Chương 20: New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones - Fear (2:08)

Z3ke (Original Poster) Patch gave me a room at the Roaring Drake. It was roughly the size of a broom closet, but it was safe and had a bed. When I woke up this morning he gave me some breakfast and directions to a place called the Library of Reclaimed Thought. Creepy ass name. That isn't the only creepiness in the library. It's a nightmare cathedral filled with slabs of etched stones that act something like books. I don't know. It's difficult to wrap my head around.

Oh, and all the librarian assistants are automatons who keep staring at me with their weird unblinking eyes. I wandered through the library for a bit, trying to figure out how everything works. Tried messing with the little rock books and gave up after about half an hour. Finally I found a tablet-like thing that allowed me access to this forum. I still don't entirely understand how I'm able to log on here… but whatever. I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Here is where you all come in.

I've written up my misadventures and now it's time for payment. I'm in The MIZ, and I've got no idea what to do next. I need directions. I need a plan. I need guidance. And I need whatever else you all can give me. StoryLeech I'm calling it right now, this thread is about to devolve into chaos. Zeke, you just asked for advice, and EVERYONE is gonna throw in their two cents. They're all gonna start yelling about classes or quests or money or about you being unanchored.

While I think their advice will generally be okay, and all those problems are important and will need to be addressed, the best thing you can do right now is get your bearings. You just stumbled in from the Deadlands and you finally got some food and water in you and a roof over your head. Now is the time to learn a bit about the wider world and the city that you're currently living in. We sent you a link for the starter guide and a map of The MIZ.

This forum can point you towards major areas and quest givers and all that, but you first need context on what you're seeing. Before doing ANYTHING, you need to understand the city. The MIZ is not a single uniform city. It's a patchwork with all sorts of insanity that has been stitched together. There are a bunch of districts that are constantly fighting each other and none of them follow all of the same rules.

My advice is to read the starter guide and check out the map, THEN you can start worrying about classes and quests and bounties and all the other stuff. CrushDaddyXx Nope. Screw the maps and the guides. None of that matters if the dood vanishes in 10-15 days. He needs a class. Like… yesterday. No class = unanchored = fade away soon. Learn the city all you want, but if your body goes "oops all particles," none of that knowledge is gonna help you out. Classes are the most important thing for him right now.

DrindleSprinkles ^Crush. Seconding this. Z3ke, orientation is great eventually, but you're on a timer right now. Being unanchored means that the world currently considers you a glitch, not a resident. Getting a class is the only way that you can stabilize yourself and stop the world from swallowing you whole in two weeks. Class first. Everything else second. Maps and orientation can wait until you're no longer in danger of becoming a ghost. MushroomCleric Okay, but like… he JUST got out of the Deadlands.

My man has been chased by the Eaters, kicked off a train, survived the House of Seasons, killed some bandits, and stared down a massive taxidermied dragon. His nervous system has got to be shot right now. Zeke, take a day. Rest. Eat some food. Sell your loot. Take a shower and get yourself all cleaned up. Buy some clothes that don't smell like you just walked through the Deadlands for a week straight. You'll thank me when you're no longer running on fear and adrenaline and your decision making is better.

FogBarrel I think everyone is generally being helpful with what they want Zeke to do now. So far nobody has suggested anything stupid for him to do to spice up the fic… but I'm with Story on this. The MIZ isn't the safest of cities. It's a machine that chews up dumb wanderers and spits out their bones. It's made up of several different districts, each dangerous in its own way. If we can give him some tips and tricks, that should let him survive long enough that he'll be able to pick up a class.

Z3ke, you need a better understanding of The MIZ before you do anything else. The best thing for you to do is to read the starter guide. Take a look at the maps and listen to some of the advice here. And I'll help a bit by giving you a crash-course on what to expect. The MIZ = The Modular Industrial Zone. It's a Frankenstein city of semi-autonomous districts. There are four major districts in town and they are: North Coil, Downline, Skyspindle, and The Guts. North Coil: obviously this is in the north part of town.

