Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

veekie · Jun 21, 2017

yrsillar said:
It turned out for the best though, as the time she spent researching elements and combat tactics to help her make her decision turned up a lucky find. Buried behind a pile of scrolls on archery theory, she had found a small, dusty clay container still sealed by wax. Inside was a single dull white pill, it had a very strong medicinal scent though, and she had hurriedly tucked it into her storage ring for later identification.

Only you, Ling Qi. Only you.

yrsillar said:
"I suppose we are," the haughty girl responded, crossing her arms under her chest as she looked up at Ling Qi. "I had imagined I might hire you on as a handmaiden you know, in the aftermath of the test. How foolish that notion seems now," she sighed, a slight waver of heat around her betraying her continued irritation. "I am trapped on the cusp of breaking through to silver," she admitted, anger coloring her tone as she looked away from Ling Qi. "It is infuriating to see you overtake me further every day, is that what you wished me to say?"

"I didn't wish for anything," Ling Qi responded simply, giving the other girl a hard look. "We're friends, right? Gu Xiulan, you said you had my back that first day the truce ended, and I have yours, but I'm not going to slow down, not for anyone. I'd think you would approve of that," she responded.

"I do," the girl responded grudgingly. "I might have thought you a potential servant at first, but I cannot deny that you are a peer now," she let out an irritable huff. "I apologize, it seems my composure is more frayed than I thought."

"It's fine," Lling Qi dismissed. "I don't doubt that you'll be able to manage soon," she thought it best not to mention the fact that Han Fang had broken through to yellow, evening out his cultivation, if her new sense for qi was correct. "Do you want to do soak for a bit then, and maybe get something to eat? You may just need some time to relax and reflect to clear things up."

"Perhaps," Gu Xiulan allowed. "In fact… yes. That may be wise," she admitted as she resumed walking. "Taking my mind off things for an afternoon may be what I need to center myself properly."

Ling Qi nodded in satisfaction. "So that aside, how have things been with you and the others, we don't always have much time to chat when we're hunting."

Gu Xiulan frowned. "It has been… well enough, I suppose," she said after a moment. "I do wish Han Jian would stop avoiding me though, it is becoming irksome."

Ling Qi gave her a curious look as she caught up. "He's been avoiding you? I didn't notice anything weird during training."

"Of course not," Gu Xiulan scoffed. "I would not so undermine his authority as to question him on personal matters during such exercises," she said dismissively, even as her gaze drifted to the ground. "He has been avoiding me outside of them though, and it is not merely due to a busy cultivation schedule. I know it."

Ling Qi made a sound of agreement as she walked beside her friend and allowed the girl to vent. It seemed that she was feeling ignored by Han Jian, and she got hints that there were other pressures involved as well. Her comments on Fan Yu had a particular edge to them that hadn't been there before, and she seemed reluctant to speak further on the sister she had mentioned in the previous sect too.

Okay, others mentioned it already, but Han Jian's problem is his love life as predicted.

Might want to go take a poke at him and see if we can help him come to a conclusion, ANY conclusion. He doesn't give Xiulan a firm rejection, nor does he come out and say fuck the family and arranged marriages...which just winds up making everyone unhappy.

He needs to resolve this, but he's afraid of hurting his friends, so he takes no action and everything rots around him.
That and everyone's jelly of talent and stupid luck.

yrsillar said:
"I need a proper challenge, my Sister said as much," Gu Xiulan replied. "Hunting beasts is all well and good, but it is not the same as fighting a fellow cultivator. I think that is why I have slowed down of late. Nothing has exactly brought my blood to boil since that first day of the truce ending."

Ling Qi was silent for a few moments, eyeing the other girl warily as she continued to eat her powdered ice more daintily. "...Won't older disciples all be even stronger than the top of our year though?" She asked, having a feeling she wasn't going to dissuade the other girl.

"Of course not," Gu Xiulan dismissed. "Some certainly, but not all. I am certain I could find us an appropriate challenge or two, and once we defeat a few the challenges will come to us, and we can stand in our own glory rather than playing second."

Well...that's one way to get the "threatened" bonus to a breakthrough...

