Remove ads

TreeQuest: Magitech (Riot Quest)

Reader mode
Robinton said:
Not as on-fire as you'd wish. It was a cold and rainy spring turn, even threatening to snow a few times.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Sounds like the dice did not like us attacking the vines directly.
Well, at least growing through active fire attacks should be pretty hard for the vines. Even if they weren't turned into nutritious ash for us. (and any regrowing without existing strong vines to protect it is just a deer buffet)
 
Toboe said:
Sounds like the dice did not like us attacking the vines directly.
Well, at least growing through active fire attacks should be pretty hard for the vines. Even if they weren't turned into nutritious ash for us. (and any regrowing without existing strong vines to protect it is just a deer buffet)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'll detail it in the turn, but you're talking 10+2 successes, times 3 for attacking a plant, times 0.75 for weather, equals 27 damage. Which is 2 points more than Old Man Materson, or a bit over half what "all the Creatures, all the time, with the addition of Wolves" could manage*.

*Creature damage is boosted by the sheer havoc that you and Old Man Materson are wreaking on the Vines, so you can claim direct credit for part of that as well.

Also, once you kill the Vines, you'll have a Grow the Forest bonus active for a bit, from the empty fertile ashen space that you can expand into.
 
Robinton said:
I'll detail it in the turn, but you're talking 10+2 successes, times 3 for attacking a plant, times 0.75 for weather, equals 27 damage. Which is 2 points more than Old Man Materson, or a bit over half what "all the Creatures, all the time, with the addition of Wolves" could manage*.

*Creature damage is boosted by the sheer havoc that you and Old Man Materson are wreaking on the Vines, so you can claim direct credit for part of that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, that sounds much better than i originally guessed from your "Not as on-fire as you'd wish." line.

edit: gramamr fix
 
Last edited:
Robinton said:
Not as on-fire as you'd wish. It was a cold and rainy spring turn, even threatening to snow a few times. Still, you're winning, if slightly more slowly than desired. Also, the collateral damage has been essentially 0%, to the point that a "no Shields this turn" run would have seen the Forest taking 0-1 Fire damage*.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I guess that means I'm voting to attack the Vines next turn. @Robinton, how close are the Vines? The Focused Light Attack gets 3 more automatic successes from a Focus action than Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn!, but it's most effective within 150 yards.
 
Mount. Elements said:
I guess that means I'm voting to attack the Vines next turn. @Robinton, how close are the Vines? The Focused Light Attack gets 3 more automatic successes from a Focus action than Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn!, but it's most effective within 150 yards.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
At this point, you will find enough of the things within 150 yards - within a given turn - to exhaust all 3 Focus actions. The Vines are basically trying to grow over and swarm your Forest, and getting disturbingly close to succeeding.

I think Focused Light will be marginally more effective than Fire - for a Focus action only (definitely not for Player actions). It will be considerably more so if the weather is somewhat wet (even by the standards of spring), and only just barely so if it's spring-average. Fire will be better (but more dangerous) during a drought, but you're guaranteed none of those until summer, and I fully expect you to 100% exterminate the Vines by then.
 
Space Jawa said:
Hence "KILL IT WITH FIRE FROM ORBIT, JUST TO BE SURE!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Addendum: You're winning. But it's pretty clear that - had you not Grown, both physically and otherwise - since the last monster attack, you'd have been right on the edge. Had you also not noticed the Vines a turn early, and not had Movement, and not had Newton Village, you'd have probably lost.

It's clear what your Enemy intends. It's clear that he's underestimating you.

Presumably he will start underestimating you less. Though who knows what intel he has on you - clearly it's not perfect.
 
Robinton said:
Addendum: You're winning. But it's pretty clear that - had you not Grown, both physically and otherwise - since the last monster attack, you'd have been right on the edge. Had you also not noticed the Vines a turn early, and not had Movement, and not had Newton Village, you'd have probably lost.

It's clear what your Enemy intends. It's clear that he's underestimating you.

Presumably he will start underestimating you less. Though who knows what intel he has on you - clearly it's not perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That sounds similar to "Had you not done things exactly right the game would be over right now".
 
Space Jawa said:
That sounds similar to "Had you not done things exactly right the game would be over right now".
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Honestly reads more like 'Had you not advanced in anything you'd be f*ed.' with a side of 'Had you advanced only in growth xor tech, you'd be close to only forcing a stalemate' which means we'd need to go all-out on attacking, without stuff like some trees doing growth tasks.
 
Toboe said:
Honestly reads more like 'Had you not advanced in anything you'd be f*ed.' with a side of 'Had you advanced only in growth xor tech, you'd be close to only forcing a stalemate' which means we'd need to go all-out on attacking, without stuff like some trees doing growth tasks.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Because we reached Magnitude 3, we can now use our 3 Focus actions to throw 18 automatic successes at the Vines next turn with the Focused Light Attack. Also, I'm not sure why you're singling out Growth tasks instead of "every category except Offense and Defense".
 
