Hogwarts Sect of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I think I found the overarching plot for our second year lmao

Gotta find a way to save dad or we'll be in for some Bad Times
 
@Karf quick question about the Haruspexy effect: what exactly would it mean for us, if the effect were to trigger? Do we still know the result beforehand? Do things that apply to wood rolls apply?
Going backwards:

Yes, modifications to the die face results would apply, but not the bonus.

You know the result of five rolls. The odds of the highest of those being changed should be extremely low, unless you very specifically work towards that, in which case I think that's on you. If the lowest number gets rerolled to be even lower, the next result die would apply to that low(er) number again, and so on.

For an example of what it would mean, for the sake of convenience, assume all numbers are wood rolls sans bonuses.

You invest in haruspexy three times beyond the pool unlocking stage. For a given turn, you roll two pools of results as follows:
[1, 100]
[20, 30, 40]

The divination rolls happen to be: [10, 30, 50, 70, 90]

You whiff with the 1, lucky you, the 50% chance does not trigger.

You hit with the 100, still lucky. The lowest haruspexy die is 10, and it gets turned into 100, the pool is now [100, 30, 50, 70, 90]. You don't see this part any more, because the votes have already been cast.

But, you still have one investment in haruspexy to go, and you land the coinflip on the 20. The lowest die is now 30, but it gets dropped even lower, to be 20, giving you a final social pool of [100, 20, 50, 70, 90] that I'll use for your preferred social actions. Until the update drops, you don't see the updated numbers.
 
Not really sure I understood all of that, but I guess it's good for those more versed in the system to have clarification available ;)
 
@Karf does the aeromancy switch effect only switch up or could it decrease rolls as well

ie if we had rolled a 91 and a 27, would we switch the 27 to a 72 or the 91 into a 19
 
I'm morbidly curious to see what exactly that 1 is leading us towards. ^^

For each improvement past omen unlock, switch around the digits of the roll for which it would lead to the greatest change in magnitude.
Quick question, @Karf : would a 1 become a 100, a 10, or stay a 1? Also:
For each improvement past omen unlock, a wood aspect result roll has a 50% chance to replace the lowest haruspexy roll (even if it would reduce that roll).
From your answer to Nando's questions, am I correct in assuming that the wood result rolls are taken from the training actions in chronological order, so to speak (i.e. in the order in which they appear/were rolled)? Because the examples are also in increasing order (1, 100 and 20, 30, 40), but I feel like that was a coincidence, or at least not an indication of the way in which they get picked as replacements?

The other notable effect from your sessions is rather more strange, at least for you. Normally the little guy is still somewhere between the size of your fist or palm, depending on how puffy he's feeling, but when he wants to be bigger, he just... is. Rex can stretch out to nearly your whole height, if not quite your volume in size, without the moss part of him looking at all taut or spread thin. When you try to interrogate him on where he's keeping his extra bulk, you simply get confusion in reply. Apparently his moss isn't exactly confined to three dimensions, and for him, it's always there, folded neatly inside himself. When you ask if growing like that is tiring for him, the best you get back is a feeling of walking without bending your knees - not difficult or unpleasant, but awkward and unnecessary all the same.
Is this size increase the next Adaptation in the tree unlocked by Natural springy ball II?

To the untrained eye, the resulting cavalcade of color could be interchangeable between your old and new approaches, but a closer examination lends credence to your initial observations. It's easier to cycle from color to color with water, to shift the light you create from one wavelength to the next, and actually a bit taxing to keep it as a steady light. Wood on the other hand has a feel to it. A warmth, although not a physical heat, or perhaps a presence to the colors that make you firmly believe that the football you conjure up is actually truly real, despite your knowing full well to the opposite. If anything, it's your third eye that's the most fooled, insofar as it can be fooled at all.
Illusions that look more real, not so much to regular sight, but to an immortal's Qi-sense? That's pretty nice.
Your speed suffers tremendously, anything thicker than paper taking noticeably longer to split apart, but whereas the metal natured cutter, if it cannot cut something, dissipates with little evidence to show for your efforts, the earthen version does not care.

The toughest object you wouldn't feel too bad about damaging is a solid metal handle of a construction debris bin. Your regular cutter barely cracks the paintjob before coming undone, but when you switch the aspects, the spell simply keeps going. After a handful of minutes of concentration, you steal away into the early morning one steel slice richer. Sure, the cut isn't as perfect when your attention wavered, you can even see what look like drilling marks when you thought someone was going to spot you vandalizing property, but those imperfections would only count as such if viewed through the exacting eyes of an immortal. For everyday purposes, your cuts are plenty smooth.
Cutting tougher objects is very useful, even if the time requirement means it doesn't have actual combat applications.
 
