Attributes and Combat Guide

[Carlos Ralfer]

ATTRIBUTES AND ABILITIES
1) Intro
2) Explanation of Attributes
3) Explanation of Abilities
4) Attributes
5) Accuracy
6) Evasion and Defensive Combat
7 ) Damage Dealing
8 ) Saving Throws


Intro

This section goes into depth about the attributes and abilities that each and every character has and uses. All characters are given 6 different attributes for which the rest of their stats, skills, and abilities will derive their power and capabilities from. Everything is governed by these numbers and thus it would behoove each and every one of you to learn these items and their meanings and learn them well.

Explanation of Attributes

The 6 attributes are derived from different aspects of the real human body. These attributes depict different aspects of living organisms and what makes them unique. By altering these numbers you can customize your character to fit your idea of what they should be and how they should act in battle. The 6 attributes are:

Strength
Dexterity
Constitution
Intelligence
Wisdom
Charm

Exact explanations of each of these will follow.

A persons capabilities in these 6 attributes will be determined by a set number (based off of a character's rank) and a gathering of distribution points given to each player both at the start of their characters existence and earned by the player as they RP the character and do different things to gain experience. It is through training and missions that a player can increase their characters attributes to increase their overall power. Attribute points and Distribution points will be explained more in detail in another thread.

The actual power an attribute deals out is defined as a modifier (mod). The modifier is a special number derived from the base attribute and used to increase or decrease the power of other skills and abilities the person can gain.

The formula for figuring out ones attribute modifier is:
[Base Attribute Points + Distributed Points + Training Points] - 10 = result / 2 = Modifier

In other words, once you have added up all your distribution points, gained training points(additional points you can gain via training and/or missions) and attribute points, you will get the Base attribute points. You take this number and subtract 10 from it. Once you do that, you take the answer you have and divide it by 2. The resulting number, rounded down if it is a decimal, is your modifier.

Explanation of Abilities

Abilities are derived from the attributes and used to determine such things as dodging capabilities and accuracy and other such things. There are several different abilities that belong to each character and shouldn't be neglected either. Most of these cannot be trained in directly but some can such as dodging. Different formulas exist for each ability and thus you must pay close attention to what the formula is. Don't worry though, this isn't the only place they will be mentioned and displayed.

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Attributes
Attributes are the 6 features that go into your character's profile that determine every other fighting capability they can possibly possess. Many will be familiar for those that have played RPGs or D&D games. For those that are unfamiliar with these things, please read below to see exactly what each does and how they can be utilized in different areas of this game system.


Strength: (Str)

Strength is the measure of a character’s physical power. This attribute contributes to all forms of melee damage including hand-to-hand and weapon damage. Also, the strength attribute can determine what kinds of physical feats a person is capable of such as how fast they can swim, how easily they can scale a wall with their hands, how heavy an object they can lift, how easily they can break something with their hands to name a few.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Strength to?

-Strength checks.
-Melee weapon and melee combat damage.
-Climb checks
-Swim checks
-Grapple checks

Examples of when to roll a Strength check?

-When moving a heavy object.
-When in a weapon deadlock
-When lifting weights during training.
-When you are trying to break a door or any inanimate object.

Dexterity: (Dex)

Dexterity is the measure of agility, hand-eye coordination, finger control, reflex, ect. This attribute contributes to any and all things that are related to speed. Also, this is the master attribute for ranged weapons such as bow and arrows, throwing knives and any other manual ranged weapon. This stat also governs if you can gain extra Actions. Dodging capability, reflex, aiming capability and other skills related to speed are all governed by this attribute.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Dexterity to?

-Evasion.
-Actions
-Reflex saves.
-Balance checks
-Move silently checks
-Sleight of Hand checks.
-Ranged weapon damage.

Examples of when to roll a Dexterity check?

