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The World of Experia

Okay, so I was going to do this in a more structured fashion, with headings and everything, but I decided it was taking too long for my procrastinating self to rearrange everything, so here I am with something more organic.

The world of Experia began with an odd idea: In A World with Save Points (which eventually evolved into a full RPG-Mechanics 'Verse), how odd could things turn out? After all, unnatural death has no impact when you'll just wake up the next day with all your memories intact and the equipment from the last time you saved.

So, in this world, I put a place called "Carpenter Town," where pretty much everyone was very skilled at woodwork and architecture because of an odd tradition of theirs: whenever someone from their town wanted to go out and become an Adventurer, they send the prospective Adventurer into the woods to find a specific plant, then loose monsters on the town (I never thought of how on that front, though), then half the town is likely to be dead when the Adventurer comes back and they fight off the monsters. The next day, the town revives, they have a party to celebrate, and then get to rebuilding.

But the main character of this story idea I had, when it was their turn, a mysterious cloaked figure appeared and destroyed the Save Point, indirectly killing the townsfolk that had already died to the monsters. The main character then declares a Quest of vengeance that eventually puts them on a path to save the world from an Eldritch Abomination of Order that was sealed inside the Save Points.

From there, I needed a world for this story to take place in, and eventually I started building it, mixing in two other settings I had invented, and eventually using Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator to create a world map and countries that the heroes would travel through on their journey (with four of those being ones created before I used the map generator: Igaland, Lormoor, Ahcos, and Ancient).

Here's the World of Experia. I'll talk about the countries and the planet and its bodies themselves in the next post.

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When putting together the countries of Experia, I felt an odd want to give each one a different title (Kingdom, Empire, Principality, Shogunate, etc), which helped me decide what their cultures were like. The only one I wound up changing after the culture started coming together was Fekarni, which used to be a principality until I wondered why they would remain such when they were a sovereign nation in their own right, rather than beholden to anyone else, so instead I wrote into their backstory that they used to be a principality, and instead became the Fekarni Collegiate because their big thing was stories and knowledge and music, a cultural powerhouse if they were a Sid Meier Civilization.

Anyways, the first of these countries I made was The Ancient Kingdom (or "Kingdom of Ancient", if you'd rather), as a world of adventure setting for tabletop RPGs. Ancient is full of mysterious ruins that no one truly knows the origin of, and in each of these ruins are artifacts, lost or forgotten from other countries. No one is quite sure how most of these items ended up in Ancient, especially if their last known location was on the other side of the world, but the main export of this strange place is these artifacts. A thousand years or so ago (which is literally how the history books start talking about the history of the kingdom), a man now known only as The Founder cast a geas over the whole continent, creating what's known as The Ancient Laws, after which he disappeared.

These are those laws:
1. Any information on artifacts is to be shared with all, to assist those who seek specific artifacts. Those who break this rule become forced to speak nothing but the truth until they share at last.
2. Any disputes between the factions that break into violence will not involve those who are not part of a faction or agree to join the fight. Any who break this rule will suffer a long, painful death.
3. The Lord of the Realm is elected from those who are not part of a faction by popular vote of the leaders of every faction. If the Lord of the Realm is purposely or accidentally part of a faction when chosen, they will become mute until the end of their reign.
4. When an artifact is found, what is to be done with that artifact is to be determined by the faction that found it. Any disputes about this will be judged on by the Lord of the Realm.

These factions eventually became known as guilds. The most famous one is the Knots of Yggdrasil, which form the standing army of Ancient (no one is sure if it was accidentally or purposely misspelled, but people are too afraid of the seven leaders of the Knots to ask). The capital of The Ancient Kingdom is named "The City of Wonders", with the capital building itself called "The Brass Hall" (and a particularly nasty Lord of the Realm inspired a pub called "The Brass Hole").
---
The second of these independent creations was Lormoor, which was originally a planet of its own. Its name is a combination of Lorwyn and Shadowmoor, two names for the same plane in Magic: the Gathering, and was partly made with that in mind. It is home to three sapient species, the rohk (based on MtG's kor, so White Mana), the krarka (goblinoids, Blue/Red), and jorigan (fungus-elves, Black/Green), who are all generally peaceful. Lormoor and its species are marked by a particular trait of being very metal-heavy, with the sapients in particular having metal growing from them in various ways, which also means that their diets include metals to keep themselves strong.

