...does people fylgja gets stronger, even if they don't train them?

Probably not, but I suspect finding an unrevealed one is basically impossible and upping a revealed one to level 4 or so is so cheap that it's likely a minimum by adulthood for those who do have it revealed.

Like, going from level 1 to level 4 is 15 successes total...going from 4 to 7 in a stat is 112. If you're investing 112 successes into things, only an idiot wouldn't spare 15 for something that shores up their weaknesses.

Also, did we ever got told why Steinar didn't want to tell us about the fylgja, aside from the dangers it exposed us if we call it from the spirit realm?

It sounded like it was just that. Revealing your fylgja has several advantages, but it also tempts you to take risks and open areas of vulnerability, and he's overprotective of Halla.
 
If wanting to focus on social skills (which is very defensible, and honestly more or less my plan after this turn and maybe the next), I strongly believe you should just raise Hugr directly. Getting Poetry, Silver-Tongue, and Barb-Tongue all up a single rank would be 8 successes...add in Needle-binding and that becomes 10 successes. Getting Hugr up one is better in every way (raises all those plus at least a half-dozen other skills we want, cheaper in otrthstirr to actually use) and is only 11 successes. It's just a much better choice mechanically to just put all those dice toward Hugr.

We want to up some of those skills eventually anyway once Hugr becomes more expensive, but right now Hugr is just a better bargain.

Oh! And you can't invest more than 2 Orthstirr in Silver-Tongue right now...three if you make it a conditional and happen to increase it. That's used to buy dice and it currently caps at 2.
Ok, I can understand not putting it into Barb-tongue since it is not going to be useful anytime soon, but since they have similar effect, I wanted to raise Poetry and Silver tongue, less for the mechanical effects and more for the Watsonian reasoning. Yes Hella could get better at social by being smarter, but I still think she should get some social practice as well to learn to be personable. As of right now, we have only a vague idea why her mother is at odds with her. Especially since people are more likely to dismiss Hella for being a girl.

As to where to put the left over Orthstirr, I am at a loss, since my plan focuses on less dangerous events so not sure where it would be better placed.
 
Ok, I can understand not putting it into Barb-tongue since it is not going to be useful anytime soon, but since they have similar effect, I wanted to raise Poetry and Silver tongue, less for the mechanical effects and more for the Watsonian reasoning. Yes Hella could get better at social by being smarter, but I still think she should get some social practice as well to learn to be personable. As of right now, we have only a vague idea why her mother is at odds with her. Especially since people are more likely to dismiss Hella for being a girl.

I mean, Hugr is a stat women raise more than men (per the QM) and covers being social as well as mental things. I think working on social skills is a perfectly reasonable way to raise it. Like, the Watsonian thing she's doing is focusing on more 'womanly' things but the mechanical effect is still more Hugr.

As to where to put the left over Orthstirr, I am at a loss, since my plan focuses on less dangerous events so not sure where it would be better placed.

Leaving them free for tricks is entirely valid. That's what we usually wind up doing with a bunch of orthstirr.
 
I mean, Hugr is a stat women raise more than men (per the QM) and covers being social as well as mental things. I think working on social skills is a perfectly reasonable way to raise it. Like, the Watsonian thing she's doing is focusing on more 'womanly' things but the mechanical effect is still more Hugr.
Sure, but this is specifically about trying to sweet-talk information out of people since that something we are planning to do these next few turns, whether that be out of the older brother, father or mother. So while having higher Huge is a great medium term goal, I kinda want to be good at social now for when we need it.
 
Voting is now closed.
Scheduled vote count started by Imperial Fister on Feb 27, 2023 at 8:52 PM, finished with 24 posts and 6 votes.

