5e Gamer Chapter 1: Epic Rebirth, a Misc. Anime/Manga + Dungeons and Dragons Crossover fanfic

AN: Over three years, I have no excuse good enough for such a long delay, especially when I'm starting a new story instead of continuing one of the three I already had. All I can really say is that I haven't had access to a computer for the past few years, A lot has happened that just wrecked my life, multiple times, and I'm still trying to recover. I've had no money to buy a computer of my own, since I barely have any income, but thankfully a family member of mine had a laptop that he didn't need and gave it to me, so now I'm trying to flesh out this idea that I have. Hopefully I'll get the inspiration to continue the others soon, and this one as well, because no matter how long it takes, I fully intend to see all these through to the end.

Enough of that, though, this is getting long enough. So, as usual, here's my one and only disclaimer. I do not own Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast, The Gamer, or anything else I may pull from other sources in the future, I only own my ideas and the versions of the characters I portray in my story.

Chapter 1: Epic Rebirth

"There we go, all done for the day."

A middle-aged man spoke to himself in a murmur, typing away at his keyboard and finishing his work for the day. Rising from his desk, the man stretched and shut down his computer, looking at the floor to ceiling window his office had. This man was Damien Dominus, CEO of a successful pharmaceutical company, one he had created from the ground up after growing up as an orphan and getting a lucky break, in the form of winning the Powerball lottery. Standing at a height of 5'10 and weighing roughly 200lbs, he was a decently handsome man, with deep black hair that was beginning to gray at the sides, chocolate brown eyes, lightly tanned skin, a good amount of muscle, and a clean shaved face. After taking a moment to gaze at the city outside, he left his office and descended to the ground floor, exiting the building and walking to his car.

Before he could reach his car, a scream caught his ear, one of a child, and it felt like his heart had been gripped suddenly as his head snapped to the side, eyes searching for the source of the distressed cry. A little girl, barely tall enough to be eight years old, was bawling her eyes out as a masked man was forcing her into the trunk of a car. A combination of panic and fatherly rage boiled inside of him, as his mind briefly overlapped the image of the girl with each of his own children when they were her age, and there was no hesitation as he bolted towards the criminal. There was nobody else who could help, the streets were empty and the cops wouldn't catch him in time, if they had even been called by this point, he had no way of knowing if anyone was in a nearby building and had heard the scream. Just as they had managed to slam the trunk shut, he leapt into a tackle and slammed his full weight into them, dragging them to the ground as he began delivering blow after blow to their head.

Disoriented from the vicious blows landing on their face, and the initial takedown, the would-be abducter slipped a knife from their sleeve and took a wild slash, cutting Damien across the left side of his stomach, across his waist. The sudden burn of pain was enough to make him jump back, giving the thug the breathing room they needed in order to rise to their feet, albeit shakily as the dizziness of getting their face beat in hadn't faded. Pressing a hand to his wound, and feeling the heavy flow of blood, he knew that he had to take this guy down before he ended up bleeding out, and from the slight stagger of his opponent he knew another solid blow or two would knock them out. 'Fuck it, all or nothing!' Recklessly launching himself forward, the older man let out an angry yell, and the criminal met him in kind, pissed off about the wannabe hero ruining his plans, and the little brat who caused it with all her struggling. Feeling the sharp agony suddenly blooming in his torso, as the knife slipped into his stomach just below his ribs, Damien pushed forward and brought his right elbow crashing into their jaw repeatedly, his left hand gripping their shoulder and stopping them from pulling away.

When an almost sickening crunch met his ears, and his elbow was covered in something wet and warm, he knew their nose had just broken under his assault, and a sense of satisfaction gripped him. Pulling his arm back as far as he could, he blasted them with full force, his fist crushing their already broken nose even further as their head snapped back and they stumbled, the knife slipping out of his body and letting the blood rush out even more quickly. As they barely clung to consciousness and fell back, the kidnapper's head cracked against the trunk of their car sharply, and the darkness took them completely. The adrenaline leaving him, alongside a good amount of his blood, Damien dropped to his knees, placing his right hand on the trunk to catch himself from falling completely, and as he fought to keep his eyes open, his left hand went digging through the pockets of the criminal until he found the car keys. Hearing the cries of the little girl coming, he fumbled until he hit the right button and unlocked the trunk, watching it pop open and then lifting it completely.

Barely able to stand, pain shooting through him, he forced himself to stand strong for the poor child and offered her a warm smile, extending a hand to her while the other held onto the car to support himself. "It's alright, sweetheart, he won't hurt you, I beat him up for you. Come on out here, and I'll keep you company until the cops arrive to take you home." Sniffling and whimpering, the little girl gave a nod and crawled towards him, and as he remembered the blood soaking his shirt, Damien quickly knelt down and none too gently removed the coat that the kidnapper was wearing, steadily standing back up and wrapping the girl in it. Feeling his strength rapidly leave him, he held in a grunt of pain and effort as he lifted the child and held her to his chest, staggering away from the car to place his back against the wall and slide down to a seated position. Soothingly rubbing the back of her head with one hand, he used the other to pull out his phone and call 911, his vision swimming as he felt himself succumbing to the blood loss. Through sheer willpower, he kept himself conscious long enough for the operator to answer and inform them of what happened, getting confirmation that an ambulance and a police officer would be on the location in just a few minutes.

But as the operator spoke to him and tried to keep him talking to her, his strength began to fail him, his arm dropping to his side and darkness greeting him as his eyes slowly slid shut.

Greetings!

