Previously on Harry Potter and the Inquisitor's Game:
Then the door opened and a tall broad shouldered man stepped through, dressed in heavy plate armour covered in glowing runic symbols that Harry was sure Hermione would have loved to look at in great detail. The man was at least 6 foot tall with short cut black hair and well defined features, casting Harry a look of appraisal before speaking in a deep baritone that somewhat reminded Harry of some of the aurors he had met before things went to hell.
"So, you are the Child who defeated the so called 'Lord of Tradition', I must admit I was expecting you to be a little taller." Without giving Harry the opportunity to reply the man took his seat on the opposite side of the ornate desk and opened one of the drawers. "I am Captain Hargrove of the Inquisition's British task force and I am here to complete your first official census testing, couldn't have you with the rest of the magicals in case one of the traditionalists tried to take revenge again." The word again made Harry wonder quite how different this world's history was for him if he had already been targeted at least once. The man pulled out a thick dossier and an odd looking crystal ball that seemed to have a constellation of stars in it.
"Put your hand on the power crystal and then we can start the questions whilst it takes a reading of your magic potential and health." Not really knowing what was going on, Harry did as he was told, only for everything to grey out and freeze as capital letters appeared over the desk.
Welcome to Character Creation!
Chapter 2: Character Creation and Tutorial
The character creation process, what did that mean? Was this another part of the 'game' that he had to take part in? Harry didn't know but there was no time to question it as the screen changed to one filled with a list of Stats and numbers.
Attributes: Primary characteristics of your character (3 is average for a Level 1 human child at 10 years old.)
Your primary characteristics are in essence the character in their most basic form, influencing your ability to perform activities and actions in the real world. Some characteristics have a direct impact on the character's abilities or health, whilst others are more passive and related to options that can be made available to the character in the course of the adventure.
Strength: 3 + -
Strength determines your characters physique, high strength means more damage with melee weapons, higher carrying capacity of items in backpack and is a prerequisite for most weapons and armour. Also impacts on a number of skills such as climbing, swimming and challenges related to heavy objects/feats of strength
Perception: 3 + -
Perception focusses on the characters senses, at high levels of Perception the character can perceive objects that are smaller and further away with much more ease and senses are heightened to pick up the slightest movement or sound, as well as increasing the characters ability to react to new situations and conversations. This gives major bonuses for Awareness, Observation, Search, ranged fighting skills and minor bonuses for other skills such as persuasion.
Endurance: 3 + -
Endurance relates to the characters stamina and ability to take a hit and keep on moving. High Endurance means higher hp and stamina boosts at level up and base stats as well as contributing to damage resistance, Athletic based skills and magic resistance. Has a minor effect on inventory capacity and is a requirement for some potions and enchantments.
Intelligence: 3 + -
Intelligence is not just about the characters I.Q but relates to the speed at which the character can comprehend new ideas and data, also contributes to the number of skill points that are gained every level and their learning rate of spells and techniques. Influences the amount of mp gained per level up and base hp.
Wisdom: 3 + -
Wisdom is the measure of a character's 'sense' both tactically and in terms of avoiding 'foot in mouth situations'. Contributes to skills such as etiquette, negotiation and appraisal and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices. Also influences mp recovery rate.
Agility: 3 + -
Agility makes you nimbler and more likely to avoid those rather troublesome killing curses, as well as other varieties of life ending problems. Higher agility means that you move faster and have a better chance of dodging attacks, as well as influencing skills such as duelling, Athletic related skills and other skills and feats related to coordination and reflexes.
Charisma: 3 + -
Charisma is a measure of your characters general social aptitude, higher Charisma values mean that the character has a better chance of being well liked and succeeding in conversation challenges. It also contributes to Speech and social skills and is a prerequisite for some quest/conversation choices.
