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Yes

14 (66.7%)

No

4 (19%)

I have a better alternative in mind (please comment!)

1 (4.8%)

What?

2 (9.5%)

Total Members Voted: 21

[MDFification]

Sorry for DP.

Magic especially ranged is easy to get in DS.

And the required point investment?

Being able to use new spells you find is roughly the same in terms of level investment as gaining the ability to wield any specific weapon, with the exception of pyromancy, which costs precisely no levels other than attunement to get those spell slots (if it's like DS1, that is).

[Parsely]

Yeah. No matter what ranged attacks won't be a problem so long as we find a Pyromancy Glove.

[WillowLuman]

You've got to find them. However, unlike Dark Souls, there is no minimum Power requirement to use them, Power just makes them more effective. 0 power makes them pretty weak, though.

It should be noted that by using a unified Power stat, instead of Intelligence and Faith, I was implying that there are no separate stat branches of magic. Interactions are interactions are interactions.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

10
10
10
(and one twelve)
All the way down the line. We don't really know what we're getting into as far as magic's concerned, so it's good to have the teeniest bit of flexibility.

[WillowLuman]

Since name and looks seem decided upon, I'm switching the poll to build questions now. Chargen is nearing completion!

[Wimopy]

I'm going for balanced, we can always start specializing later, based on the equipment we find and what sort of enemies and areas we encounter. It's not like we'll have to deal with PvP.

[Grombardrim]

Balanced is a Bad Idea.  Trust me.  I've done a shitton of character building (mainly tabletop stuff, admittedly, although I have made personal builds in KOTOR, DDO, Dragon Age Origins and Path of Exile, so there is that).  Even (especially?) for a purely solo character, you're going to want to specialize.  Jack of all trades, in video games, means pathetic at all of them.

For example: a character with decent ranged and melee options will lose, full stop, to a dedicated melee enemy or a dedicated range enemy, unless they can either kite the melee enemy or rapidly close with the range enemy.  A range-focused character tends to be able to kill melee enemies before they can reach him, and can match range enemies at range.  A melee focused character can beat melee enemies easily, and tends to be able to close rapidly with ranged enemies.

The main question is gonna be: how effective are ranged attacks?  If they're Dwarf Fortress-style, making a primarily ranged character isn't gonna work, since it takes far too much investment to get decent accuracy.  I have no experience with Dark Souls, unfortunately, but I assume ranged attacks are more effective there.  In that case, a range character might be more effective.

This having been said, I feel that focusing primarily on vitality, endurance, strength and power is the best option.  For skills, it all depends on which melee weapon we want to use (miner seems to be the one people are looking at, I guess?), dodge if it's as OP as it is in Adventure Mode, shield user, observer, and craftsman might not be a bad idea.  The idea would be to start out with a fairly tanky melee build, with the option of going into magical forms of attack once we get some interactions for them.  Skills-wise, we would start out with some decent defensive equipment, with the ability to upgrade it or make our own later on.

So, here is my proposed chargen breakdown:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Vitality: 14
Attunement: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 5
Power: 14
Resistance: 5

Skilled Miner (5)
Skilled Dodge (5)
Skilled Shield User (5)
Skilled Observer (5)
Skilled Craftsman (5)

[GrizzlyAdamz]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Vitality: 14
Attunement: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 5
Power: 14
Resistance: 5

Skilled Miner (5)
Skilled Dodge (5)
Skilled Shield User (5)
Skilled Observer (5)
Skilled Craftsman (5)

I'm ok with this.

That said, ramblings:
The biggest factor for me as far as 'balance' went was just putting in the 10 points for a single attunement slot & the power to do something with it.
Resistance was mostly useless in DS, (where it comes from), but hugo said that is no longer the case- which makes me uneasy.
Surprisingly, DS ranged weapons & DF ranged weapons have something in-common: they both require you to reload if you want to fire, leaving you open to death. In DS however, shots always went where they were pointed, (though leading a moving target had to be done manually (not easy)).
In adventure mode, isn't dodging > shield user?
I'd recommend trading 2-3 points of observer for swimmer. 2 and we stop insta-drowning/can climb out. 3 and we won't start drowning even during aquatic combat.

