Siege State

Hello everyone!

Today's chapter marks the end of book one of Siege State!

Before I get into things, I would like to take a moment to thank you all. To everyone who had read my story, to everyone who has stuck with it despite it's flaws, to everyone who has commented, or rated, or reviewed it, to everyone who has left thoughtful criticism and helpfully pointed out errors: thank you. Truly.

This has been an incredible journey. I have loved writing since I was very young, and I am a voracious reader of all things fantasy. Several years ago, I got to the point where I had read pretty much all of the most popular, well-regarded fantasy s and series (and a lot of the less well-known ones too). So, I went in search of more things to read.

I kept hearing about this series called He Who Fights with Monsters, and I was unsure about giving it a go. LitRPG sounded kind of odd to me. I thought the game-like stats included in a would break immersion for me. Nevertheless, I gave it a go, and I'm super glad that I did. Since then, I've found many favourites in the LitRPG genre, such as: Defiance of the Fall, Primal Hunter, Path of Ascension, The Last Orellen, and many, many more.

After some time delving into the LitRPG genre, I found my imagination captured. The best part about fantasy, for me, is that it is a wonderful escape. You can use your imagination to feel what it would be like to be in the world you're reading about. LitRPG takes this a step further, providing you with more concrete tools for this imagining. I began to worldbuild. Then I began to write. Almost a year later, I bit the bullet, and began to post.

Since then, I have written a minimum of 6000 words every week. It has been the toughest goal I have ever set myself, and also the most enjoyable. I look forward to continuing it.

And so we come to the project itself: Siege State!

I wanted to write what I wanted to see. I like LitRPG that have flexibility, but also follow codified rules. My goal with the magic system was to create something infinitely flexible, yet also structured in a way that was not OP. For the most part, I think i've managed to pull it off.

My second major goal was to create a world that felt rich and alive, weaving the magic system through it intrinsically, having it affect every aspect of the world, and creating a genuine tapestry, as opposed to "earth with magic slapped on".

Thirdly, and most importantly, I wanted to create characters that felt human, ones that people resonated with and felt for. For me, characters, and characterisation, is always the best part of any . We read for the characters. They are what engages us, keeps us coming back for more.

Unfortunately, I think the third point was my weakest. Among other issues with the story, I would have ideally liked my characters to be a bit more well-rounded and fleshed out. The good news is that moving forward, there are still plenty of books to come, in which we can find out more about our main characters, and see them struggle and grow.

On the topic of weaknesses in the story, I would like to say a few more things. The main one is with regards to the start of the book.

I realise now I did not hit the start anywhere near as well as I wanted to. The first 25 or so chapters are rough. They have turned a huge amount of people away from the book. It is unfortunate in the extreme, but I would like to explain a bit about what I was aiming for.

I had several goals in establishing the story. I wanted to subvert the incredibly popular "underdog main character turns hero with a sword" trope, so, to that end, I set up Tom in several ways. I had him come from an abusive noble family, one that's legacy was the Sword. I had him strive for it with every fibre of his being.

I wanted to give a solid introduction to the world, and set the tone as well. For this, I introduced the Reapings.

Next, I needed Tom to manifest his magic, and wanted to give him something interesting, something less often seen in the LitRPG genre, and wanted to stay away from the typical mighty DPS type build.

Overall, I failed.

Tom's upbringing was a bit too heavy on the suffering, and it turned a lot of people off. The Reaping took a bit too long to get Tom where he needed to be, and it threw the pacing off wildly. The only thing I'm glad I did was to give Tom the skillset he has. I believe it is more interesting, narratively speaking, when he fights.

We live and we learn, and I have learned a lot from this experience. I believe the start of the is definitely salvageable, and, when I get the time (which won't be for a while), I plan to rewrite it. This will include condensing the start a little, reworking some things, and streamlining it. I will focus more on Tom's character initially, and set up why we should care about what happens to him, first and foremost. There will still be misery, and still be the Reaping, but it will flow a lot more nicely.

One day when I get the time.

I think after those first 25 or so chapters, I found my voice as an author, and from that point onwards, my writing got a lot more confident. There are still some smaller pacing issues, but they get less pronounced as the story progresses. Moving forward into books two and beyond, I expect the flow of the story to be a lot smoother.

