Rift Touched

[Gear47demon]

Hopefully this turns out alright. *cough* *cough* Hey all, this is my first foray into the lands of CYOA's! I've been reading a few of the stories on here, and am currently reading a fantasy story so I thought I would try my hand at it. I spent about a week mulling over some of the details in my head, because I just couldn't stop thinking about it and the little story I have in my head screamed to be let loose, so here we are.

First off, this will be set in a medieval fantasy setting with maybe some Victorian age themes going on (I haven't gotten that far yet ). Second, since this is really my first time doing this I've tried to blend a few systems I've seen others use into my own and see how it works and, hopefully, it turns out alright. Third, moving back to point #1, think of this fantasy setting as a mish mash of Dungeons & Dragons, The Elder Scrolls (mostly Morrowind and Oblivion if you're familiar), Lord of the Rings, and a teensy bit of other fantasy settings and elements all rolled into one. With that out of the way let's begin, shall we? Oh, and before I forget, I'll try not to be so wordy in the future; I just have a thing for details.

Introduction​

Nearly one-thousand years ago in the kingdom of Eborthia in the world of Zelios, the rift touched goblin mercenary hero Kein "Bladestorm" Bleekblood saved the kingdom of Eborthia from a terrible darkness brought on by the nations very ruler, Xavier Swartherton. Xavier was an extremely accomplished mage and had dreams of domination and power over the entire population of not only Eborthia, but the outlying nations as well and so resorted to terrible blood magic and demon summoning to further his own power. Xavier sacrificed thousands and slew any that stood in his way, and would have succeeded if not for Bladestorm. Despite being a goblin, he was also Rift Touched; when he was in his mother's womb a magical rift, a source of magic in the world, blinked into existence right on top of her while out on a raid. Against all odds she survived.

A rift is used to recharge both the magical reserves of a being and doubly recharge magical crystals used to cast spells, but from a distance. If someone comes into contact with a rift then they are damage, and if someone foolishly decides to jump into a rift then the results range from serious injury, crippling, madness, and death. However, against all odds, Bladestorm's mother not only survived, but another rare phenomenon happened; while in his mother's womb, the unborn Bladestorm absorbed all the magic of the rift into his body becoming Rift Touched. Rift Touched are unique and powerful beings, and can only be born into creation while in the womb of a mother that survives being plunged fully in the magics of a magical rift. They are, in essence, the rarest of all beings in the known world of Zelios and their power ranges depending on the effects of the rift - they can have a slight advantage over others in terms of magic, strength, speed, skill, intelligence and more, they can also have unique maladies or effects as a result as well that are greatly varied. There's also one very unusual aspect to being a Rift Touched - the eyes, no matter the color of the parents or species, are always a brilliant and beautiful emerald green that glow with magical energies.

Now, Bladestorm was a goblin and at the time there was no separation between the now known Feral Goblins and the Goblins and Half-Goblins that are capable of functioning in a society, so he faced many hardships ranging from discrimination, persecution, attempted murders, and unequal opportunities throughout the early parts of his career as a mercenary due to his goblin heritage. The reasons for him becoming a mercenary in the first place were quite simple; he was more intelligent than most goblins, and he despised the lifestyle of the goblins. He was disgusted with the wanton raids on traveling merchant caravans and small time adventurers, he was abhorrent of the filthy living conditions that were the norm of his people, and he was especially critical of the murder of men and children and the taking of women to be used for continuous rapes. Unfortunately, he was quite vocal in his tribe, the Bleekblood tribe, and thus became ostracized by his kinsmen and family. It all came to a head when the current chieftain and his shaman advisor tried to murder him; at which point he used his considerable skills with the blade and promptly eviscerated both figures, which didn't go over too well with the rest of the tribe and, like the chieftain and shaman, were quickly and bloodily dispatched by Bladestorm.

With his tribe dead and nowhere else to turn, Bladestorm wandered the countryside alone and without a hope to survive. Upon chance he stumbled upon a traveling caravan composed almost entirely of magical beings and misfits - an unbound succubi, an uncharacteristically open-minded elf warrior, a shrewd tentacle beast merchant, an unbound inucbus with a unhealthy fascination with fire, a mage catgirl, and a very grumpy orc - which welcomed him, and his considerable skills with a blade, to join his group as a friend and bodyguard. Given time he earned the trust and companionship of each in the group and, due to the connections of the shrewd tentacle beast, was able to find work as a mercenary and earn himself a reputation as the best swordsman in the lands, despite the hardships he faced due to his being a goblin.

As the years progressed and Bladestorm's reputation and fame grew, so too did his friendships. He was known as a honest, kind, compassionate, yet firm man with a strong sense of right and justice that quickly earned him the respect and grace of many - from lords and nobles, to fellow mercenaries and soldiers, to generals and paupers - he was almost universally loved and respected by all save for Xavier Swartherton and the nobles in the capital city of Eborthia, Lumin, better known as the City of Light due to having a magical rift that is constantly open in the center of the city that gives fuel to all manner of magical boons, and which bathes the housing structure that was built around the rift a gentle white light. Bladestorm's many friendships that he gained over the years turned into many allies when Xavier, who's darkness was covering the land in a sea of evil demonic servants and blighted creatures, attempted to summon and bind an Archdevil from one of the lower planes of the Hells which would require hundreds of blood sacrifices and his own magics in order to summon, and even more blood from powerful mages and even then it would not be enough. To make up for this lack of blood and in his madness for power he decided to use the rift in the center of the city as further fuel the magics necessary for such a feat.

