[X] Some notes on the Beast Kings art and the play its attached too, and the way it has changed over the centuries. (Will allow two Beast King projects to be taken in one slot.)
I'm reading this as a permanent bonus and if Fortress of Tsu keeps popping up we will never finish BKSD without it. Hui corpse used BKSD skills and there was a draining effect which might be part of the set. If Yu Nuan starts practicing BKSD as well, this bonus should carry over to her.
On a side note, If we do get 6th realm Meng or Shenhua to make us a new flute, we might be getting yet another sister soon.
If it's not a one time deal but a permanent "two for the price of one" then I'm absolutely picking the BKSD option, because holy shit. Holding off on vote until it's confirmed/denied.
We have 5 confirmed (as in mentioned in the art text) projects left in BKSD. 7 if the Birdsong God we saw the Hui corpse and its Fortress of Tsu are also a thing.
If the BKSD'S bonus is permanent, that's 3 projects we'll be saving. Which means we get a turn's worth of projects for free. Damn.
That would improve the worth oh the second option by a lot.
I would still keep my vote on the wood supply, since I want to know what "an otherwise unavailable resolution path" we unlock.
But I wouldn't be mad about the BKSD winning.
Doing the Primacy of Beasts (Where lies the line between beasts and men, which brings us to war?) and Xiangmen, Fortress of Tsu Pt. 2 (Yet man could not cower among the roots for all eternity) combo in the month right before the Summit would be awesome.
[X] Some notes on the Beast Kings art and the play its attached too, and the way it has changed over the centuries. (Will allow two Beast King projects to be taken in one slot.)
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
Action economy is very cool and tempting. Though it's necessary to look at the specifics of the economy of action on sale.
The thing is that our cultivation schedule over the summit arc is currently heavily leveraged towards various plots-in-progress. Unless something changes, we have 6 cultivation slots available over the course of the next two months/Summit.
Right off the bat, FFS basically owns 2 of those slots. As our first successor art, it's supposed to be deeply meaningful to our character, it's connected to our diplomatic legitimacy, and taking a break from it would let other narratives overtake things inappropriately.
After that, there's extremely high levels of interest in the successor art Thief of Names that Shu Yue's tutelage has unlocked as an option, though we haven't seen it yet. Reasons for the interest are diverse, but include pacing/structure continuity since we've had multiple scenes involving it and ignoring it would look weird, and the fact that a people-focused perception art is ideal for an event like the summit. The utility argument basically demands we cultivate it next turn, and then "successor art" arguments kick in and require us to cultivate it again on the turn summit-proper. Especially because the utility is still present then. Pronounced even. So in all likelihood that locks in another 2 out of 6 slots we have to work with.
Another storyline that we're in the middle of is Huisheng's whole deal. In the wake of our stunt at the end of our tribulation, I'd have a hard time justifying letting him molder for a couple months. Our reunion with Sixiang during the current mini-arc might change the calculus, depending, but I don't except so. In any case, the art that we connect to him with most directly is Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief. It has the advantage of cool projects, but this one in particular stands out:
To slip between, through and around, through the tiniest keyhole or the open window. Round the mountains or through even the veil of death. So walks the thief, who must bypass boundaries in the same way that a bird must fly. But to step across or through, one must understand that which they will violate. Alters and advances the Breeze in the Vault technique. +1 XP to Want and Mystery. Unlocks a new project.(0/6)
It's notable both as sounding pretty useful for any shenanigans during the summit and as pairing excellently with Thief of Names. Of course, this occupies the 5th of 6 slots.
And then there's Songseeker's Ceremony, our cultivation art itself. So far, we haven't gone even one month without cultivating a project from it, so taking only 1 project in two months is paring it back. Especially considering how much these actions tend to drive characterization, I don't think we could defend not having any SSC actions during the Summit arc. Last time it came up, there was a strong lean towards taking the Hidden Scribe action because of thematic synergy with Thief of Names, the subject of the summit itself, and our other currently visible FFS project.
At the moment, we're just kind of full up! That's not to say the BKSD notes don't have value, but it's not likely we'd be using them any time soon. The project double-up doesn't really help it fit into our schedule any easier/sooner either, since the projects aren't that relevant to the summit. Tbh, doubling-up could even be counterproductive there, since two of the projects can kind of be worked into Summit stuff, but the lenses they'd use are pretty different, making combining awkward. BKSD/Emerald Seas founding history is cool and interesting, but it's also a big huge Thing of its own, while we already have plot threads running. Arguably too many, even, with the ducal complications to our first contact efforts.