It's all heavy factories and foundries and machine shops and union halls. Yes, this city does have unions. Most of them are a weird combination of worker co-op and crime syndicate. The North Coil is the part of town that would be best if you become a Tinker or a Scrap-Worker. Downline: This is the southern part of the city, directly opposite the North Coil. It's filled with smugglers, courier gangs, junk runners and patchwork rail lines.

It's a rough place, probably one of the most dangerous areas in the city, but it's also the best spot in the city to grab some quick money. Stealth and agility-focused classes do really well here, but it's a lot more hardcore than other areas in town. Skyspindle: This is where the rich live. It's a district filled with floating towers, glass walkways, clean and purified air, and a bunch of wealth. The district is also incredibly classist. If you can afford to live in this district, then you've made it.

But you can't get in without connections or credits. Or both. There are a few workers and cleaners that hang out in Skyspindle, but the district is really for the wealthier residents of the city. The Guts: The center of the city and where you're currently living. The Guts is chaos incarnate. Everything funnels through this place. Think of it like downtown in any normal city. It's messy and it's dangerous, but it's also the best place to be for a rapid growth in skills.

These are the very basics of the districts in The MIZ. You still need to read that starter guide and check out the map. What I'd suggest is stay around either the Library or the Roaring Drake because both places are relatively safe. Do that while you read up on the city and, also, do what Mushroom said which is to just take a day to decompress. RustTide Zeke doesn't need a class or a map right now. The most important thing for him is money. He's broke as hell and just stumbled his way out of the Deadlands.

He's relying on the kindness of Patch to keep him fed and have a roof over his head. Even if he wanted to get a class, he'd need some money for a trainer and to buy gear and weapons. He can't afford that yet. Hell, he can't even afford rent. Soon enough he won't be able to afford food and water. Money is the most important tool for his survival right now. Zeke, you need to go looking for a bounty board. They're almost everywhere in The MIZ.

You can find them in guild halls, union bars, adventurer lodges, and sometimes even nailed to the side of a noodle cart. Bounty boards are gonna have a ton of jobs that you can do. The best thing about those jobs is that not all of them are dangerous. You seem a little wary of combat. The good news is that there's tons of easy and safe jobs you can do in the city like deliveries and scrap sorting or escort quests.

Do two or three jobs, pick up enough coin that you can buy some basic gear and food and rent, THEN worry about getting a class. Money doesn't solve everything in The MIZ. But it solves like… 80% of it. CrushDaddyXx I'm telling you Zeke, if you wanna survive long enough to even think about heading out into the wider world, you need a class. Ignore everything that everyone else is talking about with maps and money. You need to get on that class thing quick.

Since you're in The MIZ, the best class you can get there is either Blood Courier or Gutter Snipe. Both classes are fast and flexible and super-forgiving. Neither class needs a whole lot of gear to get going. They got high mobility and a ton of escape options which is great for you since you seem worried about combat. Get a class. It matters more than everything else that people are pushing. DrindleSprinkles Gunwitch. Gun. Witch. That's the entire post. Gunwitch. Sure, it's not exactly newbie friendly.

It's a little difficult to get the class in the early game and you're gonna need to get a focus item and most of the cults that could teach the class won't even spit in your direction unless you impress them first. BUT, the class is ridiculously OP, especially early on. You get spell bullets and hex rounds and it's pretty easy to spec it into a powerhouse that lets you delete anything in your way. Shootingblnks Zeke, ignore the combat jocks. You're in The MIZ.

That is the best city in all of the Fracture-verse to get the Machinist class. You're surrounded by scrap, salvageable tech, broken drones, abandoned rail parts, and half-functional power rigs. I mean, The MIZ is easily the best place to power level the class. Being a Machinist is kinda like being Iron Man. You spec it right and you're gonna be blasting people in the face with your powerarmor. And that's only if you choose to go the combat route. Like Crush said in his post, you seem a bit iffy about combat.

Machinist is perfect because you could easily just spend all your time building gadgets and making money. The gameplay loop is: Build gadgets Sell gadgets Make a shit ton of profit Repeat previous steps Fund your entire lifestyle without ever needing to get your hand dirty. Think long-term. You're not gonna need to fight anyone because you'll be able to buy an army to handle all your problems for you. ShivSays Yeaaa… everyone needs to take a breath and calm down.