Preena, the catgirl and one of Bladestorm's lovers, was also a master mage who, along with other masters of the arcane arts, knew that if Xavier were to use the powerful rift in the city to summon the Archdevil that the Archdevil would be able to use his vast powers to link every rift in the world and open them all to his plane of Hell, loosing hordes of demons all under his control across the globe. Knowing the danger, Bladestorm called on his many friends and allies to strike against Xavier before the summoning could take place, and amassed an army comprised of the near total population of Eborthia and led the charge to the capital and against Xavier's allies and demonic minion hordes. The battle to the capital was long and bloody, with thousands dying on both sides and growing every step that Bladestorm's army took towards the capital, but after weeks of fighting Bladestorm and his company managed to fight their way to Xavier's domain, but it was only a half victory.

Knowing his defeat was inevitable Xavier was able to hastily sacrifice a little over half of the required blood sacrifices and all of the powerful mages, their powerful magics adding fuel to their blood and, in a last bid of defiance, Xavier drained all his blood to complete the ritual to summon the Archdevil. It succeeded, but only partially as the Archdevil was summoned only at little less than half of his full power, but it still would have been enough to conquer most of the world once he came into contact with the rift in the city. Seeing no other alternatives, Bladestorm led his company into battle against the Archdevil and, though it was a long and exhausting fight, Bladestorm was able to plunge his prized sword, Windshear, into the fiends skull and banished him back to his own plane of Hell. With the defeat of the Archdevil and the death of Xavier Swartherton, the blighted monster and demonic servants scattered and fell under the might of Bladestorm's army.

With both dire threats defeated and most of Xavier's allied forces decimated, including almost the entirety of the ruling classes of Lumin, the people of Eborthia elected Bladestorm, despite being a goblin, as their new king and ruler, much to his chagrin. Despite his reluctance, he had the support of the people and he humbly took up the mantle to undo the damage that was done and helped to usher in a new age of freedom, peace, and equality that neither Eborthia nor the rest of the world had ever seen.

Under his rule and example and the example set by his many friends and allies, much of the stigma regarding the monster and magical races was eliminated. Magical and monster races are allowed to join the army and own property and even mingle and marry those outside their own people, though it is much better than it was there are still issues that arise from time to time, mostly from those entering Eborthia from other lands that are shocked at how open the societies are. He was also able to set up a system where people were able to elect those they wanted to rule and represent them, though there is still a monarchical system of governance that is accepted if for no other reason than good and just leaders. There is still slavery in Eborthia, however, it is much changed from the old days. Unable to fully eliminate slavery due to some of the remaining ruling classes having built themselves off the backs of slavery a compromise was met; those that were slaves were immediately freed across the land and if they wished to remain in servitude then they could. However, part of the compromise, on top of the slave having to consent to being a slave, is that they are treated fairly and humanely and given all the rights of a regular citizen despite their willful servitude. Abuses of the slave would be severely dealt with and if it was discovered that a slave did not enter a contractual willful servitude of a master or mistress, then the master or mistress would have all their slaves freed, all their assets seized and given to the former slaves as payment, and the master or mistress would be jailed or, if their crimes were especially grievous, publicly executed.

A brief history of our heroine​

Nearly one thousand years after Bladestorm, Xavier Swartherton, and the transition of leadership and the subsequent changes that followed, another Rift Touched has emerged. The first to be born in nearly 75 years, and the first in Eborthia since the time of Bladestorm. Born to an elf father and human mother, she is a half-elf, which in itself is also quite rare considering many elves are too arrogant to mingle with other races in such a fashion or they don't want to find a mate in other races considering their own longevity, and feeling the heartbreak of having their loved one die of old age while they live on. Such a sentiment is not unfounded considering elves that don't focus on the magical arts, which almost always extends the life of any practitioner well beyond their natural means, live on average up to seven-hundred years whereas humans are lucky to reach one-hundred sixty.

This Rift Touched's name is Colette Neilanwittr, named after her late great-grandmother who was also a powerful mage. Her last name is that of her father, who hails from the great forested elven nation of Wehndarwil far to the west and over the mountains that border Eborthia on the west and south. The Neilanwittr's are a highly respected and wise family of elves that help guide the elven people, and were less than enthusiastic to learn that one of their own had fallen in love with a human. Other lands had little love of elves and were even less inclined to treat a half-elf fairly as is the norm. With little other options Colette's mother and father, Katherine and Olweilff, decided to travel to Eborthia to escape the persecution of their coupling and the undoubted persecution their unborn child would face. However, upon entering the borders of Eborthia upon the caravan they were escorting with Katherine's brother William - Olweilff being an accomplished fighter of considerable skill and renown, and likewise Katherine taking after her grandmother being a powerful and learned mage, whereas William was more of the roguish type that refused to discuss his work with the couple - and setting up camp for the night, Katherine wandered a little ways away from the camp to relieve herself when a powerful magical rift blinked into existence right on top of her.

Katherine, much to everyone in the caravan's surprise and William and Olweilff's incredible relief, survived the harrowing event and, unbeknownst to the couple, had marked their unborn daughter of only three weeks in the womb with the power of the rift. The couple and Katherine's dodgy, sarcastic, yet loving brother traveled Eborthia for weeks searching for a place to live until the happened upon a quaint little town called Veilwood that bordered a dense forest on Eborthia's southern edge, which the forest itself bordered the vast mountains that separated Eborthia from southern lands. The town was perfect for the family, because as it turned out the town was nearly dominated entirely by elf, human, and elf-human couples that sought a place of refuge from the other places of the world that frowned upon them. There were others of course, a few goblin and half-goblins here and there, a surprisingly stunning orc woman and her human mate, and a stern succubus that acted as the town's leader of the guard. Other than that, it was a haven for elves, half-elves, and their families.

