Chapter 2: Character Creation
"Auxiliary system activated successfully. Welcome to the Ice and Fire: Battle Royale game. Hello, Mr. Carter, your AI assistant Annie is here to serve you."
"Uh, hello."
"First, we will create your game character. You have a total of three hours for this stage. Please don't rush—study your options carefully."
"Three hours?" Jake felt that this time arrangement naturally brought a serious atmosphere. After all, it was unusually long to create a game character, but for those who were risking their lives, this preparation time was woefully short.
Annie didn't answer this observation, and Jake could only look at the text that appeared on the screen with mounting tension.
[What is your bloodline?]
Andals: Strength +1, unlocks the class 'Hedge Knight'
First Men: Strength +1
Rhoynar: Agility +1
Ironborn: Strength +2, unlocks the class 'Stranded Pirate', and gains the trait 'Sea Adaptation'
Braavosi: Agility +2, Trade Skill +1, unlocks the class 'Wandering Assassin'
Valyrian Free Cities Survivors: Trade Skill +1
Dothraki: Agility +2, Riding Skill +1
Ghiscari: Mental Strength +3
Ibbenese: Strength +3
Notes:
Players can choose one primary bloodline and one secondary bloodline. The character's appearance is mainly determined by the former, while the latter only provides bonuses. Bloodline will affect the player in all aspects of the entire game. The player will gain the language and cultural knowledge corresponding to the living area of the primary bloodline.
"Uh," Jake fell into deep thought as he studied the screen.
"Tip: all choices can be changed before the final confirmation of character creation," Annie reminded him. "So you can make a selection after reviewing all the options."
Jake nodded and clicked directly to the next page.
[Who is your father?]
A returning veteran
A farmer
A...
[Who is your mother?]
[Where were you born? (Place/Time)]
[What did you do as a child?]
[What did you do as a teenager?]
[What did you become?]
[Where did you end up?]
After briefly reviewing the options for each question, Jake began trying to lock in a few choices, hoping to find the optimal combination.
He soon discovered a pattern: once he locked in one question, the options for other questions automatically decreased.
For example, if he chose Ironborn as his race, the farmer option would disappear from the subsequent professions. After all, "We Do Not Sow" (the Greyjoy house words, literally meaning "we do not farm").
If he chose a craftsman as his final profession, he would have to select craftsman apprenticeship options for both his childhood and teenage experiences.
This was a common game design feature, intended to ensure the player's character background remained logically consistent.
It took him nearly an hour to finish reading less than a third of the options—the system provided an overwhelming number of choices.
For example, regarding parental identity, practically every possible occupation from the real medieval world, with the exception of nobles, was listed as an option. Even eunuchs and silent sisters were included.
Therefore, Jake had to change his strategy and start from the end, examining the final professions that had the greatest impact on the three crucial factors: "starting position, funds, and equipment."
He quickly identified the five professions he considered most competitive: Hedge Knight, Wandering Mercenary, Stranded Pirate, Brotherhood Hunter, and Traveling Merchant.
Among these, the Hedge Knight and the Traveling Merchant had the greatest advantages.
While the Hedge Knight's initial stats were slightly inferior to the other three combat classes (Jake wasn't sure why—perhaps for game balance?), his strengths lay in his possession of a trained horse and a complete set of armor (including a nasal helm, gorget, well-worn chainmail hauberk, a pair of mail gauntlets, and greaves).
Beyond these differences, Jake believed that a full set of armor significantly outweighed any minor stat advantages in the early game.
After all, there was a reason Syrio Forel, "the greatest swordsman in Braavos" (according to Arya), was killed by Ser Meryn Trant, a mediocre Kingsguard who "any boy whore with a sword could beat three of" (according to the Hound)—it was because of his "fucking armor" (also according to the Hound).
The Traveling Merchant, on the other hand, had a starting capital of a whopping 100 gold dragons. He also began with four servants (with little combat ability), four old draft horses, two wagons, and seven mules.
This was undoubtedly the best starting choice for a behind-the-scenes strategy build. If it weren't for the Traveling Merchant's average stats being only 5 across the board, Jake might have chosen it immediately.
