jfc complications are terrible
meanwhile dialogue did ... maybe not quite nothing but something in that it let us set up a "fair" duel to abuse the Ring's invulnerability
3-4 pick or rot, tbh
relatively uniques are inheritor + new 4-picks
stranglethorn and valor are relatively common, for a given value of common [ ] The Ring of Power - Inheritor (3 picks, 2 Arete)
drawbacks: mental contamination, -10% rank
bonii: % boost of stats, Soul Evocation + TSH, manual rank
less massive drawbacks but less massive power, probably going into unlocking magic system which is potential [ ] Feat: Kinslayer
"boring" but practical and without the massive drawbacks of the other uniques, but also less massive power most likely [ ] Forebear's Blade - Uttermost (4 picks)
reductions make us more foolish, unlucky, glass-cannon, less attractive, and no tyrant mitigation
also, no rage
we haven't used it yet but it has upped our risk tolerance significantly
so technically this is a 4-pick 7-arete advancement
also defining advancement slot but it is 4-pick so it's not a waste of potential like green knight
+30% rank is ridiculously good
massive willpower which seems to benefit rank exertions, general upgrade of other stats
and free cuts on everything with a bigger sword
almost certainly the most powerful option at this juncture but the most expensive as well
anyway after seeing exactly how massive the drawbacks to most defining advancements are, I find myself much more sold on stranglethorn
that or kinslayer for this pick is good
as for condition:
exhausted with kinslayer is a bad idea, with the others probably manageable
honestly I hate true maiming but it is the least crippling long-term and we can heal it
punctured soul is really bad debuffs but we also don't get any downtime for leaving the temple
so for now: [X] Lingering Exhaustion [X] Hunger - Stranglethorn (4 picks)
That is what I am guessing, but it needs to be answered by Rihaku because this is the first time this quest he's worded something that didn't have dramatic growth drawbacks that way (see unshattered).
I think people are seriously underestimating how good Uttermost is. It lets us use Thousand Cuts as our base attack at no cost! Our every move is our ultimate attack! Seven times the speed and strength for every attack we make! Who needs Rage's conditional, two deaths activated tripling of power when you can be seven times as strong at all times.
Uttermost is almost the final word in SORD GUD. For that we'll need Cut Through.
That is what I am guessing, but it needs to be answered by Rihaku because this is the first time this quest he's worded something that didn't have dramatic growth drawbacks that way (see unshattered).
Our "reward" is not going to permamently cripple a cursebearer. I'm not sure what could possibly cripple a cursebearer, but it's sure as hell not our own ability to power up. He's not answering because the question isn't worth answering, it's obvious.
Our "reward" is not going to permamently cripple a cursebearer. I'm not sure what could possibly cripple a cursebearer, but it's sure as hell not our own ability to power up. He's not answering because the question isn't worth answering, it's obvious.
Our "reward" is not going to permamently cripple a cursebearer. I'm not sure what could possibly cripple a cursebearer, but it's sure as hell not our own ability to power up. He's not answering because the question isn't worth answering, it's obvious.
You mean other than the ability that sacrifices an eye. Or an arm. Or the one that prevents us from mitigating Tyrant?
I'm sorry if it's obvious, but it certainly isn't to me. I'm not too suspicious because he doesn't hide drawbacks like that, but the wording is odd so I'm concerned.
Vanreir is roughly equal in power to the strongest defenders of the Middle Temple, barring excursions from the Inner Residents themselves, yes. Most Outriders would not have been able to kill Gabrielle solo and still been able to fight at near-100% afterwards. He's stronger than Gondar.
I did ctrl+f in reader-mode to check and there aren't any arete costs listed for build options titled "cut through"
The only match that I found was this:
[ ] Cut Through- Their deaths are regrettable. But their opposition is inevitable. Therefore it can be no other way. Do it cleanly. Do it simply. No false pretenses. Like the Forebear would have wanted. [+1 pick to be spent on Forebear's Blade options, +5% effectiveness, +Mental Contamination, -1 Once and Future Cost]
I'm kind of torn because I want Stranglethorn more than ever since we are leaning into the whole "Age and Treachery" thing super hard; but I think it's terrible with True Maiming; the winning complication right now. I feel it's best taken with Lingering Exhaustion since that doesn't affect Stats. But for maiming it's anti-synergistic and anything would be better in my view.
