Getting to know “you”

After dismissing this series of notifications, you are greeted by another, much more optimistic one.

Congratulations! You have advanced to level 2.

As a Chosen Lesser Catfolk, you have six Attribute points to distribute and your Speed and Charisma increase by one. You also gain 25% advancement towards any one Skill. Allocate these within 72 hours or they will be randomly assigned. Honor thy Patron and write your legend!

That level came fairly quickly, but you suspect they’ll slow down after that. Six Attribute points is more than you expected, so you pull up your character sheet and review the information about your race. The description for Catfolk still lists only four points, but below it is another description.

Chosen get +2 stat points per level and have at least one Trait which is completely unique to them; they also have a higher incidence of Traits in general. A Chosen who dies will revive after a period of time in the place which they last bound their soul to. Chosen look and act like any other member of their race, and there is no easy way to identify a Chosen from anyone else.

That explains the additional stat points. Traits, you know, are usually positive, so the ability to more easily gain them is also appreciated. You currently have only two traits, and decide to give them both a look.

Last Cut You passively absorb the essence of those you kill. You gain a flat +15% experience for all kills, and slaying powerful and unique foes, especially other Chosen, provides additional bonuses, including Attribute points and Skill levels, which are permanently stolen from the slain enemy.

Graceful Landing Catfolk tend to land on their feet, reducing or canceling damage and wounds gained from falling a long distance.

Huh. Graceful Landing seems like a fairly generic racial passive, but Last Cut seems powerful, if vague. You are a little worried about the implications of a trait which specifically rewards you for murder, though. Still, even if you only kill monsters and villains, the experience boost and potential to gain free stats from bosses is a nice bonus. You would have preferred more information on exactly how it worked, but it’s enough to give you some ideas on the type of character you’re supposed to be playing.

After traits are abilities, of which you have only one, “Analyze.” You can guess at what it does, but you pull up the description anyway.

Analyze I You may Concentrate while looking at an object or creature to learn some of its properties. This ability has multiple levels; further levels reveal more information and may be unlocked in time.

Finally, you give your Attribute spread a once-over. You hadn’t allocated any stat points at character creation, but it nonetheless seems that the six points you were due at level 1 have been allocated for you, either randomly or by your Patron. Might, Agility, Speed, Toughness, Attractiveness and Luck are all one point above the baseline, and at level 2 you also have two points of speed and charisma from your race.

You have six left to spend, though, which meant it was time to make some decisions about what kind of character you wanted to be. Your current spread is generic enough to give you a lot of flexibility, and apart from a general desire to be talented in both martial and social fields, you aren’t sure what skills you want to develop. Toughness, Endurance, and Willpower are the Primary contributors to Health, Stamina, and Concentration, though, which seem like they’ll be important no matter what build you take, so you place one point in each. After that, you place one each in Might and Agility, reasoning that if your primary weapon is a dagger, at least for now, you’ll want the strength and coordination to stick the pointy end into the bad guys. You would put your last point in Speed or Charisma, but your racial bonus is already leveling those for you, so you decide to put it into Attractiveness, instead. It seems like the next best option for making a good impression on people.

The only other things to examine now are your Skills. They don’t seem very useful at first glance, but they’re what you have.

History (Level 5.00; 10% less time and concentration required to read and memorize text. Rank: Novice, Affinity: 75%): Associated Attribute: Logic; +10% clarity and comprehension when conveying information to others. The history skill improves your ability to learn about The Realms and helps you analyze and comprehend what you know. Rote memorization and access to sources of knowledge are essential for progressing this skill. Masters of History know long-forgotten truths and can use their knowledge of the past to shape the future. Due to your novice rank in History, your ability to correctly recall dates and names you’ve previously learned is improved by 50%.

Lipreading (Level 1.08; 2% Fewer errors when attempting to understand speech you cannot hear. Rank: Unskilled, Affinity: 98%): Associated Attribute: Senses; Able to read lips from +15% distance. The art of understanding language without the use of your ears, Lipreading is useful for both eavesdropping and stealthy communication. A master Lipreader can perfectly understand a whisper from the other side of a crowded room.

Oneiromancy (Level 1.00; 1% Increased skill and experience gain while sleeping or meditating. Rank: Unskilled, Affinity: 75%): Associated Attributes: Logic and Intuition; +10% Resistance to Astral Damage. The esoteric school of dream magic, Oneiromancy allows for the control of both your dreams and those of others, and can be used to obtain secrets no waking mind could hope to grasp. Master Oneiromancers can blend dream and reality, and bend nightmares to their will.

Yeah, nothing directly useful in combat, especially since you can’t imagine “Astral” is a very common damage type. Lipreading is a cool social skill, though. You might be able to pick up on some juicy secrets with that. And Oneiromancy seems like it might be really powerful down the line, but Catfolk’s lower Affinity for magic might hamper your progress, there.

You do have one Oneiromancy ritual, though, and you give it a look.

Clear The Canvas: Oneiromancy, Level 1. Helps ward off night terrors while making you or a willing creature more open to prophetic, lucid, or shared dreams. Cost: 50 Concentration, can only be cast during nighttime. Duration: Concentration, until the target is asleep, then until waking. Cast Time: 15 Minutes.

Well, it didn’t seem strong, but casting it before you go to sleep each night might slowly level up the skill until you learned a more useful ritual. With a better understanding of your own tools and abilities, you turn towards the last object in need of investigation.