1679 Words of Vote Analysis/Reaction
I love the smell of Arete in the evening, everyone's work has paid off!
Now, this update is titled
and Google informs me that this is a Bob Dylan song. However, the lyrics aren't very transparent, so that didn't help me at all. Oh well. (Teehee, well.)
What was Hunger doing while Letrizia went 'undercover' on her self-appointed mission? Choose 2.
[ ] Studying the Blade
As I said, there's absolutely no chance that Letrizia isn't being stalked by the Elixir CIA, she's not subtle even without Verschlengorge. I'd be more worried about her safety if anyone seemed to be taking her antics seriously, but I guess we can let her fulfill her ninja fantasies in peace. And her wizard fantasies, because we have some of those on our own.
While Letr- ah, yep, Rihaku has preempted everyone's memeing, as expected. Still, as one who defected from the Not Dying faction and voted to attack the Rotbeast, I want to fight the minions even more.
Let's try that again.
[ ] Studying the Blade - While they ranted about the shackles of Imperial representation, he studied the Blade. While she participated in frivolous antics, he studied the Blade. And now that the rot spawn are at the gates, they turn to him for help?
Well, fine. But it'll cost 'em.
*Hunger fights the Rotspawn, the semi-undead army created by the Rotbeast, greatly relieving pressure on the town's defenders for a bit. He may encounter either mundane Rotspawn, Elite Rotspawn, or Primary Rotspawn.
*The vast majority of Rotspawn are mundane, but by presenting such an overwhelming threat, it's likely Hunger will force out more powerful specimens.
*50% chance of +1 pick
*35% chance of +2 picks
*15% chance of +2 picks, +.5 Arete, +1 major complication
*You may choose to 'target' a specific type of Rotspawn, greatly increasing encounter chances, by reaching a consensus on discussion of which to target and directing discussion and omake power towards it. You'll still get Arete for those omakes.
*Improves your value in the eyes of the townsfolk, reducing the penalties of any Tyrant proc.
Negotiation tip: Don't let on how much you're salivating for XP when you're trying to get them to pay you for something you'd enjoy doing anyway. Could be a nice reversal of the last chapter. "...for help?" "Dude, you came to us, but it's cool if you want to kill rotspawn, they're all over the place."
Aim for the +2 picks! There's no reason at all to aim for the +1 pick, unless it squashes the complication chance more than the Elites would, and a .5 Arete isn't worth a major complication. There might be information that we're not shown here, like if going for the Primaries and slaughtering them could draw out the Rotbeast, or potential increased Rank from showing off more (I really want a non-pick Rank increase at some point, have you noticed?) but I'm content with voting with the surface information in this case.
[ ] Pursuing Technological Solutions - While they don't have anywhere near the facilities appropriate for properly maintaining an Armament, the Elixir Sovereignty is still a functioning small-scale technological civilization with sufficient industrial base (mostly automated) to produce outdated Imperial technology. This should really be Letrizia's job, but with her occupied on her mission it falls to Hunger and Gisena to procure repairs for Verschlengorge's armor and hydraulics, as well as re-stock its supply of missiles and kinetic ammunition.
*Improves Verschlengorge's combat capability without increasing its Rank, making it more self-sufficient and relevant in battle
*+Gisena, Gisena weaponry upgrade
*+Letrizia
*+1 day consumed; repairs take time
It's fine if they can't come close to repairing an Armament at full strength, because Verschlengorge is operating at like .00001% right now anyway. And last-gen Human Sphere tech is miles better than the average in the Voyaging Realm, it seems like, since we've seen the (Middle) Temple, random farmers, and a glimpse of the place the Jackal-Dragon attacked and they weren't even slightly sci-fi.
I love how sweet it is that the grown-ups are taking care of things while Letrizia goes on a secret mission to high school, the daughteru thing was obviously a meme, but things seem to increasingly going the direction of "haha jk... unless?" Verschlengorge deserves nice things, too, and having your Rank exceed your grasp is dangerous, even if Hunger's bodyguarding makes that less important.
Give Gisena a gun, too. It'd be entertaining if it appears to levels up like our bling because she's been tinkering and is just that smart... pity she'd wash off all the Vertices if any were applied, enchanted tech seems like an excellent combination. That regret is just her theme, though.
An extra day down on the Apocyprhal counter, but honestly I'm not sure how much of a bad thing that is. We're going to get screwed by it in the temple anyway, and I don't think being open for 4 or 5 days will make that much of a difference. Not compared to another day's grinding and Gisena having a gun or whatever shenanigans end up happening.
[ ] Relaxing at the Hot Springs - This is supposed to be a vacation, and that means only one thing: the absolute bliss of a worry-free existence at the Elixir Springs! Tomorrow there may be travail and fearsome tribulation, but today there is only the healing power of the geothermally-heated waters!
*+Gisena
*+10% healing chance, +10% Double Healing chance
*Pillars of Creation** is unlocked and can be purchased during any reasonably plausible Experience spend point for 1 pick, 25 Arete.
