A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
Talace
It must be raining somewhere else!
aaagh i love how hunger has slowly grown through out the course of the quest, regaining the full sword and the full arm, and seeing such a well made image of it fills me with H O P Eyeeea boiiiyeee
I was going for a traditional Priest-style cast lineup and this happened instead
I thought it was a landshark at first. Hunger as a true fishing master.
I was like "But where is the fish?" and then I noticed Forebearer's blade being buried in one. Amazing.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
As long as take advantage of the post-Temple phase to slow down a bit and let Hunger's mental state patch up a bit, I'm okay.
We've pushed him into a "strongest steel is made in the hottest fire" situation... but the strongest steel is made, not in the hottest fire, but under a very precise and balanced combination of conditions including temperature, duration control, alloying ingredients, and a nitrogen fuckin' atmosphere...
We've pushed him into a "strongest steel is made in the hottest fire" situation... but the strongest steel is made, not in the hottest fire, but under a very precise and balanced combination of conditions including temperature, duration control, alloying ingredients, and a nitrogen fuckin' atmosphere...
- Location
- Philippines
Ayt so. Thanks a bunch for the positive reception of Nine's Ranklet Adventures. It's really appreciated.
It'd be nice to get some reactions for it though. Like, what were the parts you enjoyed, which parts fell flat, etc etc. things to improve on, and things that really struck.
I'd want to get some ideas for Build Vote hell but I've got shit talent for that so it'll be a working experience.
It'll at least be some other avenue for Arete generation if you're optimistic enough
And if j get enough juice for it, it'll all help for Part 1 provided Sign wins.
Also hubris edit:
Thoughts on Nine and uh, how you folks envision him as a character/indiv etc etc kekeke
It'd be nice to get some reactions for it though. Like, what were the parts you enjoyed, which parts fell flat, etc etc. things to improve on, and things that really struck.
I'd want to get some ideas for Build Vote hell but I've got shit talent for that so it'll be a working experience.
And if j get enough juice for it, it'll all help for Part 1 provided Sign wins.
Also hubris edit:
Thoughts on Nine and uh, how you folks envision him as a character/indiv etc etc kekeke
Last edited:
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I have to say, right now "Fine" is one vote above "Unacceptable," but "Maximum Greed" is edging out the other options. That's... not good? Maybe some of us should be shifting around, because we may be in a very close-run Arete situation and "Fine" could put us on the wrong side of a tipping point, sadly.
Grinding to make that EFB dream a reality.
Now to look for updates I haven't wrote a reaction for. I am pretty sure there is more than a couple of such, but they are all pretty ancient. Maybe I should react to an omake? Or actually write one?
Decisions, decisions...
This is an obvious, very obvious reference to elementalism. Although the forces Surgecrafters wield aren't very natural at all, being all sorts of conceptual exotic matters with strange magical effects on reality.
Something should be said about how Elementalists were supposed to be a secret from the outsiders, but... Even aside from how Letrizia blew that box wide open, and how Surgecrafting is basically impossible to conceal long term anyway, Hunger also did Sovereignty a massive, massive favor. That does entitle one to some degree of extra leniency.
Letrizia is really pushing that mysterious transfer student angle here; this is pretty cute. Let us see for long she can keep that up.
Hunger is getting adept at trying to get out as much as possible out of the Ring of Hunger; looking from this perspective when even training could be turned into a contest, Ring's drawbacks are barely relevant at all. Of course, even such trickery eventually fails, but there are means to solve the pick drought when it eventually comes.
With a good reason, considering that Hunger is somewhat of a big softie inside. We did not prioritize Letrizia over Gisena, but Hunger's dad energy is pretty strong nonetheless; he is not going to bully or scam these kids even if he had some minor incentives to.
...Unlike that other guy, we played as before. Poor Suizhen, The Indebted; I suspect that that omake about her traveling the multiverse and offering people powers in exchange for taking on part of her debts ala Accursed might actually be happening right now.
This guy is probably popular. His element is pretty useful; he is one of those people who actually would benefit from being decked in full suit of Sovereignty's power armor, given that he can reinforce it dramatically. He'll probably going to be the strongest Surgebinder in the future, barring people with specific counters popping up and/or unlikely event that a 25 Arete equivalent appearing.
...I wonder if Sovereignty scientists are desperately experimenting in secret labs right now, trying to create a super-Surger of some sort. They are more humane than Empire, but that doesn't mean that human experiments are totally verboten, merely limited.
