Miscellaneous Guides

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Miscellaneous Guides

Besides the major systems in this guild, there are many smaller systems, that are much more quickly explained. As they are all small enough to fit in single posts, they have been gathered into one thread for your convenience. While these systems are minor however, many are just as important as the main systems, if not more so in some cases. Please read each thoroughly to ensure you know everything you need to do well here in L&L.  

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Levels

In L&L there are several types of levels that are commonly referenced. In all cases, levels are counted as a multiple of ten in whatever is being measured. The main levels are: Character Level, Combat Level, and Trade Level. Further, every stat is also counted in levels.

Character Level
► Character level is the main level by which everyone is measured. Every 1,000 EXP gained, increases a character's Character level by one. Put simply, Character Level is a measure of your experience, and how much work you have put into leveling up. This level also determines how much EXP you gain from winning fights.

Combat Level
► Combat Level is more focused than Character Level, and is used as a reference of how powerful a character is in combat. Character level is determined by how many stat points have been applied to stats, including bonus points from traits. Every 10 SP put into stats increases a character's Combat Level by one.

Trade Levels
► Trade Levels are a measure of how skilled a character is in a trade. Every 10 TP applied to a trade increases that trade's level by one. There is no overall measure of all trade levels. Trade Levels determine what tasks a trade user is able to perform, as every task is linked to a set level.

Stat Levels
► Stat Levels are measured by the number of stat points in a single stat. Every ten points in a stat raise that stat's level by one. Without limit breakers, stats cap at level ten, at 100 points. Stat Levels exist only as a measuring scale, and have no additional effect on gameplay.  

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Ranking

Following the leveling systems, there are several rankings for achieving certain levels. These rankings are applied to Combat Level, and serve as a title for the character's skill level. Certain rankings will also have various effects on gameplay.

Combat Rankings

► Novice
► From level 1 to 19, characters are considered to be a novice. Novices are the weakest of adventurers, and are given the simplest quests, as NPCs simply don't trust a Novice with the harder jobs. The average Novice quest is likely to be hunting low level monsters, or delivering packages.

► Intermediate
► From level 20 to 39, characters are considered Intermediate. Their skills are much more evident, but still not extraordinary. Intermediate characters are often given more difficult quests, but still not the higher level ones. The average Intermediate quest is likely to be hunting intermediate level monsters, and low level dungeon crawls.

► Adept
► From level 40 to 59, characters are considered to be Adept. An Adept character is openly accepted to be highly talented, and the average NPC will happily ask them to perform some rather difficult quests for them. Adept quests are likely to be hunting high level monsters and dungeons.

► Expert
► From level 60 to 79, characters are considered to be Experts. Experts are recognized as being very strong and talented. NPCs will actively seek out Experts to request their help on quests. Expert level quests are likely to be hunting Elite monsters and high level dungeons.

► Elite
► From level 80 to 99, characters are considered Elite. Elites have transcended their own limits, using limit breakers to reach new levels of strength. NPCs will beg for an elite to accept their quests. Elite quests are about as difficult as they come, consisting of hunting legendary monsters, and very high level dungeons. Elites must travel far and wide to find opponents worthy of them.

► Legendary
► At level 100 and higher, characters are considered Legendary. Legendary characters are extremely powerful, and rather famous. Anything a Legendary character is witnessed doing quickly becomes common knowledge by way of NPC gossip. Legendary characters can take on any quest they want, and even set their own price, so long as the NPC can afford it. Legendary quests consist of hunting equally legendary monsters, and the hardest dungeons.  

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Alignment

A character's alignment is a measure of their actions over the course of their life. If the character has done many evil acts, they will likely have a dark alignment. In contrast, if a character has done much good, they will likely have a light alignment. A character who does little of either, or much of both, will have a neutral alignment. These alignments are not always indicative of the character's true nature however, as they measure only the actions, with no regard towards intent. Alignments have strong effects on a character magically, granting them the ability to cast certain types of spells otherwise impossible.

Alignments are measured on a scale from -150 to 150. Characters change alignment when their alignment points fall within the range of a set alignment.

Light
► The Light alignment falls within the Positive numbers, beginning at 50 and covering all numbers higher than that. Light aligned characters gain access to Light exclusive spells and abilities, but cannot learn or use Dark exclusive skills. Some Light aligned creatures will also have better reactions to a light aligned character. However, Dark aligned creatures will almost always be immediately hostile.

