Character Creation

I opened my eyes after the usual white flash that signified my arrival in another node of the weave. The flash seemed to linger, the world staying completely white around me. It looked like I was in a blank cubic room. I couldn't help but sight.

"How unoriginal..., I guess the Weaver didn't want to use resources on the lobby ...".

I barely finished my sentence before a familiar eerie feminine voice, too perfect to be real, rang in my ears.

"Welcome Alice Campbell, you are now in the node dedicated to the newest VRMMO: Worlds of the Weave. The game is not available yet. You might begin and create your character in advance. You will be able to make modifications as you like until your first log in. Before making your character, you should agree to the following rules..."

I let the AI ramble for a moment, already knowing the Weave's usual rules, mostly concerning any kind of disturbing acts people can do to one another, including sexual assault and harassment.

I focused again on the mirror-like panel that appeared in front of me just as the voice seemed to finish reading the rules and conditions. An image of myself stood there in front of me, with many sliders on the sides, allowing me to customize any physical feature.

"Please first adjust your base appearance as you see fit. Be aware that further choices during creation but also during the game may alter it again. For reasons of fairness, there are restrictions on over or under sized avatars, additional limbs such as extra arms, legs, heads, or wings. Any such modification will restrict your race choice to suitable ones. "

I stared at my reflection for a moment, thinking out loud.

"I might as well make myself a bit prettier... It's not like our real appearances matter now..."

I played with the sliders, taking my time, making my own body a little bit more shapely and modifying my face slightly to hide some imperfections. I ended up in front of an idealized version of myself close enough for the modifications not to be too noticeable at first glance but still a lot prettier than my true self.

In most nodes of the Weave, people could customize their appearances completely. Thanks to the Weave sending stimuli directly into the brain, it was even possible for people to change sex or add limbs to their avatars. They would need a period of time for their brains to adapt to these changes and control their body properly, but it was nevertheless possible. Most people kept their original appearances or slightly altered them, using similar looks in every node. But there were exceptions. Some people forged themselves completely new bodies and identities, depending on the node they went to. Some even changed for monstrous or animalistic appearances. All things considered, the modifications I just made could simply be compared to a bit of make-up.

I pressed the button, signifying the end of my avatar's customization. Horizontal rays of light scanned my reflection in the mirror for a few seconds before a green light came out of the panel.

"No major alteration detected, standard body type detected, you may proceed and choose any race. Selecting a race with special physical features will change your avatar in consequences. Please choose a race among the 96 races and subraces available."

I moved my hands left and right, browsing the different races, seeing my reflection change at each swipe, getting bigger or smaller, its skin color going from pale to dark blue, fur, tails, and animal hears appearing and disappearing. I took my time, read a few descriptions, and saw that most races have strong and weak points. For example, dwarves were sturdy and stubborn, making good warriors or clerics, beast-men seemed to be the most varied bunch depending on their type. As in most games, humans were jacks of all trades.

It took me around 30 minutes to read all the race entries. I quickly discarded most of them, keeping only the ones that seemed suited to being magic casters. I split the panel in two, putting a dark elf on the left side and another elf subspecies looking more like a traditional high elf on the right.

I pondered for an instant and quickly dismissed the drow after reading its background. Taking a supposedly evil-aligned race would only be a hindrance. I was not too keen on hiding or having to talk my way into cities once I left the drow underground realm, called the Underdark to go and meet with the others.

In the end, I chose the spire elf race, enjoying a bonus to agility and intelligence, but also a natural understanding of magic, allowing my spell to breach magic resistance a little more easily.

I tapped the confirmation button and felt my body morphing slightly to fit the image displayed in front of me. My ears got longer and were now visible poking out of my long hair, my skin became smoother, and my body grew slightly, making it more slender. Streaks of purple appeared in my eyes and tinted my platinum blonde hair, giving me a mysterious vibe. I smirked, quite satisfied with my new appearance, ready to continue.

The voice echoed again. "Please choose your beginning class, there might not be a lot of different ones at creation, but every basic class will be split into numerous paths to follow. You will have to discover them by yourself in the game."

I quickly looked at the short list seeing the classic fantasy staples: Arcane disciple, Divine Acolyte, Ranger, Rogue, and Warrior.

I didn't even take a moment to think and chose Arcane disciple. Immediately, a wooden stick appeared in my hand as a dark robe replaced my clothes.

Another panel appeared with what seemed to be my character stats: Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, Willpower, and Charm.

I read each ability description as the AI explained the role of each one of them.

"Strength determines most melee weapons proficiency and damage. It also determines the weight of the weapons and armors that you may yield without penalties. It is the main stat for warriors, but some rogue or ranger subclasses might also rely more on strength than agility. Additionally, strength determines how you can interact with your surroundings. High strength might allow you to bend bars or move obstacles out of the way.

Agility determines most ranged weapons proficiency and damage. It also increases the maximum speed at which you can move. It is the main stat for rogues and ranger classes. Some warrior subclasses might also rely more on agility than strength. Additionally, Agility gives a passive resistance to aoe effects.