All these examples prove is that if we were making a permanent sacrifice, we'd be warned explicitly and not get ambiguous wording. Also there's no way 0.7 Rank now is worth never raining our Rank again; especially considering it's a four-pick.
Hunger had an uneasy feeling as he carved through the legions of the Outer Temple, rushing headlong towards the Middle once more. He was making visible progress every day, growing in strength and proximity to the Imprisoned, but some ill premonition dogged him still, a feeling that, despite the life-and-death battles he'd participated in, the real challenge was still to come.
Focused exclusively on blood enhancement, his strength, speed, and regeneration all had increased prodigiously after the fight with the Archer, though his ranged attacks had benefited most of all. Now his blade-winds and projections struck with singing force, curving and dancing across the battlefield with easy fluidity, far less taxing to employ than before. With a substantial exertion of self, he could compress the power of his strikes even further, folding seven cuts into a single blow that would rend flesh and spirit alike.
Such power had served him well, rendering the entirety of the Outer Temple a trivial exercise, and yet...
Our preview is suitably ominous. Nothing new here. Re-cap-episode before the season finale, as is expected. Good breakdown of where we stand with our build. Ominous buildup.
The residents of the Middle Temple treated the Outer as nothing more than ablative armor, its autonomous armies culling the chaff from those unfortunates bound to the Temple's call. Any who made it to the Middle were controlled via carefully selected incentives, the carrot of bribery and the stick of the Outriders acting in concert to neuter the outsider threat. Even the weakest Outrider patrols seemed a match for the mightiest beasts of the Outer Temple.
Yea, I noticed, what with the maiming and the getting wrecked and the huge death chances. Golly this place is rough on the old soul. It's no wonder that the mondo bait was offered. Think of the temple as the last laugh of the greatest fish ever caught.
If the Middle represented so great an increase in sophistication over the Outer, then what did that bode for the Ring's guardian itself? For all that his rate of progression had been absurd, was he growing strong enough, fast enough, in the fields that mattered against so versatile and well-resourced a foe? This was no single monster, to be baited and easily hunted. It was an entire civilization bent to the purpose of keeping their Ring imprisoned and extracting its value thereby. Was his own power too linear, too physically focused, to overcome them?
Hmm are my ears burning? I feel as if I've been struck through the heart, hoist by my own petard, hey players u r dumb. Not quite that harsh mind you, Rihaku is nothing if not realistic in his expectations. That said, he's not one to shy away from criticism where its due, and I think it is due. We've been told as explicitly as possible that the temple is a huge risk, and we've collectively only learned after we burned our hand.
Hoo I'm coming in fast and heavy with the recrimation, as if I'm innocent! Perish the thought. My only real regret in participating in these quests is that I feel that Rihaku wants a higher quality participant than I'm prepared to offer. It's not enough to scare me off, but it is a factor in why I back off of some contentious votes. The ghost of Dr. Apocalypse haunts me still.
But yea, we should find some utility. Hard to pencil it in, of course.
Mid-morning saw him in the Middle Temple again, deep past the bucolic pastures of its outskirts and into civilization proper, densely-populated towns of high medieval architecture separated by sweeping, carefully regimented fields of crops. In the valley between two towns he spotted an ongoing battle: A one-armed swordsman in grey Outrider leathers against a figure clad in unadorned plate. It was going poorly for the latter, puncture holes dotting their torso, the heavy steel of their armor rent and ruptured around each exit wound.
Idyllic landscape charmingly dotted with rustic life. Marred only by these two jerks, both of whom might kill us. Sparse description, quick punctuation, more words for the figure's wounds than for their appearance. Sir Not-Talking-In-This-Story is not long for this world.