  • [X] Plan Preparing For War (Part 1)
    -[X] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
    -[X] (Personal) Help out Sten as he works on getting the forge up to his standards.
    -[X] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
    --[X] Mom
    --[X] Talk to her about the Horra situation, including the prophecy, and ask her advice and what she knows about Horra.
    -[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
    --[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
    --[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 5d6
    -[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
    --[X] Train Contested Movement 1d6
    -[X] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
    --[X] Train Hamr Itself 1d6
    --[X] Train Defend 1d6
    -[X] (Training) Hugr (11 successes to rank up)
    --[X] Train Hugr Itself 1d6
    -[X] (Training) Fylgja (1 success to rank up)
    --[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6
    -[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
    --[X] 4 Hamr
    --[X] 5 Hugr
    --[X] 2 Fylgja
    --[X] 1 Blacksmithing
    --[X] 1 Labor
    --[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
    --[X] 6 free for tricks
    [X] Plan Homebody
    -[X] (Personal) Gabriel, Jerasmus, and, apparently, Steinarr all know a language that you don't and it's called 'English'. It's time to learn it.
    -[X] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
    -[X] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
    --[X] Mom
    -[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
    --[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
    --[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 2d6
    -[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
    --[X] Train Contested Movement 1d6
    -[X] (Training) Hugr (11 successes to rank up)
    --[X] Train Hugr Itself 2d6
    --[X] Train Needlebinding 1d6
    --[X] Train Silver-Tongue 1d6
    --[X] Train Poetry Rank 2d6
    -[X] (Training) Fylgja (1 success to rank up)
    --[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6
    -[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
    --[X] 4 Hamr
    --[X] 5 Hugr
    --[X] 2 Fylgja
    --[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
    --[X] 6 free for tricks
    [x] Ask Steinarr and Kerr for more information on the bandits.
 
Summer 3/Turn 3
[X] Plan Preparing For War (Part 1)
-[X] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
-[X] (Personal) Help out Sten as he works on getting the forge up to his standards.
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
--[X] Mom
--[X] Talk to her about the Horra situation, including the prophecy, and ask her advice and what she knows about Horra.
-[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
--[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 5d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Contested Movement 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr Itself 1d6
--[X] Train Defend 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (11 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr Itself 1d6
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (1 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Hamr
--[X] 5 Hugr
--[X] 2 Fylgja
--[X] 1 Blacksmithing
--[X] 1 Labor
--[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
--[X] 6 free for tricks
0~0~0
(Hamr Trick Training: 1) 1 Failure. (Hamr Trick Training: 4, 6, 4, 5, 3) 7 Successes
You're not making much headway with Reinforce-Shield, which is rather frustrating. But Power-Chop's large jump in progress dampens your fiery frustrations.

Soon, you'll have another trick in your toolbox. Soon, you'll be that much more lethal.

Which does put quite the smile on your face.

(+7 Successes to Power-Chop. 1 Success Left!)
0~0~0
(Hugr Trick Training: 5) 2 Successes
A reddening leaf snaps from a branch as summer turns to winter. A gust of noble wind catches it as it falls in a flutter. It carries the leaf in a whirling, twisting path. Two loops spins the leaf until it drops into a puddle.

That is, if your hand hadn't whipped out and snatched it from the air moments before it touched water.

You breathe out and the world seems to snaps back in focus as it accelerates forward once more.

(+2 Successes to Contested Movement. 4 Successes Left!)
0~0~0
(Hamr Training: 1) 1 Failure. (Defend Training: 6) 2 Successes
You catch Crowfeeder on your shield's boss before directing it into the ground. Steinarr sends a smile and a thumbs-up your way before readying himself for another bout.

(Defend Rank Up! 7 Successes Left!)
0~0~0
(Hugr Training: 5) 2 Successes
You draw a couple sketches in the dirt, more lines and shapes than anything truly artistic.

(+2 Successes to Hugr. 9 Successes Left!)
0~0~0
(Fylgja Training: 5) 2 Successes
Your owl soars with renewed strength as it rides a warm updraft high in the sky. There's a content smile on your face as you feel what it feels.

(Fylgja Rank Up! 7 Successes Left!)
0~0~0
Talking to Randi (Hamingja: 6, 6, 5, 5) 8 Successes, Max Success!
You find Randi with Jerasmus, in the middle of exchanging stories.

"-and though his own jar was only half-full, Sir Astolfo succeeded in returning Sir Roland's wits to him." Jerasmus finishes his story to the applause of Randi. He bows to her and then to you before taking a seat on the log. "Ah, but it seems that we may be forced to cut our story-telling short, Miss Randi, for our Young Lady has need of our presence."

"Actually," you say as you pull up a stump, "stories are exactly what I am looking for."

