The Iron Oath (An Oath/Contract Based Cultivation Quest).

uri · May 22, 2024

With the mission slip given over to the receptionist to register them taking it.

Aurora and her retainers returned to their residence to pick up Aurora weapon.

While Gallus and Octavia had their weapons on them at all times, it would be a small faux pas to carry her great axe everywhere, especially toward her retainers as it implies, they wouldn't be able to keep her safe.

And while her retainers might not care she dos, as aurora is a refined young lady.

It didn't take long to return to their house from the contribution hall, not with them now knowing the way.

Aurora easily picked up her steel great axe – the weapon both taller than her and wider- and laid it on her shoulder before setting out once more in search of the eastern forest, where the dryad was rumored to be.

Along the way, Aurora attracted many looks but she ignored them all.

Asking for direction from one the outer members they met along the way, it didn't take them long to get to the eastern forest.

Apparently, the school used this forest to grow some of the wilder herbs, so the group couldn't harvest anything in there.

Not that any of them knew how to.

Just before they passed the small gate signaling the boundary between the school and the forest Gallus turn to the group and spoke "remember, dryads like to hide in trees, so keep an eye out"

"How would we know if what were looking at is the dryad?" Octavia asked.

"The coaler, tree's that inhabit a dryad would be far greener then natural"

"Green trees, got it" Aurora joked, happy she get to needle Gallus for a change.

Shaking his head and muttering a small you'll see Gallus crossed the boundary with Aurora and Octavia just behind.

Medium Awareness challenge.

Aurora: 10 dice S>7 R3.

[8, 9, 5, 10!, 5, 6, 5, 3, 10!, 4, 9, 4]= 5s + [7, 9, 7,]= 6s.

Gallus: 10 dice, S>7 R4.

[7, 8, 9, 6, 10!, 5, 1, 6, 5, 7, 10!, 10!, 4]= 5s + [1, 7, 7, 3]= 5s.

Octevia: 9 dice s>7 R2. Advantage (from truth seeking eyes).

[4, 3, 4, 4, 9, 2, 1, 8, 4]= 2s+ [9, 7]= 3s.

[3, 2, 8, 5, 3, 1, 3, 3, 10!, 8]= 3s+ [8, 4]=4s.

Everyone spots the drayed before it can ambush them.

It was two hours of searching through the forest that the group finely found the dryad.

Which was good because Aurora was just about done with the place.

She was an indoor girl through and through and all think hike was incredibly annoying.

Even if it wasn't really a challenge for her body.

Sending a glance to Gallus and Octivia and seeing that they also saw the green tree -which was indeed far different form all the other- a small pulse of thought passed through them through the small earring they all wore.

And as one they readied their weapons and charged.

Earrings of unseen conversation (T3)- the wearer of this erring may send and receive small telepathic messages from and to other wearers of the set, the user may only send 3 massages every hour but may receive an unlimited amount. The cooldown may be negated with the use of 1 Horkos.

When combat is first initiated, we check for initiative to see who go's first (initiative is your mind+ will score).

A character can do a few things in their turn, they can attack, try to find weaknesses in their opponent, devise a plan for bonus dice or activate a technique (which is almost always to attack) they then roll the required dice and depending on their successes certain effects are applied.

Its important to note that reflexive actions break the initiative order and can be used whenever although if there is a clash between two reflexive actions (IE: if they can happen at the same time) the one who has higher initiative happens first.

I could try to explain more but I think that seeing it in action would be better.

Combat start.

Initiative:

Gallus: 18

Dryad: 16 (wins ties).

Aurora: 16.

Octevia: 13.

First round:

Dryad activates reflexive ability "Field of thorns" spending 1 ??? to do so.

Field of thorns- 1d3 damage to all hostiles in range every round, every turn it draws blood increase the damage delt by +1, additionally anyone with less then body 5 suffers -2 dice penalty to all body checks and any one with less then body 10 suffers a -1 dice pnelty to all body checks.

Filed of thorns damage.

Gallus: ignores (he has armor 3).

Aurora: 3- 1 = 2 Hp damage, 24/26 Hp left.

Octevia: 1 hp damage. 11/12 Hp left.

Gallus goes after. Gallus smash. Body (mace) check, unopposed (the dryad is inhabiting a tree currently so can't dodge), 10 dice, S>6 R4.

[2, 3, 1, 5, 2, 4, 1, 7, 5, 2]= 0s+ [8, 8, 4, 3]= 2s.

Unopposed so Gallus deals 12 damage.

Dryad activates reflexive ability "Abandon vessel" letting her jump out of tree she is inhabiting and avoid all damage doing so.

Dryad suffers 0 damage, tree suffer 12- 5= 7 HP damage tree at 83/90. Gallus mace talent activates and lowers the tree armor by 1.

The dryad activates reflexive ability "jump into vessel" promoting an opposed mobility check for Aurora or Octavia to do their turn before the dryad gets into a different tree.

Dryad mobility, 8 dice, s>7 R4.

[2, 6, 10!, 3, 1, 5, 5, 2, 10!, 3]= 2s+ [3, 6, 7, 2]= 2s.

Aurora body (foot work) check, 10 dice, S>6 R1.

[7, 6, 7, 5, 1, 5, 8, 5, 2, 5]=3s+ [5]= 3s.

Octevia body (foot work), 2 dice (4 base – 2 from field of thorns), S>7 R3.

[2, 5]=0s+ [7, 7]=0s.

Aurora gets to act while Octavia must wait for her turn.

Aurora smash good. 7 dice, s>7 R5.

[6, 5, 8, 5, 10!, 4, 5, 7]= 2s + [5, 1, 3, 10!, 2, 1]= 3s.

Opposed by dryad mobility, 8 dice, S>7 R4.

[7, 2, 4, 2, 4, 5, 9, 3]= 1s+ [5, 3, 9, 8]= 3s.

Tie, glancing hit (1/3 of damage) aurora dos 30 HP damage with her great axe, a glancing hit reduces that to 10.

Dryad suffers 10 damage, -2/8 Hp left.

Dryad is dead (the folly of dodge tanks).

Combat ends.

The group wasn't stubble in their approach, so it was no surprise the dryad noticed them.

