Next, you must select your primary role. This is not a class, which must be trained or unlocked in game, but a general classification. Your primary role will give you stat bonuses at each level to stats important to that role. You will also gain starter equipment and proficiencies based on the role selected.
Available roles are: Warrior, Mage, Thief, Healer, Face
Hoh. So you can pick any class you like, but you can start setting the tone in chargen, and they’ll give you boosts throughout the game? That sounds interesting. I have an idea what each of the roles does, but best to hear the official description before rushing into things. I’d hate to have to redo character creation because of a stupid choice.
“Display role information.”
Role: Warrior
Whether raging barbarians wielding massive battleaxes, or stalwart fighters protecting their allies with sword and shield in hand, or monks who can match the feats of other warriors with merely their bare hands and feet, or a skilled duelist that can take on any foe, when it comes to battle you will always find warriors in the areas where the fighting is thickest. Warriors know best that while it is the words of men that may shape a nation, it is the deeds of the warriors that uphold it.
+5 STR, +5 CON
+2 Stat points per level to distribute between STR and CON
Proficient with all Simple and Martial Weapons and Shields
Proficient with Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor
Well, that was just as I expected. Decent boost to STR and CON at start, and then you got consistent bonuses at each level to help boost your desired play style. Actually a fairly elegant system, if you think about it. Depending on how you spent your stat increases, you could adjust things quite a lot. Not to mention that when you finally found a class, you’d get more boosts.
Role: Mage
Ancient wizards in their towers, pouring over tomes of forgotten lore. Brash sorcerers wielding fire and lightning to strike down their foes. Wise summoners who call upon the spirits to do their bidding in battle. Cunning warlocks cursing their foes with debilitating attacks. All have the qualities of a mage. Though they typically are lacking in defense, few disagree that a trained mage can devastate a battlefield if they set their mind to it.
+5 INT, +5 WIS, +5 CHA
+3 Stat points to distribute between INT, WIS, and CHA at each level
+5% Magic Resistance
+5% Magic Attack
Proficient with Staff, Dagger
Not proficient with Armor
This seemed like a trade-off. Sure, you got better magic resistance and attack, but the limited weapons and no armor would be a real problem early on. Hopefully finding a class would allow you to gain some more bonuses, like defensive spells, or the ability to wear certain kinds of armor. Still, the benefits were obvious for anyone who wanted to be a spellslinger, especially if you could look ahead to the mid or late game.
Role: Thief
Cunning rogues disabling traps in the dungeon. Stealthy assassins eliminating targets with precision. The pickpocket who stole your wallet while you were reading this message. The archer that has you in his sights. All of them have this role in common. While not the strongest when it comes to a fair fight, these types rarely stoop to fighting fair. Fair fights are for Warriors, not thieves. But in an ‘unfair’ fight, they can be critical to a party’s success.
+10 DEX
+2 DEX each level
+5% Dodge rate
+5% Crit Rate
Proficient with Simple weapons
Proficient with Light Armor
A risky choice, basically focused on DEX. The goal of a thief was to hit hard, fast, and then get the hell out of the way, letting the warrior take the hits. I could see a lot of potential builds, once you picked up classes. But was it right for me? It had been so long since I’d been anything other than a tank that I was rusty on the ‘stick and move’ bit. I’d have to do some serious training if I went this route.
Role: Healer
Anyone who tells you that healers are useless on the battlefield is an idiot, or a liar. In either case, they’re probably going to be dead soon, so ignore them. Whether it is a gentle healer looking after the children, or the hardened battle cleric, or the wild druid living in the forest, a healer can cure illness, heal wounds, and even revive the dead at higher levels. Masters of holy magic, healers must have a patron god or goddess.
+20 WIS
+2 WIS each level
+10% on all Healing spells
Proficient with Simple Weapons
Proficient with Light and Medium Armor
Must choose a patron diety (will provide additional bonuses, but also come with restrictions)
Healers. Necessary in any balanced party, but not something I enjoyed doing. Even Torgan was a hybrid between Healer and Warrior, as a Paladin. I would have to put a lot of work in to get a Healer to the point where they could effectively work solo. Yes, I usually liked to have a team, because party play made a lot of things easier, and you needed a party to even attempt some quests, but I was a big believer that you should do your best to be able to at least survive solo play. Sometimes the rest of your party would be wiped out, or offline. Sometimes you’d be between groups, or doing a tough solo quest. Relying totally on the presence of a party was like relying solely on a specific piece of gear. Without it, you’re hosed.