-When trying to test speed.
-When trying to move objects without notice
-When trying to catch an object before it falls


Constitution: (Con)

Constitution is a measure of the character’s bodily health and fortification. The more stamina a character has, the more stamina they have in battle and the more punishment they can take from attacks. This governs such things as your HP, resistance to physical status ailments, running, and other stamina related activities.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Constitution to?

-Hp
-Concentration checks.
-Fortitude saves.

Examples of when to roll a Constitution check?

-When holding your breath under water.
-When holding your breath against poison gas.
-When running long distances.
-When taking hits for training or defense
-When resisting physical torture

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Intelligence: (Int)

Intelligence is a measure of your characters book smarts and reasoning capability. Magic is governed by this skill as it increases damage for most spells. Also, intelligence governs the amount of skills that can be learned. Higher intelligence means one can understand and grasp more concepts and thus be able to learn more skills as well.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Intelligence to?

-Skill points and number of skills
-Intelligence checks.
-Search checks.
-Research checks.
-Repair checks.
-Knowledge checks.
-Forgery checks.
-Magic Damage and Success

Examples of when to roll an Intelligence check?

-When you are taking any kind of test that requires thinking.
-When reading a book and trying to understand it
-When thinking about a problem and trying to solve it.
-When devising tactics for combat.


Wisdom: (Wis)

Wisdom is a measure of a character’s mental will power and common sense. Unlike intelligence, this doesn’t help you at all in any kind of research or knowledge based items. However, it does help you to understand things that books and school simply can’t explain. That’s why this skill is also needed to aid in Magic acquisition and power as certain parts of it go beyond basic reasoning skills. It can also help break Illusion magic as you have the will power and mental facilities to see through the illusion.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Wisdom to?

-Dodge.
-Will checks.
-Wisdom checks.

Examples of when to roll a Wisdom check?

-When trying to see through lies
-When trying to tell lies
-When trying to impart advice to others
-When trying to understand advice given by others.

Charm: (Cha)

Charm is the measure of a character’s personality and its effects towards others. Characters with high charm will have better results when they try to get others to follow them or believe the things they tell them. Also, very charming characters usually make better party leaders and have better times getting others to follow their orders.

Examples of what kinds of things I can apply Charm to?

-Seduction checks.
-Diplomacy checks
-Any check that requires talking.
-Perform checks.

Examples of when to roll a Charm check?

-When talking to someone and trying to get them to go with something
-When trying to perform some show case of ability

Health Points: (HP)

HP is a direct measure of how much damage you can take in battle. It is determined by a formula using ones Constitution modifier [100+Constitution Mod] x level . When one begins to loose HP, they begin to suffer various effects to their health, as HP is a determinate of health.

If you lose 50% of your Max HP you will receive a - 2 penalty on every check you make.

If you loose 75 % of your Max HP you will receive a -6 penalty in everything mentioned before.

If your character reaches 0 HP, they are considered unconscious and unable to continue the battle. This state of being can be recovered with a full real life day of not posting with that character AFTER you do a post in which your character is taken someplace to rest. When the day is over, your character will have exactly 1 HP and will need further rest to recover their full HP.

HP are increased every time you level up. At that time, you recalculate your Hp using the formula [100 + con mod] x level.

Mental Powers: (MP)

Mental power is a measure of your character’s ability to cast magic or use magic enhanced techniques.

You calculate your MP using the formula [10 + Int. Mod] x level.

Ability Points: (AP)

Ability Points are a measure of how many abilities and special attacks your body can handle doing without rest or recovery.

You calculate your AP using the formula [10 + Str. Mod] x level.

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Accuracy

This next section is an explanation on accuracy of all physical attacks unless the attack states differently. Characters accuracy is calculated by rolling a D100(100 Sided Dice). The roll of a 100 sided die is to represent a 100% chance of success with an attack. As with anything, there is a chance to miss but also a chance to exceed and shine. For this the rate of the 100 is divided between three sections: Miss, Hit, Critical.