Luck: 3 + -
Luck is the attribute of probability and fate, not only does Luck increase the number of skill points randomly by up to half of the total luck stat (rounded down), each Luck point has a small chance of being included beneficially to every skill or attribute challenge and improves your luckiness in general. It also increases the chances of critical strikes in combat and is a requirement for certain feats.
Available Points:
3 for being Level 1
1 for being second game attempt
1 from completing the Triwizard Tournament
Total: 5 Points to spend.
Given that nothing seemed to be happening around him in the time Harry had read this rather confusing list of information, Harry had to assume that he had all the time in the world to come to a decision in regards to what he would do. With 5 points and 8 stats he would have to choose which stats to improve carefully. He dismissed the idea of overly specialising in one characteristic straight away, whilst it would give him an almost superhuman boost to things related to that one skill, given the sort of dragon dung his previous life had thrown at him in all its various shapes and types Harry didn't want to leave any of these attribute tests the thing seemed to repeatedly mention to anything that was 'average' for his age.
Endurance was the first attribute to receive a point, in his mind anything that increased his health and damage resistance was a good thing and improved his chances of not dying. Charisma was next, Harry had more than enough of being the public's whipping dog when anything went wrong and if this stat improved his social abilities then if it happened again he might actually be able to do something about it. Also it might help him make friends and allies sooner, which given his probably 'destiny' of fighting Voldemort again meant it probably wasn't a bad idea.
That thought lead to his next two choices, one in wisdom and one in intelligence, having Hermione as a friend had very quickly shown him how knowing more was almost always an advantage on the battlefield and if he still had Hogwarts ahead of him he assumed there would be a lot of things related to learning that he would need to complete. He sat there for some time weighing up where to put his last point and seeing as he didn't know what would be the sort of things he would encounter in the near future and therefore which stat might be the most useful. In the end he decided to add a point to luck as it seemed to be the most versatile stat as it could apply itself to any one of these checks he might face, whatever they were. As he pushed the plus button for luck the screen flashed once more and changed to a short simple sentence.
Attribute Points allocated; do you wish to continue?
Yes No
Knowing that if he said no he could think about the point's allocation until the end of time, Harry pressed the Yes button before he could change his mind. The Screen then changed to another rolling text with several options attached to it.
Titles, Backgrounds, Families and Perks:
Backgrounds are the possible histories that the character can have relating to the period between Voldemort's attack and character creation. Each background will have bonuses to the characters skills or attributes as well as allowing the character to gain knowledge relating to various things. (Warning, some choices will invalidate some adopted family options on the next screen.)
Backgrounds:
Inquisition Raised:
With one of their most vocal and dangerous opponents falling that fateful night when the Inquisition was stretched to its limit, many of the more faithful members of the Inquisition hierarchy took this as a miracle of God and moved to raise the child responsible so that he could uphold the Inquisitions tenants and protect the Earth from demons and dark lords alike once the character was grown. Some called what they were doing was making a child into a weapon rather than a human being, but there are those that will always argue that the results are sometimes worth the cost.
Gives: (+2 End, +1 Strength, -1 Ag, -2 Wis, -20 to conversation challenges with neutral or traditionalist families, increased hostility from Pocket creatures and traditionalist enemies. Invalidates Foster family choice screen.)
Traditionalist Raised:
Whilst Voldemort opposed the Inquisition, there were many in the traditionalist ranks who thought him as dangerous as the order if not more so. The fact that the self-styled lord fell to a child meant that the child was marked by the fates to be something great, perhaps the leader that the traditionalists needed to unite them against those that would destroy their way of life. As such the child was removed from the wreckage of Voldemort's assault before the Inquisition could muster its forces, raised in the old ways and hidden from the outside world in order not to alert the Inquisition of the child's existence.
Gives: (+2 Int, +1 Per, -1 Cha, -1 Wis +5 to magical knowledge (Old ways, Magical History, Rituals), Gain trait [Socially isolated] (-5 to all social interactions related to what is considered common social knowledge, -10 when related to the Inquisition), -5 to all muggle knowledge skills. Invalidates Foster family choice screen.)