Role: Face
The spymaster who knows all the secrets in the kingdom. The con artist who can sell ice to Eskimos. The dashing rogue who sweeps ladies off their feet. The master diplomat who can settle a blood feud between two houses with a conversation. The inquisitor torturing prisoners for information. They all count as a ‘face’. While they are not always the leader of a party, they are the public face of the party, the one sent to do negotiations or discover secrets.
+20 CHA
+2 CHA per level
+5% to all social interactions
+5% to all Fame/Infamy gains
Proficient with Simple weapons
Not Proficient with Armor
Now that was interesting. It wasn’t a role one typically thought about in terms of MMORPGs, but common with the old ‘tabletop’ games like Dungeons & Dragons or Shadowrun. Someone to talk his way into and out of any trouble he might find. A con artist and playboy would be a different choice from my normal play style, but the lack of combat ability left me worried. Sure, there were plenty of ways to advance in the game besides going out and hitting things, but I still wanted to be able to hold my own in combat.
All the options were decent, especially since I could go grab a class later, which would help things out. Hybrids would probably be unlockable somewhere in the game, too. But now I had to pick something, to proceed with chargen.
Chapter 5 – Character Creation, Part 4
Well, I’m already an Incubus, might as well go full bore and do Face build, as well. I could pick up other abilities as I go along. But playing to my race’s strengths will help me in the early game. I hope.
Confirm: Y/N?
“Yes.”
Qualities
In Age of Anarchy Online, Qualities are traits which represent certain aspects of a character. There are both positive and negative Qualities. You may pick 1-4 positive qualities, but must also have an equal number of negative qualities. These qualities are personalized for you based upon the browser history on your Chip. Details on the qualities are only given after final selections have been made, and cannot be changed afterwards.
That was… OK, that was just disturbing, but also pretty cool. Or it would have been, if I had remembered to clear my browser history. Still, the idea of having personalized traits depending on what you browsed for with your Chip was something I hadn’t heard of in a game before.
“Positive Qualities.”
Positive Qualities (Choose up to 4):
Anime Asura
Black Bible of Kitami Reika
Give Peace a Chance
How to Serve Woman
Infinite Blade Works
Midnight Gymnastics
Subs or Dubs?
Nightwalker
The Gamer
Hold My Beer
Damn. Without anything but the names to go by, this would be a tough choice. I already decided to go ahead and grab four, despite needing to get four negatives as well if I did so. I wasn’t setting out to become the elite warrior this time. So I could afford to experiment a little, and see what this game had to offer. I took a breath, and said, “I choose Black Bible, How to Serve Woman, Infinite Blade Works, and Subs or Dubs.”
Accepted.
Black Bible of Kitami Reika – You possess a cursed spellbook that once belonged to a demon. Dark Magic and Charm Magic start at Basic Level 5. Dark Magic and Charm Magic +50% while holding the Bible. Learn spells from the Black Bible 20% faster.
How to Serve Woman – You gain the legendary Dolcett Cookbook. Cooking Skill starts at Intermediate Level 1. Exotic weapon proficiency (Spit). Gain no infamy for player deaths if part of meal preparations. Cooking skills improve 10% faster when using humanoid ingredients.
Infinite Blade Works – Proficient with all Swords. Dual-Wielding unlocked. Sword Mastery skill starts at Beginner Level 5. Sword skills improve 5% faster.
Subs or Dubs? – Universal Translator: All languages learned.
Skills in AAO have several tiers, each tier having ten levels. The tiers are Beginner, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Godly. So getting two skills into Basic and one into Intermediate levels is pretty awesome. Sure, Cooking isn’t going to be useful on the battlefield, but still, being able to enjoy a hot meal is always welcome. The sword skill, however, will definitely help cover for my otherwise weak combat ability. And knowing all languages in the game at start meant I could talk with anyone, which seemed like a good thing if I was going for a social-focus on this character.
But Dolcett Cookbook? It can’t possibly mean THAT, right? And the ‘Black Bible’? The other two? I really should have cleared out my browser before starting AAO!
With a sigh, I shake my head, and say, “Negative Qualities.”
Negative Qualities (Choose 4):
All in the Family
Are You Gonna Eat That?
Crystal’s Curse
Kidnapping Quarterly
Nope-Magnet
Strange Attraction
Sucker for a Pretty Face
The Usual Suspects
Tsundere/Yandere
Why Would You Post Something Like That?