By default, the D100 roll is not divided among anything and only represents the hit range. The only two rolls of note are a natural 1 and a natural 100. By natural, it means that if the dice simply rolls this number.

The roll of a 1 means a complete and total miss, regardless of how skilled or what your other stats say, you miss/fail. 1 equals auto-failure for all things requiring a roll unless otherwise stated.

The roll of a 100 means a devastating critical attack is landed. What this means is that, regardless of what your stats or your opponents’ stats say, you will succeed in performing whatever action you are doing. In the case of the attack, you perform a critical attack and knock the wind out of the opponent, cutting their Actions down by half for their next post.

The roll of this D100 takes into account that whatever weapon you use, you have had proper training in (thanks to the Master abilities) so the chances of a novice error are eliminated.

Critical Chance

Once your character has been built, you can calculate your Critical chance. To calculate it, you simply use this formula:
Full Dexterity Attribute / 8 = Critical Chance(rounded down)

As a note: When we state "Full" in reference to a stat/attribute then we mean the Base Points + Distribution Points + Training Points total.

Whatever this number is, you apply it to the upper numbers of the D100.

For example, if your Dexterity equaled 20 after combining your base points, training points and distribution points, you would calculate you Critical Chance by dividing 20 by 8 equaling 2.5 or 2 when rounded down. You place this 2 at the upper end of the D100 and the D100 roll now looks like this:

Roll: 1 = fail, 2 - 97 = normal hit, 98 - 99 = critical, 100 = auto-crit

Evasion Chance

The Evasion Chance of your character is explained more in detail on the Evasion Bonus section. However, for quick reference, it can be calculated with this formula:
Full Dexterity Stat / 4 = Evasion Chance(rounded down)

When attacking an opponent with physical combat, you will check their Evasion Bonus stat and add the number to the lower end of the D100.

For example, if your opponent had an Evasion Chance of 9, you would add this number to the lower end of the D100. Taking the example from above about your Critical Chance, your D100 now looks like this:

Roll: 1 = fail, 2-10 = miss, 11 – 97 = normal hit, 98 – 99 = critical, 100 = auto-crit

Actions

Actions are the number of actions possible in a single post. As your character’s level increases, so will their ability to do more things at once.

Every 5 levels past level 1, the player will gain an extra Action. What this means is the following:

At level 1 – level 5, you are allowed to only do 1 Action per post.
At level 6 – level 10, you are allowed to do 2 Actions per post.
At level 11 – level 15, you are allowed to do 3 Actions per post.
Etc.

As you can see, ever level ending in 6 or 1, your character gets an extra Action to use in combat. The pattern you see above continues on as long as your character continues to level.

Most basic things take up only 1 Action turn, however, all magic spells take up 1 Action + their rank due to the amount of concentration required. So, for Rank 1 spells, you would need 2 Actions to be able to perform it. For a Rank 2 spell, you'd need 3 Actions and so forth and so on. This does not, however, mean that you must wait till you have the required Actions to perform Rank 1 and Rank 2 spells. If you are below the level required to have the needed Actions, you may still perform 1 magic spell (of Rank 1 or Rank 2) but you may not do anything else for that post. Once you have the needed Actions or more Actions, you must pay them as normal.

So, for example, say you are level 6. This means that you have 2 Actions but you have a Rank 2 spell you want to cast. You may cast this spell but you cannot do anything else for this turn. Now once you reach level 16 and have 4 Actions, you can perform the Rank 2 spell(For 3 Actions) and do something else that costs 1 Action.

Summons take 3 Actions + their Rank to cast.

Also, any ability of rank 2 or higher cost 2 Actions and cannot be done until you have at least 2 Actions to perform. This is due to the extra amount of time and concentration required to perform an ability as compared to a basic attack or skill check.

