Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Li Suyin peered at her, and it occurred to her that her friend couldn't see perfectly in the dark. Ling Qi felt a small shift in the other girls qi, and the stitched patterns on her eyepatch lit up, casting a dim cone of light from its surface.
She has a flashlight eyepatch.

Every time we see Li Suyin there's something new that makes her feel even more like someone else's quirky PC character. I love it.
 
I decided to specify TRU since given its performance against Appraisal Dharitri for Peak Yellow Zhengui it should be more than sufficient to protect Suyin from random grappling attempts. So long as she stays still and the various FSS techs screw the Antlion over (which they should given how debuffs to mobility and tech usage fuck it over and how SMB inflicts stacking Fade debuffs) then she should be fine while Ling Qi spams HRC and WEC at it until the damn thing dies in a frozen pit of dirt.
How about we don't use expensive B-rank techs that take a full action better spent attacking or debuffing when Suyin can just move back a bit while we focus its attention.
 
Ling Qi took the pill, and after rolling it between her fingers for a moment, popped it in her mouth. It tasted like the fresh unsullied air of an unspoiled vale. There was also a hint of mint.

You can always trust Ling Qi to pop a new pill without asking too many questions.

Li Suyin dropped the last few meters, landing with a thud that seemed thunderous to Ling Qi, even if she knew it wasn't really loud.

The fat Li Suyin meme continues. She still needs to drop those pounds.

"Just a moment," Li Suyin replied. She pressed her hand to the wall, and Ling Qi cocked her head to the side curiously as a half dozen skeletal mice scurried out of her sleeve, skittering away into the cave. She could still see them, forming a shifting perimeter around the two of them. What happened next made her raise her eyebrows, Li Suyin threw a pair of pellets to the floor, producing columns of smoke, and from them emerged two hulking skeletons.

Li Suyin seems to have the summons angle pretty covered.

It began small, stalks of wriggling pale white fungus growing from the floors and ceiling, grasping weakly at the hems of their skirts as they passed, then towering columns of fungal flesh that stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the next chamber, bloated and putrescent, their size crushing them against the ceiling and leading to spiderwebbing growths of pulsing blue white flesh across the ceiling.

With this fungal imagery combined with the mutual toxicity, it makes me think of aerobic/anaerobic life. The exact mechanics probably aren't the same but it involves the air down here and probably how its qi is polarized.

Despite her recent experiences, it was difficult not to sink into boredom as she made a game of pinning the various lizards and fungus bug things with her knives when they got too close, and summoned a few worms to hunt down smaller critters for Li Suyin to carve up.

When Ling Qi gets bored, she makes games out of torturing helpless animals. That's the Ling Qi I know and love.

The beasts body lay half buried yet at the bottom of the sinkhole, and was shelled like a beetles, however, it's two foremost limbs resembled more the arms of an ape, with three fingered stubby clawed hands large enough to grasp a human around the waist.

Boss monster interrupt!
 
[]Get in close, keep the creatures attention focused wholly on you,
-[] Specific tactics

This is the vote where Suyin's safety is the number 1 priority. While it probably is the least effective at first glance for combat itself, it makes sure that she won't be hurt, and is significant right now because of what happened last turn in King's forest and Ling Qi growing unsure of herself when it comes to friends.

[] Ue your more usual strategy, wearing the thing down at minimal cost and risk,
-[] Specific tactics

This is the 'apparently safe and slow' tactic. The two main issues for it is that if we take it slow the ceiling might cause issues, and if we take it slow the monster might be eating other monsters to recover. Or at least it feels like it would have that mechanic.

[] KIll it as quickly as you can, the straining ceiling worries you
-[] Specific tactics

Quick kill, and 'the best defence is a good offence'. The problem with this is that Suyin really is squishy, and there might be other monsters after it if we exhaust ourself. Still, we have DWV if need be and Suyin is attacked.

[]Get in close, keep the creatures attention focused wholly on you,
-[] Specific tactics

This is I think my favorite strategy, for narrative reasons. As for specifics, I would say use a lot of FSS/TRF, with the former for damage and the latter for protecting Suyin. SCS sadly will be harder to use considering we need to be an obvious 'pull'.

Another option is FVM and hope the perception filter helps Suyin some too.
 

[] KIll it as quickly as you can, the straining ceiling worries you,
-[] Use TRF to shore up Li Suyin, then proceed to kill the Antlion dead with FSS. Fly as needed, but only get close if it tries to get at Suyin somehow, stay at a distance otherwise.


This is the warmup fight. no need to overthink, just play to our strengths and be quick about it to avoid any cave-ins.

E: fixed tactics format
E2: changing vote for strategic reasons, voiding this one
 
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[X] TehChron

Pretty solid plan, the only issue I can see is that flying puts us a bit closer to the danger zone if the ceiling collapses, but we should be able to murder it before it can pull a "rocks fall, everyone dies".
 
[X] TehChron

Pretty solid plan, the only issue I can see is that flying puts us a bit closer to the danger zone if the ceiling collapses, but we should be able to murder it before it can pull a "rocks fall, everyone dies".
My intention there is to rely on Spring's End Aria to freeze the earth so that way it's less prone to breaking apart and consequentially more difficult to tunnel through should the Antlion attempt to make a run for it.
 
[] KIll it as quickly as you can, the straining ceiling worries you
-[] Specific tactics:
Use Deepwood Vitality to shore up Li Suyin, then proceed to kill the Antlion dead with FSS. Fly as needed, but only get close if it tries to get at Suyin somehow, stay at a distance otherwise.