The swordsman spotted him out of the corner of his eye and swiftly attacked, jabbing with his blade in Hunger's direction. His movement was a blur even to the Cursebearer, and scarce had Hunger interposed the Evening Sky before it was pierced easily through, a wound sprouting across his lower torso. Whipping his cloak around he sprinted behind a nearby hill, blocking the swordsman's line of sight.
270 no scope! Pretty good bub! Shame we don't bleed when we're pricked. Well, shame for him. Very fortunate for Hunger! Also, Y I K E S! This guy lives up to his blurb in a way that most opponents don't get to. What a nightmare to fight, what broadly applicable offense. I can see how he got to the top.
A perfect shot to the liver, punching clean through to daylight. Were it not for his Ring of Blood, it would quickly become a lethal wound. As it was, the relatively small cross-section of the attack meant it would only be the inconvenience of seconds. And yet there was no time to lose. Once the outrider dispatched his current opponent, Hunger would be next, and the enemy's incredible speed meant that pursuit would not favor him. What did he know so far? High physical parameters, already wounded, ranged thrust attacks with apparently infallible aim. His best solution was to meet offense with offense.
I like the businesslike strike of a shot to the liver, but I wonder at the choice. Who dies when you stab their liver, but not their heart or brain? Is Hunger actually a bit evasive, did the Evening Sky occlude his target, or has Mr. Amarlt been doing target practice with Imperia, and found himself unable to pierce that diamond heart?
Wasting no further instants, he quickly leapt out from the hillside, launching a sevenfold blade projection directly at the swordsman as he charged. Eyes flickering briefly, the enemy intercepted his blade projection with one of his own, the thrust every bit the equal of the cut, spearing it in twain. Collapsed blade-force carved a meters-deep divot into the ground as the attack folded in on itself.
MAGIC EYES! neat. Very suitable for the Unerring. Likely would have made a bangup archer if his father hadn't loaned him an unstoppable piercing force. I wonder if they'd be more broadly applicable, if he could aim for the sky and never miss, had he gone without his madcap grab for power. Likely pointless. He's here now, as are we, stuck in the middle with you. Poking holes in our bladewinds even as he pokes holes in our strategy. Alas! Things look grim.
Hunger was already lunging, sword like a flickering thresher as he fired forward consecutive blade-winds, Ring of Blood flaring to exacerbate the outrider's wounds and repair his own. Without hesitation the swordsman turned to face him, effortlessly countering the swarm of blade-winds while a strategically placed thrust put a hole through Hunger's heart.
Oh, maybe he's just working his way through the vital organs in reverse-alphabetic order? Probably noticed we're down a lung and thought those don't count. That "better than you at sword" is coming through clearly. Blood is still doing work, keeping us alive and presumably inconveniencing him, but the gap in ability is pretty significant, to say the least.
A critical organ for most, but not for the bearer of the Blood Ring. Without so much as breaking stride Hunger continued brazenly forward, and the swordsman was forced to leap back in order to avoid a close-range grapple. At that moment the armored figure fired, its arm falling away to reveal a cannon-like apparatus before launching a thunderous salvo.
I'm just gonna say, our plan to get stabbed a lot is working great. I'm now indescribably sad that we didn't meet Robo. He/she/they/it seems like a pretty cool combatant. Hoping for more transforming robot-knight action. Preferably the kind that saves our bacon.
Small aside, I should try to do one of these before I finish the update, as opposed to after. Many of my reactions are significantly altered by having read the whole bit already.
With unerring grace the outrider shifted in midair, blur of his sword a deflecting dance to answer the storm of bullets. Hunger joined in, charging again for the grapple, exerting the full power of his Ring to denude his enemy's blood in erratic, disorienting fits. At last the swordsman appeared to falter, but sensing a feint Hunger juked to the side in the moment before contact. Wisely so, as the outrider spun and thrust twice, displaying heretofore-unseen speed even as his blood was further suppressed. Light jabs both, but Hunger felt his eye put out all the same, and a corresponding groan from the armored figure.
