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Quartet in WTFMagic!Alienville
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Simultaneously like a flower and seed. It blossoms and it takes roots. Petals extend out and reach to call attention and draw sustenance. Aiming towards the abstract. It is a rigid fractal and organic curve.

Above all, it is power, but power for what and from what it isn't clear.

The threads weave through them. Four kinds of threads, matching the four of them.

It pulls and draws scenes. Artificial bits of stories. It finds something that could be considered kinship in these false realities.

They watch the torrent of information forming and flowing around them. An adult talking to an infant in liquid form, held in a beverage container. Humanoid non-humans in the background. The question of a confused friend.

More fragments are taken. A changeling rising from a sea of iridescent light, taking humanoid form. A lizardlike humanoid in a victorian dress. Captain Kirk fending off Gorn. Julian Bashir, reaching out, hypospray and tricorder in hand. 
 
A hand touching a face. My mind to your mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts. Our minds are merging, our minds are becoming one. 

The fragments are wonderful. The fragments are terrifying. The fragments are fates. The fragments are... made into existence.

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"As for splitting up," Erin says as she fills a plate for herself, "It's probably a good idea. You were saying we should send two of you in particular to check Robin's grandmother, right?" She settles back on the couch so Caine and Robin can get some food, "Then maybe Robin could go with you, and the rest of us could split up to take a look at the dojo and check my house?" 

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"Uh..." they can see his cheeks turn a darker gray. "Can't walk around away from me in a foreign country, without a written permission that we didn't have the time to acquire."

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"Same plan, but Gabe goes with Henry and Robin. If it turns out that his grandmother is hostile, Felix will be less helpful in a fight than Gabe."

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Erin stuffs a forkful of food in Robin's mouth befote he can say anything. The guy clearly doesn't want to talk about it, and nothing Robin has to say is likely to help. 

"Sounds like a plan," she agrees mildly. 

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Robin chews mulishly, then grudgingly moves on, "Caine and Erin should go to the dojo, then, and Jamie can come with us. We can meet up at Erin's after." 

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"Sounds like a plan."

They can spend the rest of the time eating and talking about classes. Felix can summon a book "The Diviner Mage Guide to The Changed World" from thin air, which various charts and class explanations. Classes have levels and each level increases your health and mana, gives you ten points that you can spend mostly in attributes (like strength) or skills (like being good at using an ax). How efficient a point is at making you better at those things depends on your class, race or "sub-class". For example, a warrior will get more physically strong than a Magus by spending the same amount of points. In the first level and every three levels thereafter you get some sort of class feature, which is usually customizable to some degree, like picking a sub-class (which expands on what your class can do).

It's very D&D.

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So it is. Caine leans forward after the initial information has been explained, "And you can teach these abilities to us," he states. He pauses, "Can you tell us more about what the Champion and Saint classes entail, if they don't necessarily involve gods?"

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"We can teach some abilities to you, yes. But in practical terms, what we do is give you a few pointers and then you do something that earns your first class level. Champions and Saints embody or at least perform virtues through vows and living up to ideals. Saints in particular also benefit from proselyting or inspiring others."

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"How do we do this, then?" Robin asks, "Can you get us started before we leave? And what kind of thing do we have to do to earn our first level, are we talking getting good enough at the skills for that class, or defeating a bunch of enemies, or what?" 

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"And, what kind of virtues do you mean? Are there known virtues, or are they whatever the person believes is virtuous?" 

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"There is the matter that we would want to get a better sense of you first. Both to see which class you fit, but also if you would be responsible with more powers. On the topic of setting it up. Time varies for setting it up, there has been at least one case where all it took was Gabe shouting some instructions in the middle of a goblin attack. But usually it's a few hours. There is the additional issue that while I can teach anyone any class, you can only teach your own class to others and there is no multi-classing. It's possible to switch classes, but it takes considerable longer. It's possible to earn class levels with only intense training alone, but combat makes it much faster."

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"It doesn't have to be to the death. Though, picking up fights in a bar works better than, say, do a wrestling match with a few friends."

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"Yeah, that. It's usually much better if you are trying to win in a way related to class skills. You can try convince the hypothetical bar fighters to stop fighting by trying to convert them into being pacifists or something if you want to be a Saint."

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"Both kinds of virtue work. It's more about the commitment to the concept."

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"So then, real experience is better than mock experience, or theoretical, right?" He confirms. "Makes sense. And I don't blame you for wanting to give it a bit before you hand us magical powers."

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Caine hums, "My guess... Well, I don't know all the classes in dungeons and dragons. Only the basics. Even if I did, your classes aren't the same." He pauses, glances around at the other three teens, "Jamie would be a rogue. Erin some kind of cleric." He's not so sure how well she'd suit this 'Saint' class, however. Erin's a healer at heart, but she'd never really be comfortable confined to pacifism. Which shouldn't be a surprise to Fenris, at least, considering the fact that she was holding a shapeshifter at gunpoint when he met them. 

He looks Robin over, thoughtfully, "I suppose Robin might be a druid, or a warlock," he muses. 

He's not sure about himself; ranger? Monk? Fighter? Paladin? 

Probably not Paladin, he admits to himself. 

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"Is the Saint class a healer's class, then, if they're meant to be pacifists?" 

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"Rogues translate into either Tricksters and Experts, the latter one is a bit like a bard in the jack of all trades sense. Both druids and warlock translate into the Shaman, though you could make a Saint that fits the concept. Saints don't need to be pacifists, but they are the best healer class, yes. You can take a vow of that lets you injure your enemies as long you heal them afterwards. And even the pacifist vow lets you attack things that don't experience pain, though it doesn't let you indirectly harm living things that way."

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"You can technically get someone that can heal out of all classes, not necessarily good healing, mind you."

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She smiles, "That does work better," she admits happily. 

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He perks up at the bit about Shamans, then smirks at Erin's pleased smile. So kind, yet so scary! Erin likes being dangerous to her enemies, as many would-be middle school bullies had learned to their detriment.

Back on topic, "Shaman- that's Fenris, right?" He glances at the quiet twin, "Awesome!" 

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"Ok, how do Tricksters and Experts work, then? All I know about Bards is that they do music," he admits. 

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"Correct," says the quiet twin.

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"Tricksters learn - appropriately enough - various tricks which are... supposedly not magical, but obviously work through some magical ability to accurately do things. Like, being excellent at dodging, distracting enemies, finding traps or firing implausible ricocheting shots. Experts work similarly, but get something that are more akin to concrete knowledge and can branch more. Ironically, they are not that great at magic singing like a bard, that's more a Saint thing."

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"Alright, I'm liking the sound of Tricksters, but what kind of things do Experts branch into? Can they do some of the stuff other classes do, or is the branch stuff unique to them?"  

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