by M J Sweeney
Leap +10/20/30/40% Damage, +5-15% Critical Hit Chance depending on angle of attack, Running Leap: 1m per 10 agility/strength average, Standing Leap /3, requires 20/40/60 base Agility, 200 Stamina with each leap, Level 4: +40% Accuracy
Stoic+40% Physical Damage Reduction4/6/8/10 seconds, 30/20/10/5 minute cooldown, Requires 20/40/60/80 Vitality, 500 Stamina, Level 4: +25% Critical Hit Damage Resistance (Physical) OR +75% Armour Piercing Resistance
I thought about those choices for a moment and looked up Charge. I found some details on weapon statistics. Charging with a shield gave you bonus stun duration (one to four seconds), and charging with a spear class weapon gave you bonus damage (+30% More Damage). As charge gave 30% More Damage bonus anyway at Level 1, that meant +60% More if I landed a hit.
Initially I actually thought that a little overpowered, but then I read that other specific weapons gave bonuses to particular skills: Hammers with the ability of Mighty Blow, Swords with Rend, et cetera. It all seemed to balance out. The “More” damage descriptive was also important. This meant you applied this damage as a multiplier at the end of Damage Calculation, versus only to the Base Damage. This would often mean that +10% More Damage was often better than +30-40% to the Base Damage Bonus.
I also saw that I had an increased chance to critical hit on top of the Charge damage. With higher accuracy, my critical hit chance improved a little, which gave an additional small chance to stun. And all of that stacked.
I chose Charge; it was a no-brainer, I also put two points into it. Despite the cool-down, gaining a stun for crowd control and bonus movement speed was great. As I wasn’t doing much with ranged attacks, having a gap-closer was badly needed.
/ Holy Aura 2 (free) /
/ Automatically Applied /
/ Heart of Oak 2 (free) /
/ Automatically Applied /
/ Divinely Granted Special Ability / Identify Level 1 (free) /
/ Automatically Applied /
They were all great. Holy Aura increased my resistance to leech effects and weakened undead. For Heart of Oak, the jump to 1% total health renewal per round would be fantastic. Gotta love automatic healing. It was nice to get any kind of freebie, but a utility spell like Identify would be all around useful—at least, I hoped so. Each class got different kinds of freebies—for priests, it was a divine ability from the deity of choice.
As I still had three spare active ability points saved from previous levels, I put two points into another new active ability: Stoic. As I had been training for this with Allih in Ell’Escow, the system was allowing me to pick it up now. Having a Hail-Mary ability like that (40% physical damage reduction!) if only for six seconds, was going to be damn useful. I put the last remaining active ability point into Holy Smite, which increased my damage to undead and unseelie creatures. I also looked up the passive abilities I thought would be most useful.
/ Passive Abilities / 4 points
Warrior Tier II Passive Abilities
Toughness +5/10/15/20% Health bonus, Level 4: +66% Health Regeneration, Requires 20/40/60 Vitality
Athlete +5/10/15/20% Stamina bonus, -5% Stamina Cost of Abilities and Activities, Level 4: +2% Stamina Renewal per Round
Fleetness +5/10/15/20% Movement Speed, Level 4: +25% Dodge
Two Hander +5/10/15/20% More Damage, Level 4: +25% Accuracy OR +10% Weapon Speed
Priest Tier II Passive Abilities
Light Efficiency Reduces Mana cost and increases power of all Healing Abilities (5/10/15/25%), Level 4: 25% of Health Restored also Restores Mana of recipient
Spell Power +5/10/15/20% Mana Bonus, -5% Mana Cost of Spells, Level 4: 2% Mana Renewal per Round
Willpower +5/10/15/20% Mental Resistance, Level 4: +5% Mental Resistance Cap
Fleetness +4/8/12/16% Movement Speed, Level 4: +20% Dodge Chance
I thought they were all good, but I chose Toughness first. It was going to be good for all situations. I needed a couple more levels before I could upgrade it to Toughness 2, (I needed 40 Vitality) but hopefully soon on that. More health was an essential! I chose Willpower second, as I wanted better resistance to psychic type spells, and also upgraded that to Willpower 2. Soon I wanted to get the Two Hander passive ability, and significantly upgrade my base damage with the staff-spear. I kept one spare passive point for later use.