Hunger did not try to appear younger than he looks, which is a good social move. "Hello fellow kids, how do you do" doesn't work all that well.
Although extreme power and competency generally tend to wash away any silly first impressions like that; in Jonin Quest, our protag was a total pushover socially, and the same was true for Control Quest, but their extreme talent and might won them respect and adulation regardless.
Unless you have a doom of "can't ever be taken seriously" I guess. Man, that was a good omake. We really should pick up praxis there, IDK how would you mitigate anything with a Quirk, no matter how potent.
Right to the core of the matter. No stupid posturing, no overly arrogant proclamations, no silly threats; this guy does not appears to be high on his own power, and considering that he also appears to be some sort of a leader or at least a figure of importance in surgecrafter cliques, speaks good things about future of Sovereignity.
At least for that half of the century before Elixir Waters run out. Then it is a coin toss if Surgecrafting is inheritable.
Hunger is going to enjoy this. Learning, getting stronger, fighting without the immediate threat of death, perhaps even teaching something to kids right back... These are good times for him. Somewhat healthy, too, unlike a lion's share of this "Vacation."
A pretty basic trick, and already useful. Grace experimentation might have been potentially more powerful, but this is not lacking in terms of power either.
I wonder where he got the raw experience to wield his ability like this. He seems to be used to combat, which means either kids are self-organizing something, or Sovereignty did not drop the ball on their training.
And since the difference between Hunger and the ring is rather negligible, them being essentially one being, Hunger is viscerally unsatisfied too.
And yeah, naturally this is a momentous occasion for these people, and even momentary weakness from Hunger would allow these kids to get their head real big and baloon'ey. I wonder how they would have treated us if we slew the actual Rotbeast, though.
We'll have a Settra-like list of titles one day. Better learn to derive enjoyment from the ridiculousness of that all, rather than take it as a burden to bear.
...Wow, it is really easy to sound pretentious about this.
Self-comprehension is always good, especially if it is a sureway path to unlocking more power! Today Hunger learned more than simple Eldendross manipulation; he experimented with the ways how to exploit Ring to the uttermost extent of its capacity, and that is something that'll come in handy later on.
I am surprised that Surgecrafters do not get a more generous stipend, but I guess not making too many exceptions for them is a reasonable choice; making them too favored, too special, could encourage some very unfortunate convictions in their ranks that are probably already percolating in their cliques even now.
Hunger's Sord-side is shining through here. Even in the Surgecrafting-oriented contest, he goes and just grapples the enemy into submission.
A dangerous idea worth dispelling.
And yeah, Aobaru did not have much trouble understanding that Hunger is actually holding back here. I am sure he was aware before, but it just does not viscerally imprint until your opponent just blurs, and then suddenly it is all over before it even begun.
Also, kids being kids. Nice.
I hope none of them actually try to take this as an example to follow. Ring of Hunger and Progression makes Hunger this work, trying this for normal humans is a sure way to long-term injury and getting yourself killed. It is just not a good way to train, tbh.
...Unless you are a protagonist of shounen anime, I suppose.
I wonder if Surgecrafters could potentially get access to time-space bending elements; that sort of thing would have worked well against Hunger too, now I thinks about it. At least until we use Cut Through.
This is very anime sort of "exhausted." Like a character appears to be temporary on backfoot, and then they suddenly start pulling out stamina out of nowhere like they barely even tried before? Yeah, this is that.
...Well, maybe we could have if we had To Shatter Heavens applied on it, but we don't.
Oh, Quintessence. How I wish you weren't an Evening Sky pick. Well, at least we'll at least delay it until Hunger becomes a little bit more mentally healthy, hopefully; with Maiden-like empowerment coming from etching a narrative imagine into the fundamental nature of Findross, mentally crazy, crippled and unhealthy Hunger means that for Findross that becomes an ideal of perfection. One of many ideals, at the very least. I'd rather not do such thing.
Aobaru really tried to play this like an anime fight, with trump cards and holding back and stuff. But Hunger is just too stronk.
At least most of the people who were particularly egregious about it had some sort of an excuse; Vanreir was a walking corpse without a beating heart or any blood coursing through his veins at the end, but his Soul Evocation allowed him to at least finish the metaphorical thrust through inertia he generated before; he was probably doomed to die at the end of that day even if he slew us.
Dunno if it is possible without the help of a Progression-type cursebearer, though! That sort of an accomplishment would require centuries of dedicated work, normally.
