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NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

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Drysalt presumably was from a time where people believed that Trolls were Actually Invincible instead of having a weakpoint that could be exploited for instant death.
Imperial Fister said:
"Me neither," Abjorn huffs as he kicks at a rock, a fresh trail of sunlight trickling through the hole it leaves in its wake as it soars up and through the canopy. "According to Dorri, the bastards don't have any legal claim to the property of Vidar, but they'll probably still support Arkoudaki, my half-brother, in pursuing his claim on it. Which, if he decides he wants more than his fair share, will make things difficult."
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So some thoughts :

1) Arkoudaki has to be older than Farbjorn.
2) Arkoudaki is assumed to be a threat to Abjorn.
3) (Implied by Dorri) Arkoudaki has a good enough relationship with Vidar's bastard sons that they support him.
a) This implies thay Arkoudaki built up a relationship with his bastard brothers!
b) Arkoudaki might be here to get land for his bastard brothers.
4) (Speculation) Arkoudaki likely has a grudge against Vidar, and possibly Vidar's legitimate sons by extention. For dumping his mother to go with Steinarr.
a) This grudge may extend to Steinarr and his children (i.e us).
b) If presented correctly, Vidar's asshole father act should eliminate potential grudges against Abjorn specifically.
5) (Speculation) Dorri may have taken steps to present the message about Vidar's passing in as negative a manner as possible. As in to instigate conflict as much as possible.
6) Abjorn is half-brothers with Arkoudaki. If it comes to a Wager of Battle, Abjorn will eat a toooooon of Nid even if he wins. This may or may not be a concern for Arkoudaki.
a) Arkoudaki hasn't met Abjorn in person. First Impressions will matter a LOT!
7) From 1) and 2), Arkoudaki has an established power base and quite a bit of wealth. He may not need whatever is it that Vidar has as inheritance.

Personal Opinion : Surely IF wouldn't introduce another antagonist when we have like so many counting already?
 
Blademaster said:
how it would relate to other cultures though? like, Caroligians don't have that myth but live on the same time scale
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It means he predates humanity. Or, at least, he does now (sometimes things change retroactively). Beyond that it may be poetic.

Shard said:
4) (Speculation) Arkoudaki likely has a grudge against Vidar, and possibly Vidar's legitimate sons by extention. For dumping his mother to go with Steinarr.
a) This grudge may extend to Steinarr and his children (i.e us).
b) If presented correctly, Vidar's asshole father act should eliminate potential grudges against Abjorn specifically.
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If presented correctly, throwing all the blame on Vidar might eliminate grudges against us as well. Steinarr wouldn't have demanded Vidar leave Constantinople, that was Vidar's decision.
 
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So I think if we wanna kill Drysalt instead of Just Seal Him, we need something that also predates Midgard. In Norse stuff that's mostly Eitr and a few gods, but we also know that Ymir was Born Of Eitr and bathed in it so that's not the answer, and we have been told the gods cannot kill Drysalt without basically destroying the world, which makes sense: killing Ymir created the world, so it wasn't a concern in the same way.

Which leads me to think what we need is some other cultures stuff from before the world, potentially. This could be as simple as luring him to Christian lands and trying to get him Smote by God but uh yeah, God doesnt seem to actively chime in all that often even for his faithful. Many a culture has pre-creation myths to draw on though, weapons or entities from the previous ages

The question would be whether we have time to uncover one of them especially with it only Maybe working. It's not like we can take a quick trip down to India to uncover Indra's blade that cut the deathless being of Chaos into pieces in order allow Order to exist, and thus the world to be made. That would be a million word quest on its own!
 
KittyEmpress said:
So I think if we wanna kill Drysalt instead of Just Seal Him, we need something that also predates Midgard. In Norse stuff that's mostly Eitr and a few gods, but we also know that Ymir was Born Of Eitr and bathed in it so that's not the answer, and we have been told the gods cannot kill Drysalt without basically destroying the world, which makes sense: killing Ymir created the world, so it wasn't a concern in the same way.

Which leads me to think what we need is some other cultures stuff from before the world, potentially. This could be as simple as luring him to Christian lands and trying to get him Smote by God but uh yeah, God doesnt seem to actively chime in all that often even for his faithful. Many a culture has pre-creation myths to draw on though, weapons or entities from the previous ages

The question would be whether we have time to uncover one of them especially with it only Maybe working. It's not like we can take a quick trip down to India to uncover Indra's blade that cut the deathless being of Chaos into pieces in order allow Order to exist, and thus the world to be made. That would be a million word quest on its own!
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its an interesting view, though another interesting theory- perhaps we need something from AFTER midgard, or well, after Ragnarock. we know that Fleinns get their significance from the murder of Baldr which hasn't happened yet. so stuff like that can drip over from the future. it might be possible for something else like this, coming from Ragnarok itself or its aftermath, thus being able to kill beings from before Midgard, like Drysalt?