Lying down on my bed, I experienced the bliss of allocating all those abilities, one after the other, and then three points into intellect and one into vitality. I wasn’t sure if I passed out or fell asleep, but either way, I slept as the dead that night, heavy with fatigue as my body processed all the changes.
/ Cordaen Sequoia / Level 20 Warrior-Priest /
STR 23
INT 33
AGI 40
VIT 38
CHA 27
LCK 22
Health: 1140 (+50%)
Mana: 759 (+15%)
Stamina: 710
Active Abilities (10 – 2 spare points)
Heart of Oak 2 (free)
Identify 1 (free)
Frenzy 2
Breath of Life 2
Holy Smite 2
Charge 2
Stoic 2
Passive Abilities (10)
Holy Aura 2 (free)
Staff-Spear 2
Light Armour 2
Toughness 2
Meditate 2
Willpower 2
Other than the nerf to my fire resistance for being a wood elf, everything else was looking pretty good. And despite that, my two minor rings of fire resistance were offsetting the nerf a little.
Early the next morning, donning my ‘work clothes’ so-to-speak, I practiced the Charge ability in the small courtyard outside my room. It was actually a horse training area, so fortunately the earth was relatively soft. I stepped away from the horse-fence and leaned forward, activating it when I started to run.
It was great up until the point that I nose-dived and face-planted into the dirt.
Shit, too much forward momentum with my torso and spear. I experimented a few times. Unfortunately, there were no practice dummies. I found if I braced properly with my legs and thrust a bit as I came to a halt, this suspended my forward momentum and caused me to prop upright again. It felt so cool—almost like flying through the air. I didn’t have time to experiment with Stoic, and was unsure how on my own. But in any case, now I was out of time.
I walked to the Popina, leaving the bulk of my gear in my room. I wasn’t happy with myself for not having repaired my armour earlier, and for wasting that time drinking in the tavern, but now I would just have to make the best of it.
Out the back of the tavern, between the rear wall of the building and the stables, Big Nose had set a table up. I walked over to get a better look.
“You right with that, Ger?” he was asking his wife.
She seemed to be managing the till, and setting up a ledger. She had her long brown hair loose over her back, not in the usual ponytail. She had a list of entries showing the odds, the name, and amount. It looked like it was around three to one against me. I sighed. Damn. Most bets were a few jeb, some a few dran. She was glaring at me now, not sure if she didn’t like me, or if she just didn’t like duelling.
“I’m fine love, go and deal with the rest of it.” After nudging Big Nose in my direction, she gave me another suspicious squint, and then turned back to her books.
I decided not to provoke her ire any further, and backed away from the table. I dropped my smaller pack and lute by the back door. Hagard had not arrived yet, and more dwarfs—including most of the female dwarf cooking contingent from inside the Popina—a few humans, and a couple of wolfmen had arrived to watch the spectacle. The female dwarfs were no less rowdy than the men, and gave insults and punches just as freely.
The group was forming into a large ring around the cobbled courtyard. The wolfmen were interesting—they were furred and upright, but other than slightly elongated snouts and pointy upright ears, they were proportioned in the normal humanoi
d way. One had grey fur with darker markings on his face, and the other was female, with lighter white-grey fur but similar dark facial markings. Perhaps brother and sister from the same litter, I thought. The female was wearing tight black leather armour, which fit her full figure rather admirably. She gave me a bit of a feral, toothy smile, which was disturbing and sexy at the same time.
“Can I place a bet?” I asked Big Nose.
Big Nose was shaking his head. “No. Participants are barred from betting.”
“Why is that?”
“To stop young idiots duelling for money.” He shook his head at me. “It’s Isserad’s Decree. If a duel happens and the Gods deem it just, then everyone else can bet on it. But if a combatant tries to bet on himself, then Isserad’s Bane for all involved. No one wants that.”
