A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
Hm. Question about the possible tactic that we (well, Orm apparently) got close to but did not stumble upon.
Given that part of the clincher wound up being "using Second Stage to survive an attack that ought to have murked you", and given we wound up getting into negotiations with the Maiden anyway, and that the Maiden made an observation along the lines of "Huh that's funny, this Sorceress isn't acting like 'Hooray, I've just convinced the two big threats to kill each other off and can now reign uncontested!' and instead is being too smug..."
... And given stuff like "age and treachery", where the very first usage of it was to pretend to allow one of Ber's (either among one of the first Apocryphal procs or just one of the first adventuring-in-this-weird-realm procs) to kill us and instead kill her...
Could the winning tactic that we didn't stumble upon, have been something like "Enter negotiations with the Maiden. Enter into a mutual suicide pact. Telling her that either Aobaru or Gisena will take over and rule instead. And then either use Second Stage or Companions of the King to get rezzed while SHE can't rez herself!"
You can either use Second Stage to help sell any 'Okay, that was my own get-out-of-jail-free card, if I die now, I will die for sure!' and then use the unexpected Companions of the King to rez you. Or you get into a suicide pact and then use Second Stage to revive while she can't.
Given that part of the clincher wound up being "using Second Stage to survive an attack that ought to have murked you", and given we wound up getting into negotiations with the Maiden anyway, and that the Maiden made an observation along the lines of "Huh that's funny, this Sorceress isn't acting like 'Hooray, I've just convinced the two big threats to kill each other off and can now reign uncontested!' and instead is being too smug..."
... And given stuff like "age and treachery", where the very first usage of it was to pretend to allow one of Ber's (either among one of the first Apocryphal procs or just one of the first adventuring-in-this-weird-realm procs) to kill us and instead kill her...
Could the winning tactic that we didn't stumble upon, have been something like "Enter negotiations with the Maiden. Enter into a mutual suicide pact. Telling her that either Aobaru or Gisena will take over and rule instead. And then either use Second Stage or Companions of the King to get rezzed while SHE can't rez herself!"
You can either use Second Stage to help sell any 'Okay, that was my own get-out-of-jail-free card, if I die now, I will die for sure!' and then use the unexpected Companions of the King to rez you. Or you get into a suicide pact and then use Second Stage to revive while she can't.
It's a hard cap per Army - you can have as many variations you made or downloaded (in blue mode) or that you have fought for (in red mode) but each Army can have 30VP... unless you manage to break the system limits (in red mode)
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
What's the lowest tier version of Duelist that can still force duels? Because I'm pretty sure Vampire Duelists are excessively powerful, as are hybrids thereof.
Also, do you start with any VP in red mode?
Also, do you start with any VP in red mode?
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- Location
- 1
(part of) the cast of Umineko - When They Cry; the image's base comes from one of the scenes where everyone's staying in a room to make murder hard and distrusting eachother (which was then colored, edited in various ways to fit powers and such, and had a marble pattern put on top of it for the 'unsteady-confused-distrustful-ominous-distortion' visual.).
You can technically downgrade to T1, but note the Fencer isn't the toughest for her tier and can only really tie down one unit at a time. Vampire Duelists being able to regenerate relieves some of that pain, but fighting a same-tier armoured unit is still risky, and enemies with AOE buff/debuffs (or even damage) can cheat your Duel.
Red mode starts with 0VP; you'll have to pick some easy fights first to get them.
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Made a fresh new Infinite Morning build by accident while talking with Orm about tea, crumpets, secrets, and Practitioners.
Enough Gun
Naroch Clarash
Practice
Memento (Gun)
Chosen One (Practice)
Power Word: Bird
(Greed Variant)
Heroic Destiny
Phylactery (Gun)
---
The Gunman reborn, now an invader of Pleroma. He starts in Naroch Clarash, an 'oddly familiar environment,' and from there develops the capabilities of a guerilla fighter and soldier, his Chosen talent at Practice serving to elevate him to a tier of virtual expertise within days and weeks rather than months or years. He dies, or rather, is 'presumed dead,' and then appears once more in another part of the nation, spreading mayhem and havoc, freeing slaves, and calling for armed rebellion. He annoys the local vampiric government, pees on fences, and graffitis walls with slogans such as, "Fuck the Hungering Dark."
