If you're not familiar with Xianxia and Cultivation generally, and have questions, start
here. The genre is very schlocky and often very fast and loose on definitions (and how things work), so don't feel alarmed if you think 'hey, I'm not quite sure about this'.
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You are a
Nascent Soul cultivator. In the Virtuous Flipper Region of the Third Sea of the Turtle World you are a power without superiors. Oh, there are Spirit Severing and World Fusion cultivators out there, but the Third Sea has sparse enough spiritual energy and few spirit stone mines compared to richer regions. Such great cultivators are unlikely to ever cross your path unless you do something to mortally offend them, or obtain a treasure well above your power to keep.
More precisely,
you are the most powerful Elder of your
[ ] Sect
Sects take in all sorts of people, but tend to focus on one path of cultivation. Sects dominate the Third Sea, and the Turtle World in general. Sects are more powerful than clans, but this means you also have more powerful rivals. A sect with only a single Nascent Soul Elder is likely to face great challenges, yet the fortunes of sects can rise far faster than clans by inducting new mortals to the world of cultivations. The growth potential is greater, but the risk is greater as well.
[ ] Clan
Clans are familial bloodlines - you are one of the ancestors of your clan. Clans are less powerful than sects, normally speaking, but they are more loyal and likely to obey your wishes. Furthermore, a clan's foundation tends to be stronger, as a sect might crumble away when defeated, but clansmen will often seek revenge against those who have harmed them. Clans rarely grow in years, but rather grow in generations. Clans grow more slowly, but there is less risk.
You have been in closed-door cultivation for the last hundred years. As it comes to a close, you hum quietly to yourself, happily. You have stepped into the middle level of Nascent Soul. The strongest sect in the Third Sea, the Great Sky Hexing Sect, have only a single Elder at the great circle of the Nascent Soul, and three in the late level. You are not sufficient to ward off the great powers, but neither are you someone to be disregarded.
You think over your skills and attributes, as you pen down notes on your latest accomplishment. While it never helps to lead young cultivators by the nose, keeping a record of what has happened is both useful for later review - and if someone attacks your soul and memories.
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Pick one Combat Skill.
This is your greatest strength, and you can generally be considered in the upper level of those who pursue this path for your cultivation level. You will usually use these methods in combat. Your Clan or Sect will also follow this cultivation path (for obvious reasons).
This cannot be changed.
[ ] Sword Cultivation - As simple as it sounds. A sword cultivator uses the sword and strikes offensively and hard. It is not very good at defending your juniors, but if your enemies are dead, is that not a form of defense? Sword cultivation is a difficult path, though, and tends to see a wild amount of variation in your cultivators. The strongest sword cultivators can fight across great realms, but the weakest might lose to great realms below them.
[ ] Body Cultivation - Even simpler. One cultivates the body directly, gaining strength. Body cultivators disdain the use of weapons, and punch or kick their way to victory. Refining good bodies is very difficult, however, and expensive.
[ ] Demonic Tunes - A demonic tune attacks the soul directly, and can attack many at once. While tunes take some time to begin, a powerful tunist can control an entire battlefield. Of course, they are vulnerable to direct attacks, and tend to have weaker strength than other cultivators. Despite the name, Demonic Tunists are not automatically part of the Demonic Path. It is a path much looked on wiht suspicion, however.
[ ] Beast Taming (MUST be picked if Beast Raising is picked below) - Spirit beasts are a powerful addition to any force. The great advantage of Beast Taming is that you need not do things personally - if your beast dies, you do not. You can use combat-trained beasts to supplement your juniors as necessary. Beast Tamers tend to be weak, though, and feeding and maintaining beasts is expensive. Your juniors can fight above their own levels when needed though, and it is easy to protect them.
[ ] Combat Formations - Organising masses of cultivators into powerful combat formations is hard, but is one of the few ways to strike across realms. A Sect that can use many lesser cultivators to fight greater ones is a threat to many. Of course, in situations where you or your disciples are caught alone, you will be vastly weaker.
[ ] Poison Master (Demonic Only) - Poison Masters are much-hated and much-feared. A powerful poison can destroy your enemies easily, even if they are realms above you. But a poison master is not immune to his own poisons, and furthermore requires many valuable Spirit Herbs to refine their poisons. Such masters are often killed by Righteous Path cultivators where they stand, and often they pose as pill masters or physicians to avoid exposure.
