What did Hunger do when he first awoke? Prioritize carefully.
[ ] Finally Get in the Robot - Matters of the Decimator's Affliction have been put off for too long. They must be addressed immediately. If Verschlengorge has the same Curse as you, does that mean Gisena and Letrizia are being drained of life force at double the rate? This and other questions should be answered quickly if at all possible. [+Verschlengorge Information, +???]
well, this has a pretty convincing reasoning behind it. though a few hours of difference won't likely make that much of a difference.
on the other hand Apocryphal is always behind the corner, so a few hours might very well make ALL the difference in the world.
[ ] Research the Spoils - The pearl, the message, and the scale. Gisena's work is good, but you have your own perspective to add, the insight made possible through long experience and formidable Astral Rank. Though the latter has been somewhat depleted, hampering your efforts on every front, nonetheless it is critical to absorb or acquire whatever strength you can from the fish you spent so dearly to conquer. [+???]
I think this could wait. I trust Gisena enough, and with our Rank depleted we would likely not be able to add that much to her observations.
[ ] Sleep In - Rest is critical. Though it will not relieve your Exhausted condition, you will receive small some leeway in using your Astral Rank for the day. [Exhausted -> Mostly Exhausted]
mh.. maybe. It would go a long way towards preparing us in case of Apocryphal disaster right when we're at our most vulnerable
[ ] Brunch - Get the girls together and finish off the rest of that fish. Sure, one could save it smoked in cold storage to be parceled out across the length of this journey, but that would simply leave you spoiled and wanting for more. Best to finish it off with a second exquisite feast and create happy memories with your traveling companions! [+Letrizia, +Gisena]
..ok, for me it's either this or the Giant robot I think, though I won't be annoyed if sleep in won.
---
The winning votes were:
[X] Fierce Vigor
[X] Do Not Spend Arete
[X] Apocryphal - Direct Mitigation
[X] Decimator's - Huntress' Moon
[X] +Gisena
Apocryphal direct? I still think huntress moon would have synergized decently well tribulation, but in the end As long as Huntress' Moon won I'm fine with it. We can get more good targets (and rest) within the Evening realm...if we ever manage to gather 25 arete for it... and don't spend them on ANOTHER 25 arete option...
Long-Term Planning! A form of advanced coordination so that you can actually buy the EFB-equivalents you want! Spend Arete now, guarantee an option's availability in future build votes!
Selecting an option ensures it will be a valid choice in future build votes, even if not directly shown, and won't disappear or increase in cost due to time constraints or the purchase of accompanying baseline options. 1 Arete per option.
Arete spent is not lost, but is put down as a deposit towards the total cost of the option in question.
[ ] Save 1 Option
[ ] Save 3 Options
[ ] Save 5 Options
Take care that you do not deposit recklessly into too many high-Arete effects.
iiiiiiinteresting...
I think it would be wise to not invest in more than one 25 arete option, likely either Ring of Power of Evening Realm. Let's go through the options once more.
The Forebear's Blade
[ ] [A Thousand Cuts] - 7 Arete. In the Forebear's grip could even a common knife blaze with fell power. All melee attacks made with the Forebear's Blade now apply cursed wounds. Septuples the power and speed of the Fell-Handed Stroke and allows it to be used with blade projections. Such horrific offensive power allows one to challenge foes vastly stronger.
[ ] [Iron Curtain] - 7 Arete. The Forebear could not be dissuaded, nor could he be stopped. To dissent was folly, to resist was death. The laws of the Forebear were as natural law, and just as inevitable. When active, ++Willpower, +++Protection, ++Constitution, Ignore Wounds, Deflect Exotic Attacks. Become Tired afterwards.
[ ] [Once And Future] I - 25 Arete. Channel a fraction of the Forebear's true might, and glimpse a small fraction of his true history. +1 Astral Rank, applied externally after all other factors. Does not raise the difficulty of improving Rank. +2 Astral Rank in matters military.
ok, in my opinion Once And future is not worth depositing arete for, simply because it's maybe the one option that becomes better the longer we wait for it. We COULD maybe put 1 point into on the 7 arete options though. One gives overwhelming offensive power, the other a classic shonen "nothing will stop me" mode. I wouldn't take both, but
maybe one of them yes.
