New Incarnoi's Guide to Lost Souls
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Revision as of 13:48, 11 October 2009
Introduction You begin the game at the "Atman" menu, from which all of your incarnos can be selected, as well as created. "Incarnos" is the term used to define a Player Character or PC from within the game. Inputting the relevant letter into the game will lead you to the next menu - in this case, C will bring you to the character generation menu.
The first concern you should have is deciding what kind of character you want to play. If you desire a spellcasting type, you will find the attributes of intelligence, charisma and willpower to be greatly in need. For melee and combat-oriented types, strength, constitution and dexterity are what is called for. A greater understanding of the game and the guilds within will allow you to better tweak your characters to be both effective and desireable for you to play.
During Character Generation, you will determine your PC's attributes as well as their starting skills, skin/eye/hair color, name, homeland and even culture. Many of these choices will impact your character for the rest of his, her, or it's life, so it is best to read the documentation on your choices where available (usually within game, especially with regards to races and culture.) The Documentation in Lost Souls is almost always very well written and full of clarity - if it still leaves you wondering in some cases, asking on a global communication channel (such as typing ooc followed by your message and then pressing enter) is the next best action.
Before we jump into the statistics themselves, be forewarned that the specialty system divides your attribute by 10 to determine the number of actual "skill specialties" you have for a given statistic. Each specialty point increases the rating maximum for that skill (The system works such as at 0 spec, the max rating is 40. 1 is 80. 2 is 120. 3 is 150. 4 is 180. 5 is 200. Every one thereafter is +20, so 6 is 220, 7 = 240, 8 = 260 etc.) But remember, to have eight specialties from a given attribute, that attribute would need to be 80.
Attributes
Strength (Str) grants a better attack/deflection bonus with most weapons, but grants the largest bonus for things like axes, clubs and shields. It also helps determine carrying capacity, and how encumbered you will be by wearing armor.
Constitution (Con) determines your incarnoi's overall health and endurance, as well as regeneration rate to a degree. A number of skills that enhance resistance to damage and increase the amount that can be taken rely on this stat. Recuperative skills and stunning resistance both fall under the heading of constitution as well.
Dexterity (Dex) grants an attack/deflection and dodge bonus, and most weapon skills rely on it heavily. It also determines the number of activity you have to spend each game round - attacks, most spells, defenses, and movement all take activity away from a pool that is refreshed every game round.
Intelligence (Int) increases your maximum SP (as well as your SP regeneration as a by-product) and increases the amount of experience you earn (although this won't be incredibly noticeable.) It generally plays a role directly in spell casting effectiveness, and most spellcasting skill specialties, as well as many general knowledge and guild knowledge skills are located under intelligence.
Willpower (Wil) increases your maximum SP (as well as your SP regeneration as a by-product), and contains skills important to spellcasting in general (centering, for increasing SP maximum, channeling and meditation for increasing SP regeneration and overall regeneration while resting respectively.) Like intelligence, it generally plays a role directly in spellcasting effectiveness.Charisma contains the skills Telesmatic Weapon (the skill that plays the largest role in determining spell hit rate) as well as Evocation and Invocation (two of the most important "generic" spellcasting skills.) It also helps you get better prices for training and at shops, and plays a directly role in spellcasting effectiveness.
Perception (Per) increases your SP slightly, affects most ratings, and is the largest contributor of your statistics to experience gain. Many combat skills, such as precision strike and killer instinct, are under the heading of perception, as well as some esoteric skills. A well-balanced character should have a good deal of perception.
Size will play one of the largest roles on your character. Small characters have far less health than large characters, but receive benefits to their ability to dodge. Equipment within the game can only be re-sized under certain circumstances, and most magical equipment can only be re-sized by other players through the use of costly spells. Very large characters may even find themselves unable to pass through common doorways.
Skills and Specialties
When you begin your character, starting with 40 skill in orienteering, if possible, is suggested. With a compass in hand, you should be able to determine almost perfect coordinates, and this will make your new, and most certainly difficult adventures much more tolerable.
Setting your skill specialties is the next largest step in character design, and usually the difference between life and death. As an adventurer, you don't have a lot of options available to you other than melee combat. Weapon skills (or at least dodge) are important to every guild and character type as they will allow you to survive longer as well as dish out damage. What follows is a listing of important and highly suggested skills that all characters should attempt to have a degree of when necessary, regardless of guild (or lack thereof.)
-a weapon skill (str or dex) dodge (dex) combat reflexes (dex) quickness (dex) legerdemain (dex)* prestidigitation (dex)*
-massive blow (str) -armour adaptation (str) load bearing (str) shield (str)
-hardiness (con) steadiness (con) -resilience (con) recuperation (con) stamina (con)
-anatomy (int) dirty fighting (int) -tactics (int) strategy (int) conjuration (int)* abjuration (int)* symbology (int)* magickal spheres (int)*
meditation (wil) -pain tolerance (wil) centering (wil)^ channeling (wil)^
telesmatic weapon (cha)^ invocation/evocation (cha)^ ownership (cha) leadership (cha) -intimidation (cha)
-killer instinct (per) -precision strike (per) orienteering (per) (if needed for perfect coordinates) divination (per)* introspection (per)^
- If used by guild abilities
^If spell caster -Denotes a suggested skill concentration for new players (5+ Specialty Points if possible) Magickal Spheres: Pyromancy, Necromancy, Cryomancy, Etc.
To set set a specialty degree in a skill, type the following: set specialty degree in x to y X is the skill Y is the number of specialty points
Remember, you only receive one specialty point for every ten points of a given attribute, and they are restricted to being used on skills linked to that attribute. The dash suggestions will allow most characters to have an adequate degree of survivability if they are each given greater than 5 specialty points a piece.