Z3ke, before you do anything right now, you gotta ask yourself: what do you want to do? We're here to give advice, we're not here to demand that you play the game the way we want you to. So ask yourself what the endgame is. Do you want to build a drone army that does all your fighting for you? Maybe you want to run a tavern and then use that as the basis for your fic. Do you want to carve out a niche for yourself as one of the most respected couriers around? How about being a faction leader? Or a crime boss?

Or the strongest dude in The MIZ? Or maybe you want to go full hermit wizard out in the hills. Tell us the vibe you want your OC to follow and we can steer you through all the classes. Everyone in this forum can help you figure out the strengths and weaknesses of whichever class you pick. We can help you game the system, find rare equipment, and search out quests that have the greatest upside. Right now everyone is just yelling "min-max" without knowing what your actual goal is. You're the one writing this fic.

So, what do you want your OC to turn into? Z3ke (Original Poster) That question kinda caught me off guard. I've been running full steam ahead ever since dropping into this world, stumbling into one mess after another. At first I was running from a gunfight, then I was running away from the Glens, then I was running from the Eaters, and then I was running into The MIZ. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

This is the first chance that I've had to just sit down and think about what I should be doing… and I think there's gonna be a disconnect between what I want and what all of you think I should do. You are all fans of this game. I mean… that's obvious. I'm sure you've all daydreamed about the situation that I've found myself in.

If any of you were isekai'd to this world, you'd have a ten-step plan to world domination, or you'd find some secret archmage to teach you about magic, or you'd live your life in one of the cities that you have memorized the layouts to. Here's the thing though… I didn't choose to be in this world. I didn't sign up for any of this and I don't really want any of it. I never played this game. I didn't obsess over the lore or study the wiki or memorize interesting factoids.

Everyone on this forum would kill to be in my place. I would kill to be out of here. When I think about what I want to do… it doesn't involve staying in this world. My plans for my future never involved solving magical house puzzles or sleeping in the broom closet of a bar run by a dude named Patch or learning about factions and gangs and classes in The MIZ.

I never dreamt about being chased by nightmare monsters, or killing bandits out in the middle of the desert, or trying to understand how a magical library works. There's only one thing that I want in this world, and that is to go home. That's it. If picking a class helps me survive long enough to find a portal or a wizard or some magical artifact that can send me home, then I'll do that. But I'm not here to build an empire or run a gang or become all powerful. All I'm trying to do is not die. CrushDaddyXx Perfect.

We have an answer. To get home you're going to need three things in abundance: money, safety, and time. And the easiest and quickest way to get all three of those things is to get a class. Just grab something sharp and start swinging it at enemies. Or shoot things. I don't care what flavor of violence you choose, but you do need to choose something because your unanchored timer is ticking along. RustTide Crush, we get it, you're horny for combat.

But swinging a sword isn't gonna give him a place to sleep at night and it's not gonna put food in his stomach. Let the guy earn a few credits and get his bearings first. Bounty board, courier work, some salvaging. It's fast money with low risk. StoryLeech I'm still on team "getting to know where you live." Zeke, you should study The MIZ bit. Half of everyone on this forum is trying to toss you straight into combat. The others are trying to turn you into some kind of robber baron.

But EVERYONE is forgetting that one of the most dangerous aspects of The MIZ is the city's faction politics. MushroomCleric See… this is exactly why we can't have nice things. No one here can agree on anything and everyone is just shouting all over each other. The dood is sleeping in a supply closet. He needs rest and stability, not 20 people sending him off in 40 different directions with no real guidance. CrushDaddyXx Stability? In The MIZ? LMAO. Okay. Good luck with that.

Binary_Arcana I hate that it's me being the voice of reason here, but someone needs to steer this ship before it sails straight into an iceberg. Right now everyone is treating this fanfic like a Twitch Plays video: y'all are getting in each other's way, contradicting each other, and demanding that Z3ke do fifty different things at once, all the while pretending that chaos makes for good content. This is a story. Whether Z3ke wants to break kayfab and admit it or not, this entire thing is a narrative.

