What is the game like?
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Altera is a fantasy MMO, and as such people play warriors, wizards, and all the rest of the usual barrage of character types. The world is populated by NPCs that have been painfully carefully developed. Each one seems at first brush to be a full person. Effort was made to actually populate all the villages with NPCs that have full interaction. All of the NPCs in the world are programmed to respond and act like real people, but are also designed to rationalize away any players referring to gaming terminology or their real lives. If a player were to say lol, they would instead think the player had laughed. If the player told their friend to stop being a goof and accept the friend invite, the NPC would simply act as though they had never heard it.
Combat works like any other MMO and is another place where the game becomes unrealistic. People swing weapons at each other, but upon scoring hits, don't actually rend flesh or cause much in the way of pain. Taking a mace to the head feels much like getting slapped upside the head and your hit point meter drops. When a character's hit points are totally depleted, they find themselves rendered feeble. Their arms and legs have next to no strength, strong enough to get up on their knees perhaps or with herculean effort maybe even stand up, but walking is nigh impossible. Spells and skills are disabled, and even if the character does manage to hit something, no damage is scored. After the player is disabled for an hour, they are teleported back to the nearest temple in town and 'resurrected', restored to full health and assigned a death penalty of some sort.
Marketers being the geniuses they are have realized that sex sells. There are four kind of women in the world, those that are little kids, those that are really old, those that are hideously ugly, and those that are smoking hot. Naturally, this last group is most of them. The smoking hot women are highly sexualized. Amazon warriors will wear chain mail bikinis and sometimes raid local communities to steal men for breeding. Merchant women and sorceresses alike will wear skimpy or otherwise revealing clothing. Bar maids not only are always incredibly curvy, but they are infatuated with adventurers and will eagerly jump into bed with them. Princesses fall in love with people who rescue them and of course thank them profusely. And also, most women love the idea of lesbian encounters, yet remain straight. Best of all for female adventurers, when a male monster overpowers them, they can probably expect to not be killed, though they probably will be raped. Male adventurers usually are slain when defeated, unless their opponent happened to be something like a nymph or a succubus.
Altera is a fantasy MMO, and as such people play warriors, wizards, and all the rest of the usual barrage of character types. The world is populated by NPCs that have been painfully carefully developed. Each one seems at first brush to be a full person. Effort was made to actually populate all the villages with NPCs that have full interaction. All of the NPCs in the world are programmed to respond and act like real people, but are also designed to rationalize away any players referring to gaming terminology or their real lives. If a player were to say lol, they would instead think the player had laughed. If the player told their friend to stop being a goof and accept the friend invite, the NPC would simply act as though they had never heard it.
Combat works like any other MMO and is another place where the game becomes unrealistic. People swing weapons at each other, but upon scoring hits, don't actually rend flesh or cause much in the way of pain. Taking a mace to the head feels much like getting slapped upside the head and your hit point meter drops. When a character's hit points are totally depleted, they find themselves rendered feeble. Their arms and legs have next to no strength, strong enough to get up on their knees perhaps or with herculean effort maybe even stand up, but walking is nigh impossible. Spells and skills are disabled, and even if the character does manage to hit something, no damage is scored. After the player is disabled for an hour, they are teleported back to the nearest temple in town and 'resurrected', restored to full health and assigned a death penalty of some sort.
Marketers being the geniuses they are have realized that sex sells. There are four kind of women in the world, those that are little kids, those that are really old, those that are hideously ugly, and those that are smoking hot. Naturally, this last group is most of them. The smoking hot women are highly sexualized. Amazon warriors will wear chain mail bikinis and sometimes raid local communities to steal men for breeding. Merchant women and sorceresses alike will wear skimpy or otherwise revealing clothing. Bar maids not only are always incredibly curvy, but they are infatuated with adventurers and will eagerly jump into bed with them. Princesses fall in love with people who rescue them and of course thank them profusely. And also, most women love the idea of lesbian encounters, yet remain straight. Best of all for female adventurers, when a male monster overpowers them, they can probably expect to not be killed, though they probably will be raped. Male adventurers usually are slain when defeated, unless their opponent happened to be something like a nymph or a succubus.
What is Altera?
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Altera is the breakthrough hit MMO that Ether Works produced. Altera is a fantasy world where the players take on the roles of Champions of the Gods, created to fight in a holy war against a great evil.
The First Age began when the Gods created this world. The Gods were beings from another realm that had attained Enlightment, true insight and access to the tools that allowed for creation. Together, they pooled their powers to create a new realm fashioned in their own image and populated with creatures they had designed. These were the humans, the elves, the beastmen, but also all the animals and monsters that run through the land. Each had their favourite projects and each loved their creation.
