Knight of Wessex (A Written World Quest)
- Thread starter Alectai
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Alt. History
Maybe go around getting to know the priests? Otherwise maybe sparring with the different squires?
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
Ah, i was under the impression that this was like 2 to 5 turns out.
Yeah we have a lot more time to grow then i guess.
I would like to see more the psyche stats have more of a use tho. I dont think theyve really had a purpose yet, and it feels weird just leaving them to rot for years on end (in game).
Yeah we have a lot more time to grow then i guess.
I would like to see more the psyche stats have more of a use tho. I dont think theyve really had a purpose yet, and it feels weird just leaving them to rot for years on end (in game).
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I mean, it could be at the upper end of that, depending on turn length, but turns are definitely getting longer in terms of in-game time.
Psyche helps determine Capacity, which is no small thing, and is rolled for almost every roll you make outside combat. And is the stat for Tactics. It does a bunch of stuff.
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
I was talking more about these
Administration 2 (0/4 Zeal)
Diplomacy 3 (0/8 Zeal)
Litany of Resolve (No Cost): An essential tool in some courts and battlefields alike, this Meditation provides significant, though not perfect, mental defenses against any supernatural attempt to influence the cultivator's mind. This sadly does not help against mundane persuasion, even that performed with the inhuman skills of an advanced cultivator. (0/6 Refined)
Scholarship 2 (0/4 Zeal)
I dont think weve used these much, if it all. Tho i can def be wrong. I only really read the threadmarks usually and i think yall roll in thread sometimes
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Diplomacy has been rolled several times and Scholarship at least once. Every roll doesn't wind up posted, depending on circumstances. Administration hasn't come up yet, I don't think.
DangerKitty
shoddy writter
- Location
- lala land
Hard to gage how useful they are and thus how worthy training them might be then tbh.
Tho im not sure what administration would be used for until we have our own land and serfs?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
They do what they say on the tin. Audrey makes friends more easily as her Diplomacy goes up, knows more as her Scholarship rises, and so on.
So, two things:
1. It would let you analyze other people's rulership and administration. It'd be the skill for spotting poor management, accounting errors, and so on. Or noticing a place was well run, of course.
2. Importantly, serfdom does not exist in Wessex at the moment. There are certainly social classes, but ceorls (the class a random farmer would belong to) are freemen, not slaves or serfs.
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
Not Alectai, obviously, but what have you got in mind?
- Location
- PA
…Soo mostly this was me grabbing the MC from one of Alextai's old quests and trying to port her into this one.
Albeit it went…Sideways, you could say, in part because a straight port makes her too much of a giant flea from outer space in terms of her capabilities and possibly her weaknesses, partially because this system…
It feels like there's a concrete list of available powers but I haven't seen the list in question so I'm having to make it up as I go.
Except some things can transfer and some things will be like 'what is he on'?
The character in question, is Medea Athelos (assuming I got the name right!) But to begin with, I'm giving her the title of Witch of Storm Crows.
Vaguely the backstory is she was an 'apprentice' to some Blackgaurd? Type dude, who was Sorceror and Knight, but she was *just* a sorceress. Except he tried to basically drain her of her power and probably kill her in the process to augment his own strength. She tried a crude reversal and ops! It only partially worked. Instead of her getting a double-helping of magical power she got the Knight side of his powers. And also he got disintegrated in the bargain. Not exactly reinventing the wheel but whatever, gotta stay somewhat true to the old quest she came from.
Now, the complicated bit is going from there to interacting with the Main Plot, but right now I'm thinking she's working with ol' Salt Armour to do things like find him a convenient band of Norse for him and his Squire to fight.
And hey, she's the Witch of Storm Crows, Crows are smart and can totally act as a spy network! Plus yanno we decided to call a group of them a murder for some reason, so they have cool factor, at least in groups. Plus this lets me use her to explore the 'Falcon' part of the Knight's toolkit and how that works.
How does she fight? UHHh…So original Medea fought with basically a magic staff. How do I translate that into Knight weapon? Well, I figure a polearm like a halberd or something in that vein should work. Vaguely the right strike zones, and something versatile in how you can use it fits a smart person I figure.
