NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

Constenanto · Mar 17, 2023

Would being taught Campfire give us a muna, too? Or is it possible to get one (as in a hugarrida or muna) without getting the other?

MrRageQuit · Mar 17, 2023

[X] Keep the poem (+7 Orthstirr)

DeadmanwalkingXI · Mar 17, 2023

Imperial Fister said:
Yeah.

It doesn't apply to Inspiration-gained orthstirr, thanks to how Inspirations work.

Awesome. Just checking.

Imperial Fister said:
That sounds very Campfire. Fortunately, Campfire is one of the few hugareida that can actually be taught

Well. We definitely need to secure some teaching in that, now don't we? I wonder how it would alloy with Ignition? Or would that not be a good idea? Eh, Blackhand would definitely know one way or the other with two fire hugareida, so we can just ask him how they combine and if it's a good plan.

wrecksalot · Mar 17, 2023

[X] Keep the poem (+7 Orthstirr)

I.F. Ister · Mar 17, 2023

Constenanto said:
Would being taught Campfire give us a muna, too? Or is it possible to get one without getting the other?

Potentially, depending on surrounding circumstances. If you did get a muna, it probably wouldn't give you a hugareida as you're already learning what it would give you. What you would get is something else.

TheCount · Mar 17, 2023

[X] Keep the poem (+7 Orthstirr)

Well, there is just all kinds of interesting in this chapter...

Imperial Fister said:
"Good," he nods, pleased with your memory. "Now, why did I have you do that?"

Your mouth hangs open as you find yourself lacking an answer.

ah.... i so love lessons that make you think.

Imperial Fister said:
All-in-all, you get respectable air. It's not the best jump you've ever made, but five-times your height is a solid attempt for a standing leap.

...wow. Norseman are truly superhuman.

Yeah, there will do nicely.

Imperial Fister said:
Honestly, it's a good thing you realized your birthright before coming here, else you probably would've gotten badly injured by now. Fortunately, it was only a few light burns. Barely any bone was even exposed!

no no no, Halla NO!!!!!

Imperial Fister said:
Aki tsks, clearly annoyed by something. "Is that as small as you can make it?"

"Yeah?" Where is he going with this?

"Well, whatever the makers of this use as power is way smaller, like a... I dunno, a fish egg or something."

Imperial Fister said:
"Beats me," Aki shrugs. "But, uh, I don't think that this is the way we're gonna get in there, not with small power being a requirement."

You blink as realization storms overhead. "Wait a second, I know a guy who has small power!"

Ah, the start of the efficiency quest!

Perhaps a die into better Orthstirr control every turn?
Also, can't wait for Gabriel and Jerasmus' reaction lol. Good thing we are already in the positives though!
Perhaps we should talk again with Jerasmus too, separatedly? he IS a teacher, after all.

Imperial Fister said:
You're going to be facing a Nisse, more or less intact.

...we really should have told about the porridge to mom....

Constenanto · Mar 17, 2023

Is it possible to actually learn better orthstirr control? If we learnt such a thing, would our tricks take less orthstirr to use?

Also, this matches with what Imperial said - that the Norse are much more wasteful/lack a lot of control/refinement when it comes to using their orthstirr when compared to the Chinese using their orthstirr-equivalent.

DeadmanwalkingXI · Mar 17, 2023

TheCount said:
Ah, the start of the efficiency quest!

Perhaps a die into better Orthstirr control every turn?
Also, can't wait for Gabriel and Jerasmus' reaction lol. Good thing we are already in the positives though!
Perhaps we should talk again with Jerasmus too, separatedly? he IS a teacher, after all.

Per the Journal, we need to get our relationship with Gabriel to level 6 before he'll start helping us out or teaching us anything, so I think no training dice can be assigned until we do that. Good luck to us.

TheCount said:
...we really should have told about the porridge to mom....

I mean, that provides a warning at best...also, she probably noticed, it's not super subtle as signs go. I wonder why it's upset?

Alectai · Mar 17, 2023

Constenanto said:
Is it possible to actually learn better orthstirr control? If we learnt such a thing, would our tricks take less orthstirr to use?

Also, this matches with what Imperial said - that the Norse are much more wasteful/lack a lot of control/refinement when it comes to using their orthstirr when compared to the Chinese using their orthstirr-equivalent.

