Players Perspectives

Birth of the Fungal Lord

I was hooked on the new game Age of Adventure within the first few minutes of playing. The sights, the sounds, the feel of wind on my face. It was all so much better than any game I had played.

As an escape from the world of high finance it was perfect except for one thing, I wanted to be a druid. The problem was that animals had never liked me, even though I loved them. I had wanted to be a vet as a kid, not join the family business in finance, but the fact that most animals hated me made it a pipe dream. So, I became a businessman and with my fortune I supported animal rescue organizations and sanctuaries.

After the mandatory phase of standing around and marveling at the realism, I set off to find the druid trainers. After accepting their quest, I was delighted that the animals didn’t run away or attack me on sight.

It was then that I realized I had a problem. After so many years of not being able to even get near an animal, I did not know how to befriend one. To become a druid, I needed to get an animal’s blessing, and I was clueless on how to do that.

My play time was limited on most days, so I spent all the time until the Highlight Reel trying to befriend animals in the underground grove of the druids.

I canceled all my meetings for the morning of the Reel, and it was so worth it. I got to see what other players had accomplished in such a short time frame, and the guy being hailed as the best in the game, Lazarus, was some sort of druid. A few minutes later Lazarus sent out an information packet, and I read it twice.

I completed the mage quest and then I promptly spent the next few days getting instruction in mana use. When I returned to the Preserve, I asked the many druids there for advice, they told me to let the animals come to me.

I sat at the base of a tree, playing with my mana. My mana suffused the area little by little, and I finally felt a connection. Not to an animal that I had expected, but to the mushrooms growing next to me. The mushrooms I had been unconsciously feeding my mana to. I gained my first Blessing, the Blessing of the Mushroom.

With that, I completed the quest and could learn from the druids.

In the next few play sessions, I befriended several animals; it was a dream come true. I played with fox cubs, I helped feed baby birds, and I had a weasel ride around on my head for a few hours. It was heaven; I was so disappointed when I had to get going for a meeting.

A druid wandering through the forest had shown me how to transform mana into blessed mana, a different process than turning normal mana into affinity mana. To make blessed mana, you needed to focus on the connection to the blessing you had in addition to the normal visualization.

I let a small ball of mana float above my hand and focused on the fox; after a few minutes, the mana formed into a slightly silver and translucent fox. The detail wasn’t great, but it was recognizable as a fox. I didn’t know what to do with Fox Mana, so I let it disperse.

I went through my blessings one by one, forming the mana into the shape that represented the blessing. This was the basic exercise the druid had taught me. I continued this until I got to the last one, the mushroom.

The pale gold projection of a mushroom took form above my hand, much better defined than any of the others. While thinking about my connection to it I suddenly knew what to do, I blew on it gently and it exploded into a puff of tiny lights carried by my breath. Where they hit the forest floor, mushrooms the size of a pinhead sprouted.

You have learned the spell: Spore!

Spore: This spell releases a puff of spores. In its most basic form these spores can blind or irritate the nose. The strength of these effects is based on Int. The number of spores produced is based on spell level, blessing level, and Wis. The duration of the spores’ existence is based on blessing, spell level, and Cha. Once Spore Effect spells have been learned the effects can be attached to these spores for a reduced cost based on spell level.

Yes! I got my first spell! That makes a great high point for logging off for the day.

When Lazarus’ second information pack came out, it was all about classes, and it reminded me I still hadn’t picked one. I quickly jumped into the game so I could check out my options after reading it. I had some support or pet classes, and a couple mage ones based on the animals I had befriended.

I thought about going for support or only using pet classes, but Lazarus had advised against full support and I realized my pets would get hurt. I wouldn’t want any pets I got to get hurt. Sadly, I discarded the idea of using the class that called to me so much.

Animal Friend

A friend to all animals, you have taken the first step on the path of the monster tamer. The Animal friend has befriended many creatures and they will fight to defend him. The paths forward are long and complex, but they are rewarding.