Though this is playing with a hell of a lot of fire.

yrsillar said:
The fact that she had asked Meizhen to help her train her mental defenses just made it worse really. Several times she had been nearly reduced to tears by Bai Meizhen's powerful fear inducing techniques, cracking her newfound confidence and leaving her feeling as if she had a very long way to go indeed.

Meizhen had somewhat awkwardly offered her the salves to heal the wounds inflicted during their training sessions, but when Ling Qi found herself having a hard time trying not to flinch in the other girls presence, she couldn't help but wonder if it was really worth it. Meizhen's stiff expression and posture in the aftermath seemed to display similar thoughts on her part.

Reassurances in order here.

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi did her best not to frown. "I think you should do what makes you happy," she responded simply. "You're cultivation should be about the path you want to walk," she added, stressing her words. "Anything else is just going to hinder you, if you really still don't know. You might not want to break through yet."

And this would be good advice, if not one Ling Qi used herself. More to do with her friends who are stuck failing breakthroughs.

yrsillar said:
Li Suyin briefly went silent, and for a moment Ling Qi started to worry that she had said something wrong. "...You shouldn't be practicing formations if you aren't in practice with your brush," Ling Qi blinked as the one eyed girl actually scolded her. "It's dangerous, do you know what could happen if you mix up your strokes like this with formations characters?" She asked, gesturing to some of the more ill formed characters on the page.

"it … won't work?" Ling Qi responded uncertainly, not entirely sure where the heat in her friend's voice had come from.

"It could explode, damage your channels with the qi backlash or plenty of other bad things!" Li Suyin responded. "It's very important not to be lax about one's brushwork, you could get hurt badly," she continued, looking worried.

Well thus far Ling Qi's focus had been on simply identifying and possibly breaking formations, not actually creating them, barring the simple bit of utility work on her kiln. "Sorry," she replied, holding up her hands defensively. "I'll be a little more careful in the future," she responded sincerely. She thought Li Suyin was blowing it out of proportion, but it was nice to see her speaking up, so Ling Qi kept those thoughts to herself. "So, the passage?"

Ling Qi, potentially maiming yourself is not blowing it out of proportion!

Not that I ever paid attention to stroke order myself

yrsillar said:
A mystic Art based upon consumption of celestial qi to improve and refine body and mind. Granted to those smiled upon by some aspect of the moon, in order to bring them closer to their patron. The form granted by the Grinning Crescent Moon emphasizes the mystery and hidden nature of acts performed in the night. Some part remains hidden to you though...

Effects
Adds five dice to Physical and Spiritual cultivation up until Early Green/Bronze
Adds three dice to the cultivation of all Yin aspected Arts
Adds two automatic successes to all qi increase rolls
Grants the user a single 'virtual' stone of up to Yellow grade per week
Grants the user two additional dice on Stealth and Larceny checks performed at night
Allows the user to bind spirits of up to Grade two

Oooo, sweet.
I think our Stealth is about as high as it's possible to get by now for our tier, we'd probably have a decent shot at ambushing a senior cultivator.
And we should be ready to bind tortoise on hatching

yrsillar said:
Her egg needed tending first. It had shifted a few times in the last week, the green veins pulsing as it drank in the heat.

...which is getting nearer.

yrsillar said:
It seemed the attacker only struck in the outermost two streets, and on the road leading into the area, and even then only after midnight, and if the target was alone. Everything else was as Cai said, the attacker struck from out of sight and took them down with a single paralyzing blow. They were either using their fists or a blunt weapon, because the victims had no cuts or puncture wounds. A couple of the ones she spoke too noted something else that Cai hadn't mentioned though. They remembered hearing flute music before they blacked out.

Hmm, for a set up, this is weird, because it's fairly trivial to get the kind of knives Ling Qi is using. So it's a limitation of their art.

yrsillar said:
Ling Qi was ready though, and one of her knives flashed out from her hiding place in a streak of light. It struck home a moment later stabbing into the attackers lower back and causing it to stumble and let out a feminine gasp of pain. The noise was enough for her bait to spin and around, spot the figure and let out an alarmed shriek before dashing off toward the houses.

