It was about a year into the rigorous beta testing phase of the Personal Intercommunication Modules, that a very unique thing was discovered.
Over the course of that year, the people that were performing the experiments and deciphering everything that could be learned from the NISMs, were pleasantly surprised. The NISMs not only could communicate with them on an understandable level of language, but many of them grew too. It was if they were maturing right along with their handlers! But that wasn't the shock.
What was shocking, was that almost all of them grew an attachment to their handlers. It was as if they were actually becoming friends with them instead of just a 'pet owner'.
This got them scratching their heads.
Sure, several of the participants in the trials were already owners of dogs or cats or even reptiles and rodents. There was one that had a spider and a scorpion and to even out the testing, they had to be sure to get some houseplant tenders and gardeners in the mix.
Now, I don't know if you've ever had a pet cat, but they aren't exactly the most adoring of creatures. They will tell you when they are hungry, often times by being mischievous and knocking things off the table or your bookshelf. They will tell you, in their own obscure way, that they like you and want to be stroked so they can relax after a hard day of - whatever it is a cat does all day. They'll even let you know if they want to go outside or want to play.
But to talk to them, through the PIM, this brought on a whole new kind of relationship with all of the handlers. The NISMs that were more often interacted with by more regular individuals, often reacted better and during that year, a few of them became solely attached to specific handlers.
Life Surge Studies still aren't sure how it happened, but henceforth referred to the NISMs as having 'bonds' with their handlers. The longer and more interactive the handlers were, the stronger and more unbreakable the bonds with NISMs became. Later in the experiments, they would reveal that the stronger bonds also added to the strengths of the NISMs and handlers as they had inadvertently formed a beautiful symbiotic relationship.
A ‘bond’ is the relationship between a player/character and a NISM. This can increase or decrease, based on actions taken by the player. This will have a few different applications, but mostly affects their performance in pageants and tournaments. Bonds will automatically give them a boost. Each bond has a level threshold and the NISM can fall below that, reducing their bond level, or climb above and attain the next level. Steps represent bond levels as it is relative to the amount of time spent with your NISM, just like a friend.
Initial Bonds
None – All captured NISMs will start with no bond.
Frail – A NISM that has walked (or backtracked to) 1000 steps with their player attains a frail bond.
Weak – A NISM that has walked (or backtracked to) 10,000 steps with their player attains a weak bond.
Minor – A NISM that has been purchased, gifted or traded for or has walked (or backtracked to) 25,000 steps with their player attains a minor bond.
Stable – All befriended NISMs start at a stable bond level and any captured NISM that has walked (or backtracked to) 50,000 steps with their player attains a stable bond.
Major - A NISM that has walked (or backtracked to) 100,000 steps with their player attains a major bond.
Strong - A NISM that has walked (or backtracked to) 250,000 steps with their player attains a strong bond.
Unbreakable - A NISM that has walked 1,000,000 steps with their player attains an unbreakable bond. Once an unbreakable bond is established, nothing can be done to reduce the level with that NISM and the player. It is unbreakable. If the player chooses to sell, trade or free that NISM, only then can the bond be broken.
Increase/Decrease
Befriending – If a player successfully befriends a wild NISM, they gain a 2x bonus for bond progression for 2 hours, doubling the amount of steps a NISM is credited with for their bond level.
Capturing – If a player successfully captures a wild NISM, they gain 1% of the last levels total needed to raise up a level. So, if the NISM currently has a stable bond level, they would accrue an extra 250 steps toward their next level.
Knocking Out – If a player manages to knock out or disable a wild NISM, they LOSE 5% of the total needed from the last bond level. So, if they have a stable bond, they will lose 1250 steps towards the next bond level and ‘backtrack’.
PVP & NPC – When a NISM(s) is traveled with and wins a battle against another player or against an NPC player, they gain 10% of the last levels total needed toward the next level. So, if they have a stable bond, they will gain 2500 steps toward their next bond level. When a NISM(s) is traveled with and loses a battle against another player or against an NPC player, they backtrack 10% of the last levels total needed toward the next level. So, if they have a stable bond, they will backtrack 2500 steps from their next bond level.
Fatigue Factor
Once a NISM reaches 15% of their FP points, they start losing steps instead of gaining them. There is no multiplier. If they have freshly befriended a NISM, the reduction is doubled, and they backtrack twice as fast from the next level for bonding.
Tournament Bonuses
None – NISMs with no bond level gain +4 to their strength, + 2 to their endurance and +5 to their instinct in tournaments.
Frail – NISMs with a frail bond level gain +3 to their strength, +1 to their endurance and +2 to their instinct in tournaments.
Weak – NISMs with a weak bond level gain +2 to their strength in tournaments.
Minor – NISMs with a minor bond level gain +1 to their strength, +1 to their endurance and +1 to agility in tournaments.
Stable - NISMs with a stable bond level gain +1 to their strength, +1 to their endurance, +1 to their agility and +1 to their intellect in tournaments.
Major - NISMs with a major bond level gain +2 to their strength, +2 to their endurance, +2 to their agility and + 2 to their intellect in tournaments.
Strong - NISMs with a strong bond level gain +2 to their strength, +2 to their endurance, +2 to their agility, +2 to their intellect and plus +2 to instinct in tournaments.
Unbreakable - NISMs with an unbreakable bond level gain +3 to all attributes in tournaments.
Pageant Bonuses
None – NISMs gain no bonus in pageants for having no bond.
Frail – NISMs with a frail bond gain +1 to intellect in pageants.
Weak – NISMs with a weak bond gain +1 to virtue in pageants.
Minor – NISMs with a minor bond gain +1 to intellect and + 1 to virtue in pageants.
Stable - NISMs with stable bonds gain +1 to all attributes in pageants.
Major - NISMs with major bonds gain +2 to all attributes in pageants.
Strong - NISMs with strong bonds gain +3 to all attributes in pageants.
Unbreakable - NISMs with an unbreakable bond level gain +5 to all attributes in pageants.
Packages Remaining:
OptiNISM - 8 - 5000 HBD each
Elite - 25 - 2500 HBD each
Player's Club - 49 - 1000 HBD each
Gamer's Guild - 250 - 500 HBD each
NISM Beta Testers - unimited - 100 HBD each
You can see the full package details here in this post and decide which one is best for your wallet. If you would like to upgrade your package before the Web 2 launch, just chat with us in Discord and we'll work it out. See you on the inside.
Up Next - With Great Power...
Join us in the next installment of NISM history as we delve into the Maturity of them. Why do they get older? Why do we get older? Is there a fountain of youth? Did you find it? Maybe by continuing to play and staying young at heart, you are as old as you feel. Who knows. Until then!