You know, I really don't know how or why his physical attributes are so formidable. Does it just come with rank, as power accrues with Accretion? Is it enchanted gear? Their Amarlt bloodline? Probably not that one or Blood would be more debilitating. Potions and other magical modifications? I'm curious. Do they just dip you in a bunch of radioactive moon water like a SOLDIER from final fantasy? That'd be rad, but probably pretty unsafe!
Fight's going pretty poorly, what with being blind now. Armored figure emits their one and only vocal cue.
Blind, but he still had his blood sense. No time for despair. And yet what could he do? The enemy was simply too fast, his reflexes too sharp, form and instincts impeccable, every attack landing exactly where it was placed. Desperately he exuded raw Pressure, sheer murderous intent, the cruel shining sun of his spirit blazing ceaselessly over his foe. At this finally the swordsman relented, reeling under that supernal might. For all his strength, there was a seam in this outrider's spirit, a thin dividing line that was only imperfectly sealed.
What could he do indeed. Felt that back in planning yesterday, fretting over how to plot around a categorically superior opponent. Pressure is another angle I didn't consider. Rank is hard to grasp. When can we and can't we plan around using our reality warping? How much can we do? How long till we're exhausted? These things probably can't be defined, and I'm a creature of statblocks and counting the little + symbols.
Something to remember, though. Hunger's power has influence, his desire alone impacts the world, and it is an asset in battle as well as outside of it. Not just another stat stick to hit people with.
And yet, how to exploit this weakness? His uttermost extrusion of Pressure had given the man pause, but it was not feasible to continue for long. A spirit-rending attack could harm him for sure, but he had no way of targeting that specific fault-line, and no way to reliably land such an attack against an enemy of this speed. If he let up the pressure for even a moment, the outrider would have time enough to prepare a serious thrust targeting Hunger's brain, and that would be the death of this flesh body. His ghost form, bereft of blood to enhance, would be completely outclassed by this foe. Idly he noted that the armored figure, his erstwhile ally, had no blood at all.
DOMO ARIGATO!
At the time of reading this I was dead serious and afraid. Now, I'm thinking how funny it is that Hunger's going down his list like:
"How bout I kill myself?"
As plan A. Shit we've messed this guy up. I mean, life messed him up before we ever got ahold of him, but we've not chosen a path of healing and rest, that's for sure.
He felt more than heard that figure's next movement, steamroller charge of pure crushing force, fury and clangor like an ironworks onrushing. Hunger redoubled the expulsion of his Pressure, hollowing himself out, pinning-in-place the outrider by sheer verity of spirit. Even so, at the last moment he felt the enemy throw off his influence, violent force as the outrider's very soul seemed to nearly rupture in twain, one-half of it absorbing the brunt of his assault so that the other could go free.
There was a clap of thunder.
Blind and briefly spent, Hunger could barely react to the outside world as he marshaled his reserves once more. Through his bloodsense he saw the figure of the swordsman, blade outstretched, and heard the tinkling of armor plates falling to the ground.
Slowly his Ring's regeneration restored his sight. The swordsman was a ragged ruin, raw muscle and bone naked to the winds, blood dribbling and pooling from countless tears across his form. In the last instant he must have met the incoming armor with a counter-charge of his own, a full-bodied piercing lunge that cored out the mass of plate in a single fell stroke. Indeed, there was a swordsman-shaped exit blown out the back of the hulking machine, which now slowly toppled. Of course, such an attack left no protection for its executor against the terrible crushing momentum of the armored figure's charge.
What a scene. Damn. I love the verbiage around our sadly disassembled ally of convenience. The suddenness of their attack and the stillness after the clamor. Hunger standing there blind and half-dead, while his opponent stands there half-blind and mostly-dead. The fucking loony-toons hole in teh back of armor-guy after he tore through, even at the time I was laughing at that.
An actual hint of vulnerablity. Piercing forever is poor protection against crude force. Guess we shoulda got more STR! I was a fool to betray my roots in Bloodborne!