Neutral
► From -49 to 49 alignment, characters are Neutral, having no alignment. Neutral characters gain no special benefits, however they suffer no penalties either. Light and Dark spells affect them as normal, with no additional effects, and aligned creatures react to them as normal. Neutral characters cannot learn Light or Dark exclusive skills, nor can they use any they learned while under an alignment.

Dark
► With an alignment of -50 and lower, characters have a Dark alignment. Dark characters gain access to Dark exclusive spells and abilities, but cannot learn or use any Light exclusive skills. Some Dark aligned creatures will have more positive reactions to Dark aligned characters than normal, but Light aligned creatures will almost always become immediately hostile.

Alignment Change

Changing one's alignment is as simple as performing acts that are undeniably Good or Evil. These acts will not always be obvious even to the one performing them, but will have the potential to shift their alignment regardless. Any act can potentially change one's alignment, but certain acts will always have an effect, regardless of intent or reason. Using the following list, one can judge what additional acts might have an effect on their alignment. If you believe you have done something worthy of an alignment change, simply post for an Alignment Update in the Updates thread. The Judge will then check your claim and assign AP (Alignment Points) as necessary. Judges may also alter your alignment at any time they see an appropriate action in a post. If that happens, they will edit the post, quoting themselves and stating the value changed, allowing at least one hour after the post is made for any potential edits to be made.

► Murder -5AP
► Torture -3AP
► Save a Life +5AP
► Healing +3AP
► Killing a Light Creature -10AP
► Killing a Dark Creature +10AP
► Become a Dark Creature -50AP
► Become a Light Creature +50AP

If multiple actions, or even the same action in a single post qualify for different or multiple classifications, all are applied.  

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Hunger

Life in Mundus Verden is more demanding than simply living day to day. To survive, one must eat, taking vital sustenance from their food. Some races require more or different food than others, but with few exceptions, all must sustain themselves in some way. Going too long without food results in severe penalties, while conversely, eating too much holds penalties of it's own. It is always advisable to carry extra food anytime one goes out on a long adventure.

Becoming Hungry

All characters have a set number of “Food Points”, set according to their race. These points determine how much food it takes to sustain the character. Restoring Food Points is as simple as eating foods, all of which have a listed number of FP they will restore. These points are however reduced in several ways, and when they reach specific percentages, result in penalties to the character's stats and ability to restore their Energy and Endurance.

► Gluttony: At 125% or higher FP, a character suffers from Gluttony. This reduces all physical stats by 25%, and reduces the character's Resting rate by 75%, only restoring points every other post.
► Full: At 100% FP the character is considered Full. In this state the character is at their peak, having no penalties.
► Hungry: At 50% FP the character becomes Hungry. When Hungry Resting is penalized by 50%, requiring two posts to restore a single point.
► Famished: At 25% the character becomes Famished. This reduces the character's resting rate even further, requiring three posts to restore a single point. All of the character's stats are also reduced by 25%.
► Starving: At 0% FP, the character is now Starving. When starving it becomes impossible to restore points by resting, and the character's stats are reduced by 50%.
► Starved: At -25% FP, the character has starved. Due to ignoring the needs of your body for so long, you have died.

Metabolism

All races process their food differently, leading to different rates at which they becomes hungry once more. Normal Metabolism for instance, follows the rules listed below. Double Metabolism increases the rate at which Food Points are reduced to two instead of one per post/point, while Half Metabolism reduces it to one per two posts/points. Any other metabolism rates thus continue along the same line.

► Food Points are reduced one Point per Post.
► Food Points are reduced one Point per Endurance used.  

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Inventory

To carry items with your character, you must have space to hold them, be they simply carried on your person, or stashed in a bag. Every character or container has a limited amount of items they can carry, making it advisable to either keep containers handy, or store your items somewhere.

Storage Slots

For the sake of simplicity, storage in L&L is defined by a Slot based system. Each slot is considered to be about six inches in any direction. An item of six inches or less thus fits easily in a single slot, while larger objects require multiple slots. Storage Slots are defined in five different ways, according to the exact size of the item in question.

► # Per Slot: The smallest items available can not only fit into a single slot, but can stack in that slot, making it easy to carry a large number of things.
► # Slot/s: Items of six inches or more are often not only too large to stack, but take up multiple slots. These slots are counted in a straight line, meaning when stored they will only fit in a container with matching or higher slot numbers.
► # Per # Slots: Some items, such as arrows, will still stack despite being too long for a single slot. These items require a container with matching length.
► #x# Slots: The largest objects take up slots in both directions, and thus will only fit in containers with matching or higher slots in both listed directions. An item requiring 2x2 Slots for instance, will not fit in a container listing simply 4 Slots.
► # Per #x# Slots: Very rarely, an object will be large enough to require slots in multiple directions, yet thin enough to stack. These items are understandably very rare, but can still be found occasionally.