Again, it's fine to value the action economy gainz over the wood, but if it's grounded with an expectation of immediacy, that's misplaced. Personally, I suspect it's more likely for the plot thread of this gift to get muddled post-Summit if it's the notes, too. Not muddled in terms of the reward, but in terms of remembering the gift's gift-iness. Reading some notes to speed-cultivate isn't the same kind of spectacle as a construction project, after all.
Especially given the thematic resonance of using the Wood as a keystone part of turning the cavern into another mark of Ling Qi and co settling in and beginning a new phase of their lives.
Like a secondary ground breaking ceremony, but with more parties involved.
Making my choice on a basis of regret. Most likely i wouldn't reget not choosing music mat when we do the cathedral quest. But by god i would regret the extra project we give up every time we plan cultivation projects going forward. This is of course assuming this is a one time bonus. If it is halving projects we have for completion of BKSD and also speed up cultivation of this art for every other clan member this is the one of the best value option we ever had in quest.
[X] Some notes on the Beast Kings art and the play its attached too, and the way it has changed over the centuries. (Will allow two Beast King projects to be taken in one slot.)
[X] Some notes on the Beast Kings art and the play its attached too, and the way it has changed over the centuries. (Will allow two Beast King projects to be taken in one slot.)
[X] Some notes on the Beast Kings art and the play its attached too, and the way it has changed over the centuries. (Will allow two Beast King projects to be taken in one slot.)
Action economy is very cool and tempting. Though it's necessary to look at the specifics of the economy of action on sale.
The thing is that our cultivation schedule over the summit arc is currently heavily leveraged towards various plots-in-progress. Unless something changes, we have 6 cultivation slots available over the course of the next two months/Summit.
Right off the bat, FFS basically owns 2 of those slots. As our first successor art, it's supposed to be deeply meaningful to our character, it's connected to our diplomatic legitimacy, and taking a break from it would let other narratives overtake things inappropriately.
After that, there's extremely high levels of interest in the successor art Thief of Names that Shu Yue's tutelage has unlocked as an option, though we haven't seen it yet. Reasons for the interest are diverse, but include pacing/structure continuity since we've had multiple scenes involving it and ignoring it would look weird, and the fact that a people-focused perception art is ideal for an event like the summit. The utility argument basically demands we cultivate it next turn, and then "successor art" arguments kick in and require us to cultivate it again on the turn summit-proper. Especially because the utility is still present then. Pronounced even. So in all likelihood that locks in another 2 out of 6 slots we have to work with.
Another storyline that we're in the middle of is Huisheng's whole deal. In the wake of our stunt at the end of our tribulation, I'd have a hard time justifying letting him molder for a couple months. Our reunion with Sixiang during the current mini-arc might change the calculus, depending, but I don't except so. In any case, the art that we connect to him with most directly is Laughing Flight of the Wind Thief. It has the advantage of cool projects, but this one in particular stands out:
To slip between, through and around, through the tiniest keyhole or the open window. Round the mountains or through even the veil of death. So walks the thief, who must bypass boundaries in the same way that a bird must fly. But to step across or through, one must understand that which they will violate. Alters and advances the Breeze in the Vault technique. +1 XP to Want and Mystery. Unlocks a new project.(0/6)
It's notable both as sounding pretty useful for any shenanigans during the summit and as pairing excellently with Thief of Names. Of course, this occupies the 5th of 6 slots.
And then there's Songseeker's Ceremony, our cultivation art itself. So far, we haven't gone even one month without cultivating a project from it, so taking only 1 project in two months is paring it back. Especially considering how much these actions tend to drive characterization, I don't think we could defend not having any SSC actions during the Summit arc. Last time it came up, there was a strong lean towards taking the Hidden Scribe action because of thematic synergy with Thief of Names, the subject of the summit itself, and our other currently visible FFS project.
At the moment, we're just kind of full up! That's not to say the BKSD notes don't have value, but it's not likely we'd be using them any time soon. The project double-up doesn't really help it fit into our schedule any easier/sooner either, since the projects aren't that relevant to the summit. Tbh, doubling-up could even be counterproductive there, since two of the projects can kind of be worked into Summit stuff, but the lenses they'd use are pretty different, making combining awkward. BKSD/Emerald Seas founding history is cool and interesting, but it's also a big huge Thing of its own, while we already have plot threads running. Arguably too many, even, with the ducal complications to our first contact efforts.
