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Game Progression and Awards |
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-Back to Main Page |
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As players play Skure over a long period of time, they will become accustomed to the rules of the game. Thus, they are learning. At the same time their characters are also learning. In some instances, mainly for the beasts, they are growing. In all cases they are aging. A fighter on level 1 sets out at age 19 or so. Each level could be considered a year of aging. By level 15, at promotion, they are in their mid-30s. By their experienced years, promoted at level 10, they may be around their late fourties. By the time a fighter (or knight/lord) reaches their statistical prime at very high levels, promoted at level 40, they could be as old as 80.
Age, in Skure, does not affect characters in a physically weakening way. Why is this the case? Remember that every character possesses either a shard of Nexus or Voleron. These shards have done more than simply to enhance their abilities. The aging process yields changes only in appearance, and, instead of a character becoming feeble with age, they become stronger! There are no old feeble men and women or beasts in the world of Skure who possess shards, not those of active characters anyway. An 80 year-old knight is a massive warrior of immense strength. Don't be fooled. Old people (and creatures) in Skure are mightier than the "lively" young'ns.
Aside from the in-game role-playing factor of progression, experience represents more than just aging. It marks a character's wisdom and way of conducting oneself both in battle and out. Character's are free to role-play their progression as much as they want. This is done more out of battle than in battle. And, no, there is no way of avoiding age. Aging, as in real life, is inevitable. The difference in Skure is that it continuously mark's a character's strengthening. What follows below is a set of rules of progressing and promoting and what each entails, mainly relating to in game statistics. |
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Gaining a Level of Experience |
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To progress one level is to see oneself as having gained enough experience to make a difference in their abilities. Although levels are an "instant" event, the actual progression takes time. Larger creatures and characters that are required to do a lot of memorizing (spells) pass levels more slowly than smaller characters. The following is the in-game rule of progression:
- When a character's current experience exceeds the amount needed to gain a level, their level increases by one and their experience is subtracted by the amount they needed. The amount needed for every level DOES NOT change.
- Upon gaining a level of experience, HP, attack, defense and speed all increase, as do abilities relating to level (like stun). |
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- On each level up, the character receives 2 bonus points that can be spent on the stats listed to the left (HP, attack, defense, or speed). Each point is a boost of 1 to the stat.
- The 2 points cannot be spent on the same stat.
- Both points MAY be spent to increase essence by 1 (for magic-users). This can only be done every second level up (all even levels: 2, 4, 6, etc.) |
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- The amount that each statistic rises depends on the character's strengths and weaknesses in each. Aside from a few exceptions, statistics can increase by 0.5 to 4.0 for each level. Decimals are always rounded up and recorded for future levels because they can continuously add up. For example, 0.75 after 4 levels is only 3. It needs to be mentioned that decimals do count over time. On each individual level, though, they are always rounded up. |
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Promoting |
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Being promoted is a momentous occasion for a character and player alike. It is something that each character will go through probably only once but sometimes twice. A character may choose not to promote and remain as they are to progress as they have been, but promoting brings many benefits that simply cannot be ignored. Keep in mind, they are a few temporary drawbacks: |
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- Current level returns 1, affecting all abilities relating to level for effectiveness. Total level remains the same.
- Abilities change over to the next class, whether to tier 2 or tier 3. Former abilities are removed.
- Any items required for promoting are removed (explained further down).
- Statistical increases are changed to new class; increases do not accumulate with former class.
- Characters with spells keep all spells and components. If the number of allowable components in the new class is greater, the character chooses new components to fill the new empty slots.
