A Spoon Full o'Sugah!

[Dusty]

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As Brian has already touched on in the ‘Mommy where do items com from?’ thread the MV world will be a place where resources are scattered throughout. Oddly enough, when you want to build a brick house you have to collect the clay, bake the bricks, build the walls, and slap on the masonry (or have someone else do it for you.) In general, if the item exists, chances are someone created it from scratch.

However, cutting wood, mining ore, sheering sheep, and molding clay bricks can get old rather quickly so we provide a shortcut for you and your faction. No, you won’t have to collect ore endlessly in order to continue making horseshoes (and with a little luck you can hire an apprentice or purchase a slave to make the horseshoes for you ).

When you are part of a faction you gain the ability to access a somewhat limitless supply of certain resources while you are within your faction’s controlled area, AND are still a member of that faction. In order for a faction to gain a ‘limitless’ supply of some resource they need to either collect a certain amount of the resource, or otherwise gain continuing access to it (ex. a vineyard planted in your town square might provide a limitless source of grapes for your wine makers, or perhaps a certain amount of captured, NPC servants are assigned the task of collecting iron from a designated mine.)

So long as your faction stockpiles a certain amount of a resource, or has continuing access to the resource your characters will not need to go through the task of collecting these resources, although they still can do so if they wish. And they need to in cases where you want to have some grand feast with all sorts of interesting foods and such, because, although your character won't need things like food or water while they're in their faction's area it's still nice to create the necessary props for certain events. :)

Now, remember a couple paragraphs back where I said that cutting wood, and other stuff gets kinda boring. Well, in MV it’ll be a little more interesting than merely typing ‘cut wood’. Lemme explain.

There are certain innate abilities your characters will have based on their statistical makeup. Some characters will be strong, others tall, others intelligent, some beautiful, some agile, and so on. Based on your characters makeup they will have a certain degree of competency at performing various tasks.

For example, let’s say you want a coconut. So you find a coconut tree, pick one, and eat it, right? Not exactly. Coconuts grow pretty dang high off the ground depending on the age of the tree. So you’re going to have to shimmy up there and get it, and depending on your character’s physical makeup you may or may not be able to do so. Pubert the Rugrat might be able to shimmy up the tree like a spider monkey, and Grog the Giant might be able to simply reach up and grab one, but you might be too short or two clumsy to do either. However, Pubert might have no idea about how to decipher some foreign markings you discover that your character can do with ease, and Grog the Giant might be entirely unable to squeeze into the crawlspace you discovered in the cliffside while your slim frame slides right in. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

In brief, you might enjoy doing simple things like picking fruit, mining iron ore, or weaving baskets merely because of the detail we strive to put into the game, and because it’s fun to RP these things especially when the system is setup to support it.

So, a quick recap:

1. Very nearly everything in the game will have a raw resource level that it evolved from. Nothing appears out of thin air (unless it’s magical), every item comes from a certain combinations of resources, skills, and actions.

2. There are a wide variety of actions you can perform in the MV environment without having skills in anything, although your success at these actions will depend on the makeup of your character which is mostly decided by you when you first create your character.

Now that we’ve covered that we’ll move on to those actions you can perform using the skill system.

<cont>

Good is in the details,
Dusty.

[Dusty]

So, you have a skill level of 20 in the art of blacksmithing. This means you have excellent skills horseshoe making, excellent skills in weapon smithing, excellent skills in metallurgy, and so on just like every other level 20 Blacksmith. Simply put, your character’s abilities are no more novel than the other guy who’s been studying blacksmithing constantly for the past 6 months. However, we do things a bit differently around here.

Often skill systems are set up in a very linear manner, like a book. You start at the beginning, and end with the last page progressing through the same stages that everyone else before you did. In other words, unless you’re the first person to learn the Villainy skill set everything you learn has been done before. Nothing all too special, so we decided against the whole linear approach.

In MV there will be a wide variety of skill sets ranging from cooking, to combat, to weapon smithing, to necromancy, and so on. Within each skill set there will be a variety of skills and abilities, but these are not simply determined by your skill level. It’s very possible for someone at the equivalent of a level 5 blacksmith to know how to do something that a level 20 can’t. How? I thought you’d never ask.

Skill sets in MV are arranged more like a branching tree. Everyone starts with similar skills and abilities when they first learn a skill set, but once they get going they can specialize in entirely different areas within the skill set. So everyone learns the fundamentals, but then begin to specialize in things differently.