Again, it's fine to value the action economy gainz over the wood, but if it's grounded with an expectation of immediacy, that's misplaced. Personally, I suspect it's more likely for the plot thread of this gift to get muddled post-Summit if it's the notes, too. Not muddled in terms of the reward, but in terms of remembering the gift's gift-iness. Reading some notes to speed-cultivate isn't the same kind of spectacle as a construction project, after all.
That maps out almost exactly with the 6 art projects I would like to do in the next 2 turns (pre-Summit month and Summit month).
There are only 2 points where I'm kind of doubtful.
First is the Thief on Names Successor Art. We'll likely won't know the art's specifics until we actually create it as, like FFS, we'll have a few votes to determine its focus and effects. That means we should do it next turn to gain all the advantages the newly created techniques would bring before the Summit.
What I diagree on is that we have to take one of its projects the month after (the Summit month) simply for it being a Successor Art. That should be decided based on the utility of the available projects. As Thief of Names' techniques will most likely revolve around people perception, they are bound to be useful for the Summit, but we shouldn't presume.
We should do 1 FFS project a turn in great measure to fulfill the G6 breakthrough requirement and thus gaining the Exp multiplier sooner. But that for that we only need to "master" 1 Successor Art, so there is no reason to do Successor Arts projects just because they are Successor Arts.
If you are worried about narrative cohesion, finding it weird for Ling Qi to ignore a Successor Art she just created, take it as Ling Qi needing to experiment and actually use her new art to discover what she needs to improve. So leaving one or two months between the creation and the first project shouldn't be a problem.
Second is the LFWT project. I also want to keep advancing the Huisheng's plot, and LFWT is an art that fits him nicely, so I'm all in in cultivating it along with ToM with him.
But I don't think we should visit him right now just because the nightmare tribulation. I feel it's much better to visit him after the Summit. We'll have a great story to tell by then!
So that leaves 1, maybe 2, free slots. And I'm saying this as someone voting wood delivery, but Primacy of Beasts theme fits really well with the Summit. I certainly prefer it over LFWT.
Since we would be doing that project, there wouldn't be a problem with doing Fortress 2 at the same time. After all, Fortress 2 modifies the Wolf God while Primacy modifies the War Calling, and both techniques are highly entwined together. Heck, we can't even use Wolf God without War Calling!
So I don't think there would be much mudding there.
And again, I'm voting wood delivery here.
Edit: Oh, right. There is also the last MoSS project we'll unlock once we finish Bastion this arc.
Getting the MoSS Insight before the Summit would be great, unless that last project is terrible or not fitting with the Summit at all.
That's why I had already suggested doing only 1 FFS project in the next 2 turns.
So it would end up something like this
Turn 18: Thief of Names, Hidden Moon, MoSS
Turn 19: FFS Project, Thief of Names Project, Primacy of Beasts
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
Info delivery:
[22:22]ravindu: Did we get the confirmation on whether the BKSD project bonus is one time thing or for untill the end of project.
[23:41]Yrsillar: it is a one time thing
Info delivery:
[22:22]ravindu: Did we get the confirmation on whether the BKSD project bonus is one time thing or for untill the end of project.
[23:41]Yrsillar: it is a one time thing
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
Better long term play. We support our clan members (Validating Yu Nuan's choice even more and showing we aren't a shit show of a Clan Matriarch/Head) and we might even improve one of our best cultivation sites on our fief.
The minor action economy improvement is great and all, but it's not meeting our obligations and improving our long term options.
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
The argument that we are validating Yu Nuans choice by picking wood is not very good one in my opinion.
We are voting, Ling Qi is not, so whatever is pick is just whatever Ruan's uncle decided to send.
The argument that we are validating Yu Nuans choice by picking wood is not very good one in my opinion.
We are voting, Ling Qi is not, so whatever is pick is just whatever Ruan's uncle decided to send.
"Other people give Ling Qi stuff that benefits me" ABSOLUTELY validates Yu Nuan chosing to join up. It's just Ling Qi personally doesn't need to feel bad about not doing so if we vote the other way.
[X] A delivery of their highest quality lumber, infused with wind and music qi(Benefits Yu Nuan via Talisman mats, Cathedral of Winds Quest gains additional options)
"Other people give Ling Qi stuff that benefits me" ABSOLUTELY validates Yu Nuan chosing to join up. It's just Ling Qi personally doesn't need to feel bad about not doing so if we vote the other way.
Only in round about way, but it was my impression that the argument was meant to somehow show Ling Qi in a beneficial light for making a choice, instead of random loot drops, that Yu Nuan is already quite familiar with.