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Quick question, @Karf : would a 1 become a 100, a 10, or stay a 1? Also:
I'd say a 100 is sufficiently special enough to stay a 100. A 1 becomes a 10, a 2 a 20 and a 30 a 3, etc.

am I correct in assuming that the wood result rolls are taken from the training actions in chronological order, so to speak (i.e. in the order in which they appear/were rolled)?
This is correct.

Is this size increase the next Adaptation in the tree unlocked by Natural springy ball II?
Damn, knew I was forgetting something. Good news for me is that I don't need to come up with the exact numbers on a timecrunch, but I'll edit something in soon enough.
 
[X][Plan] Prep Work
-[X][Training] Physical cultivation
-[X][Training] Meridians
-[X][Training] Physical cultivation x2
-[X][Training] Transfiguration
--[X] The Wing Floating Technique
-[X][Training] Physical cultivation x3

This is a plan designed to get some of the low hanging fruit before we go for astronomy and herbology.
 
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While I'm tempted to replace Meridians with Charms (most likely the recorder plushie), I'm more than fine with this.
[X][Plan] Prep Work

[X][Divination] None
Because I want crits for sect points and narrative benefits.

As for socials:
[X][Social] Properly touch base with the members of your own house, see what they were up to over the summer and reestablish the erstwhile study group.
[X][Social] Quidditch season is not starting until November - or in other words, it's right around the corner. A mere mention of the idea of an early gathering would probably light a fire under Cho to get any organization taken care of, and you could see your teammates again.
[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
[X][Social] Although you managed to solve your own issues with the muggle world, you feel it would be a good idea to check in with the other members of Justin's group of muggleborn disciples.

These are my favorite ones of the bunch. I'm not particularly interested in yet another Harry action, and for similar reasons, the Lockhart one doesn't convince me because I suspect it will most likely just be what we expect it to be from canon. Reconnecting with our study group and our Quidditch team feel like the best use of our time to me, and the muggleborn faction or the new firsties would be my third choice.

I would seriously consider voting for any Write In about Hagrid, one of the Elders, or the Frog Choir, though.
 
[X][Plan] Prep Work
[X][Divination] None
[X][Social] Lord Potter has decided to start the year off with a bang. You didn't see him at the start-of-year feast, but knowing full well that he made the cut, you were merely perplexed, not worried. Still, you were not the only one to take notice, and by the next morning, there were rumors abound of soul projections fighting the Whomping Willow to haunted monsters of steel and metal fleeing into the Forbidden Forest. You'd like to think that you have better chances than most to get the truth straight from the source.
[X][Social] Properly touch base with the members of your own house, see what they were up to over the summer and reestablish the erstwhile study group.
[X][Social] Quidditch season is not starting until November - or in other words, it's right around the corner. A mere mention of the idea of an early gathering would probably light a fire under Cho to get any organization taken care of, and you could see your teammates again.
[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[X][Social] Although you managed to solve your own issues with the muggle world, you feel it would be a good idea to check in with the other members of Justin's group of muggleborn disciples.
 
[X][Plan] Prep Work
[X][Social] You have no patience to wait until you arrive at Hogwarts, you want to find out who made it through and who didn't. Give your best impression of a social butterfly and get a brief overview of where your peers stand - and which of them join you at all.
[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[X][Social] Although you managed to solve your own issues with the muggle world, you feel it would be a good idea to check in with the other members of Justin's group of muggleborn disciples.
[X][Social] Lord Potter has decided to start the year off with a bang. You didn't see him at the start-of-year feast, but knowing full well that he made the cut, you were merely perplexed, not worried. Still, you were not the only one to take notice, and by the next morning, there were rumors abound of soul projections fighting the Whomping Willow to haunted monsters of steel and metal fleeing into the Forbidden Forest. You'd like to think that you have better chances than most to get the truth straight from the source.
 
Don't we only know the one rune, and we've already activated it, so we can't activate it again?
Maybe? I'd always assumed that striking it was something to be repeated each month for however many turns were needed before its release. For example, I thought that if, for whatever reason, we ever wanted to delay its effect, we could just choose not to strike it for one or more turns so as to postpone its release. But I could very well be wrong.

It's not a big deal, anyway. I was just a bit confused.
 
Sorry, @Karf , why are we not allowed to strike our rune? Or should we look at this to mean that we're already automatically striking it, and we don't need to/can't vote for that, because of our choice to do so last turn? Or am I missing something?
The only rune you know is already struck and gathering power. You can't cancel it midway through, it'll stay locked in until January.
 
About Dad and our attempt at making a magical portrait of him, this might be kind of relevant:
"I know of four methods. What's your preferred medium, and subject?"

"I draw, so pencils. Most of my sketches are of candid moments - people, but not portraits. Well, the vast majority are just doodles, but besides those."

"Gotcha. That narrows it down. Now, unless you're a transfiguration prodigy that'd make Elder McGonagall giggle like a girly, you probably know nothing about object meridian networks?"