The First Rift marked the end of the First Age. From another realm, a dark presence invaded the creation fo the Gods. The dark entity known as Kas'lin controlled a realm of it's own and led it's people into the realm of Altera in a bid to conquer and corrupt it, to turn this realm into a reflection of it's own. It brought demons to Altera. The Gods rallied their people and met Kas'lin combat. It was a hard fought war, one in which several of the gods lost their lives. They were victorious and forced Kas'lin back into it's home realm. Kas'lin was going to lick it's wounds and return however, so the Gods conceived a plan. Rather than meeting the entity again in pitched combat next time, they made an investment in their own creations. They began creating Champions, creatures that were capable of the same great potential that they had.
The Second Age was an era of prosperity for the people of Altera. At first the horrors of war were fresh in their mind and the Church began preparations for the return of the Rift. Church hunters scouered the countryside to hunt down the remains of the demon forces. However, as generations passed, the urgency of the invasion began to fade. People began to doubt the demons would ever return. The authority of the Church faded and the kingdom of Travain rose in it's place.
Travain was founded by King Travain the First. King Travain rebelled against the priorities of the Church, advocating that people should not prepare for war but instead should prepare for prosperity. He convinced people to join him in settling new lands, exploring new mines, improving farming, and generally leading people to lead more prosperous and pleasant lives. He ended policies like a forced tithe to the Church to pay for the war efforts and a mandatory term of military service the Church had been demanding to ensure the populace was ready to fight. Instead, he inspired people to spend their time and money on living their lives to the fullest. People felt safe under his rule, and the rule of his descendents. Depite the waning faith in their purpose, the Church continued on, preparing against the coming destruction with dedication.
The Second Age has just ended, and the Second Rift has opened. Generations of complacency have been wiped away as the Kingdom of Travain rushes to try and prepare for war. The Gods have seen that it is time for their plan to be put into action. Their Champions, beings imbued with the power of the Gods over the whole second age, have been placed upon Altera and asked by the Gods to save the realm and it's people from Kas'lin.
Altera is the breakthrough hit MMO that Ether Works produced. Altera is a fantasy world where the players take on the roles of Champions of the Gods, created to fight in a holy war against a great evil.
The First Age began when the Gods created this world. The Gods were beings from another realm that had attained Enlightment, true insight and access to the tools that allowed for creation. Together, they pooled their powers to create a new realm fashioned in their own image and populated with creatures they had designed. These were the humans, the elves, the beastmen, but also all the animals and monsters that run through the land. Each had their favourite projects and each loved their creation.
The First Rift marked the end of the First Age. From another realm, a dark presence invaded the creation fo the Gods. The dark entity known as Kas'lin controlled a realm of it's own and led it's people into the realm of Altera in a bid to conquer and corrupt it, to turn this realm into a reflection of it's own. It brought demons to Altera. The Gods rallied their people and met Kas'lin combat. It was a hard fought war, one in which several of the gods lost their lives. They were victorious and forced Kas'lin back into it's home realm. Kas'lin was going to lick it's wounds and return however, so the Gods conceived a plan. Rather than meeting the entity again in pitched combat next time, they made an investment in their own creations. They began creating Champions, creatures that were capable of the same great potential that they had.
The Second Age was an era of prosperity for the people of Altera. At first the horrors of war were fresh in their mind and the Church began preparations for the return of the Rift. Church hunters scouered the countryside to hunt down the remains of the demon forces. However, as generations passed, the urgency of the invasion began to fade. People began to doubt the demons would ever return. The authority of the Church faded and the kingdom of Travain rose in it's place.
Travain was founded by King Travain the First. King Travain rebelled against the priorities of the Church, advocating that people should not prepare for war but instead should prepare for prosperity. He convinced people to join him in settling new lands, exploring new mines, improving farming, and generally leading people to lead more prosperous and pleasant lives. He ended policies like a forced tithe to the Church to pay for the war efforts and a mandatory term of military service the Church had been demanding to ensure the populace was ready to fight. Instead, he inspired people to spend their time and money on living their lives to the fullest. People felt safe under his rule, and the rule of his descendents. Depite the waning faith in their purpose, the Church continued on, preparing against the coming destruction with dedication.
The Second Age has just ended, and the Second Rift has opened. Generations of complacency have been wiped away as the Kingdom of Travain rushes to try and prepare for war. The Gods have seen that it is time for their plan to be put into action. Their Champions, beings imbued with the power of the Gods over the whole second age, have been placed upon Altera and asked by the Gods to save the realm and it's people from Kas'lin.