Thus this is the home that Colette has known for twenty years, though not without it's fair share of excitement, she yearns to go out and explore her country and the world and all the wonders that it holds. Today is the day she has decided to finally leave home and venture forth into the great unknown - she grabs her backpack and fills it with supplies that will help her survive her journey, at least until she reaches the next town, goes to her mother, father, and uncle who each give her a hug, a kiss, and some money that will help her on her journey. She says her goodbyes to the townsfolk and her friends that she's known and whom she loves, passes Justine - the stern succubus guard whom she served under for a few years and took her on some adventures in the surrounding woods, much to her surprise considering Justine's general demeanor most of the time - with a hug, a smile, a quick word of good luck, and a wave before Colette continues on down the road out of town. Taking one last look back, Colette remembers all the wonderful memories she's built over her life thus far, she takes a breathe then turns back towards the road and continues to walk on.
"Let's see if I can find my destiny somewhere out there, or maybe something interesting?" She says to herself while continuing to walk down the road with an wide, joy filled grin plastering her face.
Each step Colette takes leads her further into the heart of Eborthia...

 

[Gear47demon]

Re: Rift Touched

A1) Fighter -
You took to the path of the fighter, following in the footsteps of your father. Your father trained you in the ways of physical combat and conditioning required of a one who jumps into battle first and leaves the fray last. You're strong, fit, toned, and, thanks to your father, not only is your body a weapon but you also know how to use virtually every martial weapon there is thanks to your father's collection. You know how to use magic crystals thanks to your mother as well as identify enchanted equipment, and you can pick simple locks and at least partially sneak about thanks to the efforts of your uncle including using your natural charms to persuade others.
Perks granted:
Fighter's Weapon Knowledge: Immediate weapon specialization in every weapon including hand-to-hand (essentially allows you to be able to hit things properly, so all these skills rank 2/4).
Shield Proficiency: You know how to properly use a shield without it encumbering you and you know how to block properly without hurting yourself.
Armor Wizz: As a fighter you've worn all types of armor in your training and are comfortable without armor, wearing light armor, medium armor, and heavy armors without having to get used to it (let's you move around without stumbling, and if wearing medium or heavy armor allows you to move faster than if not proficient, so all these skills rank 2/4).
Sneak rank 1/4
Lockpick rank 1/4
Charm rank 1/4
Item enchantment rank 1/4
Identify enchantment rank 1/4
Magical reserves 50/50
One level 1/4 magic crystal of your choosing
Preferred class if you want to focus more on combat

A2) Rogue -
You chose the path of the rogue thanks to your uncle's influence. He taught you how to effectively move about unseen and unheard, how to pick locks like a pro, how to sweet talk someone into doing what you want. Needless to say your mother and father weren't exactly jumping for joy when they found out about your "skills", but accepted that it's what you wanted to pursue. Still, your father made sure you were in shape with physical training meant to tone the body better for moving about with dexterity and grace while also teaching you how to better utilize light weaponry and ranged weaponry that would be better suited to a rogue as well as your natural rogues grace in hand-to-hand, and your mother taught you the basics of magic crystals in case you need them as well as basic enchantment identification.
Perks granted:
Rogues Weapon Knowledge: You specialize better in using shortbows, longbows, crossbows, one-handed crossbows, thrown weapons, daggers, shortswords, rapiers, and hand-to-hand (All these skills rank 2/4).
Keeping it Light: Being a rogue, you'll want to have as little encumberance as possible but without being totally unarmored. Thus you know how to move best without armor and light armors; anything more than light and you won't be able to move around properly and you won't be able to sneak around properly (unarmored and light armor rank 2/4)!
The Dodgy Path: As your uncle calls it, you can sneak quite well, pick locks with practice efficiency, and with your natural good looks you can ply people for information rather easily (Sneak rank 2/4, Lockpick rank 2/4, Charm rank 2/4).
Item enchantment rank 1/4
Identify enchantment rank 1/4
Magical reserves 50/50
One level 1/4 magic crystal of your choosing
Preferred class if you want to be sneaky and more persuasive.

A3) Mage -
You've always been fascinated with magic, not to mention the circumstances surrounding your powers and your glowing emerald eyes. With that you turned to your mother, much to her delight, to teach you the ways of magic and to continue where she and your great-grandmother also chose. She taught you extensive knowledge of how to use magic crystals and how to better increase your own magical reserves, as well as the finer points of enchantment and how to identify if an item is enchanted or not and what types of enchantments it has. Your father respected your choice, but also instilled that a strong mind must complement a strong body and so he put you and your body through phsyical training to tone your physique and put some muscle on you, as well as teach you a little bit about hand-to-hand combat as well as how to use a dagger and stave. You wanted more knowledge that your mother had, but she never let you into her private study, which is where your uncle came in; ever the jokester and cunning rogue as well as dutiful uncle, he showed you how to sneak around the house silently and pick the lock to your mother's study to get to her books and magical baubles, and how to sweet talk your mother if you got caught (which you did, unfortunately).
Perks Granted:
Mage Weapon Knowledge: You specialize best with daggers and staves, which are the preferred weapons of magisters (Dagger rank 2/4, Staves rank 2/4).
Mage Armor? Hah!: Being a mage you spent most of your time studying the magical arts rather than slumping around in armor, which means you don't know how to move properly in anything except your birthday suit, robes, and clothing.
Knowledge of the Magical Arts: Your mother sure knows her stuff, and she passed that knowledge on to you, or what you could grasp give her vast knowledge and experience. She taught you how to enchant items and identify enchantment items, she taught you about magic crystals (and even gave you a few of her own!) and she taught you about your own natural magical reserves and how to increase them! Yep, your mom's pretty cool. (Item enchantment rank 2/4, identify enchantment rank 2/4, starting magical reserves increase about 75, three starting crystals).
Sneak rank 1/4
Lockpick rank 1/4
Charm rank 1/4
Magical reserves 125/125
One level 2/4 magical crystal of your choosing
Two level 1/4 magical crystals of your choosing

A Special Power counts as three good powers. Meaning you must choose two bad powers.
Special Powers -
B1) Art of War (Fighter only): You have a natural affinity to combat. Similar to Enhanced Senses, you are able to see and interpret the slightest muscle twitch and movement of your opponents and react accordingly on a subconscious level. Only works in combat or when attacked (All weapon and armor skills increase by 1 rank as well as special actions and descriptions when in combat).