Dexterity and Actions

As explained before, Dexterity has a manor of control on the Action Ability. For every 50 points in full Dexterity(Base + Distribution + Training), not counting bonuses gained from Soul Stones, Magicite or Armor, the character gains a new Action.

So, say you have a character that is level 22. This means that you have 5 Actions naturally. Now assume your character’s base total for their Dexterity, minus whatever bonus they may be gaining from outside forces, is 51. You now have 6 Actions to use instead of 5.

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Evasion Bonus

Evasion Bonus is the ability that measures your chances of dodging physical attacks. As stated before, your Evasion Bonus is calculated by this formula:
Full Dexterity Attribute / 4 = Evasion Bonus (Rounded down).

Defensive Combat

In combat, it is possible to take a defensive stance and increase your Evasion and Saves by your Level. You will be restricted to only 1 Action for that round of combat that can only be spent on basic attacks or skill usage.

The way to activate this type of combat is to announce in your post that your character has gone into a defensive format of fighting. In doing this, you sacrifice all of your Actions except 1.

The next time your opponent attacks, you may add your Level to your Evasion Bonus. However, only half of your level can be added to your Fortitude, Reflex and Will Saves. In other words, if you have a character who is level 30, your Evasion would be increased by 30 while your Will, Reflex and Fortitude Saves would be increased by 15.

Taking cover in combat:

In some areas of battle, there may be things that can be used for cover. Of course, such areas and items are common sense but they must be announced before used. Taking cover increases your Evasion and Reflex Save by a set amount depending on how much cover it provides. Most battle fields house items that give at least 25% coverage (Trees or benches etc). However, some areas may house items with more or less coverage. It should also be noted that magic’s and attacks marked as Area of Effect(AOE) still give half damage even if you do dodge them using this method.

25% cover(small boulders or broken walls) = +4 to Evasion and Reflex
50% cover(concrete barriers or medium boulders) = +8 to Evasion and Reflex
100% cover(Full walls, Huge boulders, Buildings) = +16 to Evasion and Reflex

Again, what the area comprises should be obvious from the area description but if it isn’t, you are to assume only a 25% cover is available.

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Deal Damage

Damage is determined by a random number calculated from a host of different factors and variables. All attacks, with very few exceptions, will have a range of possible damage. Certain factors will add and subtract from the possible damage such as associated modifiers, associated skills, weapons, ect.

The actual application of damage is called the Damage Step and is done using the random number generator feature of Gaia. Simply click on the option that states Post Actions and select Random Number Generator. In the slots provided, insert the numbers into the appropriate slot (1st number in low number slot and 2nd number in high number slot). Whatever the number generated, that is the damage you inflict.

All damage for melee and ranged attacks have a basic starting range of one thru six read as 1 – 6. These numbers change depending on what kind of attack is being done at the time and if a weapon is being used. Players who successfully hit their opponent will then enter the resulting numbers (after all additions and subtractions have been added to the 1-6) into the random number generator provided by Gaia.

Increasing Damage:

Damage will increase depending on the modifier associated with the attack being done. Possible events that could lower damage output are weapon disarmament and status ailments which will be explained in another thread.

The maximum damage of an attack is further increased by 1 per 10 points in the associated skill. For instance, a melee weapon attack would result in the use of the Melee Weapon skill. If your skill had 40 points in it, you would take 1 for every 10 points in the skill, equaling 4, and add it to your max damage.

Dealing Damage Barehanded:

When performing an attack using just your bare hands or any old object picked up off the ground, these items usually don’t have any enhancers to damage. In these cases, you simply add the modifier associated with that type of combat to the damage. If you are throwing a punch or a kick, you would add the strength modifier to the basic damage of 1-6 where as if you were throwing a rock or stick, you would add the dexterity modifier to the basic damage of 1-6.

Also, all barehanded attacks gain a bonus of 1 point per 5 in the character's Martial Arts skill added to the maximum damage of the attack being done.

