Of Dice And Men Chapter 2, a rwby fanfic

I'm not sure what to say about this… I wasn't expecting any traction at all in making this. I acknowledge that I am not a good writer and that I probably never will be but I have a creative spark that shows up now and then to give me wonderful ideas that I'll probably never finish.

Truly I wasn't planning to continue this at all because it was designed as a one-shot idea. Originally as I said it was something I thought up on a day because I could, I personally would have wanted something like this in something more professional (Anime, Manga) because it would have made for a decent concept.

Isekai. A trope that gained a lot of traction and is practically overused and losing its value because of it. A lot of the time this concept is done very poorly (Especially in Fanfiction… Dear god why do some people make it so awful sometimes) and at other times it's genuinely good and well made. I've tried this myself before based on a story that existed as an idea in my head, unfortunately, I abandoned it because I lost the spark I once had.

So why am I here again? Good question. Like I said this entire thing was a one-shot that should never have gained any traction but I wished to see how it would do among others. Turns out I was wrong and it got lubed up real good and now it just needs to have its engine started.

I was actually mildly shocked that no one had done something like this before. Gamer fanfictions have many flaws but in my own opinion and the biggest one of them all? Power Creep. A concept people are familiar with (I hope).

Power Creep: In which the Character, Protagonist, Player Character is given something that would screw over the balance in later content of a Video Game and it gets people rather mad.

In Fanfiction: It's more or less where the Character is given something that could break everything given enough time and effort put into it. Turning a person into a living video game protagonist can do that.

How To Fix It: Don't do the thing in the first place. I get it The Gamer is really damn powerful in its own way because of what could be done with it, but! People tend to forget that OP characters ruin the enjoyment most of the time.

(If one plans for OP bullshit then counteract said bullshit with Humour. Good humour that is. I'm looking at you 99% of Naruto Crossovers. Seriously why the fuck are there so many?! Let the series fucking die already!)

Everyone loves a power fantasy but it can be ruined really easily.

And that's where the Dice Gods come in. Ever played D&D? It's actually rather fun and I highly recommend it.

You see, in D&D most things will be decided at the roll of a Die. Do you hit the enemy? Do you find something through Investigation? Do you survive that really deadly poison?

All of it is decided by rolling a Die (Mostly D20 because reasons). Failing these checks can lead to you getting into worse situations it could go from happy fun times to you're gonna fucking die because you summoned fucking Tiamat you dumbass.

What Gamer fanfictions lack is the threat of death. Sure it's there but anyone with a lead character will not kill them off so easily. In D&D you re-roll and try again if the world and probably DM decided to say "Fuck you in particular". This is exactly what I wished to bring. An actual threatening point that even I cannot control. So what if the character dies? There are no second chances. That's it. Nada. The story is over. But, that would suck wouldn't it? I don't wish to fumble rolls and I hope I never have to, but I do wish to at least keep it going until it's over for good.

Keeping on that note, let's discuss a common issue I have with other Gamer fanfictions and RWBY fanfictions in general.

Magic. No offence but fuck me if I wished it wasn't done so early on or so often. It bothers me on a personal level because it's supposed to be some asspull that exists rarely.

In D&D every class can learn some bit of magic in some form but this isn't D&D, it's RWBY. I may make jokes about Eldritch Blast which is a really good Cantrip but how many can actually learn the spell? Not as many as you would think. It's a Warlock exclusive Cantrip and only a Warlock can learn it (Not including the feat Magic Initiate or a Bard's Magical Secrets/College of Lore Additional Magical Secrets) how fucking weird is that? Not at all. You sold your soul for this.

An alternative is to Multiclass but I'm not exactly interested in doing that and probably won't at all. So how else could I give a character magic? Subclasses! It may be a homebrew class because it will never actually exist but I feel like learning magic instantly is boring.

Magic Initiate: You could train to learn this (It takes a long time to Train so it could theoretically work) but it allows you to pick from any of the other magic classes and learn 2 Cantrips and 1 First Level Spell.