Game Mechanics
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
The game mechanics are kept deliberately simple to make forum play easy and smooth. Every time that a character attempts to do something where it is appropriate for the dice to step in and get involved, they make a test against one of their three traits. Might, Cunning, and Charm are the three traits that all characters have. Bonuses can be gained to these tests, usually from equipment but also from circumstances. For example, fighting a goblin might get a +2 to your Might test if you have a sword. Bartering for a better price from the merchant you just rescued from that goblin might be at +3 to your charm for saving their life.
Might allows people to perform feats of physical prowess. These might be swimming a raging river, climbing a cliff, hauling a cart when the horses have died, or engaging in a fight with local ruffians or monsters.
Cunning is rolled when the test involved is involving skill or intellect. Examples include sneaking by someone, trying to win a game of chess, track someone back to their lair, or casting an arcane spell if they happen to know magic.
Charm is rolled when someone attempts to persuade someone else, such as when an adventurer attempts to seduce the barmaid, when trying to convince a guardsman not to search your wagon for smuggled goods, when trying to haggle over the price of a new weapon, or when beseeching the Gods for a miracle as a priest.
Tests are resolved with a singe dice roll based on the attribute of the character versus either another character's attribute or a target number. If you roll high enough, you win and get to decide how you win. If you don't roll high enough, you'll lose and I'll tell you what happens when you lose. So, for example, if you were fighting that goblin, and your might was a d6, then I will roll for you 1d6 with a +2 for your sword. For the goblin, I might roll 1d4 with a +1 for it's knife. If you roll a 4, get +2, your total is 6. It rolls a 3, gets +1, it's total is 4. You have defeated the goblin and will get to pose exactly how that happens. For example, "Killgore bats the knife aside with his blade, reaches out with his hand to grab the goblin by the throat, and lift it into the air. He then tells it, "Run home to mommy," and throws it towards the exit, watching as it scampers away." might be what you post. There won't be any hit point totals or multiple tests for the same thing since those would drag things down.
If multiple people team up to do the same thing, say two people team up to fight the goblin, I'll roll the highest of the traits you all possess, use the highest bonus, and then add +1 for each person after the first. For example, Ned, Ted, and Ed, all decide to fight an orc and a goblin. Ned has a Might of d8 and his bare hands, Ted a might of d6 and a knife for +1, and Ed a Might of d4 with a sword for +2. The orc has a Might of d8 with a sword for +2 and the goblin has a might of d4 with a knife for +1. For Ned, Ted, and Ed, I'll roll 1d8 (Ned's Might), +2 (Ed's Sword), and +2 (three people in total). The orc and goblin will roll 1d8 (the orc's might) +2 (the orc's sword) +1 (for the goblin). The winning team will all get to post their side if they win.
The game mechanics are kept deliberately simple to make forum play easy and smooth. Every time that a character attempts to do something where it is appropriate for the dice to step in and get involved, they make a test against one of their three traits. Might, Cunning, and Charm are the three traits that all characters have. Bonuses can be gained to these tests, usually from equipment but also from circumstances. For example, fighting a goblin might get a +2 to your Might test if you have a sword. Bartering for a better price from the merchant you just rescued from that goblin might be at +3 to your charm for saving their life.
Might allows people to perform feats of physical prowess. These might be swimming a raging river, climbing a cliff, hauling a cart when the horses have died, or engaging in a fight with local ruffians or monsters.
Cunning is rolled when the test involved is involving skill or intellect. Examples include sneaking by someone, trying to win a game of chess, track someone back to their lair, or casting an arcane spell if they happen to know magic.
Charm is rolled when someone attempts to persuade someone else, such as when an adventurer attempts to seduce the barmaid, when trying to convince a guardsman not to search your wagon for smuggled goods, when trying to haggle over the price of a new weapon, or when beseeching the Gods for a miracle as a priest.
Tests are resolved with a singe dice roll based on the attribute of the character versus either another character's attribute or a target number. If you roll high enough, you win and get to decide how you win. If you don't roll high enough, you'll lose and I'll tell you what happens when you lose. So, for example, if you were fighting that goblin, and your might was a d6, then I will roll for you 1d6 with a +2 for your sword. For the goblin, I might roll 1d4 with a +1 for it's knife. If you roll a 4, get +2, your total is 6. It rolls a 3, gets +1, it's total is 4. You have defeated the goblin and will get to pose exactly how that happens. For example, "Killgore bats the knife aside with his blade, reaches out with his hand to grab the goblin by the throat, and lift it into the air. He then tells it, "Run home to mommy," and throws it towards the exit, watching as it scampers away." might be what you post. There won't be any hit point totals or multiple tests for the same thing since those would drag things down.
