A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm not sure Refinement of Battle would be the best choice here, considering its a hybrid type EFB and the way its strengths are distributed. We don't need more defense currently and we've got a decent offense. I'd prefer a Praxis base ISH elevation of our physical stats or something.
You need a pick and a Praxis purchasing point. You can also go into pick debt and get it if you have just a Praxis purchasing point.
This fight can trigger Praxis purchasing point, but according to Rihaku being in pick debt would take more toll than we'd get with Praxis Advancement, so snap buying a Praxis Advancement is not a real possibility, sadly.
I mean, maybe we could get RoP and use it to run away or something, idk.
RoB is actually not terrible. Remember that OaF 2 is basically a multiplier, and we do have number of other multipliers all of which would benefit from RoB.
Actual issue with RoB is that mostly buffs shit that doesn't matter much - Con and Prot are not as relevant with Armor of Midnight setting us at infinite Prot anyway, and Str for Ruin is of questionable utility. Tenfold Echo might be overall more useful simple because ten points of Agility might mean a lot more than sevenfold Ruin.
RoB would benefit from Overwhelm and get our power of Ruin damage to be 7x higher and dare I say it - synergetic. Also the Armament is our superior in stats. If there are others Praxis EFBs that are good for the moment I am all for them.
Here are the words of the Pick Thief himself.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
Honestly, the little girls bullying her was less bothersome than, well, Kazuma cornering her, in the bathroom, to poison her. And then talking her into thanking him for it. Although the bullying joke did make that scene even more uncomfortable.
Seriously, why is Kazuma so down on Subaru's use of looping? Also, don't they have any status-cure spells that work on [Drunk]? Kazuma has Unstructured Magic, so even if Aqua refuses to sober herself up, he should probably be able to manage something.
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Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Kazuma prefers not to force Subaru into suicide unless absolutely needed. Unstructured Magic could've worked, but its relative inefficiency means it would be wasteful to do so on a task that required so much precision. Unstructured Magic is a sledgehammer, not a scalpel - good for vanishing a pool of vomit, not good for dialysis. Even that vomit-vanishing cost Kazuma as much as if he'd cast Fireball.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
Subaru offered, though? And it doesn't really seem to cost him anything. Kazuma mostly seems to be denying him on reflex this time, as opposed to the 'wait and see if this isn't actually a win state' of Kyoya's confrontation.
Also, I'm still not sure why Kazuma didn't just try manipulating Aqua into curing herself first. That'd be a way less creepy first recourse, and probably a lot more pleasant for Aqua, to boot.
The point is that we could have chosen Call Up or Fall Back without the Republic attacking Nilfel, since they would be targeting Letrezia not Nilfel. If we had chosen Call Up instead and gone to attempt to seek aid from the Arcanist Adorie could have just let in the Republic and told them where we were, allowing us to combat it with the aid of the Arcanist.
The battle hasn't actually started yet, so she can apply the buffs without risking being attacked by Republic forces, since they haven't breached the Walls of Myth.
Rank is related to how well spread ones legend is, since the Plenary brand broadcasts the presence of the one with it, an ability derived from it may simply amplify the potency of Procyon's rank beyond what an Astral Shroud would provide.
How much would the efficiency for unstructured magic need to be increased for it to be as mana efficient as an actual spell?
- Location
- Earth
[X] Seize the Day
I'll have some Age with a side of Treachery, thanks
I'll have some Age with a side of Treachery, thanks
Republic would in fact continue attacking Nilfel if we would leave because that's our last known location and they wanted to thoroughly check it out. They have no reason to believe Adorie or anyone else other than their diviners.
Tyrant_Rayne
Probably Not Evil… Maybe
- Location
- Canada
[X] Seize the Day
[X] Foe-Defeating Stance
K.
[X] Foe-Defeating Stance
K.
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Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Getting rid of alcohol from one's body? Well, in the case of Unstructured Magic, efficiency grows for everything - but at least 300%. When I said grossly inefficient, I meant it.
- Location
- Pindorama
[X] Foe-Defeating Stance
[X] Seize the Day
Well, why not? The other option is ahead by enough in my opinion. I might be compelled to switch again if this becomes a close race, we will see.
[X] Seize the Day
Well, why not? The other option is ahead by enough in my opinion. I might be compelled to switch again if this becomes a close race, we will see.
Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
Four Times Aeira was a YA Novel Protagonist (and one time she wasn't)
#899 Words
Here are five tactics for Aeira to contribute something meaningful to the course of the battle. Most of them involve wishful thinking outside the realm of Arete expenditure, but I think they fit the bill for Deus ex Machina in the alternate dimension where Aeira is an underleveled main character who still gets narrative attention during the climax.
1. Copying Adorie, Aeira pretends to be a soldier of Nilfel to stand on the Wall. Aeira notices that Procyon's astral rank puts out enough pressure to ablate the shadow cloak she applied at the start of the battle. This effects everybody except Adorie, who has Undying Vanguard. Aeira reapplies her shadow cloak enhancement to the entire legion, preventing the Republic Soldiers from seeing through Adorie's disguise and targeting the Queen specifically.
...This is directly responsible for Adorie's survival long enough for the Mirellyian bloodline to awaken in this time of "dire need." It's not clear how the bloodline can tip the scales, but I'm confident in the ruler of Nilfel.
2. Aeira's element is Shadowcord. On her way to the center of Nilfel with Aobaru, she leaves behind a conduit attached to the Wall of Myth itself. Aobaru's True Vigorflame is conducted along this cord so that he can infuse the Wall from the safety of the city.
Boosting the stats + ISH of the Wall is good on its own, but the real trick is that Aobaru can ignite pieces of the Wall when they break off. Mythic Shrapnel might burn hot enough to damage Procyon somewhat. If Aobaru is really the Chosen One, maybe he manages to overload the entire damaged section of the wall and blows Procyon to kingdom come.
3. Aeira has been passively observing Gisena's work on the runic language of the Foremost. With careful manipulation of the weave in her shadow cloaks, she manages to imbue a rune of silence into their construction. The Plenary Brand overcomes its bearer's attempts at stealth, but it only affects those who can perceive the Curse's subject.
Aeira's shadow cloaks protect the Legions from hearing the echoing boom of Procyon's fists against the Walls of Myth. Aeira's shadow cloaks turn aside the wearer's gaze, so that the Legions are not hit by the brand while anxiously watching the Wall get torn apart. If they don't perceive Procyon, the effect of the Plenary Brand will be mitigated! (This also helps if Procyon is generating an audio attack like the Simurgh.)
4. Aeira has been close friends with Letrizia since the Duchess pretended to be an exchange student. If Aeira were the underpowered but plucky main character of a YA Novel, the only place to be would be standing side by side in Versch's cockpit. When Letrizia defines Totality, it is described as a "merger of self and consciousness with the Armament." Applying a shadowcord enhancement to Letrizia might propagate through Totality to affect Verschlengorge himself. We know that Aeira even at baseline was able to produce a cloak large enough to cover Versch.
When the shadowcord effect is coming from inside Totality itself, the output might be boosted dramatically. Alternatively, being generated from inside Totality might make it easier for Letrizia to manipulate via her own element. Shadowcord is described as a garrote, among other things. Giving the wielder of Sharpbright access to Armament-scale quantities of razor wire seems like the kind of trump card a YA Novel would love to play. Synergy and teamwork between the two young elementalists could allow Versch to launch a sneak attack on Procyon, allowing Hunger the chance to land a decisive blow.
5. Aeira might not be the secret MC of a YA Novel that wandered into Rihaku's biggaton testing range. If that's the case, the best possible outcome might be a second bite of the apple:
The other benefits are worth mentioning too. Take Weave of Silence: I think there's a strong chance that Procyon uses a Simurgh style "Scream of Madness" and granting Hunger immunity to sound based attacks would be a pretty slick hard counter. Hell, even +30% manipulation would be effective for Seize the Day (although there are serious problems with that plan imo).
Even if this blurb only stayed in effect for this particular activation of Armor of Midnight AND it permanently burned out Aeira's entire elemental surge, this blurb would be worth looking at for this fight. (I'm not sure I'd pay a full 7 Arete for it, but that's a different conversation...)
#899 Words
Here are five tactics for Aeira to contribute something meaningful to the course of the battle. Most of them involve wishful thinking outside the realm of Arete expenditure, but I think they fit the bill for Deus ex Machina in the alternate dimension where Aeira is an underleveled main character who still gets narrative attention during the climax.