This boy is a decent teacher, too. Nothing exceptional, but I kind of been expecting a whole lot of more posturing, bragging, and teenage nonsense. Well, I guess once does not get ahead and become an accomplished Surgecrafter (or anything really) by being a stupid punk.
...What sort of a lesson we are teaching to Letrizia. Man, we are the worst influence. Going like this, one day she'll come back home as a dead ghost, proud as peacock about killing herself for power for the first time.
If there is any good reason to curb Hunger's more questionable tendencies, it is how they affect the people around him. Sheer power shields one from missteps and consequences to the extend, but Even Odyssial had to fight an entire world (and lose) when he overdosed on Cut Through/Heartlessness juice.
Also, that Cool Mysterious Transfer student image really didn't hold for long. Good thing that Letrizia is actually pretty likeable regardless.
Anyway, there is a strong correlation between appearance and element for all these kids; Hunger's rough, villainous visage clashing with redemption and sun-warm of Eldendross is an odd man out. If this was some sort of an anime with these kids being protagonists, such thing would've been a big "Aha" moment for the mildly attentive viewer.
---
Well, we'll see if we are up to dealing with the result of our own actions. A lot of people knowingly took this risk, now it is time to deliver.
Notably, we do have a ring purchase that allows us to employ evocations of people we defeat, so once we get pillars, fights like these are going to become retroactively incredibly valuable, especially if we somehow miss Pillars purchase. Soul Evocation can be used to grind Rank, after all... I wonder how good it is at grinding raw stats; relevant Evocations seems to be awfully good at it.
On a side-note, I find it hilarious that our martial stance helps with diplomacy. More, it helps not through intimidation, but subterfuge. Forebearer's blade really is just... Everything-type artifact. Potential, Power, Utility, you name, it has it. And at the only slight cost of mental contamination, too!
I'll highlight this bit; already losing does not necessarily equal death, and should be purchase Flare, our chances of getaway even in the even of losing are going to increase from +3 effective ranks of blood manipulation and 0.7 ranks to everything. With EFB, even losing here would count as a win as long as we survive, since Flare does unlock paths of accumulating more power that are not reliant on picks. And who knows, we might even finally go to that bloody camp! We had a pretty reasonable chance of encountering powerful allies last time it was an option!
I can't help but think that this is connected to the hidden masters somehow; a part of how Forebearer became what he was. With Forebearer being the figure of transcendent, dimension-overcoming power, I am pretty sure he had encountered and dealt with Hidden Masters in some fashion. Perhaps, the mystery of his death is the point of origin for the Cycle of Heroes and Tyrants that is implied to be a thing in Accretion-verse.
Tyrant probably tried really hard to be the Forebearer, but he simply didn't manage to cut through. Employment of such maneuvers as sending his daughter to sabotage Hunger distinguishes him from his ancestor strongly, who probably didn't care for such maneuvers.
...Or maybe I shouldn't oversimplify Forebearer so; Age and Treachery is also his inheritance, after all. Well, regardless, whoever pursues the path of the Forebearer must remember that he did, in the end, fall to something; if one plans on surpassing him, merely retracing the steps is not enough. And someone with the power of Progression probably should pick a grander and more benevolent endpoint than this, or Accursed himself might decide that he does not want someone like you amongst his chosen.
Horrendous in its own right, of course.
I don't even mind, as long as we actually get other EFBs from the trinity category first.
Now to look for updates I haven't wrote a reaction for. I am pretty sure there is more than a couple of such, but they are all pretty ancient. Maybe I should react to an omake? Or actually write one?
Decisions, decisions...
This is an obvious, very obvious reference to elementalism. Although the forces Surgecrafters wield aren't very natural at all, being all sorts of conceptual exotic matters with strange magical effects on reality.
Something should be said about how Elementalists were supposed to be a secret from the outsiders, but... Even aside from how Letrizia blew that box wide open, and how Surgecrafting is basically impossible to conceal long term anyway, Hunger also did Sovereignty a massive, massive favor. That does entitle one to some degree of extra leniency.
Letrizia is really pushing that mysterious transfer student angle here; this is pretty cute. Let us see for long she can keep that up.
Hunger is getting adept at trying to get out as much as possible out of the Ring of Hunger; looking from this perspective when even training could be turned into a contest, Ring's drawbacks are barely relevant at all. Of course, even such trickery eventually fails, but there are means to solve the pick drought when it eventually comes.
With a good reason, considering that Hunger is somewhat of a big softie inside. We did not prioritize Letrizia over Gisena, but Hunger's dad energy is pretty strong nonetheless; he is not going to bully or scam these kids even if he had some minor incentives to.