B2) Enhanced Senses (Rogue only): You're sense of perception is legendary, even amongst masters that follow the dodgy path of the thief, rogue, and assassin. You can see the muscle twitches of another's face to tell if they are lying or not. You pick up on errant beads of sweat or quickening's of breathe. You can register the slight change of tone and crack in someone's voice as they speak. None save the true masters and most experienced of liars can escape your senses. Also works both inside and outsides combat and conversations to pick up on minor sights and sounds that would otherwise go unnoticed. Also helps you with ranged weaponry. (All ranged weapon skills increase by 1 rank, charm skill increases by 1 rank, adds specialized or more detailed descriptions about people, places, and things).

B3) Enchantment Scryer (Mage only): You have the natural ability of determining if an item is enchanted or not merely by looking at it. Whereas most spend months or even years of study that are required for being able to sense that an item has imbued magic, you do it as second nature. Any item that you see, you will instantly know if it's enchanted or not but will not be able to determine the type of enchantment without the required knowledge first, and getting a closer look. Works both in and out of combat.

Any number of neutral powers can be chosen with no penalty.
Neutral Power -
C1) Magical Sensitivity: You're sensitive to the magic that surrounds the world around you; you can see the magical life force around you and what it is made up of. Likewise, you can see the natural magical strengths and weaknesses of the objects and beings around you. However, this sensitivity has also had the strange side-effect of making you more sensitive sexually. As a result, when your erogenous zones (breasts, nipples, Elf ears, clitoris, vagina, ass) are stimulated you become aroused faster. This also allows you to receive pleasure at a faster rate than is normal. (Will add more description to sex scenes and current character status, as well as change many scenarios).

C2) Plaything of Fate: You think that fate likes to toy with you for some reason. For as long as you can remember you have had both incredibly good, and dreadfully abysmal luck. With this perk strange things can happen to you that may work in your favor and against it, but won't directly kill your or lead you to a flawless victory. An example of good luck would be tripping on your feet moments before an arrow lodges itself in the back of your skull, or, an example of bad luck, you chasing down and catching a thief only to have a bucket fall on your head from a balcony and knocking you out. (Thinking in RPG term - think of it as luck that constantly goes up and dowm. It affects everything in some way).

C3) Source of Energy: Due to your nature you are already capable of supply more energy than normal to the many monster and magical races that need to feed off magical energy in order to survive. However, for some reason you are an anomoly even to those like you; your magical energy not only feeds and sustains these races, it also empowers them. Your magical energy could feed those that need it for an entire day with one draining, or empower them to greater strength for a short time if already full, or even bring those at the cusp of death back to full health. (Does not benefit you directly. Can help or harm you; an enemy could use your gift to empower themselves and make a fight harder. Likewise, you can share your essence with an ally to help make a fight easier. just so you know, energy is in the form of blood and bodily secretions aka SEX).

C4) Rift Gleaner: You have a unique connection with the naturally occuring magical rifts of the world. Whether those that are always open and seeping energy, or those that blink in and out of existence it does not matter, for you can see into one rift and out another. If you look directly into one magical rift you will be able to see out another and inherently know where the location of what you are seeing. Be wary though, as Gleaning into rifts, which are a magical distortion of space and time could cause you to lose many minutes or even hours of a day. (Hint: Can help discern weather conditions, possible wildlife, enemies, civilizations, etc.).

C5) Dancer: You always loved to take part in the frequent dances of your small community. You love to dance so much that you actually won first place in many dance competitions and are the envy of the town due to your dancing ability. As a result you are able to learn virtually any type of dance and variations of dances used in every culture. Belly dancing, line dancing, pole dancing, you name it! Not really useful in combat or when you're trying to talk to someone, but it could come in handy sometimes...right?

You can choose 1 good power without penalty. If you choose 2 good powers then you must choose 1 bad power. Choose 3 good powers then you must have 2 bad powers. Choose 4 good powers then you must have 3 bad powers. Choose 5 good powers then you must have 5 bad powers.
Good Powers -
D1) Strength: You're strong enough to wear full plate mail and a backpack full of supplies without breaking a sweat, and, with some training, you could wield a claymore with one hand! Even Chuck Norris would think twice about facing you! (Actions requiring strength will be easier).

D2) Dexterous: You're more nimble and agile than many experienced rogues, quick on your feet, capable of moving silently, dodging crossbow bolts, and are quite flexible to boot. You should join a circus! (Increase Sneak skill by 1 rank and actions requiring dexterity will be easier).

D3) Magical Resistance: You have a natural ability to resist harmful magics better than most and on par with some of the more magical denizens of the world. However, that doesn't make you immune! Instead of dying if you took a fireball to the face without any enchanted items to resist fire, you'll instead have mild damage. It'll still hurt like hell though! (Cuts all magic damage inflicted upon you by half, whether it be health damage or magic reserves damage).

D4) Mental Quickness: You're a quick thinker when it comes to solving problems and smart to boot! If you're in a pinch you can easily notice potential escape routes, item and weapon combinations, optimal tactics to attack and defend in combat, how best to enter a building, etc. (I'll give helpful information and suggestions on how to handle situations, but not too much).


D5) Charismatic: If you've got it, flaunt it! You know you're pretty, and you've always been a leader. You can use your feminine wiles to seduce both men and women alike and persuade them to your line of thinking, or you can use your natural charisma to rally troops into battle and improve morale with your strong words and character! Heck, you could probably charm the doors of Mordor open and simply walk in! (Increase Charm skill by 1 rank, people will like you more, and desire you more).

