Some badges, like Skilled Positions, worked independently of the sphere. Whoever he assigned to the various positions of Tank, Healer and Scout were able to use those powers even if they were beyond his SoI. For convenience, he called badges that worked like that “independent.” All of the other “dependent” badges fell into subcategories.
Power Level, for instance, only affected someone that was both in his war party and also within his Sphere of Influence. Richter had decided to call badges like that “closed.” The Movement Speed badge, on the other hand, worked on any friendlies inside of his SoI, even if they weren’t officially part of his war party. The fact that his war party could move so much faster in the forest now had really illustrated the importance of his Sphere of Influence. This type of badge was by far the most versatile. He had started thinking of them as “open.” A fourth category only affected him, like Lead by Example, so he called those “personal.” It had only taken a small tweak to his personal interface to add these descriptors into his war badge interface.
Badge
Cost
Description (applies to entire party)
Melee Attack I (Closed)
25
+5% to melee attacks
Melee Defense I (Closed)
25
+5% to melee defense
Ranged Attack I (Closed)
25
+5% to ranged attacks
Ranged Defense I (Closed)
25
+5% to ranged defense
Magical Attack I (Closed)
25
+3% to magical attacks
*Must specify spell school upon acquisition. May only choose spell school used during battle leading a War Party.
Magical Attack II (Life) (Closed)
50
+6% to Life magical attacks
*Must specify spell school upon acquisition. May only choose spell school used during battle leading a War Party.
Magical Defense I (Closed)
25
+2% to magical defense
*Must specify spell school upon acquisition. May only choose spell school used during battle leading a War Party.
Skilled Positions (Independent)
400 to unlock each
Available Positions:
Tank III: LOCKED
Scout III: LOCKED
Healer III: LOCKED
Lead by Example II (Personal)
300
LOCKED
Movement Speed I (Open)
100
+10% Movement Speed
*Must specify terrain type upon acquisition. May only choose terrain type that the War party has traveled on.
Movement Speed V (Forest) (Open)
1100
+50% Movement Speed in Forests
Favored Enemy I (Open)
250
When fighting a favored enemy:
+10% Melee and Ranged Attack and Defense
+10% Magical Attack (all schools)
+2% Magical Defense (all schools)
*Must specify enemy upon badge acquisition. May only choose enemies which have been fought while leading a War Party. Only one favored enemy per War Party formation.
Trainer I (Closed)
250
+5% experience earned for War Party members
Power Level III (Closed)
500
30% of the experience earned by the entire war party can be channeled to a specific member. The third rank of this badge allows the recipient to be three times beyond the Sphere of Influence and still receive the experience.
*Experience recipient must be within Sphere of Influence
Sphere of Influence I (Personal)
250
Increase range of Sphere of Influence by 100%
If Richter had his wish, he would have invested in another Skilled Position, but he just didn’t have enough war points. Also, the third tier of the badges were locked until he advanced his skill rank in War Leader so his eyes scanned over the other options.
The Movement Speed badge was obviously useful. That was why he had almost exclusively devoted his War Points to increasing the badge. Purchasing it required him to specify what type of terrain he would get the bonus on, but the choice had been easy seeing as how he lived in a forest. Gaining four ranks in the badge had greatly increased his ability to range around his domain. Now for instance, his party was travelling fairly quickly, despite being slowed by injury. Even the mist workers moved faster as long as they were close to him. The only problem was that each new rank was prohibitively expensive.
That led him to consider another badge. He could also strengthen his existing movement bonus by allowing more people to benefit from it. His gaze was drawn to the Sphere of Influence badge. This one was a no brainer. There was a large battle approaching, and letting more allies benefit from his open badges would definitely be a good idea. He purchased the badge.
Total War Points Remaining: 351.
The interface shifted to Sphere of Influence II and the new rank cost five hundred points. He would have liked to have bought it, but again, too expensive. War Leader badges were awesome, but they sure as shit weren’t cheap! The only ones that didn’t cost much were the bumps to melee, ranged or magical attack and defense. Those only caused a 1% change. It could definitely add up over time, but he needed something that could be a game changer for the upcoming battle.
He decided not to purchase anything else for the moment. Whatever recon intelligence Alma brought back might influence his decision. Who knew what the goblins’ defenses might be? Nope, better to spend his remaining points when he had more information. Thinking about his familiar, he reached out with his mind to check on her, but she was already beyond the range of their bond.
Richter quashed the worry that was starting to stir in his chest and instead focused on the rest of his prompts. The next one brought a surprised smile to his face.
Congratulations! A leader’s true strength stems from his followers. Two members of your War Party have distinguished themselves in battle and can now be promoted with Field Advancements! To activate these promotions, you must personally bestow them upon your party members.
For standing against a sea of countless foes and remaining strong, Caulder has earned the Field Advancement: Stem the Tide I. +1 Defense to each piece of Medium Armor worn by Sergeant Caulder.
For hand to hand combat against a dangerous and more powerful racial enemy, Sion has earned the Field Advancement: Bathe in Black Blood I. Sion will now have +1 damage when fighting goblins.
Congratulations! You have learned the subskill: Inspiring Leadership. Your leadership has led your war party members to perform superhuman feats! Continue to guide your people to increase both the chances of your war party earning a field advancement and the strength of field advancements when they do. This is a subskill of War Leader.
Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 2 in Inspiring Leadership. …
…
Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 4 in Inspiring Leadership. +5% to chance of war party members earning Field Advancements. +5% to the power of Field Advancements of any party members under your command or the command of your subordinates.
Congratulations! Your familiar has reached level 35!
War Leader was quickly becoming Richter’s most versatile skill, and as an added bonus, Alma had leveled! The chaos seed jogged up to Sion, “I’ve got something for you.”