And soon they were pushing through a field of thorns as small (and spiky) branches harried them all the way.

Gallus was the first to reach the tree, his armor allowing him to completely ignore the dryad attack.

His mace crashed into the tree trunk with a mighty boom, shattering the bark and gouging a decent chunk out of the tree.

Not that the dryad seemed to notice as the small wooden spirit darted out of her tree and towards another.

Before aurora great axe crashed upon her.

The dryad was fast but even with her dodging most of the hit, the great axe almost fully bisected her and she soon fell the branches and thorns dying with her.

"Well, this was easy" Gallus began "how are you holding up ladies?".

"We're fine, just a few scratches, the blood is already clotting" Aurora replied.

"Good, lets get whatever we can and get out before something else comes investigation".

~~Medium inspect challenge~~ Gallus bypass as he can perfectly recall all the valuable bits in a dryad. +2 dice to the butchery challenge.

Medium butchery challenge (gallus), 12 dice, S>7, R2.

[1, 3, 7, 1, 1, 1, 10!, 1, 3, 8, 8, 5, 3]= 3s + [5, 4]= 3s.

Gain minor dryad parts (low quality), they can either be sold or used for alchemy (when you find someone with the skill or unlock it yourself).

2/10 relvent experiences for unlocking your second oath (one added for exercise lessons retroactively now that the mechanic as been explained).

No vote today, I wanted to get out the combat part as a separate thing.

I do have a few questions though, hos dos the combat feel? Good? Bad? in-between? I'm not expecting a lot of feedback (you did see only a single round after all) but some would be nice to know if I need to make changes.

Narasan · May 22, 2024

i hope we can make strategies using our abilities. once we have them i mean.

Pittauro · May 22, 2024

useful earrings.

uri said:
[2, 3, 1, 5, 2, 4, 1, 7, 5, 2]= 0s+ [8, 8, 4, 3]= 2s.

there's a 7 in there, so 1s before the rerolls I think.

not that it matters, really.

uri said:
Tie, glancing hit (1/3 of damage) aurora dos 30 HP damage with her great axe, a glancing hit reduces that to 10.

Dryad suffers 10 damage, -2/8 Hp left.

Dryad is dead (the folly of dodge tanks).

glancing hit = insta death.

yep, I'm satisfied with this axe.

uri said:

~~Medium inspect challenge~~

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

uri said:
Gallus bypass as he can perfectly recall all the valuable bits in a dryad. +2 dice to the butchery challenge.

so convenient!

uri said:
No vote today, I wanted to get out the combat part as a separate thing.

I do have a few questions though, hos dos the combat feel? Good? Bad? in-between? I'm not expecting a lot of feedback (you did see only a single round after all) but some would be nice to know if I need to make changes.

well, right now I'd say it feels alright. I think we should get some kind of progress from this kind of dangerous challenges though, think of the Experiences we get in Starjaunter's quest with Minato for example.

How are we splitting the points? was it 15 each, or 15 to split among us?

And if they're to be split, do we choose? Does the sect choose?

uri · May 22, 2024

Pittauro said:
there's a 7 in there, so 1s before the rerolls I think.

I completely missed the 7, 1s don't detract from the total. Thankfully its in the one place that wouldn't matter.

Pittauro said:
well, right now I'd say it feels alright. I think we should get some kind of progress from this kind of dangerous challenges though, think of the Experiences we get in Starjaunter's quest with Minato for example.

I forgot to put in that the as it's the first (real) combat Aurora participated in its counts as an experience for the second oath.

Other than that it wasn't long or difficult enough to really justify anything else.

Pittauro said:
How are we splitting the points? was it 15 each, or 15 to split among us?

15 to you, basically as the liege it's expected that your retainers are an extension of yourself (their shares are your share and so on), its your duty to finance and care for their equipment and advancement.

They'll tell you if they want/need something.

This also makes it easier for me as I don't need to track three different pools of contribution points.

Pittauro · May 22, 2024

uri said:
I forgot to put in that the as it's the first (real) combat Aurora participated in its counts as an experience for the second oath.

Other than that it wasn't long or difficult enough to really justify anything else.

fair enough.

uri said:
15 to you, basically as the liege it's expected that your retainers are an extension of yourself (their shares are your share and so on), its your duty to finance and care for their equipment and advancement.

They'll tell you if they want/need something.

This also makes it easier for me as I don't need to track three different pools of contribution points.

ok, I was wondering if the relationship was more of an external thing or if it was explicitly acknowledged by the Sect in such ways.

Anything we can pay for with coin, we should pay with coin. Points are for the things only the sect can or will offer, really. Like extra services we can't get any other way.

mh... maybe we can actually pay inner sect members with "outside" money for lessons? Actually, you showed a bit of the sect point system, but what about money or things we can ask and/or get from our family?

Basically when do we get to take advantage of our origins (outside of the starting benefits)? Are they waiting to see if we can make the branch or outer schools on our own?

...Actually, WHAT are the expectations on us? Do they expect branch? Outer? I know they can't possibly expect Inner in 3 months, not when we're completely unaware of the requirements and it's explicitly a very rare event

uri · May 22, 2024

Pittauro said:
mh... maybe we can actually pay inner sect members with "outside" money for lessons? Actually, you showed a bit of the sect point system, but what about money or things we can ask and/or get from our family?

You'll get the option to ask your family for stuff in a turn or two, and at the start of second turn I'm going to give you your money (if you picked to go shopping this turn you would have gotten it then).

You get a monthly allowance of 5 gold (500 silver) your retainers do have some personal funds but not close to this extant and your expected to provide for their needs.

Pittauro said:
.Actually, WHAT are the expectations on us? Do they expect branch? Outer? I know they can't possibly expect Inner in 3 months, not when we're completely unaware of the requirements and it's explicitly a very rare event

Outer, reaching the branch requirement wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but its defiantly not to their expectations.

They might also have requests or other expectations that will be reveled in time.

Pittauro · May 22, 2024

We should manage outer relatively easily I think.

Let me go back to check...

A third order oath (this concept will be explained soonish but isn't something you currently know).

Three skills at expert or one at master.

Horkos at 50.

~~Will at the second tier.~~

5 layers of the iron body cultivation.

