Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] It's been nearly a year since you first met Meizhen, set aside an evening to spend with her as your closest friend.
[X] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town

Try to get that tsun tsun dragon. Have a good night with Meizhen and have a girls night out on the town with Gu Xiulan.
 
[x] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[x] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
[x] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
 
Alright, boys. We have one week. Is it time? Can it be? Are we ready for the rise of the ASHEN SHADOW ART?!?

Or, on a less serious note, does anyone know how likely it is for us to be able to acquire FSA+ on such short notice, or at the very least Domain 1?
 
[x] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[x] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
[x] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
 
Six has spent less time around around Cai than we have.

And the time we've spent around her isn't much.


I'm highly skeptical of Six's assessment. Especially as they seem to be on opposing ends of the order/chaos spectrum.



Try to get that tsun tsun dragon. Have a good night with Meizhen and have a girls night out on the town with Gu Xiulan.

We aren't getting him this year. For one thing, the Qi cost of maintaining three spirits would be extensive.
 
Ok, here we go.

[X] Stalking Horror, Hidden Senses
-[X] Open Door
-[X] EPC: AE; Vent: AM; Overflow: Qi
-[X] White Room Access: Lanlan, Li Suyin
-[X] Pills: 1 YSS (3 Virtual), 10 Dark, 5 Music/Water/Mountain/Lake/Earth (10+40+15+10*4=105 RSS)
--[X] Tutoring: AE/AM; Using Special Senses: Earth Sense & Qi Sense
--[X] Train Music arts with Zeqing: FVM
--[X] Train with Meizhen: SCS
--[X] Study Formations with Li Suyin (Ossuary Horror & Li Silk Guard)
--[X] Build Ossuary Horror: 21 Scouts (or max # Scouts, if that changes) (Techs: Scalding Stream, Deepwood Vitality, cost 21*8 = 168 RSS)
-[X] Buy Flaming Frond Sash. This small sash is made from a single tropical leaf, and covered with enticing fire artwork that seems to dance as it moves. Physically worn by Zhen. The wearer's Fire and Wood Arts cost 3 less Qi, reducing them to a minimum cost of 1. They also gain a +2 bonus on offensive clashes with Fire and Wood Arts. (cost should be ~200 for speed order)
-[X] Buy Ashen Branch Necklace. This thick necklace is shaped like a tangle of roots and vines, but on inspection is actually composed entirely of fused ash. A trace of it rubs off when you touch it, but it never seems to wear down. Physically worn by Gui. The wearer's Fire and Wood Arts cost 2 less Qi, reducing them to a minimum cost of 1. They also gain a +3 bonus on defensive clashes when a Fire or Wood Art is active. (cost should be ~200 for speed order)
-[X] Buy Fleeting Moonlight Shawl. It's hard to tell the color of this thin gossamer fabric. From some angles it seems like a pale white and from others a shiny black. Gives a +3 bonus to offensive clashes with Dark and Moon Arts. Perception checks against the wearer have an X dice penalty in low light or darkness. (max X while still keeping cost at 200 for speed order)
-[X] Total RSS expenditure: 873 RSS

Stuff subject to change: Pill details, EPC/Vent/Overflow details, second white room spot (if someone has a really compelling reason), specific wording of tutoring (though not its intent), Ossuary Horror techs (if anyone can find anything better), talisman details (though all three will be bought in some form in this plan)

EDIT: Items should probably have some kind of theming. I posted about this later, and added more here. People who want specific themings should bring them up and I'll choose ones that are popular and good. If nobody makes up any themes I will try to theme them myself in a reasonable way. Nobody put any theme ideas up besides me and I am going to bed soon so I put mine in. This is by no means final if other people come up with better things that are more popular, I just want them to have some theme instead of none for now.

The arts learned here are the four we need to finish before the tourney. I especially think the tutoring is a nice idea because new senses are a cool thing, and we've seen Ling Qi use the Qi sense but haven't heard much about the Earth Sense (nominally a perception bonus) from AE. Just in case anyone tries to pull a fast one on us with a stealth art specifically for the tourney this could be a good thing to have done this week.

With 2 actions to spare I think the clear thing to do is learn the Horror and build the Horror. It's a great fighter and if there was ever a time to spend 168 RSS to win a fight the tourney is it. We can finish learning Li Silk Guards at the same time, which will probably be handy later.

