Ace

Ace
(++Sensory, +Intelligence)Without question, Aces are the most reliable shots in the world. Why? Other marksmen miss.

Projectile weapons have been a crucial piece to any army since the first javelins and slings were invented tens of thousands of years ago. They allow for a more strategic style of warfare in which poor positioning is quickly punished with a hail of missiles. Some archers never even seen the people they kill, relying on long-ranged bombardment to pick off foes without ever having to look into their eyes or smell their blood. Ranged warfare is a disconnected style of fighting, where precision replaces brute strength and the enemy is regarded with an impassive detachment. And few warriors are as detached as Aces.

The Ace didn’t originate as a class of warrior – it was a title, granted to marksmen with excellent service records, a high number of kills in action, and insane accuracy. Aces were decorated with extensive honors and hailed as war heroes, known throughout their homelands as men and women of exceptional skill and devotion to the country. Eventually, however, kings and generals alike began to realize the hidden potential within these esteemed soldiers; those who qualified as Aces began to have their talents trained to an even greater level, training that only intensified as the modern era rolled around.

If Aces were good shots before, their training in recent centuries has allowed their accuracy to ascend to legendary levels. Besides being able to hit any target with any ranged weapon thanks to their stupendous marksmanship, Aces are practically human supercomputers, able to focus with absurd intensity and rattle off complex calculations just from what they see.

To supplement these phenomenal skills, Aces are equipped with a variety of equipment to augment their talents. Fielding state-of-the-art MagiTech Visors, light armor, and plenty of advanced technology, Aces can easily keep in contact with their allies while they stay well away from the thick of things, lining up a shot. These Visors can even be activated to scan huge areas of land for various features of interest to the Ace such as wind speed, heat signatures, or air pressure (to name a few).

Even beyond their Visors, Aces are always provided with an array of high-tech gadgetry. Their ranged weapons are some of the best in the world, due to the Ace’s ability to design modifications to their weapons through their superiors. But one of the most valuable tools an Ace has at his or her disposal (besides their weapon of choice) is the Altitude Platform, a lightweight MagiTech device that can unfold into a levitating dais to allow the Ace a better vantage for shooting.

But on top of the Ace’s absurd accuracy, their cool gear, and their years of training, what arguably makes them most dangerous is their attitude. They regard their targets with an aloof precision, with each kill just another number for their service records.

Primary Equipment Roster:
Light Helms

Visors

Scopes

Cloth Coats

Light Armors

Long Bows

Rifles

Energy Rifles

Radios

Watches

Fine Gloves

Holsters

Secondary Equipment Roster:

Medium Armors

Utility Knives

Short Bows

Single Crossbows

Pistols

Bombs

Unique Item: Visors
These light, sleek facepieces will offer some decent physical protection to an Ace’s facial area (centered around his or her eyes). They are tinted, protecting an Ace’s eyes from bright light; they are also suction-locked to the Ace’s face (like a Scuba mask) to ensure that sand, soot, water, and other particles do not slip under the Visor and interfere with the Ace’s vision. Lastly, Visors can be used to scan an Ace’s nearby surroundings for a variety of interested, including but not limited to temperature, air pressure, and even signs of life. This effect costs nothing, but does have a low cooldown. At higher upgrades, Visors are lighter and tougher, give better protection, and can scan for even more complex attributes.

Essential Traits:
Aloof (+Sensory/-Vitality)

Precise (+Sensory/-Might)

Sharp (+Sensory/-Resilience)

Suspicious (+Sensory/-Spirit)

Attentive (+Sensory/-Arcane)

Nervous (+Sensory/-Will)

Strict (+Sensory/-Reflex)

Secretive (+Sensory/-Vigor)

Withdrawn (+Sensory/-Skill)

Objective (+Sensory/-Luck)

Erudite (+Intelligence/-Vitality)

Conscious (+Intelligence/-Might)

Pompous (+Intelligence/-Resilience)

Impersonal (+Intelligence/-Spirit)

Wise (+Intelligence/-Arcane)

Meek (+Intelligence/-Will)

Conventional (+Intelligence/-Reflex)

Methodical (+Intelligence/-Vigor)

Creative (+Intelligence/-Skill)

Dismissive (+Intelligence/-Luck)

Conflicting Traits:
Gregarious (+Vitality/-Sensory)

Angry (+Might/-Sensory)

Stubborn (+Resilience/-Sensory)

Trusting (+Spirit/-Sensory)

Vehement (+Arcane/-Sensory)

Fearless (+Will/-Sensory)