His Phylactery, the firearm of his duty and service, becomes a tool of the stories shared with past recruits, changing its abilities every 'dawn' (inasmuch as there can be one, within the darkness of his environs,) to one of several, his Practice and Heroic Destiny empower him to seek and pursue entirely new avenues of growth. All of them devoted, in the end, to facing the government head-on and flipping it the bird. Because fuck the Man, and fuck him even more if he's some 'up-tight vampa.' And in the end, Blaze Gonnemann will look upon his works, and know they are good.
Aside from being a rowdy rascal and burning the government, developing a reputation for his exploits, he'll become Acknowledged as the fastest draw in the West, and the mightiest Gunman in the world, developing the Authority of Superior Firepower.
---
Basic - Affords a level of overall talent for warfare surpassing what mere Practice can achieve, and multiplies efforts therein. The Authority can 'sweat' ammunition and grow weaponry out of one's skin, immediately arming themselves.
Advanced - Can now make firearms and munitions appear out of thin air, and invent them as needed for suiting one's needs (a manner of destruction or expected puissance is considered, and the intuitive gunsmithing arrangement makes itself obvious.) Grants a broad 'dominion' over weapons, especially firearms, such that an enemy's cannot effectively fire at one's allies, or weapons may be aimed and discharged remotely en masse and with wild abandon.
Expert - Firearms can be empowered to strike with greater power and veracity, or to mass-fire supernaturally fast or with unerring accuracy (diminishing one for the other,) and have their statistics traded in a plethora of ways (zero recoil, but more stopping power; less capacity or speed, but extreme penetration.) Alternatively, one's trust may be emplaced in a single signature weapon, in return making the weapon's own strength increase over time.
Enough Gun
Naroch Clarash
Practice
Memento (Gun)
Chosen One (Practice)
Power Word: Bird
(Greed Variant)
Heroic Destiny
Phylactery (Gun)
---
The Gunman reborn, now an invader of Pleroma. He starts in Naroch Clarash, an 'oddly familiar environment,' and from there develops the capabilities of a guerilla fighter and soldier, his Chosen talent at Practice serving to elevate him to a tier of virtual expertise within days and weeks rather than months or years. He dies, or rather, is 'presumed dead,' and then appears once more in another part of the nation, spreading mayhem and havoc, freeing slaves, and calling for armed rebellion. He annoys the local vampiric government, pees on fences, and graffitis walls with slogans such as, "Fuck the Hungering Dark."
His Phylactery, the firearm of his duty and service, becomes a tool of the stories shared with past recruits, changing its abilities every 'dawn' (inasmuch as there can be one, within the darkness of his environs,) to one of several, his Practice and Heroic Destiny empower him to seek and pursue entirely new avenues of growth. All of them devoted, in the end, to facing the government head-on and flipping it the bird. Because fuck the Man, and fuck him even more if he's some 'up-tight vampa.' And in the end, Blaze Gonnemann will look upon his works, and know they are good.
Aside from being a rowdy rascal and burning the government, developing a reputation for his exploits, he'll become Acknowledged as the fastest draw in the West, and the mightiest Gunman in the world, developing the Authority of Superior Firepower.
---
Basic - Affords a level of overall talent for warfare surpassing what mere Practice can achieve, and multiplies efforts therein. The Authority can 'sweat' ammunition and grow weaponry out of one's skin, immediately arming themselves.
Advanced - Can now make firearms and munitions appear out of thin air, and invent them as needed for suiting one's needs (a manner of destruction or expected puissance is considered, and the intuitive gunsmithing arrangement makes itself obvious.) Grants a broad 'dominion' over weapons, especially firearms, such that an enemy's cannot effectively fire at one's allies, or weapons may be aimed and discharged remotely en masse and with wild abandon.
Expert - Firearms can be empowered to strike with greater power and veracity, or to mass-fire supernaturally fast or with unerring accuracy (diminishing one for the other,) and have their statistics traded in a plethora of ways (zero recoil, but more stopping power; less capacity or speed, but extreme penetration.) Alternatively, one's trust may be emplaced in a single signature weapon, in return making the weapon's own strength increase over time.
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Magical_Duck
The One Who Quacks
- Location
- A Pond
- Pronouns
- Duck
Now This Is Simping 3.0
Baseline (+1), Conflux (+5), Hero Synthesis (+3), Striking Them Down (+2), Sole Responsibility (+1), Doom of the Tyrant (+3)
Ectocorona: Cost 5 - As per the description
Elixir + Wish: Cost 6 - All power directed to comprehensively augment the Pearl Necklace as specified below.
