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

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[X]Plan: Moon and Snakes
[X] Skill plan: Renxiang needs Help!
-[x] Resolve x4*, Presence x4*, Composure x1*
-[x] Sable Grace x3**, Fortitude x4*, Dance x4**
-[x] Academics x2**, Government x2, Speech x3, Athletics x1**

And adding to that, here's my suggested skill plan. Presence we can hopefully level, while going all in on the all important Resolve can hopefully level that next turn. Sable Grace, Fortitude, and Dance are all important to hammer on while we have things like TRF available to boost them. Then I think we should try to get a bit more government and speech etc. in order to help out with Renxiang given what we just found out about how she's doing. Academics is also kind of doing that, and also taking advantage of CDE training bonuses while they're there.
Resolve x4*
We didn't have bonus to Resolve, no one of Arts that we cultivate next month has Resolve keyword.
Also, i have been interested for a while, @yrsillar can LQ use Composure and Presence for Resist and Dispel, like Sixiang and Hanyi do?
 
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Admittedly, part of the reason why I'm fussing over qi is because I feel competitive towards our sect friends & rivals (particularly Ji Rong), and I want to maintain the illusion that we apparently have "more qi than our peers."

Past a certain point, extra qi just becomes redundant. If this were a video game, it would be a sign of poor optimization, as it would generally be better to invest extra qi in a spirit. Getting Hanyi now is honestly a good thing and will increase our combat potential significantly more than some extra qi. Our qi will be on the low side for a while, but it should still be competitive with our peers.
 
Past a certain point, extra qi just becomes redundant. If this were a video game, it would be a sign of poor optimization, as it would generally be better to invest extra qi in a spirit. Getting Hanyi now is honestly a good thing and will increase our combat potential significantly more than some extra qi. Our qi will be on the low side for a while, but it should still be competitive with our peers.
Our qi will not be on the low side. Like, Kang is on the low side with his C qi, but Ji Rong is probably around the mid to higher side with his B25 qi (old information, it may have increased). However, Ji Rong also has... no spirit beasts. If he had 2 green level spirit beasts like Kang, then his qi would be in the high C's as well (probably, unless he has a spirit beast reduction cultivation art which would be beyond strange given that he has no spirit beasts).

So us having 3 spirit beasts and being around the B20 mark is phenomenal. Additionally, to keep up with us regarding qi, our peers will have to spend 4 skill training actions to match what we get for free (unless they too have free qi rolls). Which means that we are outpacing them, or at worst keeping abreast of them in terms of qi.

Our qi reserves are, quite frankly, ridiculous for our level, and they will keep getting worse as time keeps progressing.
 
Why did you expect so much more though? We really don't know anything about domains and how ours stacks up to others. What exceptions did you have for our domain?
Our domain would be much better if it gave more bonuses that were relevant all the time rather than in niche scenarios. See the way what we know of Meizhen's domain is 'more fear for everyone I don't like a lot', which is a condition most people fulfill and therefore a domain bonus that is actually active most of the time.

A lot of the problem with our domain's defensive effects is the way they're so niche, giving bonuses but only against specific types of effects (like this one, which is only against control and only if it'll directly harm a person with the requisite social link) which may or may not actually be used by our opponents at any given point.

I guess the good thing is our domain is so niche and it's uses are so rare nobody actually knows not to use the things we've got resistances against, so the one time it comes up our enemies will be surprised.
 
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Our domain would be much better if it gave more bonuses that were relevant all the time rather than in niche scenarios. See the way what we know of Meizhen's domain is 'more fear for everyone I don't like a lot', which is a condition most people fulfill and therefore a domain bonus that is actually active most of the time.

A lot of the problem with our domain's defensive effects is the way they're so niche, giving bonuses but only against specific types of effects (like this one, which is only against control and only if it'll directly harm a person with the requisite social link) which may or may not actually be used by our opponents at any given point.

If the system is balanced though, the fact that our insights are niche should make them stronger. There's no reason to believe that this isn't the case, with how little we know about other people's domains. We know that Meizhen's domain causes fear in others, but we don't know how effective it is in combat. Meizhen's domain is probably better than ours overall, but the main reason for this should be that the arts she slotted in are more synergistic with her domain.
 
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Our domain would be much better if it gave more bonuses that were relevant all the time rather than in niche scenarios. See the way what we know of Meizhen's domain is 'more fear for everyone I don't like a lot', which is a condition most people fulfill and therefore a domain bonus that is actually active most of the time.

A lot of the problem with our domain's defensive effects is the way they're so niche, giving bonuses but only against specific types of effects (like this one, which is only against control and only if it'll directly harm a person with the requisite social link) which may or may not actually be used by our opponents at any given point.

I guess the good thing is our domain is so niche and it's uses are so rare nobody actually knows not to use the things we've got resistances against, so the one time it comes up our enemies will be surprised.
But Meizhen's domain is actively bad for her when she is trying to be political. So it's a double edge sword. Sure it's on all the time. The problem is that you don't want a domain like that on all the time.
 
Spiritual cultivation does that.
You sure that it still counts?
Where've the skills gone? You may wonder. The answer is that skill training will no longer be tied to Art keywords. Instead, you will receive a certain number of dice, and you will divide the pool among your skills as you like. Training arts with matching keywords will add a +1 to each dice rolled for that skill in the turn it is trained. Attributes and advanced skills will 'cost' 2 points for every one actually rolled.
As of Month 2 we have +1 to skills while training arts with matching keywords. Where is here saying that Spiritual Cultivation gives us bonus to Resolve? Quote plz.
 
