A Leveling System (Customization via Selected Skills)

[9Lives 0]

in the cannon there were several skills that were unlocked due to use of other skills and had nothing to do with quests such as dual blades which was given to the player with the fastest reaction time or katana which was unlocked from use of curved blade. also in the cannon a few of what this board called extra skills that have to be unlocked where actually just standard skills such as rapier.

second he was jsut putting down numbers that were reflected on the site for players to see. in the rules page it states:

The dice roll's purpose is to activate a skill. Each skill has a different number requirement to activate.

Ex: Sword skill "Slash" requires a roll of 5 or higher to activate. If the player rolls 1~4, they must rp out a failed attack and it will then be the other player's turn to use a skill.

here a roll of 5 could and is specifically explained to the players to be a success. if this is not the case then the rules need to be amended.

[Zero 0]

in the cannon there were several skills that were unlocked due to use of other skills and had nothing to do with quests such as dual blades which was given to the player with the fastest reaction time or katana which was unlocked from use of curved blade. also in the cannon a few of what this board called extra skills that have to be unlocked where actually just standard skills such as rapier.

second he was jsut putting down numbers that were reflected on the site for players to see. in the rules page it states:

here a roll of 5 could and is specifically explained to the players to be a success. if this is not the case then the rules need to be amended.

Please note that those dice rules were placed at the beginning of the RP and have since been changed to the standard 1-5 miss 6-10 hit style, also there's no mention of the rapier as an extra skill by staff you possibly read something written by a comunity member as the staff has not drafted a list of skills in general. On another note, we are not following the cannon to the dot as you may have noticed through the floors and their bosses, things have to be changed, adapted and/or modified to fit here for example the creation of the missing Unique Skills not mentioned in the series as only around five were mentioned and two were used (Holy Sword, Dual Wield, Infinity Spear, Darkness Blade and one more I cannot remember are the ones mentioned by the series creator if my memory is correct). Once again regarding the dice system the rules for it will be changed accordingly to how they should be soon.

[Shark 0]

in the cannon there were several skills that were unlocked due to use of other skills and had nothing to do with quests such as dual blades which was given to the player with the fastest reaction time or katana which was unlocked from use of curved blade. also in the cannon a few of what this board called extra skills that have to be unlocked where actually just standard skills such as rapier.

Dual Blades is whats called a > Those are different from >. The > are unlocked from other skill but only 2 were really known. Dual Blades and Holy Sword. Unlocking Katana/ Rapier are the only > ,that I know of, that are not earned via quest/ event but from raising your weapon level. The rest are earned via quest/ event like >

here a roll of 5 could and is specifically explained to the players to be a success. if this is not the case then the rules need to be amended.

That is correct but if you look at the skill charts, that is a very basic skill. Dice rolls for stronger skills will be higher.

[Saix 0]

Dual Blades is whats called a <> Those are different from <>. The <> are unlocked from other skill but only 2 were really known. Dual Blades and Holy Sword.

This is actually incorrect. In the canon, their was no game mechanic referred to as <>, that name was a player created name to explain why Heathcliff and Kirito's <> and <> were unique to their use. As far as the players were concerned, they were simply <> that Heathcliff and Kirito either would not reveal how to unlock, or simply did not know how. The author confirmed afterward that the unlock conditions for these extra skills made them unique, in that only one player could possess them, but as far as the game classification went they were accessed by using the <> system to equip and use them, and are thus accepted in the canon as being <>.

Unlocking Katana/ Rapier are the only <> ,that I know of, that are not earned via quest/ event but from raising your weapon level. The rest are earned via quest/ event like <>

This one is a little muddy actually, as different volumes of the author's work give conflicting examples of these skills. According to the canon, the only non-quest <> that was not one of the <> was Katana. Kirito specifically mentions that the Katana skill is an <> after fighting the Gleam Eyes in the first SOA Light Novel, stating that Cline had to train the One-Handed Curved Sword for a very long time to unlock it, going on to state that their were at least 10 users of this skill, as well as the other non-unique <> Martial Arts and Meditation, then mentioning that only his <> and Heathcliff's <> have only a single known user.

When he mentions Asuna's Rapier Skill in the same novel, he mentions that she had to train the One-Handed Sword Skill, and that after reaching a certain skill level it automatically unlocked. In the same novel, he also mentions having experimented with learning the Two-Handed Sword Skill that also unlocked after training the One-Handed Sword Skill to sufficient level, but then deletes the skill to make room for the fishing Skill.