The rohk are nomads with iron bones and gold hair (and that is meant very literally). They're naturally very strong with a talent for healing, and are very clan-oriented. Every year almost the whole species returns to Rohkmootkar, the largest lake in world, for the Rohkkar, which has become almost a world's fair for most of Experia.

The krarka live in mountain cities and are endlessly creating, whether it be engineering or art. They are small, with the tallest being just under five feet, and have metal exoskeletons. It says a lot therefore, that when something they're making goes wrong, they tend to die. There are three genders to the krarka, signified by their colour, the emorc (tarnished silver), the roni (rust red), and the correp (greenish patina), and they reproduce by three of them fusing together and a litter of six-to-twelve krarka are born of the mass, which are then raised by the society.

The jorigan live in treetop villages, where they tend to their hanging farms. Their metal grows in the form of clawed fingers and toes for most of the population. An monosex species, the jorigan reproduce by planting seed pods that grow from their hair, but these seed pods can only get the nutrients they need to grow from corpses. As a result, the jorigan greatly respect the cycle of life and death, and to kill anything, even for the most noble cause, will get the killer's head shaved and salted then be exiled.
 
Ahcos was third to be made, and first of them to be made for Experia before I made the map. The name is an anagram for "chaos" because I thought it amusing to have the final boss of the story, as an Abomination of Order, to be found in a place named for Chaos. The main defining trait of Ahcos is that, unlike everywhere else on the planet, there are no Save Points. It's the location the Save Point-destroyer came from, because he was both jealous of how people's loved ones come back in other places and The Terrible Stillness (that Eldritch Abomination) was whispering in his mind's ear.

That was all I had on the nation at first, but after I started to build the world proper, it got much more fleshed out. Now the Ahcos Magocratic Union, magic is something everyone there is learned in. because the harsh conditions at the top of the world made them more dependent on what a single person could do with magic. Their ruled by a Grand Magus who is chosen by the previous Grand Magus from amongst a pool of apprentices (of which, I decided, the cloaked destroyer was one, which is how he got close enough to The Terrible Stillness for it to effect him).

The Ahcosian continent is largely cut off from the rest of the world due to its elevation and the mountains on most of its coastline, the only place one can easily gain entrance being a port city in the one place that's relatively sea level. Due to this isolation, the Magocratic Union has a different calendar and different names for the two moons of Experia, calling the larger one Cosmos and the smaller one, Discord. More on those later. At first I had made the flag of Ahcos black and red with the Star of Chaos on it, but then I wondered why any nation would have such an evil looking flag, and decided that it wouldn't. So I made a new one:

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It represents the four higher elements of magic in Experia, Order, Yin, Chaos, and Yang. More on those when I get into the magic system.

The last of the four first nations (and I'll probably talk about the rest tomorrow, as I need to be getting to bed so I can be up for work), is The Kingdom of Igaland, which I made almost completely because of admiration for Koji Igarashi, AKA IGA, the man who half-invented the genre of Metroidvania, giving it its second name of Igavania. The name itself was cobbled from that other name, because I did some research on what the suffix "-vania" means, and the best I could figure (since it's not actually anywhere I looked) was that I basically meant "land" (because "Transylvania" is the "Land beyond the forest"; Trans=beyond sylvan=forest vania=land, ergo Igavania=Igaland).

Because of IGA's association with vampires in this way, and particularly as Symphony of the Night was where he started, I therefore added vampires and dhampir to Experia. Along with humans, which are the only species that can be vampirized here, that's all the sapient species of this world. Igaland is the only place where I've actually got names for a ruler, which is the Vampire King (also called the Good King) Iga. He has three children, two by adoption. In the course of the story he gets indirectly killed by the destroyer (I don't have a name for him yet, either), and so one of these children join the main character in their Quest while the other two stabilize the country; later the player/main character can go back and recruit another one of them because the last is now confident they can run the country on their own. Which of the three is which is up to the player if I actually get this world/story made into a video game.

That's all I can really think of to say for Igaland at the moment, so I'll just leave off with their flag, which was actually the first flag I designed for this world. All the countries except Lormoor have a flag and I just realized I didn't post Ancient's flag in the previous post, so I'll put that after Igaland's.

