The world you knew is gone. In its place is Norrath—a vast, savage, and beautiful new reality governed by a set of rules as intricate as they are brutal. For the billions of humans suddenly transported here in an event known as the "Great Transfer," survival is not just a goal; it is a game with deadly, permanent consequences. This guide will explain the fundamental principles of your new existence. Understanding them is the key to not just surviving, but thriving.
The System: The Rules of Existence
Your new life is governed by an omnipresent, seemingly omniscient force known as "The System." It is not a deity you can pray to, but an underlying framework, a set of physical and metaphysical laws that dictates everything from your physical strength to the very structure of the societies you will build. It communicates through silent, text-based notifications that appear directly in your mind.
The Basics:Levels, Stats, and Vocations
Every individual in Norrath, human and native alike, operates on a role-playing game (RPG) framework.
Levels & Experience (EXP): You begin at Level 1. Every significant action—killing a monster, crafting an item, discovering a new location, even surviving a difficult ordeal—grants Experience Points (EXP). Accumulating enough EXP results in a "Level Up," which fully restores your Health and Mana and grants you Attribute Points to improve your core capabilities.
Attributes: These are the fundamental building blocks of your character.
Strength (STR): Governs physical power, melee damage, and how much you can carry.
Dexterity (DEX): Affects your speed, reflexes, coordination, and accuracy with ranged weapons.
Vitality (VIT): Determines your health, stamina, and resistance to physical harm and disease.
Intellect (INT): Influences your magical power, mana capacity, and the speed at which you learn and process information.
Will (WIL): Your mental fortitude. It governs resistance to mental attacks (like fear or mind control) and your ability to concentrate under duress.
Luck (LCK): A chaotic but vital stat that affects everything from the quality of loot you find to your chances of landing a critical hit.
Vocations (Classes): Upon arrival, you select a Vocation, which acts as your character class. This choice is permanent and profoundly shapes your development. A Warrior will excel in combat, a Craftsman in building, and a Scholar in understanding the world. Your Vocation grants initial bonuses to certain attributes and unlocks a specific set of skills. This will determine how you level up, skills that will be granted, and other important things down the line.
Skills: The Tools of Survival
Skills are abilities that are learned and improved through action. Unlike your Vocation, you can learn many skills, and they evolve with use. Though its highly unlikely one will obtain the exact same skill, especially at higher levels.
Evolution: As you use a skill, it gains its own experience and levels up. As it reaches new tiers, it can evolve into a more powerful and complex version. For example, Kale's Minor Illusion skill, through clever and repeated use under pressure, evolved into Phantom Visage, allowing him to create not just sounds, but complex visual duplicates. This principle applies to all skills, rewarding specialization and creative thinking.
The Flow of Power: Mana and Divine Favor
Magic is real in Norrath, but it comes from different sources.
Arcane/Innate Magic: This is the power used by Scholars, Mages, and other similar Vocations. It is fueled by an internal energy source called Mana. This pool is finite and regenerates slowly over time. Spells and abilities like Kale's illusions and mental influences draw directly from this pool.
Divine Magic: This is the power wielded by Clerics like Samuel. It is not an internal resource, but a gift granted by a higher power. Norrath has a pantheon of real, active deities (such as Lathander, the MourningLord) who can bestow power upon their faithful followers. A Cleric's strength is tied to their Will and the strength of their conviction. They are conduits for their god's power, capable of performing miracles like healing and consecrating ground.
The World of Norrath: A Savage Garden
Norrath is a primal, untamed wildland. The forests are ancient and vast, the mountains impossibly tall. It is teeming with life, both mundane and monstrous.
Flora & Fauna: The world is filled with unique plants and animals. Some, like Silverleaf, have potent medicinal properties. Others, like Nightshade Berries, are deadly poisons. Creatures range from the majestic (but dangerous) Ember Stag to horrifying predators like the armored River Lurker and the brutish Gristle-Boar.
Sentient Races: Humanity is not alone. The primary antagonists encountered so far are the Goblins and Orcs.
Goblins: A brutish, chaotic, and cruel species living in a tribal society governed by strength and fear. They are opportunistic and savage, practicing slavery, torture, and cannibalism. However, they are not a monolith; their society is fractured, with deep resentments between the ruling elite and the oppressed masses.
Orcs: A larger, stronger, and more physically imposing race than goblins. They appear to be more disciplined warriors and are a significant military threat.
From Survival to Society: The Path to Civilization
The ultimate goal in Norrath is not just to survive, but to rebuild. The System provides a deep and complex framework for doing so.
The Settlement System: When a group of survivors meets certain criteria—cohesion, diverse skills, a secure location, and sustainable resources—they can formally found a Settlement. This unlocks a new layer of the System, managed by an appointed Leader.
Settlement Points: The currency of civilization. These points are awarded for nearly every significant group achievement: killing powerful enemies, discovering resources, crafting advanced items, and even achieving social milestones like solidifying group trust.
Building & Crafting: The Leader can spend Settlement Points and raw materials to instantly construct buildings like forges, tanneries, and walls. This allows a small group to rapidly build the infrastructure of a town, eventually leading to the creation of a Kingdom.
Contracts: The Leader can create and assign Contracts to citizens, which are formal agreements backed by the System. These contracts define a citizen's roles, obligations (like a resource tithe), and privileges (like access to better gear). This system allows for the creation of a structured, hierarchical society with specialized roles like Guardsmen, Artisans, and even Nobles.
Racial Evolution: The Great Change
Perhaps the most profound and mysterious aspect of the System is the potential for racial evolution. As seen with the goblins, under specific conditions, an entire race can be "uplifted."
Biomass (BM): This is a resource gained from consuming the flesh of other creatures. The more powerful the creature, the more Biomass it provides.
The Transformation: By accumulating a massive amount of Biomass and meeting specific Attribute thresholds (e.g., high Strength, Vitality, and Intelligence), a creature can trigger a racial evolution.
System-Awareness: This is the crucial key. Without a guide who understands the System (like Kale), a race cannot consciously direct this transformation. They will simply become slightly stronger monsters. With a guide, they can be forged into a new, more advanced species, like the Goblins becoming Hobgoblins. This makes individuals with Vocations like the Scholar invaluable, as they are the gatekeepers to this incredible power.
Welcome to Norrath. The rules are harsh, the stakes are your life, and the world is trying to kill you. But for those with the courage, the intelligence, and the will to master the System, the power to build a new world from the ashes of the old is waiting. Good luck. You'll need it.
This will be constantly edited as the novel continues.
Act 1: The Scholar (Completed)
Act 2: Throne Of Winter (In progress, chapters coming out soon (11/20)
Act 3: ??? (In progress, who knows if it'll ever come out! Find out next time on... ahh you get it.)