Some Background (For Writers): the S.S. MMO System

When I started working on adding to this story about a month ago, I found it's 'Pokemon' based statistics system a bit too simplistic to preserve my willing suspension of disbelief that I was inside a MMORPG, especially one so advanced that it had fully conscious AI and no real limitations on actions that could be undertaken with it's physics engine.

I therefore cobbled together one of my own, loosely inspired by D&D and my small store of experience with other MMOs including WoW, Planetside, Urban Dead, and Zombie Pandemic, as well as the many single player J-RPGs I have played including Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 1.

In the pages that follow I will provide resources for those that wish to use this system in their own stories, such as blank character sheet screen templates, race profiles for a few of the existing races (at least my interpretation of them), and class outlines for some of the existing classes, (Again, at least my interpretation.)

However, as I stated at the start of the previous page, each page of the story should stand on it's own merit, not just be a directory of other pages, so here is the basic mechanics of the Simon_Silver MMO System:

On the following sheet you will see the 7 'Vital Statistics' and the 7 'Derived Statistics' With an explanation of how each works. These 14 statistics are the basis of the entire game, and abilities of both PCs and monsters can key off any of them, or more than one, in an almost infinite variety of ways.

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VITAL STATISTICS

As will be readily apparent to anyone with experience with table top D&D or Pathfinder the 7 Vital Statistics represent, in order: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Appearance, Charisma, Wisdom, and Intelligence. Further explanations follow each stat. A Player receives 500 total points to distribute among the 7 Vital Statistics, with all of them starting at 20 and going no higher than 100 at character creation. They also receive 1 more point each level after the first to increase any statistics that are not 'Race Locked' or 'Class Locked'.
STR:
Physical brawn and muscle power is concentrated in this statistic. It is often given a high value by front line classes such as Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian, Champion, and those aiming for the 'Merit Classes' Battle Priest, Forefront Commander, Rage Caster, and **** Cult Assassin, among others. Most adventurers put at least a moderate value into it because it also controls how much gear you can carry around inside non-magical storage without becoming 'Encumbered'. STR feeds into the Derived Statistics of HP, AG, and MV, yet is primarily valued not for it's contributions to those scores but it's direct effects.
DEX:
Suppleness, reflexes, nimbleness, and hand/eye coordination are the hallmarks of Dexterity, and it is valued greatly by many classes, but especially Rogues, Rangers, Alchemists, and those aiming for the 'Merit Classes' Spell Bow, Temple Raider, Grenadier, and **** Cult Assassin, among others. Many more 'stand and fight' classes chose DEX as their 'dump stat' due to it's mechanisms of defense being incompatible with heavy armor, but the more experienced individuals give it at least a respectable 50 due to it feeding into MV, and AG, as well as being the major component of ones ranged attack accuracy, something every character will NEED sooner or later.
CON:
Constitution represents the character's stamina, fitness, endurance, and vitality. It is mostly favored by the same classes that favor STR, though there are some 'merit classes' such as Rage Caster, and Flagellant which make more extensive use of it than as a defense against physical status effects and for it's contributions to MV, PC, and HP. It also, though this is not widely known, is a major determiner in weather a mother can successfully carry a pregnancy.
APP:
Ah, Appearance: though this stat has relatively little benefit to the derived scores, only feeding into SS and LR, it is highly favored by adventurers and game designers when making NPCs due to another function: governing what kinds of 'appearance traits' a character may be imbued with. The more points you sink into appearance the more options you have, everything from green eyes and red hair to the ridiculous bust and waist measurements 'heroines' favor is unlocked by the number of points you burn on appearance. It should surprise no one however that many people also use appearance as their 'dump stat', seeing no real value in it's contributions to the Derived Statistics, and not caring that their character's appearance is that of a leprous abomination, especially 'power gamers' going for classes that favor heavy armor which will hide their physical appearance, though this score also controls things such as tonality of voice and a person's scent, which the armor does nothing for. Appearance is also useful for some 'Merit Classes' like the Forefront Commander, Apostle, Socialite, and Mesmer, among a select few others.
CHA:
Ah, Charisma, in the game, as in real life, the god stat of the system. Charisma feeds into more derived statistics than any other stat, contributing to HP, MP, SS, and AG, as well as being the primary casting stat for several classes including but not limited to Sorcerers, Clerics, Witches, and Cultists, as well as 'merit classes' like the Apostle, Coven Mistress, and Mesmer, among others. However, that is about ALL it does, with few other effects flowing from it directly, rather relying on its derived statistics to function. Never the less, only fools do not put a high value into Charisma, since it directly feeds into BOTH HP and MP, though for obvious reasons the game designers often deliberately low ball it for NPCs.
WIS:
And now we come to Wisdom: Though not a 'god stat' like charisma wisdom feeds into four values: MP, SS, LR, and PC, making it a powerful stat for derived values, as well as being the direct casting stat for classes like the Shaman, Priest, Champion, and Paladin, as well as 'Merit Classes' such as Hierophant, Apothecary, and Temple Guardian. Many other things also key off Wisdom, such as the 'Haggling' economic skill, and resistance to a few negative mental status effects.
INT:
Intelligence, last, but far from least, intelligence feeds the derived statistics of MP, and LR, only two, but that is not where INT shines! About 50% of the 'Skill Sets' in the game base of Intelligence in whole or in part, and anyone aiming for a skill based role in the game's economy and culture, or a class that has powers which key off 'skill tests', such as the Rogue, Shaman, Barbarian, Tamer, or Alchemist will wish to have a high value in INT. Furthermore Int is also the primary casting stat for classes such as the fore mentioned Alchemist, as well as Wizards, Shadow Casters, Mesmers, and Summoners, among others, and even over top those 'Merit Classes' like the Arch Mage, True Name Invoker, Shadewalker, and Overlord, among many others. As if that weren’t enough to let INT vie with CHA for 'god stat' status, it also is used to judge resistance to some classes of negative mental status effects. Yet, even with all this, many players use INT as their 'dump stat' trusting to their personal intellect and access to resources outside the game to deal with the aspects of things INT normally handles, thinking they can play 'Smarter not harder.' by picking classes that are not INT based, and cheating their way through INT puzzles. I said 'many', not 'good': such strategies rarely work in the long term.

