by Shane Walker
“Well, interesting choice, Jack!” El exclaimed as she looked at my new weapon. “And you made a friend? Hello Nik. I’m disappointed you declined my training.”
“Sorry, El, but direct combat isn’t for m-me and only other Gnomes can teach the skills for my gadgets.” Nik responded.
Weird. He seems less nervous when talking to NPCs
“That seems to be the case, sir. While I cannot reveal another Adventurer’s vitals, his body language is remarkably different when talking to NPCs such as El.”
That’s what I thought, but maybe not something I should bring up to someone I just met.
“Well, this means I finished your first task, right?” I asked my trainer.
“Very true, and how clever of you to realize it was only your first!” she said with her now signature evil smirk.
Rogue 1 Complete!
Received: 50 XP, Short Sword x2, Basic Arm Crossbow
My XP bar briefly appeared in my vision showing I was half way to level 2. Not bad.
Rogue 2
Objective: Train with El
Reward: New Combat Skills
Accept: Yes/No
Yes!
I eagerly accepted the new quest with a smile on my face. And this will get me to level 2! “Oh, someone thinks this will be fun.” El said with a sinister grin. Without warning, El was attacking with the pommel of her sword right to my temple!
-5 HP
OUCH!
“What the hell?” I managed to get out while holding the side of my head.
“Don’t swear at me, human! You didn’t even try to avoid or interrupt the attack! Your head hurts because of you.” she said without the anger I’d expect from her words.
Almost like speaking to a child who did something stupid that you expected them to do, but you’re still disappointed by. Well, I certainly felt like an idiot.
“So that’s how you teach me? Hitting me first?” I asked, still aching from the hit.
Her sinister grin came back. “Of course. Now that you’ve been hit and injured, I’m absolutely certain you will do what you can to avoid the experience in the future!” Well, she certainly had a point.
“OK, what do I need to learn first?” I asked, noticing her smile became less sinister and more genuine.
“Well, let’s start with the worst option.” she said matter-of-factly.
“Why the worst first?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“So when we finish on the best, you’ll fully understand why it’s the best!” she gave me an almost cheesy grin. Painful though they were, her methods made sense in a sort of sadistic way.
“First, blocking.” she instructed. “Hold your sword out like this for a horizontal attack from outside. And bend at the elbow a little. You want it to have some give.” I did as instructed and she attacked with her blade.
-3 HP
-2 SP
Wait. Only 40% damage reduction AND I lost stamina? I did not care for that result.
“That’s correct, sir.” Alfred explained. “Blocking with a weapon will reduce damage taken, but the damage you avoided will come out of your stamina. Blocking with a shield provides further reduction at a better ratio depending on the shield.”
Right. Blocking is worst. Got it. I said. El’s logic made sense now.
“Not a bad block, but since you aren’t geared towards blocking it’s going to be inefficient. Try with two swords now.” El said, interrupting the aside between Alfred and I.
-1 HP
-3 SP
Better ratio, but still awful.
“OK, now I see why you said it was the worst option. No blocking for me.” I said as I shook the soreness out of my arm.
“Don’t completely discard it. It’s not the best option in almost literally any instance, but sometimes it’s your only option.”
I really couldn’t think of a situation where I would want to go through this. “Well, what’s the next option?” I really hoped it was a solid improvement.
“Parrying, of course! Similar concept, except instead of absorbing the force with your weapon, you’re going to use it to redirect my attack.” she said before immediately launching into another assault.
After a few failed attempts and some slight cuts, I finally managed a successful Parry.
-7 SP
While I certainly appreciated not taking damage, the stamina drain was fairly intense relatively speaking.
“I don’t know that I’m a big fan of that method, either.” I said as I watched my SP gauge slowly refill.
“Let me guess, too much stamina drain even though you don’t take damage? That’s because you’re using the wrong weapon for it. Still not your ideal defense.” she stated, matter-of-factly. I decided to take the cue
“And what, exactly, is my ideal defense?” I said, taking the bait. The sinister grin came back.
Uh-oh.
“That’s easy. Don’t get hit!”
After probably fifteen minutes of getting smacked with a sword (interrupted by several rest/healing breaks) I picked up my first skill!
New Skill!
Light Armor
Level 1
+1% Defense Increase/-1% Stamina Consumption (from movement) per Level
What does that mean, Alfred?
“It reduces stamina usage when running or climbing, but not attacking, defending, or dodging.”
Oh, good to know!
About 5 minutes later, I finally managed to avoid an attack without leaving myself even more open for the follow up.
-4 SP
“Yes!” I said with a fist pump.
I see now why she said this was best. No damage and less SP than a parry!
“Good job! Now attack.” I frowned at that.