As the voice echoed through his head, his eyes snapped open and were met with a seemingly endless void of pure white, filling him with confusion as he looked around and realized he was suddenly standing, no longer covered in blood or filled with pain, and the little girl was gone. It didn't take a genius to realize that he had died, and it only took him a moment to come to the conclusion that the voice must have belonged to God. But he didn't understand where he was, exactly, it sure didn't look like Heaven or Hell, which meant maybe he was in Limbo? "Hello? Can you tell me where I am?"

Of course. You're currently in The Engine.

"The Engine? What?" Now that threw him for a loop, he hadn't ever heard of something like that in any religion he knew of. He wasn't the most devout religious man in the world, he certainly wasn't Christian or Muslim or anything like that, often told his beliefs were strange by anyone he shared them with, but he wasn't entirely ignorant of the other religions, and none of them had ever mentioned such a thing, to his knowledge. The closest thing he could think of was some sort of reference to a Speed Force Engine in Marvel, but if that had anything to do with this, he would eat his left testicle.

You can call me The System. This is an area dedicated to the processing and reflection of The Game. You are my newly selected Gamer, free to partake in everything The Game has to offer.

"The System? The Game? Slow down, wait, I don't understand what's going on. What are either of those things? Am I just some sort of simulation?" Damien could feel his mind racing as he was having an existential crisis, questioning his entire life and everything that had ever happened to him. Before he could get too far in his breakdown, the voice broke through his thoughts, soothing him for some reason. He didn't understand why, but he was grateful that it was able to calm his panic and ease his mind enough to listen.

Of course not, you are real and so was everything else, don't worry. I'm simply granting you the ability to treat life as if it were a game, and enter worlds that, to your world, are fictional. Think of it as a reward, something you have earned for being such a noteworthy individual with such an interesting life.

"A reward? Okay, okay, that's something I think I can work with." So, his life had been real, he was real, that information was very comforting and served to help him control his emotions a bit better. Being told that he was being given this ability as a reward was hard to take in, after all he had never imagined that some God-like being would ever look at him and give him a blessing of any magnitude, but it wasn't like he could deny this entity and what was happening. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he tried to focus his thoughts and after he felt like he had succeeded, he opened them up and looked up, not as if he could see anything, but he felt like that was the correct direction to look when speaking to this entity that called itself The System. "Is the girl okay? Did the cops reach her before that kidnapper woke up?"

Yes, thanks to you she's safe and after a bit of therapy, she'll be able to grow up and have a happy life. Your selfless act of saving her will inspire her, and partially out of guilt for your death, she will become a very successful doctor, one of the best. Without your intervention, she would not have survived, and would have suffered greatly in the brief time she had left to live.

"Good. I'm glad that I could change her life so much, by doing something so simple." Damien spoke after a few moments of silence, absolutely speechless at first after the knowledge of how his death had changed her fate from one so terrible, to something so amazing. A tinge of guilt ate at him with the information that his death had clearly scarred her somewhat, no small child would be completely okay after the person holding them suddenly died after all. But he managed to get past that rather easily, not letting it overshadow the good that he had done. "So then, how does this all work?"

When you are ready, I will initiate The Game and it will take over, only if something requires my direct attention will I speak and interact with you directly after this point. You will receive a brief explanation from The Game and then things will begin. Are you ready?

"I'm ready." As soon as the words left his mouth, a screen appeared in front of him, and as he read the words he could hear a new voice in his head, this one feminine as opposed to the gender neutral one from before. It was different, but he didn't focus on it and looked through the screen in front of him, taking in what it said.

The Game of Life

New Game

Options

History

Figuring that it was best to move forward and learn as he went, Damien extended his hand to touch the New Game choice before him, noticing that it barely felt as if he had touched anything, a lot like he had touched something like memory foam, extremely malleable and gave no resistance, but not quite the same. In response to his touch, a new screen appeared in front of him, and it was far bigger than the first, giving a massive list of options on what world he would like to enter, ranging from books, to movies, television shows, cartoons, anime, video games, comics, new and old, far more than he had the patience to scroll through. With all the options in front of him, a little spark of hope formed in his chest, and he couldn't help the slight hesitation as he voiced a question. "Is... Is Dungeons and Dragons an option?" In response, the screen toggled the Games category and scrolled through until it selected his request, opening into a smaller menu. Now, joy was blooming in his heart, a smile forming on his face as he scanned through the smaller menu and looked over his options.

1st Edition

2nd Edition

3rd Edition

3.5 Edition

4th Edition

5th Edition

It wasn't as difficult of a choice as he thought it would be, despite growing up through the editions and playing all of them he felt his gaze be drawn to the bottom, looking at 5e and following his gut, his hand raising as he selected it. With that choice made, another new menu appeared before him, giving him a list of all the available modules, and at the bottom was a Custom World option, which drew his interest. Taking a few moments to decide, he looked up again and voiced another question to The Game, since it seemed to respond last time. "Is this my only choice, or do I get to keep coming back and going through new options?"

You will be able to choose any world you want each time a current game ends, and go through different options if you so wish. Also, I would like to mention that your interface will change depending on the world you are currently in. For example, your interface will be based on the D&D 5e ruleset since you chose that edition.

Giving a satisfied nod in response to the answer, which was just a voice in his head instead of a screen this time, Damien selected the custom world, hoping for a totally new adventure that would surprise him, and experience a module in person later on. As the excitement continued to build, he was growing rather giddy, his eyes bright as all sorts of ideas ran through his head for his upcoming adventure through his favorite game. Brief surprise flashed across his face at the new screen that he was faced with, as it wasn't quite what he had been expecting, just a brief and simple question.

