to will them into corporeality, using the same mental method he’d employed to manipulate things in the trainer with Elle.
Kuora, he quickly determined, was not the trainer.
The act of asserting his will only agitated the vapor that loosely defined his body. The more forcefully he demanded the mist conform, the more violently it swirled and spun.
During a particularly determined–and ultimately final–attempt, his lower half formed into a mini funnel cloud, wildly spinning him like an evil teacup. The clearing became nothing but a blur, he got lightheaded, his vision began to tunnel, and he nearly blacked out before the tiny twister calmed.
Fortunately, he recovered quickly. That was the end of his trying to use force of will to interface with the system. Thereafter, with his curiosity running full tilt, he pondered the issue.
After a bit, Austin absentmindedly tried to sit down, and that was what tipped him off. As he did, different body parts began to flash into existence: a foot, a knee, a hand to brace on the ground, his waist, and his butt as it touched the stone.
His mind knew what body parts it needed to move to achieve the act of sitting down. He didn’t panic this time, but instead stayed with the process as body parts appeared, lowering his mist form to a cross-legged position on the ground.
Unfortunately, each body part that materialized also dematerialized immediately after it was done. When fully seated, he was once again a cloud of vapor.
However, with the one success, and a bit more experimentation, he caught the knack of it. After a bit, Austin decided he liked this new interaction mechanic much better. It felt more natural… more in-tune than the comparatively stiff exertion of will he’d been used to.
He silently named it the flow mechanic, as it was reminiscent of the mental state he found during his most memorable sessions in the forge.
Simply put, it came down to relaxing, knowing that hands were possible, and desiring to use them… it was flow-like.
As soon as he got it, Austin just walked forward, reached out, and began using the interactive panel. Sadly, whenever his curiosity got captivated by something in the character creation panel, his hands kept dematerializing.
So, he would read a bit, then go to scroll and find he had to wait a moment to recreate his hands. That got old fast.
Holding his hands up, he shifted them in and out of existence, closely monitoring the experience. Glancing back at the panel, inspiration struck. If I can generate hands by simply knowing they’re possible, can I do the same thing directly with the interface.
It worked.
Knowing it was possible along with projecting his desire, Austin used the flow mechanic to scroll the race list down one spot. And, it stayed that way.
The HUD was sticky in this sense too; it didn’t revert as his hands did when his attention shifted. He took a couple minutes to familiarize himself with manipulating the menu by projecting his desire, jumping around the list and skipping over several races at random without reading their details.
When he had it down, Austin looked up at his avatar. His haphazard flipping through the races had ended on the Trauco. The transformation to his floating avatar made him shiver.
As a Trauco he was short and spindly with defined cords of muscle, overlong arms and legs, and a wicked set of pointed teeth. The mouth stretched nearly the full width of his avatar’s face, and the skin was a dark, almost purplish hue.
Even though the avatar was short, it wasn’t stooped; in fact, its posture was erect and solid looking. It was actually quite intimidating for being so small, but much of that effect he attributed to its appearance. Who would ever choose to play this little monster?
Out of curiosity, he opened the racial characteristics.
Trauco Racial modifiers:
Strength: +2
Constitution: +2
Agility: +2
Twitch: +1
Intellect: +2
Willpower: -1
Charisma: -8
The Trauco were magically created by the exiled archmagi Lintarian Vox as a weapon to wage war against the Pergothian Empire. During conception, he infused their fundamental nature with the same dark-resonance* he was exiled for wielding, allowing them to imbue their spell weaves with this essence.
The Trauco have long since thrown off the shackles of slavery they were created under. Though slight in stature, they possess deceptive hardiness, strength, speed, and spell weaving aptitude, making them powerful warriors who should not be underestimated.
Perhaps in payment for this, the Trauco are socially inept and physically repulsive. These qualities, their history with archmagi Vox, and a predisposition toward violence have made the Trauco a reviled and hunted people.
Their primary home is the Torn Hills Stronghold and the vast subterranean city it guards. The Trauco are rumored to have many other smaller population centers but their
locations are unknown. They have no allies and are only tolerated in the lands of the Hobgoblin and Slinith. Trauco receive +1 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Intellect for each level gained as well as 2 freely allocable attribute points.