Pearl Necklace: Cost 3 - Has been upgraded to the Ring Simping (True) as specified below
Ring of Simping (True). As the Pearl Necklace, but a ring. The number of revives and consequent Attribute bonuses are tripled (+90 All Attributes); it grants ten Sparks worth of power with the same clause as the Necklace, of which the Maker can direct half with the other half being directed by the Ring.
The Maker's half of sparks are used to Exalted her Spirit per the option of the same name as a 5 Sparks option, expanding her Int and Wits, granting her an internal source of magical energy and offering her a more dramatic, albeit a slower and harder magic system that is well suited for Spark Effects.
The Ring's half is said to focus and enhance what is already there, as such, would likely restore and then elevate her Sun Lord powers; the remaining Spark energy might be possibly used to merge the Sunlord Sorecry with her new Exalted Spirit Magic or expand the Starlight absorption and self-refinement aspect of the Illuminosians.
Of course, this build doesn't simply end here; it goes Even Further Beyond
Manifold Scroll: Cost 1 - Mastery; gives you an immediate 200% boost of raw power and potential versatility to any power or other choice you've made, except for A Wish.
After ten years of studying the Scroll, Ecotocorona's power is Increased by 200%, with her going from a 5 Spark Companion to a 15 Spark Companion if it affects only her base self, resulting in her final form having 25 Sparks of Power.
Baseline (+1), Conflux (+5), Hero Synthesis (+3), Striking Them Down (+2), Sole Responsibility (+1), Doom of the Tyrant (+3)
Ectocorona: Cost 5 - As per the description
Elixir + Wish: Cost 6 - All power directed to comprehensively augment the Pearl Necklace as specified below.
Pearl Necklace: Cost 3 - Has been upgraded to the Ring Simping (True) as specified below
Ring of Simping (True). As the Pearl Necklace, but a ring. The number of revives and consequent Attribute bonuses are tripled (+90 All Attributes); it grants ten Sparks worth of power with the same clause as the Necklace, of which the Maker can direct half with the other half being directed by the Ring.
The Maker's half of sparks are used to Exalted her Spirit per the option of the same name as a 5 Sparks option, expanding her Int and Wits, granting her an internal source of magical energy and offering her a more dramatic, albeit a slower and harder magic system that is well suited for Spark Effects.
The Ring's half is said to focus and enhance what is already there, as such, would likely restore and then elevate her Sun Lord powers; the remaining Spark energy might be possibly used to merge the Sunlord Sorecry with her new Exalted Spirit Magic or expand the Starlight absorption and self-refinement aspect of the Illuminosians.
Of course, this build doesn't simply end here; it goes Even Further Beyond
Manifold Scroll: Cost 1 - Mastery; gives you an immediate 200% boost of raw power and potential versatility to any power or other choice you've made, except for A Wish.
After ten years of studying the Scroll, Ecotocorona's power is Increased by 200%, with her going from a 5 Spark Companion to a 15 Spark Companion if it affects only her base self, resulting in her final form having 25 Sparks of Power.
- Location
- 1
iirc, linear increases in spark number have exponential increases in associated power, so this is probably more like 5 Sparks to 6 Sparks, rather than 5 to 15.
- Location
- Vestiges of Yesterday
[x] Freedom
Very conflicted about in-setting reasons, so I'll go with my IRL views. I just really dislike the authoritarian style, since I've experienced it all my life. No one man should have so much power. Others may come in time and choose differently, and there are still other tyrants out there. That's all true. But I'd rather not join their ranks myself, even if it's seen as "irresponsible" or some such.
We've done what we intended. Set up a system of checks and balances and let future generations shape their fate. Sure, it will not last forever, and one day the people with power and malicious intent will find ways to subvert it. In the end, nothing is eternal. But it's a nice ideal to aspire to.
Time to let go of the power from our deathly grip, as much as possible.
Very conflicted about in-setting reasons, so I'll go with my IRL views. I just really dislike the authoritarian style, since I've experienced it all my life. No one man should have so much power. Others may come in time and choose differently, and there are still other tyrants out there. That's all true. But I'd rather not join their ranks myself, even if it's seen as "irresponsible" or some such.
We've done what we intended. Set up a system of checks and balances and let future generations shape their fate. Sure, it will not last forever, and one day the people with power and malicious intent will find ways to subvert it. In the end, nothing is eternal. But it's a nice ideal to aspire to.
Time to let go of the power from our deathly grip, as much as possible.