Her and her Storm Crow, or Crows…I figure there's one main bird but it can make copies of itself. And that bird does things to run interference, from being loud and annoying, to possibly doing more 'Storm' things like shooting lightning, to as an adaptation of an idea I had as to how Medea in the old quest fights, nudging the opponent's arm or disrupting their footing to create an opening that Medea then exploits. (Old Medea the bird was barriers she'd summon, to do things like creating a small barrier the opponent steps on before vanishing, giving them a moment of 'my balance is disrupted!' As an example.)
apologies since this was kind of written as a stream of conciousness-I've not taken the time yet to coherently put this idea together in a way I can explain well…
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- She/Her
[X] Plan: Bird? Bird!
-[X] [Bonus Focus Action] Acquire a bird companion.
-[X] [Focus Action] Train and socialize with the other Squires.
-[X] [Secondary Action] Research the Wessex Adolescent Championship
-[X] [Chancellery] Slowing Down for the Commons
-[X] Training and Zeal (21 Training, 92 Zeal)
–[X] Spend 9 Training on mandated curriculum from Reinald (Hordebreaker 2 and two Rough Rotes)
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Strandsense
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Web Shape
–[X] Spend 6/27 Training on Clever Deflection
–[X] Spend 16/16 Zeal on Soma 6
–[X] Spend 32/32 Zeal on Hama 6
–[X] Spend 42/42 Zeal on advancing to the 5th Bead
–[X] Leave 2 Zeal unspent
I really want to get Perfect Footing to Refined but c'est la vie.
Also on the Clever Deflection spending. Hear me out. What if we have it up to Mastered by the time of the tournament. It should serve us so well in a 1-on-1 format. It's also I think out of our Prayers the most important to our fighting style.
I think the rest has already been said by others/is fairly self-evident. Please don't hesitate to ask me question about this plan or suggest improvements.
-[X] [Bonus Focus Action] Acquire a bird companion.
-[X] [Focus Action] Train and socialize with the other Squires.
-[X] [Secondary Action] Research the Wessex Adolescent Championship
-[X] [Chancellery] Slowing Down for the Commons
-[X] Training and Zeal (21 Training, 92 Zeal)
–[X] Spend 9 Training on mandated curriculum from Reinald (Hordebreaker 2 and two Rough Rotes)
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Strandsense
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Web Shape
–[X] Spend 6/27 Training on Clever Deflection
–[X] Spend 16/16 Zeal on Soma 6
–[X] Spend 32/32 Zeal on Hama 6
–[X] Spend 42/42 Zeal on advancing to the 5th Bead
–[X] Leave 2 Zeal unspent
I really want to get Perfect Footing to Refined but c'est la vie.
Also on the Clever Deflection spending. Hear me out. What if we have it up to Mastered by the time of the tournament. It should serve us so well in a 1-on-1 format. It's also I think out of our Prayers the most important to our fighting style.
I think the rest has already been said by others/is fairly self-evident. Please don't hesitate to ask me question about this plan or suggest improvements.
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Diplomacy is 8 Zeal to increase, not 4. You can add 4 Zeal to it, but it won't increase the skill.
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- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oops. Let me rethink that.
- Location
- Earth
[X] Plan: Expanding our Foundation
-[X] [Bonus Focus Action] Acquire a bird companion.
-[X] [Focus Action] Train and socialize with the other Squires.
-[X] [Secondary Action] Research the Wessex Adolescent Championship
-[X] [Chancellery] Slowing Down for the Commons
-[X] Training and Zeal (21 Training, 92 Zeal)
–[X] Spend 9 Training on mandated curriculum from Reinald (Hordebreaker 2 and two Rough Rotes)
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Strandsense
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Web Shape
–[X] Spend 6/6 Training on Litany of Resolve
–[X] Spend 16/16 Zeal on Soma 6
–[X] Spend 32/32 Zeal on Hama 6
–[X] Spend 42/42 Zeal on advancing to the 5th Bead
–[X] Leave 2 Zeal unspent
Copied Kiera's Focus actions since they both look like good ideas. Going for 5th bead and Litany of Resolve for the reasons I said earlier.