Lenient (+Reflex/-Sensory)

Outgoing (+Vigor/-Sensory)

Competitive (+Skill/-Sensory)

Oblivious (+Luck/-Sensory)

Naïve (+Vitality/-Intelligence)

Bold (+Might/-Intelligence)

Humble (+Resilience/-Intelligence)

Empathetic (+Spirit/-Intelligence)

Entitled (+Arcane/-Intelligence)

Overbearing (+Will/-Intelligence)

Indifferent (+Reflex/-Intelligence)

Hasty (+Vigor/-Intelligence)

Spontaneous (+Skill/-Intelligence)

Curious (+Luck/-Intelligence)

Lock On (Basic)
''Aces have an incredible ability to focus, so much so that many have even learned to track their targets automatically through muscle memory. Many are even able to see through walls to follow their next kill.''

With this ability, an Ace can constantly track a set target even when they are out of human sight. When an Ace Locks Onto a being or object, they will automatically shift their vision to perfectly follow every movement the target makes. Naturally, this makes shooting something much easier, but it can also be used more peacefully to detect every movement the target makes, even down to minute shifts in balance. Moreover, if the target moves out of sight, the Ace will still see a bright outline of them through obstacles such as walls, darkness, and invisibility. However, Lock-On does have a maximum range (though quite an extensive one). Moreover, the concentration required to sustain Lock-On will often blind the Ace to the goings-on around them. Sustaining Lock-On requires a low but continuous supply of energy and it has a mild cooldown upon completion.

As Lock-On is leveled by the Ace, the maximum range of the ability is improved, its detection is further enhanced, and slightly less energy and concentration is required to maintain it. Moreover, the Ace can even learn to Lock Onto multiple targets at once (though this is quite difficult to do). A multi-target Lock-On will fail, however, if the targets move too far away from one-another: the Ace only has so many eyes! Also, the Ace can attempt to Lock-Onto targets they guess are near them, even if they aren’t sure. At higher levels, an Ace can “remember” a target they have Locked-Onto, even if they move out of range or the Ace chooses to drop the Lock, allowing them to immediately reestablish the ability at a moment’s notice.

Guided Shot (Advanced)
''Through extreme ballistic knowledge, superb control and accuracy, and just a hint of magical influence, Aces can learn to lay out “tracks” for their shots to follow. These routes can be absurdly complicated, even rounding sharp corners and reflecting off of impossible angles to strike their goal.''

With this ability, an Ace can preset the trajectory of their shots before they even fire them! To use Guided Shot, the Ace must determine exactly how they want their projectile to move through the air to reach a target, even making use of the environment around them to diversify their path. This can incorporate curves, ricochets, and other maneuvers, but can’t be too ambitious lest it risk failure. Moreover, Guided Shots will decrease in power depending on the complexity of their route. Otherwise, their power and speed are determinant on your weapon. Though generally pretty average, this ability requires a varying amount of energy (based in the shot’s complexity) and has a shockingly low cooldown.

As an Ace levels up Guided Shot, more complex and crazy routes can be set for their projectiles and the ability’s cost is reduced. Also, the scaling complexity penalties are lessened overall. Moreover, a Guided Shot fired at a target that has been Locked-Onto will even home-in on them, regardless of the ‘Shot’s complexity! At higher levels, Guided Shots can even be redesigned and rerouted while in mid-flight!

Spacial Calibration (Basic)
''The inhuman eyesight possessed by most Aces gives them exceptional depth perception. This, combined with an extensive training in mathematics, allows Aces to judge distances, speeds, angles, and trajectories with pinpoint precision.''

Using Spatial Calibration, an Ace can accurately determine measurable quantities just by looking for a short period. This requires the Ace to determine a target (anything), what they want to measure (speed, height, weight, etc.), and what factors they will take into account when measuring it. For example, the Ace sees a person running for a second, and, using the displaced distance and time, can make a good guess at their speed. However, some measurements can simply not be taken fast enough to immediately act upon, such as the speed of a bullet already halfway to its mark. Though this can prove to be an issue under some circumstances, any calculation the Ace makes might be able to apply to future situations (such as, in the above example, how fast another bullet fired from the same gun would probably travel). Calculations made with Spatial Calibration are rarely 100% accurate, but are generally very close unless the Ace has made a poor assumption with a chosen factor. Though it only takes a moment to use, Spatial Calibration takes a lot of concentration. It’s cost and cooldown both scale on the difficulty of the measurement being taken (both are generally quite low).