Panting, Hunger gave his opponent a nod of acknowledgement. He could respect the tenacity, the sheer force of will behind his unswerving technique.
Politely, the outrider inclined his own head. Neither had the strength in this moment to summon an attack capable of bringing his opponent low. Hunger could only hope that the Ring of Blood rejuvenated him faster than the swordsman adapted to his own wounds. Trauma that would have killed a normal man seemed to only briefly faze him. Under the influence of his Ring, very little blood now remained in the man's veins, but the outrider stood stoic and nearly upright, a blade bent but unbroken. And like a blade, chipped and marred, damage to his physical form would weaken, but fail to render useless, so long as the edge was sharp.
Good fight! Two bullets fired from estranged guns, high-fiving one another as they annihilate. Radical. More thematic notions of the guy, too. So long as he can keep stabbing, he's good to go! Bit pale, but I'm sure he'll get better in time to avoid having those dirty inners ruthlessly betray him and his sister! Definitely not as hopeless a cause as Hunger's own.
I always thought getting him to talk at all would be the hardest part. We've spent so many quests ready to murder people before they get a word in edgewise that I come to expect the same!
Memory's faulty of course. Just as often we've chatted up the opponent. Sometimes we even joined up. I shoulda given a bit more respect to the old warrior's bond.
And man, these poor guys.
Fighting through the exhaustion, Hunger took up his own stance, blade raised and poised to cut. The world contracted, static fuzzing in at the edges of his vision. He'd gone too far again, spent too much of his own essence pursuing an impossible feat. Still he dredged up what pitiful slivers remained, enough perhaps for one concerted attack.
He would let the man kill his flesh body, and hope that the surprise of his ghost form's emergence outweighed its now-lacking strength and speed. It was perhaps a vain hope. For the entirety of this battle Hunger had not landed a single physical blow upon this opponent.
At this point I began to believe we had a chance. Hunger wouldn't do this without a greater plan, and the laws of drama dictate that the greater plan would not be that crummy one that we get to actually see. Hope springs eternal for fools like me!
"Hmph," Vanreir shook his head. "What are the chances... my father once said something very similar. I'm not one to believe in fate, but I'm glad you were my final opponent. A worthy enemy can be rarer than even a true friend."
"Well said," Hunger replied, idly scanning the battlefield. He raised his hand, setting his opponent's heart to beating, restoring some volume of Vanreir's blood. "Shall we decide properly which of our swords is the greater?"
"If you wish," Vanreir said, with the air of a man granting a final request. Hunger circled around to a particular point on the battlefield, matching the angle of his initial entry, where the sun fell in neither swordsman's eyes. Slowly he raised his blade aloft, jewel on his finger grim and subdued. The pallor of mortality was like a shadow across the battlefield. Each man knew that these moments could be his last.
Vanreir walked to match him, taking up the stance of his signature thrust. Now within melee range, tip of his blade aimed squarely at Hunger's brain pan, the crystal-steel edge caught and splintered the sun's rays, a daytime thunderbolt.
Enough of sword-projections. An opponent such as this deserved the physical blade.
On the same count they inhaled. An unspoken understanding passed between them. Time compressed, congealed, folded over on itself like molten amber. On came the thrust, that viperous lash of silver like lightning made steel. Hunger's blade descended, but slowly, far too slowly to land any serious blow. By the time Amarlt's thrust loomed before him, his hand had managed only to interpose itself between the enemy's sword and his own head.
There was a clang of steel against silver, a clarion note of pure deflection. The Forebear's Blade fell from nerveless fingers.
Like an inverse kingfisher Amarlt was pointed skywards, his blade thrusting forwards and up, the all-piercing force of his strike no match for the indestructible Ring in its path, which had been bound to Hunger's finger by the Accursed himself. Hunger pressed downwards with his right foot, titanic strength collapsing the weakened ground around the divot that his very first blade-projection had created.