Yeah, but it comes from refining your Tricks apparently rather than a general "Be better at Orthstirr Control".

Of course, in exchange, a sufficiently mastered Trick becomes free of cost, which is probably nuts when it includes stuff like "Very nearly True Flight" so...

But yeah, huh it literally sat on that grudge for a full year. Yeesh. Little bit annoying that Halla just had a Dumbass Moment that was enforced by Plot to provoke a life or death boss fight against an absurdly strong garden gnome that apparently added poison bites to the list, but yeah.

uri · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
Of course, in exchange, a sufficiently mastered Trick becomes free of cost, which is probably nuts when it includes stuff like "Very nearly True Flight" so..

If we survive this boss, I would very much be in favor of trying to master that trick. Its just too good from a mobility standpoint.

I.F. Ister · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
Of course, in exchange, a sufficiently mastered Trick becomes free of cost, which is probably nuts when it includes stuff like "Very nearly True Flight" so...

The in-universe reason for this is that you get so familiar with using it that it feels exactly the same as, say, smiling at a friend, writing your name, or even blinking. It's stopped being something you consciously think about and something you just do.

Alectai said:
But yeah, huh it literally sat on that grudge for a full year. Yeesh. Little bit annoying that Halla just had a Dumbass Moment that was enforced by Plot to provoke a life or death boss fight against an absurdly strong garden gnome that apparently added poison bites to the list, but yeah.

Nisse are supposed to eat the porridge overnight and for Halla to have stepped in it in the morning... something must have happened to it

TheCount · Mar 17, 2023

DeadmanwalkingXI said:
Per the Journal, we need to get our relationship with Gabriel to level 6 before he'll start helping us out or teaching us anything, so I think no training dice can be assigned until we do that. Good luck to us.

Nah, i meant the control learning part as a self study, no need to brother them with that.
And yeah, making friends will take time, but hopefully we will manage it, somehow.
And yes, good luck to us.

Alectai · Mar 17, 2023

uri said:
If we survive this boss, I would very much be in favor of trying to master that trick. Its just too good from a mobility standpoint.

It's good as it is, it becomes perfect if we include Standstill platforms for high G maneuvers and to trick off of.

Dragoon Build is go

Imperial Fister said:
The in-universe reason for this is that you get so familiar with using it that it feels exactly the same as, say, smiling at a friend, writing your name, or even blinking. It's stopped being something you consciously think about and something you just do.

Still pretty wild that this kind of stuff is on the table. Ignition really is a fantastic Hugareida for us!

BTW, what kind of damage can usually be output by our little snap-bombs and our detonation strikes?

DeadmanwalkingXI · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
Yeah, but it comes from refining your Tricks apparently rather than a general "Be better at Orthstirr Control".

Of course, in exchange, a sufficiently mastered Trick becomes free of cost, which is probably nuts when it includes stuff like "Very nearly True Flight" so...

Getting to Mastered on Kindleflame also gets it down to a much more reasonable 2 orthstirr...Mastery and Perfection are just good. Once we have an Ignition Trick Refined, we can also get it to Mastered in only 13 turns of putting 1 die (which turns into 2) into it, so Halla may have multiple Mastered Ignition Tricks by the time she's 18 or so. Another 26 would get to Perfected, so that'd be at the age of 22 or so if we go the 'slow and steady route'.

Alectai said:
But yeah, huh it literally sat on that grudge for a full year. Yeesh. Little bit annoying that Halla just had a Dumbass Moment that was enforced by Plot to provoke a life or death boss fight against an absurdly strong garden gnome that apparently added poison bites to the list, but yeah.

I think you're interpreting that wrong. From what Halla said, that bowl should've already been eaten when she stepped in it, I think. Like, it not being eaten was a sign something was wrong, not her stepping in it being the main problem.

TheCount said:
Nah, i meant the control learning part as a self study, no need to brother them with that.
And yeah, making friends will take time, but hopefully we will manage it, somehow.
And yes, good luck to us.

I uh, don't think we have an action for that or any idea where to start. If we can invest dice, sure, we should, but I don't think we can.

Sirrocco · Mar 17, 2023

I feel like...

Imperial Fister said:
"You had questions for me, right?" You ask and he breathes out the side of his mouth.

Running tongue over teeth, he regards you with a careful look. "Halla, what are the Three Fundamental Truths? I'm sure you haven't forgotten them."

