Cousin Bob:
Bob Acosta looked at the screen and had to remind himself to close his mouth before he started drooling on himself.
This is it, he thought. My whole life, everything I’ve done. Everything I am, has led me here.
Classes. Skills that were just another name for spells, superpowers, the ability to change reality according to your Will, like that weird British guy liked to say. Magick. The terror of the Challenge was fading, replaced by a giddy sense of wonder.
The closest he had ever felt something like this was in Atlantic City, where he had pulled the arm of a slot machine and seen one diamond, two diamonds, three diamonds line up. Twenty-five hundred bucks, and he had felt like king of the world.
Blew it all over the next two hours, of course. Never stay in the casino after you win big, or the house will claw it all back, and then some. But for a short time, he had felt like a king.
That feeling was a pale shadow of this. This was the real thing. What winners felt. It almost scared him, worried that someone would swoop in and steal it all away.
I won’t let them, he swore to himself as he made his selections.
You have chosen your Affinities: Fire, Freedom, and Sorcery
You have chosen a Role: Warrior
You have gained two non-Class Skills: Gun Proficiency (Common, Proficiency, Beginner 3) and Ritual Magic (Uncommon, Proficiency, Beginner 1)
Congratulations! You have unlocked two Rare and two Epic Classes!
“Screw Rare. Epic all the way,” he said, dismissing all the Rare, Uncommon, and Common Classes without giving them a glance.
When you had the option to ride first class, why bother looking at coach?
He had gambled that combining two magic-user-oriented Affinities like Sorcery and Fire with a Warrior role, he would get some kickass hybrid Class options. The OP Classes. Tank mages; combining durability with damage-dealing. They could take the hurt and dish it right the fuck back. And Freedom put the icing on the cake.
To Bob, the concept of Freedom was a simple one: nobody got to tell him what to do. He decided if an order or suggestion was worthy of being followed. The Army and his own family had shown him that the world was full of dickheads who loved to boss other people around. Now, he was going to make himself an anti-boss Class. Whether they were Dungeon Bosses or wannabe tyrants, Bob would walk right up to them and teach them all about FAFO.
He watched his choices. One of the Epic Classes was interesting: Paladin of the Living Flame. It combined magic with a heavily-armored fighting style, with lots of survival perks and several magical attacks and defenses. Not as much DPS as he would have liked, but if it had been the only option, he would have been happy picking it.
But then there was the other option:
One-Man-Army (Epic)
Militant Orders are plentiful in the System’s Universe, but the One-Man-Army Society stands out among them. Founded by the Ascended Master known as Supremacy of the Self, the Order has no temples, no schools, no trainers. OMA disciples gain their abilities through personal revelations once the Supremacy or one of their Avatars deems worthy.
OMAs can fight, cast spells, and heal others and themselves. They are not allowed to enslave others by either word, deed, or Skill. But their hardiness and versatility allow them to perform several roles in a party, although they can meet most challenges on their own.
Candidates must follow some simple tenets: to accept no office or title that gives them power over others, and to resist attempts from others to hold power over them. To follow their wishes, except where they impinge on the rights of others.
Your beliefs and Affinities make you a suitable candidate. When you accept the Class, you will forge a link to the Supremacy of the Self. Do not worry: the Supremacy respects individuality too much to use the link, but it may, under very limited circumstances, listen to your pleas or prayers.
Be careful when communicating with the Ascended, as you will rarely get exactly (or even remotely) what you sought to attain or accomplish.
Requirements: Freedom Affinity, at least two Epic or greater Titles, no pre-existing position of authority over others, belief system compatible with the tenets of Supremacy of the Self.
Advancement in this class requires the expenditure of 350 Unbound Essence.
Attribute Bonuses per Level: +3 to Strength, +3 to Dexterity, +4 Constitution, +4 to Willpower, +3 to Intelligence, +3 to Perception, +5 Free Points.
Characteristic Bonuses: +25 Health, +25 Mana and +25 Endurance per level.
Affinity Perks:
* Freedom: You have a 50% bonus to resist any attempts to subvert your will through domination, illusion or even manipulation. This bonus applies to any applicable Skills, Perks, items or formations.
*Fire: You can infuse an applicable offensive Skill or melee attack with Fire-attuned Mana, inflicting (Willpower/4) additional points of Fire-attuned damage per action or ‘tick’ for ongoing effects. This costs 1 point of Mana or Endurance (your choice) per use or per second in the case of Toggle or Passive Skills.