Foster Family raised (Loving):
The child's parents made it clear in their will who was to look after the child and neither side dared to oppose such a wish as it would give the other side the advantage. Thus the child was raised by the families chosen guardian and received a loving and nurturing childhood, though not entirely without danger due to attacks by traditionalists and more radical factions in the still volatile situation, not to mention the constant and often unwanted inquisition presence in his life.
Gives:(+1 Int, +1 Charisma, -1 End, +5 to 2 chosen skills, -5 in conversations with both Traditionalists and Inquisition. Foster Family chosen from details about family.)
Foster Family raised (Isolated):
The child's parent's wishes were invalidated due to events removing any possibility of the chosen guardians being able to look after the child. Therefore the child was raised by a party that was related to either the Inquisition or the Traditionalists, a family that resented the child being forced upon them for political reasons. Therefore the child grew up with the hate of his family rather than love, meaning he had few friends or understanding of love, but the hardness of life with the hatred of those around him has taught several vital lessons that could prove advantageous in the long run.
(+2 Ag, +1 Wis, -1 Charisma, -1 End, Foster Family Screen available and more benefits available from there.)
Harry couldn't help but wonder who the hell had come up with all of this, they certainly had put far too much effort into coming up with different things for him to think about without any help. The last option sounded a lot like his previous childhood at the Dursleys, something he would not inflict upon himself again in a million years, so that was out. Whilst the first two options seemed to give him some powerful bonuses they also seemed to have powerful negatives attached to them, whilst the third option not only offered him the chance at a loving family but also a fairly balanced set of bonuses. Not that it matter particularly to Harry, at this point he almost wanted to just hurry things along so that he could get out of there. Selecting the Foster Family [Loving] Option, Harry almost groaned when the next screen came up.
Family:
The child had to have parents, that much is a given fact of life, the question of who they are though is up to the character.
Choose Father:
James Potter (+5 Transfiguration, +5 Charm)
Sirius Black (+5 Duelling, +5 Charm)
Remus Lupin (+1 level physical resistance, Gain trait [Lycan Blood])
Peter Pettigrew (+5 sneak, +5 Awareness)
Lucius Malfoy (+5 dark arts, +5 Authority)
Severus Snape (+5 Duelling, +5 Potions)
Rubeus Hagrid (+1 Size modifier, +1 Str, Gain trait [Giant Blood])
Albus Dumbledore (Invalid for the World of Light)
Grindelwald (Invalid for the World of Light)
Well this was easy, despite the fact there was the opportunity to have someone else as his dad and then actually meet James Potter, Harry had to admit that given the option of picking a parent to aspire to off that list there was no choice in the matter, he certainly wasn't going to be the spawn of Lucius Malfoy, even if it did mean that he wouldn't have to deal with him again due to Voldemort killing him. Picking James Potter, the words changed and he found himself looking at the list of possible mothers, only for anger to build up inside of him for the first time since the start of this whole affair as he read the first line of options.
Choose Mother:
Lily Evans (Invalid for this play through, character is the wrong age)
Narcissa Black (+5 Attractiveness, +5 Authority)
Hestia Jones (+5 flying, +5 dodge)
Andromeda Black (+5 attractiveness, +5 Willpower)
Bellatrix Black (Invalid for the World of Light)
Molly Prewitt (+5 Willpower, Gain trait [Prewitt Temper])
Alice Copeland (+5 Loyalty, +5 Herbology)
Elaine Abbott (+5 Logic, Gain trait [Half blood])
Amelia Bones (+5 Duelling, +5 Willpower)
Freya Bishop (+5 Holy Magic, +1 lvl magic resistance)
What did it mean that Lily Evans was invalid?! Harry pressed on her regardless, he wanted to have his mother damn it. A pop up appeared and Harry ignored it for a moment to press the name again, only for the pop up to get a little bigger and light up. Barely restraining his tears of frustration, Harry finally calmed down enough to focus on the message being shown.