*Pillars of Creation is extremely powerful utility, offering Curse Mitigation, powerful buffs, and level-appropriate enemies in a reasonably safe environment. It would be extremely useful in the mid to late game.
I already posted Paranoid Hotsprings Tactics (band name?), but with this mood the repeated insistence that Nothing Can Go Wrong is starting to worry me. Plus it's red, but it's the blood kind of red which is soothing.
I don't care about the Pillars of Creation. There, I said it. We have plenty of EFB's available to buy already, a blurb would have to blow me out of the water for me to care about unlocking the potential to buy more.
Going from 70-30 to 80-40 on healing chances is nice, especially if we still have a reroll (not sure of the status on that). That'd be a 64% chance of healing two conditions, I think, and a 96% chance of one. As opposed to 51% and 91%. Not a huge chance, but it not getting any healing would be obnoxious.
+Gisena is gravy.
[ ] Bloodwraith [2 Arete] - There must be a way to overcome the limitations of the spirit form. Its lack of blood renders it an underwhelming combatant compared to Hunger's fleshly body, and given his reliance on it in the past that cannot be allowed. The purview of Progression is the achievement of any feat, no matter how impossible it may seem. Now that he has time to slow down and actually think, might he discover some way of overcoming this weakness? Perhaps the answer lies in Verschlengorge's blood, for, as Letrizia mentioned, its body is spirit and flesh united, a thing not entirely of the physical world. With a sufficiently large sample and diligent experimentation, perhaps he could selectively enhance specific attributes of his own blood such that it could be retained in ghostly form?
*Doom of the Tyrant: Hunger will extract large quantities of Verschlengorge's blood for his experiments without even thinking to ask Letrizia, weakening its Astral Rank to 4. After all, he's its bonded Cursebearer, a position both he and Verschlengorge know is above that of its pilot!
*--Letrizia, -1 future pick
*Hunger's Second Stage is now treated as having corporeal blood for all purposes. It benefits from Quickening, regenerates via the Ring of Blood, and so on. Not only does this double your effective HP, it also allows you to make use of Quickening's benefits alongside the phasing and increased speed of the Second Stage!
Apologize for your sins, Past Projectile! Yes, I was all about that "hey we should study the robot" business, but not like thiiis.
Actually, this is a very interesting situation, because Hunger's being a dick but he's not being evil or even very mean, from one perspective. Verschlengorge consents, and his opinion is the only one that
really matters, right? Once you get past the "making daughteru sad" bit, it isn't that bad at all. But I can't get past it, Letrizia came out here to have a good time and she's honestly feeling so attacked right now.
Also, I think I misinterpreted something in the past, because I distinctly recall Verschlengorge going "I like her more than you lol," but I guess that doesn't have to do with (little r) rank.
Other downsides: Well, it's not really a "downside," but we should compare this to a 1-pick 2 Arete choice like Exalted Spirit. Or Second Stage, which was cheaper the first time, but it was definitely underpriced then so it's okay. Verschlengorge will rank down, which increases travel time and decreases XP. There's the opportunity cost of, like, another pick in addition to the above, so it's kind of a broadly-not-deeply expensive option.
Enough being a debbie downer, because bloody Second Stage is actually really cool! If we have corporeal blood but no corporeal skin, do we leave blood puddles behind us everywhere as fast as we can make it? Do we just slam walls with blood as the rest of us phases through? Aesthetics aside, the option doesn't directly mention the moment of surprise that heralded the beginning of the end for the first Knight and the Archer. Though we have to worry about wound penalties less now, they're not entirely gone, so it would be nice to have that back. Second Stage-specific upgrades would be viable again, which would be amazing because the one that we saw gave +Willpower, and we could reclaim some of our JRPG-ness.
Other than the immediate benefits, I'd love to start down this research chain. "Selectively enhancing" parts of his blood sounds like the kind of thing that has diverse and powerful benefits. To say nothing of the broader topic of Verschlengorge research, like that Cursebearer language and Rank info.
I might have actually convinced myself to make the daughteru sad, friendship ended with hotsprings, mad science is my best friend now.
So I have a deep and compelling reason why ever- what, it's eliminated? Already? Uh.
Moving on.
**[Pillars of Creation] - 25 Arete. At the end of each lunar month, wearer and companions may steal away to the realm of Evening, during which no time passes in the mortal world. Divine opulence and every conceivable luxury await the fortunate interlopers, restoring wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.
The realm of Evening responds to the desires of the wearer and can be shaped to induce a variety of effects at nigh-deific scale - worthy enemies, fields of unique reagents, anagathic peaches, arms and armor of myth. Only one rule is absolute: that each stay lasts seven days, no more and no less. Items typically cannot be carried out, though the effects of items consumed within the realm remain after departing it.
All Curses save the Geas of Indenture are only at one-third severity within the realm, though this does not stack with other forms of mitigation, nor impede their function outside.