These two classes were what Jake considered Tier 0.
Next was the Wandering Mercenary. Their equipment was a bit rudimentary, consisting of just a shortsword and leather armor, but their base stats ranked first and their combat power was very impressive.
The Stranded Pirate, with decent stats and an initial capital of 10 gold dragons, was a relatively good all-around class. Its only drawback was that it was limited to the Ironborn. Considering the Ironborn's reputation throughout Westeros and Essos, players who chose this class should prioritize Ironborn as their primary bloodline, otherwise they'd be hated everywhere they went.
The Brotherhood Hunter wasn't particularly outstanding compared to the others, but as the only ranged class available, it would attract dedicated archer players, and its stealth-based tactics were more suited to cautious gameplay.
These three classes Jake considered Tier 1.
Tier 2 included, but wasn't limited to, the Ascetic Septon, the Wandering Red Priest, the Wandering Assassin, and the Rhoyne River Pirate—classes that didn't seem to have any significant advantages but were still viable.
As for the bottom tier, like the landless peasant, the pickpocket, the recently escaped slave, the beggar from Flea Bottom, or the serving wench from a bankrupt inn, Jake suspected the designers were trolling the players.
This was a life-or-death trip to another world! Who would choose to start at rock bottom?
After analyzing the classes, Jake began working backward through the character creation process, and soon he had come up with some very strong combinations.
For example, choosing Andal with Dothraki bloodline: father was a mercenary, mother was a maid in a knight's manor. As a child, he served as a sparring partner for the lord's son. As a teenager, he was sent to a castle to serve as a squire. As an adult, he was knighted for his military service and eventually took to the road as a hedge knight.
From the start, he'd be a skilled cavalryman with good equipment and attributes, and decent fighting ability.
Or, choosing Ironborn with Ibbenese bloodline: father was a pirate, mother was a salt wife taken from the Ibbenese. As a child, he worked as a deckhand, as a teenager he sailed with reavers, and as an adult he became a full-fledged ironborn pirate, finally ending up stranded after his ship wrecked.
He'd start the game as a berserker with Strength exceeding 30.
However, Jake had a question: Aren't the Ibbenese supposed to be reproductively isolated from other races? How would this character even exist?
After careful consideration, Jake ultimately decided to balance the early and late game. He chose the Andals, which unlocked the "Hedge Knight" class, and selected the First Men as his secondary bloodline.
Since there was a note in the bloodline selection stating that "bloodline will affect all aspects of the player's game," Jake suspected that magical aptitude might be one of them.
Based on Jake's years of experience as a game designer back in the real world, in a game set in a world with magic, it was inevitable that players would eventually learn magic.
So, what magic existed in the world of ice and fire?
The most famous was undoubtedly R'hllor's Resurrection, the Lord of Light's ultimate spell, but this game-breaking ability was unlikely to be available to players (it was more likely that players would try to recruit Thoros of Myr or Melisandre, the Red Woman). The remaining Lord of Light spells were relatively underwhelming, either having extremely long cast times with little effect, or being prohibitively expensive in terms of sacrifice.
Aside from the Lord of Light's magic, the most notable was undoubtedly the Greensight of the First Men. Not to mention the Three-Eyed Raven's bug-level ability to see into the past and future, the basic greenseer abilities of "warging" (projecting one's consciousness into an animal) and prophetic dreams were both highly practical abilities.
Combat, reconnaissance, and the ability to foresee danger were all covered, with far fewer side effects than other forms of magic.
Crucially, the Lord of Light's magic didn't necessarily have a bloodline restriction, but Greensight almost certainly required the blood of the First Men.
As for the player-favorite "dragon riding" ability, that required pure Valyrian dragonlord blood—even diluted blood wouldn't work. However, the Free Cities' claim to "Valyrian heritage" was mostly self-aggrandizing propaganda. Therefore, Jake didn't seriously consider the "Valyrian Free Cities Survivor" option.
Ultimately, Jake chose the First Men as his secondary bloodline, to avoid the possibility of being ineligible to learn Greensight in the future.
(End of Chapter)
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