Getting Started

## Explaining the Game

First and foremost, the game works through anime pseudo-science. Your character falls asleep and while in REM they are miraculously conscious and able to utilize the systems of the game. With that out of the way:

* Interface in the game is similar to that you see in anime. First person HUD, spells are seen in the bottom left and have activation phrases or actions to utilize them. Health is a red bar with a number value seen at the top right, below it is a blue bar with mana value, and a green bar with stamina value. Top left displays the characters current target name, which is selected via looking at an object and blinking - targeting something happens all the time, so swapping between stuff can be seamless.

* There are two types of combat. Targeted Casting and Action Combat, both are utilized by every class though the means to do so are different. Targeted Casting involves utilizing spells and abilities from the bottom left corner of the HUD. These activations require three variables to enact successfully, a target, cooldown availability, and the resource. Action Combat is much more simple, it involves the simple use of a weapon to basic attack the opponent you are targeting. All that is required is to make physical contact with your equipped weapon upon the target, and it will deal a ratio of damage based on set value.
* The Leveling system is handled very typically for an RPG. Enemies have a set experience value that is obtained after death. Once the set accumulated amount required to level up is filled, you level up. Leveling grants you a single point to put into one of the three base stats, and upon reaching 10, 20, and 30, your class advances.

## Systems & Such

**Parties/Raids:**

Joining groups or creating your own is incredibly simple and easy to you. You target a player, select their name on the top left corner of your HUD that brings down a menu where you get [Add Friend/Invite to Party/Whisper/Block]. Select the Invite option, and they’ll receive a notification which lets them know of the player’s request.

**Guilds:**

To create a guild, players must venture to an Adventurer’s Guild tavern. There are numerous locations scattered throughout Thalam and they are marked with an arrow piercing a globe logo. You enter the facility, find the secretarial NPC that holds a number of resources. Simply request to register a guild, the fee being 20 gold - and 5 signatures and once those two means are fulfilled bring it back to her to finalize the creation.

**PvP:**

There is no faction system in Thalam, instead anyone is capable of performing PvP from the get-go. There is however a system in place to manage this in an effort to prevent people from griefing. The game has 3 different types of zones, green, yellow, and red. Green zones are typically lower level or have significant amounts of traffic due to points of interest, and thus in these zones PvP is harshly penalized. Yellow zones are the most abundant and are usually large areas throughout the wilds where there are few towns or cities, PvP is neither encouraged nor punished here. Red zones are the fewest and are typically higher level than the others, these areas are typically occupied by warring nations and PvP is rewarded here.

**Crafting:**

Alchemy: Potion and poison brewing is the meat and potatoes of this trade, though it also covers things like ore transmutation and engineering to a degree. Alchemists gain the ability to use Alchemy Labs, Transmutation Circles, and are encouraged to collect herbs.

Enchanting: Potentially the most mystical of the trades, enchanting and in turn inscription as well involves bestowing magical enhancements upon equipment. Doing this requires the use of an Enchanting Table and Mystic Dust which is rarely found on rare enemies, or harvested from useless magic items.

Weaponcrafting: A blacksmith who specializes in the creation of weaponry and associates equipment. Taking this trade allows the player to use a mining pick to harvest ore and a hammer to beat the metal into the intended shape. Forges and anvils are required for weaponsmithing and they are found in every town.

Armorcrafting: A weaver, a leatherworker, and a smithy all in the same, Armorsmiths spend their lives mastering the craft of garb and armor. This trade also has access to the mining pick and hammer, as well as a tanning station and the loom.

Woodworking: The art of shaping and carving wood to a specific purpose or need is mastered by the Woodworkers. They are carpenters,whiddlers, builders, all of whom utilize the lumber of Thalam to create various masterpieces. They are capable of constructing houses, furniture, and boats to carry people to the distant isles of Thalam. This craft can be done anywhere with a Jeweler’s Station.

Jewelcrafting: The trade of shaping gemstones and metals into decorative crafts and structures to be worn or displayed is done by the Jewelcrafters. They have the ability to prospect stone and ore for specific minerals that can be procured into jewels, as well as pure metals.

Survivalism: The most commonly taken trade in Thalam by the denizens of the world is Survivalism. The knowledge of utilizing the plentiful resources to create food, shelter, and other necessities out on adventures is not to be taken for granted. They are capable of creating campfires to rest at, preparing food, as well as creating field dressings out of medicinal herbs that can be found out in the wilds.