Mount. Elements said:
Because we reached Magnitude 3, we can now use our 3 Focus actions to throw 18 automatic successes at the Vines next turn with the Focused Light Attack.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Wasn't meant as a critizism, just that we'd not be able to spare anything.
Mount. Elements said:
Also, I'm not sure why you're singling out Growth tasks instead of "every category except Offense and Defense".
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
In hindsight maybe not the best wording, but
Robinton said:
had you not Grown, both physically and otherwise - since the last monster attack, you'd have been right on the edge.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
-> growth
Robinton said:
Had you also not noticed the Vines a turn early, and not had Movement, and not had Newton Village, you'd have probably lost.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
-> finding ways to mess with the vines -> tech, but yeah, out of the named things village and finding early are communication successes, so not the right word.
 
Robinton said:
I'll detail it in the turn, but you're talking 10+2 successes, times 3 for attacking a plant, times 0.75 for weather, equals 27 damage. Which is 2 points more than Old Man Materson, or a bit over half what "all the Creatures, all the time, with the addition of Wolves" could manage*.

*Creature damage is boosted by the sheer havoc that you and Old Man Materson are wreaking on the Vines, so you can claim direct credit for part of that as well.

Also, once you kill the Vines, you'll have a Grow the Forest bonus active for a bit, from the empty fertile ashen space that you can expand into.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
So it's still good, it's just not an instant win like we hoped.

...We should look into learning that Fire/Water Negacion trick Materson pulls to remove the rain penalty sometime. Which, of course, requires us to learn Water magic, though that part doesn't seem too hard at least.
 
Also, I just noticed Robinton's implication that we've got Wolves now. Either that, or they independently decided to contribute to fighting this mutual threat, which is also good, if less so due to not actually having Wolves yet.
 
Space Jawa said:
That sounds similar to "Had you not done things exactly right the game would be over right now".
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Say, rather: Had you done things exactly wrong the game would be over right now.

(Or perhaps, the game would shift to a several far-flung seedlings of your Forest, that you sent out as a last gasp, and you have to start over but with a better starting techbase and some "skilled survivor" bonus traits.)

If you failed any three of the listed items, you'd still win - but with potentially-problematic difficulty. If you failed them all, and didn't manage anything else cool in their place, yeah you'd lose the Forest and have to start over.

Addendum: If you failed everything because the dice just hated you, I'd do something about the dice. And/or give you a start on Luck Magic.

Sir Plusse said:
...We should look into learning that Fire/Water Negacion trick Materson pulls to remove the rain penalty sometime. Which, of course, requires us to learn Water magic, though that part doesn't seem too hard at least.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Fire/Ice would suffice.
 
Remove ads
Turn 18
  • Threadmarks
    • Focus:
    2 automatic-successes into Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn! -The Vines
    2+3=5 automatic-successes into Grow the Forest

    Actions:
    21 dice - 9+5 successes - into: [X] Grow the Forest
    18 dice - 10+2 successes - into: [X] Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn! -The Vines
    13 dice - 7 successes - into: [X] Research Laser Rifle (Ancient-Tech Research)
    11 dice - 5+3 successes - into: [X] Raise the Shield
    9 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Store Resources Against Future Need
    7 dice - 4 successes - into: [X] Ice/Fire Negacion (Magic Research)
    7 dice - 4 successes - into: [X] Shaping the Fire Within (Magic Research)
    5 dice - 4 successes - into: [X] Research Elder Wise Trees
    5 dice - 5 successes - into: [X] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic) (Corvids)
    5 dice - 3 successes - into: [X] Feed the Swarm
    4 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    2 dice - 0 successes - into: [X] Research Intermediate Movement (Magic Research) (Movement Research)
    2 dice - 0 successes - into: [X] Death Magic Study (Magic Research)
    2 dice - 2 successes - into: [X] Light Magic Study (Magic Research)
    2 dice - 1 success - into: [X] Grow Sensing Tree

    Destructive Testing: The first 5 dice in Ice/Fire and the first 4 in Shaping the Fire: any 6's also damage Vines. That's 1 apiece this time.

    (Dice were slightly above average. And, in the case of the write-ins, strongly opinionated.)

    Specials:
    Pyro Hawk, "Study the Vines."
    fictionfan, "Try again to Grow a beehive tree. Include some "doors" to allow for blocking and trapping wasps."
    Svn0One, "Try to figure out how to make nuts that can release the magical equivalents to love and kindness."
    BelligerentGnu, "When the forest fought the pond monster, it used shields to pin the monster in place. This has sparked a thought, deep within a Root Tree's boughs - if shields can prevent something from moving, can shields make something move? (Attempt to develop crude Telekinesis)."
    Razzocnor, "Try to better understand insects. How do those exoskeletons work?"
    Phigment, "Use Darkness magic to shade the vines, stunting their growth."
    IamtooSleepy, "Check with our wildlife who eat the vine that it is actually safe to eat and not corrupting them to be evil or something."
    ConfusedPotato, "When doing communication with other creatures we have tried to be careful and not hurt them, what would happen if we were not? What if we tried to instead poke every button we saw and feed junk down the line? Let's test, on the vines."

