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Acknowledgments
I’m continually floored by the support and kind words of my Patrons. You have been my rock in these trying times, and I couldn’t wish for better friends! Of course, it goes without saying that none of these books would have been possible without you all.
Before I ever thought to publish the book, I had people willing to support me. That support is the main reason Beastborne didn’t end up like so many other stories: scrapped and thrown away. I can’t thank you all enough. But I’ll sure as heck try!
First and foremost I’d like to thank Mattirro, Sevitar, and Michael Shafer.
If you enjoyed the antics of Orrittam, you have none other than Mattirro (does the name look familiar, perhaps in a mirror?) to thank for the creation of the adorable posh and proper Gold Dragon playing benevolent host to Hal’s Settlement.
He deserves all the credit for making the lovable (and infinitely patient) golden boy.
And for all you Komachi fans out there, I would like to credit Fiona Adler. The furry little prankster wouldn’t be half as sassy without her constant input and creation!
I’d also like to thank all of my Gold-Marked and Prism-Marked Patrons, many of which have been with me since the very beginning. I simply cannot put into words (weird for an author, I know) how grateful I am for your continued generosity.
My heartfelt thanks to: Alex Santos, Anthony Romero, Ben Morgan, Carthel Richards, Curtis "chef" Long Jr, Da Uncle, Daniel Jr, Dominic Pernicone, Drew Dalton, Jay Stephen, Johnist, Jørn Håvard Eikenes, Joseph Thibodeau, Josua Samano, Kai, Kyle Leary, Kyle Smith, Louis St-Amour, Matthew Lanigan, Michael Arceneau, Michael Messenger, Nuri C. Nelson, Smudi, and Tyrone Feldman.
Additionally, I would like to personally thank Aldous Russell. Their keen eye for details (and typos) helped to make this book a better reading experience for all.
Naturally, I couldn’t finish this without also thanking YOU the reader! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the second book of Beastborne Chronicles, and it is my most sincere wish that I will be able to bring you more stories for decades to come.
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Hal’s Last-Known Stats
(Pre-Assault)
Hal Williams
Level: 42
Discordant Stone: 22,298/55,000
Strain: 0/50
BP: 15/15
Classes
Beastborne: 20
Oathforger: 12
Novice: 10
Resources
HP: 600/600 (+75)
SP: 475/475
MP: 760 (+75)
Attributes
STR: 10 (+3)
VIT: 35
DEX: 10
AGI: 10
INT: 52 (+9)
MND: 60 (+7)
CHR: 40 (+14)
Regeneration
HP/hr: 91.2
SP/hr: 65.3
MP/hr: 217.1
Resistances
Fire: 25
Ice: 0
Wind: 0
Earth: 0
Lightning: 0
Water: -25
Light: 0
Dark: 0
Defensive Properties
DEF: 112
MDEF: 117
Insulation: 35
Monster Affinity
Beastmen
Goblin: 300%
Arcana
Shadow: 325%
Doll: 105%
Mimic: 155%
Undead
Aberration: 560%
Plantoid
Treant: 285%
Planttrap: 55%
Morbolger: 25%
Outsider
Eldritch: 620%
Vermin
Insect: 135%
Spider: 125%
Amorph
Slug: 78%
Class Affinity
Warrior: 99%
Thief: 99%
Survival Skills
Darkvision: 6
Investigation: 14
Manatree: 10
Perception: 20
Stealth: 7
Survival: 5
Flight: 1
Combat Skills
Evasion: 21 (+5)
Improvised Weaponry: 19
Parry: 11 (+5)
Sword: 25
Magic Skills
Beast Magic: 30
Enfeebling: 20
Crafting Skills
Alchemy: 10
Bonecraft: 20
Construction: 5
Foraging: 0
Tactician: 13
Social Skills
Deception: 7
Exploration: 14
Intimidation: 4
Leadership: 29 (+5)
Persuasion: 17
Mercantile: 2
Hal’s Skill List
[Survival Skills]
Darkvision
Level 6
+12% Visual range in dim light.
+9% Visual range in no light.
Through time spent in the dark, lightless depths, you have adapted your sight to be able to peel back the veil of darkness.
Flight
Level 1
+0.35% Speed while flying.
+0.35% Control while flying.
-0.25% Stamina cost.
Few creatures possess the innate ability to fly, and while yours is a gift gained from modifying your physical form, it functions no differently. Contrary to common thought, flying is an arduous and taxing affair for those unaccustomed to its rigors.