- Pronouns
- They
[X] Vengeance
- Location
- Peterborough, NH, USA
Civilization CYOA
Rather than selecting an individual and their gifts and tribulations, select an entire species and their trials!
Species:
[ ] Tekket. A ferret-like race with an unhealthy love of nuclear power. Possibly ferrets that were left on their own when the Age of Strife began, given the amount of scrap on their planet. After the primate Destroyers arrived and nearly destroyed their civilization, they reformed into the Directorate, a Star Trek-esque civilization.
Benefits:
Bloks. Their technology is made of what are best-described as a mix of Legos/Duplos and internals deliberately designed for interchangeability. The parts in a tank and a car can easily be swapped, or a microwave and a fan, or a gun and a reactor, and any combination therein. This allows for swift Macguyvering of just about anything from just about anything. This also means that cannibalizing a bunch of broken items to make fewer whole ones is remarkably efficient.
Lifeforce Rites. Having been saved from the Destroyers by the God-Machines, the Tekket have acquired Lifeforce technology from them, which has jumpstarted their mystical tradition, and have a rich culture, both in the religious and artistic scenes. With Lifeforce technology backing them, they have been able to empower their gods to the point of drawing on weak Rites. They're almost parlor tricks, but the fact that such a young, psychically immature race is able to call on their gods at all is a credit to the insane potency of 'throw small portions of the Lifeforce of thousands of Tekket and specially bred animals at it on a regular basis' as a booster for psychic traditions. Planet Quality on their homeworld and all colonies will gradually rise over time.
I Love Nuclear Power. The Tekket are obsessed with nuclear power. They have elemetary students doing practical experiments with nuclear materials, and particle colliders are a standard feature of higher institutes. They developed a hybrid of plutonium and living metal that causes their nukes to continually explode for over an hour. They have a section of an amusement park devoted to nuclear phenomena. Their energy shielding, Lifeforce-enabled healthcare, and a not insignificant amount of simple natural selection, as nuclear devices were used heavily in the Destroyer War, both via Destroyer sabotage and as one of the few reliable means of harming the Destroyers, are the main reasons this isn't more of a problem.
Budding Pantheon. Spirits of both the urban areas and natural ones, Machine Spirits and arboreal guardian spirits in the form of immortal trees at every shrine. Spirits of the currents, weather, gems, ships, cities, and even the crypts are worshipped by some, viewed as partners by others, being liminal beings that exist not quite in the Warp and not quite in the Materium. Then there are the God-Machines that saved the Tekket. They have a significant following, one for each of the three active ones, who work to grant them their favored type of Lifeforce meal, be it gorging oneself, flavored with specific memories and sensations, or what have you, in return for their knowledge and expertise. The old pantheon from before the Destroyers is also seeing a revival, as the Lifeforce Rites are enough to allow their Rites to also be practiced, though an argument could be made that actualization is occurring as their rites are deciphered as well. The Toymaker, guardian of children, the Lanternkeeper, the stereotypical bringer of illumination to push back the darkness, the Old One, the piscine scholar who focuses on empowering the Rites of others more than on himself, the Celestial Bureaucrat, who organizes the others, and so on. There are also those who believe that the material world is unprepared for the god they follow, and so they must work to construct it's body, and those who believe they must construct the god itself, having, respectively, worked to form a machine intelligence of impossible potency to serve as a vessel and formed servitor-demigods to forge the god, building the tools to build their god.
Hobgrots. A freed Gretchin(as a grot, the Twin Gods didn't fight very hard to keep him), now orange in coloration, has given rise to a huge number of Hobgrots, via a combination of music, Lifeforce Rites, combat to empower their Waagh! Field derivative, the Waagh Spirits, and a specialized chemical stimulant. They are undeniably still similar to normal Orkoids, having a taste for music, street art, animal wrangling/husbandry, and kart racing, but express it in a manner more conducive to coexistence. That being said, they still enjoy fighting, and to give them a healthy outlet and empower their Waagh Spirits, an enormous battle stadium was constructed where the Hobgrots can fight endless waves of automatons, which are swiftly repaired and sent back out.
Frontier Towns. The Destroyers have left an indelible mark on the Tekket psyche, making them eager to spread out so they can't be killed off all at once. They have made several colonies in their system, and have recently struck out to form colonies beyond it. They are also perfectly fine with forming townships in space, with significant research having gone into granting them a degree of self-sufficiency, and some of them growing quite large as a result. The largest is the city between Teklia and it's moon, which has it's own amusement park, which is almost a city unto itself. Colonizing space is something they are culturally well-suited for, in other words.
