RE:Information
From Create Your Own Story
Welcome to the Ruined Earth information page.
Contents |
The Storyline
You are a civilian in a cosmopolitan city that stretches the lengths of the universe. Technology is so advanced as to be a constant arms race in all fields and industries, to see who can be even more perfect than the last market stealer. Money is an entire virtual possession, and all humans are linked up to a central computer system (IONC) from which echoes constant, droning orders. A few humans can resist their ties, and these humans are known as Thorns, for their constant status as a defiant of the central government's whims. Some humans are not even linked to this system, and they are exiled, hunted down, and killed. Even the computer, however, cannot control everything, and through the cracks slips danger. At the beginning of the game, you are a mortal Thorn who has armed himself (the protagonist is assumed to be male and is addressed as such for simplicity and because of genre conventions) with the basics needed to survive onslaughts. Throughout, you may find yourself changed in fundamental or minor ways.
Combat & Options
Let's say you've just started the game. You've been through a fight or two, spoken with a young woman who has dedicated herself to defying the IONC, and gained a bit of experience. However, two agents have been dispensed like candy from a machine to deal with you properly. Your options:
| What will you do? | ||
| Yourself Bloodied! | Partner Caellaech | Options
(long weapons) trip, disarm, longsword, gun, Caellach: support magic Gryva |
First, when an option is partially or completely in italics, then that part of the option is required; so, to trip, you need a long weapon like a longsword or mercurial spear, whereas Caellach needs to know Gryva for you to have her unleash spellcasting death on her enemies. As you progress through the game, you will also end up tracking stats for a partner or partners. While you can only have one partner at once, most partners remain faithful even when you are socializing with a different partner. While partners permanently die, unlike yourself, there are more than twenty partners in total throughout the game's storyline, and the choice is both important from a mechanical and from a story standpoint. Caellaech is the easiest partner to get, but she's not the only option.
Your character's intentions are shaped in dialogues, where you're given several options. If no option suits you, or even if the wording just seems off, feel free to make your own option. However, I reserve the right to remove or modify any edits made to the game, in the interest of uniformity and coherency. And if I missed an option or you're using a different partner than indicated, add that option. In the case of the latter, the panel is an educated guess.
Understanding Wounds
Enemy attacks, should they land (most attacks can be avoided with the right Aptitude, item, or even just dialogue choices) deal a certain amount of damage to your character. Your character has a threshold, an amount of damage he can take and deal with. Whenever damage exceeds this magic number, you gain wounds. From there, your enemy can batter you with what's called a kill attack; if you have X wounds, you die from the violent assault, and if you don't, you might well be wounded anyways.
Enemies have wounds as well; an enemy's threshold is clearly stated, and each attack you dish out deals some damage, too. Enemies also have a certain amount of wound points, though you can only use a kill attack if, much like against the protagonist, the enemy lets their guard down or simply falls due to your stupid brute force.
Understanding Death
When you die, the game is over.
Understanding Aptitudes
Aptitudes are special, passive abilities your character gains. They are specialized theories, inborn talents, and tricks of the trade that you gain that empower you to take actions you could not before, to grant you bonuses, and to do other neat things.
Understanding Void Points
Some aptitudes call upon void points for their use. Each time you defeat an enemy, you gain 1 void point. You start with 5 void points.
Advanced Concepts
Travel: When not in combat, you can use this sprawling menu to travel anywhere in the city.
Headquarters: Another one for the character sheet. Headquarters are areas where you can drop off and pick up goods and partners. Note them down like so: badass haus, partners here: none, sold here: awesome longsword (200c)
Equipment: All weapons have different abilities, and empowered weapons have often extravagant, powerful abilities that only come up once in a while.
