Aether Online - A VMMORPG RP inspired by Log Horizon, SAO, and Overlord

[Gowi]

Yeah, I'm not sure if I need/should use Japanese conventions naming-wise for my character or not.

[Mangrale]

I know I'm going to live to regret this, but the important thing is I'll live. I'm interested, and I could already say this about my character: they're probably gonna be a noob.

[cloudystar]

@Mangrale
why can't we be friends, why can't we be friends?

[Jedly]

@cloudystartime to turbo wreck some fresh me- I mean help a comrade level up :D. I kid.

[cloudystar]

@Jedly
lolol, cool and im the tanky monky person who likes disarming peeps...oh and love your signature and the fact you change it every time...XD

[Jedly]

@cloudystarGrumpybumper's signature rotator is a magical thing. Look into it to express how much time you spend watching anime. Okay, I'll be kinda lurking for a bit, got an(other) econ midterm tomorrow. Time to study with coffee!

[cloudystar]

@Jedly
good luck and im studying too for a midterm XD
can't wait for this RP though!

[Mangrale]

@cloudystar
I can't think of a solid reason. :) I'm just a nitwit and joining RPs left and right it seems. I'm sticking to the ones I got after this one I swear.

[cloudystar]

@Mangrale
lol can't wait then and hopefully RP with you and the others in the soon future

[Leoven]

How did this one page interest check turn into 4 pages while I slept. Holy hell. @Jabber you asked for people to post and now you've got it!

If we're talking about characters, I'd already planned mine to be a casual player who's taking her first jump into VR games with Aether. She's gonna be a Cleric but she's going to regret this decision after finding out that you can't log out because she's a coward who doesn't want to die and fuck all of you she's going to prioritize healing herself first.

Whooo. I'm calling dibs.

Anyway, GM. Character Sheet and OOC maybe since you already have a lot of players? Maybe a Discord server too?

Long post is long. Can't wait to roleplay with everyone. Cheers.

[cloudystar]

@Leoven
lol no need for discord but can't wait for CS to post up and work on it. hopefully we find that monk/fist fighting class cuz my guy is going to be so confused on what skills to use since he has only weapon ones from that fighter class XD

[Jabber]

Well, this is definitely surprising, but in the best possible way.

...why do all the potentially fun looking RP's have to crop up at the same time?

I'll throw my interest in, even though I probably shouldn't. I think I'll probably try and go for the ever so fun Berserker archetype.

Ahem, anyways~

What about non-humans? Or is everyone human here? To be honest, it'd be very fun if we could get a little creative with the races like in Overlord. Of course, that's just my preference. Humans are boring, yo xP

Expanding on that, how free are we able to get with the classes? Say, I wanted to play a Berserker with magical abilities or something such? Would something like that eventually be achievable? Not saying I am - might go for a pure mage/spellsword of some sort.

@Rune_Alchemist

I'm still contemplating on that idea. So for now, your only choice is playing a boring human.

For the classes, you have to explore in-game to find the quest line for job changes; I'll be guiding you so you won't just be running in circle. As for abilities, you gain them in a variety of ways. Constantly punching stuff will allow you to learn punch-specific skills, bartering constantly may give you move similar to that of a merchant, reading a tomb or scroll may teach you a spell, accomplishing a quest may reward you with a skill. And the list goes on and on.

@Legion02 Aether, Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Light, and Darkness.

<Snipped quote>
Does that mean Conjuration falls under Cleric skills and won't be accessible to Mages? Now that I've looked over the other posts, it seems people are going for magic users. Was interested in making a Cleric character that's scared shitless by the thought of potentially dying, but I'm also curious about Tinkers. @Jabber are they sort of like cybernetics or is their tech more steampunky?

@Leoven

For mages, yes. If they advance in their job, they may gain access to summons. Initially, Tinkers would create steam-punky and clockwork-like constructs and inventions. Don't expect on creating robots just yet. Cybernetics may be an option, but again, that's something for an advance job class.

@Savo Sorry, but as of now, I wanna limit a 1 character per player policy.

@Jedly You got that right! I was so surprised to see that the thread has reached its 4th page. Not complaining though!

@Volenvradica I'm sorry, but I gotta be the bearer of bad news. I was gonna do stats. :(

---

Since you guys requested it, here we go! Here's the CS; make sure to at least follow the format. I don't mind if you flare it up a bit. Regarding the stats, I'm still thinking of some alternatives on how we'll deal with this, but for now, this is what we have.

Hider

[Avatar]

Username: AO name system does not support numbers or spaces.
IRL Name: Optional.
Age: AO is suitable for ages 13+
Sex: This isn’t Tumblr.
Theme: Optional.