We also need to do the last talisman shopping this week. Some discussion of talismans for Zhengui and pricing occurred on this page. I think that given Zhengui recovers 2 qi per round naturally and that few of his techs cost more than 6 qi, it's better to focus his talismans slightly more on dice pools, which he is still a bit sad in (given +3/+3 costs 250 and is too much, from what I understand). EDIT 2: Changed Zhengui's item loadout from -4 QR, +3 offense, +3 defense to -5 QR, +2 offense, +3 defense. The more I look at it the more -5 QR is the optimal point for him.

Personally I think we are getting more use out of PLR in the future than pure water things like AC, especially with its recent improvements and the focus of our flute on dark and moon arts. Therefore I'd like to type the offensive talisman Dark/Moon. Neither of these needs additional QR, so with the additional space in the talisman I've ordered however much antiperception (like the Midnight cape's bonus) will fit on a 200 RSS talisman. The Midnight cape also had a fair amount of support, and that bonus fits very well with the increased strength of PLR's test.

---

My minor votes. Might change them around later, obviously not connected with my plan but in the same post just to not have weird tallying concerns.

[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] You need to unwind, take a morning and spend it on the slopes with Zhengui and Hanyi, a little childish fun can be nice from time to time
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
 
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[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[Xhhh] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
 
[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] It's been nearly a year since you first met Meizhen, set aside an evening to spend with her as your closest friend.
[X] You need to unwind, take a morning and spend it on the slopes with Zhengui and Hanyi, a little childish fun can be nice from time to time
 
"I suppose," Su Ling grumbled good naturedly. "You're lucky I'm not the one who has to re-sharpen the training swords after I blunt them on you, or I wouldn't do this."
Hilarious !

Passive Effects
-User adds two dice to all expression tests
-User adds two dice to all socialize tests
-Users speed increases by three five
-User gains a four die bonus on all physical defenses
-User gains a two three die bonus on all spiritual defenses
-User gains a four five die bonus on all rolls to escape grapple or confinement
-User receives a two die bonus on all rolls to begin or maintain a grapple on others
-This Art uses Expression as mastery for all techniques

Illustrious Phantasmal Festival: oooo
Cost: 10 Qi
The foundational technique from which all others in the art arise. The user gathers their qi and the memories of their night of revelry and expels them through every available channel in a rush of power and gleaming many colored mist. In an area sixty eighty meters around centered on the user, ghostly dancers ever shifting in form coalesce from the midst in a riot of color, laughter, music and movement. When attempting to target the user, an enemy must succeed at a five seven success perception test. On success they suffer a two three die penalty on the clash. On failure their attack automatically fails and the threshold for the next perception test is reduced by one(stacking). Area of effect attacks which cover at least half of the area require only a three four success test for hit. Effects which cover the whole area of the technique do not require a test. This effect persists for five turns, and may be renewed as an instant on the final turn for three qi. This technique is an illusion effect, affecting all senses.


Lunatic Whirl: ooo
Cost: 5 qi
Usable only while Illustrious Phantasmal Festival is active. The ghostly dancers gather around an intruder in the festival, laughing, singing and demanding a dance, forcing them to join the revelry. The user clashes with the opponent, and on success, they are grappled, and moved to a random location within the area of effect. Though the dancers will do no harm to their captive, the frenetic pace of the revelry is highly draining, and targets lose three five qi each round in which they remain grappled. In addition, the target suffers a four five die penalty on all attempts to escape. While grappled, targets may not activate any technique which requires the use of their hands arm meridians, or would carry them outside of the revel.

Third Beat Locked until Green Appraisal

Main benefit beyond the dice improvement in every aspect is the festival is refreshed by a 3Qi expendure instead of 10Qi. (idk if talisman Qi reduction affects it)

Passives
+4 die to physical defense pools of the user and all allies within forty eighty meters
+3 dice to stamina and resolve tests of the user and allies within forty eighty meters
User gains a three four die bonus vs poison and disease effects
The user negates one damage from poison or disease effects each turn
User and all allies within forty eighty meters have their armor ratings improved by one two

Deepwood Vitality: oo
Cost 7 qi
Instant, response
The user channels their qi into the earth, spreading like a great tangle of roots to link with up to five ten allies. On activation the user and each target are granted two temporary health boxes and a three four die bonus to physical defense for three turns. On use the user may attempt to dispel an effect on themselves or an ally and each ally, with a three five die bonus. Temporary health boxes receive damage first, and disappear upon being used. Temporary Health boxes do not stack


Ten Ring Defense: oo
Cost: 4 Qi (initial)
Instant, response
This user fills themselves with the vital qi of the great forests to protect themselves and their allies from harm. Grants the user a three four die bonus to physical defense for five turns. In addition the first two points of damage the user suffers each round is downgraded one stage. Aggravated becomes lethal, lethal becomes nonlethal, nonlethal is negated. The user may expend three two qi to gain one point of semi perfect defense. This effect may be used on allies within range. If the user is not damaged in a turn in which this art is active, they recover two qi.