I heard a ding from my interface and looked it up. If you bet on yourself, or even got someone else to bet for you and collected the money after, Isserad would curse you. Your luck would flatline for a year.
“So why the poor odds?” I asked.
Big Nose grinned. “Yer not a dwarf.”
“And all dwarfs are better fighters?” I asked incredulously. I hoped it wasn’t true.
“No, no. But you don’t look like much. And he’s got the axe.”
“Really, a big axe and he’s got the victory?”
He looked at me like I was stupid. “Y’see, it’s like this. You’re a dryad. A dryad’s a kind of tree. He’s got an axe, and he’s the tree-lopper.”
“Fuck,” I said. “That almost makes sense. But it’s still ridiculous.” I paused a moment. “That little line of thinking wasn’t possibly spread around by our friend Hagard, was it?”
Big Nose ducked his head in embarrassment. “Might be. Might be. The little sot might o’ come back fer a few drinks last night, and told a tale or two…”
“Not like him much?” I asked.
“He’s a dick. For a dwarf, he’s a limp noodle, by-the-beard.”
“By the beard, eh? So who are you betting on?” I asked.
“Ain’t decided yet.” He grinned at me. “Really don’t like that boot-licker.”
“And if I tell you, by-my-beard…” I rubbed at my facial stubble. It was grey and sparse, but it was facial hair, right? “… that there’s no way that little rodent-fucker is going to best me, and you’d be wasting your money, better off spending it on a high elf lady who’ll never put out for you… well, you catch my drift?”
“By the beard! You ain’t got one!”
“You don’t say? Just because I don’t have a beard doesn’t mean I’m beardless!”
Our conversation had gotten a bit loud at this point, and a few were listening in.
“I… I…” Big Nose frowned and rubbed his face. “I never thought o’ it like that afore.” He stroked his own beard, which was long and black and sleek. “By the beard, he’s right. Ha!” he grunted. “Two zorb on the skinny drink o’ water!” The bookies looked up and quickly wrote that down. I could hear Big Nose chuckling and muttering, “Rodent-fucker… that’s a good one.”
Suddenly, there was a rush as the late-comers tried to make similar bets before the odds dropped. It seemed if Big Nose was going to back me, the others thought he might be onto something. A few chatted with me while I was warming up, stretching and skipping lightly on the spot, asking what my tactics were, how good was I with the staff, did I have a special strategy in mind, that kind of thing. I laughed and slapped a few backs, but avoided answering the questions. I was also offered more than a few beers— “It’ll put hairs on yer beard!” Of course, I declined.
Hagard arrived just on time with his weasely friend, trying to make a late, grand entrance. He held his arms out as if expecting the crowd to cheer, but most just nodded, saying “Hagard,” and “Luck ter ya.” They stood at the other end of the circle, the weasel-faced dwarf seeming to be giving Hagard advice, talking non-stop, while Hagard nodded, swung his arms, and jogged on the spot. Interesting—maybe that fellow was more than just a minion.
I also entered the ring, pleased to be getting a few back-slaps.
“Yer a good lad!”
“Knock ’is block off!”
It didn’t escape my notice that I was getting better support than Hagard, and going by his scowl, he was noticing also. We stood in the centre of the ring with Big Nose in between.
“All right, lads. Simmer down,” he hushed the crowd. “Now, you two. Yer determined to go through with this? To the death ain’t something to take lightly, aright? Take ’o moment to think about it.” He folded his massive arms over his chest. It was a serious question. One of us could really die here, and although I didn’t think it would be me, I knew that permanent death lurked around the corner. What if I was unlucky and I didn’t respawn? On the other hand, did I want Hagard’s death on my conscience if he died for good? I seriously thought about that, then just decided he would get what he deserved, whatever that ended up being. Let Isserad decide.
“So, what’ll it be, lads?”
He was still waiting for us, so I nodded slowly. “Yup.”
“Yes.”
“Foolish, but so it shall be. Do you have any words to say to each other?”
“Elf’s gonna die!” said Hagard.
