Ch2: Leanna Harris, 29 year old Overworked IT Specialist

“Ugh...” Leanna groans as she shuts the heavy door of her apartment behind her, bolting closed its many locks. “Cheap fucking bastards can’t be assed to hire someone to help me out...”

Opening up the top few buttons on her constricting prim white blouse, Leanna slumps back against the door and sighs in relief. As she slowly slides to the ground she trails her eyes across her meager apartment. Her glance passes over the compact kitchen, then the slim doors to both her bathroom and bedroom, before finally landing on the desk that takes up most of her little living room.

“Oh!” She blurts out, immediately perking up. “It’s probably done installing by now!”

Hastily making her way over to the desk, Leanna shakes the old mouse and turns on her monitor, where she is met with a small window that simply says Installation Complete.

“Yes! About time too!” Leanna cheers, before her brow furrows and she begins muttering to herself. “When did it even finish? Around noon? Fuck. Almost eighteen hours to install... Well... I guess that isn’t so bad considering that it was over sixteen terabytes on the drive... Good thing they mailed that to me... Who knows how long it’d have taken to download... Wait, what am I doing talking to myself?! Let’s get this bad boy booted up!”

With that she clicks on the new icon on her desktop and turns to make sure her IVR setup is connected. Resting beside the desk is a stocky metal chair with cheap plastic cushions attached to it. The chair has a rather sinister appearance, with visible restraints for the legs and torso, along with padded metal cuffs atop the armrests and a heavy headset built into the backrest. Just like the rest of her apartment, Leanna’s IVR setup is far from luxurious. But it works.

“Ah, good. The ol’ torture chair is all hooked up already. Now to just get inside the damn thing...” Leanna grumbles as she sits down on the uncomfortable padding and carefully straps herself in. Once she is securely bound in the grim looking device she presses her head against the backrest, prompting the bulky headset to slowly descend upon her.

Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Leanna waits for the pneumatic hiss of the device engulfing her. Like always, the hiss is followed by a sharp pinch in her calves, wrists, and neck, which spreads an unpleasant tingling sensation across her body.

The tingling suddenly stops and Leanna opens her eyes to short clips of environments seen from the sky, slowly transitioning between each other. From icy mountains and rocky hills to dense forests and wild jungles, great plains and endless fields of wheat to small villages and bustling cities, the environs that pass below her are awe inspiring. Or would be if it wasn’t the exact same footage used in the trailer for the game.

“Alright, enough of this. Where is the menu?” Leanna impatiently wonders, just as the words Create Character pop up in her vision. “Is that it? Well, it is in a closed beta... But this had better not be full of false promises! Now lets just get on with it...”

As soon as she focuses on the words, the world around her abruptly shifts and changes into a dark room. Three soft clicking noises pierce through the darkness as unremarkable and stereotypically ‘fantasy’ looking oil lanterns turn on, revealing the smooth grey stone room in its entirety. Beyond the glowing lanterns, the only thing in this unnaturally cubical room is a tall mirror directly in front of her.

In that mirror Leanna sees herself, completely naked. “A bit presumptuous of them...” Leanna grumbles, moving her arms to cover herself up and scowling at her reflection. She plays these types of games to escape from her miserable life. Not to look at her scrawny and, quite frankly, malnourished body with the pallid flesh of someone who never sees the sun. It is hard to get proper nutrition when the healthiest food that she can afford is bottom-shelf synth ramen. “Couldn’t they have at least given me some rags to wear...? Whatever... Where are the options?”

As soon as she mutters that out, five simple grey boxes with black outlines appear in her vision listing Race, Appearance, Background, Skills & Abilities, and Blessing & Patron.

“Is that how its going to be? Will I have to say everything I want out loud?” Leanna idly wonders, shaking her head tiredly. “Also, shouldn’t Race be in the Appearance tab? That’s how these things are usually done. Well, whatever, let’s get – wait...”

Narrowing her eyes, Leanna decides to test something. Rather than say it out loud, she focuses her mind on Race, trying to get to get the point across that she wants to pick it. After a moment of concentration, the simple box for Race flashes and disappears along with the other four.

Before Leanna can comment on that, a large text box appears in her vision which appears to simply contain a list of the races, in alphabetical order. Predictably, Human is highlighted.

“Wow, there really are over two dozen races. Guess that wasn’t a lie. Though a bunch of them do seem to just be variants. Lots of different kinds of Elves here...” Leanna idly mutters out. “Well, let’s see what the bonuses for being a boring old human are.”

As soon as she says that, another box of text pops up.

Humans, these diverse peoples can be found all across the world. Their adaptability has led to them becoming the dominant race in nearly every region they can be found in. Receive 6 attribute points per level, along with +1 Charisma.

“Huh, alright. Seven points per level. Don’t really know how that compares to any of the others, or even what these attributes are.” She idly comments, dismissing the box with a wave of her hand. “What about... High Elves?”