    Squirrel: Help Coordinate Fight Against Vines.
    Deer: Fight Vines.
    Moles: Undermine Hostile Roots (Vines).
    Beavers: Chew Hostile Plants (Vines).
    Ants: Attack Enemy (Vines).
    Bees: +4 automatic successes across any combination of Research and Growth actions.

    Turn 17 Results

    The greatest effort of the Trees this turn goes into Growing the Forest, and it is successful! Your Forest has continued to Grow, and the additional Trees - as they mature in the growing spring sunlight - will send energy back into the Forest as a whole. This will be a bit of a game-changer, you think…

    The Communication specialist Trees have a breakthrough with a local pack of Wolves early in the turn. You see, one of their cubs got ensnared and devoured by the Vines, and the Wolves do not like that. And then the Vines suddenly begin to grow at a ferocious rate, and the Wolves' slightly-boosted intelligence recognizes a deadly threat to everyone. The Wolves promptly join in with nearly-all of your other Creatures in attacking the Vines, and do significant damage - even working to keep your other Creatures safe, as they understand well the value of 'pack.' (12.5 of 12.5 successes towards Wolves.)

    One additional note: One Wolf in particular asks that she please not be required to go near Newton Village - particularly one human who you identify as Annabeth Tavish - without significant backup or something like a flag of truce. Apparently, the Wolves both respect and fear the eldest Tavish daughter's slightly-terrifying defense of her own pack…

    You've gotten a good start on contacting Corvids. They are the first Bird you've contacted, and their mindset is a bit alien. Also impressively smart, to the point that they're slightly smarter than dogs, depending on how you categorize intelligence. Furthermore, you realize that you've targeted multiple noticeably-distinct creatures, and that this project will be more difficult for working to Connect with Crows, Ravens, Jays, Magpies, and probably a few other birds you've seen. That said, you expect the rewards to be proportionately powerful. (6.3 of 30 successes towards Corvids.)

    There was a concerted effort to finish Research of Elder Wise Trees, and a bit of help from the Bees brought this to fruition. Elder Wise Trees are only twice as powerful as the base Tree, despite costing three times the total-expense. However, they get more powerful if used on Magic or Ancient Tech research - or most powerful if used on something that is both.

    There was another concerted effort to finish Shaping the Fire Within, and again a bit more insight and analysis from the Bees brought this to fruition. You have learned - in some cases by destructively testing the technique on enemies - to manipulate the tiny pinpricks of muffled Fire within every living being. This is now something you do, semi-automatically, both to assist your own lives and to hinder anything that seeks to harm you (or your Creatures). (+15% bonus to Survival. Improved understanding of Fire.)

    There was no effort to finish researching Elder Shield Trees, but the Bees decided to finish it off since it was so close to completion anyway. Unusually for your Elder Special Trees, they are unequivocally more efficient (in effect per Growth-cost) than the baseline Tree…

    The last bit of effort from the Bees went to assist the single Tree that worked on starting a new Sensing Tree. It isn't very far along yet, but there is a good sapling starting. You've placed it near the center of the Forest, to stay (as best as possible) away from any fighting that may occur. One Tree's work on checking our Creatures for Malice or similar problems also required helping Grow this Tree…

    Continued and significant effort brought the Laser Rifle research to a nigh-infinitesimal bit over halfway. The project to combine Ice and Fire into a Negacion Pair continues onward, still with no end in sight. By bad luck, Intermediate Movement gained no progress this turn, though next turn is expected to force a bit of progress.

    Our ever-faithful Resource-Storing Tree, with one good assistant, brought the stockpile of stored Resources up again, even through a run of bad luck. Sadly, the net Resource pile still dropped very slightly this turn, between experiments gone bad and the Vines' attack.

    One Tree studied Light Magic, and one Tree Death Magic. The first was highly successful, and its findings were supplemented by massive amounts of experience from the whole Forest Growing, ever drinking in the brightening spring sunlight.

    The second, the Tree studying Death Magic, however… It had no success at all. Yet its project was fully completed. For again and again, the Forest summoned Death against the Vines. And again and again, the Forest's Creatures did the same. And all that experience accumulated into understanding. But the true breakthrough, was in the scant handful of Creatures lost to the Vines. Those we will miss. (Death Magic reaches novice skill. Permanent +10% bonus to all Offense damage (for future turns only). Slightly increased survival chances for Trees and Connected Creatures.)