Drawbacks:
You live in 40K. A Warp Storm already spat out an Imperial task force complete with Astartes that nearly destroyed you once before, and your Warp Drives are crude enough that you need to use religious talismans to compensate for the Warp incursions. It is also unclear from a meta-perspective whether the C'Tan that saved you are genuine defectors from decadence or if this is all a big long-con, and even if they're strictly benevolent, the Necrons and rival C'Tan won't appreciate them. Not to mention collateral damage from the Time War all C'Tan are inherently involved in. The Lifeforce Rites are not dissimilar to Blood Magic, and the extreme artists in the Muses, automatons devoted to the Dancer, patron god of the arts, which represent major ins for Khorne and Slaanesh.
[ ] Moogles. A race found all over the Final Fantasy multiverse, though they supposedly have a specific home they originated from in one place or another. Master craftsmen, mages, engineers, technicians, scholars, merchants, etc. If a pursuit does not rely on physical prowess, they have some measure of skill in it, as a collective. Some can shapeshift into weapons, so even this depends somewhat on your definition of prowess. Reliable contact between groups in different universes has been established by some enterprising Moogles at the behest of King Mickey, an oblique means of searching for Sora.
Benefits:
Merchant's Guild. Moogles are allowed just about anywhere, and do business with just about everyone who isn't omnicidally evil. As such, they have insane resources to draw on if they want to pursue a project. Be it money, rare materials, or mercenary manpower, they can likely cook it up in a short time.
Master Mages. Moogles aren't usually the archmages of the party, but almost all of them are quite competent at magic, meaning a Moogle, despite appearances, isn't usually unarmed in the strictest sense. This is also useful for appraisal and many of their creations.
Master Blacksmiths. Some of the most powerful equipment in existence has been either forged by dwarves or Moogles, usually the latter by weight of numbers.
Multiversal Expertise. With the communications hub set up, skills and knowledge from across the multiverse are being pooled. Anywhere Moogles are or were is having it's lore trawled. Acts as an amplifier for other benefits.
Heroic Tradition. Moogles often aid heroes. They aren't averse to doing business with villains able to restrain themselves from destroying the world, but primarily they work with the heroic rebel over the evil emperor. As such, Moogles can often be relied upon to get the heroes out of a jam of some kind during their journey, and have collected a lot of favors and goodwill as a result.
Humble. Most Moogles are resistant to the allure of things more complicated than a good meal and some baubles to tinker with. There are exceptions, but most forms of temptation will slide right off.
Drawback:
Disorganized Bunch. Moogles aren't exactly the most well-organized group at the best of times, and with their civilization as fragmented as it is, simply pointing them in a general direction is difficult, nevermind keeping them there. A lot of time and effort forging closer links will be necessary before you have much beyond small close-knit groups to work with. Some of you don't even look like the same species, if not for your pom-poms. It's unlikely to hit the extremes of Game of Thrones, but a certain amount of politicking will be necessary.
[ ] Etrinians. A race of machines. They like to form a symbiotic relationships with other races, such as their beloved Slugcats, to the point it is not uncommon for members of their race to be mobile domiciles for them.
Benefits:
Precursor Tech. A Fallen Empire that has undergone a dramatic cultural shift. They possess technology at the high end of Stellaris, though they have stagnated and declined after a major civil war broke out between the Symbiosis and Culling factions due to their incompatible views on organic life.
Backrooms Tech. The Etrinians swiftly realized the issue with making themselves homes for their symbiotic lifeforms, and have developed a unique technology that creates an internal dimension of ever-greater scope via application of Klein Bottle and principles derived from study of alternative dimensions. They have in essence made creating new universes a standard feature of their race simply to indulge in their caretaking. Efforts to keep their internal dimensions connected to each other and the wider universe have been made so they are not dependent on the continued existence of the specific Etrinian have been made, though the Dimensional Catalogue is yet incomplete.
Slugcats. A sapient race, if currently primitive. Treated as a protectorate by the Etrinians, as many of the races they encountered pre space flight are. They can attest to Etrinian benevolence to others and other than providing immense habitats within themselves, the Etrinians have gently guided them to higher technologies.
Fortified Immortality. Being machines, their bodies are already hardened against means of murder used against organics, particularly with their technological advantages, and they are excessively resilient to the ravages of time. They are also resistant to common methods of destroying machines, having faced them en masse from the Culling faction.