Would you like to see your previous progress converted into this system?

Yes

Seeing no reason to decline, especially with his curiosity now peaked, he selected yes and watched as a modified 5e character sheet now floated in front of him.

Name: Damien Dominus

Age: 53

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Level: 6

Proficiency: +3

Strength: 13 +1

Dexterity: 11 +0

Constitution: 12 +1

Intelligence: 13 +1

Wisdom: 14 +2

Charisma: 16 +3

Those weren't too bad, he thought, they were nineteen above average, and if he had the normal Human bonus of a +1 to each stat, and then a +2 from his level 4 Ability Score Increase, that would be 11 above average at first level, since the average commoner had a 10 in every stat. Which made him wonder if they either didn't get the racial bonus, or if their base stats were actually 9 before the bonus applied. Shaking off that thought, he watched the screen change in front of him once he finished reading it and was once again met with a combination of confusion and interest as he read through it.

When you enter a new world, you gain a number of Customization Points, or CP, based on your achievements in the last life you lived. These can be used to purchase perks that, as I'm sure you guessed, customize your starting character and the world you're in, giving you more control and an advantage. You're also allowed to apply detriments to your current world, which will hinder you in one way or another and add an extra challenge, which will give you extra CP to customize that world. CP can also be stockpiled to save up and splurge on a specific attempt, they don't have to all be spent immediately after gaining them. Here is a list of your previous achievements, and your current CP for your first world.

Age 10: +100

Age 20: +100

Age 30: +100

Age 40: +100

Age 50: +100

Started From The Bottom: +500

Lucky Powerball: +1000

Spread The Medicine: +500

Selfless Sacrifice: +500

Good Karma: +1000

First World: +1000

Alpha Tester: +2000

Misc: +1188

Final Score: 8188

Personal Best: 8188

"Wow... That seems pretty good, I think." Damien murmured to himself as he looked at his score, thinking that he had definitely taken a good path in his life. Once he was done gazing at his score, the screen changed once again, seeming to know when he was ready. The new screen that loaded up showed him a list of his available perks for spending his CP on.

5e Perk Selection

It's Just A Game

1500 CP

You're fully aware of the true nature of your new life, and can fully utilize the interface. You carry over all your previous memories and personality. Warning: This perk will cut your CP in half after completion of the world.

Everybody Knows Me

500 CP

You're a member of a well known and established family or group, causing your name to be known. This will give you preset relationships with certain factions and individuals, positive and negative. Some will hold misplaced grudges, others will be inclined to think the best of you. Be prepared for unexpected helping hands, and foots in the face!

Feats For Days

100 CP

This can be purchased multiple times, each one giving you access to one extra feat at character creation. These feats are still restricted by their usual requirements.

It's Dangerous To Go Alone

500-1000 CP

It's a dangerous world out there, and it can be nice to have a helping hand. This perk will allow you to create a companion who will travel alongside you and help to keep you alive. Depending on how much you spend on this perk, your companion will be more capable of holding their own. The base cost of 500 will give you a fellow level 1 companion, and every extra 100 will give them an extra level, plus adequate equipment for that level. You are free to choose their race, gender, class, appearance, subclass, personality, and so on.

Better Equipped

100-500 CP

You can purchase some extra starting gear to increase your odds of survival. Depending on the usual gold cost of the item, the CP cost will vary.

Raining Gold

500 CP

This perk can be purchased multiple times. Each purchase will grant you an extra 2000 gold pieces. Warning: Purchase of a Bag of Holding alongside this perk may be wise.

Deeper Reserves

100-900 CP

This perk can be purchased multiple times. You can purchase extra spell slots, allowing you to cast more spells than you should be capable of. The cost varies based on the spell slot purchased, 100 for a level 1 slot, and an extra 100 for each step higher.

Spell Savant

100-900 CP

This perk can be purchased multiple times. You can purchase extra spells, including ones outside of your normal class list, and they will count as natural spells for your class. If your class doesn't normally have access to spells, you may choose between Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma as your spellcasting stat. The cost varies based on the level of the spell purchased, 100 for a level 1 spell, and an extra 100 for each level higher.

Legendary Item

1000 CP

This perk will allow you to start with any one Legendary rarity item, which can give you quite a headstart in your adventure. However, if knowledge of you holding the item spreads, it may cause some unsavory individuals to try and relieve you of ownership.

I'm No Newbie

500 CP

This perk can be purchased multiple times. The first purchase will bump your starting level to 4, then the second purchase will raise your starting level to 8, the third to 12, the fourth to 16, and the fifth to 20. Each purchase will also grant you extra starting equipment based on your new level.

Average Health

500 CP

This perk will allow you to gain no lower than average health at each level when you roll hit die. D6 granting 4+Con, D8 granting 5+Con, D10 granting 6+Con, and D12 granting 7+Con.

Lucky Constitution

250 CP

If you would roll a 1 on a hit die when determining your new max health, you can reroll that hit die and get a new health maximum. This is stackable with Average Health.

Blessed By Boons

750 CP

This can be purchased multiple times, each purchase granting one Epic Boon. Custom ones are subject to approval by The Game.