~~Passing the final test or placing high in one of the main tournaments.~~

we already have Will at the second tier. test and tournament will come on their own, there's nothing special to do for it.

We don't yet know how many successes we need for Horkos. We can probably get enough experiences to unlock at least a second and possibly a third contract beyond the end of the three months, that's probably another 5 or 10 orkos. We're currently at 5.

It's unclear just how much we get from passive (results) pills. it seems unlikely that 20 successes per turn are enough to reach Horkos 50, but we can do Results pill most of the time and then take the Effort Pill on just a few weeks of 3 or 4 APs of effort. Especially after we raise our will to actually get a decent enough will pool.

Third order oath shouldn't be a big deal. If we can get three order slots we can already go to third order, basically.

In regards to the 5 layers of iron body...

Difficulty: easy ((11- body tier)*layer XP needed to complete a layer) evry 10 layers tripple the cost.

9 * layer. 9+18+27+36+45= 135 successes required.

if we roll body... let's say we get an average of body 8 (16) on those rolls, and we could actually go higher.

16 dice per AP, diff... let's call it 6 average, with 5 rerolls. We should reach it soonish. It's effectively 21 dice per AP, really.

half of those dice will be successes on average. 10.5 successes per AP. so 13 APs of effort, and it can use our 3 obligatory training APs per week.

Basically it's slightly more than one of our three months worth of "mandatory" training. And that's ignoring the possibility of cultivation aids, lessons, traits and so on.

So yeah... one month more or less to train Body first and prepare, then another month or so to reach Iron Body layer 5, to have it ready for the tournament we'll need to place well in.

for the skills... well, we can kind of cheat there. we have our mind*5 power, which means we can do have 1 AP count as basically 5 for the training of a mind-based skill. 2 or 3 uses of this and we can probably go from basically novice 1 to Expert 1 in a skill, and that's ignoring extra training and bonuses.

so... I'd say that, AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW, we can make outer school, though the margin is kinda narrow.

BUT we don't yet know all the tools we have, so once we consider tutor bonuses, cultivation aids, more oath powers we might get and so on, it's probably easier than it looks.

uri · May 23, 2024

I completely forgot that I wanted to have you vote for the footwork talent. So here you go?

[] Closing distance- you cannot win if you cannot hit, and you cannot hit if you cant reach your opponent, your foot work has been extensively trained to help you in closing with your enemy and ensuring you do not leave your grasp. When attempting to close the distance with an enemy or in pursuit roll with advantage (note this would have helped against the dryad).

[] Light on your feet- in combat he who strikes first is often he who wins, you have been trained extensively to be light on your feet so you may strike like lightning when the time comes. +2 initiative and lower armor initiative penalty.

[] Sway with the wind- it is often better not to be hit, one strike can end a fight and so you have been trained to sway out of the way of attacks and to use their momentum to help in this task. If someone gets 1s over you in combat (when you're attacked) it is no longer a hit but a glancing hit.

Pittauro · May 23, 2024

Definitely one of the first two.

Due to using a great axe we're basically of the one-shot-one-kill style, so being able to hit first (second option) is obviously viable.

But we also need to get close to our enemy to hit them. We have no ranged weapon or technique after all.

[X] Closing distance

I suppose advantage on getting close is a better bonus in this situation.

Still, I can see why someone would prefer the initiative bonus instead.

Narasan · May 23, 2024

[X] Light on your feet- in combat he who strikes first is often he who wins, you have been trained extensively to be light on your feet so you may strike like lightning when the time comes. +2 initiative and lower armor initiative penalty.

between the weird abilitys,and our potential to become a one hit kill, getting the opportunity to kill a glass-cannon before they can do anything is very good. but the distance one is not bad either

Pittauro · May 23, 2024

I find them near equal, really.

We're decently tanky for our tier, thanks to high body.

We have a fair bit of HP, and the iron body cultivation which we'll likely work on by month 2 at the latest will give us armour too.

At this point it's really just down to personal preference between " I can't kill you if I don't get closer" and won initiative, kill shot"

Sway with the wind feels like a bad pick though. In our case offense is the best defense

Uhtread · May 23, 2024

[X] Light on your feet- in combat he who strikes first is often he who wins, you have been trained extensively to be light on your feet so you may strike like lightning when the time comes. +2 initiative and lower armor initiative penalty.

Narasan · May 23, 2024

i think more in terms of teams fighting teams. in most important combat situations we wont be fighting alone,and i doubt our enemies will. being able to gank the enemy mage before they can cast their first fireball is a strong consideration for me. Duels would make your choice the more useful one. But,again,they are both good.

Pittauro · May 23, 2024

Narasan said:
i think more in terms of teams fighting teams. in most important combat situations we wont be fighting alone,and i doubt our enemies will. being able to gank the enemy mage before they can cast their first fireball is a strong consideration for me. Duels would make your choice the more useful one. But,again,they are both good.

If we're fighting a "mage", they'd likely try to keep distance. There's an argument for the pursuit pick there too.

As I said I don't really have a strong opinion there. I'm mostly picking because I think advantage is a bigger bonus, even if it's in a relatively more niche situation compared to the universal +2 initiative (I'm kind of ignoring the armour penalty reduction admittedly)

blankmask · May 23, 2024

[X] Closing distance

fireknight · May 23, 2024

[X] Closing distance

Some_guy_161 · May 23, 2024

[X] Closing distance

CedeTheBees · May 23, 2024

[X] Closing distance

Walliseatscheese · May 23, 2024

[X] Light on your feet- in combat he who strikes first is often he who wins, you have been trained extensively to be light on your feet so you may strike like lightning when the time comes. +2 initiative and lower armor initiative penalty.

Consider:

Super fast reacting while also wearing heavy armor!

uri · Jun 4, 2024

Okey now that turn 12 of distant stars is out next priority is the next update for this, which should include both the last action, Octavia report and the start of turn 2.

I leady have an outline so it shouldn't take too long to write things.

Scheduled vote count started by uri on May 23, 2024 at 6:09 AM, finished with 11 posts and 8 votes.