This is later retconned in the author's new Progressive Series that formed a large part of the anime series. The Progressive Series, particularly the first in the series, retells many of the early adventures of Kirito, and is where the anime adapted Kirito meeting Diabel and the battle against Ilfang the Kobold Lord. In this first volume of the Progressive Series, Kirito meets Asuna for the first time while exploring the First Floor Dungeon and is amazed that a 'newbie' is able to utilize the Rapier Skill <> so well. When he saves her from collapsing in exhaustion, he learns from her that she had been fighting in the dungeon for 3 days, sleeping in the rest area, and replacing her broken rapiers with a stash of Starter Rapiers she had purchased in Starting City. Essentially retconning the Rapier to be a weapon skill that was available from the get go as Kirito's level at the time of the Ilfang battle was confirmed to be 9.

I tried to balance both view points, by having many of the 'basic' weapons unlock new weapons for use after investing 2 points into their use, with only the Katana Extra Skill, which supposedly required almost mastering the One-Handed Curved Sword Skill Tree, taking more with a requirement of 5 Invested Skill Points.

Issue 2: In order to use a skill, a Player must make a roll using the combat dice to see if their Skill Use is successful, with a roll of at least 5 being required as a ‘success’

This is the second thing I have a problem with. Also for an attack to be a successful hit it must be a six or higher. It cannot be a five or it must be role played as a missed attack.

I'm a new GM and that's like the only problem I truly have. You should edited your posts.

l had no idea that the rules had been changed and was going by what the rules had written. I will edit that to reflect the new Rolling System right away.

*Edit: I have edited the initial page to reflect Zero's points, further clarifying that <> must be unlocked via quest before they can be increased with level points, as well as changing the Dice Roll requirement to 6, so that it functions the same as the combat rolling system.

[9Lives 0]

Please note that those dice rules were placed at the beginning of the RP and have since been changed to the standard 1-5 miss 6-10 hit style, also there's no mention of the rapier as an extra skill by staff you possibly read something written by a community member as the staff has not drafted a list of skills in general. On another note, we are not following the cannon to the dot as you may have noticed through the floors and their bosses, things have to be changed, adapted and/or modified to fit here for example the creation of the missing Unique Skills not mentioned in the series as only around five were mentioned and two were used (Holy Sword, Dual Wield, Infinity Spear, Darkness Blade and one more I cannot remember are the ones mentioned by the series creator if my memory is correct). Once again regarding the dice system the rules for it will be changed accordingly to how they should be soon.

this is exactly the point i was trying to make about transparency. how are we the players supposed to know when things have changed if the rules are never updated and we are never told about it. do you know what it sounds like when a staff member says to the player "the rules are wrong, do what i say even though it goes against the rules." im not trying to start a fight but seriously you cant come down on players for not knowing changes that were made and never put up for the players to see.

That is correct but if you look at the skill charts, that is a very basic skill. Dice rolls for stronger skills will be higher.

that's all well and fine if its true but why would you do that. as of right now no matter what skill is used it only counts as one hit if the roll is a success. the only reason to use more than one skill is to add diversity to the role play so your not suck saying <> every post and posting the exact same system assisted attack over and over again. making some skills have higher rolls to hit means that players will just use the skills with lower rolls and get the same amount of damage output form them.

now if you saying that different skills will do different amounts of damage then that's a whole different matter all together where each skill needs to be listed out with its to-hit roll and how much damage they will do. it will likely be debated constantly as to the fairness of the ratio of to-hit to damage.

if you just wanted to diversify the skills like different unlocking then you could say that some skills need a certain level of that sword skill to use but even that complicates things too much. it would be more comprehensive and easier to follow for new players if every attack skill by itself did the same damage and had the same to-hit roll.

[Shard 0]

Any news on the GM's considerations?

I for one would like this system to come through fairly soon, as it would really give a purpose to us having certain skills.

[Erroneous 0]

Any news on the GM's considerations?

I for one would like this system to come through fairly soon, as it would really give a purpose to us having certain skills.

It's only been 3 days, give it time.

[Shard 0]

It's only been 3 days, give it time.

As someone who hasn't been here for all that long, you can't really blame me for not being in the know about how long the GM's take to decide something.

But fair enough, if it takes time, it takes time. I just hope it comes sooner then later.

[Nikki Styx 0]

So is this the system we are gonna use?

[Shard 0]

Hopefully?

Actually, I have a point to pick about the Armour system.

In my opinion, the difference between light and heavy metal Armour is too little. With only .10 added bonus to Heavy, there may not be a point in ever getting it, over light.

This is literally comparing a chest-plate vs a full suit of metal Armour. The actual protective differences should be much higher in favor of the suit.

[9Lives 0]

well as a person who builds authentic battle ready armor in real life for the SCA i can tell you that there isn't a huge difference in the effectiveness of steel over leather. a piercing attack will both through both such as a well placed arrow or a direct thrust with a sword. only if the arrow or thrust were not placed properly would the armors material have any say in the protectiveness because it will sink into leather even if its glancing while steel will deflect. they protect similarly to slashing attacks however the steel will deflect the attack where the leather will stop the slash from getting to the person degrading the leathers use after each use. blunt damage is where you see the largest difference because steel will hold its shape and leather will conform.

anyway the reason i think he chose the numbers as they are is so that there isn't a super tank who gets steel place and become un-killable. the 1/2 to 1/4 seems reasonable because its saying that the steel is twice as effective without letting the player get over powered.