Two In One

1500 CP

This perk will bestow the Gestalt variant upon you, allowing you to be two classes simultaneously and thus, reach max level in both. However, you will gain experience to level up at half the speed, as it is effectively being split between them both. You will gain the saving throw proficiencies, spell slots, and equipment proficiencies of both classes. Any overlapping class abilities will grant you whichever one is better for your build, and discard the other, granting you a free feat in the case of Extra Attack and allowing you to keep both in the case of Expertise, as well as taking whichever has better ASI's, but not both. Skill proficiencies will grant you the selection of both class lists, and whichever class grants you the higher number of skills, and hit dice will be gained from whichever class has the higher die, not both class die.

Epic Potential

2000 CP

This perk will apply a third party supplement known as the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook to your interface, granting access to levels 21-30, as well as additional Epic perks.

The sheer number of things he could give himself as a boost when starting off was incredible, and there were even more that he had either skimmed past or were greyed out for one reason or another. He could understand why it mentioned the option to stockpile CP, there were so many he would love to grab, but his 8188 hadn't amounted to as much as he had originally thought. Though, he was able to purchase a few of the bigger ones, which he would definitely be doing, especially that Epic Potential, since it opened up a few extra perks. So after scanning through the ones he had decided he definitely wanted, Damien selected It's Just A Game, Two In One, and Epic Potential. Once he had selected the third one, a few extra perks were added beneath it, which he quickly read over to see what they would do for him.

Stars Given Form

1500 CP

This perk allows you to be the Epic race known as the Atharan. This is inherently stronger than any normal race, giving you benefits that are otherwise inaccessible by normal means. Be aware that this is an incredibly rare race not native to Toril, and stand out like a sore thumb, which will undoubtedly draw attention.

Epic Humanoid: Your creature type is humanoid, and you are considered an Epic Creature.

Ability Score Increase: You increase four different ability scores of your choice by 2, up to a maximum of 30.

Age: Atharan mature at around 30 years old and can live to be well over 2,000 years old.

Alignment: Atharan can be any alignment, but tend toward chaos and the freedom it brings.

Size: You can adjust the size or shape of your body according to your preferences. Your size is Medium, but you can assume a humanoid shape of any dimension, as long as your size remains Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Language: You can speak, read, and write Atharasil.

Progeny: Any children you bear or sire are always Atharan.

Astral Shifting: When you spend movement to move, instead of your normal movement you may choose to magically teleport 5 feet for every 5 feet of movement you expend.

Imbued Attacks: Your attacks are magical, and if your weapon attacks would have a bonus to their attack and damage rolls lower than +3, they instead have a +3 bonus.

Perfection of Form: You must designate a single ability score of your choice as your perfection score. Once per round, when you would fail an ability check or saving throw using that score, you may choose to succeed instead. Once you have designated an ability score as your perfection score, it is permanent.

Subrace: You have a subrace based on your perfection score.

Viriban: Atharan of exceptional physical power. Your form is always muscular. You are considered a Gargantuan creature for purposes of grappling and calculating your carry capacity.

Celeritan: Atharan of extraordinary speed and reflexes. Your form is always lithe and movement a blur. Your speed increases by 30 feet and can't be reduced below half.

Salutan: Atharan of great health and fortitude. Your form is always perfect and shows no sign of damage when you are injured. When you take 20 or less damage in a single instance, you instead take no damage.

Capitiosan: Atharan of exceptional brilliance. Your form shines with ideas of sparkling lights across your skin. When you touch written text, you can read its entire contents instantly. Additionally, when you roll a 9 or lower on an Intelligence check, you instead roll a 10.

Prospician: Contemplative Atharan who are considerate and patient. Your form is always tranquil and at peace, showing no sign of emotion unless you will it. You add half your proficiency to any ability check or saving throw you attempt in which you are not proficient.

Loquian: Bombastic Atharan of exceptional speaking ability. Your form flares with cosmic phenomena across your entire body whenever you are excited. When you succeed on a Charisma ability check against one or more creatures, you can choose to make those creatures frightened or charmed by you until you become their enemy.

Heavenly Hellspawn

1500 CP

This perk allows you to be the Epic race known as the Nephalem. This is inherently stronger than any normal race, giving you benefits that are otherwise inaccessible by normal means. Be aware that this is an incredibly rare race that should not exist, however they do look like normal humans and can normally be passed off as an Aasimar.

Epic Humanoid: Your creature type is humanoid, and you are considered an Epic creature.

Ability Score Increase: You increase two different ability scores of your choice by 4, to a maximum of 22.

Age: Nephalem mature at the same rate as humans, but can live up to 1,000 years old.

Alignment: Due to being a blend of Fiend and Celestial, Nephalem don't lean toward any particular alignment.

Size: Nephalem tend to have tall, slender frames, often 6'0 or taller. Your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Heaven Sent and Hell Bound: You can summon beautiful ethereal wings, which are pure white on top, pitch black on bottom, and grey in the middle, at will. When summoned, they have a base fly speed of 60 feet.

Truesight: Your eyesight is superior to that of any other creature, allowing you to view the truth in all things. You have Truesight out to 120 feet, and can see normally in dim light or darkness out to the same distance.

Fiendishly Divine: You have resistance to Fire, Necrotic, and Radiant damage.

Magic Resistance: You have advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.

Magic Incarnate: You know the Thaumaturgy cantrip at will, and can cast it with no components. At 1st level, you can innately cast Cure Wounds, requiring no spell slot or components. At 3rd level, you can cast Darkness, requiring no spell slot or components. At 5th level, you can cast Revivify, requiring no spell slot or components. Each of these spells use Charisma as their spellcasting stat, and can be cast this way once per long rest.

Languages: As a Nephalem, you are capable of speaking, reading, and writing Common, Celestial, and your choice between Abyssal and Infernal.