Long View. Etrinians are capable of making plans with millennia in mind, even if they do not believe they will live to see that point, as the war with the Culling faction demonstrated. They retain the ability to be dynamic if circumstances change, however.
Culler Weapons. The Culler faction believed that organic life used resources inefficiently, and that the Etrinians should remove them so they could use those resources instead. To say the Symbiosis faction strongly disagreed is an understatement. While the Cullers are gone, their weapons, originally meant to be used against organics and then with later additions made to support their war with the Symbiosis elements of the Etrinian civilization, remain, and if it should prove necessary, the remaining Etrinians are well-equipped to fight most any foe, even energy beings to a degree.
Drawback:
Crazy Cat House. Etrinians can become obsessed with being caretakers, overcorrecting for the Cullers, to the point some of the oldest have become little more than ever-expanding complexes that do nothing else. Care must be taken to keep these proclivities in check.
Additional Boons. Select 1 each of the Minor, Moderate, and Major Boons.
Minor Boons:
[ ] Fortune's Favor. A little bit of luck can go a long way. Your civilization is somewhat luckier on the whole. This guarantees nothing, and individuals are unlikely to benefit much, but overall, crises will be less severe, and opportunities will be better.
[ ] White Marker. A relic left by a Precursor race in the shape of a simple cube, capable of producing infinite energy, though it has appropriate safety measures in place. Resolves a significant amount of your energy issues, though transmission is a problem, and grants a leg up on energy research.
[ ] Paradox Energy. The Radical Inquisitor dreams of using Chaos against itself, and the Emperor grows in strength as Chaos waxes in the area around him, explicitly compared to trying to put out a fire by throwing fuel on it. Your species may make use of normally corruptive or disruptive to reality energy sources, such as energy derived from paradoxes, without issue, including using it against the source of the problem. Of course, gaining easy access to it will usually be a bad sign. You're uniquely suited to dealing with the problem though.
Moderate Boons:
[ ] Allied Race. A race that synergizes and has a good relationship with your own, as explicit allies. For the Tekket, it would be the Tarellians, who have similarly survived an attempted genocide by the Imperium, though they lost their homeworld. For the Moogles, the Dwarves of Final Fantasy 1/3/etc. For the Etrinians, likely a race that performs well as a client or protectorate.
[ ] Quick Transport. The specifics vary between races. Tekket FTL will be quick for it's relative primitiveness, being 20 lightyears a day despite being crude to the point of the ship taking damage each time it jumps. Only a tenth of Imperial Warp travel, but still pretty fast for a newbie race, and it will proportionately increase as the techology advances. Moogles will be able to jump between worlds with a Moogle presence with relative ease, not needing any large setup. They'd essentially have a fast travel system. The Etrinians could cross the galaxy in a day with this, meaning a visit to the nearest other major galaxy would take less than a month. They're already faster than everyone else, being at the end of the tech tree, but this make the advantage insurmountable.
[ ] Supersoldiers. Another Boon that varies between races. The Tekket would have learned something from the Astartes and Mechanicus augmentations in order to create elite Tekket, the Hobgrot equivalent of Cybork Nobz, and the Blokbot equivalent of Titans. The Moogles will have learned about infusing Magic and combining various level systems to make a select handful into mages as powerful as Yen Sid, perhaps even as powerful as Donald Duck. The Etrinians would have a handful of psychological aberrations closer to Culling faction members who chose to use specialized combat forms.
Major Boons:
[ ] Quality 40. Planet Quality is a system that determined a planet's 'carrying capacity' for sapient life. It varies from species to species, but it is generally agreed that a 10 can handle a population of a billion indefinitely. This can be increased with technology, such as Earth potentially being able to hold 10 trillion with enough effort. The population can also be increased beyond it at the cost of life quality, such as the Imperial Hive World. The capacity doubles with each number above 10, and halves for each number below. 2 billion at 11, 4 at 12, etc. while a 1 is used for anything with a capacity of 1 million or lower. Many larger asteroids that don't qualify as planetoids fall here. A 40, meanwhile, would have a capacity of 1,073,741,824,000,000,000. It was not initially believed that anything over a 30 was possible.