Well, this is kind of awkward… I spent almost 1000 words on a rant.

TL;DR: I hate how things are done and wished to try an idea out but it worked a little too well and then I made a second chapter.

When the asshole sent me here I was not expecting to be literally dropped into a new world. Granted it was only a few meters and not that dangerous.

You've Arrived in the world of Remnant. You take a look at your surroundings and find you are alone in a forest far from civilisation.

Did… Did he just? Holy shit he is… I have a literal DM narrating my adventure, don't I?

Haha! No. This will be something that happens when it's necessary like describing what one would find on successful checks, etc.

Like any good DM let's start this off the right way, yes?

And what do you mean by that?

The Tutorial Battle, of course! We need you getting used to how this system works and make sure everything is in order.

Alright, let's get this over with then and get back to the main story.

As you inspect your surroundings you notice the rustling of bushes in front of you. Your perceptiveness seems to have beneficial this time as you keep an eye on the bushes.

The bushes part and out approaches three creatures. Fur as black as night and eyes as red as blood. White bone masks and protrusions decorate its large body.

You have never seen these creatures before and they have never seen you before. You cautiously watch them as they stalk up to you.

Unfortunately, it seems like these creatures are pure evil and would never be friendly so you draw your weapon and prepare to fight.

I'm just going to heed his words and draw my weapon then… Though that was really fucking cool. Good DM is amazing.

The middle enemy didn't waste any time and went straight in for the attack with its claws, it overextends and I dodge to it's left as the wolf to the right dashes towards me with its jaw open and ready to bite, this one trips on a rock and I take advantage of its fumble and slash at it with my knife gun thing. Unfortunately, I don't cut too deep but it definitely was hurt by that.

(Note: The Beowolf Critical Failed. Rolls that caught my eye will be revealed in the Authors Note)

The last one didn't even bother waiting before it charged me too. I wasn't fast enough to get out the way so it landed a hit on me, its claws slicing right through my clothing like a knife through butter.

If I don't retaliate here and now I might actually die. I shook my head and decided to use the gun portion of my weapon on the one that landed a hit on me. The bullet fired and hit the wolf right in the arm ripping right through it with ease disabling its arm most likely.

As I collect myself as well as the wolves do, the first one comes back and slashes at me like the third. Unable to dodge as it moved faster than me I tanked the hit.

"Fuck me that hurts way more than I thought it would. I seem relatively fine though? Perhaps my CON score makes me more resilient?" I say through the pain wondering why I was relatively fine because those claws looked deadly.

The second wolf moves in, probably for revenge at its complete fumble. This time it manages to hit giving me a nice slash mark on my arm. The last wolf not wishing to waste an opportunity also goes for the kill I won't let it have. I must be really sluggish because all three managed to hit me, this actually makes me a little mad.

Another wound to my body and my pride that I don't have. I line up the barrel again and fire. As the gunshot rings out the bullet catches the wolf right in the head killing it and removing one enemy from the equation.

Despite its ally being dead, the two other wolves were completely unfazed and the first moved in again trying to bite me. It failed as I got my shit together and jumped out of its bite path. The second wasted no time in capitalising right after I dodged. Its claw slashed my leg and ripping into more clothing that I won't be able to replace just yet.

Although I should be conservative of my bullets as it's only a six-shooter I don't wish to die either, so I took another shot at the first wolf that had missed me. Another gunshot rang out as the bullet travelled and pierced its shoulder dealing a significant amount of damage to it.

I noticed that the wolf that had died was decomposing at an alarming rate leaving absolutely nothing behind, unfortunately, I didn't have time for distractions as my recent target had lashed out at me with its claw slicing right into my chest and leaving a gash in it that would be a bitch to heal. The second wolf took its action in an attempt to bite me. That attempt was successful. Really fucking successful. (Natural Fucking 20 What The Fuck)

It had so much power behind it that it actually knocked me to the fucking ground around ten feet away from it. (… Natural 2 -3 on a DC11 STR Save… Am I actually going to die on the fucking tutorial? What the fuck Dice Gods.)