...Unlike that other guy, we played as before. Poor Suizhen, The Indebted; I suspect that that omake about her traveling the multiverse and offering people powers in exchange for taking on part of her debts ala Accursed might actually be happening right now.
This guy is probably popular. His element is pretty useful; he is one of those people who actually would benefit from being decked in full suit of Sovereignty's power armor, given that he can reinforce it dramatically. He'll probably going to be the strongest Surgebinder in the future, barring people with specific counters popping up and/or unlikely event that a 25 Arete equivalent appearing.
...I wonder if Sovereignty scientists are desperately experimenting in secret labs right now, trying to create a super-Surger of some sort. They are more humane than Empire, but that doesn't mean that human experiments are totally verboten, merely limited.
Hunger did not try to appear younger than he looks, which is a good social move. "Hello fellow kids, how do you do" doesn't work all that well.
Although extreme power and competency generally tend to wash away any silly first impressions like that; in Jonin Quest, our protag was a total pushover socially, and the same was true for Control Quest, but their extreme talent and might won them respect and adulation regardless.
Unless you have a doom of "can't ever be taken seriously" I guess. Man, that was a good omake. We really should pick up praxis there, IDK how would you mitigate anything with a Quirk, no matter how potent.
Right to the core of the matter. No stupid posturing, no overly arrogant proclamations, no silly threats; this guy does not appears to be high on his own power, and considering that he also appears to be some sort of a leader or at least a figure of importance in surgecrafter cliques, speaks good things about future of Sovereignity.
At least for that half of the century before Elixir Waters run out. Then it is a coin toss if Surgecrafting is inheritable.
Hunger is going to enjoy this. Learning, getting stronger, fighting without the immediate threat of death, perhaps even teaching something to kids right back... These are good times for him. Somewhat healthy, too, unlike a lion's share of this "Vacation."
A pretty basic trick, and already useful. Grace experimentation might have been potentially more powerful, but this is not lacking in terms of power either.
I wonder where he got the raw experience to wield his ability like this. He seems to be used to combat, which means either kids are self-organizing something, or Sovereignty did not drop the ball on their training.
And since the difference between Hunger and the ring is rather negligible, them being essentially one being, Hunger is viscerally unsatisfied too.
Well, it is only natural for these people to hate the rotspawn, but such a justice-oriented tittle... I wonder if they are treating Rotbeast as intelligent, if evil, actor. Something that is more than a simple beast or force of nature, but an actual thinking invader that came to pillage and burn through their city.
And yeah, naturally this is a momentous occasion for these people, and even momentary weakness from Hunger would allow these kids to get their head real big and baloon'ey. I wonder how they would have treated us if we slew the actual Rotbeast, though.
A man who calls himself Lord Hunger really ought to have a greater cringe resistance than this! Especially when it is backed up by substantial benefits like the growth of his power!
We'll have a Settra-like list of titles one day. Better learn to derive enjoyment from the ridiculousness of that all, rather than take it as a burden to bear.
Pfft. Gisena, as always, having fun with this. Where she even got that cloth, I wonder?
He probably knows that it is true and that Hunger did holdback; he probably also doesn't really care. Sincere adulation is such a drug.
Kids are in for a surprise should actually unleash a non-negligible fraction of Hunger's true power.
...Wow, it is really easy to sound pretentious about this.
Self-comprehension is always good, especially if it is a sureway path to unlocking more power! Today Hunger learned more than simple Eldendross manipulation; he experimented with the ways how to exploit Ring to the uttermost extent of its capacity, and that is something that'll come in handy later on.
I am surprised that Surgecrafters do not get a more generous stipend, but I guess not making too many exceptions for them is a reasonable choice; making them too favored, too special, could encourage some very unfortunate convictions in their ranks that are probably already percolating in their cliques even now.
Did we get Eldendross Adept right there? Appears so.
Hunger's Sord-side is shining through here. Even in the Surgecrafting-oriented contest, he goes and just grapples the enemy into submission.
A window into the larger world for these kids; they are probably thinking that they are pretty strong right now, and that whoever manages to challenge the prime rotspawn or even a Rotbeast itself stands at the peak of the world.
A dangerous idea worth dispelling.
And yeah, Aobaru did not have much trouble understanding that Hunger is actually holding back here. I am sure he was aware before, but it just does not viscerally imprint until your opponent just blurs, and then suddenly it is all over before it even begun.
Well, less force and more amorphous semi-liquid matter, but sure enough.
