Ch6: Choosing a Blessing & Patron

As a Champion of an Otherworldly force, you gain four blessings to aid you in your journey. Three of those blessings will always be given, regardless of your Patron: one which lets you quickly learn the languages spoken in these lands, another which starts you with a base value of 10 for each attribute, and the third which gives you an additional +1 attribute point to allocate per level. The fourth blessing is a gift directly from your Patron, and can only be obtained through that Patron.

“Wait, I get another stat point each level?!” Krvavy immediately perks up, eyes dancing across the text hanging in front of her. “Nine a level?! Fuck! That’s great! Oh, and I also get some sort of unique ability. Wonder that’ll be?”

As a Drakling, the only Patron available to you is Vel’ka Dravost, the World Dragon. Vel’ka Dravost is the Drakling God of the World, the Natural Order, and Storms. This Patron provides three Blessings:

The Worlds’ Wisdom: Blessed by a divine power, you bear the wisdom of the world. Gain vastly improved Mana & Spell Power in accordance to your environment.

Naturists Blessing: Blessed by a divine power, you endure all that comes your way. Gain True Defence in proportion to how little you are wearing.

Nature’s Fury: Blessed by a divine power, you are the fiercest of storms. Gain vastly improved physical attributes & damage dealt in proportion to destruction caused.

“Huh... Those all seem to be pretty good. Vague as hell, but pretty good. Kind of disappointing that I don’t get a choice of patron, but the game is in beta, so I’ll let it slide.” Krvavy comments, considering which one to choose. “The first one is out right away, as I’m not going for a magic build. Besides, it seems more like a druid thing anyway. So what to choose between the other two...? Naturists Blessing seems like an excuse to have bikini armour, perv developers at it again, but Nature’s Fury requires destruction. And there is only so much that can be destroyed before, well, everything is just rubble. So that’ll cap out...”

Krvavy paces back and forth as she thinks about what to pick. “So... Do I want to focus more on having more defence or damage? Well, I will be doing a lot of fighting... But wait, what is True Defence? What makes it ‘true’?”

True Defence reduces damage taken from all sources and cannot be bypassed or weakened in any way. Applies before armour and other resistances. Treats True Damage the same as all other sources of damage.

True Damage is a type of damage that bypasses armour and resistances.

“Wait a minute. If I’m getting this right, then Naturists Blessing is just over powered. Damn. I said I didn’t want to min-max or anything, but...” Krvavy’s brow furrows and her lips press together, fingers idly drumming against her toned thigh. “Okay... So True Defence... How many things in this game will give True Defence? Probably not much. It is a nightmare to proper balancing. Even if it is only a small percentage it’d still be worth it... Ah, fuck it. I’ll go for the perverted excuse for bikini armour: Naturists Blessing it is!”

You have chosen to be a Champion of Vel’ka Dravost, the World Dragon. One choice remains: where in this vast world do you wish to begin your adventure?

The starting locations available to you are determined by your Race and Background. As a Drakling native to the Northern Wastes, you have four locations to choose from:

The Ravaged Coast. Home to the Risafaedr of the north, this cold land along the sea is harsh and cruel. The natives of this rough land are known for piracy and raiding, as that is the only way for them to live lives of plenty. Regardless of who you are or who you once were, with strength you can forge a new life in the Ravaged Coast.

The Northern Wildlands. Dense woodlands, rocky hills, and expansive plains fill this untamed wilderness. Throughout the ages many have attempted to conquer these lands, but the ruined outposts and forts that have been reclaimed by nature stand as testaments to their failure. Human settlements are slowly encroaching into these lands, bringing them into conflict with the nomadic tribes of Orcs and Beastfolk. Many opportunities are available to those who are willing to brave the Northern Wildlands.

The Free City of Losgelost. Settled between the borders of multiple warring nations, this city has changed hands countless times in its history, but has recently gained its independence for the first time. Losegelost has developed a reputation as a city of mercenaries and adventurers, as the lawless lands surrounding the city have given rise to monsters and bandits aplenty. The great powers around them dare not march into the no-mans-land of Losegelost for fear of the others taking advantage of the opportunity, but how long can their unsteady independence last?

The Larak Mountains. These mountains mark the furthest reaches of the old Dwarf empire. Few populated holds remain beneath the craggy heights, and countless ruins from a golden age lay lost to time and stone. Adventurers and treasure hunters come from far and wide to try their luck in the ancient halls, but those that reside beneath the surface are far less welcoming than even the Dwarves.

“Oh? I’m almost done with the character creation? Nice. So where do I want to start the game...?” Krvavy continues to think aloud. “Well, the first one is out right away. Don’t want to be a pirate. Third one is out too. I’d rather not get caught in the middle of big war, if that foreshadowing is anything to go by. So do start off in a wilderness or in some mountains? No. Do I want to start off in a wilderness or off treasure hunting?”

Krvavy takes a moment to carefully consider this final option. This game is supposed to be pretty realistic, so there probably won’t be fast travel. At least not without some high-level magic. So whatever she chooses she’ll be stuck with for quite some time.

“Treasure hunting does sound pretty fun... But it might get a bit repetitive if it is just a bunch of caves and Dwarven ruins... On the other hand, the wildlands will have a bit more variety. No treasure though... Or at least not as much...”

“Ugh!” She groans in frustration. “Fuck it! I’ll go for the Wildlands! Sounds like it’ll have a bit more varied content, and I do not want to have to go through all this character creation again just to start in a different location!”

The Northern Wildlands selected. Make the most out of your clean slate, Champion of the World Dragon.

“Wha– AAAGH!” Krvavy shouts out as a sharp pain shoots through her head, before everything goes black.