[Grombardrim]

Actually.  Forgot about Swimming...  Dear God, that would've gotten me killed in Adventure Mode XP  Trade 1 from Shield and 1 from Observer, put the two into swimming.

[Wimopy]

Actually.  Forgot about Swimming...  Dear God, that would've gotten me killed in Adventure Mode XP  Trade 1 from Shield and 1 from Observer, put the two into swimming.

Alright. Let it be. My only concern was out-of-reach archers, but thinking of it, in Blighttown you can survive with melee only too. It should work well enough. Especially if we can find spells in time.

[Grombardrim]

It looks like we have a consensus, then?  Out of spoilers this time, just to make sure everyone's happy with the final build:

Vitality: 14
Attunement: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 5
Power: 14
Resistance: 5

Skilled Miner (5)
Skilled Dodge (5)
Competent Shield User (4)
Competent Observer (4)
Skilled Craftsman (5)
Novice Swimmer (2)

Starting out tanky, this character is aiming to become a sort of Mage-Knight later on.  We'll basically have to rush archers as fast as possible at first, but once we get some decent ranged spells that should be less of an issue.

[AfellowDwarf]

She still needs a background, right?

Despite her clumsiness, Gwuin (conveniently named Heathammer to fit in with forgework), was trained in the art of smithing. When practice eventually brought the dwarfette the fruits of skill, her parents shipped their prized daughter off with the next migrant wave so she could make a name for herself crafting bolts.

As fortune would have it, a kobold made its entrance with her and cut open the chest of an unfortunate recruit while she made her way to the smithy. His passing caused a spiral of hate and misery throughout all but the freshest parts of the settlement. Everyone- even the military- was hysteric; socks were thrown, levers were pulled and goblins came in.

Gwuin had just finished her first pick in the fort when a troll smashed her door to splinters. Miraculously, she managed to stumble out of its way when it charged, making room for her mining implement to breach the brute's skull. This brief, adrenaline filled duel was nothing like the tedium of hammering metal. She needed more. Dead set on becoming a warrior, she took the leftover gear from the anvil and mined her way out through the besiegers who loitered in the halls while their fellow monstrosities slaughtered the helpless tantruming larvea futher in. Her fort was no more, and she couldn't care less while there was blood left for her to shed.

[Grombardrim]

Dear Armok, so much yes to that background ^_^

[Parsely]

She still needs a background, right?

Despite her clumsiness, Gwuin (conveniently named Heathammer to fit in with forgework), was trained in the art of smithing. When practice eventually brought the dwarfette the fruits of skill, her parents shipped their prized daughter off with the next migrant wave so she could make a name for herself crafting bolts.

As fortune would have it, a kobold made its entrance with her and cut open the chest of an unfortunate recruit while she made her way to the smithy. His passing caused a spiral of hate and misery throughout all but the freshest parts of the settlement. Everyone- even the military- was hysteric; socks were thrown, levers were pulled and goblins came in.

Gwuin had just finished her first pick in the fort when a troll smashed her door to splinters. Miraculously, she managed to stumble out of its way when it charged, making room for her mining implement to breach the brute's skull. This brief, adrenaline filled duel was nothing like the tedium of hammering metal. She needed more. Dead set on becoming a warrior, she took the leftover gear from the anvil and mined her way out through the besiegers who loitered in the halls while their fellow monstrosities slaughtered the helpless tantruming larvea futher in. Her fort was no more, and she couldn't care less while there was blood left for her to shed.

+1 to that

[WillowLuman]

Well, looks like we're nearing agreement. I'll just give it a bit longer to make sure there is consensus, and then we can start the adventure!