Immediately, the mirror blurs and Leanna’s form shifts. The process is slightly disorienting, mostly because she gained a full head of height in an instant. When the mirror clears her reflection is still noticeably her, just as a High Elf with more elegant cheekbones, long pointed ears, golden hair, much healthier looking skin, and slightly larger breasts.

Leanna whistles in approval. “Damn... And this is before I get to mess with the appearance? Yup, not being a human in this game. That’s for sure. But what bonuses do High Elves get?”

Just as before, saying that causes some text to pop up in her vision.

High Elves, these elegant and wondrous Elves live in the few remaining spire-cities of their once great civilization. They are seen as the pinnacle of beauty and magical might, though they also have a rather deserved reputation for being arrogant. Receive 4 attribute points per level, along with +1 Rationality, +1 Insight, and +2 Willpower.

“Okay... Eight points per level, though only four that I’d get to choose where to put. A bit more restrictive, but I guess it is better if you want to go for a magic build...” Leanna comments to herself. “Well, its pretty obvious that this is an important choice, as whatever I choose will determine how I’ll play the game. Unless I want to be extremely inefficient, that is...”

Shaking her head, Leanna thinks about the different attributes. She kind of wants to know how many there are and what they are before making her choice.

Attributes, the statistical measurement of the characteristics of every living being. There are twelve attributes overall, separated into three equal categories: Physical, Mental, & Social. The four Physical attributes are Might, Dexterity, Endurance, & Toughness. The four Mental attributes are Rationality, Insight, Willpower, & Perception. The four Social attributes are Composure, Charisma, Allure, & Guile.

Might is the measure of ones physical prowess and ability to exert physical force. It affects damage dealt by melee weapons and certain ranged weapons. Has a slight effect on Total Health.

Dexterity is the measure of ones reflexes, balance, and coordination. It affects accuracy and reaction time. Has a slight effect on Stamina Regeneration.

Endurance is the measure of ones ability to withstand physical exertion. It affects lung capacity and how long it takes for fatigue to set in. Has a significant effect on Total Stamina and a moderate effect on Stamina Regeneration.

Toughness is the measure of ones durability, resilience, and vitality. It affects resistances to physical damage, poisons, and diseases. Has a significant effect on Total Health and a moderate effect on Health Regeneration.

Rationality is the measure of ones ability to process complex ideas through logical thinking. It affects the spell power of most types of magic. Has a slight effect on Total Mana and a significant effect on Mana Regeneration.

Insight is the measure of ones ability to make subconscious connections. It affects a wide variety of skills in subtle ways. Has a slight effect on Total Stamina and a moderate effect on Total Mana.

Willpower is the measure of ones mental fortitude and determination. It affects mental and magical resistances. Has a significant effect on Total Mana and a slight effect on Mana Regeneration.

Perception is the measure of ones environmental awareness. It affects how well one is able to cast multiple types of magic at once. Has a slight effect on Stamina Regeneration and a moderate effect on Mana Regeneration.

Composure is the measure of ones ability to keep their emotions under control. It affects how well one is able to perform under pressure and handle stress. Has a moderate effect on Total Mana.

Charisma is the measure of ones ability to work as a team and the force of their personality. It affects communication skills and the spell power of some types of magic. Has a slight effect on Total Health and a moderate effect on Mana Regeneration.

Allure is the measure of ones attractiveness, both in physical terms and in their mannerisms. It affects sex appeal and how well one is initially viewed by others. Has a slight effect on Health & Stamina Regeneration.

Guile is the measure of ones ability to deceive others and how well they are capable of learning. It affects a wide variety of skills in subtle ways. Has a slight effect on Total Stamina, Total Mana, & Mana Regeneration.

“Whoa, that’s quite an info dump. I did ask for it though. Kind of... Some of those stats, or attributes, feel like they really phoned it in though. Like really, isn’t composure what willpower usually does? And what is with the vagueness for insight and guile?”

“Ah, whatever. It is still in beta.” Leanna dismissively shakes her head. “So... What kind of character do I want to play...? Magic is always fun, especially when they haven’t properly balanced things yet, but then I’d need a lot of mental attributes, probably some social ones, and physical if I don’t want to die or be constantly out of breath... That really spreads those stats out, even if I’d be getting eight per level for being something like a High Elf...”

“Maybe something stealthy? Or maybe diplomatic? Both of those would be a bit more specialized with fewer key attributes, but do I want to be sneaking around or dealing with people? Besides, how much is even in this game? It’d be a pain to hit a wall and be unable to progress...”

“But do I want to be a basic ass warrior? That is kind of unimaginative, though it would at least be easy to dump most of the points into physical. Also, it would be fun to just go around whacking things...”

Just what kind of race should she pick...?