1. Copying Adorie, Aeira pretends to be a soldier of Nilfel to stand on the Wall. Aeira notices that Procyon's astral rank puts out enough pressure to ablate the shadow cloak she applied at the start of the battle. This effects everybody except Adorie, who has Undying Vanguard. Aeira reapplies her shadow cloak enhancement to the entire legion, preventing the Republic Soldiers from seeing through Adorie's disguise and targeting the Queen specifically.
...This is directly responsible for Adorie's survival long enough for the Mirellyian bloodline to awaken in this time of "dire need." It's not clear how the bloodline can tip the scales, but I'm confident in the ruler of Nilfel.
2. Aeira's element is Shadowcord. On her way to the center of Nilfel with Aobaru, she leaves behind a conduit attached to the Wall of Myth itself. Aobaru's True Vigorflame is conducted along this cord so that he can infuse the Wall from the safety of the city.
Boosting the stats + ISH of the Wall is good on its own, but the real trick is that Aobaru can ignite pieces of the Wall when they break off. Mythic Shrapnel might burn hot enough to damage Procyon somewhat. If Aobaru is really the Chosen One, maybe he manages to overload the entire damaged section of the wall and blows Procyon to kingdom come.
3. Aeira has been passively observing Gisena's work on the runic language of the Foremost. With careful manipulation of the weave in her shadow cloaks, she manages to imbue a rune of silence into their construction. The Plenary Brand overcomes its bearer's attempts at stealth, but it only affects those who can perceive the Curse's subject.
Aeira's shadow cloaks protect the Legions from hearing the echoing boom of Procyon's fists against the Walls of Myth. Aeira's shadow cloaks turn aside the wearer's gaze, so that the Legions are not hit by the brand while anxiously watching the Wall get torn apart. If they don't perceive Procyon, the effect of the Plenary Brand will be mitigated! (This also helps if Procyon is generating an audio attack like the Simurgh.)
4. Aeira has been close friends with Letrizia since the Duchess pretended to be an exchange student. If Aeira were the underpowered but plucky main character of a YA Novel, the only place to be would be standing side by side in Versch's cockpit. When Letrizia defines Totality, it is described as a "merger of self and consciousness with the Armament." Applying a shadowcord enhancement to Letrizia might propagate through Totality to affect Verschlengorge himself. We know that Aeira even at baseline was able to produce a cloak large enough to cover Versch.
When the shadowcord effect is coming from inside Totality itself, the output might be boosted dramatically. Alternatively, being generated from inside Totality might make it easier for Letrizia to manipulate via her own element. Shadowcord is described as a garrote, among other things. Giving the wielder of Sharpbright access to Armament-scale quantities of razor wire seems like the kind of trump card a YA Novel would love to play. Synergy and teamwork between the two young elementalists could allow Versch to launch a sneak attack on Procyon, allowing Hunger the chance to land a decisive blow.
5. Aeira might not be the secret MC of a YA Novel that wandered into Rihaku's biggaton testing range. If that's the case, the best possible outcome might be a second bite of the apple:
This is one of those advancements from a long time ago whose value could never have been predicted. I know my refrain about Tower gets old, so let's skip that and consider how Armor of Midnight + His Shroud was Down would benefit from taking this advancement. The most important boost is obviously the +100% Critical Strike chance for Artful Thorn and Deathly Star when launched from ambush. But there's a more devious interaction: There's a strong argument that the phrasing about protection in Armor of Midnight's blurb applies +1000 Protection for the purposes of Shadowlord, which would grant Hunger +1000 Stealth. It's less clear that Hunger would be able to "ambush" Procyon more than once by disengaging and hiding between every attack. However, I think this is one of those "cross system synergies" that I've heard about.
The other benefits are worth mentioning too. Take Weave of Silence: I think there's a strong chance that Procyon uses a Simurgh style "Scream of Madness" and granting Hunger immunity to sound based attacks would be a pretty slick hard counter. Hell, even +30% manipulation would be effective for Seize the Day (although there are serious problems with that plan imo).
Even if this blurb only stayed in effect for this particular activation of Armor of Midnight AND it permanently burned out Aeira's entire elemental surge, this blurb would be worth looking at for this fight. (I'm not sure I'd pay a full 7 Arete for it, but that's a different conversation...)
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Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
The quick answer to 'why not' is that Hunger loses any shred of leverage at T+8:01. The instant that the Armor of Midnight dissipates, he will be unable to retaliate if Procyon decides to alter the terms of their agreement. Hunger might not even be able to react fast enough to punish betrayal by executing any hostages.