Falling rapidly, the bones of his hand a shattered ruin, the Foebear's Blade was level now with his mouth. Snatching it in his teeth, he fired a single blade-projection, one last absolute exertion. Committed still to his thrust, Vanreir could not change his trajectory. Cleanly bisected, chest from sternum, still his arms and eyes and blade could only face up, up, up; turned forever heavenward, as if to pierce through the sky itself.
But there was always a sky above the sky. One could pierce for all eternity without finding its limit.
Age and treachery had prevailed again, though victory tasted like ashes in his mouth.
Poetic, that. The Rings will have their conflict, bearers be damned.
I'm always left thrilled and mad after a fight like this. Rihaku has a way of pulling out these clever ideas and making it seem so painfully obvious, that I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it. Glorious, still, and I certainly love these moments, but I'm also eating my hat.
Genuinely surprised that we lived. Trembling in fear for what comes next.
Time to see the butcher's bill!
Terrifically painful, not just for Hunger but for his companions as well. Seeing him come back so defeated and broken from a victory must eat at them. Pyrrhus would shake his head.
[ ] True Maiming- Liver wounded on a metaphysical level. Permanently reduce CON and CON improvements by 10% and suffer 400% increased vulnerability to poison and supernatural disease. Suffer severe damage upon strenuous exertion for the next three days.
Easiest one to stomach, geddit!? Like another organ!
Anyway, Permanently is a hell of a word. If our philosophy for power choices needs to be pointed towards the short term, does it follow that we should stretch our disadvantages out towards infinity?
It's what the Accursed does.
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]
[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.
Select a domain of influence. While acting within its domain, [Ring of Power] effects are substantially less taxing and more potent; the effects of this can be abstracted as follows: treat the owner's Rank as if it somewhat* higher for related actions. You may select this advancement multiple times, choosing a different domain each time. If multiple domains apply, their bonuses do not compound.
*+0.5 if Low, +.25 if Mid, +.1 if High.
The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion
[ ] Fierce Quickening[/B] - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Vigor Itself - The primordial might and glory of Blood resplendent. Let all who witness its form tremble, and be subject. Adds [++Might, +Charisma] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.
Would have done actually nothing here. That said, many of these battles have been against more versatile foes where this would have done quite a lot! So hard to plan for an uncertain future. Especially when it's gonna be interesting.
[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes.
Second verse, same as the first. We really should go hard on the charisma build and just pretty kitty our way through all our problems. One of these days Rihaku needs to open up Maid, and let us play the quirky charming sidekick to a brooding pseudo-omnipotent protagonist.
P.S. Don't do that.
Where he advanced, so did the tide of entire wars, the shock of his blade like a hurled epicenter, the trail of his passage but wasteland and rubble.
[+++++Strength]
Power of Ruin now scales upwards depending on your Strength.
Choose: Einhander - You may not regrow or replace your left arm by any means. Substantially reduces the cost and increases the range of special attacks made with the Forebear's Blade. This Advancement grants Might instead of Strength (+Might = +Str, +Con). Zweihander - Regrow your left arm. Your barehanded strikes now carry the full destructive power of the Forebear's Blade.
If Einhander is taken, unlocks One Arm Fury.
If Zweihander is taken, unlocks Martial Stances: Forebear's Blade
D-Did we steal his arm!? He only had the one!
Tried and true, and frontloaded with martial power. Can't afford the good stances, though. The nemesis of all minmaxers rears his head: BUDGETING
[] The Ring of Power - Inheritor (3 picks, 2 Arete)
He whose soul contains multitudes, may inherit the legacy of those fallen.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
*Choose one Soul Evocation user you have slain. You may use their Soul Evocation at a substantial fraction of the original wielder's skill. Apply [To Shatter Heaven] to their Soul Evocation, but gain fragments of their selfhood.
*+50% to the value of that user's highest Attribute +s.
*+50% the value of that user's second highest Attribute +s.
*-10% to the value of future Rank +s, but you may train Rank manually.
*++Mental Contamination from the user you target. Their soul lives on as your prisoner.
*Available Evocations: The Librarian. The Correspondent. The Unerring.