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Realized a couple things I've left out in the last post:

In Ahcos, for most of its history, same-sex marriages were outlawed and stigmatized (mostly due to the lack of children from such a union), but about a hundred years ago, these laws were repealed and replaced with ones that require the couple to adopt an orphan before they can get married. The older generation is still very much against it, like most older generations, but the younger are coming around.

I also forgot to outline how vampires and dhampir work in this world. Vampires are not undead on Experia. They require blood to survive, but can get it from pretty much any source that has blood, so only criminals tend to go after humans (as human blood is considered the tastiest). At night, vampires are far stronger, agile, and tougher than humans, but during the day they are far more fragile (while becoming just as strong and agile as a human). In most places it is illegal to turn someone into a vampire if they are under the age of majority, even if they are willing. Unwilling conversions are outlawed everywhere.

Dhampir can be born to either human or vampire mother (as long as the father is the other one), and are stronger than humans at all times, but weaker than vampires during the night. They are capable of living off of both regular food and blood, and so find it much easier to survive in the wild than most. Dhampir are completely sterile, unable to make vampires or have regular children. Dhampir are also extremely rare, and not just because a human/vampire coupling is rare. When a dhampir reaches the approximate age of thirty, they stop aging entirely, but otherwise age like humans.

I also just realized that I never came up with a name for the sun of Experia, so that'd be something to talk about once the world is more explained. As noted in the Ahcos section of the previous post, the planet has two moons, one larger and one smaller. The smaller moon orbits the larger and is red in hue, while the larger is silver. To the rest of the world, these moons are known as Magister (the larger) and Stoker (the smaller). Stoker is called such because when it reaches fullness, monsters grow more restless. Magister's cycle takes twenty-eight days, and Stoker's thirteen. There are 364 days in an Experian year, which manages, without my intent, to be what happens when you multiply twenty-eight by thirteen.

The planet itself is on a crooked path around the sun, in such a way that the northern climes (mainly Ahcos and the Island Kingdom of Marn) tend to be among the coldest (Marn, however, has some warm currents around it, meaning that it has far less to worry about in winter than Ahcos), while the southern tend to be very warm indeed. Human skin colours follow the natural trend of this exposure; pale northerners and dark southerners. The north doesn't experience a summer solstice so much as it does a summer equinox. I don't know yet if I'll any other planets in the system, or what the stars Experia sees may be.
 
So, back to the countries. First, I just realized, are the names of the continents: Ahcos and Lormoor share their country name with their continental name, much like our Australia, while the Ancient Kingdom's continent is actually called Boru Khan (this is a pun based on the word "broken" because of the event that caused The Great Crater in the southern part of Boru Khan, more on that later) and the fourth and largest continent is currently called Origo. Its original name has been lost.

The countries of Origo, save for Igaland, which I've already gone over, are the following, from north to south and east to west:
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and
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More on these in the next post. I have a lot of stuff written up for this world.
 
Okay, change of plans from what I thought I would write here. Instead, I'll talk about the known history of the world.

The earliest written event is the Sealing of The Terrible Stillness in Ahcos, about 2000 years before the current setting (I'm obtuse about it because the story I have is meant for almost exactly 2000 years hence, and the setting for if other people want to play in this world is about thirteen years before that). The one known as The First Grand Magus was responsible for the seal, scattering the locks across the world, which would come to be known as Save Points. She didn't put any of these on Ahcos itself, for The Stillness had followers who thought that its absolute order was the path to peace (which it kind of was: the peace of stasis, where nothing can ever happen). As part of the seal, The First Grand Magus is in stasis, and only the current Grand Magus, their predecessor, and their successor know about that.

The next major event comes five hundred years later, when four people from across the globe go missing, then reappear a few minutes later several dozen levels higher (remember this is an RPG Mechanics 'Verse). One of them, by the name of Bram, even more changed than the others, attacked his mentor and goes missing. Two hundred years later, a cataclysmic event sundered Boru Khan and caused a tidal wave that washed over the south eastern shore of the great continent. This was a great section of the continent, dominated by the city of Balnibarbi, lifting out of the ground to become a flying city-state that has become a legend in the 1300 years since. Not long after the tidal wave, Bram reappeared with an army at his back.