“Exactly how am I supposed to do that?” I asked. It seemed impossible considering I was barely able to avoid her attacks, much less launch my own.
She shook her head in disappointment. “You’ve been watching me attack you with a short sword for half an hour and you haven’t picked up anything?” Well she had a point. I thought for a moment about her movements and how she held her sword and started doing my best to emulate it.
Not a single attack landed.
“Not bad. You won’t hit me like that, but you’re doing well. Now try with the other sword one after the other. The off-hand will feel awkward at first, but do your best to follow a similar motion.” she stated as if speaking to a small child trying to learn to write.
She basically said You’re going to suck at this so try not to suck too bad. On that, she was definitely right. My main hand missed by inches, but it felt like my off-hand missed by miles.
“It’s normal. Unfortunately dual-wielding is a very awkward style in the beginning, but maybe you’ll luck out and find something easier to hit for practice.” she said with a wink. With that, my next notifications appeared.
Rogue 2 Complete!
Received: 50 XP, Short Swords, Dual-Wielding, Block, Parry, Dodge
New Skill!
Short Swords
Level 1
+1% Chance to Hit/+1% Damage per level
New Skill!
Dual-Wielding
Level 1
+1% Off-Hand Chance to Hit/+1% Attack Speed per level
New Skill!
Block
Level 1
+1% Chance to Block/ -1% Stamina Drain per level
New Skill!
Parry
Level 1
+1% Chance to Parry per level
New Skill!
Dodge
Level 1
+1% chance to Dodge per level
LEVEL UP!
You have reached Level 2
You are awarded the following:
+3 Agility
+5 Intellect
+1 Endurance
+5 Free Attribute Points
Woo!
“Now keep in mind, you’re going to learn tons of new skills just by trying to do whatever it is you’re t
rying to learn. EXCEPT primary weapon skills. You’re going to need a trainer for that. And I swear to the gods I will cry if you find someone else to train you in a weapon I can teach.” El explained with a wink. Somehow, I still didn’t think crying would be the real end result.
Alright, finally got my first Level Up points. Alfred, any suggestions? I asked, unsure of what route to take.
“Well, sir, your Intellect should grow quite well on its own based on your class and Traits. You also have a significant boost to Agility. I would suggest Strength and Constitution for now. This provides a boost to damage AND survivability that will serve you well early on. Additionally, higher end equipment will have certain minimum requirements to equip effectively.” he explained.
Fair enough. Let’s go with three Strength and two Vitality. I decided, adding the points and ending up somewhat disappointed I didn’t see bigger immediate gains. I guess it was to be somewhat expected after just a single level of stat gains. The boost to Stamina was more substantial considering I gained an increase in SP from two stats that increase every level.
“Well, guess you’re itching to try these new skills out, yeah?” El broke me out of my min-max reverie. “Hope so, because you’re next quest is to practice. However, it’s up to you to figure out what to practice on.”
Rogue 3
Objective: Raise Short Swords skill to 5, Dual-Wielding skill to 5, and at least one defense skill to 5
Bonus Objective: Raise all defense skills to 5
Reward: 100 XP, Class Weapon (??? for Bonus Objective)
Accept: Yes/No
Yes. Who wouldn’t want new weapons? I honestly don’t even know why it asks.
Turn on Auto-Accept for quests? (You can turn this feature off or modify which quests to accept later)
Yes/No
YES! Thankful for the mind-reading, I then turned my attention to Nik.
“Alright, let’s get you some nerd powers and find me a place to kill shit!” I said, rubbing my hands together eagerly.
“Wait.” Nik said in alarm. “N-n-nerd powers?”
4-Day Trading
“W-well, I have to gather some materials for practicing my craft.” Nik said as he listed his quest requirements. “I’ve been told there are a few places to find the types of wood I need, there’s a f-flower that grows in the forest used as a catalyst, but there’s only one place to get i-iron.
“My mentor said there’s a mine, but wouldn’t tell me where it is. He said I couldn’t handle it by myself.” Nik told me, looking at his feet for the last bit. I really need to help him with his confidence.
“Well, you’ve got me now, man. Let’s go talk to your teacher. Where is he?” I asked.
“Mayor’s house.” Nik replied curtly.
“He lives with the mayor?” I replied, hoping for more information.
“He is the mayor.” Nik clarified.
This could turn out profitable! Nik was training under the mayor. Maybe this would be a good time to get in good with him? I’d heard that, unlike the static quests and NPCs of old MMOs, NPCs in The Realms were almost identical to real people. They have their own motivations and goals and could be reasoned with and worked with in a much more dynamic way than just reputation points.
“Well, let’s go talk to the mayor!” I said with a grin and walked off. Nik struggled with what to say before realizing I was leaving him behind, so he sprinted to catch up.
