Anything regarding shapeshifters, given Drysalt's around? A horseshoe which, when put over a threshhold, forces shapeshifters back into their true forms? Probably too strong. And uh, obviously I mean macro level shapeshifting, not our stuff. Though that distinction might be impossible for an item.
NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
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- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
AeonIlluminate
The power of friendship and aggressive landscaping
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- They/Them
We already have an adder stone, it reveals the true form of stuff we look at through it, so we already have that partially covered. Its probably better to cover fully missing capabilities rather than stuff we already partially have.
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- He/Him
We have no evidence Drysalt is actually a shapeshifter. As AeonIlluminate notes, our Adder Stone also already reveals shapeshifters if you look at them through it.
Anyway, preliminary plan:
[X] Plan We Want It All
-[X] Yes
--[X] Hashish Seeds (25oz Silver for one field's worth)
--[X] Unprocessed Woad (30oz Silver for 2 units)
--[X] Sundry Seeds (100oz Silver for 20 units)
--[X] Magical Item (3 Whetstones for 3 items)
---[X] A scrying crystal that allows for seeing through magical concealment when scrying or otherwise using magic to spy on people
---[X] A rune-worked amulet to help avoid magical detection for a person, allowing them to not be spotted by perception-enhancing magic or scrying effects (if we have to pick one, the perception-enhancing magic is more important to avoid)
---[X] An old and somewhat battered wooden box holding a collection of beautifully carved beetles, made of a strange dark stone with that seems to drink light. When these beetles are taken out of the box, they come to life and begin recording what they see and hear. Whilst not especially intelligent, they can be given simple instructions, and are capable of flying surprisingly long distances. Putting them back in the box transfers their memories to the owner.
The answer to what Halla knows about woad might change the amount there, and I could definitely be talked into swapping out that third item if someone has a better idea.
EDIT: Replaced the recording item with the bugs, pending an answer on Experiences from IF. Upped Woad amount for similar reasons.
Added vote on what to do next:
[X] Listen to the local Skalds, learn what news there is in Denmark
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- Location
- United States
That only works for the person using it and requires them to have the time and thought to use it.
Something less powerful then forcing someone out of shapeshifts would be a torch where everything that casts a shadow from its light, the shadow is of their real shape. I'm fairly sure that is the way to recognize some types of fae so it seems reasonable.
Hmmm, yeah. For maximal usefulness, we want to think of stuff which we can't replicate easily via Seidr.
All of those ideas sound good. I think the best ones would be something to enhance our own stealth (every bit helps, we can combine it with Seidr and Dressed in Rags), and maybe yeah, maybe like, a set of "bugs" (maybe literal golden bees or something) which we can leave around and can record things?
An item which can punch through anti-scrying wards would be incredible if we had it, like that pretty much solves our issues on its own. But I worry that this would also be really powerful, and hence I'm not sure if we can realistically expect to get it from this trade.
- Location
- United States
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- They/Them
Hey @Imperial Fister , with the go ahead by @KreenWarrior and @alexthealright , we're gonna use mine and alex's remaining reward dice and one of kreen's to ask the pros and cons of boat soul over farm soul.
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That's fair, but as mentioned...we don't actually have a shapeshifter problem. We speculated we did, but that was based on a bunch of stuff that turned out to either not be true or be unrelated. Shapeshifters aren't impossible, but we have no specific reason to suspect them.
I don't think planting bugs is viable (if we can get somewhere to plant them, we can probably just spy on that place), but a recording item to use on stuff we actually witness seems valid. See my ideas in my plan above. The down side of the scrying booster is that, well, you need a way to scry in the first place, it's useless if used by someone without an existing way to spy on people remotely. It'd probably be beatable by strong enough wards as well, but you can't have those everywhere and knowing where they are would be valuable in and of itself.
AeonIlluminate
The power of friendship and aggressive landscaping
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[X] DeadmanwalkingXI
It's worth a try I guess, although I think if it can be defeated by strong enough wards, then realistically, the crucial thing we need is going to turn out to be behind wards which are strong enough to stop it. However as you say, narrowing down the list of locations we need to look at is a valid use. In terms of planting bugs not being viable, I'm not sure?