Racial Trait (Typical): Magical Affinity—Trauco have an inborn capacity to both amplify and resist the power of elemental essential energy.
Effect: +10% to all elemental spell damage. +10% to all elemental spell resistances.
Racial Trait (Very Rare): Dark Imbued—The Trauco were born of dark resonance and remain intimately bound to it. Because of this, they are the only race with the inborn ability to weave dark essential energy.
Effect: Elemental spells can be woven with a strand of dark essence. Weaves including dark essence damage the caster equal to 10% of base damage for an additional 25% dark damage to the target and a chance to infect the target with void sickness. Beings infected with void sickness become morose, losing the will to fight or go on living.
Racial Condition: Reviled- The Trauco suffer from intense hatred and enmity from all races, save the Hobgoblins and Slinith. For this reason, even those rare few that wish to interact with the other races find doing so nearly impossible.
Effect: Starting reputation with Hobgoblin and Slinith races is Tolerated. Starting reputation with all other races is Reviled. Minus 90% to all reputation gains.
Resolution: There is no resolution to this condition.
Damn, these little bastards would be hell-on-wheels in a magical showdown, Austin thought as his eye returned to the Dark Imbued racial trait. What is dark resonance? He noted the asterisk and looked to the bottom of the Trauco primer.
(*Dark resonance is one of several names for this affinity, it is almost certainly not accurate. Little is known about the affinity, as Lintarian Vox is the only known wielder. The power it harnesses has also been called void essence, and dwarves call it Und essential energy.)
Huh. Interesting. He took note of the explanation. Dark resonance seemed likely to be a source of problems, power, or maybe both.
Even with the resonance, the Trauco had all sorts of totally unplayable downsides, and there was no getting around the appearance. He wanted to have an in-game social life, after all.
He changed the avatar back to human, and happily watched the body he was familiar with reappear.
Considering the other races on the list, he realized there was a lot of information here for him to sort through. Personally, Austin was anxious to dive in and read it all as any one of the race primers could contain useful world data.
But not all players would be a data dork like he was. Tough to make the best choices without reading all the data. Won’t that favor people like me? He had learned a bit about Kuora by reading the one primer and his avatar would definitely be affected by what he learned. If someone wasn’t willing to read and learn they might choose poorly. Is that a flaw in the system?
Austin glanced over to Ink. He wondered if perhaps his host was more of an active guide than Austin had initially assumed. Would he act to assist people that didn’t take the time to read everything? He decided to query the monk.
“Hey, Ink, what’s your opinion on the best race for me... or which is the most powerful overall?” Austin hoped the open-ended question would elicit something useful.
“I do not believe there is a correct answer to your question Austin. All races are of divine origin.”
“Okay, but which one would you choose if you were going to play? And in your opinion which would give me the best late-game powers and abilities? In other words, which race is the strongest when I eventually have a high-level character?”
Ink was silent for a moment, then responded, “As to your first question, I would choose Divine Being, which is that which I am. However, my race is not available to you. Regarding your second, I encourage you to create an avatar that is a personal expression of who you are.”
The response encouraged Austin. It was in alignment with what he’d wanted Elle to do, although he still mused on the philosophical answer. He posed a simpler question.
“Is that all you can give me, Ink?”
“Your question is broad, Austin, and in short, the answer is no. However, in this area, I am here to simply aid you in learning the interface and beginning your journey, not in any advisory capacity. Avatar selection is a deeply personal process meant to encourage self-reflection.”
He looked meaningfully at Austin and a small smirk creased the corner of his mouth. “Something I believe you know quite well.”
Austin nodded in satisfaction. Ink was exactly the kind of creation-area steward he had hoped for. He was both subtle and literal without giving anything away. A comforting presence that encouraged you to focus while ultimately knowing you were on your own.
“That’s perfect. Well done Ink.” Austin said, returning the monk’s smirk with one of his own. Ink bobbed a slight nod and Austin returned to digesting the race list data.