Well, they gotta add something productive on top of what Aobaru tells us, then! Surely there are some additional quirks and secrets...
Also, kids being kids. Nice.
Hunger looks like such a weirdo here. Although one might consider him being cool here. It depends on the point view... His strength and speed probably tilts it a lot toward the "cool" end of the spectrum for these kids, I think.
I hope none of them actually try to take this as an example to follow. Ring of Hunger and Progression makes Hunger this work, trying this for normal humans is a sure way to long-term injury and getting yourself killed. It is just not a good way to train, tbh.
...Unless you are a protagonist of shounen anime, I suppose.
Self-buffing elementalism like these are one of the very select few who actually have a good chance of giving Hunger a fight. Maybe he'll even achieve Hunger's current level of speed and power, eventually!
I wonder if Surgecrafters could potentially get access to time-space bending elements; that sort of thing would have worked well against Hunger too, now I thinks about it. At least until we use Cut Through.
Progression! More accurately, 2 arete Eldendross adept purchase! That was an incredibly efficient way of spending arete, even though it kind of made getting an EFB more difficult right now. So efficient I actually went for it despite disliking Eldendross.
This is very anime sort of "exhausted." Like a character appears to be temporary on backfoot, and then they suddenly start pulling out stamina out of nowhere like they barely even tried before? Yeah, this is that.
It is rather suitable that way of controlling the Surgecrafting lies more along the way of leaning into its strength and summoning more of the (element) from the start, rather than pretending you can manage to control it post-summon with some sort of a chirurgeon-accurate scalpel accuracy.
...Well, maybe we could have if we had To Shatter Heavens applied on it, but we don't.
It is curious to see Eldendross merge into one's being like this; IIRC orcs were doing something like this with Findross, only they retained and accumulated the benefits from doing so over time. Maybe there is an advancement in Eldendross tree that allows the same; surely there is one in Quintessence.
Oh, Quintessence. How I wish you weren't an Evening Sky pick. Well, at least we'll at least delay it until Hunger becomes a little bit more mentally healthy, hopefully; with Maiden-like empowerment coming from etching a narrative imagine into the fundamental nature of Findross, mentally crazy, crippled and unhealthy Hunger means that for Findross that becomes an ideal of perfection. One of many ideals, at the very least. I'd rather not do such thing.
This is a nice mental image, that bits aside from flesh rupturing from blows.
Aobaru really tried to play this like an anime fight, with trump cards and holding back and stuff. But Hunger is just too stronk.
Welcome to Rihakuverse; you can't ignore your kneecaps exploding and your guts falling out, you are a nobody. Finally, someone pointed out how ridiculous that is in-universe. (even though it is honestly kind of a part of the appeal)
At least most of the people who were particularly egregious about it had some sort of an excuse; Vanreir was a walking corpse without a beating heart or any blood coursing through his veins at the end, but his Soul Evocation allowed him to at least finish the metaphorical thrust through inertia he generated before; he was probably doomed to die at the end of that day even if he slew us.
I can feel Hunger's pain here. Both from social interactions and being called "an old guy." He is what, 21? Tyrant really did a number on his... everything. Almost makes one wish he gave us some more memories in exchange for greater bodily health.
Make your element act in harmony with your body. Interesting. I wonder if eventually one can become pure element and house their consciousness in body of Eldendross/Vigorflame/Pressure/etc, at least if the element is particularly suitable to such hijinks... IIRC, in Bleach Quest we had options on offloading processing power into Reishi once our control and body-thread technique got sufficiently stupidly good; for some elements, same principles could be workable.
Dunno if it is possible without the help of a Progression-type cursebearer, though! That sort of an accomplishment would require centuries of dedicated work, normally.
Surgecraft has been pointed out magic system of intent and emotion, its greatest power present in a moment of determination and will; of course, things work like this.
This boy is a decent teacher, too. Nothing exceptional, but I kind of been expecting a whole lot of more posturing, bragging, and teenage nonsense. Well, I guess once does not get ahead and become an accomplished Surgecrafter (or anything really) by being a stupid punk.
...What sort of a lesson we are teaching to Letrizia. Man, we are the worst influence. Going like this, one day she'll come back home as a dead ghost, proud as peacock about killing herself for power for the first time.
If there is any good reason to curb Hunger's more questionable tendencies, it is how they affect the people around him. Sheer power shields one from missteps and consequences to the extend, but Even Odyssial had to fight an entire world (and lose) when he overdosed on Cut Through/Heartlessness juice.