You blink, confusion clear across your furrowing brow, but you oblige him all the same.

"The First Fundamental Truth: Power Requires Sacrifice."

"The Second Fundamental Truth: All Men Die."

"The Third Fundamental Truth: Memory Is Forever."

It's almost as though you're a child again, just starting to learn the basics of the world, rather than the near-adult woman you are now.

"Good," he nods, pleased with your memory. "Now, why did I have you do that?"

Your mouth hangs open as you find yourself lacking an answer.

Imperial Fister said:
"Sten, I need a sword worthy of Halla." Your father declares with pride in his voice. "I need something I can give to Abjorn so that I know he'll be able to keep her safe." His voice drops to a whisper that has you straining to hear. "I need steel."

Sten's hammering falls silent for a long, long stretch of time. "Do you know what you're asking me to do? Because it is not something done lightly."

"It's Halla."

Sten sighs. "Yeah, you're right. I'll... I'll have something ready by the wedding."

"Thank you," Steinarr says as his footsteps approach the cloth flap of a door. You stifle a squeak and dive out of the way — which just so happens to be into a pile of snow.

I feel like these two go together. Like, Abjorn is going to get a very nice sword, but this isn't going to be free for Sten.

Now, Steinarr loves his sons. It's not going to hurt him too badly... but it's very much Not Free.

I'm thinking... permanent orthstirr loss? Based on how the magic system works, and on about how serious this sounds, I'm going to guess permanent orthstirr loss. It's also a reason why a man might not want to be known as a forger of steel, what with all the people who might try to demand his services.

DeadmanwalkingXI · Mar 17, 2023

Sirrocco said:
I feel like these two go together. Like, Abjorn is going to get a very nice sword, but this isn't going to be free for Sten.

Now, Steinarr loves his sons. It's not going to hurt him too badly... but it's very much Not Free.

I'm thinking... permanent orthstirr loss? Based on how the magic system works, and on about how serious this sounds, I'm going to guess permanent orthstirr loss. It's also a reason why a man might not want to be known as a forger of steel, what with all the people who might try to demand his services.

I don't think there's a literal sacrifice. I think it's more metaphorical than that...Sten is kind of on the run and making a steel sword is very attention-getting, which is a sacrifice of safety he's making here.

Alectai · Mar 17, 2023

Ooof, yeah, that's concerning, and it means this Plot has been in the works for at least a full year. That's a lot of time for someone to fuck things up, and effectively twisting a house-spirit into a murderous gremlin? That's bad, bad juju.

And Steinarr is absolutely going to be drawn out somehow, because otherwise it's not going to be enough to be much more than a speedbump before he swats it. Which means Halla's going to be the only line of defense. I'm assuming this is the case because the alternative is "Steinarr is somehow mortally wounded or dies and is in no position to intervene when a two foot tall murder gremlin goes on a rampage"

The only good news is that she had some significant gains over the past few months alone, just from unlocking Ignition and getting a functioning stable of Tricks out of it. Still, spicy time ahead.

TheCount · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
It's good as it is, it becomes perfect if we include Standstill platforms for high G maneuvers and to trick off of.

Dragoon Build is go

Can i interest you in some air step shoes? we do need to figure out how to word the runes though.... probably in a poem, because damn things are efficient... somehow!

I think we should also talk with Sten, perhaps somehow try to cheer him up?

And.... i know its stupid, but i wanna make good luck charms to Steinar and Abjorn on the raid.... probably better to give them to everyone we care about though.

Constenanto · Mar 17, 2023

Huh, we actually already Refined Kindle-Spinner apparently. Is there any reason for us to learn how to make explosion runes when we can just rely on Kindle-Spinner, now? Well, they don't take orthstirr when they're used, so I suppose that is one reason.

Alectai · Mar 17, 2023

Constenanto said:
Huh, we actually already Refined Kindle-Spinner apparently. Is there any reason for us to learn how to make explosion runes when we can just rely on Kindle-Spinner, now? Well, they don't take orthstirr when they're used, so I suppose that is one reason.

Kindle-Spinner's a good Trick to put in our Owl to get some Close Air Support, my impression is that it's literally DnD Fireball. Effectively a rocket fired into a place that blows up big.