You can choose 1 good power without penalty. If you choose 2 good powers then you must choose 1 bad power. Choose 3 good powers then you must have 2 bad powers. Choose 4 good powers then you must have 3 bad powers. Choose 5 good powers then you must have 5 bad powers.
If the good vs bad power balance is met, then you can choose any number of bad powers you want.

Bad Powers-
E1) Super Horny: Once you hit puberty you began to have those wonderful urges related to overactive hormones! You've got it under control after years of suffering (in a manner of speaking) through it and rubbing yourself raw on many occasions, but it's never gone nor far from your mind. With this perk you'll be slightly aroused non-stop, and once you receive enough stimulation or are in the middle of sex you'll be unable to stop yourself until near exhaustion (or until you pass out depending on perk combinations).

E2) Clumsy: For as long as you can remember you've always been a bit clumsy. Though you've worked hard on it for years, you still have moments where you're clumsy ways take over, often to devastating effect. Akin to having bad luck; you may forget to tie a knot properly on a capture bounty, or perhaps you're carrying an expensive vase and trip. Choose this and Plaything of Fate for interesting results! (Sometimes I'll lower a skill by no more than one point, and soemtimes I'll write in interesting and unfortunate things that happen to our heroine if this is chosen).

E3) Magically Stunted: Despite being partly the product of a magical anomoly, your magical reserves are less than most other peoples magic, however, you can still use magic, just not as much. With this perk your beginning magic reserves will be -25 (Rogue/Fighter normally start at 50/50, now 25/25. Mage starts out at 125/125, now 100/100).

E4) Magical Regeneration Decay: You have noticed, in comparison to others that you know, that your magical reserves take longer to fully regenerate after utilizing them. With this perkyour magical reserves regenerate half as much every hour. (Normal magical reserves regenerate 10 magic every hour, now only regenerate only 5 every hour).

E5) Feedback: Magical rifts and you don't really mix well sometimes. You've discovered a few over your life and sometimes - not everytime, but sometimes - when you get too closeto them they discharge some of their magical energy at you. This discharge drains some of your magical reserves (though it still recharges your magic crystals) and stings like a &^%$* too!(Whenever you get too close to a magical rift there's a chance that it will release a magical "shock" that drains your magical reserves by 10 magic and deals minor damage, but will never kill. choosing Magical Resistance will cut both of these in half).

Know this, you can only have 5 good powers to choose from! So if you choose one special power, which counts as 3 good powers, then you can only choose 2 more good powers.


Also, I know I didn't explain the systems present in the game yet that I want to use. I will do so once enough votes are in for choices which will encompass the next post. Sorry if anyone is confused!

 

[maxentius-septimus]

Re: Rift Touched

A2
B Not sure
C1,5 Not sure about 3 and 4.
D5,3,4
E5 not sure what to add as the second.

Pretty cool story although a bit excessive. Merchant has to be the oddest role I've s seen for a tentacle which is exactly why there needs to be another one.

 

[Cevrik777]

Re: Rift Touched

Whooo! Now that was quite the read. I have to agree, that that was a bit much, but as a reader of my story I can't very well ignore yours!

Hm, after reading over it carefully, though, and taking a few notes... I have decided to vote for...!

A2
B-
C5
D2, D3, D5
E4, E5

-Rogue
-No Superior Powers
-Dancer
-Dextrous, Magically Resistant, & Charismatic.
-Magical Decay & Feedback.

Nothing too weak. Nothing too strong.

Was thinking of going with E1... but really now: It's all the more sweeter when "the mighty fall".

Looking forward to see what comes about in Colette's adventure!

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Rift Touched

My God that is a lot of words.

We should be A ROGUE. Rogues are the shit.

I vote we take ALL THE NEUTRAL POWERS because we're a Rogue. We're greedy shits and take everything forever. Then I vote for Spideysense, Mental Quickness and Charismatic, even though playing smart never ever happens in CYOAs.

Since there's only five Flaws, uh, I pick them.

 

[MrMe]

Re: Rift Touched

A2
B2
C1,2,3,4,5 (yes, ALL the Cs!)
D2,4
E2, 3, 4, 5

Was taking 5 good powers meant to require us to take an extra bad power?
It jumps from 3 to 5 bad powers

If that's the case then drop D2 from my vote (that's right, a quick thinking but clumsy rogue)

 

[Iwanako]

Re: Rift Touched

Let's not be sneaky for a change.

A 3
Nothing in B(Too high a cost imo)
C 4 and 5
D 2 and 5(Why resist a fireball when you can dodge it?)
E 5

 

[Zephyrion]

Re: Rift Touched

A3.

C1. C3. C5.

D4.

 

[ShantyTsun]

Re: Rift Touched

Walls of merciless text.

I fancy seeing a mage this time around so:

A3
B-
C1 C3
D3 D4 D5
E2 E4

So, a witty, quick-thinking, and alluring mage with high magical affinity but low magical recharge. She's also humorously clumsy.

 

[nightshade99]

Re: Rift Touched

A3.
C1.
D5.

 

[Gear47demon]

Re: Rift Touched

Hey everyone, quick update for you guys! To start things off, yeah I know it was really, REALLY wordy, but I wanted to give you guys some interesting lore and other background information to better immerse yourself in the world. I'll try to keep things relatively shorter in the future if at all possible.

maxentius-septimus: Glad you liked the tentacle merchant! I thought it was rather inspired myself. As for the future of tentacle-y merchants...maaaybe...

Cevrik777: Thank you for reading, and I'm looking forward to writing more about Colette's adventures! By the way I'm a fan of Amaranth. It's actually one of the inspirations for doing this because I liked it so much!