While he was gone, he became Experia's first vampire, and the army he lead was also full of vampiric troops. His quest was to remake his world in the image of the place he had gone, to this end he would only ever refer to the continent of his birth as "Origo" based off that other world's name of "Origin" (Origin is an entirely different world I made for a different story; it has some impact on other worlds, but will not be detailed here). Bram's War ravaged the continent, thanks to the power of the vampires and the effective immortality afforded by Save Points, until, after several hundred years, people had forgotten much of what had been before. But after about five hundred years of this war, it suddenly fell apart when Bram was killed permanently.

No one's quite sure how it happened aside from the man who did it, a recently turned conscript by the name of Iga. It is said that what really caused him to turn on Bram was that the Tyrant King threatened to kill or turn his human wife and kill their dhampir son, but the only ones who know for certain are Iga and Adrian themselves.

The last remaining country of the Old World, as it became known, is the Fekarni Collegiate, which used to be a minor principality of a now-lost kingdom. The new countries formed of the aftermath of war were many, but some melded into others or were conquered. Most were conquered in particular by the emerging Quderemasan Empire, whose expansion was only stopped when Iga's unwanted country and an alliance of four others halted them in their tracks. These four would become known as the Mashirau Alliance, taking the first syllable of each of the member country's names to label their new country.

Things have been mostly peaceful, save for a war between the Afernai Republic and the Wofarien Federation (which the Republic lost), and skirmishes against the Fekarni Collegiate, which was mostly because people love their war band's music so much that they would attack just to hear it.

Aside from the countries, the only other things to relate are the monsters of the world, and by that I mean the regular RPG kind that make adventuring interesting, and the RPG rules that govern the people and magic of the world. There are fifty-four species of monster, and I have them all thought up, though I don't have them all placed about in the world, and I have an untested game design to refine with help. I don't know if that last should be made into a separate thread considering how the rules are so intertwined with the world proper.

Hopefully, it'll only be three more posts before I open things up to full discussion.
 
Got distracted by Fire Emblem: Three Houses, but I'm back.

So, this post will be little pieces of info about the various countries that I haven't gone over yet, going north-to-south.

The Island Kingdom of Marn, despite being the same longitude as Ahcos, doesn't experience as heavy of winters thanks to warm ocean currents that flow around it. As it is a small island, the main industry and food source is fishing, with many families growing up on boats. The Great Marni Lighthouse sits in the capital city and shines so brightly, that the Afernai city of Pover, on the other side of the Marnai Bridge, has no north-facing windows.

The Afernai Republic has long equestrian history, with their noble class being known as "Horse Lords." Every ten years, all fifty districts of the republic choose a Horse Lord to be their representative in the Senate (they must not have been a senator in the last two decades), then the new senators choose a Supreme Chancellor to lead them from among the non-nobles. This tradition came from the war that formed the Wofarien Federation, where almost every Horse Lord outside the senate was killed. This "common voice" has often kept the senate from doing stupid things, and usually becomes a Horse Lord once their service has ended, but this status is not normally passed down their family line.

The Wofarien Federation, led by a Prime Minister, may have been formed on the brink of war, but these days they are more well-known for having the best food in the world. Their cooking techniques don't use a single spell or other noticeable piece of magic, but the resulting dishes are in fact magical in nature.

The Ricaul Theocracy effectively worships two pantheons: the Dragons of Creation, and the Monarchs of Destruction. Legend of these beings comes from when the man who would become Tyrant-King Bram returned from the place known as "Origin," where the Dragons kept the Monarchs sealed. They are led by a council of nine, the Four Wyverns, the Four Earls, and the Jewel of Judgement. (This religion and Ahcos' are the only two in the world whose gods actually exist; not that the worshipped know this.)

The Dindeu Confederation is probably the loosest government in the world, basically being six nations that have simply all agreed to follow the same binding rules. The capital city, located near the centre of all six of these countries, is really little more than an ambassadorial collective, with the Confederacy's so-called leader being known as "The High Ambassador."