5 people have voted
[X] Closing distance
3 people have voted
[X] Light on your feet- in combat he who strikes first is often he who wins, you have been trained extensively to be light on your feet so you may strike like lightning when the time comes. +2 initiative and lower armor initiative penalty.

uri · Jun 8, 2024

AN: I will say that I'm not entirely satisfied by this update, it still seems to me to just be a giant information dump but I'm done and its finished.

I also decided to not go straight to turn 2 but to implement weekend turns (basically instead of going turn 1, turn 2, turn 3 we're going to go turn 1, weekend 1, turn 2, weekend 2 and so on) a full explanation is below.

I hope you'll enjoy.

And feel free to ask question and offer advice, I welcome everything.

By the time Aurora and the group returned to the contribution center with their spoils the sun was already setting.

Reporting the success of their mission has gone smoothly with the attendants not even bothering to ask for any proof of completion.

'Not like anyone would dare cheat the school by lying' Aurora mused after all any such deception would be eventually found and the consequences would be severe.

+15 contribution points. (current points: 6).

With the mission complete Aurora was done with the day, a few hours of trekking through the forest were more physeal activity then she really wanted in her day… especially with all the exercises she needs to do every day.

And she was content to pass her evening watching Gallus train his new technique, some kind of hardening technique from her observation.

He seemed to be trying to improve his timing with it but Aurora couldn't tell how much he improved as she spent most of that time napping.

By the time she wok up Octavia returned from her scouting, they eat dinner and gone to bed.

The feeling of being shacked awake informed Aurora that she lost this particular round of blocking Octavia form her room and knowing how things would go, she decided to save herself the inconvenience and wake up.

After a quick breakfast -consisting of eggs and cheese- the group participated in elder Artus lessons.

After the torture session and with the intense heat of the afternoon sun baring down upon Aurora delicate skin, she decided to go for a small nap at their home.

When the sun set down the group split up once again, with Gallus going to train his new technique, Octavia looking for more information and Aurora once again subjecting herself to the mercy of elder Artus.

The next day instead of going to laze around or nap aster Elder Artus lessons the group met convened next to one of the lecture halls in the compound to hear elder Valla lesson.

This hall was different form the others, for one there were no chairs to sit upon only a few large mattresses strewn on the floor.

There was also energy in the air, so thick that it could be felt, like a blanket trying to suffocate you, thankfully Aurora managed to push past it with relative ease which is more than can be said for some of the other hopefuls.

Eldar Valla was already present when Aurora and her retainers arrived, she set on a small raised platform and seemed to be mediating, she looked fairly young but with oaths and body cultivation, that could still mean she was more then a hundred years old.

Finding a specious place on the mattresses to sit, the group waited for the lesson to start, exchanging some small talk in quit whispers.

When all of the disciples entered the hall and no more seemed to be coming the door closed and elder Valla opened her eyes.

"Welcome, to meditation upon the self" she began "in this lecture I will teach you not only how to meditate to achieve the wanted result but why you must meditate, pay attention because this is the most important subject you'll learn while in our school" Aurora was convinced that oaths would be more important but she wisely did not voice those thoughts.

"We will begin with the most basic reason of why you must mediate, dos any one care to venture a guess?"

In response to the elder question many hands shot up -Gallus among them- and many answer were thrown, some silly like centering ones emotions to more practical ones like achieving greater control of the energy inside of you.

It was a red-haired boy which got the right answer "To expand our Horkos reserves" he said when the elder pointed at his hand.

"Correct, we mediate to expand our Horkos reserves but how dos that happen? How dos meditation helps with such a task? To answer that we must first discuss the nature of Hrokos and of Qi"

"As oath bearers you already possess some innate understanding of Horkos, the power of oaths but where does it come from? After all, when you swear an oath the power generated form the act is diverted toward the wanted benefit, so is Horkos part of that power given free form in your body? Would your oaths be stronger if you could ensure no Horkos was created when you swore them?"

"The answer to both is no, Horkos isn't a part of the power of the oath that wasn't consumed but rather a byproduct of what an oath represents, an oath is a tie between your soul and your physical presence, a link form your body to your soul, by applying the soul infinite power and flexibility many effects may be achieved"

"But this tie also leaks the energy of the soul into your body, this Horkos gathers at your Dantian for you to commend"

"There are three ways to increase the amount of Horkos you have, increase the number of ties to your soul you possess, increase the potency of your soul or expend you dantian"

"The first is done by oaths, the second can be done with soul cultivation but progress on that is best measured in decade's and the third is done by purring energy into the dantian walls so it may grow."

"Now I want you to pull a bit of Horkos and send it into the walls of your dantian, it should be an instinctual act"

Following Eldar Valla directive Aurora turns her attention inward to the mass of energy above her heart, now that she knew what to look for it did seem to be contained in a small organ, drawing a single strand of Horkos Aurora sent it toward the wall constraining her energy and to her surprise it was rejected, the energy bouncing off the membrane.

Looking around and seeing the looks of confusion on the faces of her peers clued her to the fact that this isn't just problem with her.

Shooting a look at elder Valla, Aurora could see her smiling she seemed content to let people try and fail and its only after a few minutes have passed -enough time for everyone to try and for a murmur of question to begin- that she addressed the room once more.

"As you have all found out, Horkos cannot be used to expand your dantian as the body cannot grow by consuming the power of your soul. This brings us to our next topic Qi" the elder words were enough to quiet down the hall.

"Qi is the energy of life, the energy of the universe it is everywhere from the smallest of plants to the terrifying dragons in ages past aspirants would consume this power to purify themselves and advance toward a more refined state of being the use of oath has replaced this practice but it has not been whole discarded and it is Qi that is used to expand one Dantian" the elder had a slight scowl upon her unmarred face when she talked about Qi but Aurora could not come up with a reason why she might not like this subject, especially as she was teaching it.

"And this is why you must know to meditate as to be able to gather Qi without a core requires one to attune to the aspect of the Qi in the area, for your ease this area has been stuffed full of Qi to suffocate you" so that is the energy Aurora felt upon her skin "and it has transformed to be in as natural state as could be done so you only need to focus on achieving tranquility for now, I will be going around and offering advice as you meditate do not waste this opportunity"

A clear signal to begin Aurora sent a nod to Gallus and Octavia before closing her eyes -she was already sitting in a comfortable position- and attempting to attune to the Qi in her surroundings.