* Sorcery: You can create 1-3 Spells from a Mana-empowered Skills that modify the Skill’s effects (damage, range, cost, targets, or area of effect) or even their original Type (Action, Passive, Toggle). The maximum number of Spells you can create is equal to (Intelligence/4).
Affinity Liabilities:
* Fire: You have a fiery temper. Your Willpower is reduced by 30% when attempting to control your temper when feeling anger or annoyance.
* Freedom: You cannot acquire any Skills, Feats, or Spells that directly control the minds or bodies of other sapient beings. This includes Taunt-type abilities. Indirect control abilities such as immobilizing, stunning or crippling effects are not restricted.
Affinity Skills (Select Two):
* Chain Breaker (Epic, Action, Beginner): Activation will attempt to dispel any ongoing control Skill or trait you are aware of, on yourself or others. You can use Chain Breaker even if stunned or otherwise unable to act normally, but if the effect prevents you from noticing the controlling ability, you will be unable to act. Cost: Varies: 50% of the Mana or Endurance activation cost of the affecting Skill. Cooldown: None.
* Flame Nimbus (Epic, Toggle, Beginner): Surrounds you in an fiery aura that will inflicts damage and provides some protection against some forms of energy. Anything within (Aura Rating + Skill level) inches of you will take (Arcane Rating/3) points of Fire-attuned damage every second they are in range. The Nimbus will also reduce Fire-attuned damage by (Arcane Rating/4) points of damage. Cost: 10 Mana and 5 Endurance, which cannot be regained while the Aura is active. Duration: Until dispelled. Note: this aura affects both friend and foe, and will ignite flammable objects within range or even in close proximity to the aura. Use with caution. Only you can prevent deadly conflagrations.
* Flaming Armaments (Rare, Toggle, Beginner): Imbues weapons with fire. The enhanced weapon will gain a fiery aura that inflict 3 points of Fire-attuned damage per Skill level. The aura will not damage you or the imbued weapon or missile.
Cost: 10 Mana per hand weapon. Missiles such as arrows and bullets can be imbued at the cost of 3 Mana per missile. This Mana cannot be regained while the Skill is active. Hand weapons remain imbued until the Skill is dismissed. Missiles will lose their power after striking any solid surface.
* Flame Blast (Uncommon, Action,. Beginner): Fires a beam of Fire-attuned Mana that inflicts (Arcane Rating/2) + Skill level points of damage. Range: 150 feet. Cost: 5 Mana. Flame Blast will ignite any flammable targets it strikes.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
* Mana Blast (Rare, Action, Beginner): Fires a powerful beam of unattuned Mana that inflicts (Arcane Rating/2 + Skill level points of damage. Range: 150 feet. Cost: 5 Mana. Pure Mana attacks count as Concept-attuned attacks for defensive purposes.
* Mana Missiles (Epic, Action, Beginner): Fires two or more small darts of unattuned Mana at one or more targets. Each dart inflicts (Arcane Rating/2) points of damage. The number of darts created is equal to Skill level + 1. You can mentally designate the target of the missiles, up to one target per missile. The missiles will fly unerringly toward the target(s); attempts to dodge them have a -50% penalty. Range: 250 feet. Cost: 10 Mana. Pure Mana attacks count as Concept-attuned attacks for defensive purposes.
* Sorcerous Shield (Epic, Toggle, Beginner): Creates a personal Mana-empowered skin-tight shield that surrounds you and reduces all forms of damage by (Arcane Rating/2) points. Cost: 10 Mana, which cannot be regained until the effect is dispelled.
Automatic Class Skills:
* Identify (Common, Passive, Beginner): Focus on the object or entity you wish to study. A screen showing basic information about the target (name, species/type, affinities (if any), path, grade/rank, level/stage, and energy pools) will open. By spending Mana, you may gain extra information, such as notable Skills or Perks; the information revealed will depend on your respective power, Perception, and Skill level.
* Melee Weapon Expertise (Uncommon, Proficiency, Beginner): Gain proficiency with a melee weapon of your choice. Increase the chance to hit, parry and block (depending on the weapon type) by 1% per level, critical chance by 2% per level, and damage by 3% per level. This Skill can be learned multiple times.