Now for some housekeeping things.

I have decided that the overall series is going to be named Siege State. Book one, from now, shall be called The Deep. Book Two shall be called Bloody Dawn.

While on the topic of housekeeping, and the flow of the story, I'm still a bit undecided as to how to approach interlude chapters. I will definitely still be doing them, because I really enjoy writing them, but at this stage, I think I will wait and post perhaps three or four of them in between each arc of a book, instead of kind of randomly scattered throughout in pairs. That way, it gives us kind of a nice wee palate cleanser in between each arc, and doesn't interrupt the narrative flow quite so much.

Some more about the direction of the story now.

At this stage, I have planned the series to be 6 books long. I very much want to avoid the series becoming too samey and dragging out. 6 books will keep us going for a decent while though, and I can always turn to another story set somewhere else in the world if people are distraught enough once we get to the end game in a few years.

The direction of the series is going to change a little. From here, it will become more of an adventure . Tom and Rosa will travel about the world and help with the orc menace where needed. Along the way, they'll find some cool people and begin to build up a proper RPG party.

So. More of a "team-builder" element coming into things, and more travel elements coming into the story too. The action, and LitRPG "leveling", and most importantly SIEGES and BATTLES, will still feature prominently. But we start to look at the wider world.

Is everywhere suffering from the orc menance? Where did they come from? What are their actual goals? Were they created? Born? How did the Smith come about? Are there more like him? How are other fortress cities holding up?

All questions we will be looking at as the story goes on.

So, to wrap up.

We are exceedingly close to nudging Siege State into the top #200. If you haven't already, there's no better time like the end of the first book to go drop a rating! Every single one counts. If you love the story, consider jumping on my Patreon. They're currently a solid way into book two, and all the new things that has brought.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for all the support you have shown me. Thank you for your comments. Seeing people hypothesize about the world I've built brings me endless joy. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.

If anyone has any questions, about anything I've written today, or any aspects of the story, or anything else, please drop them below. I'll be around all day to answer them. I plan to leave this up indefinitely, so, for future folks who've read through the book, and have questions, don't be afraid to pop them below too. I'll always get around to answering them sooner or later.

Thank you again everyone. You are all amazing, incredible people. I couldn't have done this without you.

P.S. Here is Tom, Val and Rosa's full character sheets, updated with the exception of Tom's last cliffhanger uplift ;)

Tom Cutter.

Ideal One (Complete):Suffering.

Skill One (Consummate):Agony (Active):

Mana cost: Low/Moderate.

Cooldown: Short.

Range: Moderate

Duration: Moderate.

Damage: Low/Moderate.

Damage over time: High.

Inflict pain on target. Damage is typeless.

Skill Two (Consummate): Sweet Suffering (Passive).

Debuffs, poisons, diseases and damage over time effects are negated, and instead give an equal and opposite buff or heal over time. Buffs and heals over time last for as long as any debuffs, poisons, diseases, or damage over time effects would have.

Skill Three (Complete):Misery Loves Company (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Medium.

Caster creates a link between themselves and a target enemy. Any damage is shared in part with the enemy. Damage shared this way is typeless. Enemies can break the link by moving out of range. Broken links place a short duration stun on the enemy.

Skill Four (Consummate):Wings of Grief (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Requirements: Thirty life essence, thirty wind essence, five pain essence, one song and one swarm essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make trivial damage physical attacks or trivial damage short ranged magic attacks. Familiar can sacrifice themselves for a low physical damage attack. Caster can sacrifice familiar bodies to regain a low amount of health.

When subsumed: Caster has increased speed, agility, and reflexes. Caster gains slow fall.

Ideal Two (Complete):Silence.

Skill One (Complete): Hush (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Medium.

Duration: Moderate.

Apply Silence debuff to target. Puts caster to sleep if self-targeted.

Skill Two (Consummate):Echo (Passive).

Any physical attack made by the caster creates an echo, which deals low damage. Any attack that damages the caster creates a retaliatory echo, which deals low damage. Both effects are limited to aura range.

