Lironus Combat System Guide

-----CORE ATTRIBUTES-----
There are 6 core attributes that govern the abilities of each character, each represented by a value between 0 and 255. Attribute values cannot exceed 255 without equipment or status bonuses.

Strength (STR)
-Determines how much damage a character deals with weapon-based attacks
-Determines how many items a character may carry into battle

Dexterity (DEX)
-Affects a character's ability to hit with weapon-based attacks
-Affects a character's ability to dodge weapon-based attacks

Constitution (CON)
-Increases a character's maximum Health Points
-Reduces the damage a character takes from physical attacks

Intelligence (INT)
-Increases a character's maximum Magic Points
-Determines the effectiveness of Damaging and Debuffing spells

Wisdom (WIS)
-Reduces the damage a character takes from magical attacks
-Determines the effectiveness of Buffing and Healing spells

Charisma (CHA)
-Increases a character's likelihood to act sooner in each round of combat
-Makes the character's status-inflicting spells more likely to succeed
-Makes the character less susceptible to status-inflicting spells


-----LEVELLING UP-----
A character beginning at level 1 begins with 10 points in each of the six core attributes and has an additional 51 points to distribute between them, putting as much as 15 points into any attribute, for a total of 111 points. Each time a character gains a level, all of his attributes increase by 1, and he is given an additional 5 points to distribute, putting as much as 3 more points into any attribute, assuring that every attribute will increase by 1-4 points per level up, or 11 points total.

Each opponent that a character defeats in combat has a base amount of experience points (XP) for the character to gain, which is modified based on the difference between the character and his opponent's levels by the following formula: (NOTE: The final result of every calculation mentioned in this text is rounded to the nearest whole number unless specifically mentioned otherwise)

B * E / C
B = Base XP
E = Enemy's level
C = Character's level

If a character is defeated or flees from a battle, he will gain partial XP based directly on the percentage of rounds of combat he was active in. Characters will receive at least 1 XP per enemy defeated and a maximum of 65,535 XP per enemy defeated, even if the calculations say otherwise.

A character's level is determined by the amount of XP the character has, using the following formula, rounded down:

L = X^(2/7)
L = Level
X = Accumulated XP

In other words, a character needs N^3.5 XP to reach a given level, rounded to the nearest whole number, with N being the desired level. The only exceptions are level 1, which a character begins at with zero XP, and level 100, the highest possible level, which is achieved at 9,999,999 XP.

-----DERIVED STATS-----
Derived stats are the attributes actually used in combat, and they are derived from the character's six core attributes. The effects and calculations of these stats are as follows.

Health Points (HP)
Determines a character's vitality. Health Points are reduced when the character takes damage. The character is incapacitated when his HP is reduced to zero. A character's maximum HP is determined by the formula:
C^1.6 + (2 * L)^1.5055
C = Base Constitution
L = Level
A level 100 character with 255 CON will have 9999 HP, a capacity that cannot be exceeded under normal circumstances.

Magic Points (MP)
MP is consumed for the character to use spells and skills. A character's maximum MP pool is determined by the formula:
7 + (I * L)^0.68
I = Base Intelligence
L = Level
A level 100 character with 255 INT will have 999 MP, a capacity that cannot be exceeded under normal circumstances.

Attack (ATK)
The sum of the character's Strength score, the attack power of his weapon, and any other equipment or status bonuses he may have. A character's ATK can go as high as 999. The amount of damage a character deals with his weapon, before his opponent's defenses are taken into account, is determined by this formula:
A * (L^0.5) * R
A = Attack
L = Level
R = A random number between 0.8 and 1.2, but may be changed under certain circumstances