Hundred Ring Armament: ooo
Cost: 7 qi(initial)
Instant
The user armors themselves and their allies with the iron bark of primeval forests. The user gains two points of perfect defense. This effect may be extended to as many as five allies, for an additional three qi each time. In addition, the user and all allies affected have their armor increased by two. This effect lasts 3 turns.

Thousand Rings Unbreaking
Cost 10 qi
The eldest trees of the Emerald Seas are mighty things, ancient and nigh invulnerable, akin to living mountains. By calling upon the image of their power, the user gains some measure of their resilience. On activation, the user and up to three allies becomes immune to effects which would move them involuntarily and cannot be grappled, unless the enemy's cultivation exceeds theirs by two levels or one realm. In addition, the user and allies gains a four die bonus to all defenses, and negates, for free, the first point of damage they would take each round, regardless of source or quality. While this technique is active damage to armor durability is reduced by two(Min 1)

Locked until Green Appraisal
TRF hitting Green is a pretty impressive improvement. Definitively worth it. Thousands Ring, while expensive, is a huge boon for our survival.
Su Ling, and her sword pointy stick, aren't going to like it...


[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat

Choosing is hard, the only one i can eliminate by default is CRX's minor...
Ultimately i think Han Jian is the most important one because we aren't going to see him in the Inner Sect, so a goodbye is in order. About the same for Heizui (alos: second turn the minor is up).
Xiulan is needed so she doesn't burn herself (again) before the important part.

Ultimately Zhengui and Meishen are going to be avaliable to us in the Inner Sect, no real pressing reason we need to see them right now.


[X] Stalking Horror, Hidden Senses

There is only one issue here, if the formations requirements change we might need more or less scouts for the best result. Hopefully @yrsillar will allow us to make a change on that if needed.
And does building the scouts really use a major action ? With good roll luck we could get an extra AS level :(
Adhoc vote count started by Ayashi on May 27, 2018 at 5:37 PM, finished with 61800 posts and 56 votes.
 
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There's no way Meizhen's minor I going to lose.

[X] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[X] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
 
There's no way Meizhen's minor is going to lose.
Sadly yes. We could have the celebration with Meizhen the following week, a celebration that doubles for both our passage into Inner Sect and use the minor slot on something more ... time limited :(
Adhoc vote count started by Ayashi on May 27, 2018 at 6:05 PM, finished with 61808 posts and 61 votes.
 
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat

If Han Jian had never given us a chance, I'm not sure we'd have spread our interests, friendships, and everything nearly as far. Even Cai first noticed us because of Zhou's test.
 
Six has spent less time around around Cai than we have.

And the time we've spent around her isn't much.


I'm highly skeptical of Six's assessment. Especially as they seem to be on opposing ends of the order/chaos spectrum.
Tbf that is CRX own assessment also in a way. Back during the back and forth when she told us that she is pretty much something made(week 39, Part 2), a monster created by the Duchess. There is some truth here due to the fact that something that has been worked on by a White... wont really be able to escape it.
 
[x] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
[x] It's been nearly a year since you first met Meizhen, set aside an evening to spend with her as your closest friend.
[x] Cai Renxiang might have given you leave to see to other interests this week, but you don't need too. Meet the heiress for tea and politics.
 
[x] It's been nearly a year since you first met Meizhen, set aside an evening to spend with her as your closest friend.
[x] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[x] Cai Renxiang might have given you leave to see to other interests this week, but you don't need too. Meet the heiress for tea and politics.
 
I guess I could do a preliminary plan. I don't really want to do a plan so early though as I am still digesting the update, but I have different priorities from the only plan written, so....

