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If you have not yet created your free membership and wish to participate in Storm World: Ascension,
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Here is where the fun really begins. After all, this is a combat game more than
an adventure game.
There are three ways to get into combat in Storm World: Ascension.
(1) Triggered Encounters
This happens when you enter a location or perform some event which has a planned
encounter waiting to smash you. Typically these are lairs or other hidden locations
on the map, though some non-hidden locations contain combative encounters as well.
These may be avoided if you are a wuss and select Passive for your intent. This
means that if a location is present, you will not enter it.
(2) Random Encounters
This event happens when you have no other encounters which happen on a given day.
There is always a percentage chance (even when Passive) that a random event occurs
when you are traveling around the map. This too can be avoided by staying in a safe
site such as the starting city or other protected areas.
(3) Player vs. Player (PvP)
This could happen whenever you cross paths with another player after day 1. The
game checks at the beginning of your turn for PVP combat, and again after you've
moved so that you could attack a player before you move. This allows you to attack
someone who happened to move to your present location. It can be avoided by remaining
in the start location (the only place on the map where you are safe from PVP combat).
Being Passive also helps and some abilities enhance your chances of avoiding combat.
Note that in all cases, setting intent to Passive will either avoid
or help to avoid combat. If you are set to Neutral, you will not
avoid any battle, but you will not seek out other players to attack either. However, setting
to Neutral still allows you to enter lairs and other locations.
If you are set to Aggressive or Crusade, you will enter locations as when you are
Neutral. However, unlike Neutral, you will attack all other players
on sight. The only difference between Aggressive and Crusade is
that when you are set to Aggressive, you become more infamous. When set to Crusade,
you are more likely to become famous. Intent has no effect on random encounters.
There are some caveats for battles occur as well...
(1) Players cannot battle each other more than once in a given turn (week). However,
they can attack any other players during that week.
(2) Players cannot initiate more than one battle per day against other players.
If a battle is initiated at the beginning of a turn, then no check is made at the
end. However, multiple battles can happen on the same day, but they must not be
triggered by the same RC.
(3) As mentioned earlier, no battles can be initiated in the primary city. This
is a safe haven.
(4) RC's cannot battle in the first turn (week) of the game. Since all RCs start
at the same location, the first turn allows them to "fan out" about the map before
battles are considered.
When the battle begins, your choice of active abilities takes on a more important
meaning. The battle happens during processing, so you will not have the option of
performing round by round analysis and strategy manipulation at that time. The game
engine handles this for you to the best of its ability.
Having said that, it is certainly possible (and likely) that not all possibilities
will be programmed in beforehand. Therefore, do not be surprised if an action which
does not make sense to your strategy happens based on the game engine's processing.
If something does not make sense, please let me know so that the game engine can
be fine tuned for the new strategy.
There are some things which you can do to manipulate the game engine. Your choice
of abilities, of course, is the most important thing. If you activate abilities
that are best used in missile range, then that is what tends to happen. Abilities
which lead to quick melee usually will lead your RC to melee quickly.
You also have a formation setting on the main page. A formation of 1 means you are
right on the front line, ready to attack in melee. Formation 2 means that you stand
behind the formation 1 creatures (if any) and will use missile attacks. Note that
all creatures you bring to battle are either formation 1 or 2. Your RC has a third
option, formation 3. This means you stand behind both lines of defense.
When engaging into melee, formation 1 targets are selected first. If there are no
available formation 1 targets, then a formation 2 target is selected, and so on.
Your formation may still be set at something higher than a 1, but attackers can
still reach you (without any henchmen to block opponents, even a formation of 3 is
considered the first line of defense). The only thing that changes your formation
is when you are at formation 2 or 3 and you have no missile abilities to use. You
then move up (or rather down in this case) to the next formation and try again.
Missile attacks can strike any formation at any time, but they cannot target an
opponent who has already engaged into melee. However, there are exceptions to this
rule. Missile which have special abilities to strike only intended targets, socery
missile attacks, etc. are some examples.
All attacks are made based on the RC's speed (which is based on Intellectual Strength,
size and other modifiers). Once your action occurs, you must wait until it is your
turn before acting again. Making an attack, invoking a mystical power, or drinking
a potion all count as an action. Some actions are faster, so they do not require
as much time to recover.
When you are injured your health decreases. When it falls to 0 (or less), you are
knocked unconscious. Your RCs cannot die, they simply get knocked out. However,
followers may die when they are brought to 0 or less health (this is a function
of how much damage they took, how far below 0 they were brought and how good their
Physical Strength score is). If the creature dies,
then the ability will be removed from your active abilities and from the game itself.
All creatures in Storm World: Ascension heal relatively quickly. Health is restored
naturally at a rate per day equal to your Physical Strength. Typically, a realm character
can heal from 0 to full health in 3-5 days.
Your armaments become worn as you use them. With every successful attack, the attackers
weapon condition and the defenders armor (and possibly their helm, bracers or leggings)
condition worsens. Each armament begins in perfect condition (a condition rating
of 100%). Each time it us used, there is a percentage chance that its condition
rating drops by a point. This diminishing condition makes the armament less effective
in battle, and worth less when you try to sell it.
The condition directly modifies the bonuses the armament gives you. For weapons,
this means less damage and possibly a lessened chance of striking your opponent.
For armor, helms, bracers and leggings, the damage reduction is worsened by the
condition. Note that although weapons must always do at least 1 point of health
damage (even if they are brought down to a condition of 1), armor may get to a point
where it is no longer reducing damage.
Once an armament's condition drops below a 10, then it could break at any time.
At this point, it will be removed from the game.
Magically enhanced armaments do not suffer the same loss of effectiveness. Each
magical bonus on the item means that it can lose 10% to its condition and still
be 100%. For example, a Long Sword +1 still works at 100% effectiveness even when
its condition is at 90. A Long Sword +4 remains at 100% effectiveness even when
brought down to a condition of 60.
After the battle ends, your score is calculated based on the opponent you faced and your
skill level. The more fierce the opponent, the higher the score. Similarly, if you are
extremely novice, your score increases faster as well. All scores are calculated based
on the difference in skill between the two combatants.
This means that it is possible for you to gain a higher score by losing a battle against
a significantly stronger foe, then by winning one against a significantly weaker one.
You do not "lose" anything from combat except health (temporarily) and ego. So do not
feel bad if you lose a number of battles to start off, as you are still gaining experience (reflected in your RC score).
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