Just as we are coming up on the exit to the graveyard, a couple of adventurers decked out in clothes and equipment that screams, ‘THUG!’, step out from behind the pillars that the gate is attached to.
“Well, well, it’s some of the big shots in the Explorer’s Association. What do you think, Billy? Do they have some loot?” Billy replies, “No, Tommy, they are leaving before the spawn happens. They can’t have anything good.” “Too bad, I was hoping for an early bonus,” said Tommy
“I can give you a shovel. I don’t need it since these guys just proved that there are no bodies in the graves.”
“What the hell do I want a shovel for? Hey, wait a minute, aren’t you the guy they are saying made it rain candy earlier today? Odd-looking cat-boy with a weird trident. It seems like you match the description. Maybe you should make it rain candy here too,” said Tommy.
“Sorry, can’t do it – Nirvana is the one who made it rain candy. I can give you a candy bar, though – she thought it was cute.”
“Oh yeah? Ok, give me a candy bar,” said Tommy.
“Do you want one too, Billy? I know a cantrip that makes two different candy bars that are similar.”
“Why not? I like candy as much as the next guy.”
Holding my hands out toward each of them, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, Sometimes you don’t.” A candy bar appears in each hand. “Here ya go,” handing them the candy bars!
“That’s a pretty nice cantrip,” Tommy says!
“You should join the Explorer’s Association. The next guide is going to have lots of new food cantrips in it,” Gilden responds.
“Nah, we’ll get them another way,” says Billy smiling evilly.
“Your call, boys, but we don’t want to block the way when the night crews are coming to farm the graveyard,” says Mason while pointing at another group of adventures walking towards the gate.
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the treat,” says Tommy pulling Billy off the path.
As we walk off, Grumpy says, “They aren’t a real threat, just scouts for their gang of PKers. What’s concerning is that your description has spread around so much already.
“Nothing we can do about it. Why don’t we talk about the choice Nirvana put before us? I know you will not be familiar with the systems, and I can help you decide how you want to access the Wordcasting system.
“Ok,” says Grumpy. “That will probably be helpful.”
“In many of the table-top RPGs I played when I was young, you built your character by selecting a race and a class. Classes were like super-professions and put you on skill and magic paths for character growth. Some systems were more restrictive than others, and the Pathfinder game system had a decent amount of flexibility. After all, nobody wanted to be playing a fighter that was just like every other fighter they had ever played. When it comes to magic, spells were categorized in several different ways, with some spells crossing over between categories as players pushed for different ways to customize their characters. Initially, spells fell into two large categories; Divine, from the gods, and Arcane, where the character fueled the spell. Below that, spells were divided up into domains when divine and schools when arcane. Domains aligned with the fictitious gods’ influences, like healing, divination, protection, etc. Arcane schools with what the magic did, Invocation, Transmutation, Summoning, etc. Over time there is some crossover of the categorization, and you get divine casters able also to do arcane spells or equivalents and vice versa. Some spells never cross over in some game systems as there were issues of game balance to consider. After all, nobody wants to play in a game where one character can do everything, and everybody else is just sitting around.
Because of how Nirvana will calculate our levels for access to the mechanics of the spell system, you also want to consider if you are ever going to raise your mana pool high enough to access the Tier 9 spells. Some classes won’t have access to spells above a certain tier, even if you have the mana. Again, one of those limits to keep a game in balance.”
“Do you have an opinion on this now,” asked Gilden.
“I do. Game balance isn’t a consideration, so you should concentrate on the domains or schools of spells that you want to be able to use. If ‘elemental’ spells are important to you, consider being an arcane caster. They will have access to more of those kinds of spells. Healing is traditionally considered divine, and you may want to be a cleric or something similar. I’m not sure how resurrection magic will be handled, but my guess would be a way to eliminate the three-day lockout. You may also be able to remove or restore an avatar without scripts or access to an obelisk.”
“Do you already know what class you are going to pick,” asked Mason?
“Yes, I will try and do something that will probably result in Nirvana showing up again. It’s complex, and you could do it too, but I don’t think you need to unless you are already sporting a very high mana pool. I’m going to have 1008 mana in my pool in about two days, which will give me access to tier 9 spells.
“I would actually recommend the Witch class for you, Mason, simply because of Solomon. You need a familiar to be a witch, which I am sure can be found for Gilden and Mason if they want to go down that path. Witches get a strange mix of arcane and divine spells, so some light healing is mixed in with the other spells. Wizard has the largest list of spells; the downside is they must be prepared in advance. Flexibility to cast what you know when you want comes with fewer spells known for a sorcerer. And unless healing is important to Grumpy or Gilden, I would recommend one of those classes.
I am going to try and do something called multiclassing and select a divine class and an arcane class. You used to be able to select up to three if you were going to multi-class, and there was a hefty penalty. The old penalty doesn’t apply now, so we’ll see what Nirvana does with my cheese.”
“Cheese,” asked Grumpy?
“Sorry, slang. We had a stinky cheese called Limburger when I was alive, and whenever somebody did something like this, it was referred to as ‘Cheesing the System’ or simply ‘Cheese’ because it ‘smelled’ like cheating, ‘bad,’ even if it wasn’t. We can step off the road and see what happens if you want?”
“Sure, what’s another visit from Nirvana? It’s almost like she’s joining our party at this point,” laughed Mason.
After getting well off the road, I call out, “Nirvana! I’m going to multi-class as an Oracle Wordcaster and a Wizard.”
Nirvana says, without appearing, “I’ve been listening, and I figured you would do something like this – so I’ve been ready with my response. I would like to know what classes the children want, though I think I’ve predicted pretty well.”
Mason says, “I like the idea of being a Witch. Healing and arcane spells together would be fun. If possible, can I just be normal – I don’t want the complexity of Wordcasting.”
“Of course, dear. Your group holds the player guides which have non-Wordcasting classes in them,” responds Nirvana.
Gilden and Grumpy speak at the same time, “Sorcerer. Wizard.”
“Excellent, nobody else went divine, as I predicted. Titles for you all, but something special for my cheesehead,” laughs Nirvana.
| Nirvana Announces! |
| Sources of Historical Cultural References Discovered! Players can acquire classes from Table-Top RPGs to access spells and magic systems – results will vary! |
| Nirvana Announces! |
| Jebediah Walker claims a unique role, “First Oracle of Nirvana” Jebediah Walker claims a mythic title, “Archmage” |
“Crap! I’m doomed!”
Nirvana says, “Wait! Not yet! The first announcement went live immediately. I’m showing a little kindness by revealing what will happen when you reach 1008 in your mana pool. You have until then to figure out what you are going to do. If you stop your idler, somebody else may ‘steal your Cheese‘ – I don’t think you should let them!”