[X] An Eye to the future
-[X] Open Door
-[X] EPC: AE; Vent: AM; Overflow: Spiritual
-[X] White Room Access: Lanlan
-[X] Pills: 1 YSS (3 Virtual), 10 Dark, 5 Music/Water/Mountain/Lake/Earth, Sturdy Oak + Soul Concentrating Elixir (10+40+15+10*4+18+28=151 RSS)
--[X] Tutoring: AE/AM; Using Special Senses: Earth Sense & Qi Sense/ spiritual defences
--[X] Train Music arts with Zeqing: FVM
--[X] Train at the vent with Su Ling: SCS
--[X] Train with Meizhen: EPC
--[X] Cultivate in the White Room (LanLan) : Spiritual

This is assuming we can't train with Xiulan this week, as it's not part of the options @yrsillar gave us. So, EPC with Meizhen and SCS with Su Ling. EPC/Spiritual gives us nothing this year, but will make getting up to form next thread much quicker

I am currently only using the outer sect pills for spiritual, but I might be convinced easily to add inner sect ones too.

-[X] Zhengui Offense Talisman: -3 wood/fire qi cost, +2 atk with wood/fire arts (cost should be around 200)
-[X] Zhengui Defense Talisman: -3 wood/fire qi cost, +2 def while wood/fire techs are active (cost should be around 200)
-[X] Ling Qi Offense Talisman (replaces Blizzard Pin): +3 atk with Dark/Moon arts. Perception checks against the user have an X dice penalty in low light or darkness (max X while still keeping cost at 200 for speed order)

Basically, I prioritise Qi reduction rather than dice for Zhengui, so he can spam his techs safely. sure, most are 5/6qi, but the difference adds up.

-[X] Total RSS expenditure: 751 RSS

[x] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[x] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
[x] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale
 
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[X] An Eye to the future
-[X] Open Door
-[X] EPC: AE; Vent: AM; Overflow: Qi
-[X] White Room Access: Lanlan
-[X] Pills: 1 YSS (3 Virtual), 10 Dark, 5 Music/Water/Mountain/Lake/Earth, Sturdy Oak + Soul Concentrating Elixir (10+40+15+10*4+18+28=151 RSS)
--[X] Tutoring: AE/AM; Using Special Senses: Earth Sense & Qi Sense/ spiritual defences
--[X] Train Music arts with Zeqing: FVM
--[X] Train at the vent with Su Ling: SCS
--[X] Train with Meizhen: EPC
--[X] Cultivate in the White Room (LanLan) : Spiritual

This is assuming we can't train with Xiulan this week, as it's not part of the options @yrsillar gave us. So, EPC with Meizhen and SCS with Su Ling. EPC/Spiritual gives us nothing this year, but will make getting up to form next thread much quicker

I am currently only using the outer sect pills for spiritual, but I might be convinced easily to add inner sect ones too.
I thought EPC was locked until Green Appraisal?
 
[X] Gu Xiulan has done all she could to prepare herself and train, coax her out of the training field for one more night on the town
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat
[] Heizui has, for all his ill temper, been a decent host. Thank him for the time you've spent in the Vale

I would vote for Heizui but he's the closest competition for HJ.
she still has a parent tho :V

Holy cow, mama stalin made an human being.

Given how in setting doing so required two of the most powerfull great spirits, that's impressive as heck.
Any two humans can make another human. And CRX has some flaws. Even if she were made ex nihilo, it's not quite a perfect accomplishment. She's a prototype human, at best.

Still a person, but never was a human.
I'm also kinda surprised how popular Han is.

He's..... Kinda irrelevant at this point.
It's a nostalgic action. His current status isn't the point.
 
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This is assuming we can't train with Xiulan this week, as it's not part of the options @yrsillar gave us. So, EPC with Meizhen and SCS with Su Ling. EPC/Spiritual gives us nothing this year, but will make getting up to form next thread much quicker
I don't follow on the reasoning that forgoes both a "free" Green level minion and potentially improving it in favor of... reaching spiritual and EPC level up one week faster after the Tournament ?Iirc we are going to switch to monthly turns after the Tourney so a week saved is pretty much meaningless anyway.

I thought EPC was locked until Green Appraisal?
Front page indicates 44/500, so it shouldn't be. Unless @yrsillar made a mistake there.
 
[X] You need to unwind, take a morning and spend it on the slopes with Zhengui and Hanyi, a little childish fun can be nice from time to time
[X] Han Jian might not be your closest friend, but he was still one of your first, even if you've drifted apart. See if he has some free time to chat

Essentially I want one of these two plus the Meizhen and Xiulan minors, but those two seem to be winning anyway so I'll boost both of these instead.
 
EPC should still be locked. We got 44/500 anyway back when we got that Moon cultivator to teach us for a week, because he was just that good.
 
It's not, it shuts down at Appraisal though.

So we want it to level up before we reach Appraisal.

It locked pending the Moon Quest, which we've done now.
 
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