Saturday, June 6, 2015

By Mex

“ If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. Thomas Aquinas ”

Ahoy there!

In my previous post I’ve introduced you to character classes, so the hands at your service. This time I would focus on the boots you are going to wear in Nantucket: the Captain.

Since there are quite a lot of things to say about this topic, I’m going to split it in separate posts. In this first part, I’m going to start from the very beginning of the game: the character creation.

Speaking about character classes, we introduced the four main attributes of the game: Hunting, Sailing, Crafting and Science. Each class (excluding the cabin boys) is characterized by the use of one attribute, developed by leveling up.

On the other hand, the captain can increase all four attributes and it’s up to you to decide if you are going to be a bulky captain screaming at your men from the whaleboat’s bow or a pondering one, wondering about the natural world. During the character creation you will have few points to spend in order to start this process.

The second element introduced in the character creation is Traits, and this is the only time you will be able to pick a trait at your choice. During the game, they are going to appear/disappear according to your actions. This screen will allow to pick a trait from a short list of “positive” traits, each one with a specific effect.

For example, the trait Strong will increase the damage of your character by 10%, and so on.

Captain’s traits are really important, not only for the immediate effect given, but also because they affect your relationship with your crew. Your men will respect you more if you share the same ideas and traits, while they will tend to dislike you if you have an opposite trait.

Here we are now, you just have to pick a name and you are ready to set sail. “Call me Ishmael…” is the opening line of Moby Dick, but maybe you prefer something different.

As you can see, character creation is quite simple and it involves just few choices. During the game you are going to develop your Skills and Combat Dices, as well as gaining Prestige, but it’s all part of the next chapter.

Stay tuned!

Mex