All characters begin with Two Slots of storage in pockets on their clothing, if applicable. To attain more, they must make or purchase containers or clothing with additional pockets.  

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Encumbrance

While characters can pick up and carry nearly anything they can lift, there are limits to how much one can actually carry unpenalized. The Inventory system covers part of that limitation, showing how many things can be carried, but weight is another, often more important aspect.

Every character is able to carry up to ten pounds per point in Strength, unless specified otherwise by their race or other traits. That is however, their maximum capacity. If a character tries to lift more than that weight, they will find it impossible. In reality, a character can only comfortably carry a small portion of that weight, and begins to take stat penalties when they carry too much weight. These limits only apply to sustained carrying, simply picking up an item relies purely on your available strength, which is equal to however many points are not dedicated to carrying your inventory.

► 25%: Twenty Five Percent of a character's weight limit is their comfortable limit. Any weight at or below this level will not effect the character at all.
► 50%: Up to Fifty Percent of the character's limit is considered a Medium Load. The character can easily carry this much, but due to the extra weight their Agility is reduced by 10%.
► 75%: Up to Seventy Five Percent is a Heavy Load. While the character can handle this much weight, it becomes a bit of a struggle, further reducing their agility by a total of 25% and adding one point of Endurance loss per post.
► 100%: Up to One Hundred Percent is the character's Maximum Load. Carrying this much is highly difficult, reducing Agility to 50%, and adding one more point to Endurance loss per post.  

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Post Actions

Even for the best of warriors, there are only so many things one can do at a time. Every character is limited in the number of things they can do in a single post. These are measured by what we call Post Actions. There are Three types of post action, and by default, every character begins with one of each. A character cannot perform more actions in a single post than their post actions allow. The three types of action, and their uses, are as follows.

► Move Action: The most basic of actions, the Move action is used for any non-violent combat maneuvers. Dodging, repositioning, or even running towards an opponent is counted as a use of one's Move Action.

► Standard Action: Standard actions are used primarily when your character attacks or defends. The use of techniques of any kind count as a use of one's Standard Action. If no techniques of any kind are used in the post, the Standard Action may be substituted for an additional Free or Move action.

► Free Action: In addition to the Move and Standard actions, are Free Actions. The Free action is used for any action that does not quite fall under the purview of the other two action types. Free actions entail the use of non-technique attacks and maneuvers, such as throwing projectiles or performing a simple punch or kick not part of a style. While all characters receive one Free action at creation, they also gain an additional Free action for every twenty points in Agility.

Spells are not counted under Post Actions, as they have their own limitations separately.  

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Languages

Mundus Verden is home to many different languages. Most intelligent races have a language of their own, and still more languages have been made by various groups and even classifications of species. Every character begins with at least one known language, that being the primary language of their race. Many also start with an extra language or two, again, according to their race. What languages a character starts with are always determined by their race, and they always begin with all languages listed on the race profile. A character can also learn new languages after creation. Learning a language costs Five SP per language, with an additional Five per language after the second language known. A character's third language will thus always cost 10 SP. Additionally, to learn a language the character must have an instructor willing to teach them, who knows the language they wish to learn, and at least one language the character knows.

The most common languages in Mundus Verden are listed below, though they are not the only languages in the world. When speaking any language other than Civilization Standard, it should be made clear what language the character is speaking, to prevent confusion and characters understanding things they should not.

Civilization Standard
► Originally created by the Humans, Civilization Standard is a simple and efficient language, and was quickly picked up by the other three races when they allied together to form a greater civilization. Even so, the language is still primarily spoken by humans, though most other intelligent races are at least able to understand it, if not speak it fluently.

Dwarven
► The language of Dwarves is fast and to the point, originally developed for fast communication in dangerous work places, where an extra moment taken to speak could mean a dwarf's death. There is no room in Dwarven for elegance and elaboration, making the language seem quite abrupt and even rude to those of other races. As a result, this language is rarely taught to anyone but other dwarves.

Elven
► The Elven tongue is elaborate and complex. The long lifespan of the Elves often results in them taking their time to enjoy everything, and their speech is no exception. The words are long and elaborate, pleasing to the ears. Elven words are also incredibly complex in their uses and descriptions, with single words being invented to describe much more than normally fits in a word in any other language. A true testament to Elven patience and dedication is their ability to converse in such terms. This language also, is rarely taught to outsiders.