Also, that Cool Mysterious Transfer student image really didn't hold for long. Good thing that Letrizia is actually pretty likeable regardless.
We didn't even get to enjoy the verisimilitude of interesting surgecrafting elements. Such a pity. Maybe once we get a whole society of them, though... I'd imagine you could run an entire quest about this, make a very BNHA-esque setting. And with Surgecrafting depending on emotional factor, highlight the shounen'y burning blood elements even further.
Letrizia is tall? This is news to me. Maybe Microwawe's depiction of her got etched in my mind somewhat strongly.
Anyway, there is a strong correlation between appearance and element for all these kids; Hunger's rough, villainous visage clashing with redemption and sun-warm of Eldendross is an odd man out. If this was some sort of an anime with these kids being protagonists, such thing would've been a big "Aha" moment for the mildly attentive viewer.
Notably did not run away in the middle of the night! How novel. At least we don't have to deal with that. I wonder if she was delayed by those arguments, or some sort of last moment preparations; it is a pity that she wasn't here. Fighting her would've given us a deeper knowledge of her capabilities and prowess, therefore giving us more info to work with, making our decisions to leave her or to accept her more solid.
Formal. I wonder if Letrizia mentioned to her that Hunger despises his title. This pitch is pressing some unpleasant buttons already; thankfully for her, Hunger is a practical and professional individual.
It does not sound like her Surge is directly enchanting her martial capabilities; I am somewhat surprised that is carrying a sword. We do know people can get up to Astral Rank 3 without a magic system assuming they are sufficiently exceptional; is she one of those people? If so, she has pretty immense potential should we give her paths to further progression.
---
Well, we'll see if we are up to dealing with the result of our own actions. A lot of people knowingly took this risk, now it is time to deliver.
I honestly like this girl, and I think that her element would tilt our chances of escape in the event diplomacy fails. We do need arete for that, however. People are working hard... Perhaps we'll have enough. I wonder if Letrizia approached her first, or she volunteered; probably mix of both.
I don't dislike this; I kind of like some bits of characterization of this choice. Say no to child soldiers!... But however young she is not a child, and this is her conscious choice that she made based on the reasoning we are not privy to. Hunger indeed could pay her with power, currency and items; even now we shoot for a capability to empower her so much, that should she return home just defeating the rotbeast wouldn't be out of the cards for her. And working with "The Reckoner" probably going to be really good for her future rep as a mercenary besides...
Notably, we do have a ring purchase that allows us to employ evocations of people we defeat, so once we get pillars, fights like these are going to become retroactively incredibly valuable, especially if we somehow miss Pillars purchase. Soul Evocation can be used to grind Rank, after all... I wonder how good it is at grinding raw stats; relevant Evocations seems to be awfully good at it.
Then don't deceive! Truth, and truth, and only truth. Marshal's motivation for this diplomatic encounter is minimal, as long as we minimize the advantages of his rank in social combat, we might manage.
Bleh. I know that some people would like to go for this, but we choose our path already; sometimes an optimal play has a degree of risk, and this is simply that time. Gotta work the circumstances we found ourselves in.
If it wasn't for the Flare, this probably would be my chosen option. Some good built up for the future, acceptable immediate and useful power-ups, good potential to power up from the picks we gain from either diplomancing or defeating this man... I do hope we'll manage to diplomance him, though.
On a side-note, I find it hilarious that our martial stance helps with diplomacy. More, it helps not through intimidation, but subterfuge. Forebearer's blade really is just... Everything-type artifact. Potential, Power, Utility, you name, it has it. And at the only slight cost of mental contamination, too!
Bleh. The worst of all worlds; push away EFB, don't be safe. No, I feel that any reasonable resolution of this situation is going to come from the place of spending a lot and generously. Spending to get power, spending to get future, spending to secure allies... When you go for maximum greed, you gotta make the resources those plans require.
I'll highlight this bit; already losing does not necessarily equal death, and should be purchase Flare, our chances of getaway even in the even of losing are going to increase from +3 effective ranks of blood manipulation and 0.7 ranks to everything. With EFB, even losing here would count as a win as long as we survive, since Flare does unlock paths of accumulating more power that are not reliant on picks. And who knows, we might even finally go to that bloody camp! We had a pretty reasonable chance of encountering powerful allies last time it was an option!
I can't help but think that this is connected to the hidden masters somehow; a part of how Forebearer became what he was. With Forebearer being the figure of transcendent, dimension-overcoming power, I am pretty sure he had encountered and dealt with Hidden Masters in some fashion. Perhaps, the mystery of his death is the point of origin for the Cycle of Heroes and Tyrants that is implied to be a thing in Accretion-verse.
