[CENTER][color=ed1c24][b]UPDATES[/b][/color] So far guys, this is all I have for now. I'll continue to update the OP, so stay tuned! Feel free to comment, suggest, and express you ideas in the thread! No good though is left underappreciated![/CENTER] [hr] [CENTER][img]http://i.imgur.com/rJBgFsX.jpg?1[/img] [i][b]Prologue Chapter - A Familiar Place[/b][/i] [/CENTER] The goblin made an ear-splitting screech as Rien’s sword slashes across its chest, and its body seemed to shatter like glass. Where its body should’ve been, there was instead a small black marble which Rien picked up. The words “level up” flashed briefly across his screen before he swiped it away and opened up his character profile. [i]“Wow, this is unreal! Or I guess it’s…too real? I mean, everything is so realistic!”[/i] Blue exclaimed beside him. By now had been playing online games with her for almost three years, and had grown accustomed to her excitable personality. Weird personality aside, Rien had to admit that she was a lot better looking than he had expected. Unlike other games, AO did not allow players to fully customize their avatar appearance, as the LexNav headgear that was used to play the game utilized a facial recognition scan making characters mimic their player’s real life appearance. Rien ignored Blue’s commentating and scrolled through his level up window. [i]“Unspent stat points…three. Only three per level? All this time and they still haven’t changed it…Lexis is as stingy as usual I guess.”[/i] Rien complained out loud. Though he wouldn’t admit it, Rien had been waiting with unbridled anticipations for this game’s release since it was announced a year before. Elements Online was his first ever online game, and he had only fond memories of it from his childhood. Though back then he was able to work around the game’s age limit security, he had heard that Lexis had made that impossible for this game. And nostalgia aside, the game was well worth the wait. Rien watched as another goblin charged at Blue. It was fast, the AI in AO was a vast improvement over its predecessor, which made a good accompaniment for the game’s other realistic features. Blue was faster, though and clubbed the goblin on its forehead with the rim of her shield. He made their signature screeching sound and chopped at her again, but she ducked his cleaver, swept her sword low and caught him full in the calf, just below his ragged shirt’s flapping hem. This time, the blow was enough and the goblin’s body shattered into dust. [i]“Ahaha, come face me you ugly green ballon headed freaks!”[/i] She yelled at them. There were no other players around, so Rien took it upon himself to be embarrassed for her. It took the duo about half an hour to finish the beginner’s quest. Rien’s sword slashed through the final goblin’s neck and he reached out and grab the black marble it left behind. [i]“Alright, we finished. Let’s hurry back to Sanctuary and receive our reward before all the monster zones become occupied-“[/i] Rien’s words were cut short as the ‘sky’ above him darkened to a blood red color. A large screen appeared over head, and on it was a man wearing a dark cloak, his face hidden behind a dark hood. [i]“Greetings adventurers, I am the Dark Lord!”[/i] the figure on the screen’s deep voice echoed across the server. [i]“Pffft. Did you hear that Rien? He called himself a Dark Lord? Hahaha!”[/i] Blue tittered next to him. [i]“What’s this, some sort of launch day event?”[/i] Rien asked her. She shrugged and shook her head. [i]“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to your new home. Some of you may have noticed by now that you are unable to log out of the game. This is not a bug…”[/i] [i]“Tch, what like some anime? What a lame joke,”[/i] Rien frowned. [i]“But don’t be scared, dear adventurers! Think of this like a new beginning! A way to escape from that wretched old world forever!”[/i] [i]“Rien…” Blue tugged at his sleeve. “Look at the game menu!”[/i] [i]“What are you-“[/i] but it was obvious what she was trying to show him. Just as the hooded man claimed, the log out button was greyed out. He tried pressing it several times, but nothing happened. [i]“Until we meet again, my friends!”[/i] the man’s final words echoed across the world before the video feed was cut and the sky returned to normal. [i]“Rien…what do we do now?”[/i] [i]“I…”[/i] Rien looked at her eyes. She was scared and confused, and not really trying to hide it. [i]“I don’t know.”[/i] [b]Premise[/b] [HIDER][CENTER][img]http://i.imgur.com/xp77sdS.jpg?1[/img][/CENTER] Welcome to AO. You guys will start off with beginner characters, approximately a week after game’s launch day (which means that pretty much everyone in the game is a beginner). Being level 9, you guys are soon approaching your first class advancement - how exciting! At the moment, no one has died yet, so it’s still unclear what will happen when you do - though I doubt you want to be the first. The first sphere has yet to be fully mapped out, some quests have yet to be discovered and no one’s encountered its Guardian.This RP will assume that, for some reason or another, your character chooses to leave the safe area of Sanctuary and actually tries to progress through the game and level up. Note this RP will not track things like individual experience and such, there will be no monster grinding/farming. Instead it will feature several short timeskip sections following important plot progression points, such as completing a big quest, joining your first Guild, etc. So you guys might find yourself stuck on one level for a long time then suddenly find yourself 10 levels higher with assumed monster grinding during the intermediary period.