* One-Man-Army (Epic, Action, Beginner): Draw upon the power of the Self and become an unstoppable engine of destruction, able to face large numbers of enemies on your own. When activated, your Strength, Dexterity and Constitution will double, all forms of incoming damage will be reduced by 50%, your damage output from all sources will be increased by 50%, and your Energy Pool regeneration will tick every second instead of every minute.
Duration: 1 minute per Skill level.
Cost: None. When the power expires or is canceled, you cannot regain Mana or Endurance (including by the use of potions) for (20 - Skill level) minutes (even if the power is canceled before its full duration expires).
Cooldown: (30 - Skill level) minutes.
* Shield Expertise (Uncommon, Proficiency, Beginner): You are adroit at using a shield of any size (targe, small, medium, large, tower) for both defense and offence. Blocks, parries and deflecting maneuvers using a shield gain a +5% bonus to success per Skill level. Damage sustained by a shield you wear is reduced by 4% per Skill level.
Class Skills (Select Two):
* Additional Affinity Skill: You can use one of your Class Skill slots to select an additional Affinity Skill.
* Crushing Blow (Uncommon, Action, Beginner): Your next hand-to-hand attack will inflict an additional (Attack Rating/2) + Skill level points of physical damage. Misses still cost Endurance. Cost: 6 Endurance). Cooldown: None.
* Lesser Healing (Uncommon, Action, Beginner): Restores up to 10 Health points per Skill level on the target or yourself. The effect is instant. Range: Touch or Self. Cost: 5 Mana. Cooldown: (10 - Skill level) seconds.
* Bull Rush (Rare, Action, Beginner): Move forward at great speed. If a shield is equipped, you can slam it on a target as you travel, inflicting (Attack Rating + Skill) points of physical damage for every five yards you travel. Range: 20 yards. Cost: 10 Endurance.
* Steel Skin (Rare, Toggle, Beginner): reduces physical damage by (Constitution + Skill level) and Concept-attuned damage by (Willpower/2) + Skill level. Cost: 5 Endurance, which cannot be regained until the Skill is turned off.
“Sold!” Bob shouted, making his selections.
His inner gamer knew that the choice wasn’t ideal for the party; his role was a mix of tank and DPS, except he couldn’t pull aggro like a real tank, and his DPS was only great when he used his long-cooldown ‘oh crap’ Skill.
Not ideal, but he’d make it work.
On the plus side, he picked a healing Skill, which would let him be the off-everything party member. Off-tank, off-DPS, off-healer. He selected Chain Breaker, Mana Missiles and Sorcerous Shield to round off his build. No fire powers to start with, other than his Perk, but he figured he’d grab some as he leveled up. He had several ideas for Spells to modify his Skills, but those could wait until after he got all his rewards.
He accepted, and the System hit him like a ton of bricks. The process was worse than Rolls had made it sound, but he endured it with a strained smile on his face.
I’m not a nobody. Not anymore.
Josh:
This shit is boring, Josh Hennessy thought as he stared at the damn screen in front of him.
The shootout at the dumpster had been bad. Worse than Afghanistan, because back there the insurgents had never been close enough to see their faces. And they had been human. Fighting rat creatures and giant bugs might be fun when watching it happen on a screen, but for real it was bad.
If I hadn’t screwed up that deal, I wouldn’t be here. Dragged my sister into this mess, and now the DEA is the least of my worries.
It was what it was. He hadn’t minded shooting those things at the landfill, even when one of those giant rat people got so close he could see the buckshot tearing holes on their ratty fur.
They hadn’t laid a finger on him or Wendy, that was the important thing. Shooting things or even people wasn’t a big deal.
What he minded was doing fucking paperwork, and that was those floating letters on a screen were. Paperwork. Bad enough in the Army, worse in civvie-land – every time he had to fill out an application form was pure torture – and now this.
You have chosen an Affinity: Guns
You have chosen a Role: Rogue
You have gained two non-Class Skills: Gun Proficiency (Common, Proficiency, Beginner 2), Martial Arts Proficiency (Karate) (Common, Proficiency, Beginner 2).
Congratulations! You have unlocked one Uncommon Class.
Great. Uncommon is better than Common – learned that much playing MTG with Nerdy Wendy – so let’s pick that one.
Reaver (Uncommon)
You are a land pirate, focused on surviving amidst chaos. When law and order is absent and survival of the fittest becomes the only rule, you thrive and make the most of it. Your focus is on hit-and-run attacks, ranged combat, and setting ambushes. You lack the tracking and sensory abilities of a true scout – going first is not your first choice.