Magic (MAG)
The sum of the character's Intelligence (Wisdom for defensive spells) score, the magic power of his weapon, and any other equipment or status bonuses he may have. A character's MAG can go as high as 999. In addition to this stat, a character also has a Proficiency score for each of the 4 schools of magic (damaging, healing, buffing, debuffing) ranging from 0 to 3, and begins with 6 Proficiency points to distribute among these 4 schools. For damaging magic spells, the amount of damage a character deals before his opponent's defenses are taken into account is determined by this formula:
[M * P * (M + P)]^0.5 * R
M = Magic
P = Spell Power
R = A random number between 0.8 and 1.2, but may be changed under certain circumstances
Spell Power is a value determined by the character's level multiplied by a number based on the character's Proficiency level in the type of spell he is casting: 1.71 for 1 Proficiency, 2.14 for 2 Proficiency, and 2.56 for 3 Proficiency. A character must have at least 1 Proficiency point in a spell school to be able to cast spells of its type.
Furthermore, Spell Power is restricted by the rank of the spell the character is casting. The level multiplier is capped at 10 for a rank 1 spell, 20 for a rank 2 spell, and so on.

Defense (DEF)
The sum of the character's Constitution score, the physical protection power of his armor, and any other equipment or status bonuses he may have. A character's DEF may go as high as 999. When a character takes physical damage, the damage he takes is reduced using the formula:
B * [100 + (9 * L) - D * M] / (100 + 9 * L)
B = Base damage (See Attack formula)
L = Attacker's Level
D = Target's Defense
M = 1 if the target is a player character, 2 if the target is a monster
If an attack hits, the most damage a character can take in one hit is 9999, and the least is 1, even if the calculations say otherwise.

Resistance (RES)
The sum of the character's Wisdom score, the magical protection power of his armor, and any other equipment or status bonuses he may have. A character's RES may go as high as 999. The formula that determines how a character's incoming magical damage is reduced uses the Magical base damage in place of Physical base damage and Resistance in place of Defense, but is otherwise identical.

Inventory Capacity (INV)
While a party can carry as many items as they wish in a shared party stash (which can only be used outside of combat), each individual character has their own personal inventory of items that they can use in combat. The amount of items a character can carry in his personal inventory is determined by the formula:
4 + STR/9
A character with 255 Strength can therefore carry up to 32 items in his personal inventory at a time. This capacity cannot be exceeded under normal circumstances.

-----COMBAT PROCEDURES-----
Combat takes place on a battle grid somewhere around 10 by 10 spaces in size, though this usually varies slightly from one battle to the next. Up to four player characters (plus one guest) and eight enemies can be present on the grid at one time. A battle ends when all combatants on one side are removed from the grid, either through being incapacitated or fleeing from battle.

The flow of combat is divided into rounds. One round of combat is defined as each active combatant taking an action. At the beginning of each round, every combatant is assigned an Initiative score, which is their CHA score multiplied by a random number between 0.8 and 1.2, then all combatants take their actions in descending order starting with the one with the highest Initiative for the round. After every combatant has taken their turn, new Initiatives are rolled for every remaining combatant and the next round of combat begins.

When a combatant's turn comes up, he must first decide what space to move to, or stay in place. Player characters can move up to 4-6 spaces per turn, depending on how fast they are, while monsters have movement ranges varying from stationary to unlimited. After a character moves to his desired space, he may then take one of the following possible actions:

Attack: Attack an enemy in range with his weapon.
Magic: Cast a spell from the character's personal spell list.
Item: Use an item from the character's personal inventory.
Defend: Assume a defensive stance, wherein the character will take half as much damage as usual, and have twice the chance to dodge attacks.
Escape: If the character is standing on one of the outermost spaces of the battle grid, he may flee from battle. Escaped characters cannot return to combat, and all surviving player characters must escape from battle for combat to end.
Trade: Exchange items with another player character on an adjacent space.
Shove: If a character's Constitution exceeds his target's, he can push another combatant (friendly or otherwise) one space in the opposite direction, provided said space is unoccupied.

Before physical attack damage is calculated, rolls for accuracy and critical damage are first performed. First, a Critical Roll is performed, wherein a random number between 1 and 20 is selected. If the number happens to be 20, the Accuracy roll will be ignored, and the final damage that the character inflicts will be increased twofold. A character's chance to hit is determined by the following formula:
100 - (E/A * D)
E = Target's DEX
A = Attacker's DEX
D = Base Dodge rating, normally 10 except in certain circumstances

A number between 1 and 100 is then rolled, and if it exceeds the number calculated in the above formula, the attack will miss, and damage will be ignored.