[/HIDER] [b]Aether Online[/b] [HIDER][CENTER][img]http://i.imgur.com/xGvH1h0.png?1[/img][/CENTER] In 2024 the Lexis Entertainment Inc. launched the first official VRMMO, Elements Online. It did not take long for the game’s popularity to explode, multiple regional servers were kept active worldwide and its player base reached several million active players per day. It did not take long for similar games to be released, utilizing the same virtual reality technology as Elements Online. Within a decade, the online gaming industry blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon, but Elements Online servers have been shut down after facing stiff competition from its rivals. Now, twelve years after Elements Online was officially shut down, Lexis announced its sequel - Aether Online. Their new game would be the first to implement the recently developed LexNav Headset, which could scan player’s brain activity and monitor pulse and heartbeat to allow them to experience the immersive world through all five of their senses. Aether Online is set to take place several hundred years after the events of EO, to a fantasy world where magic, swordplay, and technology intertwine with each other. New players begin in the city of Sanctuary, situated at the very center of the world. The world is divided into 9 spheres, with Sanctuary existing within the first and smallest realm of Halcen. Each sphere circles around Halcen like a ring, with stronger monsters appearing the further one is from Sanctuary. Each sphere has one Guardian, with the exception of Halcen which contains 8, and it is said the game is completed once every Guardian has been defeated. [b]Spheres[/b][HIDER][LIST][*][i][b]Halcen[/b][/i] - Sanctuary [*][i][b]Terra[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Aquarius[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Ignus[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Nyx[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Arcadia[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Empyrean[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]Atari[/b][/i] - ??? [*][i][b]End[/b][/i]- ???[/LIST][/HIDER] [b]Professions[/b] [HIDER][CENTER][img]http://i.imgur.com/cWhrsNf.png?1[/img][/CENTER] There are no core classes in AO; players are simply evaluated and a profession that suits them is provided during their first class advancement from Novice at level 10. As one's character progresses, multiple opportunities will be given to them for second class advancement. [b]List of Professions[/b] [List][*]To Be Added[/List] [/HIDER] [b]Gameplay[/b][HIDER][b]]Combat[/b] AO places its players within a completely immersive virtual world, meaning much of combat actually relies upon the player's reaction time and judgement. However, they are still effected by their character stats, which controls what their avatar is physically capable of. Though they can acquire new skills and spells through a high Intelligence score, these will also come naturally to the player through level progression, quest rewards, and other similar means. [i][b]Skills[/b][/i] In AO, the countless abilities and talents that a player may learn are known as skills. Unlike spells, skills do not require a recited incantation and are usually not classified under a specific element. They can be either active or passive, and can range from simple talents such as bartering or stealth to special abilities like Lion’s Roar or Ryukansen. [b]Melee Fighting[/b] Melee fighting is the most common form of combat within AO. The ability to dodge and how quickly you strike can depend on player skill and supported by their stats. Shields and armor will mitigate damage from both melee and ranged attacks, though will only protect wielders from physical damage unless stated otherwise. [i][b]Ranged Fighting[/b][/i] ​While accuracy is largely dependent on an individual player's ability to aim, a player increasing their ranged-combat base stats can increase the distance they can see and how quickly they can perceive enemies. Unless using a weapon that specifies otherwise, or negated by a skill, enemies will take less damage the further away they are. The exceptions to this rule are rifles, which do not have any damage falloff. [i][b]Critical Hits[/b][/i] Unlike many games, AO's critical hits are not based on a random number generator. Instead, there are a number of critical "zones" that can be located on both monsters and players characters. Striking in any of these zones will result in a critical hit. Critical zones are normally not visible, though they can be seen via special skills or spells. Area of effect attacks and spells cannot crit. A critical zone may not always appear, some will only show up after certain requirements have been triggered i.e. when an enemy is using a special attack or after a monster's outer shell has been removed. Unless altered by a weapon or skill, critical hits deal twice the amount of damage the attack would normally do. [i][b]Elemental Damage[/b][/i] A lot of weapons and spells within AO have a specific element attached to them. The seven elements can be seen listed below under the "Spells" section. Unless specified otherwise, elemental damage does not increase the damage of an attack. However, certain monsters can be either resistant or vulnerable to certain elemental types. Knowing which types of enemies you are strong against will allow you to farm and level up quicker. [b]Spellcasting[/b] Spells are aether empowered abilities that are activated through verbal recitation. Generally, more powerful spells require longer incantations and thus are harder to both memorize and recite perfectly. It’s because of this that classes that focus on spell casting are generally considered to be more difficult to play. All spells are tied to one of the seven elements: [b]Aether[/b], [b]Earth[/b], [b]Fire[/b], [b]Water[/b], [b]Air[/b], [b]Light[/b], and [b]Darkness[/b]. Spells are accessible to anyone, though some are locked to specific classes and certain classes tend to specialize in specific elements. For example, Clerics and their advancements almost always utilize Light element spells. [i][b]Items[/b][/i] Items in AO are divided into weapons, equipment, and consumables. The types of items that can fit into each category can vary, as the game features countless unique items that can be crafted, dropped my monsters, or attained through quests. Items are color coded by rarity [b]Common[/b], [b]Rare[/b], [b]Epic[/b], [b]Legendary[/b]. [i][b]PvP[/b][/i] ??? [i][b]NPC's[/b][/i] ??? [i][b]Monster Encyclopedia[/b][/i] ???[/HIDER][/HIDER] [b]Character Sheet[/b] [HIDER][CENTER][b][Avatar][/b][/CENTER] [b]Username:[/b] AO name system does not support numbers or spaces. [b]IRL Name:[/b] Optional. [b]Age:[/b] AO is suitable for ages 13+ [b]Sex:[/b] This isn’t Tumblr. [b]Theme:[/b] Optional. [b]Background:[/b] Optional. [b]Writing Sample:[/b] Write a post for your character, showing their reaction to be trapped in the AO world. This can be as short or long as you want, but it should give me a feel for your character’s personality and their general goals (it can be as simple as just wanting to get back home). [b]Class:[/b] Novice [b]Level:[/b] 9 [b]Stats:[/b] [b]HP[/b] - Calculated after acceptance. [b]MP[/b] - Calculated after acceptance. [b]Skills/Spells:[/b] You gain a number of skills/spells as you progress through the game. You can start with three [3], but should have to be approved first. [b]Inventory:[/b] Steel Sword Traveler’s Tunic Health Potion [10] [b]Storage:[/b] 150 gemstones[/HIDER]