And if we all want this narrative to work and not just be a shit ton of half-baked storylines all stitched together, then we need to get organized. Here's my pitch: Round Robin Advice System ONE person at a time gives "primary" advice. That advice is what Zeke should do with his character and it will include context (why) and intent (what it leads toward.) Everyone else steps back and acts as support to the primary. You all have to "yes, and" the advice.

Everyone agrees to stop dogpiling on each other and arguing about whose idea is better. Then, once Z3ke follows the advice from the primary (or rejects it) we rotate. New primary advisor. New direction for the story. If everyone is going to treat this like a collaborative fanfic, then we should start treating it like a collaborative fanfic. Combine all our knowledge and make the narrative make sense. And we've already got an end goal. It's to get Z3ke "back home." That's the endpoint of this fic.

This fic started with him trapped on the Veilstrider, and the goal of everyone giving advice should be to get him back home to New York. Whatever happens in between all that is up to us. Shootingblnks OMG. Binary FTW here. Who would have thought that the curmudgeonly Binary would become the voice of reason? I like the idea. A round robin with narrative intent could actually work for a fanfic.

ReactorDetractor If we really want to make this advisor squad thing work, we're gonna need a lot more planning than we're currently doing. There are so many logistical problems to this system that I don't think you all are aware of. I can already see three main sticking points we've gotta address. 1) How do we decide who gets to give him "primary" advice? We're a bunch of goblins with loud opinions and zero chill. Half of us are gonna want to be in the rotation.

The other half are okay with just tossing in background tips or weird lore facts or sitting back to watch the story unfold. What about those people in this thread who don't want the pressure of giving the "primary" advice as Binary called it? 2) How do we stop people from derailing the thread and interfering with the primary? Let's say that Story gets the mic and sends Zeke crawling into the old tunnels underneath The MIZ.

What's to stop someone else from immediately countering with, "lol no, bad call, go to the Skyspindle instead?" If everyone is contracting each other, Zeke's gonna get spun around and end up doing nothing. I mean, just look at what's already happening with this thread? A bunch of people are arguing for him to pick a class, others want him to make money, and even more people are suggesting he take a breather. So, how do we make sure people don't just jump in and trample the primary advice giver?

3) How do we not break the core of Zeke's story? This entire thread blew up because Zeke "discovered" hidden lore about the House of Seasons. Let's be real for a sec and admit that he'd probably been sitting on that lore for months thinking, hey, maybe I should drop that lore as a fanfic. If our advice has pushed him in the opposite direction from the House of Seasons, we might've never seen any of that lore. So, how do we make sure that our advice doesn't block whatever "discoveries" he's got planned?

StoryLeech Binary's idea is solid, and Reactor brings up some good points. We need structure for the primary. And who do we all know would be perfect at divvying up the primary role? Gravemind!!! He can whip up an RNG easily enough. Everyone who wants to be in the main rotation for primary advice giver sends their names to Grave. The RNG would pick who goes first. We let fate decide. If you don't want to be in charge of giving the primary advice, it's cool to just stick to flavor commentary and theorycrafting.

Primary = big directional stuff (pick a class, follow that bounty board lead, complete this quest) Secondary = extra seasoning (if you go Gunwitch, grab the Fireglass focus from this specific quest chain) Binary_Arcana Re: point #2 - this only works if we all commit to the golden rule of improv: Yes, and. If Story gets picked as the primary and he tells Zeke to head north to the Salbor Mines to get some metals for trade, I'm not allowed to pop in with a "nah, terrible plan, ignore that." I have to build on it.

Example: "Yes, and if you're going to be mining there, make sure you don't sell your stuff to the on-site vendor because his price list is bosheet. Haul your metals back to the Guts and you can get triple the value." We all have to agree that, it doesn't matter if you think the primary advice is good or not, we support the plan or we shut up and wait our turn. Z3ke (Original Poster) First: still not a fanfic. Second: uh, thanks everyone for what you're doing.

