(last updated: 01/01/18)On MotM, characters have the potential to grow over time -- to become more powerful, more talented, more experienced. This process is referred to as "Advancement," and this file will explain how you do it.
MotM places the responsibility for advancing your character on you, the players. If your character is an active part of the MotM community, we feel that your character's combat capabilities should be learning and growing hand-in-hand with his or her life experiences.
Advancement Points
Each time your character is spotted in the wild via the game's log system -- see Autologger for more information on this -- your player account will receive a variable amount of "Advancement Points," or AP, which can be used to build up your characters. AP can also be granted based on temping characters or participating in special events.
In most cases, AP are bound to the player account, not the character; subject to staff approval, you are allowed to use AP earned on one character to upgrade a different character. You can check how many AP you have at any time by typing '@ap' from within the game; this command will also tell you what limitations exist for your current ratio, and how many AP it will cost to upgrade.
Training Dojo
AP can be spent at the Training Dojo, attached to the main OOC room. To begin a Dojo session, type 'dojo/start'. While in a Dojo session, your character is unable to enter combat, but you can view the changes you plan to make to your character in your 'costs' and 'stats' commands.
dojo/setmesg - Sets your character's special COMBATSYS messages (See Messages).
dojo/buyability - Purchases new Ability Ranks
dojo/buytrait - Purchases new Traits
dojo/buydm - Purcahses new Dramatic Moments.
dojo/normals - Selects a different normals set.
dojo/buyattack - Purchases a new attack, or changes properties of an existing attack.
dojo/buystatpoints - Purchases stat points in increments of 8 stat points (0.1 Ratio).
dojo/addstat - Allocates stat points purchased 'dojo/buystatpoints' to one stat.
dojo/addallstats - Allocates stat points purchased 'dojo/buystatpoints' to multiple stats simultaneously.
dojo/help - If you forget the commands, there's always help!
dojo/cancel - Cancels all changes made this Dojo session.
dojo/finalize - Audits your changes to see if you've made a valid build.
dojo/justify - Use after 'dojo/justify'. Locks in changes and notifies staff for approval.
Dojo Notes
- Whole-number Ratio increases are a big deal. If you are increasing your character's ratio beyond an x.0 level (i.e. advancing your character from ratio 1.9 to ratio 2.0), we'll need some more information on what your character's been up to ICly. Prior to finalizing your dojo session, please explain the IC rationale for your character's power increase, and email your explanation to motmadmin@gmail.com with the subject line "Revision Request - < Character Name > ".
- The order of stats in 'dojo/addallstats' is the same as in your 'stats' listing, i.e. physical, throw, chi, psi, soak, roll, aura, will, reflex. So in other words, 'dojo/addallstats 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1' would add one to all the stats for a chi-user.
- The Dojo will not allow you to remove Ability Ranks, Traits, DMs, or Attacks. The Dojo will also not allow you to rename attacks, change or set Signature Abilities, or add the STYLE or MINDSET abilities. A revision request will be required for any of these changes.
- Ability Ranks, Traits, DMs, and Attacks are all limited based on your character's ratio - this is called the "hard cap." To purchase more you will first need to increase your Ratio by adding more stat points.
- Ability Ranks and Traits also have a soft cap, typically about half of the hard cap. Once you reach the soft cap for your ratio, the AP cost increases progressively.
- Before your build can be approved it must be finalized with 'dojo/finalize'. If your build has errors (for example, adding stat points to both chi and psi), finalization will not take place and you will be informed of these errors. Also, 'dojo/finalize' will give warnings if questionable circumstances crop up (for example, taking B-Rank ENHANCED_MOVES and not applying any EM+ flags).
- Once your build has no Errors or show-stopping Warnings, you will then be instructed to give a brief description of what your character did to earn it, via the command 'dojo/justify < message >'. We don't need a line-by-line regurgitation of your changes; what we're interested in here is a brief summary of the IC implications to your character. No revision request email is needed for spending AP without a whole-number ratio increase.
- Once your character is finalized you will be able to leave the Training Dojo and run around, but you will not be allowed to engage in combat until your changes are addressed by MotM staffers. A note will appear in your +stats page indicating your build has not been approved yet .
- If this all sounds intimidating, feel free to test-drive the dojo with a fashionably large amount of virtual AP by typing 'dojo/test'. No finalization can be performed in test mode -- this is just to test out builds and see how the system works.