Mildly disorientated I got to my feet and decided to blast this fucker for its horse shit attack. Another gunshot rang out and this time it missed.

I moved my attention to the first wolf that decided for another attack on my ass with its sharp claw. It hit me due to my blunder and left another gash. Dear God, I might actually die in a tutorial… This is like Dark Souls all over again.

And here comes the asshole that knocked me over. Great. Just fucking great. I'm now so hurt that a slight breeze could fucking kill me. No matter, I just have to prevail.

I shot the first wolf successfully this time and the bullet went straight through its skull and ended its meagre existence. But it didn't make sense because I could have sworn that was a poor shot.

And then my vision was filled with a wall of text. WHY?!

This is a one-time notification.
You have obtained the Feature [Adrenaline].

This feature gives you an extra Die of damage while it is active.

It also gives you a bonus of 60 feet of movement that enemies can't make an opportunity attack on.
This feature activates when you're on 10% or less health.

"This is my gift to you because I didn't expect the dice to do this at all" - Author

Oh… OH! That's really useful. Thanks whoever you are because this is actually bullshit. Using my newfound adrenaline I make use of that sweet 60 feet and run very far away using up my base movement too. What does this do? Put me 90 feet away from my potential death.

The wolf didn't even have a chance to react but seemed angry and ran after me. It ran 80 feet and got into my range. Unfortunately, it used up it's 'action' to dash leaving it unable to do anything, so I took a shot… and missed. Well, shit. Time to run the fuck away again. Another 90 feet to me.

(This tactic was stolen from a friend who can move about 300 feet in a single turn. He's a squishy wizard and I'm the Fighter who can actually 1 shot everyone else. It's frustrating.)

This wolf didn't even know what to do, I was abusing my movement speed where it could do nothing but attempt. It made it's meagre 80 feet including its dash and once again I took a shot and actually hit it this time.

The bullet ripped right through its arm taking it off and leaving it crippled. I didn't even care as I ran again leaving it in the dust. It tried to catch up to me and still failed because of my insane movement speed. With no bullets left, I resorted to the knife part of the weapon. I took it's head clean off with no issue at all. (Natural 20 Boys.)

I could finally sit down and rest. I nearly died.

…

I thought to myself how bullshit this was as I passed out.

The Beowolf Encounter

During the 'Tutorial' our soon to be probably not Hero nearly fucking died to 3 weak-ass Beowolves. The Dice Gods nearly won if it wasn't for Adrenaline kicking in.

Due to the difficult encounter for a regular human our 'Hero' has reached Second Level and unlocked a few new features.

[Aura]

The light of the Soul.

A protective force in the form of a shield that surrounds the body.

While active it provides a +1 Bonus to all STR and DEX rolls and a +2 Bonus to all CON rolls.

Every round you heal for 20 Hit Points + CON mod.

At 5th Level, the healing increases to 30 and you roll 1d20 + 30 to increase your max Aura Points by the result. At 11th Level, the healing increases to 50 and you roll 2d20 + 30 to increase your max Aura Points by the result, your bonus mod increases by +1. At 17th Level, the healing increases to 100 and you roll 5d20 + 30 to increase your max Aura Points by the result, your bonus mod increases by +1.

Enemies must break the aura to deal direct damage to Hit Points or catch them Unaware

Healing only applies when you are damaged and uses up Aura Points corresponding to the Health healed.

Aura Points are fully restored on a Short or Long Rest.

[Unique Fighting Style: Gunblades]

A property of the [Unique Fighting Style] Feature.

You gain +2 on Hit and Damage rolls for Gunblade type weapons.

[Tenacity & Grit]

You are tenacious even on the verges of death.

While under 20% health you refuse to give up and die, as a bonus action you may roll 1d10 + Class Level * 2 and heal for that amount.