It's a rhetorical question, but you shake your head in the negative anyway.

"In short, you paint in the channels and let Qi take it from there, but that's challenging for a Core Formation disciple, let alone a first year. And if you're drawing people not on the cusp of ascension, then spirit entrapment is out too, don't even ask. That leaves talismanic art and wand-work. Got any ties to a prominent, well-to-do clan?"
Bold mine.
 
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I'm really concerned about Dad, it sounds like we might have irreversibly damaged his soul.

[x] [Plan] Prep Work
- [x] [Training] Physical cultivation
- [x] [Training] Meridians
- [x] [Training] Transfiguration
-- [x] The Wing Floating Technique
[x] [Divination] None
[x] [Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[x] [Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
[x] [Social] Quidditch season is not starting until November - or in other words, it's right around the corner. A mere mention of the idea of an early gathering would probably light a fire under Cho to get any organization taken care of, and you could see your teammates again.
[x] [Social] Properly touch base with the members of your own house, see what they were up to over the summer and reestablish the erstwhile study group.
 
[X] [Plan] Prep Work

[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.

[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
 
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[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
[X][Social] Although neither of you has said so out loud, you're pretty sure you have not just one, but two members of your extended family in the house of Slytherin. Perhaps you could try to consolidate your on-again-off-again contact with Tracey and touch base with Daphne at the same time.
[X][Social] Although you managed to solve your own issues with the muggle world, you feel it would be a good idea to check in with the other members of Justin's group of muggleborn disciples.
[X][Social] You're back at Hogwarts! The thought alone fills you with glee, and that replaces any fear you might have about getting lost in the twists and turns of the castle. You want to run deep inside and poke every brick just to see what would happen.
 
I'm aware I picked 6/10 options. I blame Karl for being to good of a writer, and making so many good options it was hard to limit myself to even this.

[X][Plan] Prep Work

[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
[X][Social] Although neither of you has said so out loud, you're pretty sure you have not just one, but two members of your extended family in the house of Slytherin. Perhaps you could try to consolidate your on-again-off-again contact with Tracey and touch base with Daphne at the same time.
[X][Social] Although you managed to solve your own issues with the muggle world, you feel it would be a good idea to check in with the other members of Justin's group of muggleborn disciples.
[X][Social] Quidditch season is not starting until November - or in other words, it's right around the corner. A mere mention of the idea of an early gathering would probably light a fire under Cho to get any organization taken care of, and you could see your teammates again.
[X][Social] Properly touch base with the members of your own house, see what they were up to over the summer and reestablish the erstwhile study group.
 
[X][Plan] Prep Work

[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.
[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.
[X][Social] Although neither of you has said so out loud, you're pretty sure you have not just one, but two members of your extended family in the house of Slytherin. Perhaps you could try to consolidate your on-again-off-again contact with Tracey and touch base with Daphne at the same time.
 
I'd recommend adding x2 and X3 to the latter physical actions on the plan, otherwise the tally will merge them thinking they're the same action.

Looks good otherwise. I've come around to doing Transfig now, and I figure if it doesn't make it this month we put another action in next month?

[X][Plan] Prep Work
Not too sure on the socials, but I'd rather prioritise our house/the muggleborns this month, then branch out again next month.

Edit: I will say though, kudos on that last social @Karf, the panic at seeing the nat 1 was just amplified by the sheer normality of the action as portrayed, though others already pointed out the hints of what happened.

Though, I though we needed to win two social fights this summer, for one each month? Or did the first fight apply to both months?
 
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Though, I though we needed to win two social fights this summer, for one each month? Or did the first fight apply to both months?
That kind of was the initial plan, and had you lost the first bout, I'd have stuck with it. But you didn't and had a perfectly valid and compelling reason to win. It would have just been more of the same for this month, so I didn't see any point in it.
 
[X][Plan] Prep Work

Plan Extra Action is a go.

[X][Social] You have no patience to wait until you arrive at Hogwarts, you want to find out who made it through and who didn't. Give your best impression of a social butterfly and get a brief overview of where your peers stand - and which of them join you at all.

Getting ahold of class standings sounds interesting and useful.

[X][Social] You remember your promises, and a Colin Creevey was in fact sorted to Gryffindor. Find him once he's had a few days to find his footing and make good on your deal.

Make good on our promise.

[X][Social] Ravenclaw tower is freshly host to a new batch of first-year disciples. While the second year students in your own time mostly kept to themselves, there's no rule against being friendly. Who knows who you could meet.

Luna. Nuff said.

[X][Social] Although neither of you has said so out loud, you're pretty sure you have not just one, but two members of your extended family in the house of Slytherin. Perhaps you could try to consolidate your on-again-off-again contact with Tracey and touch base with Daphne at the same time.

Family is family.

[X][Divination] Aeromancy - 69
[X][Divination] None

For divination either go with the funny number or throw it out and roll for a 90+
 
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