+2 Con, +4 Int, +5 Wis, +6 Cha per Level

Looking over my unlocked classes, I found a couple others that might work. All the time I had played with the animals, I had kept up a small output of mana to practice and stayed in the same clearing. The mushroom I had connected with had continued to feed on my mana and grown, and so had its blessing. At 11, it was now my strongest one.

As much as I originally wanted to just ‘be a druid’, now that I had choices it was much harder to pick a class.

Apprentice Fox Mage

Novice Beast Mage

Mushmancer

The three classes I had it narrowed down to were all solid choices.

Apprentice Fox Mage

A mage that has embraced the magics of the Fox, magics of trickery and cunning, energy and spiritualism, medicine and swift strikes. The Apprentice is just starting to learn the potential of Fox Magic and has a long way to go before they can harness the powers that have turned the mightiest foxes into legends. One day this mage might be able to harness the powers of the various fox-type creatures and races.

+2 Str, +8 Dex, +3 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha per Level

Novice Beast Mage

The Beast Mage uses the magics of many beasts found in the world, picking and choosing what fits him best. The Beast Mage excels at quickly forming connections to new beasts and learning the basics of their magics so he can find the choice morsel to add to his arsenal. From the frozen claws of the Frosthound to the natural illusions of the Mirage Scorpion, the magics he finds in the beasts of the wilds he disassembles and mixes into a greater form. You are only on the first step of a long road towards becoming a Beast Mage.

+2 Str, +2 Dex, +3 Con, +4 Int, +3 Wis, +3 Cha per Level

Apprentice Mushmancer

The magics of the Mushroom are just one facet of Fungal Magic, although it is a very potent and large facet. From spores and rapid growth to deadly toxins and magical effects the reach of Mushroom Magic is wide and powerful. This path is often looked down upon and mocked until a casual touch or breath introduces the mocker to the agony of the Necrotic Deathcap.

+1 Con, +6 Int, + 10 Wis, +3 Cha per Level

The Beast Mage option seemed really cool, but it spread its stats so far that I wasn’t sure it was the right choice. Fox Mage seemed fun, but I didn’t really want to be locked into a trickster path. From what Lazarus wrote, my first class could set the whole tone of my future ones. Looking around at the natural sanctuary around me, I knew I wanted to protect places like it in the wild.

I looked over at the not-so-humble mushroom nearby; it was my first Blessing and the clue that mana could help form connections with animals. That mushroom meant a lot to me, it let me fulfil a dream I had been denied for so long. I would never have to worry about nonaggressive animals hating me in this world again, hopefully. Its class also seemed like the most combat focused of the three.

With that thought, I chose the Apprentice Mushmancer. I leveled up once from my banked exp and got two new skills.

Shroomic Knowledge

An enhanced knowledge of mushrooms, both magical and mundane. This also extends to a tiny boost to all plant knowledge. The initial knowledge is based on Wis and Blessing level, and the general boost is based on Cha. Skill level increases all aspects of the skill. This skill lets a tiny bit of the effects of all plant gathering or knowledge professions leak through even when unequipped, this effect is based on skill level.

Fungal Bolt

A small blast of spores and fungal energy that can take on the properties of plants you are intimately familiar with. As a base effect, it does damage based on Int to a target and applies a Damage over Time effect based on Blessing level. The default effect of the Bolt is a mild hallucinogen effect with a duration based on skill level.

Woah, I know mushrooms now. The head rush was disorienting as knowledge of the most basic mushrooms poured into my head. It wasn’t a lot since my stats and skill were so low, but I knew at least 5 times more about mushrooms than before. I will still admit that wasn’t much. The expanding of my mind from the Wisdom and Intellect boost felt strange but amazing at the same time.

As I left the Preserve, I decided that this was the true beginning of my adventures in this world. The adventures of Typo the Mushmancer, druid extraordinaire.