Thanks for confirming. Will the Arete come on 1st of August or a bit later?That's certainly not something you should rely on... how reckless!
Thanks for confirming. Will the Arete come on 1st of August or a bit later?That's certainly not something you should rely on... how reckless!
We might not even get any Arete at all, which is why it shouldn't be relied on. For all you know, the two Nameless patrons might have bought four commissions instead. (Which IMO, is more lasting value than currency in a temporarily running game, so I'd totally understand that.)Thanks for confirming. Will the Arete come on 1st of August or a bit later?
Hmm. If the Tyrant is a Cursebearer... I'd expect him to have a power equivalent to Rank 7.9 (roughly the equivalent of a Combat-type's powerlevel) along with anything he'd gleaned from the Walls of Myth. A tough fight but it would fit quite well with the range of an almost Temple-tier adventure.
I think the odds of us missing OaF for Ber due to picking the Crown right now are absolutely minuscule. Like, if asked to put in numbers, I'd say it's something like 0.01%. That is very much less risky than going after a 3-pick fight with maximum Rank - I expect that one giving something like 3% chance of death. Dangerous fights in the Tower are another thing, but even then I think it is entirely in our power to generate enough Arete before we get into one. As such, I think getting the Crown right now would be very worth it. Missing 0.25 base Rank in a Rank build just seems unarguable.The 3-pick opportunities are assuredly less risky than delaying Once and Future just as we are about to enter into an Temple-esque situation and fight goddamned Ber soon enough who requires Once and Future to defeat. 0.5 is nothing unique, that's WOG. We will almost certainly have more chances for Ranks later and we can get them with far less risk compared to this situation.
And, no I bet we are not going to be spending "several" updates here in the Elixer Sovereignty, I expect it to be no more than 3 updates. And relying on omake storms is...just ugh.
Out of curiosity, how far away is the Tower from the exit to the Voyaging Realm?
Also, I'm calling in a marker on Walls of Myth + Something that's not Be the Change.
We might not even get any Arete at all, which is why it shouldn't be relied on. For all you know, the two Nameless patrons might have bought four commissions instead. (Which IMO, is more lasting value than currency in a temporarily running game, so I'd totally understand that.)
The idea of "holy shit I don't need blood" is really quite relatable. You guys are the greatest oafs on the planet. I hope I'm not being unfair about letting a tiny sliver of hatefulness inside of me.
This got me excited. First, second, and final is the opportunity for speculation! What are your personal picks for Best Action Role and what did they cost?
Hunger's Highness the Ring has also empowered himself with fame, power, and influence. That means that he can make every high society noble a Knight of the Righteous. This requires a strong friendship with the noble to commit, which might be difficult without the Business Cycle benefit of having so many Noble Houses in existence.
The benefits of owning an armor are fairly well understood. Armor ownership changes the way that we think about technology, i.e. "Who does invent technology anyways?"
It is telling that Hunger isn't named even once. He is named, basically, with time.
Theodicy is a good reminder that even the most cynical of gamblers are still responsible for blood rippling across the infinity of gametime. We gamblers should remember that we are gamblers, and gamblers are probably more likely to keep track of historical averages than other social interactions.
Do we get a travel speed boost for Decimator's Lens on our way back?It's quite far. Depends how fast you can travel and what your Rank is, but much farther than the Sovereignty.
Honestly this is the first time I have seen emoji generated, so you definitely use it too much, other than that yours was a lot more surreal than @Projectile GPT
That's fine, I was trying to bait him for a while now. I gave him markers on a lark, and he barely seemed to use them! How disappointing. If you are so sensibilized by my plight, I would accept Arete for my troubles...Poor Brain, his entire life now leveraged to the whims of his creditors... yet this was the fate he chose for himself, a personal Geas of Indenture...