Background: Optional.
Writing Sample:
Write a post for your character, showing their reaction to be trapped in the AO world. This can be as short or long as you want, but it should give me a feel for your character’s personality and their general goals (it can be as simple as just wanting to get back home).

Class: Novice
Level: 9

Stats: You start with 60. Written below are general applications for what each stat can do, though specific skills/spells/items may be effected by different stats.

HP - Calculated after acceptance.
MP - Calculated after acceptance.

Str - Determines melee damage, speed, and weapon usage.
Dex - Determines ranged damage, accuracy, and avoidability.
Vit - Determines hp, regeneration, and physical damage resistance.
Int - Determines number of spells/skills known, mp regeneration, and weapon usage.
Will - Determines spell damage, mana pool, and spell resistance
Cha - Determines bonds with summons/pets, NPC interaction, and luck.

Skills/Spells:
You gain a number of skills/spells based on your Intelligence score. You get a basic (Rank E) skill for every 2 points of Int you have. Higher skill ranks have higher incremental costs (2 - 4 - 8 - 16 - 32 - 64). Spells have similar cost, though the lowest cost spell is worth the same as a D rank skill (4).

Inventory:
Steel Sword
Traveler’s Tunic
Health Potion [10]

Storage:
150 gemstones

Also, I decided to include a Gameplay Section in the OP.

Hider

Combat
AO places its players within a completely immersive virtual world, meaning much of combat actually relies upon the player's reaction time and judgement. However, they are still effected by their character stats, which controls what their avatar is physically capable of. Though they can acquire new skills and spells through a high Intelligence score, these will also come naturally to the player through level progression, quest rewards, and other similar means.

Melee Fighting
Melee fighting is the most common form of combat within AO. Though ability to dodge and how quickly you strike can depend on player skill, it is also largely based on both your Str and Dex stats. Damage with a melee weapon adds 1.5x Str stat unless specified otherwise by a skill or weapon. Shields and armor will mitigate damage from both melee and ranged attacks, though will only protect wielders from physical damage unless stated otherwise.

Ranged Fighting
​While accuracy is largely dependent on an individual player's ability to aim, a player increasing their Dex stat can increase the distance they can see and how quickly they can perceive enemies. Firearms will usually add their Dex to damage, though bows use a combination of both Dex/2 and Str. Unless using a weapon that specifies otherwise, or negated by a skill, enemies will take less damage the further away they are. The exceptions to this rule are rifles, which do not have any damage falloff.

Critical Hits
Unlike many games, AO's critical hits are not based on a random number generator. Instead, there are a number of critical "zones" that can be located on both monsters and players characters. Striking in any of these zones will result in a critical hit. Critical zones are normally not visible, though they can be seen via special skills or spells. Area of effect attacks and spells cannot crit. A critical zone may not always appear, some will only show up after certain requirements have been triggered i.e. when an enemy is using a special attack or after a monster's outer shell has been removed. Unless altered by a weapon or skill, critical hits deal twice the amount of damage the attack would normally do.

Elemental Damage
A lot of weapons and spells within AO have a specific element attached to them. Unless specified otherwise, elemental damage does not increase the damage of an attack. However, certain monsters can be either resistant or vulnerable to certain elemental types. Knowing which types of enemies you are strong against will allow you to farm and level up quicker.

PvP
???

NPC's
???

Monster Encyclopedia
???

[Rune_Alchemist]

@Jabber

...welp, gotta be honest...I apologize but those Stats and Gameplay Section has made me somewhat wary of this. To the point of almost deciding to drop. Aside from being troublesome to keep up with and keep track of, I am honestly unsure of if I would be able to put stats into what I would realistically want for my character and might end up RPing them completely differently then what their stats would even dictate.

How exactly are these stats going to be carried over to RP posts? I understand that not all characters are going to be doing something, but the fact that what I can and cannot do is possibly going to be determined by an arbitrary number on a screen is somewhat disheartening. Maybe I'm just being a pessimist though...

....which are also the reasons I don't play games that aren't mostly skill based. It's really not any fun if you are perfectly capable of being able to do something realistically, but a stat is like 'nope bitch'

[Jabber]

@Rune_Alchemist Yeah, no problem.

Its more of "will I succeed in doing something" instead of "can I do something", because most definitely, you can do whatever you want, its just a matter of having the stats to do so. I mean, just like in real life. Can you try lifting some heavy weights? Sure thing. Will you have the actual strength to carry those weights? Depends on how strong you are. Can I try to charm this girl? Of course. Will I succeed? I guess that would depend on how charming I am.

Sure, not an issue. You can drop this if you want.