The Quderemasan Empire is the largest country in the world, in no small part thanks to the efforts of Emperor Quderemasa's ancestors, who conquered a large chunk of Origo before being halted by the forces of Igaland and the Mashirau Alliance. Their flag is meant to symbolize how their ruler holds everything he sees in the palm of his hands. They are the last country to practice slavery, and even there it is on the decline, but of a style where Slaves can earn their freedom (and potentially own slaves of their own). 70% of all slaves in Quderemasa are Quderemasan, and 60% of those are criminals; about a quarter of all slaves are owned by the royal family.

Once four different nations, the Mashirau Alliance banded together to resist the expansionist efforts of The Quderemasan Empire, then stuck together long enough to eventually be considered a single entity. Their current flag was originally a mess of colours until an apprentice flagmaker accidentally mixed the dyes together. The Tetrachy of the time decided that this simple monochrome version was more appealing, and showed how the original four countries were now one.

The Doramoe Shogunate is a land of strength and of tactics, whose ruler, the Shogun, is chosen via tournament every five years, with the previous two shoguns, known as the daimyo, serving as the new one's advisors. This tournament, known as the Tenkaichi Taiki, tests the entrants' martial skills as well as their tactical and strategic capabilities, and is open to anyone who wishes to try, even those from outside Doramoe. The current Shogun is Caldrua Camlann, a dhampir paladin from Meahira.

The Shindare Council-state, is ruled in each major city by a council of thirteen elders, with the thirteenth being sent from the capital. However, in the capital, all but the thirteenth come from the other cities. This Great Elder Council (Erai Jouchou Kyougi-kai) leads the whole of Shindare. Council members are referred to as "Jousan," with the Great Elders as the "Daijousan."

The Merchant State of Meahira is the closest place on Origo to The Ancient Kingdom, and as such is well placed for the trading of needed goods to the ruined lands. Thanks to the magical items they've obtained through this relationship, very few attempts have been made to try and conquer them. They are a plutocratic society, led by a small council of the five most successful businessmen of the previous year, known as the Presidents.

Finally, the Flying Technocracy of Balnibarbi is a city-state in the sky. Everyone on Balnibarbi is dedicated wholly to the pursuit of science and engineering, putting them centuries ahead of the rest of Experia. But almost any visitor would feel like the place was soulless due to this dedication.
 
Next, the mystic part of Experia: The Twelve Elements and the Monsters.

The elements are divided into three main categories (with the first two often combined into another category "The Physical Elements"):
The Elements of Creation: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water
The Elements of Destruction: Wood, Lightning, Gravity, and Ice
The Spiritual Elements: Dark, Chaos, Light, and Order

Each Element is weak to another, forming one big cycle and one smaller one:
Water extinguishes Fire
Fire melts Ice
Ice breaks Earth
Earth grounds Lightning
Lightning splits Wind
Wind defies Gravity
Gravity crushes Wood
Wood drinks Water