- Size, strength, magic, movement and reflex ratings change accordingly to their new levels. |
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Path to promotion |
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Although being promoted is an honour deserved by those who have made it that far, the process can be stressing. The character does not simply "change" over to their new class. Like any and all role-playing aspects in Skure, a player should think about what promoting means. For humans, it means that the character has learned so much about their profession that they are ready to move on to something more challenging. For creatures, it means that the shards have blessed them with enough power in combination with their experience that they actually physically evolve, sometimes over time, sometimes on the spot. Here is what you need to do in order to promote: |
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- The character must reach the necessary level (now at level 15, subject to revision) - Dagolar, November 7, 2003
- For tier 3 classes, the character must possess the necessary items. These items may have physical properties that are needed to take the new possession or they may just be symbolic. These items can be found in any number of places.
- You, the player, need to request promotion from your BM in the name of your character. In doing so, you will never be refused promotion, so don't worry.
- The BM will arrange a time with the team captain in which the character will have to undergo a ceremony that is entirely up to the BMs discretion (except for the name). These ceremonies vary depending on the character's alignment and affiliations:
- For Followers of Nexus, the character must perform "The Solemn Rights".
- For Minions of Voleron, the character must perform "The Unholy Calling".
- For those of Neutrality, they must deliver "The Confession of Abstention". |
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- If the character (the player!) does not perform their ceremony properly, it may be up to the judgement of the BM that they NOT BE PROMOTED. In this case, the promotion does not take place and the player cannot try again for 5 levels. No items are removed and all of their statistics remain as they are. These ceremonies are up to the BMs to decide what the character needs to do (should be moderate difficulty, including questions, maybe a trial, and any other creative idea). |
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Game Awards |
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At the end of each battle, game awards are handed out to players and their corresponding characters. I (Dagolar) added this component in the original Skure game to motivate the players to do more than just roll dice during a fight. These awards are given out for the "best" (I hate superlatives) action of their kind, whether for role-playing or for the strongest hit.
It is entirely up to The Brotherhood Master overseeing the battle whether or not to hand out awards at the end, and, if they are, to whom. I would suggest that for every 4 players in the battle, 1 award be handed out at least. Only one of each type can be given out. If the BM wishes to give ALL the awards in a battle, by all means, but within reason. Please keep in mind that these awards need to be thoroughly earned, and not simply deserved, by players and their characters. Also, if it feels necessary, award those who have not been awarded in awhile if that is the case. All players should feel included in the team and the game.
When participating in battles, it is appreciated by all that individual players do not compete with one another for awards. It is a team game involving team work. If you are going to attack this monster in this manner just to get an award, you have missed what this game is. In some circumstances, BMs, myself (Dagolar) especially, will look right over you if we feel you are acting simply on the basis of trying to earn an award. The game is about teamwork; leave it at that.
There is no "set" number of awards that characters "should" receive. They are also COMPLETELY OUT OF ROLE-PLAY CONTEXT. Please do not role-play your character receiving an award. It is an out of character occurrence. Nobody is physically handing out "awards" in the dead world of Darlow. If you wish to role-play a METAPHORICAL SENSE of your character being awarded, by all means. The award for bravery could be interpreted as an experience by your character, one that they felt strongly about and that may last for the rest of their lives.
What it means to receive an in-game award: |
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- Your character receives a bonus of 10 experience points for each and every award, no matter what their level.
- The award goes on the character's permanent record along with the number of battles they fought, their number of kills, and so on.
