The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

They can then choose to convert the debuffs and physical traits into a temporary positive trait.
@Cteatus
Im really, really sorry for tagging you but I was needing to get something clarified.
Do potential applications include crafting, cycling and technique learning checks?
Because letting us use the limbs as fuel to learn our other techniques more quickly would be an excellent way to remove any downside from loosing the limbs damage.
Hell, even boosting the outcome of Fa's axe would be great.

But also, importantly, would madness count as an impurity?
Lets say, the madness caused by Time anam?
 
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[X] A Family United
[X] In Amber Clad

I'm not really fond of making charms that require large scale body modifications to undo another large scale modification. And I'm afraid A Fractal View will increase our resource demands, so I'm not interested in opening that can of worms.
 
[X] Spymaster's Pride
[X] Chrysalis of the Polestar
[X] A Fractal View
 
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I will be broad approval voting for now.

[X] The Heart of Kong
[X] In Amber Clad
[X] A Fractal View
[X] The Forge of Idealization
 
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Forge falling behind! Some thoughts for people reading through the thread and still deciding:

1. Though the current mechanical description of the Forge of Idealization is about carving Farmer channels, which we won't do for some time, this isn't the final version of the design. I personally suspect whatever we make will still provide some benefits to Soldiers, since it would be strange for KZ to make a charm that only aids a cultivation step he's never attempted and only has vague knowledge of (though, again, this is personal speculation).

2. The amount of time we'll have to wait to start carving Farmer channels is pretty miniscule. Once we have Wonders, integrating techniques will only take a couple of months.

3. Per the recent Sela disciple omake, the Farmer's Step might take a long time to finish. Like literal in-story years. The idea that the Forge is something we'll "outgrow quickly" is silly. In actuality, a charm like the Forge might be necessary to see the other side of the Farmer's step before the heat death of the thread.
 
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Mechanics: Only a single form available at the start. New forms require collection of materials and treasures.
You know looking at it again. What does this mean? Like can we quasi upgrade/complete this charm after initially making it? I mean we always wondered if that was possible but this is a bit of a hint isn't it? I like it, making something for growth.
 
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You know looking at it again. What does ethics mean? Like can we quasi upgrade/complete this charm after initially making it? I mean we always wondered if that was possible but this is a bit of a hint isn't it? I like it, making something for growth.
Think you meant "this", not "ethics", but as for the rest of your Charm, I'm not sure. It does seem that it does permit for upgrading the Charm to an extent, though I get the impression that there's probably a cap on the strength of the forms based on the original strength of the Charm to prevent unbounded growth.

Call it growth in versatility instead of growth in power, or something like that.

(Ultimately, this is a guess.)
 
Think you meant "this", not "ethics", but as for the rest of your Charm, I'm not sure. It does seem that it does permit for upgrading the Charm to an extent, though I get the impression that there's probably a cap on the strength of the forms based on the original strength of the Charm to prevent unbounded growth.

Call it growth in versatility instead of growth in power, or something like that.

(Ultimately, this is a guess.)

idk
its plausible that the growth would be unbounded and that it would provide an entirely new upgrade path
the big mechanical difference between heart and fractal is that heart slowly rewards us for doing what wed do anyway
whereas fractal opens up this new option
that consumes mats and stuff but has flashier results
personally i think techs are really cool and itd be nice to get rewarded for pursuing them
and we have enough things to do with mats already
but the things you could do with fractal would be super awesome too
which is one of the reasons why im voting for both at the moment
the other and bigger one is that they both have awesome aesthetics
 
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Alright, everyone! Here's the current tally.

Adhoc vote count started by bookofportals on Feb 6, 2021 at 10:40 PM, finished with 109 posts and 74 votes.
 
[] A Fractal View

I agree with the idea that a Fractal View will give us an opportunity to use our crafting abilities in a way that can more directly affect combat/our skills than other things. Especially when we consider that as Caretakers (thats the name of our Elder's group right?) we're supposed to be handling everything. A form for stealth, a form for information gathering, a form for persuasion (by making us seem more attractive/speak better) seems like the perfect kind of thing for our role long term.