    The weather was rainy and cold, as the start of spring sometimes is. It was never quite past the freezing point, but more than once you saw small flurries of snow that melted as they hit the ground (or your branches and budding leaves). Slightly dreary weather by Two-Legs standards; normal and reasonable enough by Tree standards - it rained and never froze, and that's enough for most of you to be happy.

    Several Trees tried specific bits of innovation. Three went badly. An attempt at learning the basics of Love and Kindness Magic resulted only in expended Resources and nothing significant learned. An attempt to understand Insects included the Tree in question attempting to reproduce an Exoskeleton out of wood, and ultimately damaging itself slightly. And an attempt to damage the Vines by telepathically projecting nonsense at them ultimately only resulted in giving the Forest a mental ache and minor bits of structural damage. (-3 Resources. Bad luck, one and all, to the best of your knowledge.)

    Some bits of innovation went nearly average. An attempt to Study the Vines revealed that they have only very limited Movement capacity: they can writhe around quite a bit in any direction (enough to ensnare the unwary), and they can Grow at a rather terrifying rate (about an inch per second for bursts of several minutes; dozens of feet per day in an enduring basis), but that's all they can really do. Some work to grow a Beehive Tree - with anti-wasp measures - was much more successful than the last time, and contributed nicely (+2) to the growth of your Bees. Some more regular work also went on, growing your Bee population (+3). And, finally, one Tree made an attempt to derive telekinesis from your Shields; this was conclusively proven to be annoyingly difficult, and a bad starting point for telekinesis, as "Intent to Protect" is quite a bit different from "Intent to Move" except in a few rare circumstances, but this did slightly assist the Shield action itself (+1 Shield point; start from a different point if trying to develop Telekinesis).

    Some bits of innovation went well, impressively well. A thorough check of the wildlife that have tried chewing or eating the Vines proved that no trace of Malice clings to them - a diet of only tainted material would probably be dangerous, but a bite or two seems to be harmless; this actually wound up contributing somewhat (+3) to the Growth of the Sensing Tree as a required part of the process. Finally, the ever-present Unpredictable Tree decided that it would like to leave the Vines in the shade, and weaponized our new grasp of Darkness magic to dim the light above the Vines; this is actually a quite-logical attack option (effective mostly on plants), and has stunted the Vines' Growth somewhat this turn.


    And, yes, the fight against the Vines. That went well, though not quite as well as hoped, this turn.

    Nearly all of your Creatures got together into the massive War. The Squirrels coordinated, scouted, and occasionally wielded their tiny Fire-Swords to set a particularly stubborn patch ablaze. The Deer continued their transportation and rescue efforts, and went more into the thick of the fight than ever. The Moles and Beavers were able to step up their tactics with increased cover-fire from the Forest, doing more damage than ever. The Ants attacked weak points directly, their small size counteracted by grouping up into swarms of hundreds of thousands. And the Wolves took the death of one of their own personally, and showed that their teeth were not just for their traditional prey.

    The Beavers - and Moles, for that matter - appear to have hit their stride, and took no casualties in their vicious fight with the Vines. The Deer, however, lost a very old buck, that will be missed. Also, a much younger doe was fatally wounded, and staggering back to safety, made a Bargain with the Wolves.

    I will die, and we cannot stop that. Let me die as painlessly as may be, among friends, and pledge to protect my kin rather than devour - and I will give you all that I have to fuel your strength.

    The eldest of the Wolves, with hair of pure grey, nodded, and all the Wolves howled to the sky - in grief, for the passing of a packmate. And once she had passed on, they ate with a solemnity that Wolves hardly ever display, and never again did a Deer fall. One of the Wolves died, indeed, rescuing a young buck, and another Wolf lost a tail, and one barely came back, supporting a Deer as grievously wounded as the Wolf herself. But the Wolves would not let the Deer fall; not after that.

    The Ants also lost more workers and warriors than expected - though not without coating the Vines in what seems like a solid layer of aphids. As they use a quasi-hive-mind similar to but distinct from that of the Bees, and their Queens are the only irreplaceable Ants, they are currently only "a bit peeved."

    (48 damage dealt by Creatures, after all modifiers. +5 Death research from Creature attacks. +4 Death research from Creature deaths.)

    The Forest provided a great deal of cover-fire, dramatically increasing the damage from the Creature attacks and reducing deaths significantly. Destructive Testing produced some good results and 2 damage as side-effects. But the main staple of the Forest's damage output was simple:

    Set the bloody Vines on fire.

    And merrily they blazed, except when the rain poured down on occasion. But, for the most part, the Forest's Fire attacks were relentless and highly effective. And with this, the Creatures could advance and sow havoc in the Vines' ranks, secure in the knowledge that something big was distracting the Vines.

    (12 successes, times 3 for enemy weakness to Fire, times 0.75 for rainy weather = 27 damage.)