Not for arguing and biting each other's heads off, but like… thanks for caring enough to argue, I guess. Third: I'm just gonna say it right now, I'm not trying to die. I'm down with the whole round robin advice idea, especially if it means I'm not getting swamped with 30 different strategies for what I should do. But I do reserve the right to bail on anything that sounds suicidal. If someone's advice is "go assassinate the mayor and 1v20 the guards," I'm walking away.

I get that this is all fun and games for you all, and you're excited to plan out what my future looks like, but this is serious for me. I know none of you believe me when I say that this is real… but just remember that I'm a living, breathing, thinking guy who is stuck in a world I don't understand. I'm afraid you're all going to forget about that and treat me like some video game protagonist. GravemindLegacy (MOD) I can handle the RNG.

If you want to be part of the official rotation, PM me with the subject line "FOR Z3KE: Round Robin." If you only want to give side comments and add onto the advice that everyone else gives, don't PM. Just do your thing. I'll leave the sign up open for 24 hours, then shuffle the list and message the first advisor. I'll also keep an updated queue pinned so everyone knows who is on deck. JimothytheBarber Did everyone notice how Grave used "queue" when he meant to type "line"? You from England, Grave?

Which part of the country? Stone Roses or the Beatles? NullSigil While Grave is setting up the "queue" I think it would be helpful to Zeke if we gave him some short-term advice. Here's what I think. First off, he needs a rest. He's clearly fried because he's been running around nonstop. The guy needs some time to center himself. It only needs to be for one day. I know everyone is concerned about him disappearing into the ether if he doesn't have a class in two weeks, but he needs some rest.

This also gives Grave some time to set up the rotation. For the "he needs cash" crowd: he's got those two coins he took off the bandits. Based on his description of them, they sound like old Prezi coins. Zeke, those coins are fairly valuable and you can find a couple collectors in the Guts who would buy them off you. That could earn you enough spending cash to give you some breathing room so you're not begging on the street. For the "he needs a class right now" crowd: we still don't know what he's good at.

Aside from the puzzle skill that he picked up from the House of Seasons, he's basically a blank sheet. Once he gets himself a bit of money, I'd suggest that he hit up the training halls and sample a few classes. He doesn't need to pick a class and go hard at unlocking it just yet. Just let him swing a sword or shoot a gun or tinker with some machines. Whatever skills he enjoys, we can help him narrow down a class path that includes those skills. 7Spirals Seconding Null's argument.

This will give all of the people who wanna give advice some time to organize our thoughts and put everything together. We can wait until Grave has it all organized before we jump in with our thoughts. Zeke can take a breather right now and be fresh for the first advisor to come in. Also, Zeke doesn't need to be in a rush to class up. He needs to figure out what skills he's naturally gifted at and whether he wants to swing a sword or brew a poison or rob a house. He's got some time.

So, yea, Zeke should chill for a bit. Flip the tokens, mess around with some swords and guns, explore the city. When Grave posts who the first advisor is, we'll all be ready to help out. Renfaire876 If he's just gonna hang out in the city for the rest of the day, someone should drop a bit more information about classes and skills. That'll give him some info and let him know what to think about when he starts messing around with them.

He should do what makes him happy, and if he finds that he likes alchemy or gardening or something, I have no doubt that we can guide him to a class that could make him money or turn him into a badass. MushroomCleric ^Ren Good idea. Okay Zeke, I know that we already gave you a brief rundown on skills and classes back when you were in Harbor Glen, but I think that a more in-depth explanation might do you a world of good.

The first thing you need to know is that the entirety of the Fracture-verse game world is built around skill progression. None of the games ever introduced a level-based system like old school dungeon crawlers. You don't kill a goblin and level up and suddenly get more health and more magic and more strength. You only get stronger by doing. Swing a sword and your sword skill goes up. Lie to people convincingly and your deception skill improves.

Study long enough and hard enough and you can learn how to make poisons or translate ancient runes. Every skill in the game has ten ranks, and those ranks represent real-world ability. Think of the ranks like this: 1 - Novice: you know just enough to be dangerous… to yourself. 2-3 - Apprentice: you're learning the ropes. 4-5 - Competent: you can perform reliably. 6-7 - Expert: you're a professional. At 7, you've reached the height of most skills. 8 - Master: you are able to teach others.