Epic Feats For Days

1000 CP

This can be purchased multiple times, each one giving you access to one Epic Feat at character creation. These feats are still restricted by their usual requirements.

Relic Retrieval

2000 CP

This perk allows you to be the owner of an item with power far beyond that of a Legendary, though whether or not you can make use of it will vary. Some items are more sentient, and thus more picky, than others and will react negatively if someone they deem unworthy attempts to use them. Though, you can always keep them locked away somewhere safe, until you feel ready to safely use them.

"That's... My fucking word..." He couldn't see a list for the Epic Feats, Epic Boons, or Relics, but he imagined it was like selecting the Epic Potential perk, he would get a list if he selected one of those options. It was hard to tell how long he stood there in thought, trying to decide on what he wanted to do, before eventually coming to what he deemed a satisfactory solution. Overall, he would select the Average Health, Lucky Constitution, Heavenly Hellspawn, Relic Retrieval, and a single use of Feats For Days, on top of what he had already selected. It would come to a total of 9350 CP, so it was more than he currently had, but The Game had said he could take detriments in order to get more points, so he just needed about 1200 CP worth of detriments and everything would be good. With a plan in mind, he saw a secondary screen overlap with the perks one he was looking at, only for a split second before taking dominance in his view and hiding the other one.

Lethal Rivalry

+100 CP

You have a rival who's going to pester and inconvenience you for as long as you live, which may not be long if they have their way. Your only choice is to put an end to them, once and for all, before they can do the same to you.

Bandit Bane

+200 CP

Someway, somehow, you managed to piss off an entire group of bandits, and now they want you dead. They're not that big of a group, nor very organized, but they're persistent and may grow larger if left alone, making them a bigger threat than initially. It may be best to take them down as early as possible, unless you're wanting some sort of challenge.

Publicly Denounced

+200 CP

A respected group or business is unhappy with you, and they've made sure to let everyone know. Some will ignore their slander until they've decided for themselves, others will buy into it wholeheartedly, and more will be somewhat in the middle.

Very Important Specimen

+300 CP

A group of scholars have learned the truth of your nature, and they're desperate to get their hands on you and find out all your secrets. Thankfully they're not very large, but they do have some sway and resources. They aren't eager to reveal your secret to others, lest they lose you to a larger group, which is your only saving grace.

Ticked Off Tribe

+400 CP

A tribe of Barbarians aren't too pleased with you, after you've come across them and managed to insult them in some way. Now they're inclined to break your spine in the most painful way possible if you ever stumble upon them again. Try to see to it that you don't, until you're strong enough to prevent that.

Underdark Ire

+500 CP

You've been to the Underdark, and suffice to say that you're not welcome back, ever. You've made yourself hated by at least one of the resident races down there, and if you ever show your face, they won't hesitate to rip it off.

Coven Crasher

+1000 CP

Congratulations, you're the enemy of a coven of Vampires, and they don't forget grudges easily. They can live long enough to play the waiting game indefinitely, and they're good at it.

Dracula, Dammit

+10000 CP

Yep, that's right, the Big Fang Daddy himself wants you dead, and you're most definitely going to be if you make so much as a single slip up. He's the progenitor of all Vampires, and one of the oldest creatures in existence. There's a reason drawing his wrath has such a high CP bonus, and because of that you only get this bonus if you manage to survive at least a year in your new life without dying, so don't go taking this in the hopes for easy stockpiling.

As much as he would love to try and earn ten thousand CP, Damien didn't want to take the risk of dying too early to cash in on it and wasting the perks he had already purchased, so he decided to steer clear of that particular detriment. Instead, he selected Lethal Rivalry, Bandit Bane, Ticked Off Tribe, and Underdark Ire, which got him exactly the 1,200 CP he needed to afford all the perks he wanted. Once the decisions were made, the screen faded away to reveal the original perk screen, and left him at a meager 38 CP left over. Instead of going into a screen for him to choose his free feat or Relic next, like he expected, it instead took him to the character creation screen, which was designed like a 5e character sheet, with an empty character model in the image box. He wasn't confused for very long, as The Game spoke to him and explained.

Since a feat can affect your stats, and the Relic is reliant on your stats, we handle the generation of the character first, to ensure that your decisions are viable for your build. It's simply bad game design, after all, if you were to choose a feat or an item that relies on a certain stat array, and then you're not able to support that. Now, how would you like to generate your Ability Scores? We have four methods that are used by the D&D interface, the first being standard array, the second being the normal roll method, the third being a standard point buy, and the fourth being a point pool. The point pool is a unique variant suggested by a different Player, where a d114 is rolled and the number it lands on is how many points you have to distribute amongst all your stats, with each score having a base of 1.

Seeing how with this method, you could potentially have all Ability Scores at a perfect 20 or a minimum of three of them at a 1, not counting any free feats, and the other three all at a negative modifier, this also comes with extra benefits. If you roll so high that any racial bonuses would be wasted, you gain an extra feat for every odd interval. If you roll so low that survival is virtually impossible, you will be rewarded extra CP for the longer you manage to survive.

That was a scary thought, having half of his Ability Scores sitting at a 1 would render him incredibly vulnerable, but at the same time if he managed to roll high enough to max out his primary numbers before Epic levels, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Man, this was all so different from what he was expecting, but that was why he liked it, it was new, but still familiar, and that made it exciting. A grin was plastered on his face, decision made rather quickly, and he looked up as he called out his decision, even though The Game seemed to know what he wanted before he had to say it, most of the time. "Let's try out the point pool!"