Skill Three (Complete): Quiet Under Moonlight (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Requirements: Sixty life essence, ten hunger essence, ten blood essence, two sound essence, two silence essence, two dark essence, and two wild essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make moderate damage physical attacks. Familiar has an attack that deals low magic damage up to short range, and trivial damage up to moderate range. Familiar has a channelled ability which causes trivial magic damage while channelled.

When subsumed: The caster’s movements are completely silent. Caster can see in the dark. Extreme buff to caster’s sense of hearing. Moderate buff to caster’s coordination.

Skill Four (Complete):Whisper Shield (Passive).

Creates an ephemeral shield of whisper tags around the caster. Incoming physical damage is reduced by a trivial amount. Incoming magic damage is reduced by a low amount.

Incoming physical damage, so reduced, attaches a tag to the attacker. Tag drains a trivial amount of mana from the attacker, then explodes, dealing trivial magic damage.

Ideal Three (Complete):Survival.

Skill One (Complete): Survival of the Fittest (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Requirements: Fifty life essence, five hunger essence, five sleep essence, five cold essence, five blood essence and one wild essence. Five aspect essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make extreme or heavy damage physical attacks. Familiar’s physical attacks have a minor damage bleed over time effect. Familiar has a roar that deals moderate magic damage. Moderate cooldown on roar.

When subsumed: Caster gains increased toughness, strength, and their physical attacks gain a trivial bleed over time effect. Extreme buff to caster’s sense of smell.

Skill Two (Consummate): Grit (Passive).

Caster’s toughness increases the lower their health is. Caster’s health cannot be exhausted within a low amount of time if at least at fair health. If the caster’s health drops to extremely injured from fair health within a low amount of time, the caster gains a single, large heal. Twenty-four hour cooldown.

Skill Three (Complete): Hunter-Gatherer (Passive (Sensory)).

Can sense nearby life force in the caster’s field of view. Can sense nearby concentrations of mana in the caster’s field of view. Allows caster access to an inventory in the caster’s World Wisp. Generates and places naturally occurring, mana-infused objects into the caster’s wisp inventory at random intervals.

Skill Four (Complete): Wild Strike (Active (Cycle)).

Mana Cost: High.

Cooldown: High.

Wild Boar Strike:

Range: Low.

Damage: Moderate.

Knockback enemies in a cone in front of the caster. Damage is only applied to the primary target.

Wild Eagle Strike:

Range: High.

Damage: Moderate.

Place a low duration Fear debuff on enemy. Deals damage as fear debuff ends.

Pinnacle Skill (Complete): Wild Hunter (Passive (Aura)).

Suffering (Sorrow):

Caster’s aura causes trivial damage over time to enemies within it. Caster is healed by the same amount.

Silence (Stutter):

Caster’s aura interferes with enemy ability or skill use within its bounds. Enemy ability or skill use within caster’s aura range costs more mana.

Survival (Subdue):

Caster’s aura places periodic stacks of minor slow debuff on enemies within the caster’s aura.

Status: Rosa Raventos.

Ideal One (Complete): Fire.

Skill One (Complete): Firewall (Active).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Medium.

Create a wall of fire. Enemies that intersect the wall take moderate damage, and have a low damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Skill Two (Complete): Ember Soul (Active (Channelled)).

Mana cost: Trivial (Ongoing: Escalating).

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Medium.

Damage: Low (Escalating).

Duration: Channelled.

Caster can create fire, and can project it into beams. Damage scales with mana cost. Enemies struck have a low damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Skill Three (Complete): Wildfire (Passive).

Any enemies affected by a burn effect have a chance to cause a low damage over time burn effect on other nearby enemies, regardless of whether those enemies are already affected by one.

Skill Four (Complete): Immolation Mosaic (Active (Surge)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Range: Medium.

Damage: High.

Duration: Short.

Caster can create a circle of fire that damages all enemies within. Any enemies damaged have an additional moderate damage over time burn effect applied to them.

Ideal Two (Complete): Smoke.

Skill One (Complete): In a Puff of Smoke (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Short.

Caster can teleport a short distance. Caster creates a small cloud of smoke at the start and end points of the teleport.

Skill Two (Complete): Smoke Shroud (Active).

Mana cost: Low.

Cooldown: High.

Range: Medium.

Duration: Moderate.

Caster can shroud an area in smoke.

Skill Three (Complete): Running with the Wind (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: High.

