Chapter 00 - End of the Road, But Not the Journey.
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Chapter 00 - End of the Road, But Not the Journey.
You woke up to the soft warmth of the sun reaching your eyes. You turned around on your comfy, grassy bed, trying to use the shade of the leaves from a tree next to you to hide from the sun’s offending light. You wanted to sleep for a few more minutes, to return to the realm of dreams, but the scent of the grass’ dew and the sound of running water slowly willed your consciousness out of its slumber.
You had fallen asleep while appreciating the night sky once again. Peeking around, you found your old wooden wagon tied to the tree behind you by a rope. The corners of your mouth slowly turned up into a small smile as you thought about how you’re always so tired of walking that, despite having a wagon to sleep in, you always pass out from exhaustion by the bonfire.
You finally gave up on trying to sleep, sitting up. You covered your mouth as a long and deep yawn carried the remaining sleepiness away. You stretched your sore joints, cracking as you let out a sigh of satisfaction. You can’t even remember for how long you’ve been wandering, but every morning your sore muscles and aching limbs reminded you that you’ve been wandering for longer than you probably should.
Now that your abused joints were properly warmed up, you got up and went back to your wagon. It was a simple, medium-sized wagon, big enough to fit one creature and their belongings… maybe two creatures if they squeezed in. Its somewhat frail-looking wooden body was reinforced by a rough iron chassis and wheels, that was probably the only thing keeping the entire wagon together. Its bare wooden ceiling and walls were beginning to show signs of mold, a sight that worried you deeply. You’ve been meaning to give it a nice paint, or at least use some wood resin to protect it against the elements, but your budget was always tight.
Thinking about your budget, you decided to check your bit pouch to make sure it wasn’t stolen while you slept. You boarded the wagon through its ramp-like back entrance. The interior was a total mess. A sleeping bag with a thin pillow and blanket lay in complete disarray in the middle of the room. A big pile of dirty robes sat on top of a small drawer in the left corner. A big, empty table that was supposed to be turned into a workbench a while ago occupied most of the wagon’s space, leaving only room for two, medium-sized barrels that stood next to it, there, hidden between the barrels, you found a small, simple wooden chest, with a big metal lock.
You let out a sigh of relief, your chest was safe. You placed the chest on top of the table and began searching the drawer for its key, throwing all your spare clothes out in the process. You finally found the key in the pocket of one of your old robes. It was an intricately designed key made of black gold. With its ragged teeth on both sides, it was made so only the most skilled blacksmiths could duplicate it. And at its bow sat a dark cyan, almost black gem with an eye-like glyph carved into it. The key itself was pretty valuable, in fact, it looked so expensive that no creature would ever think that it belonged to such a bland looking chest.
You took the key and opened the chest, retrieving your bit pouch from inside. Counting the bits, you only found one hundred and three gold coins. ‘Only one hundred bits… it looks like I’ve finally reached the end of the line,’ you thought, worriedly. ‘Well, no time to mourn now. I need to reach the next settlement.’
You placed the pouch back in the chest and closed it, hiding it away back between the barrels and then checked them for your remaining supplies. ‘Hmm, got about three days of food and water… I think I can make it.’ Hanging the key with a metal chain around your neck, you left your wagon, put on the harness and resumed your journey.
You had deviated a few meters away from the path cutting through the forest, trying to avoid possible thieves, but it didn’t take long until you’ve reunited with the compressed dirt road. Upon taking only a few steps on the road, you could already feel the ease it brought to you as there was no soft grass for the heavy wagon to sink into, no wonder there were groups of thieves that liked to prey on distant roads like this one. These kinds of roads were usually used by weary travelers that came from far away places, spending so much time traveling that they had no energy left to pull their wagons through the rough terrain, so the roads were their only option.
“Sometimes the guard is not enough,” you thought out loud, a craze that you developed after spending so much time by yourself.
You spent what felt like only a couple of minutes walking down the road with no signs of reaching a clearing. “Maybe I’ve miscalculated a little bit…” you thought aloud again, pondering if you had enough supplies to reach the next settlement.
Your worried thoughts were carried away as a cool breeze shook the tree’s leaves and ran through the hollows, creating a serene and harmonic whistle. A whistle that was soon accompanied by the birds’ tweets as your new relaxed state of mind focused on the sounds of nature in full spring.