I already said I don't want it, but reading EFB blurbs is crack. I misinterpreted this before; one-third severity is much better than one-third less severe, the latter would hardly be worth mentioning if it didn't stack. Interesting that Apocryphal would work at all, but 33% in territory we control would just be spice, I think. Making Decimation less severe isn't particularly meaningful on the face of it, since it works over longer periods of time, but if we can grab A Hunger, Sated on targets produced by the Pillars, using the adjusted value, we'd be... free of the curse forever, actually. Barring disasters, which are guaranteed to happen, but it would still be amazing.
The magic plants in here would be amazing with Fisher King, we could pour our blood on the already present plants and get inspiration for outside projects, so F for that. Could get inspiration for weapons, too, if we ever lean into the crafting side of Rank.
Level-appropriate enemies would be a godsend later on, but for now we're drowning in them. The opulence would be nice, but we're not Nameless so we can go without.
[ ] Vertex - The design and construction of semi-autonomous magical Vertices, points of power that can be used by anyone initiated into the art. Inset into equipment or orbiting their wielder, these points of light can produce a number of functions so long as they are not destroyed: acting as smart- or dumbfire elemental drones, passively augmenting the Attributes or other aspects of their wielder, ablatively interposing themselves before enemy attacks, and so on. Raw power, complexity of Vertex effects, and intelligence of active Vertices are all determined by separate combinations of skill and Attribute, as well as other factors. For example, the raw power of high-tier effects is influenced in large part by the amount of lifespan the crafter shears away in the process of its creation.
*Can be destroyed by Nullity
*Hunger and Letrizia can theoretically learn to wield and create Vertices, though it's a demanding and time-consuming field, and Hunger would require either picks or Arete to overcome the requirement that one be initiated in one's youth, before the age of twenty-one. You may also buy Vertices even if you don't spend any effort making them yourself, though you'll need something to carry them in.
*The Evening Sky can serve as a natural carrier of Vertices.
If Vertices are points, they should be small and easy to carry, I was going to say. But you don't need something to carry them in because they're big, but because how, exactly, do you carry something that's zero-dimensional? With the Evening Sky, who needs math when you have Rank?
I can't decide if spending time crafting Vertices is good or bad for our build, because if it doesn't count as
training but instead crafting, it might be a very efficient use of downtime. When we have downtime, I mean, it could happen. The possibility of just buying power is mind-blowing, is this the power of living in a civilization? Very good for immediate power, we need some get-rich-quick schemes to take full advantage of this opportunity. Or we could just steal everything, there's no way that could go wrong.
The passive buffs are the most attractive part of this system, but its ability to make Hunger's power less one-dimensional (teehee) is also great. I definitely want bodyguard Vertices, or could we get one to help us fly? At least in the sense of giving us ground in the air, that would be great with Fall of Night. Ooh, I've complained about wanting a camera drone in the past, this might be able to make that happen.
Sacrificing lifespan is oof, even for a Cursebearer, and especially for people who live around him. But we shouldn't need that many superpowerful Vertex effects for a while, hopefully.
I do wonder what exactly Attributes are, because that's a word that could be used for Stats, but Stats are Stats, presumably part of the "other aspects" so idunno. Ductility, that's it. Attributes are the stats fishing rods have.
[ ] Surgecraft - A seemingly simplistic but bizarrely powerful art by which its practitioners manifest and control vast quantities of a personal Imaginary Element. These range from the mostly physical (Ironflame, with the stability and density of steel but the heat and mobility of fire) to the highly conceptual (Fellspite, a slow but all-corroding mist that induces hatred and despair in those it touches; Fullmight, which simply amplifies the raw power of anything to which it's applied). Even the weakest Surgecrafter can unleash walls and torrents of their element sufficient to annihilate a large building, but control comes slowly and unsteadily for them, if at all. One can imagine the instability of a society populated by such mages.
*Hunger and Letrizia can theoretically learn Surgecraft, though blood manipulation will be needed for Letrizia to acquire it.
*The quality of Hunger's Imaginary Element, should he decide to pursue this route, will depend in part on Arete spent.
*Though none have accomplished it so far, it's relatively easy for experienced Surgecraft practitioners to unleash blasts of their Element that would be relevant on national, planetary, or even interstellar scales. Simple power is something that it develops easily.
*A Surgecrafter's strength in a given moment depends highly on their emotional context, personal circumstances, momentum of the battle and so on. It is at its heart a spontaneous art that disdains preparation.
Surgecraft's primary advantage over Vertex magic is that it's more awesome. And that it fits well with our theme, not that Vertex stars don't. Raw power sounds amazing, but if we're getting the Sword Praxis it might be redundant.
Despite being awesome, Surgecraft a shit. Setting aside my Tyrant worries, we don't have a huge amount of Arete to spare for a non-redundant and powerful element, and y'all remember how annoying Rage-chan's flightiness was? Here's round 2 of that.
But it's
soooo cool. Not voting for it, though, my Willpower is strong!
The point is, Vertex.