"Excellent!" Jerasmus claps his hands, a broad smile on his face as he regards Randi. "Miss Randi, since I last told a tale, perhaps you would be so inclined to lend our ears your voice?"

"I would be happy to, Jerasmus." Randi nods as she rises to her feet. She clears her throat and swallows a mouthful of water before launching into a heroic tale of man versus monster.

After the tale, your mind swims with the hero Slagvi the Sheltering and his clever tricks against the terrible troll known only as 'Holey-Pants'.

So inspired are you that you immediately set to practicing one of the tricks from the tale. Heft-Halter-Chop was its name and it was, of all things, an axe trick meant for *defending!* Defending against massive attacks, that is, but defending nonetheless!

(Hefty-Halter-Chop Trick added to Incomplete Chop Tricks. 1 Success Left!)
(1 Temporary Hamingja now permanent!)
0~0~0
Helping out Sten (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 6, 3, 6, 6, 2, 6, 2, 4) 8 Successes
After badgering Sten for who knows how long, you managed to out-stubborn him just enough to get him to let you use his forge — under his supervision, of course.

"There are three rules of blacksmithing. Get it hot, hit it hard, and stop when it's done." Sten explains as he hands you tongs and a thin strip of iron. He shows you how to 'get it hot' and you stick the iron into the furnace.

"Pay attention to your iron, but do not stare into the heart. You'll blind yourself." Sten instructs as you wait for the iron to heat up. It takes a bit longer than you expected, but you use the tongs fish the iron out and carry it to the anvil stone.

"Now, you hit it hard." With Sten guiding your motions, you hold the red-hot iron steady as you bring the hammer down.

It's hard work repeating those first two steps over and over again and you're covered in soot by the time Sten declares it 'done'. But you can't quite keep the look of excitement off your face as you eagerly await Sten's judgement.
(Hugr (Blacksmithing): 6, 5, 6, 6, 5, 4, 6) 13 Successes. Wow.
Sten blinks as his brows dart to the top of his head. His eyes shine with a hint of surprise, the most emotion he's shown all day.

"This..." He trails off and rubs at his eyes. When he opens them again, the knife is still there in his hands. "And you're sure that you've never done this before, right?"

"Yep!" You cheerily exclaim.

"Alright, then." Sten wraps the work-knife in cloth before handing it over to you. "You have an incredible talent for smithwork, so much so that I shudder to think what you could come up with if our positions were reversed."

The smile that splits your face shines brighter than the sun in the sky. A newly realized desire burns deep inside, the desire to forge great things with your newly-found affinity.

(Incomplete Boon: Born with Hammer in Hand Added to Traits!)
(+1 Good Work Knife added to inventory)
(+2 Relations with Sten)
0~0~0
Talking to Asveig
You find your mother tending to little Sterki's hunger. Asveig removes your little brother from her bare chest — his eyes heavy with sleep from a hearty meal — and fixes her dress.

She sets Sterki down in his cot before turning to you, a question in her gaze. "Is there something I can help you with, Halla?"

"It's about dad. And uh," You swallow a gulp as you sit down next to the hearth, "a problem I'm having involving him."

"What has Steinarr been up to that has you in such a state?" Asveig asks as she sits down across the way.

"It's less what he is up to and more what he might do, should he learn what I know." You take a deep breath and decide to just launch into it. "Does the name Horra Hasvisson mean anything to you?"

A silence falls between you and Asveig. The only sound breaking it from the crackling hearthfire and the soft snoozes of Sterki.

"He killed Sten and Sterki." Asveig's eyes dart towards your sleeping brother, worry in her gaze. "They... they were the brothers Steinarr was closest to; the namesakes of our Sten and Sterki."

You knew that Horra had killed your uncles, but they were but nameless figures until now. Images of some evil, laughing figure slaying your brothers flashes in your mind. The chair creaks as your fingers grind into the armrests. Anger burns in your heart as hate sticks in your throat.

"He spent eleven years chasing Horra across the world, from fourteen to twenty-four. No matter where Horra fled, Steinarr found him eventually. No cousin could hide him, no uncle could stow him away. All fell before Crowfeeder's biting edge, seven uncles and cousins for two brothers." Asveig sighs as she finishes the tale. "He lost him in Persia, when Horra was eaten by some manner of beast."