    Old Man Materson continued steadily visiting once a day to throw several potent attacks at the Vines. A few times, he was joined by some of the others - in particular, Mr. Tavish who was the village expert in esoteric Magic Theory, but despite some hopes didn't come up with many new ideas for you, from seeing the Vines.

    (25 more damage from Old Man Materson.)

    The Unpredictable Tree's work on Shading the Vines bore fruit, significantly reducing their still-rather-fearsome Growth this turn (-20%). They grew just-under a fifth of their original area, but lost two-fifths of their original area to you and the Creatures' cumulative attacks.

    They're clearly losing ground, and you can tell that their Growth seems to be exponential - that is, their reduced are now should penalize their Growth next turn, just as the damage you dealt last turn must have left them capable of less Growth this turn.

    All told, they retain between half and two-fifths of their original size, and should be a turn or two from complete defeat.

    In expectation of a Counterattack, and in preparation for any possibility of a Fire gone awry (there would have scarcely been scorch-marks with the wet weather), you raise perhaps the strongest Shield yet. (9 successes +30% for Shield Trees = 11.7 successes.) And a good thing you did…

    Over the course of the turn, despite your constant attacks upon them, the Vines manage to extend several feelers to the edge of your Forest. While your attacks are endless, during the day they grow nearly an inch per second, and nimbly writhe and dodge counterstrikes. And every time they gain ground, they drop seedlings and reroot, both. Several times, they manage to reach your Shield, and each time they seem to be trying to drain it, to Devour it, or at least to reach through it to you.

    Only after several attempts does this bear any fruit, and an attack manages to pierce your Shields. The Vines immediately pulse with Malice, far beyond their previous faint taint, and a spike of the Malice shoots through your Forest, seemingly looking for something - and not finding it. After modest damage to a few Trees, your Shields corral it, and it slowly dissipates. (-2 Resources)

    You become much more vigilant against the Vines' attacks, but one near the turn's end pierces - and (perhaps learning from the prior failure) leaves Vine seedlings scattered around inside your Forest. They begin sprouting and Growing at that terrifying rate, using your own Trees as scaffolding as they reach for the Light. They don't have time to affect you this turn, but next turn will be another story.

    However, you are far from helpless. For you have an ability you don't think they expected: you can move! More than they can, even! It is well within the Forest's capabilities to rip and tear the Vines away, lean away from their seeking tendrils, use your Roots to drag them underground away from the Light, and generally render them harmless. (The Vines climbing your Trees will reduce your Growth by 30% next turn, multiplicative to any other effects. Any lost Growth will be gained by the Vines. This will be resisted by the Pull Off the Vines action.)


    Actions, Turn 18:

    Communication:
    Note: A fantastic insight grants you +5% on all Communication actions.

    [ ][Action] Reach Out to Minds (Psychic)
    -Successes sort-of stack. You're not sure how difficult this will be. Better results if more successful. Possibility of finding "there's nothing within X miles" - but even something like that will be good to know.
    -This ignores Newton Village and the people thereof.
    -0 successes banked.

    [ ][Action] Connect to Local Wildlife (Psychic)
    -Wolves - scouts? Bears - heavy combat? Beavers - creek work and construction? You know you've seen all these; you have only vague ideas on what to do with them.
    -Feel free to write in a specific request. The Forest can easily target specific classes of animals.
    -Anything that Newton Village is familiar with is discounted 50% in difficulty due to them helping you understand the creatures.
    -Monsters are harder to reach than normal animals. If you want to grab a specific monster, have your animals locate it first.
    -1.5 unspecified successes banked.
    -6.3 of 30 successes towards Corvids.

    Research:
    Note: Your Clever Trees grant you +20% on Research actions.
    (Destructive Testing: If you have access to an enemy and wish to perform destructive testing, vote for the Research action as usual but put in a subvote on the next line like "-[X] Destructive Testing on <Enemy>". This will neither help nor hinder the Research, but may cause a bit of bonus damage to the enemy. This will be limited to combinations that make sense.)

    [ ][Action] Research Laser Rifle (Ancient-Tech Research)
    -This will improve any light-based attack you use, considerably increasing range, increasing accuracy, and adding a +50% bonus to damage successes. This will also allow you to convert Stored Resources to Focused Light Attack Successes at a 1:1 ratio.
    -You think the Laser Rifle is missing its power supply, so you're not going to be getting much progress on that.
    -You doubt this will be an easy reverse-engineering project, but you also believe that it - plus a few smaller projects - will generate an incredibly-powerful attack.
    -Double bonus from Clever Trees. Sensing Trees also grant +10% each. Reduced difficulty from prior analysis of Ancient-Technology Ice Sword. +25% from Prisms and Lenses (from Newton Village).
    -37.55 of 75 successes