Due to The World of Grey having been played, Lily Evan's character was given a boon for sacrificing herself for her child so selflessly. Her request was the chance to be with her son and whilst this was not possible in the World of Grey, now that the player has restarted the character Lily Evans has now been born so that she will be in the same year as the character, so fulfilling her wish. Unfortunately she will not have her previous memories so whilst knowing she wants to get close to the character due to the conditions of the boon, what happens is up to the characters decision. The Game managers would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause the character.
Harry felt the anger drain away and instead just sat there stunned for some time. His mother was going to be alive and drawn to him because of a favour the game owed her? Out of all the things she could of asked she just wanted to be with him? Whilst all the people spoke of how wonderful his parents had been, Harry never felt more loved than he did in that moment. Now that he knew why he couldn't pick Lily, Harry reviewed the other options and very quickly removed a lot of them, he didn't want to deny anyone getting born, even Malfoy despite their mutual enmity.
The only name Harry didn't know from that list was the bottom one and he assumed given the skill bonuses offered she was probably with the Inquisition and therefore a World of Light only character. Whilst she was tempting as a choice Harry wondered if that would cause him to be tied to much to the Inquisition for his own good, having read the possible backgrounds Harry was now not sure as to whether he had been right to so quickly believe the Inquisition was in the right, better to play it safe for now until he could find out for himself. Selecting the only other choice that he knew of that wouldn't invalidate one of his classmates or friend's existences, Harry was quick to check the yes button on the following screen.
You have selected the following parents:
James Potter and Hestia Jones
Are you sure
Yes No
With the knowledge that he would be meeting his mother in the near future, Harry was too happy to get agitated as another screen appeared in front of him.
Titles
Titles are the result of the character being involved in an epic or fateful event that was significant enough to affect not only the character but the populace involved. Each world will have a specific Title that is fixed to your character that gives you certain benefits/responsibilities and you will have the ability to add to your titles as the game progresses. (Warning: Once chosen a Title cannot be changed, results will be fixed.)
Fixed title: Child of Change
The defeat of Lord Voldemort by a mere child was important enough to warrant some fame for the child, but the fact that such a defeat came at the time of the truce between the traditionalists and the Inquisition meant that the two sides realised what an opportunity such a public figure could be if the child could be persuaded to support them and their agenda. In addition, the events surrounding the child's first birthday have affected the child both physically and magically, though in what way is uncertain...
Gives (+1 Luck, +10 to conversations with both Inquisition and Traditionalist adults, Trait [Mysterious Power], Increased Scrutiny from both sides and chance of assassination attempts.)
Other Available Titles:
Guardian of the Woods:
Near to your family home was an ancient forest home to many mystical and mundane creatures and protected by ancient druidic wards that made it deadly to those who would try and enter it. Despite and partially because of your parent's warnings you managed to avoid them long enough to enter the woods. No one knows what happened inside those forests and the aurors refused to enter, meaning that only the child knows and he hasn't told anyone. Three days later the child emerged on the back of a Royal Stag and the friendship of the forest animals, much to the agitation of the various groups who have since tried to destroy or take over the forest only to find you stood in their way.
Gives: (+10 Animal handling skill, Gain Trait [Friend of the Forest] (Animals will not attack you unless provoked unless they pass a difficult willpower test and befriending them is possible regardless of species. Does not affect Magical creatures as much but still reduces hostility.)