Oh. Well fuck me running! If this was based on my browser history like the other, there were a few of these that I was just going to stay way the hell away from.
“Fine. I choose… Usual Suspects, Strange Attraction, Sucker for a Pretty Face, and Why Would You Post Something Like That?”
Accepted.
Strange Attraction – Something about you causes monsters to be drawn to you. Monster encounters in the wild happen 20% more often.
Sucker for a Pretty Face – -50% Charm resistance against female creatures with a Charisma equal to or greater than your own.
The Usual Suspects – If a crime is committed and you are anywhere nearby, you become a suspect. You and police interrogation rooms are going to be very good friends. (Note: Disguise skill may negate effects.)
Why Would You Post Something Like That? – Your actions are more likely to shock people. However, they forget about your deeds over time. This is very much a double-edged sword. Double all Infamy gains. Double Bounties on you. Manhunts and Bounties return to normal twice as fast.
Well, that could have been a lot worse. More monster encounters means more loot, but I’ll have to watch out for swarms, and high-encounter areas are pretty much a no-go unless I’ve got a group. Pretty Face is going to hurt. Any enchantress out there with a CHA higher than mine is pretty much going to make me her toy, unless I can find some way to boost that resistance. Combined with the Incubus penalty, you’re looking at -100%. For those of you who are bad at math, try 1 - 1 = 0.
The other two could be problematic as well. I’ll need to get the Disguise skill quickly, or I’ll be getting hauled in whenever I’m in town, looks like. And that last one means if I step out of line, I’ll quickly get to the higher ranks of public enemy-dom. But at least they’ll stop looking for me in half the time.
Choose a Name:
Hmm. A name. What to call myself? I don’t want to go stereotypical demon or anything. For one, that’d be boring. “Puck.”
Name Already Taken
I cursed, and went through several other names, before settling on one the system would accept, that wasn’t in use.
Name Accepted.
Name set as Zayn Darkmore.
Status screen unlocked. Say ‘Status’ to view.
You may now spend Upgrade Points.
You have 30000 points left to spend.
“Status.”
Name
Zayn Darkmore
Class
None
Level
1
Sub-Class
None
Experience
0/100
Profession
None
HP
100/100
MP
100/100
Fame
0
Infamy
0
0 PP
0 GP
0 SP
20 CP
Attributes
STR
10
INT
10
DEX
10
WIS
5
CON
10
CHA
52
???
???
???
???
Points Remaining: 0
Resistances
Pierce
Bludgeoning
Slashing
Fire
Ice
Water
Lightning
Wind
Earth
Light
Dark
Charm
-50% Charm Resistance vs. Females (-100% if CHA equal or lower than foe)
Proficiencies
Simple Weapons
Exotic Weapon (Spit)
Swords
Qualities
Black Bible of Kitami Reika
How to Serve Woman
Infinite Blade Works
Subs or Dubs?
Strange Attraction
Sucker for a Pretty Face
The Usual Suspects
Why Would You Post Something Like That?
Skills
Pheromones - Beginner 1 (0%)
Charming Gaze - Beginner 1 (0%)
Dark Magic - Basic 5 (0%)
Charm Magic - Basic 5 (0%)
Cooking - Intermediate 1 (0%)
Sword Mastery - Beginner 5 (0%)
Perks
Upgrade Points Remaining: 30000
“Abilities Information.”
Strength (STR) – Used to determine how heavy a load you can lift. Affects damage with Melee weapons. Affects Knockback.
Constitution (CON) – Gain 10 HP per point of CON. Affects resistance to physical effects (poisons, etc.)
Dexterity (DEX) – Affects accuracy with all weapon attacks. Affects physical defense, and mobility.
Intelligence (INT) – Gain 10 MP per point of INT. Affects speed of learning new skills. Affects Magic attack and power for Arcane Magic.
Wisdom (WIS) – Affects Mental Defense. Affects Magic Attack and power for Divine Magic.
Charisma (CHA) – Affects Social skills. Affects attractiveness. Affects Magic Defense.
“Upgrade Points Information.”
Upgrade points can be spent on Ability scores, skills, or Perks.
Ability Scores can be bought at a cost of 1 per point increase until the ability reaches 20, and then it costs 2
points per increase, 3 points per increase at 30, and so on.
Skills and Perks cost a varying amount based on their type and level.
Unused points may be converted into game currency at the rate of 1 SP per point.
1 PP = 10 GP = 100 SP = 1000 CP