    [ ][Action] Ice/Fire Negacion (Magic Research)
    -You understand Ice. You understand Fire. Getting them to work together, by contrast, is difficult. On the other hand, this would be a tremendously powerful magic if you could get it working…
    -Specific known benefits: Passive Fire Resistance (divide damage by 4).
    -22.8 of ??? successes

    [ ][Action] Learn Metal Forging
    -You know the theory of how to forge metal. You want to take this to the point that you can create a metal/wood fusion sword of some stripe - and have it actually work well, at that.
    -Expected benefits are mostly trade with outsiders (becoming a purveyor of fine enchanted weapons) and equipping your Creatures with better weaponry. There will also be a small bonus to Spikes, from the ability to tip them with metal at need.
    -A book of metalworking suggestions grants +25% to this action.
    -10.8 of 25 successes

    [ ][Action] Research Intermediate Movement (Magic Research) (Movement Research)
    -You can, with enough Magic and Intent, occasionally manage a bit of true Movement. Let's make this cheaper, and practice it until it's reflexive.
    -Reward: The Forest can physically fight. The Forest can migrate as a whole, with enough time and effort.
    -Study of a Venus-Fly-Trap and several sun-following Daisies grant +20% on this action.
    -3.6 of 35 successes

    [ ][Action] Light Magic Study (Magic Research)
    -From your steady interaction with Light, and many intentional experiments, you are approaching a breakthrough in your Light Magic skill. Soon you could rank, by the Two-Legs' system, as a Journeyman. While you have no intention of journeying, this would increase the efficiency of your Lens Trees considerably.
    -This gains 0.1 auto-successes per Light-based action die rolled (or auto-success gained). (Light-based: anything affected by Lens Trees, plus the Laser Rifle Research.)
    -Reward: Improves the effects of a basic Lens Tree from +10% to +15% to Growth. Improves the effects of an Elder Lens Tree from +15% to +20% to Growth. Improves Light Magic skill to Journeyman.
    -6.5 of 12 successes

    Survival:
    Note: Manipulating the tiny bits of Fire Within every living thing grants +15% to all Survival successes.

    [ ][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    -This has a +20% bonus from Technology: Farming.
    -55.25 stored; this will function as a spare HP pool against anything that gets through your Defense, and may be useful for other things.
    -Limit of 50*(Magnitude^2). Currently 200. You may never reach the limit, but it does exist.

    [ ][Action] Dam the Creek
    -21 of 10/20/30/40 successes
    -10 successes per level; 4 levels; each gives +5% Growth to offset drought penalties for the first turn of any drought; we expect this to become less effective as the Magnitude of the Forest grows (Magnitude 3 has no change; Magnitude 4 will reduce the effectiveness somewhat; further Magnitudes unknown).

    [ ][Action] Improve Dangerous Terrain
    -It's always possible to make the Forest more dangerous to invaders, especially after we had an actual invader!
    -Might also be worth making it difficult for hostile species? Plants and such?
    -7 of 25 successes banked.

    [ ][Action] Mining
    -Dig up some Linestone for Newton Village. They owe us a Favor for every 5 successes.
    -0 of 5 successes and 1 Favor banked.

    [ ][Action] Feed the Swarm
    -Every success will permanently add 1 to the maximum number of Bee Attack Successes per turn. I'm not sure why you would want more than 20 or 30 total, but there aren't any currently-known limits on how many times you can succeed at this action.

    [ ][Action] Shore up Creek Banks
    -Your Forest is larger; there are now more Creek banks to Shore up.
    -0 of 15 successes.
    -Grants a +25% bonus AND halves any Drought penalties, when Growing any Special Trees, until we have 25 Special Trees total (includes Speaker and Mining Trees).

    [ ][Action] Tear Off the Vines
    -The Vines are trying to climb up your Trees. Now, you are Trees, but you can move, so you have some options to resist the Vines that they probably aren't expecting.
    -Every success will reduce the next turn's "Shadowing Vines" Growth penalty by 5%.
    -Every die or auto-success in this action will grant +0.1 auto-successes to Researching Intermediate Movement.

    Defense:
    [ ][Action] Raise the Shield
    -Use magic to defend the Forest. Effectiveness is generally fairly high, but depends on the exact nature of the threat. (Not effective against a plague of locusts or similar - that's a Survival roll.) Like most defenses, this does little to nothing if you are not attacked.
    -Gains 3 automatic successes from Shield Trees, if at least 1 Player-Tree votes for this action. Gains +30% to all successes (+10% per Shield Tree).

    [ ][Action] Stockpile Thorns
    -Successes stockpile up to 10 times the Magnitude of the Forest. These will automatically damage hostile intruders that enter the Forest.
    -16 of 20 stockpiled.

    Growth:
    Note: Your Lens Trees grant you +20% to Growth. For the duration of spring, the strange deposit of rocks found by the Squirrels grant +30% Growth. The Vines climbing the Trees at the edge of your Forest reduces your Growth by 30%, multiplicative to any other effects (any lost Growth will be gained by the Vines; this will be resisted by the Tear Off the Vines action above).