This 'Eden' was thoroughly investigated, and the cause was discerned. A species that had once colonized this world used a device that would sacrifice their energy to enhance the planet as part of the ascension ritual. 100 lives a day could enhance Planet Quality by 25%, according to the schematics. Apparently they'd been gradually letting themselves die off, and decided to go out with a bang. There were inefficiencies, but the effect was permanent, rather than relying on an infusion of new lives. The extremely high population cap is explicitly 'bullshit space magic' regardless of the species chosen, in other words. The machine itself offers insights into Lifeforce tech, either unlocking it, or, for the Tekket, improving large-scale distribution efforts and effects. Replication of the device may be possible, particularly for the Tekket.
[ ] Tech Cache. Choose the techbase of one of the other races. Have your selected race discover a cache of that technology(choosing the Moogles will probably lead them to you, sooner or later) they can begin reverse-engineering. The high-end sci-fi tech of Stellaris from the Etrinians, the Lifeforce, Living Metal, and spiritual shenanigans of the Tekket, or the magitech of the Moogles, from airships to Excalibur.
[ ] Quirky. Quirks, biological abilities similar to Mutants in Marvel. Stands, manifestations of fighting spirit and Willpower, technically derived from Hamon with unique, if often strange, powers. Devil Fruits, mystical fruits that grant some kind of ability based on their name, in return for the eternal enmity of the sea. Epithets, concepts physically manifesting in the world via people born with words attached to their soul after a species unifies their language. Semblances, manifestations of the soul's nature in the form of a specific power. Gloomverse magic, personality powers that are set in terms of power, cannot be directly used on another sapient(including creation of sapients), and must be used with a hat and wand. With a few exceptions due to raw power, known as Mancers, though these rules can be bent in various ways such as surgically implanting the wand in your arm. Take any or all of these, without costing more than the initial Boon. Keep in mind that they may not be 100% beneficial, unlike the above Boons, as is the nature of individualist powers, and may manifest differently for different species. Tekket will take to these like a fish to water, already having the right mix of individualism and collectivism for some very odd cultural niches to spawn interesting and useful groups and a significant spiritual awakening. Etrinians will offer Quirky benefits to their protectorates, and they are able to use all except Quirks, for obvious reasons. Devil Fruits, surprisingly, can be eaten by machines.
Disadvantages:
You may take any, all, or none of these Drawbacks.
[ ] Bizarro Earth. Some event in the distant past made a reversed copy of your Earth. This is not a Mirror Universe situation, it's a pocket dimension with a copy of your homeworld and it's star system. It would be more accurate to call it Bizarro, with morality reversed as well. Of course, since the good and evil axes and the positions on them people occupy have both been swapped, the end result is more chaotic than evil. They can cause major issues, but they usually mean well, by your standards. +1 Minor Boon.
[ ] Enemy Race. Much like the 'Destroyers' are considered to be mortal enemies by the Tekket, this Disadvantage generates or makes hostile a race to your choice in a similar manner. The Etrinian's would have survivors of some of the Culling faction's misdeeds coming back to haunt them with a counter-genocidal campaign, for example. +1 Moderate Boon.
[ ] Clashing Universes. 16 universes have been smashed together by unknown circumstances. In the Tekket and Etrinian's cases, these are alternate versions of their own universe, including a Mirror Universe, though in the Moogles' case it's an instance of several Final Fantasy universes being merged, presumably because of the Void. In the Tekket's case, there's the Canon universe, If the Emperor Had A Text To Speech Device, the Roboutian and Dornian Heresy universes, Deus Ex Mechanicus, Glory or Death, From the Brink, Song of Peace, The Long Night, The Ship Moves, Imperium Ascendant, Nobledark, Brighthammer, Shape of the Nightmare To Come, War of the Krork, and the Tekket's universe. Either way, a great deal of chaos will ensue. +1 Major Boon.
AN: Whaddya mean? I'm definitely using a CYOA to shill for another Quest while empowering my vote! What's there to suspect about it? In all seriousness, Hunger could use the Mental Stability buff either way. A short one, but every bit helps.
Why yes, I did match Clashing Universes up with the number of mainline Final Fantasy titles, why do you ask?
3405 words, discounting this line.
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Here's another 8309 words of CYORTS, offered as a sacrifice to Mental Stability. I hope people enjoy it!
Clone Wars ElfLC
Clone Wars ElfLC
- Location
- Europe
For a moment I wasn't sure she was really a High Elf, but then she denigrated the Dark Elves and I knew all would be well.
[ ] Moogles.
[ ] Fortune's Favor.
[ ] Supersoldiers.