9 - High Master: you're shaping the field. 10 - Grand Master: you are the field. Most people are only able to train a skill up to rank 7 unless that skill is part of their class. There are ways to train up a non-class skill beyond 7, but it's pretty difficult and rare. Once you unlock a class, you gain core skills that can reach ranks 8-10, plus you also get class-specific perks and talents. For example: If you become a Gunwitch, you can train up your marksmanship, Runescripting, and Focus Casting to rank 10.

But all your other skills are still going to cap at rank 7. So, how do you train skills? There are two primary methods: action-based training and study-based training. With action-based training, you just do the thing. Have you ever played Skyrim or any of the Elder Scrolls games? You know how if you run around and jump a lot, eventually your athletics skill rises? That's exactly how it is in the Fracture-verse. Climbs walls, break locks, mix potions, sneak past guards.

The more you practice your skill, the faster you improve. The problem with action-based training is that it is slow going past the rank of 4. You can run around as much as you want, your athletics skill will eventually drag and you'll barely rise through the ranks. That brings us to study-based training. That is where you use a trainer or a book to boost your ranks. If you find a trainer, they can teach you a skill pretty quickly. The problem there is that trainers cost either money or favors.

Or both depending on the skill. If you can find a book, you can read a bunch and get a basic understanding of the skill, but it will also be slow going and generally won't train you past rank 5. There are a bunch of different categories of skills. It's a pretty broad array, but they typically fall into five categories: Physical, Social, Mental, Survival and Arcane.

Physical Athletics (running, lifting, climbing) Acrobatics (dodging, tumbling, aerial movement) Unarmed Combat, Blunt Weapons, Small Sharp Weapons, Large Sharp Weapons Marksmanship (guns, bows, thrown weapons) Weapon Specializations (spears, greatswords, meteor-hammers, etc.) Social Persuasion Deception Performance Intimidation Leadership Streetwise Mental Linguistics Tinkering (repairs, invention, jury-rigging) Memory Recall Puzzle Intuition (you already have this) Lore Skills (history, relics, culture) Survival Tracking Stealth Foraging Navigation Beast Knowledge Wound Management Arcane Spellcasting (varies wildly by school) Runework Elemental Control Divination Summoning Warding This is a very small list of the various skills that you can learn.

When you get a class, that's going to define which of the talents that you get to specialize in. Remember, nobody gets to master EVERY skill (unless you cheat). Next thing you need to know are the talents. These are natural affinities, odd blessings, psychological quirks, and occasional side effects that you gain from extreme situations. You can earn them in a couple ways..

If you survive a near-death experience there's a chance that you gain Iron Will, which gives you a resistance to fear-based attacks and mental disruptions. If you spend a shit ton of time training in complete darkness there's a chance for you to unlock Dark Acclimated, which reduces visual penalties for your character at night. There are a TON of talents and we can help guide you in that. Some of the talents are gained through actions, some come from relics, or mutations, or various magical happenings.

You can earn up to five talents naturally, and anything more requires augmentation or binding pacts. I will warn you against using a binding pact. That shit is dangerous and rarely if ever worth it. The last bit of advice that I'd give you: if you want to dive deep into a specific skill, it would be best if you found a grandmaster. Training under a grandmaster lets you progress faster, learn unique techniques, and sometimes unlocks exclusive talents and class moves.

The only drawback to grandmasters are that they are expensive as shit. TL; DR - skills make you better at life. Classes let you master certain skills beyond what is natural. Talents are weird blessings. Do stuff or study stuff and you become a better you. Once the round robin starts, your first advisor might push you towards a class path. If so, it would be best that you explore which skills you enjoy and which ones feel intuitive to you. Don't force yourself into a build that you hate.

And remember, all the "primary" advisors that are going to be signing up for the round robin are there to advise. If they tell you to go pure combat class or pure magic or pure tech and you don't like the idea, tell them to pound sand.