    [ ][Action] Grow the Forest
    -4.1 of 85 successes to Magnitude 4

    [ ][Action] Grow <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost. You can have up to 10 Special Trees per Magnitude of the Forest.
    -1 of 10 successes banked on Collector Tree.
    -6.3 of 12 successes banked on Sensing Tree.

    [ ][Action] Upgrade <Treename>
    -Replace <Treename> with the name of a Special Tree from the Front Page. Variable cost.
    -This will upgrade a normal Special Tree to an Elder of its same type.

    [ ][Action] Widen the Cave Entrance
    -Grow Roots to widen and shore up the Cave Entrance, so you can get more than just Squirrels and Moles down there.
    -Maybe you'll even figure out what's up with the fading connection as your creatures delve downwards.
    -Taking place underground, this ignores light bonuses and malluses.
    -4.6 of 15 successes

    Offense:
    Note: Study of Death Magic grants +10% to all Offense successes.

    [ ][Action] Release Annoying Pollen
    -Any particular target? It's fairly indiscriminate, but between moving the wind yourself and targeting the Intent at one target, you could probably make it semi-selective.
    -Not a very powerful attack against most foes. Unlikely to do more than annoy Humans/Elves, for example.
    -Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    [ ][Action] Shoot Spikes
    -At what?
    -This is limited to roughly 25 yards of range, at the absolute max. But it can reach outside the bounds of the Forest.
    -A decent attack; 50/50 shot of damaging a target typically. Designed for taking down animals, two-legs, monsters, and the like. Less effective against plants, but still works to a point.
    -Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    [ ][Action] Focused Light Attack
    -At what?
    -This is limited to roughly 150 yards of range (50 * (1 + minimum(count(Lens Trees), count(Clever Trees)))), but can manage a bit further with steadily worsening effectiveness.
    -Any sun or light bonus or mallus will apply to this Attack. Collector Trees will also apply, if a Focus of the Forest action is used. This attack does not currently function at night.
    -Like most attacks, this does little to nothing if you have no nearby enemies.

    [ ][Action] Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn!
    -What?
    -Set the vicinity on fire, and know that it is entirely your fault. Of course, this is also a highly-effective form of attack, despite being one of your personal nightmares. Extra-effective in times of drought - possibly horrifically so. Most effective vs plants, generally speaking.

    [ ][Action] Icy Blast
    -What?
    -Freeze something. You have Ice Magic, after all! More effective when it's cold. Generally deals less damage than Light or Fire, but some enemies slow down when frozen.

    [ ][Action] Blot Out The Sun
    -What foe?
    -This allows you to shroud any nearby enemies in partial - or complete, with enough successes - darkness. It probably won't damage a human army, though it will likely discomfit them. It will considerably slow the Growth of a plant-like enemy.
    -Against the Vines, at their current size, this will reduce their Growth by 7.5% per success.

    Focus

    Choose any three actions from the above for the Forest to focus on. These are voted upon by the entire group, and are in addition to the individual actions taken by each member.

    [ ][Focus] Action Name
    [ ][Focus] Action Name x2
    [ ][Focus] Action Name x3

    These Actions will receive a number of automatic successes equal to the Magnitude of the Forest (currently 3) and any bonuses from other sources.

    Squirrel Actions

    Choose what to ask Arthur Scrat to do.
    [ ][Squirrel] Explore your Forest
    [ ][Squirrel] Lead the squirrel watch over your Forest
    [ ][Squirrel] Lead a search-party in (write-in Direction)
    [ ][Squirrel] Lead a search-party along the (east OR north OR south) path
    [ ][Squirrel] Focus Tree efforts on (write-in Wildlife Type)
    [ ][Squirrel] Write-in

    Deer Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will add 4 successes to categories of his choice (typically Growth, but others may apply; things that are about to finish will be prioritized), UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Deer, by all means:
    [ ][Deer] Explore the Plains
    [ ][Deer] Explore the Path further South
    [ ][Deer] Assist with <Action Name>
    [ ][Deer] Lead a search-party in (write-in Direction)
    [ ][Deer] Fight <Enemy>
    [ ][Deer] Write-in

    Mole Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will add +25% bonus to whichever of Growth or Survival will better benefit, UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Moles, by all means:
    [ ][Moles] Build Tunnels (from where? To where?)
    [ ][Moles] Widen the Cave Entrance (8 dice)
    [ ][Moles] Mining for Linestone (8 dice)
    [ ][Moles] Undermine Hostile Roots (which?)
    [ ][Moles] Write-in

    Beaver Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will add +5 automatic successes to Dam the Creek, UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Beavers, by all means:
    [ ][Beavers] Chew Hostile Plants (which?)
    [ ][Beavers] Explore Downstream
    [ ][Beavers] Flood the Valley (why?)
    [ ][Beavers] Write-in

