Focus Influence

Each Focus type influences the mental psyche of a character. This tends to manifest in different ways based on the focus. The influence itself is based on the Class (or the particular evolution the character is on), the cultivation path--both primary and secondary, and the piece of themselves that they anchored into a skill.

The way this manifests is:

• Class is taking on the influence and embodying it

As a Classer levels, the core concept of their Class comes to define them. A Classer will eventually start to see the entire world around them through the lens of their Class. A craftsman will see everything as a craft, as pieces to be put together. A swordsman will see everything as a battle, every interaction a duel to be won. A farmer will see everything as a field to be cultivated. The more esoteric the core concept of a class the weirder a Classer’s mindset will become.

• Cultivation is the influence pushed onto you and projecting it

A Cultivator has a different problem. While a Classer will see the influence come from within, a Cultivator will have it come from the outside. Their Path will slowly start to push them to fulfill the core concept of the Path they are on. A Cultivator on crafting Path will start feeling like they were being pushed to craft more and more to the exclusion of everything else. One on a Path the sword will start being pushed to seek out more and more battles, compulsively so. Think of the difference between a Class and Cultivation influence as a difference between saying “I want to fight more” and someone egging you on, telling you that “You want to fight more.

• Skill is making the influence and solidifying it.

A skill allows a person to seal a part of themselves inside, to make it unchanging. Skills are dangerous, locking a part of yourself that was tainted by doubts or dreams of something that was unattainable can cripple a person.

“The issue comes when you are raising both a Class and a Path at the same time. It is understandable why people would want that. Being focused on one might give you power in a single focus, but there is something to be said about having utility. Classers are generally much more adaptable than Cultivators or even Skill users for that matter. They have many abilities and perks that they can use to answer different situations. Someone who is only a Cultivator will be incredibly powerful in their path, but their power is based on changing their body and doing one type of thing the best. A skill user can have adaptability, but they lack stats and a great number of perks that can help in certain situations. None of the three ways of gaining power are equal, each has its weaknesses and strengths.”

“This is why people want to advance in all three, to try and cover those weaknesses. But after you hit a certain point you will start to feel the imbalance, and if it gets out of hand, you will be driven mad by the two conflicting forces trying to influence you. Having complementing Class and Path does help alleviate the problem, but it is still not enough. You will be torn between an inside change and one coming in from the outside, because they are not the same in the end. One changes how you see the world, the other forces you to spread your truth around you forcing you to Past ways that you might not want to. No matter what, eventually you will go insane. This is why people don’t distribute their Essence equally, why they have a focus.