For example, two students Pubert and Mugsy begin learning blacksmithing from Master Bob at the same time. After three months they¡¦re both at a skill level of 50. However, Pubert specialized more in creating jewelry and working with precious metals while Mugsy specialized in creating tools and weapons. Both have the same skill level, but with very different skills.

Now, how people learn in MV is also different. There are three ways to learn things: you can be taught, you can study something, and you can practice.

When you are instructed by a teacher that teacher must have a higher skill level than you in whatever is being taught. How much higher their skill level must be than yours is determined by the teacher's teaching ability.

You can also learn things by studying from things such as books. Unlike teachers, books have a limited amount of knowledge they can provide you. You can only learn so much from them, and then only if they are teaching something that is both within your ability to understand, and written by someone of a significantly higher skill level in the topic than you.

Lastly, by practicing you can become better at certain skills, but might have more difficulty learning new skills. Each time you practice the skills you have there COULD be a chance that your character will learn some new technique, or ability. So when Mugsy practices making daggers over and over again there’s a chance that he’ll learn a technique that allows him to create daggers that are much more accurate when thrown, or perhaps he stumbles upon the idea to refine iron into steel. I should note that these chances depend greatly on what resources you use, what knowledge your character possesses (see Brian’s "Mommy, where do items come from?" thread for the definition of "knowledge"), and what skills you already possess.

For example, you won’t learn how to refine steel, or forge chainmail by creating bronze horseshoes over and over again because the skills and resources you’re applying aren’t conducive to that. However, if you constantly work with iron you might learn how to refine it into steel relatively quickly.

So, a quick recap:

1. Skill sets in Mortalis Victus are designed in a branching, non-linear fashion allowing for greater customization of a character’s abilities, and greater variability of skills between characters even those of the same skill level.

2. One’s skill level does not determine what they can or cannot do within a skill. Your skills and abilities are determined more through what you choose to specialize in and what knowledge your character accumulates.

Next I'll go over some things on primary and secondary skill sets.

Longwinded old coot,
Dusty

[Dusty]

K, one more level up from individual skills brings us up to skill sets. Just so people don't get confused lemme clarify briefly. A skill is a single learned ability that is associated with a single command. Some examples are punch, kick, weave, forge, stab, pickpocket, etc. A skill set is a collection of abilities. Some examples of skill sets are cooking, armed combat, blacksmithing, hunting, villainy, weaving, and so on.

Now there are three types of skill sets in Mortalis Victus: primitive, primary, and secondary. Primitive skills are something that everyone knows to some extent already, but take practice to excel in. Examples are "clay-working", "hunting", etc.
Primitive skills are easier to excel in. You don't -need- a teacher and/or a literature to study it.

Primary skill sets are skill sets that anyone can begin to learn simply by finding a book on the subject, receiving a lesson from someone in it, or perhaps by attempting it a bit. Things such as villainy, unarmed combat, and blacksmithing are primary skill sets.

Secondary skill sets, on the other hand, require a certain degree of skill, knowledge, and/or innate abilities before a character can begin to learn anything within the skill set. Secondary skill sets have more advanced skills that either supplement your abilities from another skill set, or provide you with an assortment of entirely new abilities.

I won't give any examples of secondary skill sets because we want to keep them as a surprise for players as they stumble across them. However, I'll tell you the general idea on how you can begin learning secondary skills.

Secondary skill sets will generally appear without warning. One moment you'll be learning, practicing, or studying something in one of your current skills, and the next your character has a whole new assortment of fundamental skills in a secondary skill set you may not have even heard about. In essence, once your character reaches certain skill, knowledge, and statistical requirements they have a percent chance of gaining a certain secondary skill set. It's like an IG epiphany for your character.

Another way of learning skills from a secondary skill set is by having them taught to you because not everyone who has the chance of acquiring skills from a secondary skill set will automatically gain these skills since there is a degree of randomness mixed in. However, if your character does meet the prerequisites for access to the secondary skill set, someone who already has those skills may teach them.

Phew. Only one more section to go. I hope I haven't lost any of you to boredom or anything. I promise, I'm almost done.

<cont... just once more>

Really really,
Dusty.

[Dusty]

Alright, one last section here. :) Now that all of you have a basic understanding of the mechanics of skills and tasks we can talk about the stuff that relates more to the actual roleplaying of the game. So, what bearing does all this stuff I’ve been rambling about have on your character, and your roleplaying experience? The answer is that it’s up to you.