If multiple people team up to do the same thing, say two people team up to fight the goblin, I'll roll the highest of the traits you all possess, use the highest bonus, and then add +1 for each person after the first. For example, Ned, Ted, and Ed, all decide to fight an orc and a goblin. Ned has a Might of d8 and his bare hands, Ted a might of d6 and a knife for +1, and Ed a Might of d4 with a sword for +2. The orc has a Might of d8 with a sword for +2 and the goblin has a might of d4 with a knife for +1. For Ned, Ted, and Ed, I'll roll 1d8 (Ned's Might), +2 (Ed's Sword), and +2 (three people in total). The orc and goblin will roll 1d8 (the orc's might) +2 (the orc's sword) +1 (for the goblin). The winning team will all get to post their side if they win.
Character Creation
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Your character for this game is going to be a person who has purchased Altera and joined in. When your character first logged in, they were asked to design their own avatar. That means essentially they have the physical appearance of whatever your character thought to design. Most of the players in Altera have taken this chance to tweak their own appearance, men often making themselves more muscular and increasing the size of their penises, women giving themselves the body they've always wanted to have or wanted to try. For those who went so far as to switch gender, they may be in for a surprise, they may find their orientation has changed to match their new body.... (Depending on player preference really)
Each character gets to assign one each of a d8, a d6, and a d4 to their traits when they build their character.
Each character also has when they start equipment that will give them a total of +3 to their rolls, no one piece higher than a +2. So, for example, a character might start with a sword that gives a +2 to combat rolls and a flashy cape that gives a +1 to rolls to impress people. Or, you could start with a sword that gives a +1 to combat rolls, a flashy cape that gives +1 to rolls to impress people, and soft soled boots that give a +1 to checks to move silently. When you add up the total bonuses from all your equipment, it should total +3.
Each character gets three pieces of gear as well. Try to keep it relatively simple like a torch, a rope, something like that. Basic clothing is of course free to starting characters as well. Each character will also get to start with 2 gold coins, 3 silver coins, and 5 copper coins. Much like in D&D, each silver coin is worth 10 copper coins, and each gold coin is worth 10 silver coins. I'll make up prices for equipment as we go.
Your character for this game is going to be a person who has purchased Altera and joined in. When your character first logged in, they were asked to design their own avatar. That means essentially they have the physical appearance of whatever your character thought to design. Most of the players in Altera have taken this chance to tweak their own appearance, men often making themselves more muscular and increasing the size of their penises, women giving themselves the body they've always wanted to have or wanted to try. For those who went so far as to switch gender, they may be in for a surprise, they may find their orientation has changed to match their new body.... (Depending on player preference really)
Each character gets to assign one each of a d8, a d6, and a d4 to their traits when they build their character.
Each character also has when they start equipment that will give them a total of +3 to their rolls, no one piece higher than a +2. So, for example, a character might start with a sword that gives a +2 to combat rolls and a flashy cape that gives a +1 to rolls to impress people. Or, you could start with a sword that gives a +1 to combat rolls, a flashy cape that gives +1 to rolls to impress people, and soft soled boots that give a +1 to checks to move silently. When you add up the total bonuses from all your equipment, it should total +3.
Each character gets three pieces of gear as well. Try to keep it relatively simple like a torch, a rope, something like that. Basic clothing is of course free to starting characters as well. Each character will also get to start with 2 gold coins, 3 silver coins, and 5 copper coins. Much like in D&D, each silver coin is worth 10 copper coins, and each gold coin is worth 10 silver coins. I'll make up prices for equipment as we go.
Leveling Up!
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Leveling up!
When your character acquires enough experience points to level up, they are awarded a 'skill point' to spend. The 'Skill' that you select is something you make up, just like your equipment. Except, instead of it being your equipment, it is a trait you possess. An example of a popular 'skill' for a warrior character would be 'Sword Mastery'. If a warrior were to level up to level 2 and take their skill point in Sword Mastery, they would get a +1 to any checks they made using that sword from then on.