Tl:Dr stuff from before Midgard is immune to stuff from Midgard and rather resistant to stuff from before Midgard. maybe stuff drawing their power from Ragnarock or its aftermath the same way Fleinns draw their power from Baldur's murder?
 
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Alectai said:
So yeah, he's fucking ancient. Might actually predate the Aesir.
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Man, you are going off the rails with how much you're gassing Drysalt up, lmao.

0~0~0

So, for the haters of extreme heights, I've got some bad news for you. In Volsung Saga, the saga that Halla is a part of, Sigurd is said to be about 18 or so feet tall.

Yeah

I'll call voting in an hour
 
TheCount said:
oh no... nonono, it can't be....
Halla is smallest person in the family?????
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I mean, both Blackhand and Steinarr were shorter. As are her brothers....Halla is, like, 6'11".

alexthealright said:
Ok either Abjorn is really short or high realm Odr cultivation makes you *really* tall
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Probably the latter, as we already knew that was a thing. Personally, I think that should vary a lot from individual to individual (and indeed, as Blackhand shows, the setting seems to agree), but it making some people much taller seems reasonable.
 
I theorized in Discord that if Bloodlust+ exists as an evolution of Bloodlust from two parents both having it, maybe Giants Blood (and other basic traits) has an improved version too.

So that could be a possibility on why Sigurd was so damn huge.
 
Okay, so, complete change of subject but I was going through what Tricks we should consider raising in level, and come to the conclusion that (aside from getting various Rough Tricks to Refined) we're mostly probably fine, but should likely Perfect Sparkbomb. This is relatively cheap at 18 xp and has several interesting knock-on effects (beyond the obvious free Sparkbombs):

-It allows us to use the Perfected Trick with other appropriate Hugareida, which would up the damage of Sparkbomb significantly by using it with Ignition (from 16 to 19 without any shapeshifts slots, from 24 to 27 with them). It's still not gonna be a go-to due to it being effectively melee range and us not being able to Sharpen it, but it becomes significantly better if it's relative damage goes up (and having a 27 damage attack is pretty good just in general).
-It would thus also allow us to easily move Emberwind's Hugareida bonus all to dice, providing us with a Fire Hugareida we can use with our Perfected Tricks against weaker foes or other people where dice matter more than damage (having both +7d and +6 damage available on our Perfected stuff without needing to swap things around is really good for our orthficiency vs. things like minion swarms).
-It lets us do the Sparkbomb Minefield we used against Hooknails a lot more easily. This is sort of just 'Sparkbombs are free' but as a specific application of that, it's more relevant than most, and thus it seems worth noting.
-It frees up on Fylgja Capacity that was otherwise being used for that Trick (due to our Fylgja being able to freely use our Perfected Tricks). Which is nice.

So, yeah, that seems good.
 
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I think we should Perfect all our tricks, because it's thematically cool to be a complete master of everything we know, a peerless genius at it. :)
 
KittyEmpress said:
I think we should Perfect all our tricks, because it's thematically cool to be a complete master of everything we know, a peerless genius at it. :)
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On one level, sure that's neat, on another level actually doing this would mechanically cripple us going forward. Maxing all our Hamr Combat Tricks alone is over 1400 xp...we can get +11 Hugr (and thus more Rewrites and Alloys than we can shake a stick at), or more realistically +3 Hamr and +5 Hugr, or similarly absurd things for less than that price, and Perfecting them would not actually help us much at all. Add in the Hugareida Tricks and assorted non-combat Tricks and it gets a lot worse. Giving up something like Hamr and Hugr both hitting 20, is not worth it just for Perfected Tricks (to say nothing of the unlikelihood of achieving it).

And yeah, I'm aware that wasn't a very serious suggestion, I'm just noting why it never can be serious, even if it would be thematically cool in some ways.
 
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working on perfecting stoking engage might be worth it though, since its a really good opening move but isoften held back by being a bit hard to use. perfecting it won't completely negate its limits but will likely help overcome them, meaning some strategies become far more doable (for example, starting most fights with stoking engage, getting a shitton of dice).

another thing that might be good to perfect eventually is actually veto motion, being able to use it with greater finesse and for free would be amazing for our flight capabilites.

also would perfecting guard tricks help us?

all of those are not urgent but might be worth looking into if we have the time.

on a related note can we try make a stoker state trick somewhat like Stoked Embers, letting us negate damage using stoked dice?
 
Blademaster said:
working on perfecting stoking engage might be worth it though, since its a really good opening move but isoften held back by being a bit hard to use. perfecting it won't completely negate its limits but will likely help overcome them, meaning some strategies become far more doable (for example, starting most fights with stoking engage, getting a shitton of dice).
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Stoking Engage is often overkill on gaining dice at this point. I don't think we actually want the number of dice it gives us all the time, certainly not at the beginning of every fight...we're already gonna be skirting the bounds of heart attacks some of the time even without that. It's definitely worth having for when we're down to 0 Stoked Dice or similar situations, but it's niche.