Austin the Elf was slightly taller, lean, and muscular with angular features and smooth golden skin. Beside Elf on the list, in a smaller font, was the word High. Focusing on the word caused a drop-down menu of Elven subtypes to appear.
The drop-down menu did not disappoint.
Elven Subspecies: High, Dark, Forest, Drow, Aaverial, Wild, and Moorish.
Curious and not being familiar with it, he selected the Aaverial subspecies–his avatar grew wings.
“Woah...” Austin muttered as he stared in shock. “Now this I could do.”
Given the size of Kuora, traveling long distances through the wilderness would definitely be a reality they’d have to confront. If he could fly, a three-day journey might be shortened to half a day. Flying would also be useful for scouting and battlefield mobility. Beyond that, it was flying! Who didn’t want the ability to fly?
Hum... wonder what the odds are that Maddie and Rach will also pick this up. If he was the only one who could fly, it wouldn’t be nearly as useful. With a start Austin realized the error in that thinking. “No, stop thinking like that.” He shook his misty head to clear the thought.
He was falling into the meta-gaming trap. This was his avatar, not a cog in a guild or party machine. He had to be true to who he was and if that included being a flying elf, then so be it.
The avatar was imposing. Its folded wings extended several feet above his head. Fully spread, they had to be fifteen feet each. He checked out the racial stats of the Aaverial:
Aaverial Racial modifiers:
Strength: +0
Constitution: +0
Agility: +3
Twitch: +2
Intellect: +3
Willpower: -1
Charisma: -3
The Aaverial are a proud Elven people who reside in the deep woods while shunning most other races. They are considered less civilized than all but the Wild and Moorish elves. In reality, the comparison is unjustified as their culture is rich and their cities refined. The reputation a result of being a haughty people who give little consideration to the other races.
They are accepted by the other Elven races and tolerated in the lands of Humans, Dwarves and the Oread. They are loosely allied with the Gnomes and Fellith and have an uneasy relationship with Ents and Enderial because of their affinity for trees.
Aaverial make powerful aerial assailants, able to rain arrows and spells on enemies with near impunity as their remarkable movement makes them masters of avoidance.
Aaverial receive a 10% buff to all stats when they are in flight; however, they also receive a 10% debuff to all stats when underground. Aaverial receive +1 to Agility, +1 to Twitch, and +1 to Intellect for each level gained as well as 3 freely allocable stat points.
Racial Ability (Rare): Winged Alliance—The Aaverial race has a powerful instinctual kinship with all creatures that fly. They can call upon other flying creatures for assistance in scouting, communication, or defense. Any relayed communication is dependent upon written message or the recipient possessin
g a compatible communication ability.
Effect: Links the user to all flying creatures within 300 feet, establishing an instinctual connection. When used, the linked animals will accept commands for a period of 10 minutes and will follow any instructions given for up to 60 minutes. Cooldown: 90 minutes
Racial Ability (Typical): Grounded Resolve—Living with massive wings is fine and good for birds, but not so good for bipedal mammals who need to sit, eat, and interact with other people in a world build for the non-winged.
Effect: Transforms the Aaverial into a non-winged form. Activating and deactivating both use energy. The amount of energy required to activate varies based upon skill and racial purity. If an Aaverial dies while Grounded Resolve is active, they will automatically transform back to their natural winged form. Cooldown: none
Despite his original excitement, Austin rejected the race. It would narrow his playstyle far too much, especially since dungeons were frequently underground where Aaverial had a 10% hit to all attributes. He noted the Winged Alliance ability though, glad to know it existed. Any bird could potentially be an Aaverial scout or weapon.
He also considered the energy referred to in the Grounded Resolve description. It seemed likely that the energy it referred to was probably the essential energy he’d already read about in the Trauco description. But it specifically said energy, not essential energy, so he made a mental note. Who knows, could be some hidden mechanic.
He checked out Dark Elf next, a race that had treated him well in the past.
Dark Elf Racial modifiers:
Strength: +1
Constitution: +0
Agility: +2
Twitch: +1
Intellect: +2
Willpower: +0