MrMe: Yes, taking 5 good powers was supposed to add another bad power. I thought it would do well to balance the game, as I didn't want Colette to steamroll through everything.


Anyways, I'm glad to see some people interested in this! Happy 4th everyone!

Spoiler

Lore

Spoiler

This is a feature that I was thinking of adding to this little adventure. The point of such a thing would be to explain things that would require explanation about the world. Right now my plan is on doing this at the end of a post below the choices if it's needed, however, another alternative I was thinking about is, instead of doing it at the end of every post, you all could ask me questions while you vote and I'll put the lore in a separate post?

 

[Dracador]

Re: Rift Touched

I can only imagine how much 'fun' making sense of all those choices will be xD

Anyway, lessee here...

A2
B2
C1, C5
D4,D5

 

[Gear47demon]

Re: Rift Touched

Hey there, everybody! I hope everyone had a good 4th of July! Anyways the results are in for what you all want Colette to be and what powers you want her to have.

Quick note before the reveal: maxentius-septimus, since you said you weren't sure whether or not about B, C3 and C4, as well as a second bad power I went ahead and tallied those as a vote and also tallied a vote for E1 considering it only had 1 vote anyways. Hope that was okay.

Anyways, Colette will be a Rogue winning by 1 vote with a total of 5 votes!

She'll also have Magical Sensitivity, Source of Energy, and be a Dancer for her neutral powers.

For her good powers she'll have Mental Quickness and be Charismatic.

Last but not least Colette may sometimes suffer the effects of Feedback.

The way I tallied this is as follows: For class it was highest voted. For powers it was 5 votes for a power. Since there was no conflict between special vs good vs bad powers I don't really need to explain that.

Thanks for voting and taking interest in this everyone! Expect a post sometime shortly. If there are others that are just now joining then feel free to vote as this is not set in stone! Once I finish writing everything up, if I see that there are more votes then I'll tally those up and make the adjustments necessary if it affects anything. This first voting session will probably be the longest and one of the most important so everyone should get a chance.

 

[Gear47demon]

Re: Rift Touched

Hoooooly shiiiiiiiiit! Thank you for the patience everyone; this was a pain in the ass to write down! Hopefully everyone likes it and all that jazz. I can't promise that future posts won't be wordy, but I can almost guarantee that future posts won't be THIS wordy. I wanted to start off with a bang and I think I've done that to some extent. Without further ado, here we go!
P.S. Feedback, criticism, fawning, and worshiping are all welcome