Chaos destabilizes Light
Light weakens Steel
Order contains Darkness
Darkness stabilizes Chaos
---
There are 50 Boss Monsters in Experia; most of them are temporarily out of commission via Save Point at any given time. Sometimes, a new Boss Monster will appear for a species (but only if that species currently does not have one), and if they are killed before they can use a Save Point, an entirely new Boss Monster may eventually appear. This is best seen in Ahcos, where there are no Save Points, so the rare Ice Elemental, Wight, or Hypnos Boss Monster must be more careful than any of those on the list below.
-1 Leviathan, Great Beast of the Sea (Megalodon)
-2 Behemoth the Living Mountain (Golem)
-3 Ziz the Storm Bird (Wyvern)
-4 Scarazel the Myrmekes General (Myrmekes)
-5 Zelany the Alluring (Siren)
-6 Spievat the Wailing (Banshee)
-7 Percute Furore the Gentle Minotaur (Minotaur)
-8 Yinrin Zanshi the Death Lord (Wushen (Skeleton Knights))
-9 Arimanius the Dragonlord
-10 Kashey the Deathless (Hexen)
-11 Orthrus the Demon-dog (Barghest)
-12 Reineke the Nine-Tailed Kitsune (Kitsune)
-13 Nuckelavee the Nightmare Rider (Nightmare)
-14 Olgi-Korkhoi the Monstrous Sandworm (Sandworm)
-15 Prismara the Rainbow Slime (Slime)
-16 Chameleot the Monstrous Motte-and-Bailey (Mimic)
-17 Medusa the Gorgon Sister (Gorgon)
-18 Stheno the Lamia Sister (Lamia)
-19 Euryale the Naga Sister (Naga)
-20 Sophia the Wings of Light (Angel)
-21 dskourD the Unpredictable (Imp)
-22 Zeitnehmer the Tock King (Mekanik)
-23 Firionel the Salamand (Emberite)
-24 Bezek the Chained Lightning (Astrali)
-25 Solaire the Incandescent (Lumina)
-26 Undine the Walking Sea (Hydrox)
-27 Slash the Biting Wind (Zephyr)
-28 Ramiel the Walking Storm (Raiju)
-29 Vashta the Hunter (Leshi)
-30 La the Immense Pull (Gravorg)
-31 Exodus the Unending Hunger (Atmos)
-32 Strombol the Virulent (Girtabilu)
-33 Moonstone the Graceful (Kirin)
-34 Norasingh the Obfuscating (Sphinx)
-35 Bikara-Kagura the Unstoppable (Razorboar)
-36 Tarasque the Invincible (Tetsudindae)
-37 Harvey the Inscrutable (Pooka)
-38 Carabosse the Magnificent Malefactor (Pixie)
-39 Izanami the Shadow in the Fog (Yomi)
-40 Fata Morgana the Illusory (Mirari)
-41 Ivan Phlegmel the Putrid (Sludgge)
-42 Aleiodes the Withered King (Mummia)
-43 Jules the Clank King (Steampunk)
-44 Pinocchi the String Player (Marionette)
-45 Madus Aimas the Beast of Burning Obsidian (Daemon)
-46 Olog the Immortal (Troll)
-47 Marbas the Shapecrafter (Alterna)
-48 Jim the Mellow (Psilocin)
-49 Kroll the Choking Dark (Calamar)
-50 Istan the Anti-Army Fortress (Protiutok)

Information on the various monster species can be provided when asked for. I'm trying to avoid going over the character limit. Next post will be a framework of the RPG rules of Experia, but I'll have to put them up later, as I need to get to bed.
 
So, the basics of the system: It's a six-stat system, with eleven more derived from them. The main six (hereafter referred to as "Attributes") are Strength (STR), Constitution (CON), Agility (AGI), Focus (FCS), Willpower (WIL), and Luck (LCK), with the derivatives being HP, MP, Speed (SPD), Accuracy (ACC), Evasion (EVA), Basic Attack (ATK), Basic Defense (DEF), Basic Magic Attack (MAT), Basic Magic Defense (MAD), and Critical Chance (CRT).

Everyone has access to the same list of abilities. Even monsters draw from this list of powers (mostly to streamline creation and, eventually (hopefully), programming), which is effectively like FFX's sphere grid, but certain abilities can require two or more others before they can be learned. At the moment, I only have some of the first level ones made up, because I'm hoping to have a couple people fresh to the system build characters then do a mock battle to see how well it plays out. Classes, like Caldura's "paladin," are less paths people learn on so much as descriptors of what they are capable of; paladins, for example, are people who use heavy armour, at least one weapon proficiency, and Light magic.

Outside of damage, almost every roll is (potentially, we are still constructing this system, after all) percentile-based. The target number must be exceeded, except in one case, which is when an attack has a percentage chance to inflict a status effect, then the target must be rolled under (this feels clunky, and I kinda want it streamlined).

Damage is done with the basic dice of d4, d6, d8, etc., up to d20. At this time, I have no interest in having an attack use d% or an unusual die like a d30. Most attacks include a modifier, usually the relevant of ATK or MAT, in addition to the die. Some techs (attack abilities) can call for dSTR or dFCS or similar. What this means is that the die to be rolled is determined by the character's attribute:
1-4 d4
5-10 d6
11-18 d8
19-28 d10
29-30 d12
31-50 d20

50 is the highest an attribute can be at this time, and attributes cannot go lower than 1, even if an effect would cause it to do so. Stats are determined, at the moment, like this:
HP: Starting HP=CON*5; On Level Up=2dCON
MP: Starting MP=WIL*3; ON Level Up=1dWIL
Speed: LVL+AGI
Accuracy: LVL+ATK+AGI+FCS+LCK/2
Evasion: LVL+AGI*2+LCK
Base Attack: LVL+STR
Base Defense: LVL+CON
Base Magic Attack: LVL+FCS
Base Magic Defense: LVL+WIL
Critical Chance: (LCK+AGI+FCS)/2

Attacks are made by rolling ACC against a target EVA. If the attack successfully hits, then the damage is determined through the mode of attack (1d4+ATK, for example), then relevant defensive stat's total is subtracted from the damage, followed by any potential modifiers (such as resistance or vulnerability to an element), then the result is applied to the HP.