How bold. I like that. Rolling now.

There was a faint sound, as if in the back of his head, as if he could hear a somewhat heavy die being rolled, before it faded and a screen appeared in front of him, with a number in the center of it.

109.

How lucky, this will be quite a good first run for you.

Damien couldn't believe it, his eyes were wide and practically bulging from his head, his throat tight and feeling like his heart was going to burst from his chest, running the calculations in his head as he stared at the massive number in front of him. He wasn't sure if his natural Ability Score caps were raised to 22 or if it was just for the purpose of character creation, and the natural caps were still at 20 unless the racial bonus pushed them higher, but he knew that if he assigned the points and racial bonus correctly, he could have two Ability Scores sitting at 22, three others sitting at a 20, and the last one sitting at a 19, which could be raised up to a 20 with his free feat. This was basically perfect, he was basically perfect, there was pretty much nothing that he was bad at, and he exceeded normal human limits in two of his scores. As his mind raced with options, trying to think of what build he should aim for, and how he wanted to distribute these scores, he eventually realized something that wasn't being taken into consideration. He only knew up to level 20, he wasn't familiar with any of this Epic level stuff for the 5e version, so he couldn't plan ahead for his final build, what he would be at level 30. "Game, can I see the list of Epic level classes?"

Certainly, Damien. Here you are. You may also look through the Relics now, to assist in your class decisions.

Instead of the screen he had been expecting, a book had suddenly appeared in the air in front of him, the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook, with the front cover having what looked like a woman wielding a radiant spear in her left hand, standing on the head of what he thought was a white dragon, a massive slash through its neck behind her. The pages flipped open, revealing the index to him, which had a list of the different chapters, the second one having Epic Prestige Classes, which seemed like what he wanted. In response to his desire, the pages flipped open to the first page, which held the Ravager, the Epic levels for the Barbarian. Skimming through the class abilities and the different subclass abilities, he went through each of the twelve core classes, which proceeded after Ravager as Truespeaker, Ascendent, Primordial, Dreadnaught, Enlightened Fist, Crusader, Slayer, Grifter, Archon, Overlord, and Archmage. What surprised him was that after the Archmage, which was of course for the Wizard, there was another class that didn't belong, called Night Lord. "Hey, Game, what is this?"

That is something you know as homebrew, intended for a Vampire class. As you can see, we're restricted primarily to the core classes for Epic levels, with this as the only exception, currently. This is because there was an individual who found a homebrew Vampire class that was very well made, and they personally built Epic levels for it. We found it acceptable and integrated it into our interface. In the future, it is possible that more will be added, as they are created and balanced.

Giving a nod of understanding, he proceeded forward into the rest of the book, reading the entries for Epic Feats, Epic Skills, Epic Magic, Epic Languages, special rules that applied to Epic classes and beings, optional rules and interpretations of them, skipping past the Epic DM and Epic Encounters to keep some surprises and fun for himself, and then went through the list of Relics. Like with the classes, after he got through the list of Relics, he could see a slight difference in the pages, as it continued into a few more Relics. Assuming they were more homebrew ones that had been created by other people, he slowly went through the list of Relics again, marveling at how completely amazing they all were, and how dangerous many of them would be for him to wield. There was a set of gauntlets that seemed intended for a Monk, there was an instrument that was best used by a Bard, there was a flaming skull that he assumed would be best for a spellcaster of some sort, there was a glaive that wrecked shit like nobodies business, a buffed Deck of Many Things which was a huge no, and a sword that would cause a flaming apocalypse, to list a few. Finally, he settled on one that he felt would be a good investment, as it would provide him a challenge, it would be quite long-term, and it would provide an amazing pay-off.

Soul Star

A standard of Deific power is the ability to forge existence on a cosmic level. Some gods create worlds, others races and magic. But once an eon, a god sires a divine child. This infant must be nurtured with care under the protection of mighty beings, for a child can be raised to walk a dark path. A relic known as the Soul Star contains within its crystal lattice such an infant deity, awaiting a parent to raise it.

The origin of the Soul Star is unknown, but scholars believe it to be the orphaned offspring of a long-dead deity. The potential contained within is extraordinary, allowing mortals the chance to sire a god through extraordinary hard work, patience, and personal strength. The Soul Star resembles a magnificently cut gem the size of a melon, egglike in shape, with latticed filaments of fine crystal etched across its surface. Within its structure a shape can be observed resting comfortably, oblivious to the world around it.

Many seek the power of the Soul Star to change the world, for the god within is unformed and malleable. The personality of the parent will undoubtedly affect the infant, changing the face of the multiverse upon its birth.

Properties

While unattuned, the relic has the following properties.

Caretaker: You can "wear" the relic by taking an action to toss it into the air, where it orbits your head at a distance of 2 feet. Thereafter, another creature must use an action to grasp or net the relic to separate it from you, either by making a successful attack roll against AC 30 or a successful DC 30 Dexterity (Acrobatics) ability check.

You can use an action to seize and stow the relic, ending its effects. While the relic is worn, it causes the following effects.

Cry of Distress: If a creature other than you touches the relic, you take 55 (10d10) Psychic damage from the divine cries of the developing child. This effect cannot occur more than once per turn. If you lose possession of the relic this affect occurs again every hour for 24 hours until it is back in your possession.

Godspawn: Effects produced by the relic are Deific effects.

Light of Innocence: The relic sheds bright light in a 300-foot radius. You and all allied creatures in the area have a fly speed equal to your walking speed. Additionally, creatures within the area cannot be hidden or invisible.