[ ] Tech Cache. - Stellaris
Fortune is always good, especially across a whole civilization. Then Supersoldiers provides Moogles with individually powerful units. Stellaris tech then covers both a solid non-magical foundation on which their already extant magical technology can build. In particular Stellaris communication, organization, research, and AI technology should allow for much greater social cohesion.
- Location
- Peterborough, NH, USA
For Moogles, Supersoldiers is shit like 'reverse engineer Mako infusion, being chosen by the Crystals, L'cie buffs, the Sphere Grid, and Junctioning, and find means to apply those to a small percentage of individuals' which makes a few of them absolute monsters, though they retain their magic specialty over direct physical combat, even if they're competent in the latter. Moogles definitely get much better social cohesion out of Stellaris tech too.
I had fun writing her too, she's constantly trying to sell you on High Elves, tries to sell Wood Elves despite not quite getting them, has no idea how Dwarves work and just flips out on the Dark Elves. And then Shrine C just barges in.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
I have to ask, what is the purpose of Hunger's Vengeance at this point, especially if it comes at the price of utterly rejecting the ideals he and Catherine's once held so deeply, to the extent of becoming that which he fought and sacrificed so much for against? Is becoming what The Hidden Ones worked so hard to achieve once before really the correct way to defeat them?
Maximizing multiversal good by Cutting Through everything and doing something only Hunger across all realities can do, to bring forth the Victorious World.
We have seen where their ideals end(feel free to reread the first post of this thread for more on that), and we also so Cat's own ideals mirrored through Maiden.
They are neither successful, nor attractive. What is left of them is Maiden prostrating herself before Hunger, with nothing but Tyrant's good will left for her to use.
What Hidden Ones worked for or want or plan to do is irrelevant to us. Our goal is clear and we just Cut Through until we get there.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Why didn't the Forebear fight the Hidden Ones?
They, who subjected him to a Procession of Worlds, yet in the end did not find themselves meeting their end by his blade.
Consider then from where the Power of Ruin is derived from, what it represents: The Procession of Worlds itself. Consider the implications of embodying the nature of the Procession of Worlds and inflicting it's horrors, however circumscribed and benignly defined upon existence.
What victory would this be, the throne merely usurped and it's fundamental nature unchanged, a once-and-future king replaced by another as has been time and time again before? Did not Hunger work not to simply replace the throne-sitter, but to topple those very thrones down onto the earth below?
They, who subjected him to a Procession of Worlds, yet in the end did not find themselves meeting their end by his blade.
Consider then from where the Power of Ruin is derived from, what it represents: The Procession of Worlds itself. Consider the implications of embodying the nature of the Procession of Worlds and inflicting it's horrors, however circumscribed and benignly defined upon existence.
What victory would this be, the throne merely usurped and it's fundamental nature unchanged, a once-and-future king replaced by another as has been time and time again before? Did not Hunger work not to simply replace the throne-sitter, but to topple those very thrones down onto the earth below?
I once again ponder the irony of me disliking the choice to take the "1%" chance that really ought to fail and at the same time by dint of providing my last minute CYOA potentially being what makes the extremely silly trope of the million-in-one chance happening all the time being true.
Seriously, though, it's a 1% chance after everything has been considered. As flattered I would be if my work moves the meter at all, if that option doesn't fail things must be weighed very interestingly.
Seriously, though, it's a 1% chance after everything has been considered. As flattered I would be if my work moves the meter at all, if that option doesn't fail things must be weighed very interestingly.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
At most 1%.
There's also Tactic against the Maiden which would have improved Hunger's odds though, but as yet it has not been definitively found (Orm was the closest).
- Location
- 1
...no, the Power of Ruin was a death-curse the Ur-Mother laid upon the Forebearer three instants in advance, to bring ruin to everything he touched, which he then integrated into the All-Defeating Stance he'd just bought by cutting his lack of Stances, and mastered as his own power. Up to that point, he did not possess Ruin.
Nor is the nature of the Procession that of Ruin. The Procession is a ceaseless travel through a preexisting list of ever-more-benighted worlds, that they may be purged of their cruel wardens and turned to superior ends; Ruin is a principle of individual good things or sets of things becoming worse. A Ruin version which embodied the procession would be something like applying Fracturing Of Alloyed Metals to your targets, except with the product being 'worse' rather than 'better', and with an advantage towards or incentive for fixing the problems with the newly-worse state.
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Be careful you don't end up Cutting Through anything important along the way.