Requirements: Fifty life essence, fifteen fire essence, fifteen smoke essence, fifteen air essence, five water essence, and five speed essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make moderate damage physical attacks. Familiar can discorporate parts of its form for trivial durations. Familiar has a channelled ability.

When subsumed: The caster can adjust their weight. Moderate buff to caster’s speed. Moderate buff to caster’s endurance. Minor buff to caster’s stamina regeneration.

Skill Four (Complete):Where there’s Smoke (Passive).

Any of the caster’s smoke effects that touch an enemy apply a low damage over time burn effect to them.

Ideal Three (Complete): Speed.

Skill One (Complete): Quick Escape (Passive).

The caster’s speed increases by a trivial amount for every enemy within short range of the caster.

Skill Two (Complete): Drag it out (Passive).

The caster’s damage over time effects have an increased duration.

Skill Three (Complete): Cut to the Chase (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Medium.

Target enemy is dealt the full amount of damage of any damage over time effects affecting them, and all damage over time effects are removed.

Skill Four (Complete):Quickfire (Passive).

Decreases the cooldown of all the caster’s skills by a trivial amount. There is a trivial chance upon the caster casting a skill for the cooldown to instantly reset.

Pinnacle Skill (Complete): Heart of the Inferno (Control).

Mana Cost: Low(Escalating).

Range: Extreme.

Fire (Kindle):

Caster can control fire and, to a lesser extent, heat.

Smoke (Smoulder):

Caster can control smoke. Caster can see through smoke.

Speed (Tempo):

Caster has control over speed by trivial increments.

Status: Val Carver.

Ideal One (Exemplary): Love.

Skill One (Exemplary): Love you to Death (Active).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: High.

Range: Moderate.

Damage: Extreme.

Place extreme health degeneration buff on target.

Skill Two (Exemplary): Heart of Gold (Passive (Aura)).

Provides nearby allies with a minor buff to health and mana regeneration. Provides a minor buff to nearby allies’ cooldowns. Caster gains a trivial version of each buff.

Skill Three (Exemplary): Labour of Love (Channelled).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Short.

Damage: Nil.

Duration: Channelled.

Target gains moderate heal (channelled). Target gains moderate buff to health regeneration.

Skill Four (Supreme): Puppy Love (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: Extreme.

Cooldown: Extreme.

Requirements: Thirty life essence, four hunger essence, four blood essence, three sound essence, one love essence, and one loyalty essence. Five aspect essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make high damage physical attacks. Familiar has an attack that deals moderate magic damage up to short range, and low damage up to moderate range. Familiar has a channelled ability.

When subsumed: Extreme buff to caster’s sense of smell and hearing.

Ideal Two (Exemplary): Hate.

Skill One (Supreme): Spite (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Moderate duration.

Damage: High.

Place major defensive debuff on target.

Skill Two (Exemplary): Bad Blood (Passive).

Any attacks made against the caster place a minor defensive and offensive debuff on the attacker.

Skill Three (Supreme): Spit Venom (Active).

Mana cost: Low.

Cooldown: Low.

Range: Low.

Damage: High.

Damage over time: Low.

Duration: Low.

Spray venom in an area in front of the caster. Affected enemies are damaged, and take damage over time. Damage is acidic and venomous.

Skill Four (Supreme):Curiosity Kills (Ritual (Familiar)).

Mana cost: High.

Cooldown: High.

Requirements: Twenty life essence, three hunger essence, three blood essence, two wind essence, two silence essence, two dark essence, and one curiosity essence. Five aspect essence.

When summoned: Familiar can make low damage physical attacks. Familiar has an attack that deals moderate magic damage up to short range. Familiar has a channelled attack which causes extreme magic damage while channelled.

When subsumed: The caster’s movements are completely silent. Caster can see in the dark. Extreme buff to caster’s sense of smell. Moderate buff to caster’s hearing. Extreme buff to caster’s reflexes and agility.

Ideal Three (Classic): Humility.

Skill One (Classic): Pride Goes Before the Fall (Active).

Mana cost: Moderate.

Cooldown: Moderate.

Range: Moderate.

Cleanse target of all buffs affecting them. Passive buffs are cleansed for a low duration. Active buffs are cleansed until they are reapplied.