Part 2: Chapter I.5: To Forge A Hero

Right after the prologue, you'll be given the chance to create a Weiss, so to speak. By this I mean, by making a certain combination of selections, you can choose what weapon(s) he can use, what stats he has at the start of the game, and which stats will increase when he levels up. Let's take it from the top.



This is your first selection: what archetype Weiss will take. The first, Warrior, is spelled out here. The blue icon on the right is for Battle Mage, meaning a Weiss who is adept at physical and magical combat, but is not specialized for one particular role. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on your play style. The green icon is for the Sorcerer archetype. Obviously, a character who is supremely adept at magic, but their physical attack prowess leaves much to be desired.

After making your first choice, you'll be taken to a new screen.



Choosing soul types. This is a bit more complicated than the last choice. Here, you'll be given a choice of six of these soul cards. Well, you can choose two, but only two, of the same type (for example, two Spears or two Greatswords). By highlighting a soul card, you'll get to see what that soul card will do in terms of influencing Weiss' stat growth. For the purposes of this update, I'll tell you what all of these cards will do. But first, I'll talk to you about what each stat means.

STR is a character's physical strength. It influences both the power of physical attacks as well as the accuracy somewhat. VIT is Vitality, affecting a character's physical defense, but far more importantly, how much HP they'll add to their maximum upon leveling up. INT is the main determiner of a character's magical power. MND is how much HP that character restores with healing skills, as well as their resistances to magical ailments. DEX increases accuracy as well as evasion rates. AGI affects how fast the character will get turns.

The Gun card increases the stat gains of Weiss' STR, VIT, and AGI, but hampers the growth of INT and MND. The Spear card makes all stats rise equally, but hampers specialization by doing so. The Sword (looks more like a dagger here) card is somewhat the opposite of the Greatsword card. It raises INT, MND, AGI, and DEX faster than STR and VIT. The Knuckles card does the same thing, but allows the Weiss to use knuckles. The Sword and Staff card makes every stat except AGI increase at the same rate, but again, hampers specialization. The Scythe card increases STR faster, MND and INT a bit slower, and DEX growing slowest. The Staff card makes VIT grow faster than MND and INT, but makes STR grow slower.



Once you've chosen six soul cards, this final screen will result. This screen obviously shows what Weiss' starting stats will be, as well as what weapons he can use. The letters beside each stat will let you know which stats will raise faster, and which ones will grow slower. E is the lowest rank, and S is the highest for any particular stat. I'm actually not entirely sure what Skill Type means, but I think it refers to what skills the character can learn of each element.

Now then, as for the purpose of this update. I'm opening up this LP's Weiss for a floor vote as to what form he'll take. One thing that I really should let you all know before you make your choices is no character in the first generation other than potentially Weiss can use a sword / greatsword combo. Of the playable characters we'll meet, one uses a sycthe, one uses swords / staves, one uses guns, one uses staves, one uses spears, and the final one uses knuckles. Of course, if that doesn't affect your decision at all, feel free to choose whatever you like.

If there's a particularly rousing consensus for a build, I'll go with that, but if you don't want to bother with the soul card stuff, you can just say "Build Weiss as a Sorcerer with a Spear!" or something like that, and I'll make the soul card decisions for you. Just be sure to specify which archetype you want, and what weapon you want Weiss to have. After, let's say, 12 hours of voting time, I'll close the vote and we'll go from there. It'll give me a chance to get started on the next real update anyway.