As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, Marcy’s off in her time dilated magic training. What I haven’t mentioned is that her instructors are aliens (well, not really; they’re dungeon recreations of aliens).
They need to know lots of multiverse stuff just as life background. They can pass that on. For any particular fact, she can ask or it can just come up in conversation. They’re friendly and helpful so will answer, if they know.
That will give our intrepid heroes a YUGE advantage, once she gets out and debriefs them. This was part of the plan (relatively recent, but a plan nonetheless).
What just occurred to me: This is where I can introduce Humans, Fuck Yeah!
When a planet is integrated into the System, stats are based on a planetary average (in base-12 of course). For strength: 1 is the weakest human, 12 is the strongest human, and 6 is the average human. Your initial stats are assigned by evaluating all of this.
But it is per-planet. A 6 from Sol 3 is just as average as a 6 from Tau Ceti 4. However, that does not mean they are equivalently strong (wise, durable, etc…).
I’ve been trying to figure out how to introduce this. Marcy’s master (in the apprentice way, not the slave way) gives her a staff as a ‘welcome to adulthood’ gift when she reaches level 12 and selects her class. That will be a conversation in itself.
The interesting part happens when she asks to be trained to use it as a weapon, not just a casting tool. If she beats the crap out of her instructor, we find all that out and find out that humans are unusually strong.
As the grades go up, this effect will mitigate because grade transitions make one less whatever (human in our case) and more system. Once the original race is flushed out, this difference no longer exists.
Marcy will be (she’s not there, yet) the only (known; if she can, others can) human to reach D grade at level 48. Only newly integrated species start at G, with F coming at level 12. For everyone else, they’re born at F. E comes at level 24, which is soon, but I need to move things along. D at 48, which is also soon (should be 72, which is half of 144) I’m thinking C at 144 (100 base-12), B at 864 (600 base-12) halfway to A at 1,728 (1000 base 12), then S at 20,736 (10,000 base-12). All of that should be even base-12, but narrative needs must.
Leveling is slow and slows exponentially. I just did the math for the first half of Marcy’s term (1.5 years) and level 50 is pushing it. I have a giant spreadsheet of XP per level. It has additive, multiplicative, and exponential components. I’d really like someone better at math than myself to simplify the formula.
What all that means: The vast majority of critters in the multiverse are C grade, at best. Remember, they grew up in this and it’s normal. They don’t have the burning desire (based in no small part on fear) to numbers-go-up that our intrepid heroes do. If I make that the point where native-body stats start to even out (and the start of A grade where it’s just about gone), humans will have an advantage against most things they encounter.
I may need to revisit some “done” chapters to make Earth more deathworld-y.
This feels more solid than the “write a book from Marcy’s perspective” plan. But, as I said, even if I don’t write it, I need to know what happens. That’s what I’m figuring out, now.
Rejected image: It’s not bad. Nothing in particular is wrong with it other than the typical lack of a glowing thing. I just like others better.