Eldar Valla is teaching you meditation which is a pure mind skill (to train) so you roll 10 dice, she has master 4 teaching, which means you roll 10 dice S>4 R4.

But this is penalized by needing to teaching a large crowd but the penalty is reduced by the "crowd teacher" talent to inly +1 ST.

Valla dos not put in any extra effort nor use any other talents she may have.

So, in the end this is your pool.

10 dice S>5 R4.

You get 2 rolls for the AP spent.

[3, 9, 4, 2, 2, 5, 6, 8, 4, 7]= 4s + [9, 3, 4, 2]= 5s

[3, 10!, 7, 1, 5, 5, 3, 3, 7, 10!, 2, 3]= 4s +[5, 2, 5, 9]= 5s

To a total of 10s, 4/4 to novice 1, 6s remain 6/8 to novice 2.

New skill meditation at novice 1 (6/8 to next level).

Now as part of this lesson you also cultivate you Horkos which is a meditation (will check).

So normally it would be 6 dice s>7 R1.

But this location is overwhelming with Qi quantity which doubles your dice, it is also natural Qi which lowers the TS to gather it by -1.

Additionally, Eldar Valla uses guided meditation to give everyone an additional TS -1.

So, you're really rolling the following pool, 12 dice s>5 R1.

You only get one roll for this.

[3, 3, 8, 4, 9, 3, 10!, 3, 7, 7, 5, 3, 8]=5s + [6]= 6s.

You also gain another 20s from consuming the pill.

To a total of 26s, 6/6 to horkos 6, 20s remain, 7/7 to horkos 7, 13s remains, 8/8 to horkos 8, 5s remain 5/9 to horokos 9.

Your horkos reserves rise to 8.

Its hard, a lot harder than she thought considering half of the work is sitting around.

But slowly she feels something, slowly Aurora pulls something in and sands it into the membrane of her dantian.

And slowly it begins to expand.

"Good" opening her eyes Aurora finds elder Valla standing over her "but you're too focused, the Qi here is neutral, it is one of calm and tranquility not of focus, relax and let it come to you" taking the elder advice aurora once again closed her eyes but this time she return to happy days lazing under the sun where else had no work to do and no obligations.

And slowly -yet faster than before- more Qi was drawn into her body.

"Good, good, now breath slowly" the elder said "in and out, in and out in an orderly pattern, in and out".

As Aurora berthed more and more Qi began to enter her body and she entered a sort of trance, only broken by eldar Valla words.

"It is to your credit that you haven't used your oath for this" Aurora heart skipped a bit, no one was supposed to know about what she got form her oath, only she and her retainers knew and even Octavia and Gallus knew it only in the barest of terms.

"My oath elder?" aroura asked looking around in slight panic.

"Don't worry none may hear us right now, you'll learn to hide your oaths in time" the elder words calmed aurora down but just opened our a lot of other questions but the elder didn't seem to give her time to ask them "normally I wouldn't offer this to you, your will is not good enough but you hold promise and are favored by the school so this time I will, next week on the second day, hall seventeen in the evening be there" and with her words said the elder made to move to another student "oh and bring that boy with you" she said pointing toward Gallus.

And so Aurora was left with her thoughts with only the opportunity to continue cultivating, so she closed her eyes and made her best effort to quiet her mind.

By the need of the lesson and with Aurora consuming the pill she's gotten form the contribution hall, aurora could feel that her reserves of Horkos have increased by more than half.

Returning to their residence Aurora wished for noting more than another nap but there still had some business to conduct, so she set don at the central table and spoke "Octavia, it's the end of the week what did you find"

Both Octavia and Gallus set around the table not long after Aurora but it was Octavia who answer her "well, more than enough I think"

Octavia report.

The first disciple scouted by Octavia Ermis the giant blood, dos indeed seem to possess some amount of giant blood, apparently his whole family dos to some extant even if he himself is an extreme example of it. as such he possesses incredible physical strength (T2, 8-12 base) but this is his only noteworthy attribute at least it cannot be said that he is truly lacking in other ways (all other attributes T1, min 4 base).

Personality wise he seems kind enough but underneath it lies lesson learned in the brutally of the north, where food is scarce and sickness rampant, he is also the kind to be truly loyal should one be truthful with him.

Oath wise, his doesn't seem to be to relaxed nor to taxing (Oath rank 3-4) and seem to grant some benefit to hitting things although its precise nature could not be identified.

I also noticed a few others keeping an eye on him, so if you wish to recruit him swiftness may be in order.

Vasilios posses a severe face deformity, it is severe enough that he takes to wearing a mask over the lower half of his face (heart 2-4), this deformity is derived form a legacy, a legacy which spread beyond his face but that apparently deformed his face lower half.

The legacy goes by the name adamantium skin, it grants him an unbreakable skin (physical armor 200-400~) and apparently gives him some resistance against more exotic means of attack (a portion of physical armor counts as all the other types of armor), aside from his legacy there is not a lot noteworthy about him although he has trained his body quite well (mind, will T1, min 4 base, body T1, 7-8 body).

It seems Vasilios deformity has made him develop some self-esteem issues as well as made him prone to anger, he hates being looked down upon or looked upon with pity real or perceived. There might be issues with requiring him but so long as someone keeps an eye on him it should escalate and there may be ways to improve his disposition.

Oath wise Vasilios seems to be on the same insanity as Gallus (oath rank 4) but I could not determine the effect of his oath.

With his deformity and standoffish attitude Vasilios will probably not be the first pick of many, which means he could wait if other more time sensitive matters arise on the other hand approaching him so soon after the start would be taken as a compliment and a appreciation of his abilities and make requiting him easier.

Gallus note 1: there are a few potions and elixirs which could help with physical deformity but soothing that could overpower his legacy would be expensive, 20 gold at least probably more for the reliable stuff, offering such an elixir would guarantee recruitment but would require asking the family to supply such an elixir which would come in place of other requests)

Another legacy recipient, this time one who possess the mind over matter legacy, which allow him to apply his mind in place of his body (mind now counts as body too, body attribute becomes obsolete) as such his mind is well trained (t1, 10 base) but it seemed he's lacking in other departments (heart T1, 3-4 base, will T1, 3-5 base).