Prerequisites: None.
Advancement in this class requires the expenditure of 150 Unbound Essence.
Attribute Bonuses: +3 to Strength, +4 to Dexterity, + 3 to Constitution, +1 to Perception and +4 free Attribute points per level.
Energy Pool Bonuses: +10 Health, +10 Mana and +10 Endurance per level.
Rating Modifiers: +15% to Attack Rating.
Affinity Perks:
Guns: You instinctively know and understand any firearm you encounter regardless of make, type or technological level. This knowledge includes the care and maintenance of the weapon, how to use it properly, and its base damage, ammunition and effective range.
Affinity Liabilities: None
Affinity Skills (Select One):
* Quick-Load (Uncommon, Action, Beginner): You can move ammunition stored in your inventory directly into your gun. This action takes one second to initiate. Cost: 1 Mana per round (in the case of non-cartridge weapons, it includes the bullet, powder, and primer, all properly positioned).
* Sniper Shot (Uncommon, Action, Beginner): You can augment an aimed shot with Mana, increasing damage by 5 points per Skill level and accuracy by 30% per level. By taking time to aim, you can increase Critical Hit chances by 10% per second spent aiming, up to 100%. Cost: 5 Mana. Cooldown: 5 seconds.
* Virtual Spotter (Uncommon, Action, Beginner): Hostile targets within range will appear on your mini-map, and you can unerringly zero-in on them if they are within line of sight. You gain +25% per Skill level to accuracy and damage when shooting a marked target. Range: 100 yards per Skill level. Duration: 10 seconds per Skill level. Cost: 5 Mana to activate.
Automatic Class Skills:
* Identify (Common, Passive, Beginner): Focus on the object or entity you wish to study. A screen showing basic information about the target (name, species/type, affinities (if any), path, grade/rank, level/stage, and energy pools) will open. By spending Mana, you may gain extra information, such as notable Skills or Perks; the information revealed will depend on your respective power, Perception, and Skill level.
* One-Handed Melee Weapon (Common, Proficiency, Beginner): Gain proficiency with a one-handed weapon type. Increase critical chance by 1% per Skill level. Increase Damage by 1% per level.
* Gun Expertise (Uncommon, Proficiency, Beginner 2): (Replaces Gun Proficiency and retains Skill level): You are an expert shooter, able to increase the base damage and effective accuracy of your weapon by 5% per Skill level. Critical hit chance is increased by 2% per Skill level.
Class Skills (Select Two):
* Additional Affinity Skill: You can use one of your Class Skill slots to select an additional Affinity Skill.
* Iron Skin (Common, Toggle, Beginner): reduces physical damage by (Constitution/2) + Skill level and Concept-attuned damage by (Willpower/3) + Skill level. Cost: 5 Endurance, which cannot be regained until the Skill is turned off.
* Sneaky (Uncommon, Toggle, Beginner): activating your skin covers your body with a camouflage field that melds your form with your environment, making you much harder to spot. This stealth effect makes you 30% harder to see when you move and 50% harder to detect if standing still. Add 5% to both percentages per Skill level. Cost: 5 Mana, which cannot be regained until the Skill is turned off.
* Mighty Blow (Common: Action, Beginner): Deliver a powerful hand or melee weapon strike that adds 3 points of Physical damage per Skill level. Cost: 3 Endurance).
* Self-Heal (Common, Action, Beginner): You can heal 1 point of damage per Skill level at the cost of 2 Mana or Endurance per point of damage healed. Activating the Skill takes 3 seconds of concentration but no cooldown.
“Fine, whatever,” Josh said, making his choices. He went for Quick Load, Sneaky, and Sniper Shot. With Sneaky, he could be like the Predator from the movies. Just move invisibly and pick his shots. Easy.
After we’re out of here, I’m taking Wendy the hell away from here. Maybe go back to Ohio, settle a few scores, and find a nice cabin out in the boonies.
Josh nodded to himself as he made plans.
We’ll wait out whatever’s gonna happen away from everyone. Being the low man on the totem pole for Bob’s uncle or that Roland asshole is for losers.
Satisfied, he waved the away the annoying floating screen and then waves of pain hit him.
The fuck is this?
He vaguely remembered that dickhead’s warning but still felt like he’d gotten blindsided.