Hunger you can't just go adding everyone who you think is cool into your brain. It's unsanitary!
In his defense, the Forebearer is pretty rad. And the Accursed is the Most Rad. Hmm. Maybe he does have a point?
Mechanically, this is contentious. Massive stats at the cost of less future rank. An odd alter of Stranglethorn. Do we like Amarlt enough to keep him around in our soul?
Imprisoner is coming through hard in this choice. I'm scared of the implications of that hidden evocation, and what exactly Hunger has put away. Maybe we're the Tyrant, and all the hero could do was seal away elements of his personality. Seems far-fetched!
[ ] Feat: Kinslayer - A true opponent's worth. Set Rank to 5. (4 picks)
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Uttermost (4 picks)
Focus beyond absolute focus. To cut what cannot be cut. To pierce what cannot be pierced. To go further and even further beyond in the unrelenting pursuit of perfection. To exert every iota of self, turn every faculty of purpose, bind every testament of will towards a single, unswerving ideal: that is what it means to do one's uttermost. There are no compromises for he who walks the path of the blade.
Do, even if it cannot be done.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Cannot mitigate the Doom of the Tyrant beyond its original state
Expends and sacrifices the Form of Rage
Increase by 30% the value of all Rank +s
Reduce by 30% to the value of Luck, Protection, Wisdom and Charisma +s
+++++++Willpower, ++All Other Stats
First Blade: Restores the Forebear's Blade. Apply the effects of the Fell-Handed Stroke, including modifiers, to all basic attacks with no surcharge. You may upgrade [A Thousand Cuts] to [Cut Through] for the difference in their Arete costs.
This one is particularly alarming to me. Permanent Tyrant. Eats Rage. Less self-preservation, good fortune, prudence, clear thought, personality, and charm. Slough off the excess humanity, trim down to a form with some hope of surviving the crucible we've entered. What a monstrous decision.
The might of beasts is not the only province of the ring Hunger. It bears witness to a deeper and elder power as well, the strength of root and stem that bleeds life from the earth itself to thrust upwards towards heaven. The might of oaks, ancient and thousand-ringed, which crumbles stone and blunts steel, which repels the wind and absorbs the tide, which stands unscathed even in the face of heat and fury. That juggernaut stubbornness like a gnarled fist: the power to push through problems with patient, unyielding strength, to break them down and see them crushed beneath you.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Increase by 20% the value of all Rank +s
Double the value of Strength and Constitution +s
Double the value of Willpower +s
Reduce by 20% the value of Agility +s
Establishment: By committing meaningful resources towards a given context, and staking out a solid position, you slowly but increasingly accrue power and influence within that context, becoming ever-more inescapable and impossible to dislodge.
He's back! Good old stranglethorn, here for round two in the defining contest! Holly didn't even manage another showing, but stranglethorn is more persistant. How fitting! Still quite strong, of course. Pretty well suited to our single-minded obsession with settling matters.
On a meta-level, Stranglethorn makes doubling down on a sunk cost better, and changing course worse. I'm not sure which we're more prone to, but perhaps this would lock us in?
Since we currently don't even have any wisdom or luck pluses we're presumably only getting a 30% decrease to Cha and Protec, in exchange for 7 willpower and 2 of everything else(str, con, agi, int, wits, manip, possibly appearance if it counts as seperate from cha), +30% rank gains and 7 times the speed and power for every basic attack we make at no extra cost of stamina. Uttermost stronk.
Uttermost would finally be a vote that builds on what we purchased in the last vote. Synergy ahoy!
I admit, i have no idea what this means:
I did ctrl+f in reader-mode to check and there aren't any arete costs listed for build options titled "cut through"
The only match that I found was this:
[ ] Cut Through- Their deaths are regrettable. But their opposition is inevitable. Therefore it can be no other way. Do it cleanly. Do it simply. No false pretenses. Like the Forebear would have wanted. [+1 pick to be spent on Forebear's Blade options, +5% effectiveness, +Mental Contamination, -1 Once and Future Cost]
Cut trough is a unlockable 25 arete choice. If i had to guess what it does, it turns our basic slash into something aking to Vanreir's thursts, and likely allow us to cut into the conceptual level.