We walked the short (I swear it isn’t a pun) distance across the Gnome village to the mayor’s house. Letting Nik lead the way, he knocked three times in an unusual pattern before opening the door and entering. Well, at least it wasn’t “Shave and a Haircut.”
“Nik! How are you my boy? Oh, and I see you brought a companion!” the Gnome said as he heartily greeted my new friend. He was about the same height as Nik, but chubbier and with much much whiter hair-well, the parts that weren’t singed were whiter. Now that I was looking, everything was a little singed. His clothing seemed to be purely functional. A leather apron that had been patched many times over and was covered in burns.
He seemed dangerous, but not in the “kill you in your sleep without making a sound” way. No, he was more of the “level a city block while trying to invent a new type of pencil sharpener” kind of dangerous.
“Poppil, this is my new friend Jack. He’s agreed to help me with my Artificer quest!” Nik said, rather proudly. Poor guy must not make lots of friends. I thought to myself.
“Hello, Poppil. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Nik said something about needing to go into a mine?” I asked in hopes of probing for information. “If I had to guess, it has a monster problem that needs cleared up. That’s why you didn’t want Nik to go alone, right?”
Poppil tapped the side of his nose and grinned at me. “Yes, yes. That is exactly the problem, young man! Our friend Nik here seems to be a natural when it comes to tinkering and inventing, but not quite the go-getter when it comes to a fight.” Nik seemed to be blushing at the backhanded compliment, only to perk up and stare at me curiously. I guess he just realized it never dawned on Poppil had so little faith in his combat abilities.
“So, what individually-weak-but-dangerous-in-large-numbers type of monster are we expecting?” That earned me a big, toothy grin.
“Kobolds, my boy! Place is overrun with them! We haven’t been able to mine proper in years! If you’d...thin the herd, so to speak, I’d greatly appreciate it. Usually clearing out the first level of the mine buys us some time to be able to go in and mine for a bit before they have enough numbers to take it back.”
Rogue 3 Updated!
Mayor Poppil has asked you to protect the Adventurer Nik while he gathers materials for crafting. Kobolds sound like good target practice, too! Clear the top floor for Poppil for an extra reward!
“Sorry if it’s a stupid question, but why not completely clear out the mine so that it can be fully operational?” I said and a glimmer of...hope, I think, showed in his eyes.
“Honestly, we assumed Adventurers such as yourselves wanted to get to the big cities as quickly as possible!” he said, shocked at the sudden shift in the conversation. “To answer your question, though, if you could clear out everything there you’d have the option to take it over! You’d own it and be entitled to all profits the mine generated. We could supply guards and miners, but their pay would come out of your earnings.”
Miner Threat (Hidden Quest)
Objective: Clear all Kobolds and Claim the Mine!
Reward: Gnometheran Iron Mine, The Respect of the Gnomes, More Complicated Tax Forms
Note: As a Hidden Quest, you cannot accept or refuse. Not completing the Quest will not have a directly negative impact on your character.
Alfred, what the hell are Hidden Quests?
“They are quests available to any player who asks the right questions or looks in the right places, but are not readily known to be available. Generally the reward is much higher than standard quests.” he explained.
That makes sense, especially if the mine can be used to generate income.
“Sounds like it’s mutually beneficial to clean the whole thing out and take back the mine. How do you know they won’t simply resp...come back?” Oops. I figured role-play would be helpful when dealing with these NPCs. Plus, it just seemed to feel right talking to them as though it’s all real.
“Well, son, as long as it isn’t a proper dungeon, once they’re gone, they’re gone. Only a dungeon can refill itself with monsters if they’re completely wiped out.” Good to know.
“Alright then. If you’d be so kind as to mark the mine location on a map or something, we’ll be on our way!” I said to the mayor, eager to get started.
Nik, who was apparently taking all this in at a pace of about 75% of the conversational speed Poppil and I kept, apparently realized right that very second that he was going to have to fight stuff. How can someone possibly be that scared of kobolds?
Poppil marked the mine as about being about a
30 minute walk, assuming you weren’t a species that capped out at around 3’11”. Knowing where we were going and exactly what route we were taking, it was time for some shopping.
Wait. Alfred, how much gold do I have?
“None, sir.”
Well...fuck.
“Nik, I need a favor...” At this point, a normal person would take the pregnant pause as a cue to ask what the favor is. Nik took the pregnant pause as a cue to stare at me like I was speaking Martian and his universal translator had broken. Maybe he just never really talks to people that much? I thought to myself. I hope this doesn’t last forever with him.
“Have you made any gold since you started?” A quick shake of the head and some blinking brought him out of whatever dazed state the beginning of a normal conversation had left him in. “50 gold. Why?” he responded. It seemed like whatever was going on with him earlier was over.