    Bee Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will add +4 automatic successes across any combination of Research and Growth actions, UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Bees, by all means:
    [ ][Bees] Attack Enemy (which?)
    -Not very effective vs vines. Unknown effectiveness vs future plants.
    -You lack sufficient bees to have more than 5+5=10 successes/turn (before multipliers).
    -By using your superior intellect to carefully target weak points and time your attacks, this action gains bonuses from Wise and/or Clever Trees as if it were a Research action.
    [ ][Bees] Search the Skies
    -Bees see the world oddly, but reasonably well in their own way. You could search a great deal of your surroundings rapidly.
    -The downside is that you would take some Bee losses to birds and such, unless you Trees put significant effort into defending them, that turn.
    [ ][Bees] Search the Ground
    -Bees' eyes are a masterpiece, capable of seeing effectively while moving faster than any other creature that you've encountered. They could search a good deal of terrain in fairly little time. While this wouldn't be as effective as asking them to search the skies, it would be considerably safer for them.
    [ ][Bees] Write-in

    Ant Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will reroll (keeping the best total result) your top two actions (by dice-count), UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Ants, by all means:
    [ ][Ants] Attack Enemy (which?)
    -Moderately effective vs vines.
    [ ][Ants] Assist two specific Projects (which?)
    -Grants rerolls to those specific projects; will grant extra rerolls and/or automatic successes if applied to a project with relatively few dice.
    [ ][Ants] Keep our Creatures Clean
    -Kills off pests (like ticks) that try to live on your Creatures. Unknown effects, but it would probably be appreciated at some point.
    [ ][Ants] Keep our Village Clean
    -Kills off pests that live in Newton Village. You should probably clear it with them first… Unknown effects, but it would maybe be appreciated at some point?
    [ ][Ants] Death to Pests
    -Applies a +25% Growth bonus for one turn.
    [ ][Ants] Write-in

    Wolf Actions

    This vote will be IGNORED, and the GM will have the Wolves attack the Vines (it's personal) (normally they would instead add 4 successes across Communications projects), UNLESS at least ¼ of the voters place a vote in this category. That said, if you have a special mission for the Wolves, by all means:
    [ ][Wolves] Attack Enemy (which?)
    -Moderately effective vs vines.
    [ ][Wolves] Tracking
    -Wolf noses are nothing to sneeze at. They can track a squirrel over bare rock for hours without issue. Anything that leaves scents can be hunted down and located, or even dragged back to the Forest, by the Wolves.
    [ ][Wolves] Exploration <which direction?>
    [ ][Wolves] Hunting Alone
    [ ][Wolves] Hunting with Newton Village
    [ ][Wolves] Write-in

    Summary

    Your Votes should look like the following:

    [ ][Action] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action
    [ ][Focus] Action x2
    [ ][Focus] Action x3
    [ ][Squirrel] Squirrel action
    [ ][Deer] Deer action (very optional)
    [ ][Moles] Mole action (very optional)
    [ ][Beaver] Beaver action (very optional)
    [ ][Bees] Bee action (very optional)
    [ ][Ants] Ant action (very optional)
    [ ][Wolves] Wolf action (very optional)

    Newcomers should add one of the following:

    [ ][Tree] Heart Tree
    [ ][Tree] Mind Tree
    [ ][Tree] Root Tree

    This vote will always be open.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Remove ads
    @EldritchObserver, as a Mind Tree with 4 Research, 3 Growth, and 2 Special, you can be an Elder Mind Tree, a Research Tree (with next-vote Research), or a Creator Tree.
    @KSn5Ynoh, as a Mind Tree with 9 Research, you can become an Elder Mind Tree or a Research Tree.
    @Stargate18, as a Mind Tree with 9 Research, you can become an Elder Mind Tree or a Research Tree.

    Let me know if I missed anything, as usual! Particularly anyone interested in Magic or Tech research.

    @shallow and @Ylamona and @ABalloonyChaos, you can upgrade whenever.
     
    [X][Action] Fuego! Pyrofuego! Burn!
    [X][Focus] Focused Light Attack
    [X][Focus] Focused Light Attack x2
    [X][Squirrel] Coordinate Anti-Evil Vine War
    [X][Deer] Assist fight against Evil Vines
    [X][Moles] Undermine Evil Vine roots
    [X][Beavers] Chew Hostile Plants (Vines)
    [X][Bees] Provide arial intelligence to assist coordination against Evil Vines
    [X][Ants] Clean Evil Vines off Trees
    [X][Wolves] Assist fight against Evil Vines
     
    Last edited:
    [X][Action] Store Resources Against Future Need
    [X][Focus] Grow the Forest
    [X][Focus] Improve Dangerous Terrain
    [X][Moles] Mining for Linestone (8 dice)

    Oh dear the war seems to not have gone well.. anyway back to stocking up stuff
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top