I had something else in mind. I stepped in a bit closer and leaned forward. “I know your secret,” I said, pretending to whisper, but loud enough so that those closest to us could hear. “You’re not a real dwarf, beardless.” I was looking at the person behind those eyes, not the dwarf body. He wasn’t born a dwarf, so that meant there was a good chance he didn’t really feel like one. I didn’t think Hagard was really embracing all of that, and so I was trying to put him off, or at the least just insult him enough to make him angry and foolish. Hagard looked confused for a moment, sensing something, but then he just glared and growled, gripping his axe tightly. I stepped back and so did he, putting on his helmet.
“Ho! Woah!” I could hear behind me. “Them’s killin’ words.”
“What did he say?”
“What was that?”
“Not a real dwarf? What does he mean?”
“Take yer places, and on my mark, have at it.” Big Nose had a small animal horn in one hand. He stepped back to one side.
We could stand anywhere in the ring, as it was about fifteen metres across, so I took the very edge and Hagard did the same opposite me. He had his big axe out, the silver double axe-head glinting in the sun. He also had a pot helmet atop his head, an ugly-looking thing that would be hard to penetrate with my spear. He wore some kind of old steel breastplate and shoulder guards, and what looked to be leather and chain underlay for his leg-guards and boots. I could also see a couple of rings glinting on his fingers.
I waggled my fingers at him, showing that I had four while he only had two. I could see his eyes squinting through his helmet.
“On three,” Big Nose declared loudly. “One, two…” And he blew the horn.
I instantly activated Charge, but was suddenly slam-stopped midway. So had Hagard. Mutual stun! We stood there reeling a moment, trying to suck in a breath. Both of us had missed the first blows, but each damaged nonetheless. I recovered first, so I skipped back quickly, activating Breath of Life.
Hagard approached more cautiously now, his stance fairly deep and low to the ground. I took a light stance, wanting to be able to move quickly. If that axe-head hit me cleanly, I’d lose an arm or leg. Hagard tried feinting a few times, but I didn’t fall for it. I flicked out with my spear and scored him along one arm, splitting a few links of chain.
We began a game of cat and mouse, but in this case, the mouse gave worse than the cat. He just wasn’t fast enough, and his footwork was just too basic. Realizing the problem, Hagard kept trying to close, but I had more than enough room to dodge, attack, and retreat. I made sure to either v-step each time, or slide and pivot, so I wasn’t backing off into the crowd. It would take a few rounds before either of us could Charge again, but I de
cided that I wanted the fight to be over before that. I dropped a bit of defence and went at it.
He went for a big looping chop. I backed off. He tried short, vicious strikes and I sidestepped while he was flat-footed and kept scoring along his arms and legs and sides. He was getting more and more frustrated, as he couldn’t pin me down. “Stand still, you fucker!” A dozen different wounds bled, slowly sapping his health.
I just laughed and danced. A few more seconds of that, and Hagard was literally foaming at the mouth. He was just under half health while I was almost at full, with my one heal ticking over. I slowed down a bit and widened my stance, allowing Hagard to close a little, so he wound up for a big strike, feinted and managed to strike me cleanly with his haft to my chest, then punched me in the kidney.
Grunting from the pain, instead of backing off, I activated Frenzy, and before he could defend, I thrust the haft of my spear into the side of his pot-head three times in sharp, vicious circles. Critical hit and stun!
“And so ends rodent-fucker.” I thrust my spear through his chest and kept it there for a moment. The last of his health evaporated; he was gasping like a fish, eyes wide with pain. One bloody hand scrabbled at the shaft. “Bloody cheater…” And then he expired. I pulled the spear-head free with a wet shluck, and the body fell forward face-down. Victory!
Most of the dwarfs gave a cheer, while some groaned in disappointment and some looked sadly at Hagard’s body. “To the victor go the spoils,” said Big Nose, gesturing me toward the corpse. I had forgotten about that. No wonder the system prevented betting when you could already loot the body. I had to choose one item. As I looked over the body I saw:
+ Hagard Hagstrom +
/ Level 17 Warrior, Male Mountain Dwarf /
[Deceased, 59 minutes to Respawn]