Friends with the Fey:
The Fey are actually creatures from the pocket dimension and generally regarded as one of the most dangerous foes a wizard can face, with very high intelligence and magical arms and armour. The child did not know this however when he came across a wounded Seelie on the outskirts of his family grounds, ignoring its heavy weapons and unfamiliar cursing and taking the Seelie to a safe place and treating it's wounds as best as the child could. The Seelie recovered over the next few days and acknowledged the debt that it owed the child, especially when the child denied seeing it when the Inquisition came to the house. The child refused any gift the Seelie offered, stating that the opportunity to make a new friend was worth the help that he gave it. Impressed with the child's charitable and friendly nature, the Seelie agreed, the bond of friendship formed between them and the Seelie imprinting the child's magic for all the Fey to see.
Gives: (+5 Charm, +5 Illusion magic, +5 Pranking, Gain Trait [Fey Bond] (+5 to all conversations and decreased hostility with the Seelie, increased hostility from Demons/Unseelie and -5 to Inquisition that discover the bond.)
Voldemort's Horcrux:
Though not known to anyone, this is important enough to warrant a Title. Being the Horcrux of Voldemort gives you access to many of the things the dark lord coveted, though of course it comes with an obvious price of having a magical leech attached to your own soul until you can work out a way to remove it.
Gives: (+10 Dark Magic, +10 Ritual Magic, +10 Demon Magic, Gain Trait [Parseltongue], Gain Trait [Slytherin's heir], lose 30% mp to Horcrux and increased hostility from light creatures/Fey and Inquisition until Horcrux is destroyed.)
Title Spaces Available: 1
The first two choices were very interesting and Harry could certainly remember situations from his past where reduced hostility with animals would have been useful, The Horcrux choice he discarded straight away, he wasn't going through that shit again regardless of how cool Parseltongue was as an ability. In the end Harry decided upon the Friend of the Fey option, given the description the Seelie were very dangerous and Harry would prefer good relaxations with them, especially if he was going to get involved with the whole wards and dimensions thing at some stage.
Pressing friend of the Fey, Harry didn't even react this time as another screen came up, merely reading the information through to find out the next part of his character.
Perks:
Perks are particular talents or skills that the character has that give certain benefits when selected. There is no limit to the number of perks that a character can have.
Monster Slayer: Whether it is due to experience or natural talent, you just seem to know how to hit Monster type enemies where it hurts. (+5% damage, +1% crit chance against Monster enemies.)
Flying Fighter: To you, fighting in the air is more natural than fighting on the ground, there is certainly more room for dodging! (+5 Flying, +10 dodge when flying, +5 to attack when in the air.)
Natural Born Duelist: To fight is not just a part of the child's life, it is the child's life and joy and something that (+10 Duelling, +5 Dodge.)
Magic Sense: The child has always been attuned to magic and is able to sense it around him, making it easier to track his surroundings and find valuable items and artefacts. (Adds [Magic Sense] to the skill list, which can be used to find hidden areas as well as traps and treasures.)
Magical Polyglot (Animals) (Requires 2 Perk Points): When intelligent animals make noises to most humans, to you they speak like any normal human, meaning that you are able to converse with them. (Unlocks new conversations and allows for new situation outcomes with animals and lesser magical creatures.)
Like a Sponge: The Child absorbs knowledge as fast as he can wherever he can, much to the admiration of his parents and irritation of his peers. (+10% to learning rate of new spells and knowledge, -5 to conversations with children without this skill.)
I AM THE GREATEST!: You really want an explanation for this? I thought not (+1 Main Attribute point.)
Available Perk points
1 for being level 1
1 for partial completion of previous play through
1 for defeating Voldemort
Total Perk points: 3
Magical polyglot, that sounded even better than Parseltongue without the negative connotations attached to it, though the fact it cost two perk points meant that he would only be able to pick one other perk at this point. It was worth it though as it would mean that him picking 'Friend of the Fey' would not lose him all opportunities to talk with animals, something that he had no doubt would be useful in the long run. Selecting Magical Polyglot, Harry then did his best to look through the rest of the list and narrow down his last choice before he probably got to these skills, all of which would most certainly be useful in the long run.