He's nice enough in casual conversation but he is deeply arrogant and has a deep need to prove himself the smarts in the room (Gallus note: we'll not stand one another).

His oath is the weakest it could be (oath rank 2) as he assumed it would only apply to training his body and he claimed to have gotten a benefit to the mind from it, although he didn't specify.

Also, while he doesn't have natural charisma, he is political savvy and easily identified why I was speaking with him and implied he is checking his options, if you want this one assume you're getting into a bidding war as he tries to maximizes his benefits.

Gallus note: we could approach him with an intent to just drive the price higher for one of our rivals, as an added benefit we could very much maneuver it as us doing him a favor which may in time be repaid.

A member of the Cicero lower family as such she has been trained to be minimally competent in all area (all attributes T1, min 5 base) she has followed in her family footsteps and has become an alchemist, she already has some of the basic tools given by her family and would likely already possess some skill in the matter.

She is a perky and excitable girl, quick to chatter and befriend.

Oath wise she seems to be on the more relaxed side (oath rank 2-3) and its most likely that she receives something to benefit in her crafting.

As an apprentice alchemist her skills are going to be in great demand and it'll likely be costly to recruit her.

Gallus note: but having a crafter in our faction would make it a lot more attractive for others to join.

A member of the Rodilis lower family, the only thing noteworthy about Alexis is his social clout and silver tongue (heart T1, 8-10 base).

He is well liked and posses' connection to a lot of the pretty families around, recruiting him will undoubtably push a could chunk of his connection to also join and those who won't could still be utilized as connection.

Oath wise he is somewhere in the middle in term of effort (oath rank 3-4) and I could not find what his oath has given him.

As a noble and someone who is trained for political maneuvering assume it will be hard to recruit him barring unexpected circumstances.

If there is one thing that could be said about Markos is that he is motivated, his oath is the most intense (oath rank 6) and the benefit is -presumably- likewise great but I haven't managed to found what it is.

Yet motivation is about all that can be said about him his actual aptitude seem stop be in question (all attributes T1, 4-7 base) that's likely to change swiftly in the physical department but it is still must be taken into account.

He is very intense personality wise, seems to be completely focused on his advancement to the detriment of social pursuits, he is well mannered when you do actually catch him in a conversation but there is a very obvious undertone of impatience.

Recruiting may be difficult for the simple reason that he doesn't seem to see any benefit in doing so, the best avenue would be to offer advancement resources but that runs into a second issue, the guy would be very annoyed when we would call upon his services as he only seems to care about his advancement.

And with her report done, the last business of the week has been complete and Aurora may now rest for all of the weekend.

I've been looking over my time table and came to the conclusion that with the needed effort to get places social pursuits will suffer and as a major social character I thought this was a shame.

I was hesitant at first to offer "weekend" turns because I know that someone will aske about doing mission or training during them but then I remembered that Aurora is a very lazy girl and she will absolutely refuse to do any work during her weekend.

Now that's not to say that there can be way to benefit in no social way during this turn but this is mostly about letting your social character have more opportunities to pull out her social chops.

And incedently to let me practice more social scenes (which are my weakest subject).

Weekend 1: (choose 3).

[] Gallus has picked up a new technique and could use a second pair of eyes to help him train and despite your best effort he'll teach you'll likely pick up the technique form doing so.

[] Octavia eyes represent a big advantage, spend some time with her questioning a few topics in her presence and discussion the ramifications of the answers.
-[] What questions are you going to ask? Max 3. (you'll get the best value out of yes/no questions).

[] Drag Octavia and Gallus with you to laze about in the morning shade, discuss your experiences in the school so far and most importantly ensure they don't lift a single finger for work.

[] Currently you only meet Aspa when it comes the time for your massage and medical bath but you could agree to meet some other times just to hang out, you'll likely get your ear talked off about her job but having a link with an older outer member is valuable by itself.

[] go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted.
-[] who?

blankmask · Jun 8, 2024

[X] Plan: Learning and talking to people.
- [X] Gallus has picked up a new technique and could use a second pair of eyes to help him train and despite your best effort he'll teach you'll likely pick up the technique form doing so.
- [X] Currently you only meet Aspa when it comes the time for your massage and medical bath but you could agree to meet some other times just to hang out, you'll likely get your ear talked off about her job but having a link with an older outer member is valuable by itself.
- [X] Go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted.
-- [X] Livia Cicero.

CedeTheBees · Jun 8, 2024

[X] Plan: Recruitment Spree
-[X] Go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted. (x3)
--[X] Ermis Rodas, the giant blood.
--[X] Livia Cicero.
--[X] Vasilios Thanides, the deformed.

The flavor text says Ermis and Livia are time sensitive so we should try to go with them first. I think Livia's alchemy skills and friendly personality might help us bring Vasilios in too.

But since the flavor text says he's prickly enough that no one will want to recruit him immediately, I'll also propose an alternate plan since it looks like we have time.

[X] Plan: Recruiting and Learning
-[X] Gallus has picked up a new technique and could use a second pair of eyes to help him train and despite your best effort he'll teach you'll likely pick up the technique form doing so.
-[X] Go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted. (x3)
--[X] Ermis Rodas, the giant blood.
--[X] Livia Cicero.

Pittauro · Jun 8, 2024

uri said:
'Not like anyone would dare cheat the school by lying' Aurora mused after all any such deception would be eventually found and the consequences would be severe.

+15 contribution points. (current points: 6).

Yeah, it would be very stupid to lie, at least for this.

And hey, we're already net positive! If we can gain a similar amount of points per turn it will all be fine.

uri said:
pay attention because this is the most important subject you'll learn while in our school" Aurora was convinced that oaths would be more important but she wisely did not voice those thoughts.

It's probably close.

Oath are THE cheat, but the rest of your cultivation matters too.

uri said:
many answer were thrown, some silly like centering ones emotions to more practical ones like achieving greater control of the energy inside of you.

It was a red-haired boy which got the right answer "To expand our Horkos reserves" he said when the elder pointed at his hand.