Attunement

Unlike most relics, attunement to the Soul Star is remarkably easy. Wearing the relic for 8 continuous hours attunes you to the relic. While attuned to you, the relic gains following property in addition to its unattuned properties.

Safeguard: As a bonus action, you can move the relic up to 60 feet in a direction of your choice. The relic flies and is immune to all non-Deific effects that would prevent its movement.

Bane

While the relic is attuned, the child within begins to gestate. You must attend to the Deific offspring within through meditation, consisting of 8 hours of strenuous activity each day. Should care for the relic in this fashion occur daily for 3 straight years, it births a new deity into the world. If another creature attunes to the relic during this 3-year period or a single day is missed, the process begins anew.

If you do not provide this care for a continuous full week during the 3-year period, the deity is born prematurely, an angry and insane god. If born from this neglect, the deity does everything in its power to end you and those associated with you—the severity of the deity's attempt is at your DM's discretion.

If born under proper care, the young god quickly takes its place among the pantheon but remembers you as a valued friend and parent. It grants you any one of the following boons (your choice) at the time of its birth:

• You gain an Epic level in an Epic prestige class of your choice for which you meet the necessary prerequisites.

• You increase an ability score of your choice to 30.

• You gain two Epic feats of your choice.

• You gain proficiency in all skills and saving throws.

• You gain a single artifact of your choice.

• You gain 10 million gp.

• A single non-Deific creature of your choice is obliterated instantly and cannot be returned to life by non-Deific means.

• You maintain permanent telepathic communication with the young god, granting you the ability to discuss with it always and query it as with the spells Divination and Commune. There are no limits to the number of times you can use each of these effects per day, the spells never have a chance of failure, and the deity has your best interests at heart when providing you with answers.

This would be very risky, until a rough estimate of level 9 or so, he had a potential to be rendered unconscious if not flat out dead from the Psychic damage if anyone other than him touched it while it was floating around his head. Light of Innocence was the only trait that it had which could actually benefit him, and it would take a lot of time in order for him to tend to the child and nurture it, meaning that he could only actually be active for eight hours a day. Eight would be required to meditate with the baby deity, and another eight would be needed for sleep, unless he just went without sleep every so often, which was actually fairly likely as an adventurer. There was the option to just spend three years living alone in the woods, hoping that nothing bothered him as he tended to the Relic and waited for it to be born, but that was boring and it wasn't a guarantee to be safe, either. Finalizing his decision, he watched as the screen focused in on his blank character model, as bars and sliders appeared in order for him to design his appearance as accurately and as detailed as he desired.

Taking his time to ensure that he was pleased with his character model, since that's what he would be looking like for the entirety of his second life, Damien meticulously went through every aspect of their appearance, inputting his own name in the box and going with an age of 16. Once he was finished, he had a 6'2 young adult who weighed in at around 244lbs thanks to all the muscle they would be guaranteed to have. As described in the racial information, they were more slender than bulky, having the muscle very densely packed instead of bulging out in a very noticeable way. They had heterochromatic eyes, with the left one being a dark shade of red, and the right eye being a light brown, almost amber in color, and a thin red line went from the bottom of the left eye to the bottom of their cheek, mirrored by a white one under the right eye, like almost like tear lines. The skin was lightly tanned in color, and finally, they had thick black hair that was silky soft, and slightly above average length, reaching just past their eyes if going straight down.

Finally all finished with the character design, and now that he had selected his Relic and read through all the Epic class options and features, he was ready to select his classes and distribute his points. With a pleased grin on his face, he placed 17 points into both his Strength and Intelligence, bringing them both up to an 18 and using 34 of his pool, then raised his Dexterity to a 19, which used another 18 for an overall 52, then put 19 points each into his Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma, raising them all to 20, which was a total of 57, using all 109 of his pool. Once the pool was used up, he applied his racial ASI, placing them into his Strength and Intelligence to raise them both to a 22. Then for the next step, he applied his class decisions, settling on Fighter and Wizard, gaining proficiency in Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom saves, and chose the Resilient feat, gaining a +1 to Dexterity to make it a nice round 20, and proficiency in its saving throws. Figuring that they would be the most logical and helpful for his build, since he only got two skill proficiencies from his class, he chose Athletics and Perception.

Now the next step was deciding on what background he wanted, both for the extra proficiency bonuses, as well as the starting equipment and feature. Being a Gestalt character, he didn't get any class equipment, with the exception of his spellbook, instead getting the max amount of gold from his richer class gold, which he would have to use to purchase his other gear. It took a bit of debating, as there weren't many he found very fitting when his race was taken into consideration, but in the end he settled on being a Sage, gaining Arcana and History which were both useful, and he decided on being a Wizard's apprentice. For his languages, he chose Abyssal from his race, and Draconic and Elven from his background, watching as the screen moved to his spell list next, giving him three cantrips and six spells that were in his book. For the cantrips, he went with Chill Touch, Message, and Prestidigitation, getting Thaumaturgy for free from his race, and for the 1st level spells he ended up picking Catapult, Chromatic Orb, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Shield, and Sleep, plus the innate Cure Wounds, satisfied with the versatility.

