SEX: In Melanda, one may be male or female, or do without. The choice is entirely up to the player.
BASIC SKILLS: These skills are essential to adventuring in Melanda.
For instances, crude weaponry: this indicates the experience in fighting with objects other than your fist, whether it be a broomstick, hoe, chair, or beer mug.It affects your striking capability with weapons of any type.
Basic outdoor survival and Horsemanship are among the skills that are considered essential for Melandian characters.
Then we have other skills, that are called support skills, which apparently are not as essential as those specified above, but nonetheless may equip your character with useful knowledge.
Climbing, swimming, hunting, are good examples among these.
Also, Shadowing: within cities lurk many who should be followed,observed, or tracked: here's how.
Then there's a skill which gives me the impression of the first encounter with the Melandian Weltanschauung.
Camouflage/Concealment: the ability to hide one's self or others (including objects, within reason) from normal view.
The player is required to come up with the idea of how to hide or where to conceal the subject. The ability then grants the player to do so with a greater chance of success.
Pilfering: You possess experience in removing items from the pockets,backpacks,saddle bags of others. .It also covers petty thievery from establishments (shoplifting).
Plant tending: Background in plant lore will serve as a starting point for realizing the living nature of the vegetable kingdom.In Melanda, this is more crucial than you might think for you will find personality everywhere and someday may learn that your best friend is a begonia!
Combat skills: archery, hand projectiles, two-handed weaponry, swordmanship, etc... are all available.
Your race, social status, and age determine together which and how many skills you may have acquired in your youth days. Once you reach adulthood, it is supposed that you have the opportunity to travel so you may acquire other skills that you desire.
For instance, Baltak was raised in the Baladl community. He was the son of a city guard lieutenant.This made him a member of the privileged class.
So, Baltak was exposed daily to mining and crude weaponry (scrapping is a way of life for Baladel),subterranean navigation, and (due to his father's position in the fortifications of the city) the construction and maintenance of mechanical traps and snares. As a privileged youth, he is entitled to eight additional choices of skills from those available in his community. Finally, he is entitled to six choices as an adult.
In the next post we'll take a look at how the initial choice (race and social status) affect the next stage of character data- statistics.