Sometimes the simple and obvious answer is the correct one

uri said:
"The answer to both is no, Horkos isn't a part of the power of the oath that wasn't consumed but rather a byproduct of what an oath represents, an oath is a tie between your soul and your physical presence, a link form your body to your soul, by applying the soul infinite power and flexibility many effects may be achieved"

"But this tie also leaks the energy of the soul into your body, this Horkos gathers at your Dantian for you to commend"

"There are three ways to increase the amount of Horkos you have, increase the number of ties to your soul you possess, increase the potency of your soul or expend you dantian"

Valuable knowledge.

So, oaths are ties between the body and the soul, draining some of the infinite power and giving you horkos as a byproduct.

And the three ways to get more horkos would be oaths, and... Mental and physical cultivation?

uri said:
"The first is done by oaths, the second can be done with soul cultivation but progress on that is best measured in decade's and the third is done by purring energy into the dantian walls so it may grow."

Ah, no, it's just slow soul cultivation and "raw energy infusion" method.

uri said:
"As you have all found out, Horkos cannot be used to expand your dantian as the body cannot grow by consuming the power of your soul. This brings us to our next topic Qi" the elder words were enough to quiet down the hall.

Ah, so basically horkos is our soul energy, and it can't be used to cultivate directly, we use external QI for that.

uri said:
Valla dos not put in any extra effort nor use any other talents she may have.

Nothing compared to the physical elder, really

uri said:
[3, 3, 8, 4, 9, 3, 10!, 3, 7, 7, 5, 3, 8]=5s + [6]= 6s.

You also gain another 20s from consuming the pill.

To a total of 26s, 6/6 to horkos 6, 20s remain, 7/7 to horkos 7, 13s remains, 8/8 to horkos 8, 5s remain 5/9 to horokos 9.

Your horkos reserves rise to 8.

Yep, the results pill is best for us for the near future.

We need 50 horkos, so that's... 1234 successes.

If we only used the Results pill, that would give us 320 successes, which is just not even close to being enough.

So I think we'll be using the results pill until we get higher will, but then we'd do a few turns of heavy training with effort pill instead.

uri said:
"It is to your credit that you haven't used your oath for this" Aurora heart skipped a bit, no one was supposed to know about what she got form her oath, only she and her retainers knew and even Octavia and Gallus knew it only in the barest of terms.

"My oath elder?" aroura asked looking around in slight panic.

"Don't worry none may hear us right now, you'll learn to hide your oaths in time" the elder words calmed aurora down but just opened our a lot of other questions but the elder didn't seem to give her time to ask them "normally I wouldn't offer this to you, your will is not good enough but you hold promise and are favored by the school so this time I will, next week on the second day, hall seventeen in the evening be there" and with her words said the elder made to move to another student "oh and bring that boy with you" she said pointing toward Gallus.

We PROBABLY wouldn't have used it anyway (not yet), but that advice from the outer school student was spot on.

And as we got what SEEMS to be an invitation form personal lessons, we'll probably want to take the effort pill next turn...

Maybe we can even date to ask WHY she thinks we shouldn't use the oath for this, or maybe what she advices us to use it on.

The fact she wants us to bring "perfect memory" Gallus implies she wants to share a lot of information that's probably NOT to be put down on paper...

uri said:
The first disciple scouted by Octavia Ermis the giant blood, dos indeed seem to possess some amount of giant blood, apparently his whole family dos to some extant even if he himself is an extreme example of it. as such he possesses incredible physical strength (T2, 8-12 base) but this is his only noteworthy attribute at least it cannot be said that he is truly lacking in other ways (all other attributes T1, min 4 base).

Personality wise he seems kind enough but underneath it lies lesson learned in the brutally of the north, where food is scarce and sickness rampant, he is also the kind to be truly loyal should one be truthful with him.

Oath wise, his doesn't seem to be to relaxed nor to taxing (Oath rank 3-4) and seem to grant some benefit to hitting things although its precise nature could not be identified.

I also noticed a few others keeping an eye on him, so if you wish to recruit him swiftness may be in order.

Sounds doable. Being honest and being blunt with the benefits we offer sounds like it should work.

uri said:
Vasilios posses a severe face deformity, it is severe enough that he takes to wearing a mask over the lower half of his face (heart 2-4), this deformity is derived form a legacy, a legacy which spread beyond his face but that apparently deformed his face lower half.

The legacy goes by the name adamantium skin, it grants him an unbreakable skin (physical armor 200-400~) and apparently gives him some resistance against more exotic means of attack (a portion of physical armor counts as all the other types of armor), aside from his legacy there is not a lot noteworthy about him although he has trained his body quite well (mind, will T1, min 4 base, body T1, 7-8 body).

It seems Vasilios deformity has made him develop some self-esteem issues as well as made him prone to anger, he hates being looked down upon or looked upon with pity real or perceived. There might be issues with requiring him but so long as someone keeps an eye on him it should escalate and there may be ways to improve his disposition.

Oath wise Vasilios seems to be on the same insanity as Gallus (oath rank 4) but I could not determine the effect of his oath.

With his deformity and standoffish attitude Vasilios will probably not be the first pick of many, which means he could wait if other more time sensitive matters arise on the other hand approaching him so soon after the start would be taken as a compliment and a appreciation of his abilities and make requiting him easier.

Gallus note 1: there are a few potions and elixirs which could help with physical deformity but soothing that could overpower his legacy would be expensive, 20 gold at least probably more for the reliable stuff, offering such an elixir would guarantee recruitment but would require asking the family to supply such an elixir which would come in place of other requests)

My first thought is that he'd make for an amazing sparring partner, as we need not fear to hurt him with our weapon for the foreseeable future.

Also, well, he's Avery durable.

The elixir seems doable, but 20 gold... I forget what our allowance is...

uri said:
Spoiler: Tiberius Allectius. Another legacy recipient, this time one who possess the mind over matter legacy, which allow him to apply his mind in place of his body (mind now counts as body too, body attribute becomes obsolete) as such his mind is well trained (t1, 10 base) but it seemed he's lacking in other departments (heart T1, 3-4 base, will T1, 3-5 base).

He's nice enough in casual conversation but he is deeply arrogant and has a deep need to prove himself the smarts in the room (Gallus note: we'll not stand one another).