Whilst he wanted to select monster slayer based on his past experience Harry couldn't help but get the niggling feeling that Magic sense would be as useful in a wider range of circumstances, it's not like he would be facing Monsters at age ten right? Harry almost slapped himself the moment after he thought that, knowing he had in effect cursed himself with those words. Despite that Harry felt that he could probably deal with anything that came his way before he got another chance to pick a perk and the number of times he had been caught unaware by magical items and traps meant that he wasn't going to refuse the chance to be able to sense them out.
You have Chosen:
Magical Sense
Magical Polyglot (Animals)
Do you wish to continue?
Yes No
Tapping yes Harry was unsurprised when he then saw a 'Skills' page come up, hopefully this was one of the last screens otherwise he was going to be really pissed off when this was done.
Skills:
These skills represent the characters aptitude towards life skills, areas of magic and other things or in other cases, such as attractiveness how good the character is at using his natural abilities against others. Having points towards different skills will improve the characters ability to learn and adapt knowledge related to their field. Most abilities and spells will have skill requirements before you can use them effectively and some abilities and spells will be impossible for you to use before their skill requirements are met or exceeded. (Warning, high skill levels do not necessarily relate to more powerful attacks and techniques, they instead relate to the rate at which the character will improve his rate of learning. Also new skills will become available as the character unlocks them.)
Skills- Physical
Jumping 2 + -
Running 3 + -
Sprinting 2 + -
Dodge 2 + -
Unarmed combat 1 + -
Improvised Weapon Combat 0 + -
Melee Weapons (One hand) 0 + -
Melee Weapons (Two hands) 0 + -
Ranged Weapons (Thrown) 0 + -
Ranged Weapons (Other) 0 + -
Duelling (Physical) 2 + -
Dual wielding 0 + -
Flying 5 + -
Skills-Magical (Locked until Enrollment complete)
Illusion Magic 5 + -
Transfiguration Magic 0 + -
Charms Magic 0 + -
Holy Magic 3 + -
Demon Magic 0 + -
Ritual Magic 0 + -
Blood Magic 0 + -
Black Magic 1 + -
Fey Magic 2 + -
Healing Magic 0 + -
Potions 2 + -
Alchemy 0 + -
Battle Magic 0 + -
Destruction Magic 0 + -
Enchanting 0 + -
Arithmancy 0 + -
Runes (Knowledge) 0 + -
Magical Items (Wand) 1 + -
Magical Items (Staffs) 0 + -
Magical Items (Other) 3 + -
Skills-Other
Awareness 5 + -
Pickpocketing 0 + -
Stealth 2 + -
Cooking 2 + -
Crafting 1 + -
Searching 3 + -
Hiding 1 + -
Trap making 1 + -
Pranking 7 + -
Tracking 1 + -
Tutoring 1 + -
Intimidate 0 + -
Charm 7 + -
Muggle Science (Explosives) 1 + -
Muggle Knowledge (Common) 1 + -
Muggle Knowledge (Science) 3 + -
Muggle Knowledge (History) 2 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Common) 8 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Creatures) 9 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (History) 7 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Social) 7 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Rituals) 3 + -
Wizarding Knowledge (Mystical) 3 + -
Etiquette 3 + -
Magic Sense 1 + -
Logic 5 + -
Authority 2 + -
Willpower 8 + -
Attractiveness 1 + -
Available points: 15
Would you like to continue? (Unassigned Points can be delegated at any time)
Yes No
Okay, Harry had no idea what to assign points to for this, the number of choices were boggling and given that he could supposedly assign them later Harry decided he could do it on a 'when it is required' basis. Or that was the plan anyways.
For Character Appearance, would the Character like to import previous characters face or create a new appearance?
Yes No
An easy question, this stupid game thing would certainly be more straightforward if he was looking back at himself in the mirror each morning. Pressing yes the screen changed to a smaller version of himself but obviously better fed and treated by his build and posture, with a list of stats down the side of the page
Character Creation Complete: Game can now commence
Would you like to complete the tutorial?