It can only be used once until you finish a Long or Short Rest.

Welcome To The After Party.

Here the Player may view their Character Sheet.

The After Party can only be accessed on a Long Rest or while the Player is asleep.

Let's check the updated sheet yes?

Name: (Please Enter A Name)

Class & Level: Huntsman [2] | Subclass: (Not Yet~) | Background: World Traveller

Race: Human | Alignment: Neutral Good | Experience Points: 300

Armour Class: 13 | Initiative: 3 | Speed: 30 ft.

Hit Points: 300 (6d6 + CON * 10)

Hit Die: 1d20 + CON * 5

Aura Points: 445 (Hit Points + 1d20 * 10)

Aura Die: 1d20 + CON * 5

Spell Slots: - (Perhaps I'll Allow It)

Death Saves: {}{}{} [][][]

Strength: 4 [-3]{+1}

Dexterity: 16 [+3]{+1}

Constitution: 15 [+2]{+2}

Intelligence: 8 [-1]

Wisdom: 15 [+2]

Charisma: 11[+1]

Proficiency Bonus: 2

Passive Perception: 12

({} Anything in those apply to Checks/Saving Throws)

{Saving Throws}

Strength: -3

Dexterity: 5

Vitality: 4

Intelligence: -1

Wisdom: 2

Charisma: 1

{Skill Checks}

{Features & Feats}

[The Gamer: You've lived one life before, now prepare yourself for Life 2: Electric Boogaloo!]

(Unlocked Through Background: World Traveller)

This Feature provides absolutely no benefits and is simply a reminder that you failed three death saves.

[Unique Fighting Style: Gunblades]

(Updated Huntsman Class Feature)

A property of the [Unique Fighting Style] Feature.

You gain +2 on Hit and Damage rolls for Gunblade type weapons.

[Adrenaline].

This feature gives you an extra Die of damage while it is active.

It also gives you a bonus of 60 feet of movement that enemies can't make an opportunity attack on.

This feature activates when you're on 10% or less health.

"This is my gift to you because I didn't expect the dice to do this at all" - Author

[Aura]

(Unlocked Through Level Up)

The light of the Soul.

A protective force in the form of a shield that surrounds the body.

While active it provides a +1 Bonus to all STR and DEX rolls and a +2 Bonus to all CON rolls.

Every round you heal for 20 Hit Points + CON mod.

(Enemies must break the aura to deal direct damage to Hit Points or catch them Unaware

Healing only applies when you are damaged and uses up Aura Points corresponding to the Health healed.)

Aura Points are fully restored on a Short or Long Rest.

[Tenacity & Grit]

You are tenacious even on the verges of death.

While under 20% health you refuse to give up and die, as a bonus action you may roll 1d10 + Class Level * 2 and heal for that amount.

It can only be used once until you finish a Long or Short Rest.

{Attacks & Spellcasting}

Gunknife

-Melee Weapon (Simple, Dagger, Mecha-Shift)

Hit: 1d20 + Prof + Dex

Damage: 1d4 + Dex * 5 Slashing Damage

Damage 2: 2d6 + Dex * 5 Piercing Damage

Properties: Finesse, Light, Range, Thrown

Range: 20/60 ft. (Thrown) 60/120 ft. (Bullets)

Weight: 3lbs

{Equipment}

[Starter Pack]

-Clothes

-Gunknife

-Bedroll

-5,000 Lien

-Backpack

{Languages & Proficiencies}

[English]

[Simple Weapons]

[Martial Weapons]

[Mecha-Shift Weapons]

Seems like you've gained quite a bit! Don't get worked up though.

Let's take a rundown of how Experience will work in this Campaign.

The Early Levels

Exp to Level will be significantly harder because the enemies you face will not provide as much as you believe. Except for the Second Level, all levels up to 5th will cost more Experience than normal.

The Later Levels.

From 6th and beyond Experience will become easier to obtain but the amount needed will not change from its base. This is due to Enemies being significantly unlike classic DND enemies.