Tyrant probably tried really hard to be the Forebearer, but he simply didn't manage to cut through. Employment of such maneuvers as sending his daughter to sabotage Hunger distinguishes him from his ancestor strongly, who probably didn't care for such maneuvers.
...Or maybe I shouldn't oversimplify Forebearer so; Age and Treachery is also his inheritance, after all. Well, regardless, whoever pursues the path of the Forebearer must remember that he did, in the end, fall to something; if one plans on surpassing him, merely retracing the steps is not enough. And someone with the power of Progression probably should pick a grander and more benevolent endpoint than this, or Accursed himself might decide that he does not want someone like you amongst his chosen.
Um. This is, uh. Something. Forebearer was quite the monster, wasn't he? I wonder how he justified the things he did to himself. With the universe of Hidden Masters, I guess there probably exists a "Hard Man Hard Decisions" rationale, but this is something else. I wouldn't be surprised if relentless dickery of this man was the reason why Hidden Masters even became a thing, beings playing the role of anti-spiral civ; ensuring that no sovereign would ever rise to match that level of fame and power... And with Accretion being somewhat naturally predisposed to creation and empowerment of strongman Tyrants, an EFB-like cycle of summoned heroes dealing with Tyrants might have been their answer to the situation.
Horrendous in its own right, of course.
I don't even mind, as long as we actually get other EFBs from the trinity category first.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Pretty likable. He strikes me as a kid forced to grow up quickly, in that awkward state of being selected to join a group of average-but-experienced contemporaries during to his talent and relative newbie status. Pretty acutely aware of it too, which is why he tries to overcompensate with the formality and the stiffness.
His heroism is pretty interesting too, I assume it's an outgrowth of his more team focused development? Perhaps a more ruthless Nines that didn't give a shit about friends or the squad would have made it out alive. Don't really regret it though, this is both a good ending and beginning, depending on what wins. I'd quite like to see his story continue though.
As for critique, while they're relatively unimportant for this, it was somewhat tough to properly understand the mechanical aspects of our character. With a more extended series, it might be nice to get more of a handle on how his abilities function, what stats mean and how much of a difference the Advancements chosen could make. Would also like to see more character interaction in the next Part, for someone defined so much by his teamwork skills, I don't think we saw enough of his team.
Stuff I really liked included Nine's very firm a e s t h e t i q u e and how thematically consistent everything about this series was. One of the weaknesses of quests is the balancing act of freedom and coherence but the relatively limited scope of this story did a lot to mitigate that. I really hope you can keep this aspect up in Part 1, if it happens. Also really liked Nines in general, for reasons I've mentioned above, and thought that his internal monologue, terse as it could be at times, was probably the best part of this negaverse.
- Location
- Philippines
Oof. Doom of Anti-Synergy just procced.
[x] Fine
Spying, blackmail, sabotage, assassination - all part of the social toolkit when you have a rogue in the party
[x] Maximum Safety
Forget it Jake, it's the Temple. You do what you must to get past the current obstacle that outclasses you or your build plans will never matter.
I do like both the new stances a lot. We should get World Defeating Stance before we leave the Voyaging Realm - the Human Sphere is mostly vacuum and radiation with non-magical weapons in the tiny dots where the people are after all.
Spying, blackmail, sabotage, assassination - all part of the social toolkit when you have a rogue in the party
[x] Maximum Safety
Forget it Jake, it's the Temple. You do what you must to get past the current obstacle that outclasses you or your build plans will never matter.
I do like both the new stances a lot. We should get World Defeating Stance before we leave the Voyaging Realm - the Human Sphere is mostly vacuum and radiation with non-magical weapons in the tiny dots where the people are after all.
- Location
- Philippines
no lie tho, I am actually pretty well interested in getting a 3 Blade Imperial Advancement.
I'd prefer Hunger being his own guy, but duuuuuuuude. All-Defeating looks so fucking rad.
Something something abbreviated that Gondar spreads the risk to everyone in the team, which leads to teammate death. Avecarn frontloads the risk to just hunger. There were a lot of other stuff too, but that's the most i can remember at the topof my head.
I'd prefer Hunger being his own guy, but duuuuuuuude. All-Defeating looks so fucking rad.
Something something abbreviated that Gondar spreads the risk to everyone in the team, which leads to teammate death. Avecarn frontloads the risk to just hunger. There were a lot of other stuff too, but that's the most i can remember at the topof my head.