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.
[ ] [Dead But Dreaming] - 25 Arete. That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons... Death merely induces slumber in the wearer until the heavens align for his emergence once more. Gain access to the [Outer Sorcery] skill, by which means one's dreams may twist reality towards one's purposes. Apply the effects of To Shatter Heaven to [Outer Sorcery].
[ ] [Ruling Ring] - 25 Arete. There can only be one Ruling Ring. Enormously increases the strength, range, and control of the [Ring of Power] effect. ++All Stats, ++Progression.
Pitiless Maw is new I think. Life steal and improved melee damage. Not bad.
Dead But Dreaming doesn't seem quite as interesting to me when compared to the other options. After all we don't have any intention of being killed, and even with it being killed would be a MASSIVE problem.
Maybe might's repose might strenghten during our death-sleep, but there's a problem: we're likely going to STILL have Decimator while dead. What, do you think the curse would leave us simply because we're somewhat dead? Please, our curses are not so kind. And if we were to stay asleep for long enough there's a very real risk of accidentally destroying the planet/universe in which we fell asleep, and after that the curse would likely start eating US. IN OUR SLEEP.
I'm still a bit curious about Outer Sorcery, but we have other options. Ruling Ring, for example, would give a decent amount of immediate strenght and a LUDICROUS AMOUNT of extra progression. It would probably pay off in just a few fights after we took it.
The Evening Sky
[ ] [Azure Moon] - 7 Arete. That which reigns resplendent once in a blue aeon. The wearer gains access to his true [Soul Evocation], [Imprisoner], and high-grade talent in its use. Powerful as this may be, recall that the use of Soul Evocations requires extensive technical study which will be difficult to perform under the constraints of Hunger. However the potential benefits are enormous enough that it may be worth pursuing even at a mortal's pace.
[ ] Total Eclipse - 25 Arete. The numinous time of sacred transfixion. Night sweeps field and horizon in a thundering advance, halo of the blinkered sun the only residue of day. Twilight's orphaned half-brother, cast aside on the eve of creation and trotted out only for spectacle and occasion. No longer, for the flare of your cloak is this twilight pretender, the liminal glow that precludes day and evening both. Unlocks the [True Quintessence], by which She Who Was The Maiden attained supremacy over the Manifest Realm, and for which the Maiden's successors might one day be anointed.
[ ] [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 or 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 externally.
oh, lookie here! an improved Soul Evocation! that's new!
I'd probably ignore it. as the description itself says Hunger (and our various curses) make the technical study needed for this magic system pretty hard, so we might be better served spending our arete somewhere else.
ok, so let's skip Azure Moon.
Oh, another 25 points option! as if we didn't have enough of these already!
...wait, is this the source of the Maiden's powers!?
that's admittedly tempting. Apparently the Maiden had basically all the graces (or at least a lot more than the conventional sorceress), so
[True Quintessence] is likely going to be a power with great variety of effects and not little strenght.
It might also give us some level of power/control over Findross, which means we'd likely be able to use this to accelerate Gisena's growth, possibly discovering how to make HER a Maiden-level threat as well.
Interesting.
and then there's the dear old Pillars of creation.
ok, we have a max of 5 points we can put down as deposit
I think we should be reasonable, and keep ourselves to 1, AT MOST 2 25 points option (but really, one is much wiser). For me this option should be either the ring for progression, Pillars for easier training and decimator mitigation, or maaaaaaaybe Total Eclipse.
yeah, for me it would have to be either the ring of the pillars, but I can't decide which one!
after a single 25 point option I'd probably go with 1 point on on two of the 7 arete options, though I could be convinced to not put any on them and save the Arete instead.
If I were to make a deposit on two 7 point options though... I think it would be the two Forebear's blade options, the super mode and the improvement to offense. I could maybe be convinced for lifesteal, but soul evocation lost much of its attraction once it was pointed out how it requires study, and how unsuited we are to studying thanks to the ring.
Now let's see how much I change my mind from the coming arguments!