Investigation
Level 14
+14% Investigation speed.
+28% Investigation success.
+10% Point of interest highlight chance.
By analyzing your surroundings and using inductive reasoning, you are able to piece together evidence into a plausible conclusion, locate hidden items, traps, and make connections others would miss. Heavily influenced by INT.
Investigation Perks
Treasure Hunter
While investigating, increases the chance of discovering higher rarity loot and acquiring quest originating items.
Lv1: 15%
Manatree
Level 10
+30% Manatree Spell Potency.
The manipulation and ability to commune with a Manatree is a valuable skill that few have the capability to learn. By sharing a piece of yourself with the semi-sentient creation, you are able to influence its use of power. And in turn, the Manatree is able to provide you with the means to defend yourself against the dreaded Manastorms.
Manatree Perks
Arcana Siphon
The spheres of influence granted by Manatree spells change the very warp and weft of the mana caught within. By subtly altering the make-up of your Manatree spells, you can capture part of the MP expended within to replenish your stores.
Perception
Level 20
+60% Perception highlight chance.
+100% Awareness of magical items.
+40% Danger sense.
As a measure of your general awareness, Perception allows you to pick out details of your environment that most others might miss.
Higher Levels of Perception will highlight useful items or those of special significance.
Perception Traits
Inspection
By focusing on a monster, you are usually able to view its Level.
Perception Perks
Premonition
Gain the ability to see outlines and indicators where powerful attacks are about to land moments before they hit.
Preternatural Dodge
Requirement: Premonition
When Premonition triggers, time seems to slow down providing you precious seconds to get out of the way in time. All onlookers perceive you as suddenly much faster if they lack this perk.
Stealth
Level 7
+12% Stealth success.
+12% Stealth speed.
-12% SP drain.
Slow, measured movements and a preference for shadowy nooks have helped you take the first steps along the path of a true sneak. By moving with purpose and focusing on staying out of sight you can dramatically reduce the chance for others to detect your presence. Sneaking reduces your speed and drains Stamina.
Survival
Level 5
+225% Camping regeneration.
+25% Flora & Fauna identification.
+5% Well Rested bonus.
Survival abilities allow you to not only live off the land but to thrive. Survival determines your ability to hunt for game, distinguish poisonous food from edible, and to make camp effectively.
[Combat Skills]
Evasion
Level 21
+21% Evasion speed.
-21% Stamina cost.
+8% Time decay.
The best defense is the one where you never get hit in the first place. The art of Evasion takes precise timing and quick reflexes to keep ahead of an opponent’s constant barrage of attacks.
Evasion Perks
Patient Offense
Each successive evasion of an enemy’s attack increases the damage of your next attack by 10%. Resets if hit.
Second Wind
Prerequisite: Patient Offense
Each stack of Patient Offense can be consumed, converting it into 1% HP.
Improvised Weaponry
Level 19
+38% Improvised Weapon damage.
+38% Improvised Weapon attack speed.
-15% Stamina cost.
Realizing that anything can be a weapon if you put your mind to it, you’ve taken the first step toward the ultimate goal of beating your enemy with the body of another enemy. Unlocks the Improvised Crafting trait.
Improvised Weaponry Perks
Overrun
Increase attack speed by 15% when utilizing an Improvised Weapon and a One-Handed Weapon together.
Improvised Weaponry Traits
Improvised Crafting
Improvised Crafting allows you to outfit any item with atypical ingredients, gaining the ability to swap out one ingredient for a similar type, resulting in a different finished product.
Parry
Level 11
+11% Parry success.
-11% Stamina cost.
Avoiding harm during a fight while remaining effective is a difficult balance to strike. Some wear heavy armor and strap on large shields to create a bulwark against which many foes struggle to penetrate. Others prefer to use their weapons to their full benefit by parrying and defending against deadly strikes.
Sword
Level 25
+25% Sword damage.
-6.25% Sword durability loss.
+25% Armor penetration.
The weapon of choice for would-be heroes and highway bandits alike. Under Angram’s watchful gaze you have taken the first steps to ensure that you consistently stick your enemies with the pointy end first.
Sword Perks
Cruel Blade
You learn how to better bleed out an enemy, forcing them to take extra damage. Each strike you land has a higher chance to inflict the bleed status affliction. An enemy under Cruel Blade's bleed affliction takes standard bleed damage for the duration of the effect. Upon the end of the affliction, the enemy takes additional damage equal to a portion of the bleed damage suffered.