His oath is the weakest it could be (oath rank 2) as he assumed it would only apply to training his body and he claimed to have gotten a benefit to the mind from it, although he didn't specify.

Also, while he doesn't have natural charisma, he is political savvy and easily identified why I was speaking with him and implied he is checking his options, if you want this one assume you're getting into a bidding war as he tries to maximizes his benefits.

Gallus note: we could approach him with an intent to just drive the price higher for one of our rivals, as an added benefit we could very much maneuver it as us doing him a favor which may in time be repaid.

I'm leaning towards the favour to raise the price, yeah. Also our mind oath power and Gallus make him not quite as useful as others, not if the price is going to be high.

uri said:
Spoiler: Livia Cicero. A member of the Cicero lower family as such she has been trained to be minimally competent in all area (all attributes T1, min 5 base) she has followed in her family footsteps and has become an alchemist, she already has some of the basic tools given by her family and would likely already possess some skill in the matter.

She is a perky and excitable girl, quick to chatter and befriend.

Oath wise she seems to be on the more relaxed side (oath rank 2-3) and its most likely that she receives something to benefit in her crafting.

As an apprentice alchemist her skills are going to be in great demand and it'll likely be costly to recruit her.

Gallus note: but having a crafter in our faction would make it a lot more attractive for others to join.

Agreed with Gallus, crafter's are very valuable...

uri said:
A member of the Rodilis lower family, the only thing noteworthy about Alexis is his social clout and silver tongue (heart T1, 8-10 base).

He is well liked and posses' connection to a lot of the pretty families around, recruiting him will undoubtably push a could chunk of his connection to also join and those who won't could still be utilized as connection.

Oath wise he is somewhere in the middle in term of effort (oath rank 3-4) and I could not find what his oath has given him.

As a noble and someone who is trained for political maneuvering assume it will be hard to recruit him barring unexpected circumstances.

Potentially worth a shot, but I think not as the first one. Getting the crafter first could allow us to offer more incentives too.

uri said:
If there is one thing that could be said about Markos is that he is motivated, his oath is the most intense (oath rank 6) and the benefit is -presumably- likewise great but I haven't managed to found what it is.

Yet motivation is about all that can be said about him his actual aptitude seem stop be in question (all attributes T1, 4-7 base) that's likely to change swiftly in the physical department but it is still must be taken into account.

He is very intense personality wise, seems to be completely focused on his advancement to the detriment of social pursuits, he is well mannered when you do actually catch him in a conversation but there is a very obvious undertone of impatience.

Recruiting may be difficult for the simple reason that he doesn't seem to see any benefit in doing so, the best avenue would be to offer advancement resources but that runs into a second issue, the guy would be very annoyed when we would call upon his services as he only seems to care about his advancement.

I actually like this one.

Yes, he's monofocused, but that also makes him predictable.

We just need to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement.

We can deal with annoyed. We could potentially lend him our training item when we're not using it too... Though if he tries to keep it and not give it back we'd have to make a n example of him.

uri said:
I've been looking over my time table and came to the conclusion that with the needed effort to get places social pursuits will suffer and as a major social character I thought this was a shame.

I was hesitant at first to offer "weekend" turns because I know that someone will aske about doing mission or training during them but then I remembered that Aurora is a very lazy girl and she will absolutely refuse to do any work during her weekend.

Now that's not to say that there can be way to benefit in no social way during this turn but this is mostly about letting your social character have more opportunities to pull out her social chops.

And incedently to let me practice more social scenes (which are my weakest subject).

This is appreciated. A minimum amount of social makes sense, especially for Aurora.

I suppose a possible alternative could have been to allow the 2 "missing" APs from her laziness to be used for some social activities. Maybe not immediately but after some character growth.

uri said:
[] Octavia eyes represent a big advantage, spend some time with her questioning a few topics in her presence and discussion the ramifications of the answers.
-[] What questions are you going to ask? Max 3. (you'll get the best value out of yes/no questions).

I think the obvious AND wise play is to ask if recruiting X is a good idea given our resources and the quality/price ratio of the retainer, just ask it three times for three of them and use this to see if any of them is just not worth it

uri said:
[] Drag Octavia and Gallus with you to laze about in the morning shade, discuss your experiences in the school so far and most importantly ensure they don't lift a single finger for work.

I kinda want this...

uri said:
[] Currently you only meet Aspa when it comes the time for your massage and medical bath but you could agree to meet some other times just to hang out, you'll likely get your ear talked off about her job but having a link with an older outer member is valuable by itself.

It's admittedly useful, yeah, but we only get 3 actions...

uri said:
[] Go around and see if you can find your cousin Decius Protus and see what kind of help and information you can draw out of him.

What can you tell us about this cousin? Do we know him, personality, talents, rank, are we friendly..?

uri said:
[] go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted.
-[] who?

I'd say we go scout the deformed guy or the alchemist, as long as the yes/no question don't tell us we're better off NOt recruiting someone.

Maybe we can actually try tonrecruit two people, depending on the result of the questions...

uri · Jun 8, 2024

Pittauro said:
The fact she wants us to bring "perfect memory" Gallus implies she wants to share a lot of information that's probably NOT to be put down on paper..

She invested a few more people than just you but not a lot of them.

Pittauro said:
The elixir seems doable, but 20 gold... I forget what our allowance is...

5 gold a month.

Pittauro said:
I think the obvious AND wise play is to ask if recruiting X is a good idea given our resources and the quality/price ratio of the retainer, just ask it three times for three of them and use this to see if any of them is just not worth it

This is the kind of thing that falls on the problem of what is a good idea? The answer could be all yes and all no and you wouldn't really gotten anything out of it.

Also, you aren't requiting them as retainers they could become such in the future but not now, you're recruiting them into your faction which is a big difference.

Pittauro said:
It's admittedly useful, yeah, but we only get 3 actions...

Some of those would be available in the week turns.

Then again you're time there is also valuable.

Pittauro said:
What can you tell us about this cousin? Do we know him, personality, talents, rank, are we friendly..?

I knew I forgot something, there was supposed to be latter form your family that talked about a few things one of which was your cousin.

I'm just going to push that to the end of this weekend turn and strike out the action.

The Iron Oath (An Oath/Contract Based Cultivation Quest).

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