"He's not dead," you find yourself saying before you even realize your mouth is moving. "H-Horra lives, he's here, in the valley."

Asveig stills.

"Do not tell Steinarr," she growls, fear, worry, and utter terror flashing in her eyes. "He'd go get himself killed or worse."

You nod readily. "I won't, but... if the worst comes to pass, what do you know about Horra?"

"He's a liar, a scoundrel, a nidingr." You're momentarily stunned by the utter viciousness pouring from Asveig's lips as she snarls. "He's a coward and a murderous thief. He never fights like a man, always with trickery and deceit. He killed your uncles with strikes to the back while they were mid-battle, never even looking them in the eye."

You blink as Hallr sobs in your head and bemoans his sons' ignoble deaths.

That does change things, if Horra is as dishonorable as your mother says he is. He won't have nearly as much orthstirr at his disposal if he's not been acting like a drengr.

You snort, teeth grinding together. No wonder the Burissons get along so well with him, they're birds of a feather!

0~0~0
Personal (Pick 2/3, if no Exploration is picked):
[ ] (Personal) Abjorn came by, asking if you wanted to go walking with him.
[ ] (Personal) That armor Steinarr brought back... You can't use it to its fullest potential, but is there anything else it can do?
[ ] (Personal) Gabriel, Jerasmus, and, apparently, Steinarr all know a language that you don't and it's called 'English'. It's time to learn it.
[ ] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
-[ ] (Optional) Write in the topic
[ ] (Violent) Pick a fight or spar with...
-[ ] Asva (You doubt she'd be willing to fight you, but maybe you can needle her enough?)
-[ ] ...Drifa? (Maybe when she's older...)
-[ ] Someone else (Write in)
[ ] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
[ ] (Crafting) Try to make something (Write in) (Hugr+Some kind of crafting skill)
0~0~0
Exploration/Travel (Pick 1 or none):
[ ] (Visit) Go visit...
-[ ] The Witch! (Actually, it's probably a good idea to avoid her entirely)
-[ ] Asvir!
-[ ] Vidby, Abjorn's Farm
-[ ] Kerby, Stigr's Farm
-[ ] Buriby, Osborn's Farm (Has a guaranteed chance of ending in a fight)
-[ ] Glebby, Sverre's Farm
-[ ] Runby, Aki's Farm
-[ ] Horrby, Horra's Farm (Has a very good chance of ending in a fight)
--[ ] Rather than visiting normally, you instead stealthily approach and try to scout it out. (Doesn't count as a visit)
-[ ] The one at the bottom of the river
[ ] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
-[ ] The fields!
-[ ] The Hading!
--[ ] Try to find those bandits you heard about.
-[ ] The hills!
--[ ] (Optional) Towards where the flaming thing landed. Maybe there's something you missed?
0~0~0
Training: You have 11d6 training dice to spend as you see fit.
[ ] (Blackhand) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
[ ] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hamr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Hugr (9 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hugr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Fylgja (7 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a fylgja skill or trick (Write in)
0~0~0
Orthstirr Available: 21
How do you want to use your orthstirr?
[ ] (Orthstirr Usage) (Write in)
0~0~0
Fylgja Capacity: 0/3
Do you want to withdraw or deposit anything in your fylgja?
[ ] Write in (Optional)
0~0~0

AN: I guess the dice felt bad about your recent string of bad luck!

25-minute moratorium.
 
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Well. The training and getting in good with Sten both seem to have worked out well, and maybe Horra isn't as big a threat in a straight fight as we were afraid...on the other hand he definitely is an expert at the sneaky stuff, so we need to be very worried about that. But anyway, here's my current plan:

[X] Plan The Meteor Expedition
-[X] (Personal) Abjorn came by, asking if you wanted to go walking with him.
-[X] (Personal) Gabriel, Jerasmus, and, apparently, Steinarr all know a language that you don't and it's called 'English'. It's time to learn it.
-[X] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
--[X] The hills!
---[X] (Optional) Towards where the flaming thing landed. Maybe there's something you missed?
---[X] Take our friends with us along with Sten (who we tell we found something we need a smith to look at)

Training:
-[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
--[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 1d6
--[X] Train Hefty-Halter-Chop Trick 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Contested Movement 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr Itself 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (9 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr Itself 4d6
--[X] Train Blacksmithing 1d6
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (7 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6

Orthstirr:
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Hamr
--[X] 5 Hugr
--[X] 2 Fylgja
--[X] 1 Blacksmithing
--[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
--[X] 7 free for tricks

For actions, we definitely want to spend time with Abjorn and go look at the meteor with someone who might know what to do with it. I'm less sure what we should do for our third action, but learning English (and more about the Christians) does seem pretty relevant.