As you walked down the road with new found energy. You could hear the excited squeals of squirrels as they played on a tree by the other side of the small river that ran on next to the road to your left. You were so distracted by their playful cacophony that you almost missed the trembling of the ground as a giant ent crossed the road ahead of you.
You ducked your head just enough to avoid being hit by its massive feet. The ent slowly turned around, raising a hand in apology. You waved back, everything was fine.
The road eventually took a turn to the right, a “Welcome” wooden sign, pointing to that direction. You noticed how the river continued down forward. Deciding to fill up your water supply and maybe wash your dirty clothes before arriving into town, you brought your wagon near the river bed and bent down to look at your own reflection...
Author's Note
Hello everybody, and welcome to a brand new adventure! In this story, you'll guide an unknown wanderer to becoming a legend!
But before you do that, you must first create our wanderer! Choose its race, sex, starting skills, personality, strategy and give it a cool Backstory!
Let's go step by step:
Selecting the wanderer's race! The wanderer's race will not only determine the character abilities and limitations, it will also provide it with a starting reputation (be it good or bad), bonus skill points and much more!
The available races and their respective attributes are:
Earth Ponies :
Bonus skill point: +1 Farming.
Special Skill: Strength: Allows the Earth Pony to use its brute strength to overcome certain obstacles. (Base level: 1)
Pegassi :
Flyer.
Bonus skill point: +1 Cloud Manipulation.
Special Skill: Static: Allows the Pegassi to build up static as it flies, later discharging it for a powerful shock. (Base level: 1)
Unicorns :
Spellcaster. (Uses Mana to cast spells.)
Bonus skill point: +1 Spell Engineering.
Special Skill: Soul Magic: Allows the Unicorn to use its own soul to cast spells, draining health in the process but overcharging its spells. (Base level: 1)
Thestrals :
Flyer.
Bonus skill point: +1 Navigation.
Special Skill: Moon Attunement: Allows the Bat Pony to attune with the moon at night, gaining special bonuses according to its phase; New Moon, +1 bonus skill points to all Subterfuge skills/ Crescent Moon, +1 bonus skill points to all Combat skills/ Full Moon, +1 bonus skill points to all Charisma kills/ Waning Moon, +1 bonus skill points to all Crafting skills. (Base level: 1)
Zebras :
Spellcaster. (Uses Mana to cast spells.)
Bonus skill point: +1 Alchemy.
Special Skill: Shamanism: Allows the Zebra to summon spirits to help. (Base level: 1)
Changelings :
Flyer/ Spellcaster. (Uses Love Supply as resource.)
Bonus skill point: +1 Seduction.
Special Skills: Shapeshifting: Dictates how complex a disguise the changeling can replicate./ Impersonation: Dictates how well the changeling is impersonating its disguise. (Base level: 1)
Deers :
Spellcaster. (Passive magic, doesn't consume resources.)
Bonus skill point: +1 Herbalism.
Special Skill: Druidsm: Allows the Deer to communicate with nature and ask for help.
Hippogriffs/ Hippocampus :
Flyer.
Bonus skill point: +1 Medicine.
Special Skills: Hydrodynamic: Dictates how well the Hippocampus can swim. / Water Manipulation: Allows the Hippocampus to mold water like slime, similar to Cloud Manipulation. (Base level: 1)
Gryphon :
Flyer.
Bonus skill point: +1 Aerodynamic.
Special Skill: Frenzy: Allows the Gryphon to deal additional damage at the cost of stamina. (Base level: 1)
Dragons :
Flyer. Spellcaster (Uses Flame Fuel for Pyromancy)
Bonus skill point: +1 Intimidation.
Special Skill: Pyromancy: Allows the Dragon to infuse its flames with magic according to the last magical gem it has eaten. (Base level: 1)
Diamond Dogs :
Spellcaster. (Uses gems as resource.)
Bonus skill point: +1 Mining.
Special Skills: Geomancy: Allows the Diamond Dog to use magic gems to cast spells./ Digging: Determines how quick the Diamond Dog can dig a hole and through wich material. (Base level: 1)
Cats :
Bonus skill point: +1 Pickpocket.
Special Skills: Agility: Allows the Cat to perform multiple actions per turn at the cost of stamina. (Base level: 1)
Yaks :
Bonus skill point: +1 Blacksmithing
Special Skills: Battlecry: Allows the Yak to rally its allies, providing a +2 bonus to Combat Skills for its allies and itself.