Beowolves are not that strong and are very low on the challenge rating at ½. Later enemies like Nevermore will be higher up but nothing will probably reach past CR10. Probably. (Subject to change)

The Endgame.

If you noticed they Player probably won't reach 20th for a long time.

So where does this put the Player compared to Huntsman/Huntresses in Training on the Level Spectrum? 3rd to 6th Level. Not too high but they are but mere children.

What about professionals? 8th to 13th Level.

And Veterans? 15th to 20th Level.

Now let's end this with a note from our fine sponsors.

"This was a terrible idea. Why am I doing this? Please, I just want to see my family!"

…

Wrong note, ignore that.

"Thanks for reading"

There it is.

So… I really didn't expect to do this but I guess having people actually interested in your dumb ideas is pretty motivating, eh?

I'd like to take a moment to respond to the people who gave this story a generous Review.

To Vizorus69,

In the hands of anyone better than me? Yes, it would have. But it seems it might not be a One-Shot anymore… I really just wasn't expecting this level of traction for a simple thing like this.

Don't get me wrong I probably won't have a proper schedule for this but I'll try to get my spark back.

To Sleepless Elite,

It really is, though SI it somewhat is I have personal distaste against SI's because they're generally terrible. As it seems I may be continuing, after all, enjoy this.

Also thanks, I hate that pile because it's full of more waste than a Sewer.

To BlindSwordsmanNaru,

Probably because it's never been done before, at least to my knowledge.

This series and world is not the most enjoyable I agree but it makes up a lot of my backlogged Fanfiction because I have a serious problem.

Your Welcome btw.

To King-Of-Gods,

Seems you're getting your wish, eh?

And let's end this on the bullshit I received.

First: PC rolled an 8 on Initiative that was horrible. All enemies rolled higher and the Second Beowolf rolled a Natural 20.

Second: The Second Beowolf Nat 1'd on an attack roll in the first round and proceeded to Nat 20 on the final part of the fight. If I didn't add in adrenaline that character would have been super dead. All damage is boosted by x5 Because the Health is boosted as fuck because I like bigger numbers. Despite that, it seems that if I decided to go with a boosted Crit I would be dead. I was left with 12 health. 12. Health. Jesus fucking christ. This is now a permanent rule: All crits roll normally.

Third: The Nat 2 Situation, Bite is an attack action that puts an enemy in the prone state, I added it being thrown back to not kill the PC instantly. My PC hit a Nat 2. My PC has -3 Strength. That's generally rounded as 1 but in reality, it's a -1. Bullshit ain't it? DC11 BTW.

Fourth: Adrenaline, a feature I added to give a bonus to the PC for them being near death. If I didn't the PC would have died in the first real chapter, how depressing? 60 Extra Feet of Unprovoked Movement. That is ridiculous? But 10% health to activate it which would be 30 health at current. The Fight or Flight response, 60 feet is the flight and an extra damage die is the flight. This only applies to health and not Aura.

Final: This took a lot longer than necessary with me needing to create additional notes on creatures and weapon damage but I feel 3 may have been too much if that could happen.

Here are the actual stats for the Beowolves

Beowolf

Medium beast, Chaotic Evil

AC: 13 (Natural Armour)

Hitpoints: 110 (2d8+2 * 10)

Speed: 40 ft.

STR: 14(+2) DEX: 14(+2) CON: 10(+0) INT: 3(-4) WIS: 12(+1) CHA: 8(-1)

Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +4

Senses: passive Perception 10

Challenge: 1/2 (100XP)

Keen Hearing and Smell. The Beowolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell

Pack Tactics. The Beowolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if the pack is lead by an Alpha Beowolf and one ally is within 5 ft.

Actions:

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: (2d4 + 2 * 5) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: (1d4 + 2 * 5) Slashing damage.

All in all, I believe this was a Critical Success outside of the PC nearly dying on the first encounter.

I'll return with more eventually.