As the Ace puts points into Spatial Calibration, the ability becomes faster, cheaper, and even more accurate. Also, Spatial Calibration can even be used to calculate more types of spatio-geometric values. Moreover, the Ace will even begin to receive passive insights if/when they miss an important factor while making a measurement. At higher levels, time will literally freeze while the Ace is using this ability.

Predictive Model (Advanced)
''Aces aren’t very active individuals, preferring instead to sit back and observe the actions of others. But when Aces do take action, they do so in such an insightful and parsimonious way that some have come to believe that they possess prophetic abilities.''

Using this ability, an Ace can employ advanced mathematical techniques to perfectly predict that which is seemingly unpredictable based on the factors they take in. Similarly to Spatial Calibration, using Predictive Model requires the Ace to pick out a target, something they wish to measure, and factors they will use to make this measurement. However, unlike Spatial Calibration, Predictive Model is NOT meant for concrete physical values – it is intended to guess at the wholly unpredictable in the near future, things like the weather, competition winners, and (most importantly) human action. It also often takes considerably longer than Spatial Calibration to use, since the factors the Ace is relying on are generally much harder to collect with a single look, forcing them to sometimes spend quite a while on a single ‘Model. But once the Ace has gathered the necessary factors and uses this ability, rather than a hard number they will receive a set of percentages pertaining to their target. Just like with Spatial Calibration, Predictive Model is NOT infallible, but it can come very close to being so if the Ace properly amasses their data. As mentioned, Predictive Model can sometimes take a while to use, but requires relatively little energy on activation and actually has quite a short cooldown.

As the Ace levels this ability, it becomes progressively more accurate and can be used on still more-complex measurements. The Ace will also start to gain insights when they miss important factors, very similarly to Spatial Calibration, and they can also learn to combine a use of Predictive Model with a use of Spatial Calibration to yield even more detailed results that blend prediction with hard numbers. Moreover, ‘Models can even be saved and sustained, allowing them to be called on in the future and even predict longer-term events. At higher levels, the Ace will instinctively know when a ‘Model is becoming outdated and can change it accordingly.

Armament Upgrades (Basic)
Governments invest countless resources into the training of their Aces, including the added expense of permitting Aces to design custom modifications to their most-prized weaponry.

With this ability, the Ace gains the option to customize their weapons. When an Ace is first created, they can immediately create one upgrade for their ranged weapons, designing one more whenever they level this ability. Examples of such modifications could include a collapsible design for mobility, a mobile tripod for added stability while firing, or even a silencer! These customizations can really be whatever the Ace desires, but are limited by their complexity. Note that although this ability is pretty limited in what it can do (at least initially), the bonuses it confers will be present on EVERY RANGED WEAPON the Ace receives (even legendaries, etc.), even if they field multiple weapons on a single mission. However, once created, an Armament Upgrade cannot be modified. This is a completely passive ability.

As the Ace levels Armament Upgrades, they may design one new modification per level as detailed above. Furthermore, new customizations can be more complex, varied, and overall interesting. Moreover, leveling Armament Upgrades will improve the Ace’s equipment in a way similar to Upgrade/Quality Level, improving durability, power, range, etc. in generally minor ways.

Altitude Platform (Advanced)
This advanced piece of hugely-useful MagiTechnology is a collapsible platform that can hover, allowing the Ace to avoid melee forces, access high ground, or simply gain a better vantage point.

This ability allows the Ace to take Altitude Platforms from the mission store (stored as a small disk). At will, the Ace can activate these disks to expand it to the size where a single person could stand on it to hover. Altitude Platforms are controlled via minute changes in balance to move at a decent rate in any direction, but they remain stable enough for the rider to concentrate on other things while moving. When done using an Altitude Platform, it simply shrinks back down to be packed up. Note that Altitude Platforms CAN be destroyed, but require no energy or cooldown to use; however, they do have a timed “battery life” to prevent extended periods of use without letting the machine recharge itself. Only one Altitude Platform can be brought on a mission, but it can be used by anyone (though Aces are the best at controlling them).

As the Ace levels Altitude Platform, the Platform itself becomes considerably faster and more-agile (still without disrupting the Ace), and +1 Platform/level can be taken from the mission store. Also, the Altitude Platform’s “battery life” is extended, allowing for prolonged periods of use. Furthermore, Altitude Platforms will start to gain effects similar to what the Ace has designed using Armament Upgrades (translated, of course, to be usable by the Platform rather than a ranged weapon). At higher levels, Altitude Platforms can gain enchantments, mods, etc. from mission rewards, just like normal equipment.