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"Fine" improves Hunger's chances in a fight. Because he has a sneaky ninja with him, who would really help out. This would really help his chances of survival.
And so in a mirror, that means the reason "Unacceptable" gives Arete is probably because it makes things harder for Hunger. I think that is, in fact, how Arete works -- what it means when some choices grant or cost Arete -- when it comes to choices and people and options like this.
Sooo... Yeah. People who are avoiding "Fine" because they fear that it'll get them killed because they really want that last bit of extra Arete, man are heavily gambling and probably really motivated by greed. Because they've already decided that they want to get the 24-Arete option, and are voting for that idea. And that's, um, that strikes me crazy reckless.
Just... This is crazy, you know? You realize that the big threat to Hunger's safety isn't the "does not give .8 extra Arete" option but the Maximal Greed option, right?
Do not try to talk people out of the "Fine" option when it's not the option that is super freaking dangerous, guys. ><
Just... Vote for "Fine" and Kinda Safe or Somewhat Safe or Maximum Safe, instead of Maximal Greed. ((If somehow the thread miraculously generates tons more Arete, then maybe you can switch to Maximal Greed. But don't go voting for Maximal Greed until you've actually hit that 24-point Arete mark.))
And so in a mirror, that means the reason "Unacceptable" gives Arete is probably because it makes things harder for Hunger. I think that is, in fact, how Arete works -- what it means when some choices grant or cost Arete -- when it comes to choices and people and options like this.
Sooo... Yeah. People who are avoiding "Fine" because they fear that it'll get them killed because they really want that last bit of extra Arete, man are heavily gambling and probably really motivated by greed. Because they've already decided that they want to get the 24-Arete option, and are voting for that idea. And that's, um, that strikes me crazy reckless.
Just... This is crazy, you know? You realize that the big threat to Hunger's safety isn't the "does not give .8 extra Arete" option but the Maximal Greed option, right?
Do not try to talk people out of the "Fine" option when it's not the option that is super freaking dangerous, guys. ><
Just... Vote for "Fine" and Kinda Safe or Somewhat Safe or Maximum Safe, instead of Maximal Greed. ((If somehow the thread miraculously generates tons more Arete, then maybe you can switch to Maximal Greed. But don't go voting for Maximal Greed until you've actually hit that 24-point Arete mark.))
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I mean, what we've done to this point has probably generated a bunch of Arete, but we don't actually know how much.
The question is whether we end up at 23.8 Arete with "Unacceptable/Maximal Greed," in which case we are screwed, or whether we end up at 24.2 with the same choice, in which case we have a pretty good chance.
It's kind of hard to estimate how much Arete we've stacked up, though, aside from knowing we were at 17.8 (?) in the last update.
The question is whether we end up at 23.8 Arete with "Unacceptable/Maximal Greed," in which case we are screwed, or whether we end up at 24.2 with the same choice, in which case we have a pretty good chance.
It's kind of hard to estimate how much Arete we've stacked up, though, aside from knowing we were at 17.8 (?) in the last update.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
People were stupid paranoid about getting hit with a poisoned arrow.
I'm... not exactly sure how you managed to miss literally everything going on, but you did.
The point behind unacceptable is that we are close enough to earn an EFB, and it is more viable with the .8 arete bonus than it is without it.
Besides which, she would be completely useless in this fight.
Nope. Not how it works. See War and Wind, where the safest option gave +1 arete. It seems to be given by following Hunger's characterization. Hunger would rejecting this girl hard, so we get arete for following the path he wants to take.
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It's pretty much Flare+Shadow>Flare>>>Shadow>Nothing, as far as our chances are concerned.
Being able to Go Beyond Maximum Greed and get both Flare and Fine would be ideal for our chances in combat, although that's also the most expensive option.
DkArthas
CAPITAL IS TO BLAME
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- They
Mhm. I am not sure you are right. We got arete for going on vacation as well.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
I'm not really sure how she'd help us in this particular fight anyway. The rank difference is sufficient she'd not be able to do anything of any importance.
- Location
- Philippines
If you wanna be Elf-Princess Aurelia levels of Optimistic-Because-Reality-Can't-Say-No-To-Me, there's always the unbelievably off chance that Aeira...looks a lot like Avecarn's grand kid. Ensue unnecessary doting and etc etc.
My god, the risk we're facing right now is making me see rather vivid delusions.
My god, the risk we're facing right now is making me see rather vivid delusions.