For training, I still think we should raise Hugr now more than Hugr skills until it hits 6, but feel sort of obligated to also start work on blacksmithing given the trait, and think we should continue progress on the tricks we're working on and our other basic stats.

EDIT: Removed one die from Hugr and added it to Hefty-Halter-Chop Trick since it's only one success away from being completed.
 
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What would people think about forging a weapon specifically to work with Standstill? I could see a lot of use for a chain that could wrap around an enemy's weapon, shield or arm and then be frozen. Maybe our knight friends could introduce us to flails?

Heck, if we get good enough with Standstill, we could probably make an Ivy-style chain-sword and use Standstill to control it by freezing and unfreezing specific parts.
 
[X] Plan The Meteor Expedition
-[X] (Personal) Abjorn came by, asking if you wanted to go walking with him.
-[X] (Personal) Gabriel, Jerasmus, and, apparently, Steinarr all know a language that you don't and it's called 'English'. It's time to learn it.
-[X] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
--[X] The hills!
---[X] (Optional) Towards where the flaming thing landed. Maybe there's something you missed?
---[X] Take our friends with us along with Sten (who we tell we found something we need a smith to look at)

Training:
-[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
--[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Contested Movement 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr Itself 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (9 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr Itself 5d6
--[X] Train Blacksmithing 1d6
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (7 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6

Orthstirr:
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Hamr
--[X] 5 Hugr
--[X] 2 Fylgja
--[X] 1 Blacksmithing
--[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
--[X] 7 free for tricks
 
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What would people think about forging a weapon specifically to work with Standstill? I could see a lot of use for a chain that could wrap around an enemy's weapon, shield or arm and then be frozen. Maybe our knight friends could introduce us to flails?

Heck, if we get good enough with Standstill, we could probably make an Ivy-style chain-sword and use Standstill to control it by freezing and unfreezing specific parts.

I'm not against the idea if it seems like it'll work, but I think it's fairly premature at this point. We're not nearly good enough at either smithing or Standstill to make anything like that any time soon.

@.Slaking.LV.Max. You appear to have have copy/pasted without getting the plan name, there.
 
What would people think about forging a weapon specifically to work with Standstill?
They'd call whoever got hit by it a wimp if it wasn't obviously a weapon. Hitting people with things that weren't weapons was a way of placing nid on them. Of course, this wouldn't last forever as other people would copy your weapon (or try to) and it would soon be known as a weapon.
 
[X] Plan The Meteor Expedition, minus blacksmithing
-[X] (Personal) Abjorn came by, asking if you wanted to go walking with him.
-[X] (Personal) Gabriel, Jerasmus, and, apparently, Steinarr all know a language that you don't and it's called 'English'. It's time to learn it.
-[X] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
--[X] The hills!
---[X] (Optional) Towards where the flaming thing landed. Maybe there's something you missed?
---[X] Take our friends with us along with Sten (who we tell we found something we need a smith to look at)

Training:
-[X] (Steinarr's Training) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick/some tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Reinforce-Shield Trick 1d6
--[X] Train Power-Chop Trick 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks (Write in)
--[X] Train Contested Movement 2d6
-[X] (Training) Hamr (15 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr Itself 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (9 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hugr Itself 5d6
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (7 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6

Orthstirr:
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Hamr
--[X] 5 Hugr
--[X] 2 Fylgja
--[X] 2 Silver-Tongue
--[X] 8 free for tricks

Same plan as DMWXI, but I am not too interested in pursuing blacksmithing as we already have our uncle as a smith. Tossed the dice to Contested Movement instead to try and complete that this turn.
 
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