Cearbhail:
Ok, so on a better note. I prepared this a week ago. It's the first chapter for Ruins & Dwarves Online. You get to see it here first. I will work on the other chapter premiers for Changing Fates and Chronicles of Untold Tales later, once I update the other stuff. So...
If you can guess who this is, when this is... and why this is... you will get a brownie point. As in... if you know who this main character really is, great for you. shouldn't be too hard to figure out. They already exist.
=^^= Enjoy...
[Cmotti45] 4e 311, 12th Frostfall
Welcome to Ruins & Dwarves Online!
That's what the screen floating in front of me said. Ruins & Dwarves Online, huh? I should have guessed this game would open up with something like that. With the rumors of a girl losing her consciousness in this game and becoming nothing more than a shell of a person out here in the real world, as well as the recorded 28 people suddenly dying while playing this game, a lot of people were turned off from playing this game. A lot of people believed the rumors, the reports of 28 dead players, and a lot of people thought it wasn't worth the risk of playing this game. But… I don't believe rumors, but I do love a challenge. And if there is a risk of people dying in this game, I need to find out for myself. And if it were not for my friend in school, I wouldn't even bother with this game. She was afraid to enter it alone, I'm just here to support her through her missions. I couldn't talk her out of playing, and she didn't want to go in alone… so… I thought I'd come and join her. We're both creating our characters tonight and finding out what we can from this game. After all… one of our friends was in this game, and he's in a coma now. We want to know why.
I pushed the illusionary enter button. Man… we have some awesome gaming equipment nowadays. My parents had to use a spell that created an illusionary experience… with dice and stuff. Pfff!
Before we begin, we have a special message from Ruins & Dwarves Online Company President Sugihara Shimigoto.
Wow, the company president? That's something. I knew about him; he was a strong Dwemer man adopted by an Akavir family, famous in the new illusionary gaming company Imagination Illumination Corporation. And here he was, appearing in front of me, floating in the little white space I occupied. "Thank you for purchasing and supporting Ruins & Dwarves Online. Now, before you create your character and sign in, I would like to take this time to answer a few of the obvious questions that may be floating around in your brain. First off, I would like to dismiss the claims of a little girl losing her mind to an improper link session with her virtual illuminator headset. This girl running around the game, claiming to be lost in the game, is a glitch in the system: she is nothing but code. However, she is code that we cannot delete for obvious reasons, and she has adopted the background story of a simple girl getting lost in the game. The obvious reason being that this code supports a massive structure within the game. She is part of the main quest, and because she helps the players with their quests, she had to adapt a personality of someone they could relate to. As for the glitch part, she can only be completely restored to her default setting upon winning the main campaign in Ruins & Dwarves Online. No one has survived the last mission, and it's all or naught. Up until that point, you could restore and resume your quests… but once you enter the final dungeon, your account becomes gambled. Lose… and you lose everything to us."
Wow… so those rumors about the little girl were not so fake after all, or the stories about players' profiles becoming digital garbage after entering the final dungeon. So, there was actually a girl running around in the game claiming to be lost. But… she was a glitching character, not an actual person. That made it a lot easier for me to stay here and play this game.
"Now, to point out a little piece of advice… Notice the Logout Button in your menu screen. To open your menu screen, you only need to push the menu button on your wrist device. On the screen you will notice several tabs that can be selected. Logout will be in the Options menu."
I looked down at my wrist. There was a small button. When I tapped it, an illusionary device popped up giving me several options for what to do… character menu, map, friends, journal, and options. I opened up the Options menu, looking for the logout button. I could see it right under difficulty setting.
"The difficulty can be changed at any time. The difficulty can be changed at any time, even during battle, but the difficulty will determine where in the game you can go. As you advance, the difficulty will need to be adjusted. As you level up, you will need to advance your difficulty in order to access new regions and new upgrades, as well as new perks. It is not necessary to lower your difficulty to travel back to previous areas. You'll find lowering your difficulty in weaker areas will hinder your growth as well as your loot. It is also worth mentioning that the higher your difficulty is, the more risk you put into playing, the higher your reward in both experience and loot. If your logout button is not showing up for any reason at all, please push the help button. If that is missing as well, you will need to contact the local guards. Please note that dying will not force you to log out but may put your character in forced suspension for a while. If you're unable to disconnect from Ruins & Dwarves Online at any time, please contact the Online Help. If you become stuck in a glitch, please consult your map. In the map there is a 'get me unstuck' button you can push. When you push it, the game will teleport you back to a specific shrine for the price of up to 40 gold, or for free to the first location you arrived to in the region."