[Rune_Alchemist]

@Jabber

that's sort of what I mean by 'skill based'. Obviously if a knight character goes around trying to cast a huge magic spell he's going to fail.

The problem I have, is that too many times in these sort of stat like things is that I get dicked over by a bad roll/my stats aren't 'good enough' to do something which is bullshit. There are many multiple ways of doing things, and I shouldn't have to fit one sort of 'build' to be able to do it. Not unless it's something super specific to that build.

There are more ways of getting into a door other than lock picking. Breaking the lock, just kicking it down.

Charisma for example doesn't mean you have to be all nice to people - you can be intimidating, and someone can be intimidating without a high 'charisma' stat, likewise someone can be 'charming' without having a high one.

I suppose I should just ask again, how are stats going to affect certain things? Will there be more than one option/way of dealing with something that would be more 'class appropriate'? And how often if I 'attempt' something, will I fail because I didn't have the stats for it and forever be locked out of that opportunity? And how often will I get rekt because suddenly I got a bad roll or something, and could I theoretically fight something twice my level and win if I am careful/tactful about a fight?

[Jabber]

@Rune_Alchemist Not necessarily. Like I mentioned in the OP, there's nothing stopping a mage from wielding a two-handed sword. It works both ways, so there's nothing stopping a knight from focusing on spell-casting. The only disadvantage to this is that knights won't be learning skills that would complement spell casting.

If you can't pick a lock, then go ahead and try breaking the door down or destroying the lock. No one's stopping you from doing those things.

Anyway, you aren't forced to deal with this if you don't want to.

How are stats going to affect certain things? This questions is to vague since mostly anything can be affected with stats. I've listed down what each stat does, so you can safely guess how a certain stat would affect a specific action.
Will there be more than one option/way of dealing with something that would be more 'class appropriate'? What do you mean by class appropriate? Like I mentioned before, anyone can attempt to do anything. One's class will only indicate some of the skills that you develop. Want to be a chef magician who's a blacksmith, go for it. Not the most efficient way to do things, but go ahead.
And how often if I 'attempt' something, will I fail because I didn't have the stats for it and forever be locked out of that opportunity? What type of situations are you imagining? I'm not really sure what your train of thought is. Stats are just a quantification of your character's traits and capabilities.
And how often will I get rekt because suddenly I got a bad roll or something, and could I theoretically fight something twice my level and win if I am careful/tactful about a fight? The answers your looking for are quite situational. Do you think I can give you an answer? Are you expecting a yes or no? Or some sort of percentage of success? If that's how you're looking at things, then you're just stressing yourself out.

[Rune_Alchemist]

@Jabber

Well, I mean, obviously I want to be in the RP since I'm asking questions about how certain things work that I have concerns about.

I could have probably worded a few of my questions a bit better. Only one thing I still have a small concern about - I mostly just want a 'it's possible if your character has the skill to pull it off somehow, and not one skill ultimately dictates the outcome of events.' Such as the example below.

"What do you mean by class appropriate? Like I mentioned before, anyone can attempt to do anything. One's class will only indicate some of the skills that you develop. Want to be a chef magician who's a blacksmith, go for it. Not the most efficient way to do things, but go ahead."

Perhaps I should have used 'stat appropriate' instead of 'Class appropriate'. For example - my physically strong tanky knight that has a reputation for being a bit of an ass/bully, tries to persuade an NPC to do something. Charisma is what would be used for that. But he has a low charisma. Instead, wouldn't it be more appropriate to use physical intimidation and possibly the Str stat to be able to do that?

Situations like that, really.

[Jabber]

@Rune_Alchemist That's what I kept on saying, you can try as much as you want. The only thing stats do is improve the success rate. You'll never be in a position where you can't try something.

Perhaps I should have used 'stat appropriate' instead of 'Class appropriate'. For example - my physically strong tanky knight that has a reputation for being a bit of an ass/bully, tries to persuade an NPC to do something. Charisma is what would be used for that. But he has a low charisma. Instead, wouldn't it be more appropriate to use physical intimidation and possibly the Str stat to be able to do that?

@Rune_Alchemist

Go for it, nothing's stopping you from doing that. Who's to say if that method would be successful or not? Don't you want to RP that and find out? Or would you rather I reveal those things in the OOC instead? That'll work for me; less things to type up.

[Apokalipse]

_{just gonna casually slide my interest in here (: and imma get started on working on a cs}

[Rune_Alchemist]

@Jabber

Well, nothing left to ask at the moment. Thanks for answering, by the way.

I suppose just for now I'll work on a CS and see where this goes. It'll either be up sometime late tonight or tomorrow.