Sirrocco · Mar 17, 2023

Huh. So... if I'm getting this right....
- The upside of General tricks is that one trick can do a bunch of different things. This saves on slot cost.
- The downside of general tricks is that they cost more orthstirr to activate
- A general trick is approximately as powerful as its more specific version.
- Every trick takes about the same amount of effort (in training dice) to get to perfected.
- All perfected tricks are just free.

So... the cheeseball path to true long-term power would be to make the most general trick you can, and then perfect it? If a single general trick can cover for three more specific tricks (for example) then it'll take one third of the time to perfect as the full set of them, and at the end it'll cost one third of the slots, and the final effect will otherwise be identical.

Was this... intended?

DeadmanwalkingXI · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
Ooof, yeah, that's concerning, and it means this Plot has been in the works for at least a full year. That's a lot of time for someone to fuck things up, and effectively twisting a house-spirit into a murderous gremlin? That's bad, bad juju.

Definitely. Horra is almost certainly involved, I think.

Alectai said:
And Steinarr is absolutely going to be drawn out somehow, because otherwise it's not going to be enough to be much more than a speedbump before he swats it. Which means Halla's going to be the only line of defense. I'm assuming this is the case because the alternative is "Steinarr is somehow mortally wounded or dies and is in no position to intervene when a two foot tall murder gremlin goes on a rampage"

Sten would also need to not be there. He's not in Steinarr's league, but he's a scary enough guy that I suspect he'd tilt the fight significantly in our favor if he can back us up. And I believe we've been assured of important NPCs not dying offscreen...certainly not casually.

Alectai said:
The only good news is that she had some significant gains over the past few months alone, just from unlocking Ignition and getting a functioning stable of Tricks out of it. Still, spicy time ahead.

Yep. I'd actually argue Halting Vortex being usable on more attacks is her biggest mechanical gain, but she's also picked up something like 5 combat pool dice, at least 16 orthstirr, the stuff you mention, and a bunch of other stuff. Her gains have been significant.

Constenanto said:
Huh, we actually already Refined Kindle-Spinner apparently. Is there any reason for us to learn how to make explosion runes when we can just rely on Kindle-Spinner, now? Well, they don't take orthstirr when they're used, so I suppose that is one reason.

The lack of orthstirr cost, the ability to hand them off to others, the ability to plant them and then set them off...I can think of several reasons.

Alectai said:
Kindle-Spinner's a good Trick to put in our Owl to get some Close Air Support, my impression is that it's literally DnD Fireball. Effectively a rocket fired into a place that blows up big.

Definitely a reasonable plan once we have a spare defensive trick to hand off to the owl, yeah.

Ryumancer · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
It's good as it is, it becomes perfect if we include Standstill platforms for high G maneuvers and to trick off of.

Dragoon Build is go

TheCount said:
Can i interest you in some air step shoes?

In before we manage to get "Skyfire" as a Kenning. It's absolutely an interesting path for us to tread, imo.

Alectai · Mar 17, 2023

Sirrocco said:
Huh. So... if I'm getting this right....
- The upside of General tricks is that one trick can do a bunch of different things. This saves on slot cost.
- The downside of general tricks is that they cost more orthstirr to activate
- A general trick is approximately as powerful as its more specific version.
- Every trick takes about the same amount of effort (in training dice) to get to perfected.
- All perfected tricks are just free.

So... the cheeseball path to true long-term power would be to make the most general trick you can, and then perfect it? If a single general trick can cover for three more specific tricks (for example) then it'll take one third of the time to perfect as the full set of them, and at the end it'll cost one third of the slots, and the final effect will otherwise be identical.

Was this... intended?

General Tricks are often gated behind Mastery or better of other Tricks unless your teacher knows them, and even then, I imagine there's likely downsides to such generic applications of Orthstirr compared to a tailored, specialized option.

Certainly, I don't see Hone matching the power output of Firebomb Strike no matter how much you dump into it for instance.

I.F. Ister · Mar 17, 2023

Alectai said:
BTW, what kind of damage can usually be output by our little snap-bombs and our detonation strikes?

Underhand Kindle Spinners deal 2-3 or so damage, depending on variables. The close up version does 3 or 4 or so.

Firebomb-Strike can deal 3-5, if you're super lucky

Sirrocco said:
Was this... intended?

Do keep in mind that anything you can do, some enemies will too. And they'll likely be able to do it better.

Also the fact that one day, Halla will die. You won't always have access to the hugareida you do now.

NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

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