Chapter 4
Both Ruwen’s parents were Fighters, so he knew the basics. His dad used various one-handed weapons and a shield, while his mom used a light one-handed sword without a shield. Now that he studied the Sub Classes, he wondered exactly what Sub Class his mom had chosen.
Even though Ruwen had disliked physical violence growing up, he’d been curious about his parents’ Specializations. Looking back, whenever he’d brought up the subject, he realized his mom had turned the conversation to another topic. He’d never been that interested in the Fighter Class, so he’d never pried.
Now, as he looked through all the choices, nothing seemed appropriate for her. In just over a day, he could ask her again.
The Fighter Class gained two points in Stamina per level and didn’t have as many Sub Classes as the Merchant Class, but it still had a lot. They were all flavors of the same idea, damaging others or protecting your party. You could hit your opponent with one weapon or two, wielding a shield or not, all while debuffing and interrupting your foe. You could focus your expertise on an entire type of weapon like blunt or piercing, or specialize in a particular weapon.
While valuable, Ruwen needed help to win a war, and none of the common Fighter Sub Classes would help with that. He’d wondered if what he needed didn’t exist when he found a promising entry.
The Sub Class was called Commander. Fighters could form small groups at level ten, but the Commander Sub Class expanded on that ability. Commanders could form more groups with more members than a plain Fighter. But the Commander’s real strength appeared to be the capacity to pass this ability to other group members, forming something like a chain of groups.
The Commander Class had three Specializations: Warlord, Quartermaster, and Emissary. Ruwen, thankful to have found a promising build path, eagerly continued to read.
The Quartermaster dealt with logistics and planning, and while Ruwen knew that was a critical piece of war, it didn’t fit well with his interests.
The Emissary Specialization looked more interesting. It seemed like a cross between a Spy and a Diplomat. It dealt with propaganda, discovering the enemy's secrets, and negotiating treaties. Probably because Ruwen still felt the loss of all the Observer abilities and spells, the spy-like nature of the Emissary appealed to him.
The Emissary received bonuses to Charisma and Persuasion to help with negotiations. Ruwen stopped walking as he read the next capability. Emissaries could form telepathic links to any member down the entire group chain. This powerful capability made receiving timely data possible and might provide intelligence that could turn the tide of a battle.
Ruwen flipped forward to the next Specialization, Warlord. It had telepathy as well, but with a significant difference. The Warlord could only speak with the first layer of groups, not the entire chain. Being able to communicate with your party members was a huge advantage, even if it didn’t have the scope of the Emissary.
The Warlord could also give bonuses to things like experience or skills to everyone linked in his groups. In addition, he had something called a Battle Cry that would briefly increase the stats of everyone as well.
The last major capability revolved around something called Banners, which turned out not to be flags, but something Ruwen had never heard of, named groups. It appeared that Warlords could form named groups, and it gave the members added bonuses.
Ruwen thought back to the Savage Seven he’d seen earlier that night and their designation as an elite squad. Blapy must have made them one of these Banners. He wondered what special abilities the Booming Hens had gained.
While the Commander Sub Class and its Specializations were powerful, you gave up access to a build path that would make you a deadly opponent. As a Commander, you’d likely lose a duel against any other Fighter.
Ruwen walked again, thinking through the implications of the two Specialization paths.
An Emissary would definitely help him with his task of defending the southern border. But communicating with so many people might swamp him with details, causing a loss of focus on the big picture. A higher Charisma appealed to his vanity, and the Persuasion increase would result in fewer arguments.
As a Warlord, he didn’t have the visibility of the Emissary but could buff his troops, and the Banner ability let him distribute even more buffs. The thought of being able to talk to his immediate group telepathically really appealed to him, and both Specializations offered that. It would allow for quick and precise coordination.
Ruwen decided he would Sub Class in Commander and then Specialize in Warlord once he reached level twenty, but he had no idea how to do that. He’d ask the women, and if they didn’t know, his parents would finish reviving sometime tomorrow, and they’d know.
Putting the book away, Ruwen ran another query, this time for the Worker Class. He already knew his Sub Class was Collector, but there were many different types of Gatherer Specializations. Plus, he hoped to find some books that described a few of the higher level Worker spells and abilities.
The second book Ruwen looked through had what he wanted. Thanks to the divine amulet from the camping trip, he already knew the first five levels of spells and abilities for every Class. Which it turned out was most of them. Uru front-loaded her Classes’ choices, and only two abilities remained for the base Worker Class.
At level six, he could invest in the ability Survey.
Ability: Survey
Effect: Increase map details and automatically update map from all sources. Provide alternative views. Each Ability Point allows a connection to someone else's map. Updates to their map instantly update yours.
At level eight, he had this option.
Ability: Insect Repellant
Effect: Create a barrier