So… there was a problem after all. Everything he just said, it said nothing but… do this if something bad happens. You only need to say stuff like that when there have been problems in the past. And… I wonder how many people had problems logging out before, or getting stuck.
"I would once again like to thank you for purchasing and supporting Ruins & Dwarves Online. Please be advised that glitches are commonplace and reaction time between you and other players might be because of faulty Wi-Fi connection. If you're in a match against an opponent that is lagging, it is common practice to wait the lag out and wait for their character to cease glitching. Most lagging lasts only a few seconds at a time, usually in areas of high traffic. Please avoid combat within towns. There are selected zones of combat in each main area, as well as a tournament tower within each major town. One last thing I would like to acknowledge the use of the virtual illuminator headset…" He paused as he tried to think of what he was going to say. I had a pretty good idea what he was going to mention. "While you are in game, your mind is separated from your body. This device has been tested countless times to ensure the player's safety while using the headset. While you reside in game, your body shall remain in a dreamlike state, breathing and the such. In fact, you could play while you sleep… making virtual reality your dreamland. And that is my intention… in a world controlled by the chaotic hustle and bustle of advancing towards a better tomorrow, I want only to allow people to enjoy a good fantasy, a good relaxation from the real world. And with that…" He bowed to me. "I welcome you to Ruins &Dwarves Online. Please advance to your character creation. Our smart II, Illusionary Intelligence, will assist you with any and all questions you could ever wish to ask. Enjoy your stay, and please remember to log out every few hours to stretch your legs, empty your bladder, eat some food… and have a real social life." He shook his head lightly, like he was joking about the last thing.
The Dwemer president vanished, leaving me alone in a room. A giant mirror appeared in front of me, which let me see my reflection. I could tell that I was nothing but a standing generic mannequin: featureless, texture less. I guess that would change as I created my character. "Ok… so…" I looked around the room. "I need assistance." I called to the white nothingness.
A bunch of pixels appeared from nowhere, forming around a box-like structure. The pixels vanished as a short Khajiit stepped out of the pixels. "Hiya!" The Khajiit said to me with a wave. "I'm…well… I guess I don't have a name. Odd…" She scratched the top of her head in confusion. She finally shrugged, looking at me. "Well, I do know this: I am the game's Smart II, as in Illusionary Intelligence. Just call me Smart, everyone else does. So… what do you need help with?"
I looked towards the mirror. "What exactly am I doing?" I gestured to my body. "I mean… I'm creating my character, right?"
Smart nodded. "Yup. There are currently…25 races you can choose from, and we're adding more every month or so. Some races are locked until you reach a certain level. With each ten levels, new races will become unlockable. All forms of elves, fairies, beast races, and humans ever known are currently selectable. Some of the unlockable races include Half-Giants, goblins, and Cathay-raht. All classes are available to each race, excluding race-specific classes like firedrakes and shadowwraiths. Seeing as these classes are seen as generic mages, they have the same stats as the mage class, but different beginner robes, starting spells, and unlockable feats. Everything else beyond that is up to the player. We, here at RDO, believe that each character should be allowed to unlock whatever skills they need to unlock to survive. That being said, you are allowed to have two main classes, or create your own custom class. If you do that… you cannot multi-class. And as for races, each race has different stats, different racial perks, and different racial abilities."
Wow… that was a lot of stuff to choose from. "How many characters can I create?"
"Up to three to start with." Smart tapped her chin like she was thinking. "When you reach level 10, you can upgrade to have four. And once you reach level 10, you can also travel to the warzone, where you will fight against the other armies to claim the throne." The throne? What exactly was this game about anyway?
"Warzone?"
She shook her head. "You don't know? The capital of Cyrodiil is currently being sacked by Daedra. Many different armies are fighting against each other to reclaim the capital. This was not the expected outcome when the game was created… these war guilds are real-life players taking control of the game. All areas are available to all players; however… you should be warned that these armies will attack anyone not in their guild. And guild battles are commonplace. If you join a war guild… such as the Blood Oath… when you go to the warzone, your guild becomes your army. Each guild based on their size has a headquarters and surrounding controlled land. The only way to win the game is to beat the Necromage… Nrillia the Goddess of Rebirth, who resides in a floating island above the capital, and the only way in… is the throne room. Only the Emperor and his chosen army may advance to the final round. And if the Emperor dies… the game goes on. And more people will fight to become the Emperor and take the fight to Nrillia. No one has been able to kill her yet. And so far 28 Emperors have been slain and their guild members were exiled from the game."