This is the warmup fight. no need to overthink, just play to our strengths and be quick about it to avoid any cave-ins.
The way your vote is structured it doesn't actual put your tactics in the tally.

Anyway, this is a version of 'getting close' that focus mostly on making sure Suyin is safe:

[X]Get in close, keep the creatures attention focused wholly on you,
-[X] Reinforce Suyin and yourself with Vital Qi and attempt to dispel what ails her as you close in and make yourself the main target. The end of the spring will herald the end of its spiritual defences and allow yourself to blast all the monsters at once if need be, though a more targeted caress against the main threat is preferred. Do not be afraid of flying, though our mobility should be more than up to the task without.
 
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My intention there is to rely on Spring's End Aria to freeze the earth so that way it's less prone to breaking apart and consequentially more difficult to tunnel through should the Antlion attempt to make a run for it.
This phrasing is confusing me here. I'm not worried it'll be able to run away, I'm worried about it's spiritual/physical pull move will cause a cave in, and you're saying you're planning on freezing the earth. Are you talking about the earth around the antlion below us, the earth that makes up the roof, or both?

Also, I think freezing the ceiling would make it brittle and more prone to breaking, but that runs into real physics versus qi physics that I have no clue about and is kinda a separate issue.
 
[X]Get in close, keep the creatures attention focused wholly on you,
-[X] Reinforce Suyin and yourself with Vital Qi and attempt to dispel what ails her as you close in and make yourself the main target. The end of the spring will herald the end of its spiritual defences and allow yourself to blast all the monsters at once if need be, though a more targeted caress against the main threat is preferred. Do not be afraid of flying, though our mobility should be more than up to the task without.
 
Good question, looks like thats a hole I left unpatched. Lets call it D at baseline
Our basic music attacks have higher damage than Luminescent Star?

Hmm, given the difference in skill levels there, I can see it, even if it does feel like an undermining of "Art supremacy".

~~~
Mmmm, yeah, definitely worried about that ceiling. Also feel like, character-wise if nothing else, we should be trying to prioritise protecting Suyin.

TRU is a bit of a question here, yeah. It would be really useful in this fight I think, but at the same time does slow down our burst.

[]Get in close, keep the creatures attention focused wholly on you,
-[] It's threat comes from the ability to summon forth the pull of the Earth through it's shrill cry, but you know that it is mere sound. Quickly secure Li Suyin and descend into the pit above the beast's gaping maw while flying and raising your own defenses, then use the Spring's End Aria to freeze and mutilate the organ and as much of the earth around you as you can reach. Whether it can scream through frozen and shattered tongue and vocal chords or not, its a stationary target and thus an all-too-perfect victim. Ensure that it stays that way, using Hoarfrost Caress and Winter's End Cadenza to further stop it from being able to fight back or escape.

Are you intending to throw Suyin over our shoulder here @TehChron? Cause that's what it sounds like :p
 
So, first off, I would like to say that I was completely wrong about what we would be facing in this chasm. I thought we would be slogging through hordes of opponents, but it looks like any hordes of weaker enemies are avoiding us (or we are using them for target practice to hone our knife skills) and instead we get to whet our appetite on some bigger fish. The good news is that we are actually able to see who we are fighting! Stupid Antlion trying to get the drop on Li Suyin and Ling Qi!

Speaking of information, here is Li Suyin's info to help with the planning and fighting off the monster.
Yellow 3/Silver 3
Health E15, Qi C20
Speed F15, Initiative E5
C. Perc. D15
Phys Def
Avoid: E15, Armor F15
Spir Def
Avoid D5, Armor C
Phys Off
Hit E15, Pen E5


Primary Elements: Water, Wood, ???
Secondary Elements: Metal

Spirit Beast: Moundbuilder Spider, Zhenli
Yellow 1/Silver 1

I have two main concerns: 1) Protecting Li Suyin and 2) Finishing the fight before whatever the antlion is doing collapses the ceiling. I have a terrible feeling that should the ceiling collapse then Li Suyin will become trapped under tons of rubble/our way out will be blocked by tons of rubble. Nothing good can happen when a cave system suffers a cave in.

Looking at the stat line for Li Suyin, it is unlikely that she can take a hit from the antlion. And should the antlion actually attack Li Suyin then it will almost certainly hit and pretty much ignore all of her armor. And should that happen, Li Suyin only had E health and C qi to avoid dying. I have a terrible feeling that a single hit from this bad guy will absolutely wreck Li Suyin.

In that vein, I think that getting some of the qi TRF techs up and running to help protect Li Suyin and her constructs will be essential to get out of this without terrible consequences. Which means that I am more inclined to support plans that involve us becoming the center of attention for the antlion. Given the state of the ceiling, I feel that attrition will also be too slow.

We have some meatshields, in the form of Li Suyin's constructs, so hopefully that will pull the pressure away from Li Suyin and allow her to do some minor assisting in terms of formation work and maybe even some more constructs. All in all, I am cautiously optimistic that with proper planning we can handle this and get some sweet materials for Li Suyin to work with.
 
[X] TehChron

What is the contingency if Li Suyin makes a tactical mistake and sends her constructs into close combat with the thing? I don't think they can easily move upwards.
 
Mmm, dammit. Pity Imperturbable Peak isn't a counter, while Tranquil Rebuke only works on us and we've already been dispelled.

If we could successfully counter its spiritual attack, then it might discourage it from using it and give us more safety.
 
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