I'm not yet sure how to implement criticals, so that's something that'll need discussing.

Finally, the abilities and how to make a first level character. Abilities all have keywords that denote what they do, so we'll start with those:
Key Words:
-Targeting:
--Single: Targets one
--Area X: Targets everything within X hexes of selected location
--Line: Targets everything in a straight line; some attacks of this type can be blocked by certain obstacles
--All: Targets everything in the battle except the user
-Tech Type:
--Warrior: Weapon-based
--Spell: Magic
--Rogue: Tricky things that don't usually deal damage
--Bard: Odd effects, usually status, that affect multiple targets only
--Alchemy: Makes items/effects from reagents
-Effects:
--(Element): Deals damage of that element type
--Status: Causes Status Ailments
--Heal: Heals Status Ailments
--Cure: Heals HP by % of Max HP; Weak: 15%, Medium: 40%, Strong: 60%, Full: 100%, Special: See description
--Armour pierce: Deals damage as if the target's defences are halved
--Pummel: Deals damage multiple times
--Accurate: Always hits
--Critical: Always critical
--Recoil: User(s) takes quarter damage dealt

Each character starts with 25 points at level 1 that can be put into stats and abilities, and when they level up they get 2d4 points for the same. Choosing a non-human race costs a certain number of points based on the benefits of that race.

Species:
Human (0)
Vampire: (8) +4 to STR, CON, and AGI at night, and -4 CON during the day (cannot go below 1); also has Blood Drink tech. Vulnerability Light +25%. Cannot get food bonuses.
Dhampir: (4) +2 to STR, CON, and AGI.
Rohk: (4) +2 STR, +1 CON, -1 AGI; Earth techs cost -10% MP.
Krarka: (4) +1 AGI, +2 CON, -1 LCK; Explosive Items do more damage.
Jorigan: (4) +1 AGI, +2 WIL, -1 STR; Healing and Status techs cost -10% MP.
Iizhaken: (4) +1 CON, +1 WIL; +1 to die type for unarmed damage

Bonus stuff based on country of origin:
Wanderer(0): Can survive off the land indefinitely.
Igaland(2): +5% damage bonus to whips and Light and Dark magic.
Afernai(0): Character gets a 10% discount on horse-type animal companions and +50% to the stat boosts of the same.
Wofarien(0): -10% discount on Wofarien cuisine. Item-creation Alchemy requires less materials.
Quderemasa(0): Begins with the See Secrets passive ability.
Fekarni(2): +10% to Bard Tech Statuses chances.
Marn(0): Can pilot just about anything resembling a ship. Cannot get lost on clear nights.
Ricaul(2): +5% damage bonus to Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Wood, Gravity, and Ice magic.
Doramoe(2): Warrior techs cost -10% MP.
Shindare(2): Rogue techs cost -10% MP.
Mashirau(2): +5% damage bonus to claws, hammers , and Order magic.
Dindeu(2): +5% damage bonus to oddities, nunchaku, and Chaos magic.
Meahira(2): -10% discount when buying goods, +10% bonus when selling.
Ancient(0): Special insight when navigating a dungeon (Spotting traps, knowing the right route, hints for puzzles, etc.).
Lormoor(2):
Ahcos(2): Spell Techs cost -10% MP.
Balnibarbi(2): Alchemy techs require -25% reagents (rounded up).