But Meizhen's domain is actively bad for her when she is trying to be political. So it's a double edge sword. Sure it's on all the time. The problem is that you don't want a domain like that on all the time.
Sure, but that's because Meizhen's arts are fear arts. Our equivalent would be a domain that activates whenever we're playing music. It'd work for us as a minor, constant bonus that doesn't need any ultra rare conditions to activate.
 
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You sure that it still counts?

As of Month 2 we have +1 to skills while training arts with matching keywords. Where is here saying that Spiritual Cultivation gives us bonus to Resolve? Quote plz.
Yes, because I checked with him back when people were getting confused over that.
Erebeal said:
Just to check since there's uncertainty here: does base cultivation still train stats?
yrsillar said:
Yeah same split phys/spirit
 
Sure, but that's because Meizhen's arts are fear arts. Our equivalent would be a domain that activates whenever we're playing music. It'd work for us as a minor, constant bonus that doesn't need any ultra rare conditions to activate.
That's... not how domains work. Meizhen's domain isn't fear because her arts revolve around fear and terror, but because fear and terror are a primal aspect of who she is, just like home and family is a primal aspect of who we are.

Family and home are the central focuses of our domain, not music.
 
And how does this contradict the point that it's extremely niche?

"Deep mind-controlled plant" seems like a highly unlikely scenario, for a multitude of reasons. And on top of that, something like "then whisper everything you've heard on the meeting to this talisman you've hidden on your ring" might not trigger it. And it's Close range.

It's a free bonus.

But I expected so much more.

It might help if you explained what you wanted.

Myself I immediately thought that Ling Qi will be the voice whispering in the back of people's heads going 'remember who you are, this isn't you' when someone tries to take control of them, and while niche, is setup for something narratively awesome down the line.

If you want a constant xp dice adder or something, haha, whoops.
 
[X]Plan: Moon and Snakes

[X] Skill plan: Silence in the Library
-[x] Resolve x2*, Presence x4*, Composure x2*
-[x] Sable Grace x4**, Fortitude x4*, Dance x4**
-[x] Academics x4**, Athletics x4**

This plan isn't so concerned about talking-to-people and other such sillyness for the next month, and instead emphasizes the useful skills we're getting large +2 bonuses to because of Silent Stones. Getting skills like Athletics and even Academics (imagine a Secrets skill) to the C cap more quickly is going to give a lot of return for our buck and give them more chances to split in events. Sable Grace is really worth grinding as much as we can too, regardless of break points.

This plan puts 2 dice into Composure since 1 die only has a 1/6 chance of leveling it. It maxes Presence, and sacrifices some speed with Resolve.
 
So, Ugly River Eel time?
Well... LQ can't visit our friendly neighborhood River Eel, but snakemaid can.
Yes, because I checked with him back when people were getting confused over that.
It's really annoying when important information like that isn't written anywhere suitable like Front page or at least one of Threadmarks, just keep appearing out of nowhere and all except me knew it.:mob:
 
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That's... not how domains work. Meizhen's domain isn't fear because her arts revolve around fear and terror, but because fear and terror are a primal aspect of who she is, just like home and family is a primal aspect of who we are.

Family and home are the central focuses of our domain, not music.
And it doesn't do those things either, except for the one good effect it does actually have. The rest of it just sits back, waiting for the day it's horribly specific conditions will be fulfilled.
 
To be fair, Ling Qi's Domain might not be 'On all the time', but it tends to be extremely powerful for the ones it does apply to. Her buffs for instance are full letter grades, which are the kinds of things we only tend to see in peak level Arts and ultimates. More importantly, it doesn't cause her headaches like Meizhen's does (The whole "My aura randomly kills small animals and makes reds break out into tears", for all it was sort of played up as a joke, is not actually a good thing, and she's groused about her aura's effect in the past).

And realistically speaking? A fully realized Ling Qi is a spiritmaster who's throwing those exceptional buffs out to her whole adventuring party. That is a stupidly unfair build in combat, and her Advance Insight is something that can apply even to occasional acquaintances and allies--which means that she's a fantastic auxillary to attach to a bigger murderball as well.
 
Just read this thread constantly and repeatedly. :p
Ooh, i read Thread, i just didn't have patience to read and remember every little comment that there ever was.
[X]Plan: Moon and Snakes

[X] Skill plan: Silence in the Library
-[x] Resolve x2*, Presence x4*, Composure x2*
-[x] Sable Grace x4**, Fortitude x4*, Dance x4**
-[x] Academics x4**, Athletics x4**

This plan isn't so concerned about talking-to-people and other such sillyness for the next month, and instead emphasizes the useful skills we're getting large +2 bonuses to because of Silent Stones. Getting skills like Athletics and even Academics (imagine a Secrets skill) to the C cap more quickly is going to give a lot of return for our buck and give them more chances to split in events. Sable Grace is really worth grinding as much as we can too, regardless of break points.

This plan puts 2 dice into Composure since 1 die only has a 1/6 chance of leveling it. It maxes Presence, and sacrifices some speed with Resolve.
Can you add to your plan Stamina x1? To trigger Grove bonus
Grove of Thirty Three: Multiplies the successes of Wood Art cultivation by 1.2. In addition add 1/10 of the successes of arts containing physical attribute keywords to physical cultivation
It's not a lot but still nice bonus and we need more Stamina as well.
 
I love the advanced insight. It feels in-character, "flavorful" and useful.

[X]Plan: Moon and Snakes
[X] Skill plan: Renxiang needs Help!
 
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