Such dickishness and bad faith usage of vote markers. 👍 I approve@ImperatorV should have been a bit more careful about what he asked, anyway
Haha, I got you now! I will edit that message and you will look so foolish!Such dickishness and bad faith usage of vote markers. 👍 I approve
There wasn't a serious risk that we'd have to go into Arete debt for Crown, but imagine how much it'd suck if we did. Blearily toppling institutions, then having to recreate them without creativity...
I have no idea what that was, and I'm not sure I want to know.
Anyway, the reason I haven't used many vote markers so far was that all the votes so far A) I didn't care about enough to spend markers, or I was fine with all possible outcomes B) were already going the way I wanted, or wouldn't go the way I wanted even with markers or C) my personal favorite, someone else had already called BrainInAJar's marker on the choice I wanted! This has happened twice IIRC.
Don't waste any time, which is very valuable when Ber is coming. We don't get anything from pursuing that course of action, though, and we don't get any time to produce Arete before we depart the Sovereignty.[ ] Laissez-faire - Hunger is unconcerned about the internal politics of this remote Voyaging nation. They've given him plenty of free stuff and there's neither the time nor the inclination amongst most of his party to remain entangled here for long.
Do we have any real reason to believe that Aeira's family would do a better job of leading the Sovereignty that its current leaders? This would solve Aeira's family debt problem, give an additional Arete, while taking a minimum amount of time, which we can use to produce to produce Arete, though.[ ] Intervention Mk. I - Aeira's family has some experience ruling this nation, right? They should be in power. Two allied civilizations are better than one. [+1 Arete, Starts Elixir Sovereign sub-plot. Should be fairly brief]
Take enough time that taking it with Walls of Myth has a high risk of dropping Ber on us while we're dealing with our current adventure, which would be potentially catastrophic. But, we want to pick Walls, given that it's safer, so this is not an option.[ ] Be the Change - While the Decimation is a pressing concern, no less so is the governance of this nation on which turns the lives of millions. Given the power and versatility of these High Elementalists, the Elixir Sovereignty is sure to be relevant in greater Voyaging Realm affairs going forward. With Stenallon occupied in the Temple, it falls to Hunger to marshal the courage of his convictions and bring to these people what he failed to in his second world: a well-functioning society, with reasonable laws and free of excessive burdens on its populace. How hard could it be? [+1 pick to next experience point, unlocks a Defining Advancement if successful]
*There isn't time to overhaul everything so he'll have to keep the general framework of their civilization, but there's nothing wrong with an amendment that makes Hunger the constitutional monarch with theoretical veto power over the ministries of government.
*He can then wield this authority to root out corruption and make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly within the bureaucracy, no flagrant abuse of power is occurring, and so on and so forth. Those who Gisena and Aeira vets, he will Ennoble, granting them a near-insurmountable tactical advantage in office politics.
*With the help of his well-feted reputation, and a certain renaissance woman, this task goes from improbably difficult to merely challenging.
*Will saddle you with some modest responsibilities to the governance and protection of the Sovereignty, potentially escalating to major responsibilities should the Sovereignty be endangered again.
*However, you'll also receive massive potential benefits in time, such as an army of High Elementalists with a dizzying away of capabilities...
*Could take a while OOC even if IC it's the whirlwind effort of a few days.
One of these option is explicitly safer than the other one and might offer magic, artifice and ancient lore. And we've been warned that we may end up blowing everything up and not be able to come back for those:[ ] The Walls of Myth - It's a long trip to get there, so why not take a slight detour to examine the fabled walls themselves? There is sure to be high magic in plentiful supply here by the lidless cloud-piercing battlements that have successfully severed all they enclose from a domain as formidable as the Voyaging Realm. Do they wield Foremost magics themselves, or arts of a school of comparable power? Or are the Walls themselves merely some form of trick or exploit, failing to match the Foremost in puissance but superior to their unattended works in treachery? Either way, there is much to learn.
*Detour means your journey will tend towards the longer side of the estimate (closer to 10 days than 7 for the entire trip)
*Magics, artifice, ancient lore - who knows what awaits buried within the Walls of Myth?