So, for example, if the character connected with a punch, he would use 1-6 + Str. mod. Let's assume his Str. mod is 3 so his resulting damage would be 4-9 (1+3 – 6+3). On top of that, he has a Martial Arts skill of 22 so he’d have 4 points extra (1 per 5 points in Martial Arts.) So his resulting damage would be 4 – 13 since you only add the extra points to the maximum damage.

Dealing Damage with Magic:

Every attacking spell in the game will have a minimum and maximum damage already associated with it and marked with the spell. All spells, unless otherwise noted, get an addition to both the minimum and maximum damage in the form of the Int. modifier. In other words, you would take whatever the modifier amount for your intelligence attribute and add it to both the minimum and maximum possible damage for the spell.

On top of this, your Magic damage also gets a boost from the Mystic Skill. For every 5 points in your Mystic Skill, you can add 1 point to the maximum damage the magic spell is about to do.

So, for example, if the character connected with a Fire spell, he would use 10-30 + int. mod. Let's assume his Int. mod is 6 so his resulting damage would be 16-36 (10+6 – 30+6). On top of that, he has a Mystic skill of 13 so he’d have 2 point extra (1 per 5 points in mystic.) So his resulting damage would be 16-38 since you only add the extra points to the maximum damage.

Dealing Damage with a Abilities:

All abilities, unless otherwise noted, takes damage from the weapon equipped. For the most part, the damage marked under abilities should be added on top of the damage already being calculated by the weapon in use. In cases of Duel Wielding, the damage is calculated by both weapons individually for abilities that can be used with duel wield.

Dealing Damage with a Weapon:

All weapons have their own minimum and maximum starting damage. These tools still gain the same bonus from strength modifier and dexterity modifier as martial combat does but you only add it once. And again, which modifier is used is based on what type of weapon is used.

Also, just like with magic and martial combat, weapons gain a bonus from the Weapons skill. Again, for every 10 points in this skill, you may add 2 points to the maximum damage of the weapon you are using.

Say you are using a Broad Sword. It has a natural damage of 4-10 + Str. mod. Let's use the example above and assume you have a Str. mod of 3. So your damage would go up to 7-13 (4+3 - 10+3). If you are doing a normal attack with the sword you would then add your base melee damage of 1-6 so your damage would increase to 8 - 19 (4+3+1 - 10+3+6). Note that we did not add the Str. mod again to your base melee damage as it's already been added once. ON TOP OF THAT lets say you have 30 points in the Melee Weapons skill. This would give you 6 extra points to add to the maximum damage( 1 point per 5 points in skill). So your final damage would be 8 - 25(4+3+1 - 10+3+6+6).

 

[Carlos Ralfer]

Saving Throws

Each time someone assaults you with certain magics, poisons, or various other status ailments, you get to roll a Saving Throw. Saving Throws are similar to your Evasion Bonus as you take a stat and divide it by 4 then add this number to the lower end of the D100 spectrum to see if the situation hits you or not..

The saves are as follows:

Fortitude: This saves measure your ability to stand up against physical punishment or physical status ailments such as poison and stone.

Full Constitution Attribute / 4 = Fort Save

Used when:

• Attack with stone status ailment connects
  
• Trying to resist a poison.
  
• Resisting pain or torture.

Reflex: This save can be used when trying to save yourself by dodging AOE(area of effect) attacks/magics.

Full Dexterity Attribute / 4 = Ref. Save

Used when:

• You try to dodge a trap.
  
• When you try to dodge an area effecting attack.

Will: The will save reflects your resistance to a mental attacks such as mind reading and confusion. When forcing your body to stop mental attacks, you may inflict pain to aid in the stopping of the attack by getting an extra +6 on your save.

Full Wisdom Attribute / 4 = Will Save

Used when:

• Someone tries to suck MP out of you.
  
• Resisting illusion magic.
  
• Resisting mind altering effects(Berserk or Confusion for instance).