Stamina determines the ability to endure damage, but also the resistance to poisons or illness. It also determines the size of your health and stamina pool, as well as their regeneration rates. Additionally, Stamina determines how long you can run and hold your breath without taking penalties or damage. Even though it is not the main ability of any class, I would recommend not underestimating its importance.

Intelligence determines the efficiency and casting proficiency of Arcane spells. It also determines the size of your mana pool. It is the main stat for Arcane disciples, but hybrid advanced classes might use it too. Additionally, Intelligence determines how quickly one can decrypt and learn new information from written sources.

Willpower determines the efficiency and casting proficiency of divine magic. It also determines the regeneration rate of your mana. It is the main stat of Divine acolytes, as they use it to draw more power from their deities. Additionally, Willpower represents your mental stability and fortitude determining your resistance to mental attacks.

Charm is the ability used to influence others. It is useful when interacting with NPCs. Charm might seem lackluster at first but be advised that some advanced path will have some of their abilities based on charm.

Please be reminded that this explanation only covers the basic classes. Feel free to experiment and create your own play style. Now please divide these 30 points among the 6 abilities."

All stats listed in my character window seemed to have a base value of 10 except for the ones modified by my race, agility, and intelligence, which started at 15.

I chose to add most of the points into intelligence, bringing my total to 30. I then added 5 points to agility playing to my race advantages, reaching 20. Even for a mage, being faster can't be too bad. I spread the last 10 points evenly between stamina and wisdom, increasing my health stamina and regeneration rates across the board.

I took a last look at my stats and realized the presence of a - button next to every stat. I tried lowering strength as low as possible, going from 10 to 5, unlocking 5 more points to use. I pondered for a moment and added them to wisdom, thinking out loud again.

"I won't fight in melee and I won't wear heavy equipment either. I guess lowering strength to the minimum isn't too risky... On the other hand, mana regeneration seems more important..."

I finally clicked the confirmation button, closing the opened window. The AI chimed in with its crystal clear voice as another window composed of a single blank line poped in front of me.

"Please name your character to finish the creation. All characters need a name and a surname."

I typed the usual name I used in most games, a variation of my real name, then tried to find a good surname. It took me a few minutes, trying to find something decent. I hesitantly added the best one, or more precisely, the least worse.

"Checking name database... Player's name is available. Character creation completed. The game will launch in 1 hour, 34 minutes, and 52 seconds. You can still alter your character until your first log in."

A big countdown appeared in the air, replacing the character creation pannels, the silence deafening after the AI got quiet.

"... I spent this long in here... I'll need to thank Aspen for the advice."

I looked one last time in the mirror, rechecking every detail, turning around, and feeling my long ears with my hands. I opened my stat sheet again, looking at the basic spells and equipment effects.

Alyss Aetheryn : Lv 0

HP: 75/75 (+7.5/min ~ 0.125/s)

SP: 75/75 (+30/min ~ 0.5/s)

MP: 150/150 (+21/min ~ 0.35/s)

Str:5 Agi:20 Sta:15 Int:30 Wil:20 Cha:10

Spd: 11

Basic Spells:

Mana Bolt (20mp): Shoot a mana bolt in a straight line. Deals Int/2 (15+1) force damage. Cast time 1s

Mana Shield (40 mp): Conjure a mana disc acting as a shield. Absorbs Int/2 (15) damage before breaking. Cast time 0.5s

Equipment: (Attunement 2/10)

Apprentice robe (1): Increase mana regeneration by 1/min

Apprentice staff (1): Increase mana bolt damage by 1

I did some quick calculations lost in my thoughts. 75 hp doesn't seem too bad, but the regeneration is a bit slow. 10 minutes to get back from low health to full is quite long. Stamina regeneration is higher, and mana regeneration in between...

I should be able to cast 7 mana bolts with a full mana bar for a total of 112 damage, enough to kill another player with under 20 stamina, but I have no clue about the average monster. Provided I hit my target every time, and there is no damage reduction from magic resistance.

Mana shield seems interesting to defend myself but considering its expensive mana cost, it's best that I try to avoid being hit in the first place. Just as a thought experiment, with a full mana bar, I could tank 45 more damage, maybe 60 if I can regenerate a bit... Not too shabby, it's nice to have a defensive option. I wonder if there will be tank mages playing with defensive spells. Then once I'm dry... 7 minutes to get back from low mana to full... Can't say it's fast, kind of old school, but I don't really mind.

Equipment is pretty basic. I see there are no slots but an attunement score... so I can equip as many items as I can carry and fit into this attunement value. Right now, the staff and robe each take 1, and I'm capped at 10... It Seems to be my total stats divided by 10.

I closed the panel and waited a few minutes, pacing the room until the Weaver's clear voice rang again.

"Please get ready, the game is going live in 10 seconds... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Welcome to the Worlds of the Weave!