[Nikki Styx 0]

I do Agree with Nine here.

Another thing to take into account. A dedicated Tank will have both heavy armor and shield. Their stats will be pumped into those items, and they will have upgraded versions of those items with additional bonuses to those particular stats. All of those numbers will add up a lot more than if they went with light armor. Honestly after all is said and done a tank with heavy armor is going to be hard enough to destroy, and more than out match (Defense wise) any and all players that come along.

[Shard 0]

While I have a hard time wrapping my mind around leather armor being as effective as a full suit of plate, I'll concede seeing as I don't make armour in real life.

I will say from a game standpoint, that I still think it odd, but that's a personal opinion. I don't think a tank should REQUIRE a shield to be... well a tank. It's another modifier, and probably should not be a requirement.

There needs to be a balance. If Heavy Metal Armour is only going to be fractionally better then light metal or leather, then there needs to be a reason why.

[Nikki Styx 0]

What about the possibility of adding a guard mechanic for tanks.

Tank must choose allied player to target and attempt to activate ability. Upon successfully activating the ability the tank will then take half the damage that selected player receives, allowing the selected player to fight with less risk. The tank will also gain 50% of the hatred generated by the selected player allowing him to hold the monsters attention longer. The ability lasts until the tank decides to deactivate it. Tank can only guard one player at a time, and must deactivate the first guard and before trying to activate a guard on another player.

Obviously this ability has its benefits and draw backs. Benefits being that a paper class player or even lowered level player would be able to survive longer in fights. It also provides another means for a tank to hold hatred against high dps players. The downside is if the tank is not careful, he could take enough damage to be killed himself, and will usually have to deal with whatever monster constantly trying to kill him.

[Nikki Styx 0]

Also, I had a suggestion for the shield skills.

That being that its not so much a way to reduce incoming damage like armor, but rather the chance to increase ones defensive dice roll to flat outright block an attack.

Light Shield Equipment: The effectiveness with which a player can use Light Shields. For each Skill Point invested in the Light Shield Equipment Skill, Defensive rolls are increased by 1/4, rounded up, with a minimum +1 to rolls, allowing the user a greater chance to Block incoming damage. This metric increases slowly, and requires investiture before seeing an increase any real increase in defensive values.

Im not sure what anyone thinks of this idea. Its just what I think of when I think of a shield.

[9Lives 0]

since the <> skill is tied to the shield, you cant <> without one. if you don't have a shield you'd have to use your weapon to <>. this is why a tank build needs to have both heavy armor and a shield to be effective. This is also the limiting factor of the Shield. the player who wishes to dedicate themselves to the Tank role will be stuck using one handed weapons as they need to have the shield in the other hand. Still those who don't want to go completely tank based can be an Off-Tank where they have heavy armor but still have effectiveness in combat trading the damage buffer of the shield for a higher out put weapon.

(which since as of yet all weapon types do the same amount of attacks per round and effectively the same damage depending on how much someone invests in the skill doesn't really factor. maybe thats something we should discuss as well. what is the point of the different weapon classes besides aesthetics? do different weapon types attack faster than others? do some do more damage? are some easier to hit with? not to get off track...)

both the armor and the shield have to purpose of taking the hit without getting hurt. with a shield you are not interrupting the attack, you are letting the attack go as intended and trying to stop it from penetrating your defences (which are your shield and your armor). with that said i think the shield definitely needs to be reducing damage.

however when you decide to use the <> Skill, like any skill it will rely on the battle roll. the benefit of the skill is that a success means you effectively stopped all incoming damage. however using the skill means you can not use a sword skill to attack that round. so on that side of the argument, if you are using your skill activation in that turn to activate <> then it should be a bonus to the roll to determine if the skill was a success.

I think i would word it as:

Light Shield Equipment: The effectiveness with which a player can use Light Shields.

Passive: For each Skill Point invested in the Light Shield Equipment Skill, incoming damage is reduced by .25 damage points, rounded up, with a minimum of one damage point reduced.

Activated: For each Skill Point invested in the Light Shield Equipment Skill, Defensive rolls are increased by 1/4, rounded up, with a minimum +1 to rolls, allowing the user a greater chance to Block incoming damage.

[Kay 0]

I propose a beta test for the first system proposed before we finalize anything.

[Shard 0]

Agreed. We need a few dedicated tests to make sure the system in question works.

[Nexscarecrow 0]

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

[9Lives 0]

sounds good as well. to test it just remember that you take your current level and that gives you how many points you have to spend. spend those points in the skills you want to create your build. then play test it and post a link when your done. if we get enough play tests maybe we can convince the staff to implement it.