[ ] Blood Demon (Demonic Only) - Blood Demons follow the Blood Path - killing and absorbing the lives and cultivations of others, from mortals to other cultivators. They gain power rapidly, but are anathema to the Righteous Path. They are hunted relentlessly - their merciless and brutal natures mean they cannot co-exist with others. Still, they rise incredibly quickly and are threats to all.
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Of course, combat alone doesn't define you. What sorts of profession do you and your juniors engage in to make money?
Pick from
one of the below as a Sect or Clan profession. You will have other professions in your Clan or Sect, but this one is your primary accomplishment.
[ ] Smithing - Smiths forge weapons, armour, flying swords, and storage rings. A straightforward way to make money - you mainly require precious metals, Spirit Beast bones and horns, and Spirit wood of various kinds. This increases your combat prowess directly as a Clan/Sect - your Qi Condensation juniors will find it easier to beat others in the same realm. The moneymaking potential is
medium.
[ ] Pill Forging - Pill Masters create pills from Spirit Herbs and Spirit Beast Blood. Healing, growth in cultivation, and so on and so forth. This increases your cultivation realms directly as a Clan/Sect - your juniors will tend to be higher in realm than their age peers. Their foundations will be weaker, though, and in the same realm they'll lose more often than not. The rate of failure in Pill Forging and the constant cauldron explosions, not to mention the Spirit Herb costs means Pill Forging is not the most lucrative profession. A Smith might make a sword for himself and sell ten, but a Pill Master can consume almost all the pills he makes. The moneymaking potential is
low.
[ ] Array Carving - Arrays are Formations that do not require cultivators to maintain. Defensive arrays, Qi Gathering arrays to help cultivation, and so on. Selling Arrays is rare, but incredibly lucrative. Your Sect/Clan's defenses will be sublime, but offensively... well, the less said the better. The moneymaking potential is
very high but
heavily variable.
[ ] Beast Raising (MUST be picked if Beast Taming is picked above) - Raising Spirit Beasts is no easy matter. Beasts for transport, as housing, for meat and blood.. the list goes on. It can be a lucrative business, but Beasts require great areas to roam and feed. A Sect or Clan under siege might rapidly find itself in dire straights. The moneymaking potential is
medium, but your defenses are drastically lower.
[ ] Physician - Physicians are much-loved everywhere. While this profession offers no bonuses in combat, it is cheap to be a physician and very lucrative. Moreover, being a physician offends no-one, and there are no items such as magical swords, immortal pills, powerful arrays or Spirit Beasts that might tempt a greedy foe. The moneymaking potential is
very high.
[ ] Soul Investigators (Can ONLY be taken if Demonic Tunes is picked above) - Investigators can search souls, find truths, and even steal secrets without others knowing. Changing or removing memories, and using their powers of soul resonance to discover secrets. In combat it offers no bonuses, and the moneymaking potential is
low. However, Soul Investigators can discover great opportunities and secrets others may not be able to...
[ ] Merchants - A simple path, but good merchants make a good amount of money, and have access to many goods at decent prices. The merchant path offers no great bonuses, but the moneymaking potential is
high and there are no penalties otherwise.
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Are you Righteous or Demonic?
[ ] Righteous - Righteous Clans and Sects are upright and moral - at least on the surface. They always follow the appearance of propriety, and tend to follow many customs and rules. They easily band together to strike down Demonic cultivators, however, and suppress the Demonic Path for the most part. But they must follow these customs and rules, or risk being badly punished. They do not attack mortals, do not consume blood or souls, and do not use poisons.
[ ] Demonic - Demonic cultivators have no such limitations. They tend to be more powerful, but disdain co-operation, seeking only to maximise their power. They are mostly suppressed by the Righteous Path, but individually the average Demonic Clan or Sect is more powerful than their Righteous counterparts. Their lack of co-operation however means they spend as much time fighting each other as Righteous cultivators.
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Lastly, what about you, your people, and the land you occupy? What sort of advantages and disadvantages do you have?
Here you have
Shinies.
You can go into debt, if you'd like, up to
Ten Shinies in debt. However, Shiny Debt represents a deficit of Karmic Luck, and the worse your Karma is, the more the Heavens themselves will try and destroy you. Conversely, if you leave Shinies unspent, your Karmic Luck will increase and things will tend to go your way more often than not in situations that seem like they should be evenly matched.
Please do a
Plan Vote here.
Advantages:
1 Shiny:
Spirit Stone Mine (Minor) - You are in possession of a Spirit Stone mine. While minor, this allows you a significant amount of wealth to buy things, and to assist your juniors (and yourself) in cultivation.