Yes No
Another no brainer, anything that might help him better understand what was going on was a good thing. Pressing the yes key once more the world suddenly returned to colour and Captain Hargrove started speaking once more as he noted things down on a clipboard.
"Harry Potter, son of Hestia Jones and James Potter, age 10 years and birthdate the 31st of July. Adopted Parents of Sirius Black and Freya Bishop Nee Black. Strong Magical core for age, healthy readings for both magic and physique. Now to move onto questions..." Hargrove paused as there was suddenly a loud bang in the distance and the building shook slightly. There was a moments silence before shouting and screams could be heard in the distance, causing Hargrove to jump to his feet and grab his sword from where it was hung on the wall, blade glowing and emitting a soft hum as he removed it from it's bracket.
"I must go and check on the disturbance Mr Potter, stay here and if you hear someone coming, hide. I will have someone come and fetch you as soon as I can." Without waiting for a response Hargrove opened the door and hurried out, slamming it shut behind him and leaving Harry alone once more. Predictably a screen popped up the moment he did so and Harry read the information as quickly as he could.
Welcome to the tutorial, where the events of your census have been disrupted under strange and possibly dangerous circumstances, so as such you must go and investigate! But before you do that you probably want to have some equipment and this is your first quest, search the room you are in for useful items. To activate the search skill which will highlight possible item containers either think or say 'search' and the skill will activate. What the skill reveals is dependent on the skill value and your Perception as well as equipment and item bonuses.
Well that was easy enough, Harry thought as he the room suddenly lit up with several items that were covered in some kind of glittery glow, and he assumed this was related to the search. As he moved round the desk, as two of the drawers in the desk had lit up, Harry suddenly remembered that this was an Inquisition captain's room and therefore not exactly unguarded against those that might go snooping around in it. Being a little more cautious now Harry tried to do the same thing he had done with search with Magic sense and wasn't disappointed when the world changed to an array of dark colours apart from several light spots in the shape of various items around the room.
It seemed there were no magical traps that Harry could see so he quickly opened the first drawer in front of him, finding another screen pop up with what was in the drawer and another message in front of it.
Welcome to your first completed search tab, which is what pops up when you search an area highlighted by using Search. This function saves you the time of having to actually search locations and instead lists the items inside that the game thinks will be useful to you (ignoring things that are considered of no value such as pieces of paper, chewed chewing gum and dog poo for example). Though the search tab will not tell you whether things are valuable or enchanted unless obviously so (Glowing Diamond ring), this is determined either by the user using skills such as magic sense or by a vendor. Note that some magical items will deliberately be designed to minimise their magical output to avoid detection.
There was only a couple of knuts and something called a missive, shrugging at the minor let down Harry pressed the take all button, the tab disappearing before another screen appeared.
New Codex unlocked 'Missive to Captain Hargrove': 50 xp gained.
Mission: Search the Room
Main mission: Search areas of the room (1/3)
Bonus Mission: Search all areas of the room
Bonus Mission: Avoid/disable the trap (0/1)
To check your missions as well as any codex updates that you have received, use the journal tab of your character book.
Character book, what Character... Suddenly there was a weight on his right thigh and looking down he saw a small A6 book strapped by a harness to his leg. Reaching down to grab it he touched it and a large menu screen opened in front of him, with tabs for his character, abilities, inventory and journal. Tapping the Journal page, Harry found the codex sub tab, which only had one entry in it for the moment.
Captain,
I know we are meant to be testing the Potter boy as part of the census, but Intel is screaming at us that the radicals will be waiting for him, are you sure it wouldn't just be easier to test him at home? We know that some of the Lord of Tradition's followers have tried to end the Child's life before, the loss of three of our protection detail in the last attempt should say more than enough. But if you are determined to follow this through despite Lady Nightingale's warnings, you are responsible for anything that happens, either to the boy or the others.