Ok… so… there's a lot to this game. 28 Emperors were killed… and that matched the number of people mysteriously dying. Exiled from the game… I wonder if those were the players ending up in comas. It's probably farfetched but… that's the best I got right now. The more I heard, the more I wanted to leave. And… people were dying playing this. People were getting stuck in comas playing this. And… my friend was playing this when he ended up in a coma. And now… Eydis and I were playing this. I couldn't let her do this alone. I had to help. "So…" I looked back at my mannequin's faceless expression. I looked like a moving dummy. "Tell me about races." I'm a fucking idiot for going on with this plan of ours. I hated Eydis for talking me into getting this game. If I die… I'm seriously never going to talk to her ever again after this.
Smart shook her head in disbelief. "Can you try to explain your question?"
"Well, I'm looking for a balanced race. I'm new to playing these so… I want an average character." I looked back at the mirror.
She face-palmed. "There is no such thing! Each race is unbalanced for a reason. Orcs are really strong but lack mobility; Khajiits have mobility but lack strength; Elves have a lot of magicka but low HP. Humans have more HP but less magicka. Bretons are in the middle."
"Breton, huh?" I looked over at her. "So, is that balanced?"
She shook her head. "More like unbalanced, in the worst way. Because they have an average between magicka and health, they have less of both than the other races when it comes to that respect; plus some amount of strength loss and weakness to magicka. Only idiots choose Bretons, as far as I'm concerned. Or really advanced players that know how to account for those weaknesses with feats and enchantment buffs. Those are the really strong powerhouses of this game. But then… they don't match up to other strong characters in other races."
Ok, so… Breton was not a good idea. I'd probably be too weak to help out. I don't really know what I'm doing so… what should I be looking for? "Ok then. How about this? I joined this game to help out my friend who wants to do these quests and whatnot. What race is good for assists?"
Smart shrugged. "Depends on the friend's character. I cannot say who this person is… what their race or class is, even if you gave me their contact information. So, sorry. You will have to make this decision. …" She paused as she looked at me. "You… you don't like to fight much, do you?"
I shrugged. "Well, you know. I studied some sword fighting with my dad, and magicka from my mom. So… I'm pretty good with the concept of both. But…"
She smirked. "I would like to point out the special racial ability of Imperials. They have a special power called the Voice of the Emperor. It adds a lot of Charisma points to your character, and gives you the chance to talk your way out of conflict, excluding most bosses. It can save you in ambush situations with bandits and even necromancers. I feel this way of fighting suits you: talking your way through negotiations, giving inspiring speeches to your allies. Imperials make natural bards."
"Bards, huh?" A class I'm pretty familiar with. I've read about them in the journals of the olds. Emperor Asger Stonearm used to be a bard… before becoming High King. "So, what's combat with bard like anyway?"
"No physical combat. They use their spiritual abilities of performance and speech to enhance other characters. They also have light weaponry, some spell capabilities… not much though. Make a nice light healer perhaps." Not good enough for me to play as then.
"Well… I want something that can use swords and magicka. Pretty balanced."
She smirked. "Spellsword or Battlemage? If you're Imperial, that's what they'd be called. Add in the multi-class Bard, you will get that bardic boost that will let you use basic bardic abilities such as Empowering Speech. Just two levels will be all you need to get your basic bard on. You start off as level three, and each time you level up, you get to choose which Class you upgrade the next level, allowing you new skills is each Class."
That sounded pretty good. "So, being Imperial will give me a boost to my Bard class, using my Voice of the Emperor to boost my empowering speeches and diplomatic abilities?" Smart nodded. "So, if I level up more as a battlemage, I'll have more access to blade skills and magicka skills, while not losing much in my bardic skills." Smart nodded again. "Ok then… I think I have that pretty much figured out."
Smart smiled. With a flick of her finger, my mannequin transformed into a basic Imperial setup. "Ok, now you just have to set up your character's structure and your skill points for your new class. I took the liberty of setting up your Battlemage and Bard multiclass. Would you like to name your new multiclass?"
I thought about it. Then I smiled. "How about… Soulsword? Like the old Crimson Blades with their Soulic arts."
Smart nodded. "Name recorded. Now please, if you will…" A list appeared in front of me, displaying a list of information. "Please add your following information. This will help other players know your contact information as well as your character's parameters. You will notice the sheet is a little… different to the ones I'm sure you're used to seeing by now."
So… I looked it over.
Ruins & Dwarves Online Character Sheet
Player Account Name:
Character Name:
Race: Imperial
Class: Soulsword
Age:
Skin/scales/fur color:
Hair color:
Eye color:
Size:
Fears:
Hates:
Likes:
Preferred enemies:
For Guild/Friend List purposes: (These may be left empty)
I-mail address:
Crystal ball frequency:
So… it didn't look too different. I never needed to fill in my account information though. That was new, but I guess it would help when you needed to message someone out-game. So… I filled it out.