Spirit Herb Field (Minor) - You are in possession of a Spirit Herb field. This offers minor income, but also makes pill forging much easier.
Ancestral Will (Nascent Soul, Early) - An old Ancestor left her will in the heart of your clan/sect. It offers the ability to strike with the strength of an early Nascent Soul cultivator ten times before it is exhausted fully. An excellent defensive option.
Spiritual Treasure (Core Formation Instructor) - You maintain a Spiritual Treasure, essentially a valuable Core Formation disciple who works for the good of the Clan or Sect. They can raise disciplines, offer discipline.
Body Rejuvenation Herb - You swallowed this herb ten years ago. It rejuvenates you incredibly quickly, meaning if you do not die in fight, you will soon be back. Offers more combat options in times of troubles for you personally.
2 Shinies:
Obedient - Internally, your juniors are obedient and work for the good of the whole. While not perfect, they are not dissolute and rarely disobey orders.
Ally (Minor) - A single Clan or Sect is a firm ally. While of lesser strength than you, they will assist you in times of trouble, but will expect the same from you.
Spirit Stone Mine (Lesser) - You are in possession of a Spirit Stone mine. This is the sort of mine that might be a major possession of a faction like yours, this allows you a quite significant amount of wealth to buy things, and to assist your juniors (and yourself) in cultivation.
Spirit Herb Field (Lesser) - You are in possession of a Spirit Herb field. This offers decent income, but also makes pill forging much easier, and allows several Pill Specialties to emerge.
Ancestral Will (Nascent Soul, Medium) - An old Ancestor left her will in the heart of your clan/sect. It offers the ability to strike with the strength of an medium Nascent Soul cultivator ten times before it is exhausted fully. An excellent defensive option - you yourself might take several days breaking such a defense open.
Spiritual Treasure (Contribution Points Board) - A magical Contribution Points Board that ensures each member of the Clan/Sect can offer missions, sell goods, buy good, and complete missions in return for points. It automatically allocates these, ensuring fairness. This makes your disciplines more likely to complete missions and obey your will.
Ice Volcano Spear - A magical spear you obtained in a Secret Realm. While it can only be thrown once, it allows you to defeat any cultivator in Nascent Soul in a single blow. It would even let you escape from a Spirit Severing cultivator - if only for a few moments.
3 Shinies:
Secret Pill Recipe - You know a secret recipe which can forge a single powerful pill. Such a pill is the mainstay of any clan of your size, and others covet the recipe. Still, it can make decent money, and offer many benefits to your disciples.
Secret Alloy Recipe - Your smiths can forge a superior alloy to normal Spiritual Steel, making your weapons more valuable and more powerful, your armor tougher. A valuable secret.. but one others would want to steal.
Spirit Stone Mine (Medium) - You are in possession of a Spirit Stone mine. A mine such as this would be the prized possession of a clan such as yours. A significant boost to cultivation speed and wealth, but eyes look on your property greedily.
Spirit Herb Field (Medium) - You are in possession of a Spirit Herb field. This offers medium income, but also makes pill forging much, much easier. A pill clan would find their productivity multiplied several times by such a treasure.
Ancestral Will (Nascent Soul, Late) - An old Ancestor left her will in the heart of your clan/sect. It offers the ability to strike with the strength of an late Nascent Soul cultivator ten times before it is exhausted fully. An excellent defensive option - one you yourself might not be able to break without massive expenditure of items and wealth, and perhaps even major injury.
Spiritual Treasure (Great Spirit Maze) - The Great Spirit Maze protects your people. Without knowing the way through the maze, only a Spirit Severing cultivator could break through directly, and while it cannot contain the entire clan, it is a nearly impenetrable defense in times of dire trouble.
4 Shinies:
Spirit Stone Mine (Major) - You are in possession of a Spirit Stone mine. A mine such as this would be the prized possession of a clan greater as yours. A significant boost to cultivation speed and wealth, but without allies or many defensive options you will soon find yourself robbed.
Ancestral Will (Nascent Soul, Great Circle) - An old Ancestor left her will in the heart of your clan/sect. It offers the ability to strike with the strength of an Nascent Soul cultivator in the great circle ten times before it is exhausted fully. A truly sublime defensive option - one you yourself could never break.