- Awards are something to brag about out of character. :)
- Awards are excellent for applications as team scouts, lieutenants, or captains, for role-playing experiences in applying for promotions, or, in time possibly, even as support for an application to The Brotherhood. |
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Here are the seven awards in Skure, in alphabetical order, and what they represent (Key for BMs to remember): |
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Bravery (BR) |
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The award for bravery is the least specific of the seven. The character who has done an overall good job in their position (front, rear, assault, etc.) while at least making the attempt to stay in the thick of battle to do as much damage or support as they can may find themselves holding the bravery award at the end of battle. It is certainly not an easy award to earn but definitely one of the most respected.. It takes a lot of discipline to keep your character in the thick of things when they are holding at a meager 20% HP count. Nobody will blame you for pulling back, but, if you're feeling brave and you can back it up, you may very well receive this award without realizing it. It is one award that is earned almost solely by the player, not the statistics of the character, although it helps to have a character that take a lot of pain. |
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Ironblood (IB) |
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This award is strictly based on the character's statistics, most notably their defense and HP. Characters that can take (and survive) a lot of hits in a battle may stumble upon the ironblood award. Any character who perishes only to rise again, and maybe even again, could receive this award as well. Suffering a huge hit, but surviving, only to return the favour, can win this one. It is an impressive award if only because the character who earned it had to go through a lot of pain to get it. It should probably not be given out to any character that is dead by the end of battle unless they took an extraordinary number of hits. Characters who dodge a lot of hits are also eligible. |
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Menace (MC) |
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The award for being a menace is always a popular one, but by no means easily earned. Simply put, the character who causes the most trouble to the other side will get the menace award. This can come in the form of doing a lot of damage, dealing out a lot of kills, dishing out plenty of nasty effects on the enemy team like poison and blindness, and so on. It is quite obvious by the end of any battle which character is going to pick up this one. Magic-users who strike damage against many enemies with their powerful spells are always contenders for the menace award. It can often be in conjunction with the strongest strike award (below), although BMs are advised to hand out only one award to a single character in battle unless they played a fantastic part in the combat. |
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Role-Playing (RP) |
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The role-playing award is bestowed upon the truly creative and gives incentive to make characters seem more life-like. This is a pure judgement call on the part of the BM to deliver this award. It can come under many different circumstances along the lines of good, solid role-playing. Personally, I tend to give out this award to people who role-play their character in an impressive and realistic way, and it does not have to be awarded in battle only. But if it is in battle, players who type out cool stuff on big hits (and I especially like players who role-play when they get smashed up - that takes humility) and stick to the basics on basic events (regular hits, misses) and type at appropriate times will get one from me (Dagolar). But that's just me. I don't care for consistent typos in sentences, and I don't appreciate super-long (4+ sentences) typed events that take a long time to read (unless it's a really, really big event). In general, good and timely role-playing will catch the eye of most BMs. |
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Strongest Strike (SS) |
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This one may seem obvious although there are a few things to keep in mind for BMs. First off, this award does not simply go to the highest damaging attack in the battle. The strongest strike SHOULD go out to the most damaging attack; the exception is that the attack has to be spectacular. This is the main component. A critical from the rear that puts an unfortunate victim at -35 HP is a good example. A single spell that hits 6 enemies and kills 3 of them would be considered spectacular. If the strongest attack in battle was just a straight up critical hit from the front, I (Dagolar) would not be too inclined to give this to whoever did so. It is up to the BM in the end to see who is awarded the strongest strike award; the candidates are usually obvious. |
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Support (SU) |
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Some character classes are just not made for taking up the front lines and dealing out lots of big hits. Some character classes are healers or use a lot of effect magic to boost their team or to hinder the enemy. This award is for them. The character who gives the most support to their team in whatever form aside from dealing direct damage has the opportunity to grab the support award. |
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Tactics (TT) |
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As always, there are a few players who have a mind for the battlefield. In tense situations, those players who carefully plan out their maneuvers often benefit greatly from the results. The BM needs to keep a watchful eye on players who do this. For me (Dagolar), to win the tactics award, a player would most likely have to do at least one of the following throughout the battle. They could plan out the maneuvers with teammates resulting in a positive outcome. Or they could try to go solo and use their character's abilities to the fullest.
Here is a good example of a solo character getting a tactics award. A character playing a melee offensive character finds a defensive position on the side of the main battlefield. When a weak enemy strays lose, the character attacks them, from the side, if they can. They then slide away to lure someone else in. Once close enough, they strike. This kind of activity persists so that the character is played to maximum potential.
Good tactics and patience and a character who is ultimately standing high by the end of the battle having performed a lot of good moves that were well thought out can claim the tactics award. More experienced players will have a better opportunity to take hold of this one. |
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