Also, despite the choices I post, feel free to choose multiple choices, explain how you want certain actions taken, etc. Be creative and don't feel stifled! All I ask is that you be specific if you choose to be creative, modify a choice, or go the Other routes.

~~~~~~~~~

Explanation of magic crystals, health, ability ranks, etc.

Spoiler

The learning system: What I wanted to do for this is instead of having a level up system, you have a "learning up" system of sorts where you learn by doing. While on our grand adventure there will be many choices, and from these choices you will be able to specify how to deal with these siuations, e.g. sneak up behind evil warlock and stab him through the back with shortsword, or seduce the shopkeeper for a discount or information, blast the cute little bunny with a fireball. In each instance you're using a skill or a weapon, and the more you use it the better you'll be at it. Everything has 4 ranks and they are as follows:

Rank 0/4 - You can't even use it because you suck at it! (Yes I know I said 4, but deal with it!)

Rank 1/4 - Novice level (You can use it, not recommended but given time you'll improve)

Rank 2/4 - Journeyman level (You're pretty darn good. Better than most people in fact)

Rank 3/4 - Expert level (You're a professional and it shows. Others have a hard time keeping up with you as an expert)

Rank 4/4 - Master level (Others are in awe. What you do is second nature and has no equal)

So in short, if you sneak around during options more, or use a bow, or charm, or whatever more often then I'll improve the rank which will make things easier and inevitably change the dialogue to reflect your skill.

Magic Crystals: Magic crystals are my way of introducing magic to the adventure. The only creatures that can use magic without the use of magic crystals are magical beings and magical monsters (tentacle beasts, succubi, incubi, vampires) that absolutely need magic energy in order to survive. Thus if a succubus keeps using fireballs without finding a means to recover their reserves then they are weakening themselves. For non-magical beings such as us, we use magic crystals which are created from magical rifts. They fit in the palm of your hand and, as long as have it on your person, you can call upon the magics inside (kinda like materia for you FF7 fans). Each crystal has 3 charges at rank 1/4 with one spell that uses 1 charge, 4 charges at rank 2/4 that uses 2 charges when used, 5 charges at rank 3/4 with a spell that uses 3 charges, and at rank 4/4 you get a really powerful spell that uses up all the charges.

Now if you've been paying attention (or not, it's okay I understand) I may have mentioned magical reserves, or MR, a few times. Think of MR as mana; after the charges on your crystal are used up then you resort to the natural magics in your body to cast spells. For example, say you have 0/3 charges left on your Red crystal and can't shoot a fireball and have 50/50 MR, well then you're in luck! You can use, lets say, 10 MR in place of a charge which leaves you with 40/50 MR. Be wary, as it takes 1 hour for 10 MR to recharge (if you have Magical Regeneration Decay then it's cut in half).

If a being that needs magic to survive gets your essence (blood or sexes you up) don't worry, you won't lose your MR! Instead it will heal them, e.g. You have 50 total MR then they are healed the equivalent of being in caution level health to barely in fine levels of health, but with Source of Energy this effect doubles, so if you have 50 total MR then it would heal double.

This leads me to my next explanations - Health: Health is pretty simple actually. Think of Resident Evil going from "Fine" to "Caution" to "Danger". Things will get progressively worse for our heroine from there, but I will try to refrain from killing her of and instead treat it as her being knocked out. You get health back by eating, drinking, resting, healing spells, and health potions.

Passives: This one is is what I like to call "passives". These are similar to the powers you chose in the first round of voting in that some effect things in small ways. As you Colette adventures along she may come across people or things, wear certain clothes, etc. that give her passive effects that may last as long as a requirement is met or forever. For example, if Colette wears a corset then she'll have a passive that will lead people to look at her breasts more which would increase her charm, or she could be bestowed a power from a god or goddess that improves her eyesight. They won't be all over the place but they'll be there to get if conditions are met, and some won't be readily apparant.

Inventory/Appearance: I'll list all the things that Colette is carrying and wearing and how she looks at the current moment. Simple as that.

12:00 PM

The crunch of dirt and dead leaves rings out underneath your brown leather boots as you trudge along the narrow road which is just wide enough to support two horse-drawn carriages if need be. You've been walking for an hour now since leaving home on your own adventure with naught but your thoughts and the sounds of nature to keep you company. Despite Veilwood bordering Veilwood Forest proper, it's still surrounded on all sides by hundred foot trees on all sides, which have finally begun to clear up. You continue walking along until you finally reach the border between where the tree's end and the lush, green plains and rolling hills begin. Looking out into the distance you can see blue sky, trees dotting the landscape every now and again, large stones, slightly overgrown grass, and hills.

Well, you think better take stock before I continue. No reason to be halfway to Kilnhaven only to realize I left something important behind.

You run your hands over your knee high leather boots, making sure they're strapped and secured properly. You take a moment to unsheath your small, 4 inch iron dagger from inside your left boot and run your fingers along the leather grip and either side of the blade. After re-sheathing your dagger you run your hands up your dark brown leather trousers that cling to your skin (the bottom of which are tucked into your boots resting on your simple, cotton white socks) - which also houses your cotton white panties and toned bottom - and stop to adjust your black leather jerkin, which sits atop your white blouse and cotton white brassiere, and admire how it strains slightly against your ample D-cup breasts. You look down and to your left and grasp the sheathe of your iron short sword, satisfied that it's secured to your belt properly you look to your right thigh and do the same for the sheathe wrapped around it which holds 6 deadly sharp throwing knives.

Everything seems to be in order, now to check my pack.

You kneel down and remove your backpack and start checking things off that you brought.

Gold pouch, check. 750 gold, check. Magic Crystal, check. Three minor health potions, check. Water canteen full of water, check. Handy dandy rope, check. You lightly chuckle upon reaching your purple blanket adorned with red hearts. Warm blanket, check. Dried fruit and meat, check. Small mirror, check.

You take out your small mirror and see yourself looking back. At your full height you stand at 5 feet 6 inches tall. You have full lips, a slightly curved nose that ends on a rounded point. Your skin is umblemished, pale, and radiant which reflects your elven heritage. Also reflective of your elven heritage are your elf ears which, while not as long as a full-blooded elf, jut out 2 inches to a pointed tip from where the top of a normal human ear would end. Indicative of the human half of your heritage - along with your toned behind and ample bosom - is your thick and luscious wavy brown hair that flows just past your breasts which is currently tied into a ponytail with a long piece of black silk fabric. However, the most striking feature that signifies you as Rift Touched are your brilliant emerald green eyes that almost seem to glow. With everything as it should be you put your mirror back into your pack.

That's everything; I'm good to go. Satisfied, you slip your backpack on and secure it tightly so it doesn't shake while you walk or run and take your first steps out onto the plains.