[ ] The Tower Itself - Straight to the Tower, all else can wait. Perhaps it's reckless to charge in without an overview of the lands' magics but Hunger wields both the Praxis and the power of Ruin and is assisted by the wielders of Nullity and True Vigorflame. There are very few supernatural threats he would lack an adequate answer for.
*Somewhat riskier, but swifter.
*May generate more picks
*Gain beneficial condition, I Am The Danger for the duration of the Tower hunt.
We already chose an option that has a very real chance of killing us, so let's not be any more suicidal than we need to be.Assuming you don't destroy everything (a not entirely safe assumption), you can always stop by the Walls on your way back!
This was the plan. It allows us to save Arete for OaF and allows to quicly access Strangletorn, which is super synergistic with our build and which is a big part of why we chose Core Panoply.[ ] Towards Stranglethorn - Commits you to Stranglethorn, but also gets you halfway there! It's a potent Defining Advancement that suits Hunger well and scales greatly with All-Defeating Stance, while the power of Establishment gives Hunger a source of passive power in most timeskips. Doubled Willpower +s are also tremendously valuable given Cut Through's Willpower modifier to physical stats.
*If you don't commit to Stranglethorn now you may be distracted by other options in the future
*Stranglethorn's good, no need to overcomplicate things!
These abilities are pretty good, but we're better off just sticking to the plan, saving Arete, and quickly getting access to the very powerful and synergistic Strangletorn which was a big part of why we chose Core Panoply.[ ] Honing (2 Arete) - Take Honing and unlock the Blood Advancements beyond it! Combat intelligence and more Agility are rarely bad. It's good value for your Arete and substantially improves Hunger's tactical acumen for most fights.
*Cheap and good, what's not to love?
*Efficient and unlocks future efficient picks.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.
*Stacks additively with All-Defeating Stance
*Grants a fairly major combat upgrade, as you already have high Strength and Strength-scaling Ruin
*Increasing your rate of healing works well with your high Health pool from Inherit the World
*You can also take one Echo alongside this ability, increasing your Strength even further!
This costs a lot of Arete when we're trying to save for OaF but, on top of that, we need to pick it with Be the Change, which can't be safely taken along with Walls, because that takes too much time and might lead to Ber dropping on us at the worst possible time, and we have take Walls because Tower is even more suicidal. Therefore we absolutely should not take this.[ ] Feat: Crown (12 Arete) - Requires Be the Change. Unlocks the potential for Feat: Saber and Feat: Orb. You may find an opportunity to acquire this Feat again, but it is rare and dependent on circumstance...
If you survive, no power will be beyond you.
The Accursed had told him that. These three short weeks have felt like a lifetime, filled with harrowing challenge, foes and travails over every horizon. He has never worked so hard or so furiously in his life, even against the world-pervading crush of the Tyrant's presence. But the reward of discipline is power, and power has been attained at last. Power enough, in some ways, even to eclipse the Hero who stood against that Tyrant of yore, all those long months ago... power to triumph where he failed.
Now, child of Earth. How will you use that power?
At last attain the outcome that Hunger died for, what he set out to do before age and treachery taught him what may have been his final lesson, but for the intervention of the Accursed. Gain +.25 Base Rank; +.5 with modifiers. Rank gain may be reduced (with partial Arete refund) if reforms are not successful. This Feat would normally put you into pick debt, but Be the Change covers the difference.
*That's a lot of Rank.
*A lot of Rank.
*But it's also a lot of Arete...
Hmm, I really don't feel like I've been called a lot, especially compared to the amount of debt I incurred. Which were the votes you were sniped on anyway?
Hmm, being called twice in a row has actually never happened before, I think. Well, this is good for me, so I'm not sure if should be really complaining about it, but I wish the vote market was more liquid. It would make things a bit more interesting...I think people play cautiously with their markers. So even going super deeply into dept does not mean being called in every vote.