## Creating a Character

It would be easier to start with classes than races because the system I have decided to create for such is a little more difficult to explain. There are 5 Base Classes which cover the grounds for being simple enough to teach players the game - while also being diverse enough to cater to different fantasies for the player. They are as follows; Warrior with their sword and shield, Rogue with their two daggers, Mage with their staff, Cleric with their cudgel, and Ranger with their bow. These classes are not set to specific roles, though their strengths and weaknesses are clearly defined from level one.

* The Warrior class starts with a basic longsword and a wooden shield. The skill they start with is Shield Bash which is a simple 1 second stun that scales with the shield’s armor value - this skill costs 50 stamina to cast.
* The Rogue class starts with two basic daggers. The skill they start with is Backstab which can only be used when behind the opponent and deals x2 weapon damage - this skill requires 20 stamina to cast.
* The Mage class starts with a basic staff. The skill they start with is Magic Missile which scales directly with the mage’s Spirit stat - this spell costs 10 mana to cast.
* The Cleric class starts with a basic cudgel. The skill they start with is Smite which always does a tenth of an enemy’s health as damage but costs 50% of your mana to cast.
* The Ranger class starts with a basic bow. The skill they start with is Aimed Shot which requires the user to charge and aim their bow’s projectile before launching it at the opponent dealing damage that scales x2, x3, or x4, on weapon ratio depending on how long the charge is held. The skill costs 20, 30, or 40 stamina depending on draw length.

**Races on the other hand don’t affect gameplay on a substantial level - though there are minor passive effects for each of them. There are only eight of them, but the customization options alongside the standardized race selection make it very easy to put some time into character creation and make a unique character for yourself.**

* The Humans are diverse, there are Nords, Western Men, Eastern Imperials, and Southern Natives. Their racial decreases item prices from vendors by 5%
* The Elves are slightly less diverse, but do have their own clans. There are the Forest Elves, the Dark Elves, and the Basar which are basically Egyptian Elves. Their racial trait increases their move speed by 5% while in their respective environment.
* The Dwarves come in two variants, the Iceborn which live in the Northern Mountains, and the Fireborn in Southwestern Fire Pits. Their racial trait gives the player an additional 5% chance for crafted items to be of higher value.
* The Greenskins are pretty diverse as well - Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, and Bugbears, all makeup this race. They are also common enemies in various regions of the world and thus, are commonly distrusted. Their racial trait gives the player 5% resistance to all elemental affinities.
* The Beastmen are the most diverse, there are countless different species and variants of those species that call every corner of Thalam their home. Their racial trait grants them an additional 5% chance for rare item drops from enemies.
* The Darkin are a less commonly encountered race throughout Thalam, their demon ancestors still plague their appearances causing many to be wary of the people and causing them to be somewhat outcasted. Their racial trait grants them the ability to cast Invisibility during the night cycle in-game.
* The Fae last but certainly not least are found only in the forests and jungles of Thalam. The fairy like people’s racial trait is the passive ability of flight that allows them to travel on an additional axis unachievable without a flying mount for other races.

Stats are handled a bit plainly, and super-super simplified. I’ve talked about them before in the classes I mentioned beforehand - but I’ll stop the silly talk and get right into the nitty gritty. Basically there are three core stats which are Body, Spirit, and Technique. Body is the stat that purely handles physical secondary stats like Phys. Damage(Offensive), Armor(Defensive), Constitution(Health Value). Spirit is the more fantastical stat that handles magic secondary stats like Magic Damage(Offensive), Resistance(Defensive), and Wisdom(Mana Value). And then Technique is something between the two as it is the skill based parameter that effects things like Crit Damage(Offensive), Evasion(Defensive), and Endurance(Stamina Value). Now there are armor and weapons with these secondary stats but they are very rare to find, and thus differentiating roles with stats is done with variable scaling. Basically what variable scaling entails is that, if a tank looted a sword with 5 Body it would affect their stats differently than it would a damage-dealer. Damage classes, Healers, and Tanks all gain different amounts of secondary stats from equipment to prevent overlap. It would be easier to explain this with rough numbers and bullet points so I’ll go ahead and transition to that now:

* Tanks gain x1 Defensive Stat, x0.5 Offensive Stat, x1 Value stat.
* Damage gains x0.5 Defensive Stat, x1 Offensive Stat, x1 Value Stat.
* Healer gains x0.5 Defensive Stat, x0.5 Offensive Stat, x2 Value Stat.

Level 1 - Stat Spread

 Rogue
 Mage
 Cleric
 Ranger

**Level 1 - Starter Weapons**

 Basic Dagger
 Basic Staff
 Basic Cudgel
 Basic Bow

**Level-up Skills:**