Seize is not less risky than His Shroud was Down, and it leaves us unprotected by Armor of Midnight for about 24 hours before Pillars activates...
- Location
- Pindorama
I don't actually think this is unworkable, especially as the option says there might be mages willing to enforce the agreement, either on the Republic party or in Niefel. I also don't think it would be impossible for us to potentially harm the hostages even if Armor of Midnight goes down, since we'd have Refinement of Quickness and our Rank disparity is pretty small. Even if we couldn't enforce it, it would require Procyon's pilot to gamble on that fact given a very uncertain visual clue, which I think goes against the personality established by Letrizia. I don't think someone described as a professional, calm and logical individual would be willing to risk the lives of all the other members of his group on what would be at best, a hunch.
So I do think he will keep the agreement if we make it, unless the situation on the Human Sphere has escalated enough a 3-day wait would impose some serious strategic considerations. Not impossible, but this war situation was already established as incredibly fast considering the circumstances; how hard is the Apocryphal Curse really pushing right now?
The Plenary brand makes deception impossible so Hunger would know if Procyon is planning to betray the terms of their agreement.
Aeira is a very plain looking teenager girl. She was not like other girls and she did not use makeup or other beauty enhancement products. Yet she was also gorgeous with beautiful hair.
She was so clumsy and airheaded except for all types of combat arts and stealth where she exceeded.
She was surrounded by all sides by people who loved her. She had to choose between several romantic options (mostly white dudes). Aobaru - her rival was the Chosen one yet his eyes sparkled when he looked at her. He was an honest and direct person.
Lord Hunger was a brooding Hero, once betrayed and now on a quest to better the universe. His brooding magnetism and grim disposition was like a fire and she was a moth that was unable to escape its pull.
Also she had Letrizia, an imperial duchess, whose friendship was a bit too intimate to be called normal.
She had a big sister figure in the gorgeous but humble Lady Gisena, who teaches the young heroine that in love and war, there are no rules.
PS: 🤮
PS 2: She is also a vampire, but with no downsides
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Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
My previous arguments about the Apocryphal Curse tie my hands here a little bit. Right now all that I can say is that you have to decide what sounds more "interesting." Is it
- The Age of Hunger pitted against the Treachery of the Republic as both social combatants plot to betray the other
- Hunger knows that he will be able to defeat the Armament at sundown tomorrow
- Procyon suspects that he will be able to defeat the Praehir at sundown today
- They both have plot armor (Accretion Rank)
- Procyon has the backing of the Apocryphal Curse
- Which one will blink?
-OR-
- The Age of Hunger pitted against the... maligned good intentions of the Republic, as Hunger throws away his last shot at galactic peace by negotiating in bad faith
- Hunger is clowning on the Armament's pilot by tying them up in diplomancy
- Procyon is secretly a good dude
- +Dramatic Irony from Hunger bringing about the galactic catastrophe
- -Dramatic Irony from finding out Letrizia is secretly a villain who doesn't ever bother to mitigate Decimator's Affliction at all
Also remember that Versch knew Hunger was a Praehir. It seems likely that Procyon will also recognize Hunger's true nature. Why would Procyon's pilot allow a Progression Type time to stall when victory seems to be in the Republic's grasp?
Edit: Before I get accused of strawmanning the [Republic is Good, Actually] plotline, this is an invitation to explain why good-faith negotiation is a reasonable plot point to rely on. The burden is on voters who like Seize the Day to explain why that option is a good one.
This is not accurate. The Plenary Brand makes disguise impossible.
More to the point, even if Hunger knew that Procyon was planning to betray the terms of their agreement, opening negotiations burns time on Armor of Midnight while entirely giving up on the element of surprise. In the event that an Alpha Strike is not sufficient, plan B is to try to tank Procyon's attacks while the Shroud's cost in terms of stamina and endurance wears out the pilot. Giving them time to send messengers and negotiate terms undermines our backup plan
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So I remember you saying that you'd write a 20k word omake.
Rihaku
The Internet
The Armor of Midnight doesn't affect speed at all. There's no way the Republic commanders will survive Rank 10.5 Bloodcasting from point blank even with Procyon's quickness, since it telegraphs its intentions and Hunger can bloodcast even if his physical body is oneshotted.