Alright! Now that You've chosen a race, it's time to give the wanderer its skills! All the skills are divided into 5 general categories (+ 1 for flyers and spellcasters), they all have a base level of 0 and you have 5 points to distribute for each category! (Meaning you have 5 points for Combat skills, 5 points for Subterfuge skills, and so on 
)
Without further ado, here are all the skills!
Combat :
Unarmed Combat: Proficiency with unarmed combat.
Light Melee: Proficiency with daggers, swords, whips, etc.
Heavy Melee: Proficiency with warhammers, spears, battleaxes etc.
Defense: Proficiency with shields, blocking and counter attacking.
Throwables: Proficiency with throwables weapons such as throwing knives, glaives, etc.
Light Ranged: Proficiency with bows, short crossbows, etc.
Heavy Ranged: Proficiency with longbows, heavy crossbows, etc.
Artillery Weapons: Proficiency with ship cannons and other mounted artillery.
Evasion: Proficiency with avoiding enemy attacks.
Subterfuge :
Movement: Proficiency with scaling, parkour, etc.
Sneak: Proficiency in staying hidden.
Pickpocket: Proficiency with stealing items.
Lockpicking: Proficiency with opening locks.
Detection: Proficiency at careful searching and trap detection.
Traps: Proficiency at arming or disarming traps.
Tracking: Proficiency at following a target.
Navigation: Proficiency at navigating through mazes or maneuvering a boat or airship.
Charisma :
Persuasion: Proficiency at convincing NPCs.
Intimidation: Proficiency at scaring NPCs.
Seduction: Proficiency at seducing NPCs.
Barter: Proficiency at achieving better prices in shops.
Crafting :
Blacksmithing: Proficiency at forging weapons and armors.
Woodwork: Proficiency in carpentry
Tailoring: Proficiency in sewing and tailoring clothes.
Alchemy: Proficiency at brewing potions.
Repairs: Proficiency at repairing general items.
Scavenging: Proficiency at recycling general items.
Dismantling: Proficiency at breaking down general items.
House Building: Proficiency in building settlements.
Survival :
Cooking: Proficiency in preparing food.
Hunting: Proficiency in tracking wild animals.
Fishing: Proficiency in catching fish.
Herbalism: Proficiency in identifying plants.
Medicine: Proficiency in general health caring.
Mining: Proficiency at extracting mineral ores.
Wood Cutting: Proficiency at chopping wood.
Camping: Proficiency at setting up camp.
Farming: Proficiency at tending to a farm.
Sorcery : (Spellcaster only!)
Offensive Magic: Proficiency at Combat spells such as fireball, lightning strike, etc.
Support Magic: Proficiency at supportive spells, such as healing, barrier, teleport, etc.
Rune Carving: Proficiency in carving magic runes.
Glyph Manipulation: Proficiency at manipulating spell glyphs like in magically locked chests.
Enchanting: Proficiency at imbuing an item with magic.
Spell Engineering: Proficiency in developing new spells.
Flight : (Flyers only!)
Aerodynamic: Proficiency at flying at high speeds or against the wind.
Maneuverability: Proficiency at maneuvering mid-air.
Cloud Manipulation: Proficiency in molding clouds.
Okay, now that the most difficult part is out of the way, it's time for the most fun part! Character Design! In this section, you need to design how the character looks and reacts! Think about its name, sex, appearance and most importantly, backstory! Once all that is done, the character's sheet is completed! (Remember to take the character's race and starting skills into consideration!)
Here's how the character design will be decided: I'll pick the character sheet and that gets the most number of votes, if there is a tie, I'll pick the one I like the most!
Last but not least, what is a wanderer without a place to wander? Pick a starting location from the map below!
(You can open the map in a new tab to have a good zoom in )
These are only the starting locations tho, there are plenty of new settlements waiting for you to explore them!
I'm really eager to see what cool character you'll come up with! 
Starting on next chapter, I'll leave links to the game rules, mechanics, and world information!
If you have any cool ideas for quests or story arcs to be implemented in the story, please visit my Discord Server or send me a message so we can talk about it! 
I hope you'll like to explore this brand new world with me!
See you in chapter 2!
-A.M.
Chapter edited by: EverfreePony