My only concern is that, based off of my understanding, this doesn't seem to heal our limbs which I thought was something contrary to Zhi's character?
 
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idk
its plausible that the growth would be unbounded and that it would provide an entirely new upgrade path
the big mechanical difference between heart and fractal is that heart slowly rewards us for doing what wed do anyway
whereas fractal opens up this new option
that consumes mats and stuff but has flashier results
personally i think techs are really cool and itd be nice to get rewarded for pursuing them
and we have enough things to do with mats already
but the things you could do with fractal would be super awesome too
which is one of the reasons why im voting for both at the moment
the other and bigger one is that they both have awesome aesthetics

I don't know, Fractal providing a whole new upgrade seems like pretty out of its remit.

Speaking as someone voting for it.

The way I understood it, Fractal would provide access to some benefitial forms/stances (compared to vanilla) after unlocking.

Say, a form somewhat better suited for crafting.

The forms probably wouldn't be overpowered but more along the nifty side of things.

The main benefit of course being the sheer versatility due to the number of forms unlocked.

If one is familiar with League of Legends, I kinda imagine it being a la Udyr's stances. But not instantenous ofc.

@Vesvius Though, I gotta ask. What is Fractal's vanilla/base form?
 
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[X] A Fractal View
[X] Chrysalis of the Polestar
[X] The Forge of Idealization

I like Chrysalis best, and Fractal secondbest, as their utility is tied to narrative. Fractal also seems like it would require some travel and taking on of different perspectives. Forge is alright, though I think it's rather slow and I don't especially like full-reversion.
 
My only concern is that, based off of my understanding, this doesn't seem to heal our limbs which I thought was something contrary to Zhi's character?

Well we don't know exactly, but given the mechanic note says 'Single form available at start', it seems more likely than not that there will either be a prescribed initial form, or the option to vote on what the first form is.

This first form could (should!) be the +1 version of not-monster Kong Zhi. What that means mechanically? Dunno, maybe Human KZ with +stats to Str, Dex, Cons, & App.

I wonder if Fractal will be KZ exclusive, or usable by others. Is it possible to get a ruling @Vesvius @Cteatus ?
 
Well we don't know exactly, but given the mechanic note says 'Single form available at start', it seems more likely than not that there will either be a prescribed initial form, or the option to vote on what the first form is.

This first form could (should!) be the +1 version of not-monster Kong Zhi. What that means mechanically? Dunno, maybe Human KZ with +stats to Str, Dex, Cons, & App.

I wonder if Fractal will be KZ exclusive, or usable by others. Is it possible to get a ruling @Vesvius @Cteatus ?
The description says in links to the one use rirght?
 
Im really, really sorry for tagging you but I was needing to get something clarified.
Do potential applications include crafting, cycling and technique learning checks?
Because letting us use the limbs as fuel to learn our other techniques more quickly would be an excellent way to remove any downside from loosing the limbs damage.
Hell, even boosting the outcome of Fa's axe would be great.

But also, importantly, would madness count as an impurity?
Lets say, the madness caused by Time anam?

The answer is I don't know at this point. These things will all be clarified when a winner is chosen.

I wonder if Fractal will be KZ exclusive, or usable by others. Is it possible to get a ruling @Vesvius @Cteatus ?

The answer to this is also I don't know.
 
Some more unsolicited thoughts for the bored thread-goer: do you ever feel like you have too few AP's? Does it ever seem there are too many things about KZ's character we have to manage? Does the idea of charm you have to keep sinking additional resources into for niche benefits (rather than just making a new cool charm that you can design from scratch) sound unappealing?

Then boy are you lucky! Sell Fractal. Invest in charms with PASSIVE benefits! Heart of Kong and Forge of Idealization are 🚀. I like these charms. /jk (don't take my opinions too seriously if you're not persuaded by them (though you totally should be persuaded by them))
 
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