DERIVED STATISTICS

Each of the 'Derived Statistics' flows from three of the 'Vital Statistics', ones class, and one's level. In all cases the basic score of the stat is determined by adding up all the values of the 3 vital statistics, dividing by 10, and then adding a value from your class on top of that. What happens after that based on your level is slightly different for some of the statistics than others, and will be explained under each of their individual entries.
HP:
HP, or Hit Points, Derives from STR, CON, and CHA, Representing your shier physical bulk, your vitality, and your **** of will. Like MP it's base value is derived the normal way, but instead of slowly building over time as you add to your Vital Statistics and gain a point or two from leveling, the base value is directly multiplied by your level, allowing people to have hundreds or even thousands of hit points by the time they reach level cap. HP is considered the most valuable derived statistic by many because it determines if you 'live' or 'die' when you take damage. It is important more to 'front line' classes than mages and other ranged attackers.
MP:
Though Some classes such as the fighter and barbarian have relatively little use for 'Mana Points' every class has some abilities that draw on them, and increasingly many as they rise in level. Like HP they are directly multiplied from their base value by your level, not slowly added to over time. MP is considered the most valuable derived statistic by many because it determines when you run out of power for your abilities, shortly after which most spell casting classes die horribly. MP are derived from CHA, WIS and INT, the three main spell casting statistics.
MV:
Standing for 'Move', MV is a statistic that many adventurers consider low priority, until they are trying to flee full tilt from an enraged monster, and suddenly and often painfully understand exactly why it get's a statistic all to itself. MV is derived from STR, representing the power of your legs, DEX, representing your surefootedness, and CON, representing your endurance and ability to breathe easy while running, as well as a slowly increasing bonus relating to your class and level. Mechanically, in terms of the game's engine, your MV value is your top running speed in Meters/Second along firm even ground, which allows some high level characters with ridiculous bonuses to MV pull a 'superman' and outrun trains. (At least it would if the game HAD trains.) As your current speed increases you also become harder to hit, though correspondingly have more trouble hitting targets yourself. Unlike most derived statistics fractions of a point actually matter with MV, increasing your speed by an equal fraction of a meter. MV is quickly reduced for 'encumbered' characters and creatures, but can never fall below 0.01.
SS:
Standing for 'Social Skill' this statistic is derived from APP, CHA, and WIS, standing for, respectively, your ability to make a good first impression, your **** of personality, and your ability to spot lies and deceptions. SS is an important derived statistic for many situations and classes, but especially Rogues and Socialites, and feeds into most 'social' based 'Skill Tests', one way or another. It also is sometimes referenced directly by abilities and spells, such as 'charm' effects and 'enslavement' effects, as well as many 'command' and 'leadership' based powers.
LR:
LR, or 'Lore' is the main governor of the effectiveness of any ability relating to a character's rather than player's knowledge of the game world and it's assorted workings. It feeds into many if not quite all Skills and is a derived statistic that Rogues, Bards, and other Skill Test based classes would do well not to ignore or denigrate. It is Derived from APP, WIS, and INT, standing for your ability to get others to engage you in casual conversation, and thus glean information: the probity to know good information from bad: and the memory to keep track of it all. Specific minimum LR values also are required for some classes to gain access to some higher level powers, such as the alchemist and wizard.
AG:
Standing for 'Agility', AG is an important derived value for avoiding blows and traps, as well as many other heroic feats of derring-do such as walking along narrow ledges and scaling cliff faces without a harness. It flows from Dexterity, Strength, and Charisma: chosen because they embody your nimbleness and physical ability to react, the raw **** with which you can move, leap or cling at need, and your mind's ability to respond to changing situations quickly. Classes that traditionally do not wear heavy armor and rely more on not getting hit favor high Agility scores, and reinforce this trend by adding to them more swiftly as you level.
PC:
Last, we come to perception, or PC. Brewed up from a combination of your CON, CHA, and WIS scores Perception has a number of direct effects on the game engine and your ability to play which make it valued by adventurers of most classes. For one your PC score is the basis of the maximum number of meters you can see in various light conditions, and as with MV fractions MATTER here. A good PC score can mean the difference between spotting an ambush and not, and many 'professional' parties bring along a character with a very high PC score as the group's “Eyes” for just that reason. Contrary to what many NOOB players believe Elves and Deep Elves do not gain bonus acuity to their perception value, they just have higher default and max scores on CHA and WIS, meaning most of them have a higher default PC score than the average human, and more over favor classes that give better bonuses to PC as they level: however many humans have PC scores far outstripping an elf of similar stature who did not pump points into Charisma and Wisdom at character creation and chose a class which favors PC as the human did: just proving the maxim 'It Never Pays to ASSUME.'

Another reason PC is highly valued is it is key to the ability of ranged classes to actually target their powers and attacks. All the Ranged Attack Accuracy in the world wont help if you are not pointing your weapon or spell where the enemy is standing, so for any class that is geared to ranged combat PC is the 'god stat' of derived values.

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There, now you know the basis of my system: more information on other aspects can be found in the sub pages and Sub-Sub-Pages below.