Your skills and statistics do not define your character in this game. What skills and statistics do is give your character certain strengths and weaknesses, but they do not change your personality as a player or your own strengths and weaknesses at roleplaying. For statistics and skills have zero bearing on very important things about your character such as their intelligence, and personality. If you’re a very clever, crafty, humorous, romantic, shy, outgoing, fun-loving, exuberant, fearless, well-spoken, or persuasive person you can automatically use these skills with your character and they will definitely stand you in good stead ICly when you use them.

There is no skill set that determines how charismatic a leader you are, or how crafty you are as a general, or how sneaky you are as an assassin, or even how fearless you are as a warrior. Skills and statistics, just like all the many items and props scattered about and created IG, are tools for the use of your character. Ultimately it’s how you use the tools you have that makes your character great. Remember that when you first start the game and find your character’s skill set at a less than impressive level. Remember that you bring a whole lot more to the table than a few crafting or fighting skills.

So, since your options are pretty open (and we’re constantly striving to give you more) the real question is: What role do you want to play? Not sure. Well, here’s some questions I came up with that might help give you some direction, and hopefully get you off to a good start even before you start to create your character.

What sort of role would suit your personality and playing style? What strengths and weaknesses do you have that will inevitably have an effect on your character?

This is important. Pick a role that suits your own personality, and allows you to utilize some of your own strengths. So if you're particullarly clever maybe something like a politician, assassin, or cleric would suit you. Or if you're funny maybe you can play the role of the smart mouthed gambler.

How much time are you planning to dedicate to MV?

Believe it or not this is very important. If you only have 3 hours to dedicate to the game each week it would be a pretty awful idea to choose to be a leader of a faction. Simply put, certain roles require a certain amount of time and effort on your part. So, if you don't have the time don't choose time intensive roles. Otherwise every waking minute IG will be spent 'tending to business' instead of doing other things you might find more enjoyable. So pick something that'll suit your personal time committment to the game. :)

How does your desired role affect other characters and players?

This is a social game. The real fun comes from interacting with other players whether you're chatting pleasantly over a glass of port, or lopping off their head with an iron longsword. So, one definite consideration in creating a character and choosing a role is how others will react to you. Will players shun the type of character you want to play, or will they enjoy interacting with them, because (let's face it) if they really don't enjoy interacting with your character it won't be very fun for you either.

How can I make my desired role unique and interesting?

Time and again people will play such roles as the lost, but oh-so-cute orphan, or the fearless-invincible hero, or bloodthirsty villain with a sword and an itch to stab anyone they see. In short, it gets old, and people don't want to interact with the same old character all the time. They want to meet characters that are unique, and intriguing. So try to put some thought into making your character novel. It can be as simple as giving them a unique accent, or quirky habit, or some fault. Faults rock. You don't have to give your character one, but I highly recommend it. Its boring playing a character who doesn't make mistakes in my book. ;)

What is your ultimate goal for your character? 6 months from now, where do you want your character to be? 1 year? 2 years?

Simply put, if your future goals are to be queen of the world, the best weaver in town, the most stunning dresser, or the best swordsman than you need to create your character with those goals in mind. What attributes, skills, and personality traits will help you achieve your goals? Figure it out, and then add those to your role. :)

There’s a whole lot more to consider, but I hope these few questions will get you off to a good start, and I hope you’re all looking forward to MV as much as I am.

Oh, and if you ever have questions, suggestions, crazy ideas, or what have you. Feel free to post in this thread or in the forums with them. We’d all love to hear your input, ideas, and comments. We really want to make this a game based on what you players want so let’s hear it. :)

OK, *now* I’m done,
Dusty. :D

[Lyds]

Sounds amazing :).

[Mackrels]

Sounds great, when do we start?

[Dusty]

Mackrels,

When we know for sure you'll all know. Unlike other games Mortalis develops as things progress, so we don't have to create everything from the get go. However, we do need to have a lot of systems in place that allow us to add new things very quickly.

So, basically, what this means is that we need some time to put together some back-end systems that allow us to update everything (ie. new skill systems, environments, items, abilities, NPCs, descriptions, coded systems, and all the millions of suggestions we'll no doubt have to sort through as well. ;)) at a speed that will keep you players busy and happy. :)

In brief, the answer is 'We don't know at the moment, but you can bet we're working to make it as soon as we possibly can, and when we do know, you'll know.'

Unfortunately, this means that launching tomorrow is definitely not going to happen. Our apologies. ;)

Friendly neighborhood staff dude,
Dusty. :D