Blademaster said:
another thing that might be good to perfect eventually is actually veto motion, being able to use it with greater finesse and for free would be amazing for our flight capabilites.
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I mean, those are already really good. It's also much harder to justify Perfecting non-fire Hugareida stuff just due to costs (this also applies to Stoking Engage), since it's so much pricier (54 xp even on those two, rather than the total of 27 for Fire Hugareida stuff). Veto Motion is on the list of options to consider in that regard but not top of the list, I think.

Blademaster said:
also would perfecting guard tricks help us?
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From what we've seen, no. It's possible they'd give some sort of cost break on dice, in which case in theory yes...hmmm. Depends on what they do, really.

Blademaster said:
on a related note can we try make a stoker state trick somewhat like Stoked Embers, letting us negate damage using stoked dice?
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That has possibilities, yeah...
 
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The Heart of the Hading 2
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    • [X] Investigate the Great Ash
    0~0~0

    The Great Ash, like all ash trees before it, is a model of Yggdrasil itself. A squat trunk of great thickness, dozens of arms branching off from the top of the base, and branches sprouting off in ever greater numbers to carry green leaves upon their backs.

    The Great Ash's shadow falls across the verdant grotto like a watchful parent's eye. The passage of the sun across the sky hinders not the shadow as it lays upon the grass and trickling rivulets of the waterfall. Water runs in streamlets as it feeds into the surrounding forests, the Great Ash giving freely of its strength to its younger siblings.

    As you approach the Great Ash, the odd swish of a sound catches your ears. It is far from unfamiliar, countless times have you heard wind through trees, but never before has the Great Ash ever paid heed to the whims of the wind.

    There, in the branches, is the source of the sound. An ethereal woman gently drifts down from the highest points, her love-filled, tear-stained eyes staying locked to the Wound. Her hair spreads out around her like the wings of a flying beard, the strands riding the wind as she lays a silent palm to the surface of the tree.

    The tree shudders as the Hading sighs, her eyes passing from her husband to you. Her voice is like a bell's warning chime. Sharp, loud, yet with a certain hint of musicality underlying the call. "Far have you travelled, deep into the heart of my lands. With what purpose have you come all this way?"

    The Askafroa—for that is what the Hading is in truth—turns towards you without pulling her hand away from her husband's surface. Her face is so beautiful that it fills your stomach with an odd unease. Perfection made manifest, there's not a speck of inconsistency in her uniform face. Like the wings of a butterfly, both sides of her face are a perfect copy of the other. "Speak, braver of danger, for there is precious little time to waste."

    Realizing that you'd been holding your breath, you cough and clear your throat. Even the slight imperfection of a cough seems like sacrilege in a place like this and you resist the urge to apologize profusely for your transgressions. Steeling up your spine, you breath in and out before greeting the Hading as is only proper.

    "I am Halla Sunshine, Seeress of the Hading Valley, and I come seeking answers."

    The Hading sighs and lets her head droop, "I had thought I sensed the soul of Solrun leave my realm, but had hoped to have been wrong." Her shoulders drop as she shakes her head, "Alas, such is the way of things." Fixing you with her pupil-less stare, she gestures for you to begin, "You came seeking answers to questions? Ask them quickly, for there is little time for you to dawdle."

    Nodding, you swallow and do just that.

    What questions do you ask?
    [ ] Write in (Plan vote)

    (Beware the number of questions you ask, for voicing too many will push you over the time limit. You have no idea how long you have until your time is through, nor what will happen should you stay too long. Whether it would harm you or not is unknown)
    0~0~0

    AN: Alrighty, there's the update!

    No moratorium.
     
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    • I have no idea what questions to ask, honestly (I'm not very creative today). I do suggest we very specifically only ask three questions, though. Three is a magic number and shouldn't push things too hard.

    Probably at least one question each on Hasvir the Elder and Drysalt? Dunno how to phrase those or what else, though.
     
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    Imperial Fister said:
    (Beware the number of questions you ask, for voicing too many will push you over the time limit. You have no idea how long you have until your time is through, nor what will happen should you stay too long. Whether it would harm you or not is unknown)
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    Sounds like this should be framed as a "plan vote"; we don't want to have six or seven questions floating around if we only wish to spare the time for three.
     
    Perhaps we should start with Three questions first. Like, specify that unless she is willing to answer more stop there.
     
    Three seems about right.

    [X] Plan: Three Questions
    -[X] Drysalt Hadingsbane has begun to meddle again, I need to know how Hasvir Hadinghero sealed him, or barring that, a means to ask his spirit myself.
    -[X] On that note, there's a few words I'd like to speak to my husband, would you and yours be willing and able to keep certain prying eyes and ears obscured for a moment? Not without recompense of course.
    -[X] Why is this called the Valley of Crowned Barrows by some? What's the story behind that name?
     
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