You walk for another twenty minutes on the path and up the first small hill. As you reach the top you look out and see a familiar couple - one giant of a human with short red hair, large muscles, and a foot taller than you wearing simple commoner's clothes next to his beautiful lithe elven wife whom is a few inches shorter than you, petite, with long, straight, golden blonde hair with her elven ears sticking out proud and far from beneath her hair and wearing a matching set of clothes as her husband, though made for her smaller frame - walking toward you and smile widely.

"Horace! Kielra!" You shout and wave at the couple before you jog towards them and stop five feet in front of them. "How are you? How'd the trip into Kilnhaven go? Did you make a lot of money?"

You stop suddenly and cock your eyebrow when you notice Kielra's longbow slung across her back and Horace carrying carrying a large sack of what you assume to be his intricately crafted wooden carvings, and without their horse, Betta, or their wagon, which you know they had with them when they left a few days ago.

Horace lets out a boisterous laugh before answering "I'm doin' jus fine, and it's good ta see ye as well little Colette! Already wit trying to get some some infermation outta me, eh? That's jus like ye, well that and tryin' ta ge get into places ye aren't supposed to that is" he says the last with a knowing grin, which you put on a face of mock surprise and hurt to which causes him to let out another hearty laugh. "Aye, we did make a fair bit a coin 'for me an mah beautiful wife decided we was homesick" he jingles the rather full coin purse on his belt as he says that "an' the trip to Kilnhaven wasn't so bad, twas the return trip which'n caused me and mah dear Kielra here grief".

Kielra gives a slight bow to you and repeats what her husband said "It's true; all was going rather well until just a little while ago. We were attacked by a small band of feral goblins that made off with our dear Betta. The ones that foolishly stayed behind to try and take more payed dearly for their greed" the last said with a wicked smile as she puts her hand behind her back and strokes her bow.

"Aye, still it be a damn shame 'bout Betta, an' without Betta there be nuttin' ta pull the wagon! Bah, it matters little now. Me an' mah dear wife'r safe which tis all that matters. It still sets mah blood to a boil that they got 'way wit Betta, prolly usin' 'er in a stew as we speak."

You listen intently as the couple relay what happened to them. Hmm, feral goblins are vicious and can be dangerous in large numbers, but so long as it's not a horde and there aren't any powerful shamans then anyone with combat skill should be able to route them easily enough you think. Looking back at Horace and Kielra, whom you have fond memories of, you think of what options lay before you.

Well, I've dealt with feral goblins before when I was a part of the guard back home so I could offer to exteriminate the goblins to avenge Betta and keep the road safer, not to mention my home if the goblins are allowed to breed and decide they want more. It wouldn't hurt to ask about the numbers that attacked them if I decide to go after them. On the other hand it's not really my problem so long as they don't bother me. You take a quick glance at the coin pouch on Horace's belt and smile inwardly. Regardless of my choice I know I'll need coin to help me. Horace and Kielra know about my antics, but like me nonetheless so I might be able to convince them to part with a bit of gold.

12:37 pm

Choices

Spoiler

A. Offer to exterminate the remaining feral goblins.
B. Too bad about Betta, but you're not risking your neck for a dead horse!
C. Ask them about the feral goblin numbers and what to expect. The more you know!
D. Try to "convince" Horace and Kielra to part with some of their hard earned money.
X. Other

Choose one magic crystal type
E1. Red crystal - rank 1/4, charges 3/3 (shoots small fireball)
E2. Gold crystal - rank 1/4, charge 3/3 (minor healing)
E3. Blue crystal - rank 1/4, charge 3/3 (ice shield)
E4. Yellow crystal - rank 1/4, charge 3/3 (lightning bolt)

Inventory/Stats/Looks/Perks

Spoiler

Inventory

Spoiler

Gold pouch

750 gold

Magic crystal

Minor health potion x3

Water canteen - full

Rope

Purple blanket w/Red hearts

Dried Fruit

Dried Meat

Small Mirror

Worn

Spoiler

Black Leather Jerkin

Knee High Brown leather Boots

Brown Leather Trousers

Cotton White Socks

Cotton White Panties

Cotton White Bra

White Blouse

Belt

Throwing Knife Sheathe on Right Thigh

Black Silk Fabric. Tied to Hair.

Weaponry

Spoiler

Iron Dagger w/4 inch blade. Sheathed. Left Boot

Iron Shortsword w/2 foot blade. Sheathed. Belt on left hip.

Throwing Knife x6. Sheathed. Right Thigh.

Looks

Spoiler

Wavy brown hair that goes just past breasts. Tie in a ponytail.

Currently clean

Stats

Spoiler

Health: Fine MR: 50/50

Perks/Passives

Spoiler

Magical Sensitivity: Allows you to see magical strengths and weaknessess of beings and certain objects while making your erogeneous zones much more sensitive, increasing arousal and pleasure at a faster pace.

Source of Energy: Magical monsters and beings that feed from your essence (blood and sexual secretions) gain more energy than normal from you and are also suffer a short term power boost.

Dancer: Dancing comes naturally to you and, while it may not have uses in combat or when talking to someone, you find you can learn dances by seeing others dance or learning descriptions of dance.

Mental Quickness: You're a quick thinker when it comes to solving problems and smart to boot! If you're in a pinch you can easily notice potential escape routes, item and weapon combinations, optimal tactics to attack and defend in combat, how best to enter a building, etc. (I'll give helpful information and suggestions on how to handle situations, but not too much).

Charismatic: If you've got it, flaunt it! You know you're pretty, and you've always been a leader. You can use your feminine wiles to seduce both men and women alike and persuade them to your line of thinking, or you can use your natural charisma to rally troops into battle and improve morale with your strong words and character! Heck, you could probably charm the doors of Mordor open and simply walk in! (Increase Charm skill by 1 rank, people will like you more, and desire you more, you will be more inspiring to others when you speak, you're naturally more sexier).

Feedback: When you get too close to rifts there's a chance that you will lose 10 MR and deal minior health damage. Health damage will never kill or knock out.

Skills

Spoiler

Shortbows: 2/4

Longbows: 2/4

Crossbows: 2/4

One-handed Crossbows: 2/4

Thrown Weapons: 2/4

Daggers: 2/4

Short-swords: 2/4

Rapiers: 2/4

Hand-to-Hand: 2/4

Unarmored: 2/4

Light Armor: 2/4

Sneak: 2/4

Lockpick: 2/4

Charm: 3/4

Item Enchantment: 1/4

Identify Enchantment: 1/4

Lore

Spoiler

Feral goblins are related to the modern day goblins and half-goblins, though they have not evolved to the levels of their more civilized cousins. Feral goblins are shorter than their civilized cousins - with the tallest usually being about 4 foot 8 inches and the average being 4 foot 5 inches - by nearly a foot. Most live in small tribes of around ten feral goblins at any one time, however, if one tribe is powerful enough then they inevitably start attacking and absorbing other tribes that can go up to nearly one-hundred feral goblins, though these are rare due to their distrustful nature. Most feral goblin tribes make their homes in caves or in simple huts far from other civilizations to avoid hostility from the civilized races. You can easily tell if a feral goblin home or tribe is nearby merely by turning your nose into the air and sniffing; feral goblins are notoriously filthy creatures with no sense for personal hygiene. Some favored hobbies of feral goblins are raiding, fighting, murdering, taking women, raping said women, fucking in general, and hoarding items of value.

 

[Iwanako]

Re: Rift Touched

C, and only following up with A if they can give a reliable guesstimate of their numbers(And said number is reasonably low).

Probably pick E2, we're stealthy so shouldn't rely on flashy lightning/fireballs, and who knows when a bit of healing comes in handy.

 

[nightshade99]

Re: Rift Touched

C, E3.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Re: Rift Touched

Sad I missed vote but we did get most of what I would have voted if only without Regen Decay + Dex.

C then A

E2

 

[Cevrik777]

Re: Rift Touched

Pressed for time so... A then C, & E2

 

[maxentius-septimus]

Re: Rift Touched

C E2

 

[Genius700]

Re: Rift Touched

C
E3