I warn you now sir, Former Commander Bishop hasn't gotten any less scary, perhaps that will persuade you if nothing else.
Troop Commander Wayde
Harry's eye quirked at the information he had just gotten, so Captain Hargrove had known that there might be an attack because of Harry being here and he had decided to go ahead with it anyway? The man either was hugely overconfident or he had been hoping to draw some of the Inquisition's enemies from the shadows and deal with them. And his Foster Mother was not only an ex member of the Inquisition but one that still scared the present members? Harry already was dreading meeting her and seeing what she would do with this information.
Closing the Menu tab Harry quickly began searching the rest of the room, finding some more money, two minor healing potions (which the game promised him were better tasting and faster acting than those he had experienced in the World of Grey) and several items that he assumed were meant to be equippable, though most required a strength of 5 or above to use. The trap had been on the cupboard at the back of the room, a simple magical alarm system that the game quickly talked him through disarming using his magic, netting him another 10 xp. However, despite having the pop up telling him that he had searched all the sections of the room, his magic sense was still showing that one of the cloaks by the door was magical and this hadn't shown up on his search.
This made him wonder whether it was meant to be something he wasn't meant to try and obtain, or whether it had simply been beyond his search level and therefore hadn't turned up. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt too much to try, Harry approached the cloak and touched it lightly, another screen coming up a moment later
Secret Found: Captain Hargrove's Lucky Cloak +50 xp
This rather worn and repaired cloak is at odds with the rest of the Captain's immaculate and up to date gear, but the Captain refuses to turn the gear in for another standard cloak regardless. The cloak is the one he first wore as an Inquisition Initiate and has been with him through everything, many of the more suspicious members of the Inquisition claiming that the cloak is the man's lucky charm. Perhaps this luck can be given to anyone who wears it, or it might bring the wearer to an untimely end...
Well Done, you have found your first secret, either using your skills and knowledge or by sheer dumb luck. Such Secrets often yield high value treasures or powerful monsters, or both! An Enchanted item can either provide positive or negative bonuses and only once the player has learnt the Identify spell can the player tell which, though he can still equip unidentified items without knowing their properties if he meets their requirements.
For this tutorial however, the cloak shall act as if it has already been identified.
Captain's Lucky Cloak:
2 Defence to the Body (Back)
30/30 Durability
+1 Luck
An additional luck from a simple cloak? Harry grinned like Christmas had come early, quickly opening the menu and equipping the cloak, surprised that the cloak shrunk to fit him from it's rather monstrous size before. With nothing else in the room jumping out at him, Harry decided to head for the door, at least if he got a look at whatever trouble was coming his way, a 'Quest complete' tab appearing as he grasped the door handle. Opening it Harry found himself in a large corridor that stretched off for about thirty feet in either direction before ending in what looked like T-Junctions.
The sounds of fighting and shouting was all around him now, but it sounded closest off to his left and Harry decided that was where he would go first. Running down the corridor, Harry saw a suit of armour lying on the floor, cleaved in two at the waist and sword broken at its feet. The dagger lying off to the side though looked in perfect condition and lacking any other form of Weaponry Harry grabbed it and picked it up in both hands, despite its small size it was still heavy for him as a ten year old.
A girl's scream caused him to speed to the T-junction, only to see an opened door off to the other side of the adjoining corridor, probably leading into an office like the one he had been in. The scream rang out again and Harry rushed into the room, only to find the world freezing around him again as he spotted another armoured suit standing over a body and raising a sword at a girl in the corner of the room.
Welcome to the combat tutorial!
A/N: Merry Christmas Everybody! The tutorial has begun and already Harry is fighting for his life. Who is the girl? Will Harry save her? Is there most sinister plotting at work by the newly introduced Captain Hargrove? We shall just have to find out next time. Please review and tell me what you think everyone, happy holidays!
Defias