Spiritual Treasure (Great Spirit Maze) - The Great Spirit Maze protects your people. Without knowing the way through the maze, only a Spirit Severing cultivator could break through directly, and while it cannot contain the entire clan, it is a nearly impenetrable defense in times of dire trouble.
Secret Realm Location (Qi Condensation) - You know how to enter a Secret Realm that only opens every fifty years. Great gains are made for your Qi Cultivation Disciples who enter and live find massive benefits, blessed by the heavens. Such disciples are almost certain to break through to Foundation Establishment.
5 Shinies:
Ancestral Will (Spirit Severing) - An old Ancestor left her will in the heart of your clan/sect. It offers the ability to strike with the strength of a Spirit Severing cultivator ten times before it is exhausted fully. A superlative defense - one you yourself could never break, and no other Clan or Sect you know of could break either. Of course, offending an old monster would still be your doom...
Secret Realm Location (Foundation Establishment) - You know how to enter a Secret Realm that only opens every hundred years. Great gains are made for your Foundation Establishment Disciples who enter and live find massive benefits, blessed by the heavens. Such disciples are almost certain to break through to Core Formation.
Elemental Bloodline (Clan ONLY) - Your clan carries a powerful Elemental bloodline, allowing you to cultivate more quickly and gain more strength. Such clans are rare, but stand above the common muck. Your clan members are valuable, however - not only to you, but to Demonic cultivators who would happily use them to refine pills and absorb their powerful constitutions.
Sect Technique Palace (Sect ONLY) - Your old Sect Master left a magical palace that carries a hundred cultivation techniques within it, each aligned to the cultivator who enters it. It assesses aptitude and gives out what is necessary
. Your Sect disciples are three times as likely to break through great realms.
Disadvantages:
1 Shiny:
Badly Injured - You have been badly injured, and will be recovering for at least fifty years. Your cultivation will slow, and you will fight as an Early Nascent Soul cultivator during that time, at best.
Impoverished - You are very poor. While you might have assets, your stores of Spirit Stones, herbs, etc, are incredibly low.
Thinning Bloodline (Clan ONLY) - Your bloodline is thinning, and many clan members are born without the aptitude to cultivate. For now it is not a major issue, but it gets worse with each passing generation...
2 Shinies:
Poisoned - You have been poisoned, and cannot resolve it. While you can still cultivate, fighting for a long time reduces your lifespan rapidly. Your ability to personally defend the sect or clan is greatly weakened, and costs you a great deal.
Stolen Techniques (Sect ONLY) - Your core techniques have been stolen, and it is difficult to raise good seeds. Your disciplines cultivate more slowly.
Enemy - One Sect or Clan hates you, and wants you destroyed. They are of average strength. Simple enough, but quite dangerous.
3 Shinies:
Paying Tribute - You have been subjugated by a greater power, and pay a significant cost in resources each year. Until you are strong enough to shake off their reins, you will be quite poor.
Two Enemies - As above, but two enemies rather than one. Quite dangerous, especially without allies.
Dangerous Tribulations - The Heavens seek to punish you for some prior slight. Your tribulations are far worse than others, and your rate of passing tribulation is only half that of normal.
Crippled - A secret that must never come out. You have been permanently injured, and will always fight at one minor realm below your cultivation. Dangerous indeed...
Corrupt - You find it difficult to impose your will, and it is often subverted. Only force and attention can keep your people in line, which is difficult in closed-door cultivation.
4 Shinies:
Great Enemy - A major enemy with cultivators in the Great Circle of Nascent Soul seek your death.
Thin Qi - Your lands hold incredibly thin Qi. Cultivation speed is halved without constant use of Spirit Stones and pills.
Tempering Trials - Your lands are used as a tempering trial by a greater clan or sect. For whatever reason, every hundred years your disciples are hunted by a greater power, as part of a competition they hold. Many good seeds are lost each time.
5 Shinies:
Spirit Severing Enemy - An enemy seeks to destroy you, and their cultivation is in the Spirit Severing Realm. Annihilation is nearly certain without some way of protecting yourself. Thankfully, their tribulation left them badly injured, so you have two hundred years to prepare...
Good Seed Tribute - Your finest disciples are paid in tribute to another clan or sect. You are left with only the dregs.
Dying - You are dying, and must secretly drain the life from your disciples to survive. Their cultivation is slowed, and you are much weaker than a normal cultivator of your realm. If your disciples found out about your perfidy, your Sect or Clan would collapse...
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Voting is now open!
Ideally, put together a plan and vote on that!