Honestly you guys are doing pretty well in the Temple, given that initial option literally said it's a trap. You've only taken two pretty bad Conditions so far.
The duel was the primary reason Hunger won! And if you read the earlier dialogue you can see his train of thought.
Hunger -> This guy's moves are almost similar to mine... but more refined, and focused on piercing attacks
Hunger -> Probes with the Forebear quote
Vanreir responds positively
Hunger -> I wonder what happens if he strikes something he can't pierce through?
Hunger's setup works, Vanreir's locked into an attack pattern and can't evade, allowing Hunger to Obi-Won him with the Low Ground
HUNGER: You were Erii's brother, Vanreir. I liked you. You were supposed to kill me, not be plunged into darkness...
That said, it could have been worse. There are two Outriders who would have been a worse match for you than Vanreir due to their versatility and your lack of (speed-relevant) Gisena. But that's no longer a problem since you took Sublime Attainment!
Cut trough is a unlockable 25 arete choice. If i had to guess what it does, it turns our basic slash into something aking to Vanreir's thursts, and likely allow us to cut into the conceptual level.
Uttermost already turns our basic into Van's thrusts, Cut Through probably just lets us apply SORD to any and all problems even if it doesn't make sense.
Most Rank upgrades throw the Pretty Rad thing you did on your Astral legend, growing your Rank. In this case, though, the universe realized that no one as badass as Hunger could possibly be less than Rank 5, and corrected the error, apologizing for the inconvenience.
That said, it could have been worse. There are two Outriders who would have been a worse match for you than Vanreir due to their versatility and your lack of (speed-relevant) Gisena. But that's no longer a problem since you took Sublime Attainment!
It's actually absolutely not safer at all, it just has different concerns than those of other options.
As a reminder so people don't forget, the Apocryphal Curse scales threats to Hunger at his optimal capabilities and Rank, and does not factor in conditions like being Exhausted or temporarily crippled when producing those threats.
It is also viciously clever about taking advantage of vulnerabilities Hunger introduces into himself, such as giving poison and disease SUPER EFFECTIVE type-advantage.
Please vote accordingly.
If you select Lingering Exhaustion, do not support the 0.7 Rank increase - it compounds danger and is anti-synergistic
If you select True Maiming you are permanently introducing a crippling weakness into all our Forms (remember how much you all went REEEE about adding blood to the Final Form because it had the potential to be a weakness? This isn't just potential, and it's far more deleterious).
It is also reducing the effectiveness of the "how much kill does it take to kill you" stat and we are not going to be able to remove it any time soon (we haven't even restored Hunger's arm, eye, and lung, with options having been available)
If you select Punctured Soul, you are selecting an option with a very long period to "wait it out", so you are committing to taking your dick out of the blender and going on a short vacation to rejuvenate yourself before going back into the office.
That said, it could have been worse. There are two Outriders who would have been a worse match for you than Vanreir due to their versatility and your lack of (speed-relevant) Gisena. But that's no longer a problem since you took Sublime Attainment!
I think after this i will just vote for Runeblue in the matters of the temple, i think he is the person who voted the least towards sucidal options. I can't even trust my own judgment anymore...
As a reminder so people don't forget, the Apocryphal Curse scales threats to Hunger at his optimal capabilities and Rank, and does not factor in conditions like being Exhausted or temporarily crippled when producing those threats.
If you select Punctured Soul, you are selecting an option with a very long period to "wait it out", so you are committing to taking your dick out of the blender and going on a short vacation to rejuvenate yourself before going back into the office.
Punctured soul isn't actually that damaging to our combat abilities. If we take uttermost, a 10% penalty to rank and a 20% penalty to physical stats pale in comparison to a 500% increase in combat power.
I think after this i will just vote for Runeblue in the matters of the temple, i think he is the person who voted the least towards sucidal options. I can't even trust my own judgment anymore...