-[X] [Bonus Focus Action] Acquire a bird companion.
-[X] [Focus Action] Train and socialize with the other Squires.
-[X] [Secondary Action] Research the Wessex Adolescent Championship
-[X] [Chancellery] Slowing Down for the Commons
-[X] Training and Zeal (21 Training, 92 Zeal)
–[X] Spend 9 Training on mandated curriculum from Reinald (Hordebreaker 2 and two Rough Rotes)
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Strandsense
–[X] Spend 3/3 Training on Web Shape
–[X] Spend 6/6 Training on Litany of Resolve
–[X] Spend 16/16 Zeal on Soma 6
–[X] Spend 32/32 Zeal on Hama 6
–[X] Spend 42/42 Zeal on advancing to the 5th Bead
–[X] Leave 2 Zeal unspent
Copied Kiera's Focus actions since they both look like good ideas. Going for 5th bead and Litany of Resolve for the reasons I said earlier.
Depending on the exact time of the tournament I would not be surprised if we got more then one mastered skill and even a perfected one if we end up raising our Hama more or get more grace from communion or extra training.
Like at grace 14 we gain 28 training per year, that's 140 training over 5 years, that's enough to master two skills and then perfect one of them with some left over, especially if we get extra training over those five years.
[X] Plan: Bird? Bird!
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5 years is probably a bit long for the tournament timeline. Call it more than one year, less than five before the tourney.
Also, not ever getting any new Prayers or getting your Rough ones to Refined is a choice you can make, but not one Reinald would advise. Never Mastering anything would also not be advised, mind you, but there's a balance.
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are we not going to do anything with the black lightning we just discovered?
I.F. Ister
Fortifying The Thread
- Pronouns
- He/They
I see
That's the intended feeling. The setting is very big and quite complex, trying to catalogue every single weird power or niche ability is an exercise in futility.
Also because I'm very lazy and don't want to go through the setting and figure out some kind of organization system. That's for the in-setting taxologists to figure out
Nah, it's cool. I'm just a bit confused by what you mean by all this.
Like, are you wanting to use Medea as the protagonist? Cause, we've already got a shiny holographic Audrey and don't really need a Medea
Or do you mean importing Medea as an NPC? Cause that's much more reasonable. It'd give Deadman something to do!
I agree, its why I only mentioned us getting the perfect skill if we got extra training from other sources.
Like even with only two years were still going to get 56 training base, which is enough for two mastered skills and over two years, we're near guaranteed to get more training from increased grace (from commune) and from extra training.
I'm less arguing for this as a course of action and more arguing over the notion that getting a master skill is some kind of push goal that would be hard to attain.
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Up to you. The existing plans are working through Ideas in your Chancellery in the order they have been received. You could think on the lightning instead, though I don't think it's a spoiler to reveal that going through "Slowing Down for the Commons" will be quicker than going through the "Red-Black Lightning" Idea.
A Mastered Prayer is very achievable...it is, however, a big investment.
- Location
- Bretonnia
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[X] Plan: Bird? Bird!
Are there ways for us to curry favor with the church in order to receive additional communion?
So far it seems that the only way we know is to work as a knight and hope that we will protect the monastery from a raid.
We got additional Zeal from Rosary Beads, but what about more powerful artifacts?
For example, if we order a personal Book of Hours or receive holy relics, how much increase in Zeal can we get from this?
Is it possible to switch between cultivation systems that have existed side by side for a long time?
For example, can someone belonging to the witchcraft cultivation repent and join the Christian one?
If so, how difficult will the process be and will such a cultivator be any different from his fellows?
So far it seems that the only way we know is to work as a knight and hope that we will protect the monastery from a raid.
We got additional Zeal from Rosary Beads, but what about more powerful artifacts?
For example, if we order a personal Book of Hours or receive holy relics, how much increase in Zeal can we get from this?