Lv3: +40% Bleed Chance (20s) | 25% of total Bleed damage once the effect ends.
Sword Weaponskills
Rending Steel
Assault your enemies with five unrelenting strikes. Weave destruction upon your enemies, finding gaps in their armor and where no gaps exist, creating them.
Additional Effect: Lowers DEF.
Damage: 10
SP Cost: 25
Lv20 WS: Goring Blade
Sunder your enemy's defenses, breaking through and dealing severe bodily harm. Inflicts Gored status on the target if more than one point of damage is dealt.
If no damage is dealt, armor durability is reduced by 18%.
Additional Effect: Gored
Gored: Suffering deep wounds, resulting in doubled bleed duration and damage.
Damage: 20
SP Cost: 120
[Magic Skills]
Beast Magic
Level 30
+90% Beast Magic potency.
-12% MP Cost.
A unique form of magic known only to those following in the footsteps of Chimera Knights and the fabled Beastborne. Beast Magic allows the wielder to tap into the ferocious power of fell monstrous magics previously exclusive to monsters.
Wielding Beast Magic comes with a price, however, non-monster bodies were not meant to wield such devastating magic and will experience hazardous side-effects if the wielder is not careful to manage their Strain levels.
Beast Magic Perks
Azure Fate
Embark upon the Azure Path, trading raw strength for greater control and efficiency.
Azure Lore
Reach into the very depths of Beast Magic, forming a sympathetic bond with your adversary. By touching a monster, you are able to understand your quarry that much better. Its weaknesses and fears, its strengths, and most importantly what it’ll do before it does it. Defeating multiple enemies from the same Monster Family confers unique bonuses against that family.
Empty Vessel
Each Beastborne is unique. Those that follow the Azure path accept the risk of Strain but are not without the tools to handle the dangerous influx of corrupting magic. Once per day, you focus on the way your body was before becoming a Beastborne. Holding that image, you purge all Strain from yourself, becoming an empty vessel once more.
Convergence II
Prerequisites: Lv.10 Beast Magic, Lv.10 Beastborne, Azure Fate, Deep Magic.
As a Beastborne, you are able to alter the most fundamental aspects of yourself. By refining your Beastborne-given powers, you are able to influence your body through your mental prowess. While channeling Essence, INT and CHR can be partially utilized as modifiers to your melee damage and bodily prowess. Higher tiers allow you to tap a greater portion of INT and CHR.
Tier II: Fine-grained control of stat allocation allowed.
Lv2: 25% INT & CHR transferred to Physical Stats.
Enfeebling
Level 20
+20% Enfeebling success.
+40% Enfeebling duration.
+20% Enfeebling magic resistance.
When defeating your enemies isn’t enough, Enfeebling Magic is there to cut the strongest enemies down to size and to make the weak grovel in fear. Enfeebling focuses on crippling opponents in as many ways as there are seconds in a day.
Enfeebling Perks
Shatter
Enfeebling spells apply a 10% MDEF reduction.
Lv2: 15% MDEF reduction.
[Crafting Skills]
Alchemy
Level 10
+10% Crafting speed.
+15% Toxicity tolerance.
Alchemy creates mighty medicines, potent poisons, and substances of supreme strength to imbibe or imbue renowned relics.
Alchemy Perks
Potions Master
Potions and poiso
ns you make are 20% stronger.
Bonecrafting
Level 20
In ages long past, people used to fashion items out of bones as the only ready-made material that was strong enough for their purposes. But procuring bones was a difficult task and one that required a great deal of preparation. As soon as proper woodworking and most of all smithing came into play, the craft was forgotten about.
But there is power in bones. The once-living material has found new life within your hands. As the re-discoverer of a lost art, you now have the ability to teach it to others. More than mere bones can be molded into usable materials. Claws, horns, and even the fabled dragon scales can be used to create wondrous works imbued with the power of their former owner.
As the discoverer, you gain the following benefits:
+10% Profession Experience Points | +10% Crafting Speed | +10% High-Quality Rate
+22.0% Crafting speed.
+24.0% MP efficiency.
+20% CP generation.
Bonecrafting Perks
Bone Purification
Purge impurities from bone, increasing the likelihood of achieving higher quality and reducing the amount of CP needed to craft material made from purified bone. Purified bones are required for Bone Ensorcellment.
Beastborne Page 98