Level One Abilities:
Proficiencies:
(1) Dagger
(1) Mace
(1) Shortsword
(1) Oddity
(1) Shield
(1) Longsword
(1) Axe
(1) Hammer
(1) Polearm
(1) Nunchuk
(1) Claw
(1) Greatsword
(1) Rod
(1) Staff
(1) Whip
(1) Thrown
(1) Blowgun
(1) Bow
(1) Crossbow
(1) Light Armour -> (1) Medium Armour -> (1) Heavy Armour
(1) Totem
(1) Instrument

Techs:
(2) Fireball: (Single, Spell, Fire, Status) 1d6+MAT fire damage, 5% chance to burn (3 turns). 4 MP
(2) Cauterize: (Single, Spell, Fire, Heal) 1 fire damage, heals Bleed. 2 MP
(2) Soothing Water: (Single, Spell, Water, Heal) Heals Burn and Berserk. 2 MP
(2) Summoned Stone: (Area 1, Spell, Earth) Deals 1d4+MAT earth damage. 4 MP
(2) Stone Defense: (Single, Spell, Earth, Status) Causes Shield (2 turns). 3 MP
(2) Cutting Wind: (Line, Spell, Wind) Deals 1d6+MAT wind damage (can be stopped by non-living obstacles). 4 MP
(2) Wind Boost: (Single, Spell, Wind, Status) Causes Quick (2 turns). 3 MP
(2) Shocking Burst: (Area 1, Spell, Lightning) 1d4+MAT lightning damage. 4 MP
(2) Ice Shard: (Single, Spell, Ice, Status) 1d6+MAT ice damage, 5% chance to bleed (3 turns). 4 MP
(2) Stake Shot: (Single, Spell, Wood) 1d6+MAT wood damage. 4 MP
(2) Natural Poultice: (Single, Spell, Wood, Heal) Heals Bleed and Poison. 2 MP
(2) Heavy Weight: (Single, Spell, Gravity, Status) 1d4+MAT gravity damage, 5% chance to paralyze (3 turns). 3 MP
(2) Light Cure: (Single, Spell, Light, Weak Cure) Repairs light damage to a body. 4 MP
(2) Blackout: (Single, Spell, Dark, Status) 50% chance to blind (4 turns). 3 MP
(2) Lullaby: (All, Bard, Status) 50% chance to sleep. 3 MP
(2) Multistrike: (Single, Warrior, Pummel) Roll attacks (1dAGI)/2 (rounded up, minimum 2) against one target. 4 MP
(2) Full Power: (Single, Warrior) Double the damage output of your weapon (double after rolling), but skip your next turn. 4 MP
(2) Lunge: (Single, Warrior) Move up to two hexes closer to the target and attack. 3 MP
(2) Aim: (Single, Rogue) The next ranged attack you make has a +25% chance to hit. 2 MP
(2) Pickpocket: (Single, Rogue) 15% chance to steal an item from target. (Monster, from the drop list; sapient, from their inventory). 2 MP
(2) Hidden Spikes: (Single, Rogue, Earth) The next time the target moves or attacks, it takes 1d4+AGI earth damage. 3 MP
(2) Tonic: (Single, Alchemy, Weak Cure) Craft a potion out of 3 Heart Reagents and use it. 2 MP
(2, vampire or dhampir) Blood Drink: (Single, Warrior, Special Cure): Deals 1d4+ATK damage and heals user same amount as damage dealt. 4 mp

Abilities:
(2) Unarmed Training: Unarmed damage is 1dSTR+ATK (normally it's 1d4+ATK)
(1) Light-footed: +5% bonus to EVA
(1) Sharp-Eyed: +5% bonus to CRT

I also have some starting equipment drawn up, but we can get to those after the most basic parts are fully hammered out. Oh, yeah, the Reagents thing for alchemy: each type of monster will always drop at least one of the six reagents (each related to a different attribute), and these are the primary fuel for alchemy abilities:
STR: Tendon Reagent
CON: Heart Reagent
AGI: Feather Reagent
FCS: Eye Reagent
WIL: Spine Reagent
LCK: Gossamer Reagent

For the purpose of testing combat, anyone who picks Tonic will be considered as having twenty Heart Reagents already in their inventory.

So, now we open for discussion. The main things I'm looking for help with are the combat system, and figuring out the names of the various countries' leaders. I currently have two: Shogun Caldrua for Doramoe, and Ankh Vintner as Ancient's Lord of the Realm (obviously, also Emperor Quderemasa, but I don't have a first name). Feel free to ask questions for things that seem like I don't have enough info on, because I either didn't put it in because of character limits (like the real-world cultures the countries except for Lormoor have as counterparts) or because its something I actually don't have made up yet.
 
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