Gnomish
► Gnomish is a fast paced language, made up of very small words. Gnomish words are rarely longer than one or two syllables, and have very precise meanings. Unlike most languages, no two words of Gnomish mean the same thing. Likewise, no Gnomish word has multiple meanings either. As a result, the Gnomish language has a larger number of words than nearly any other language. The speed at which is is spoken often leaves the gnomes sounding like chattering squirrels, and leaves even speakers of the language, who are more used to slower languages scrambling to keep up and understand. Understandably, the language is rarely taught to anyone but Gnomes.

Beast Tongue
► Not quite a proper language, the Beast Tongue has no true spoken form. Instead meanings and impressions are passed through an array of sounds, actions, and even smells. This language is primarily used by animals and beasts, as well as some monsters. While obviously different animals don't communicate in exactly the same ways, it is more like a difference of dialects than different languages, allowing most animals to communicate fluently, with some effort. The language is not however suited for detailed communication, rather than simple impressions and ideas.

Draconic
► The language of Dragons and their close kin, Draconic is a guttural language, spoken primarily through growls and roars, leaving a typical conversation between dragons to appear to other beings like a battle of voice and posturing. It of course does not help that impression that most dragons in close enough proximity to converse would rather kill the other than have said conversation with them. Draconic is an instinctual language learned by all dragons soon after birth, and is difficult, if not impossible, to teach to most races who do not have the proper physical characteristics to speak it. It is however possible to learn to understand, even if one cannot speak it.

Ancient Tongue
► The Ancient Tongue is the language of Spirits and Gods. An ethereal language, it is nearly impossible for most to understand as the words flow together oddly, and even harder to speak, as the sounds used in the words are often truly impossible to create. It is only truly possible to speak the language for those who have learned it naturally, through death, or birth as in the case of some Spirits.  

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Family & Pets

In this vast world, it is not uncommon for an entire family to perish save the last remaining son, daughter, father, mother, or estranged crazy uncle. But it is also not the norm. Almost everyone has some family, somewhere. Some distance themselves from their families for their own reasons, others take their family members on dungeon crawls with them.

In L&L, we have sought to find a method by which a character can have family members, and pets as well, without unbalancing their character against the rest. The result, is the Family & Pet rules found below.

► Every character is allowed up to two Family NPCs. These may be either members of the character's family, or simply NPCs you wish to keep close to your character. Blood relation is not required.

► A character is allowed as many pets as they can handle, though mistreatment of a pet may lead to attempted escape.

► Family NPCs and Pets are applied for in the Family/Pet Application thread.

► Family NPCs begin at 1/5th the level of the main Character. This means that with the base starting level of Five, a Family NPC will start at Level One.

► Pets can be captured and tamed beasts or monsters, or can take the slot of a Family NPC, in which case they follow the above rule. Capturing and taming a pet is done entirely via RP, and it is up to the NPC operator whether you succeed.

► Family NPCs and Pets have all the same qualities of any other character. They may take specialization traits, and anything else available to a basic RPC.

► NPC and Pet stats cap at 50 rather than 100. Limit Breakers must be used to exceed this limit.

► Family NPCs can do anything a normal character can do, including learn skills and trades.

► Pets may only learn skills and trades appropriate to their race.

► Exp for Family NPCs and Pets is taken from the main character's share of battle Exp, following the rules of party Exp laid out in the Stat System.

► NPCs and Pets cannot earn Exp from battles they did not participate in.  

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Foraging & Looting

Not everyone is skilled at hunting and fighting monsters, and some would rather earn a living off the wealth of others than by their own hard work. For those individuals we have the Spot Check system. At any time, a character may choose to look a bit deeper in an area, and search it out for anything of value. They might find rare items, lost artifacts, or they might just find some loose change or come across other people or creatures in the area. In any case, it can be a good way to find some good stuff. But be warned, not everything you find lying around on the ground is unclaimed, and if you take something that belongs to someone else, you may just find yourself on the wrong end of a blade.

► To initiate a Spot Check, simply post as normal and indicate that you're searching or exploring the area, roll Five Twenty sided dice, and quote a crew member. The crew member will then consult the tables crew-side, and edit your post adding the results to the quote. From then on you may proceed as you wish.
► Removing the Crew quote from your post after loot has been received, or editing the loot gained, will result in a strike and nullification of all loot received. Repeated offenses may result in no longer being allowed to use the Spot Check system.
► A single character can only gain loot from a spot check three times a day per thread. This does not include encounters.
► A single character can only receive loot from a single thread five times per week, and ten per month.