Ruins & Dwarves Online Character Sheet
Player Account Name: Cmotti45
Character Name: Alistar
Race: Imperial
Class: Soulsword
Age: 16
Skin/scales/fur color: Colovian skin tone, light tan
Hair style/color: short, five inches long, loose; light auburn.
Eye color: Green
Size: 5'9''
For next questions pick three from list
Fears: Spiders, Trolls, ghosts
Hates: Ogres, assassins, black market
Likes: animals, plants, soldiers
Preferred enemies: Bandits, assassins, undead.
Knowledgeable in: Destruction, Restoration, Longsword
For Guild/Friend List purposes: (These may be left empty)
I-mail address: Cmotti45*WD/class
Crystal ball frequency: SKY-221-5679
…
As I filled in the information, more things began to change for my character. The skin tone was selectable and filled in the text once I finished it, as with my hair. I got to extend it to a length that reminded me of my own hair, but I did play with the coloring a bit. I think I liked it auburn. Not sure yet. My character's size changed as I adjusted it to where I wanted it. The age helped make my character look closer to my own age. And once I got past all that, I began working on my basic clothing.
"So, you can change your clothing as you buy and dye it. If you can a Drawing skill and a crafting table, you can actually add your own personal clothes to the game. It is common practice for people to take pictures of their actual clothes and use our in-game 3D printer to scan them into the game to the size of their characters. It's really amazing…" There was a flash of light and Smart's long white dress vanished, being replaced by an average red hoodie and cargo pants. "I think the characters helping to make this game more enjoyable are just the best. One of my friends crafted this hoodie for me. I love it so much…" She hugged herself.
"Wait… you're in the game?" I asked the Khajiit.
She smiled, nodding. "I may be an II, but I'm still a character. I like observing you mortals, what you can do. I learn a lot by watching." She pointed over to the character screen. "All that's left for you is to select your skills. You're level three and can choose three Class points. One class point is pretty much a level for your character. Each point, or level, will help you advancing to unlocking skills you can use to upgrade spells and whatnot. As a battlemage, your being knowledgeable in Destruction and Restoration allow you to select up to Apprentice level spells in those fields, and knowledge in longsword allows you to begin with an elven sword, as well as some unlockable skills like Deflect, and Ultimate Thrust. These skills are only unlockable to people knowledgeable in longsword. So… good for you."
So… I selected two levels for Battlemage and one level for Bard. I had six skill points to spend in Battlemage, and three for Bard. Huh… ok… three points per level up. "So, why three points per level up? Won't that ruin the fun of unlocking new things?"
She shook her head. "There are a lot of skills… and they're all upgradable. Your skills will become stronger based on how much you use your skills. And the stronger a skill becomes the more unlockable skill perks you can get. Like Destruction. The more you practice that skill, the more advanced spells that become available to you, and branch offs you can upgrade to even for your basic spell. It takes up to five skill points to upgrade a spell to a new one… as in you can either strengthen the way it is… or adapt it to become something more to your suiting. I expect you'll be able to figure that out on your own. But…" She walked closer to me, smiling devilishly at me. "You can always call on me to help you decide. I'm pretty purrsuasive." She meowed to me, waving her hand like an anime cat character.
I sighed as I turned back to the skills list. I wanted something for Destruction and Restoration. I wanted to be able to heal my friend Eydis, as well help defend her against attackers. So, I filled in what I thought was pretty good. A standard fire spell called Minor Firebolt; and two healing spells, Healing Touch, and Heal. One for me, one for her. I put two ranks of each into that. And two ranks into Minor Firebolt. There… that's pretty balanced. I didn't have any advanced sword abilities, but I'm pretty good at sword play so I can counter that with my own experience… I hope.
I put my Bard skill ranks into Voice of the Emperor, giving me a hefty boost in my ability to use my Imperial diplomacy skill tree.
I nodded as my character had just about become complete. "So… is that all I need to know?"
She nodded. "Yes. And now… welcome to Oblivion." She gave me a good push, and I was suddenly falling into a hole in the ground. I watched as I fell into the darkness, seeing her standing above the hole, waving goodbye to me. I felt the wind take me… and then nothing but darkness and the roaring air all around me. I quickly summoned up my player menu, selecting Options. I looked for the Logout… but… it wasn't there. Oh no… was this a trap? Was I just another player that would be mentioned in the news of going into a coma after entering this game? Oh gods… I sure hope not.
Cearbhail:
So, this is officially the first chapter for this story. I might tweek the ending somehow, but we'll see.