Like, if you go back to our surveillance on Horra, Halla actually visited a lot of the key locations multiple times. Now, we probably have less time here, but it does not seem implausible that we could sneak into somewhere important (ideally when Dorri/Drysalt are not there), plant a bug, and then leave.
I also feel that an item which simply records what we see or obtain via scrying is somewhat obviated by the fact that Halla can record Experiences, which IIRC are not falsifiable? Therefore I think they would probably be fairly incontrovertible testimony.
So I would suggest rewording this:
To:
--[] An old and somewhat battered wooden box holding a collection of beautifully carved beetles, made of a strange dark stone with that seems to drink light. When these beetles are taken out of the box, they come to life and begin recording what they see and hear. Whilst not especially intelligent, they can be given simple instructions, and are capable of flying surprisingly long distances. Putting them back in the box transfers their memories to the owner.
- Location
- Bretonnia
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- He/Him
Sorry for the abrupt change of topic, but did we ever find out concrete information as to what was going on with the Hasvir meat-balloon?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
... You know, I just figured something out.
Maybe some paired tablets or something? You write something on one, and it appears on the other, and vice-versa?
One of the Headaches I've been dealing with is "How are we going to coordinate with Buri to really stick Dorri into a vise when we're likely both under surveillance", this could be a clever way to open a back-channel to him that can't be so easily observed.
Maybe some paired tablets or something? You write something on one, and it appears on the other, and vice-versa?
One of the Headaches I've been dealing with is "How are we going to coordinate with Buri to really stick Dorri into a vise when we're likely both under surveillance", this could be a clever way to open a back-channel to him that can't be so easily observed.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
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- He/They
I'll call voting in 30 minutes
0~0~0
0~0~0
Alright,
| Boat Soul | Farm Soul |
| Pros >More ready to ride the waves of odr >Transitory, inherently more able to change and shift | Pros >A firm foundation leaves this type of soul stronger >Broader array of options |
| Cons >Inherently weaker than a farming soul >Less say over how it develops | Cons >Highly vulnerable to the ravages of odr, unless the proper steps are taken >Once something is decided, it is set in stone |
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan We Want It All
[X] Wander the roads, see what you can't find
[X] Wander the roads, see what you can't find
Any reason we are only buying one unit instead of all three?
AeonIlluminate
The power of friendship and aggressive landscaping
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So basically, its safer to fuck up a boatsoul than a farmsoul, but a farmsoul that isn't fucked is just better
Do they "feel" different vs each other to our soulsense thingy?
Do they "feel" different vs each other to our soulsense thingy?
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It also depends on how good his defenses are...I'm sure any meetings with Drysalt are heavily protected. If that's the only thing that's heavily protected, though, then that narrows things down much more.
I'm still a bit dubious of bugs, but if you're right on the Experiences they're better than the recording item, it's true. That's a big if we need an answer to, though...
I dunno how much Buri can actually help? I'm not against recruiting him to do so, but I'm not sure what specific skills he brings to the alliance. I'm also not sure I trust him...we did kill his son after all. I think he dislikes Dorri more than us, but how much more?
We don't really know what it does, basically. Speaking of which, @Imperial Fister to reiterate my question, what does Halla know about Woad? Also, could we use Experiences as incontrovertible proof of things we witness? Does Experience imprinting work like that?
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
We were explicitly told he could be one of our greatest allies in this endeavor, in the same vein as Corpsemaker, Solrun, and Veny.
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Yeah, that's fair. It's 'could' not 'will' so I still worry about trust issues, but it does mean he has some capabilities that are relevant.
I mean, my logic on the bugs is essentially:
(a) It's just inherently funny to have "bugs" that are actually literal bugs.
(b) We could technically do the same thing by contracting a spirit, but that's just a lot more hassle. So an item that does the same thing in a convenient way feels roughly within bounds, and I expect @Imperial Fister to hence lean on the side of being generous when adjudicating its abilities.
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I've currently switched my plan to the bugs pending IF's answer to the above question on Experiences.
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
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- He/Him
Well, it is good enough to be donated to the Jarl of Hedeby and 30 Silver isn't that expensive for us so since Imperial Fister isn't answering, how about just buying all three units in case it turns out to be useful to us?
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I mean, we can grow more, I think? I'll up it to 2 for the moment.