Is it possible to switch between cultivation systems that have existed side by side for a long time?
For example, can someone belonging to the witchcraft cultivation repent and join the Christian one?
If so, how difficult will the process be and will such a cultivator be any different from his fellows?
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In the long run, Audrey performing services to the crown and showing great public piety can also get this sort of reward, as can things like donations to the church. That said, at the moment she is a 14 year old brand new squire...she is not really in a position to do things the church finds notable as of yet.
Additional items for Zeal gain are possible, yes. However, you don't really have an independent income at the moment and once you do, well, you're hardly the only one who wants them. Mostly you're probably not gonna be getting these for money as they are highly valuable and most people aren't selling them for cash, y'know?
So, witchcraft isn't a cultivation system. Cultivation is culture in the Written World, and witches are not a separate culture from the people around them. That is not to say witches don't exist, mind you, but they're people doing weird or perhaps forbidden magical things with the more out there properties of an existing cultivation system, not a separate cultivation system in their own right.
Now, in terms of 'switching' cultivation systems...not exactly. Again, cultivation is culture. And you can adapt to a new culture, but you never truly cease to be a part of the one that raised you, y'know? So switching cultivation systems tends not to work. Syncretizing cultivation systems, however, can work very well indeed. Indeed, Audrey is an excellent example of exactly that...the Carolingian System does not have Hama by default, Hama and everything that goes with it is part of the Anglo-Saxon system used by Thanes, and Audrey and every other Insular Knight are syncretic cultivators between the Carolingian system and the Anglo-Saxon one.
Another syncretic example from the other direction is King Alfred, who primarily uses Anglo-Saxon cultivation but also has some Grace and Fervour to supplement it.
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So a witch to move into orthodoxy actually just not use their old arsenal of techniques and learn a couple new ones?
Or will they have cultivation deviations from betraying their old ideals?
Does this look the same from the perspective of the cultivators themselves?
I mean it's unlikely that witches would use Fervour and Zeal since those powers are clearly connected to God. Or do they have all the same things just have slightly different names?
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That really depends on the style of cultivation they started with. There is no one size fits all solution.
An Anglo-Saxon witch, for instance, is probably doing stuff the Church would not approve of and delving into aspects of their cultivation that date from their Pagan past and are lost for the most part...but the cultivation doesn't care much. So they'd be secretive, and stumbling around in the dark, but not directly penalized by their cultivation.
Among the Norse, witch is just a term for a spellcaster who you personally think is an enemy, and their seeresses (who do various sorts of magic) are well respected members of the community. A man who practices the same magic comes in for extensive social censure, however, as such magics are seen as unmanly.
And so on and so forth, varying wildly by the specific culture and their views on strange or forbidden magics.
Cultivation systems do not work the same as each other. At all. Anglo-Saxon cultivation mostly powers things with life force, Carolingian cultivation with faith, and the Norse with glory and the acclaim of their fellows. Add in peculiarities like the Norse not dying when they are killed, but seldom living past 50, while Carolingians and Thanes can live for centuries but dying if you kill them and, well, cultivation systems are very much different from each other. There are some commonalities, but mostly in a 'dog eat dog' kinda way...a cultivation system whose cultivators lose every fight isn't gonna survive.
Among Carolingians only nobles or people joining the Church usually become full cultivators in a meaningful sense, so anyone who has Fervour and Zeal in meaningful amounts is, at least externally, fairly pious, or they wouldn't have those things in the first place. If such a person wanted to pursue forbidden or unusual magics, I'm not sure 'witch' is precisely the right term. They'd more usually be some sort of heretic or member of a club or order that pursued weird religious magics than a 'witch' in the sense it's usually thought of.
Like, the idea of noblemen or noblewomen dabbling in 'witchcraft' as such (rather than heresy or simple corruption, both much more common, especially the latter) is not well supported historically, not as a common thing anyway, and it's thus vanishingly rare in the Written World as well. There certainly aren't any cults of that sort, so if anyone did do that, they're probably going by trial and error and are a singular person whose idiosyncratic methods were come up with by them themselves.
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