Thanks to his high Intelligence score, he was able to have all of them prepared as well, so he didn't have to worry about making those decisions just yet. He also got to design his spellbook, which he decided to give the simple appearance of a small, black leather notebook, figuring if he had to, he could always get a new one in the future. Next he was asked to choose his Fighting Style for Fighter, and he went with Dueling, to get that extra damage and take down enemies faster. Next was spending his 210 gold pieces on his starting equipment, the first purchase being a simple crystal Arcane Focus for 10 gold, followed by an explorer's pack and a tent for 12 more, a basic longsword for 15, a shield for 10, and finally studded leather for 45, a grand total of 92 spent, leaving him with 118 on his person. Looking everything over, Damien realized that he was finally finished, everything had been completed and now, he was ready to enter this new world, this new life, and actually live out his dream of going on a D&D adventure.

Character creation completed. Begin game?

Yes

Reaching forward, his hand shaking with excitement, Damien selected yes, and was engulfed by a flash of white light. He could feel himself changing in an instant, his entire body altered to become that of a Nephalem. Knowledge was entering his brain, formulas for his spells, the life he had lived in this world for sixteen years, his master who taught him magic, how to speak the languages he knew. Muscle memory from his practice with his sword, how to use his wings, the hand movements to cast his spells. As his eyes opened, and he saw the ceiling above him, Damien could do nothing but grin in unadulterated joy.

His adventure had begun.

AN: And that's the end of chapter one, which is also the prologue! I'm sorry if it's a bit boring, with all the setup and such, I just wanted to give you all a solid description of the system I will be using and how it differs from the core 5e rules. And I know that there will be complaints about how I'm making the character super broken right out of the gate, and I want to inform you that I did not plan this at all. Dice rolls will be affecting pretty much everything about this story, and as you can see, they have already done so to a major degree. I did dice rolls to decide his starting CP, and I did actually roll the d114, using a Discord dice bot called Avrae for both.

He could've easily ended up completely powerless, with a terrible starting CP and terrible starting stats, and in future games he almost certainly will. But, for this first world, this is a custom world that I've created and have used for D&D games that I'm currently DM'ing. Also, I actually did create the Nephalem race, using the Atharan race from the Epic Legacy Core Rulebook as a sort of reference, and I did design the Night Lord levels for the Vampire class, though I did not create the base class.

Hopefully I'll be able to get out a new chapter for this story every week or two, and I'll be focusing on this one for now. I fully intend to resume my other stories at some point, but for now I feel like this should be my main focus, it'll likely be easier to write. And again, dice rolls will be made whenever I feel they're necessary, such as for skill checks and random encounters, as well as attack rolls and damage. He could potentially die in the next chapter, or he could live all the way to level 30, I have no clue! Finally, I'll be leaving his character sheet right below, and at the bottom of each chapter where he levels up, or I feel it's necessary to show it.

Asterisks next to skills signify proficiency in them. Asterisks next to spells signify they're from his race.

Name: Damien Dominus

EXP: 0

Level: 1

Class: Fighter/Wizard

Type:

Background: Sage

Alignment: CG

Race: Nephalem

Max Health: 15

Current Health: 15

Speed: 30, 60 fly

Initiative: +5

AC: 17 (19)

Hit die: 1d10

Proficiency: +2

Strength: 22 +6

Dexterity: 20 +5

Constitution: 20 +5

Intelligence: 22 +6

Wisdom: 20 +5

Charisma: 20 +5

Melee: +8

Spells: +8

Spell DC: 16

Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven

Passive Perception: 17

Proficiencies

*Strength Saving Throw: +8

*Dexterity Saving Throw: +7

*Constitution Saving Throw: +7

*Intelligence Saving Throw: +8

*Wisdom Saving Throw: +7

Charisma Saving Throw: +5

(Dex)Acrobatics: +5

(Wis)Animal Handling: +5

*(Int)Arcana: +8

*(Str)Athletics: +8

(Cha)Deception: +5

*(Int)History: +8

(Wis)Insight: +5

(Cha)Intimidation: +5

(Int)Investigation: +6

(Wis)Medicine: +5

(Int)Nature: +6

*(Wis)Perception: +7

(Cha)Performance: +5

(Cha)Persuasion: +5

(Int)Religion: +6

(Dex)Sleight of Hand: +5

(Dex)Stealth: +5

(Wis)Survival: +5

Armor: All

Weapons: All

Tools:

Racial Abilities

Epic Humanoid: Your creature type is humanoid, and you are considered an Epic creature.

Ability Score Increase: You increase two different ability scores of your choice by 4, to a maximum of 22. (Strength and Intelligence)

Age: Nephalem mature at the same rate as humans, but can live up to 1,000 years old.

Alignment: Due to being a blend of Fiend and Celestial, Nephalem don't lean toward any particular alignment.

Size: Nephalem tend to have tall, slender frames, often 6'0 or taller. Your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Fiendishly Divine: You have resistance to Fire, Necrotic, and Radiant damage.

Magic Resistance: You have advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.

Languages: As a Nephalem, you are capable of speaking, reading, and writing Common, Celestial, and your choice between Abyssal and Infernal.

Class Abilities

Dueling, Second Wind

Spellcasting, Arcane Recovery

Feats

Researcher, Resilient (Dexterity)

Equipment

Longsword, studded leather, shield, arcane focus, tent, explorer's pack, a bottle of black ink, a quill, a small knife, a letter from a dead colleague posing a question you have not yet been able to answer, a set of common clothes, Soul Star, 118 gold,

Spells

Cantrips: Chill Touch, Message, Prestidigitation, *Thaumaturgy

1st level: Catapult, Chromatic Orb, Comprehend Languages, *Cure Wounds, Identify, Shield, Sleep

1st slots: 2 (2)

Levels: Level 1 feat took Resilient