Much like equipment, I encourage you to get creative with what your skills are. Some examples to get your imaginations going could be Sword Mastery (for rolls with weapons), Stealth (for rolls to sneak), Elemental Magic (for rolls to spellcast elemental magic), Iron Will (resisting people's persuasive arguments, seduction attempts, or charm spells), Dragon Slayer (bonus to rolls versus Dragons), Trader (bonus to checks to haggle with merchants), Fire Magic (bonus to using fire spells, this could stack with other skills like Elemental Magic), Locksmith (bonus to rolls to pick locks), Quick Feet (bonus to rolls to run away or catch up to something or someone).
Each skill is not allowed to be more than two points higher than your next highest skill. What I mean by this is if you were a Warrior and you took the skill Sword Mastery, you'd be able to raise it to +1 or +2 without a problem. Before you were allowed to take it to +3, you would have to get another skill, like Dragon Slayer, at +1. Once this warrior has Sword Mastery +2 and Dragon Slayer +1, he'd be allowed to spend his next level up to bring his Sword Mastery to +3. His Sword Mastery would not be able to go to +4 until he'd raised his Dragon Slayer to +2.
When a character levels up to a level divisible by 5, (level 5, level 10, level 15, and so on), that character upgrades one of their dice a rank instead of getting a stat point. So, for example, if their Might is 1d6, they can upgrade it to 1d8. 1d4 upgrades to 1d6, 1d6 upgrades to 1d8, 1d8 upgrades to 1d10, 1d10 upgrades to 2d6, 2d6 upgrades to 2d8. I'll expand on the upgrade chart when anyone gets to that level.
I know these might be pretty confusing for some people, so if you find yourself totally confused, I'm willing to answer questions that people have, either now, or when they level up. If this is too confusing, when you level up, I'll tell you what you are allowed to increase and what you aren't.
Leveling up!
When your character acquires enough experience points to level up, they are awarded a 'skill point' to spend. The 'Skill' that you select is something you make up, just like your equipment. Except, instead of it being your equipment, it is a trait you possess. An example of a popular 'skill' for a warrior character would be 'Sword Mastery'. If a warrior were to level up to level 2 and take their skill point in Sword Mastery, they would get a +1 to any checks they made using that sword from then on.
Much like equipment, I encourage you to get creative with what your skills are. Some examples to get your imaginations going could be Sword Mastery (for rolls with weapons), Stealth (for rolls to sneak), Elemental Magic (for rolls to spellcast elemental magic), Iron Will (resisting people's persuasive arguments, seduction attempts, or charm spells), Dragon Slayer (bonus to rolls versus Dragons), Trader (bonus to checks to haggle with merchants), Fire Magic (bonus to using fire spells, this could stack with other skills like Elemental Magic), Locksmith (bonus to rolls to pick locks), Quick Feet (bonus to rolls to run away or catch up to something or someone).
Each skill is not allowed to be more than two points higher than your next highest skill. What I mean by this is if you were a Warrior and you took the skill Sword Mastery, you'd be able to raise it to +1 or +2 without a problem. Before you were allowed to take it to +3, you would have to get another skill, like Dragon Slayer, at +1. Once this warrior has Sword Mastery +2 and Dragon Slayer +1, he'd be allowed to spend his next level up to bring his Sword Mastery to +3. His Sword Mastery would not be able to go to +4 until he'd raised his Dragon Slayer to +2.
When a character levels up to a level divisible by 5, (level 5, level 10, level 15, and so on), that character upgrades one of their dice a rank instead of getting a stat point. So, for example, if their Might is 1d6, they can upgrade it to 1d8. 1d4 upgrades to 1d6, 1d6 upgrades to 1d8, 1d8 upgrades to 1d10, 1d10 upgrades to 2d6, 2d6 upgrades to 2d8. I'll expand on the upgrade chart when anyone gets to that level.
I know these might be pretty confusing for some people, so if you find yourself totally confused, I'm willing to answer questions that people have, either now, or when they level up. If this is too confusing, when you level up, I'll tell you what you are allowed to increase and what you aren't.
Finally, a Character Sheet template for you to use!
Name : (Your character's name and handle. For example, Joe Mally, WingSlayer)
Level : Experience : 0 / 10
Concept : (Something like elven swordsmen, ninjaburger deliveryman, tavern wench, ect.)
Appearance : (Descriptions are great, pictures are even better)
Might :
Cunning :
Charm :
Skills :
Equipment : (What the items are and what bonuses they give)
Money : 2 gp, 3 sp, 5 sp
Player Settings
Sexiness :
1) Play Nice - consentual sex only for your character.
2) Oh No... - enemies might overpower or blackmail your character into sex.
3) Not Again! - pretty much anything goes, including having them dragged back home by the monster horde and made into their sex toy.