Well, she couldn't blame the girl really, and frankly she was glad to keep potential complications to a minimum. She drew her flute and moved cautiously forward… only to pause as the figure did the same, straightening up with an instrument in her hands… and calling forth a mist with the first notes played.

Ling Qi narrowed her eyes in consternation, the tune was light and reedy, and worst of all slightly off key. It also wasn't her Melody, and though the mist was thick and difficult to see through, it was easily engulfed by her own mist, and she felt her diapason take hold.

The opposing mist is thicker, but weaker.

yrsillar said:
The thing jerked, and its hand rose, crackling with electric qi, but Ling Qi batted the slow movement aside and drove her palm into her doppelgangers throat. It twitched once more and let out a soft hissing sound before it crumbled.

Literally in this case, the facsimile of her appearance collapsing into a mound of black earth and dust, Laying half buried in the center of the mound was an eerie little china doll with her face painted on it's ceramic visage.

And it can wield Heaven techniques, the paralysis mentioned.
The painted face indicates it's not the blind dude though. Probably.

So what do we know? This is an Earth/Heaven art. An odd combination.

Codex · Jun 21, 2017

PrimalShadow said:
It provides significantly greater rewards in return for significantly greater risk. We have no idea what is responsible, and while we could probably run away Su Ling can't.

I think a minor action with her would be valuable, but I'd rather wait one week - politics knowledge would be really useful this turn, what with the gov't meeting and all.

Well, there's nothing wrong with Condor, I just really want the investigate disappearances mission because I think we can do it. If we can't kill the Spirit, we can use FVM to obscure our escape and Su Ling can run with us. I don't think it's going to be THAT hard, we can get the 15 sect points for reporting if it's too tough.

I'm fine with the Han Jian action to be honest, and I'm tentatively with your plan, but I'm probably going to wait for the other plan makers.

Codex · Jun 21, 2017

pheonix89 said:
Decisions decisions decisions.

On one hand I really want to hit the Archive for ASA. On the other there's all sorts of other things to do.

I did promise to make a plan covering getting whichever of ASA/FSA didn't win last week. So I'll do that.

@yrsillar
Is the Archives section of this valid?

[x] Plan Ash and Victory
-[X] Use From Inventory: 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill
-[X] Buy and Use: Channel Cleansing Pill, (2 red stones)
-[X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] Falling Stars Art
-[X] Cultivate on your own
--[X] Eight Phase Ceremony
-[X] Train with Bai Meizhen
--[X] SCS
--[X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
-[x] Visit the Archive
--[x] Get Ashen Shroud Art
--[x] See if you can find an art for hands-free instrument playing while you're there
-[x] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
--[x] Meridian (Lung)
-[X] Hunt the Crimsonwing Condor
--[X] All else being equal, try hunting the condor at night.

Minor Actions
-[X] Spend more time with Han Jian fleshing out your understanding of noble politics
-[X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
-[X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme

Unfortunately you won't get much support for your plan without Spiritual and/or Physical Cultivation.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

veekie said:
So what do we know? This is an Earth/Heaven art. An odd combination.

Not that surprised about the heaven bit, actually. Remember, Heaven is the element of Higher Thought; of course it makes sense that it was used when crafting an autonomous puppet.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

Not seeing any voting, despite lots of people watching this thread. Are people dissatisfied with the current plans and looking for something else?

FixerUpper · Jun 21, 2017

I am so mad at that puppeteer. I was so ready to sympathize with whoever it was - even if it hadn't been Li Suyin I would have been like: hey, I understand that this is stressful and that the system prioritizes those who are rich and powerful over those who are weak and powerless, but you can't just -

BUT NOW THEY'RE USING OUR FACE?

OH IT'S GOING DOWN.

veekie · Jun 21, 2017

PrimalShadow said:
Not that surprised about the heaven bit, actually. Remember, Heaven is the element of Higher Thought; of course it makes sense that it was used when crafting an autonomous puppet.

Between Heaven and Earth, lies the Universe.

Thor's Twin · Jun 21, 2017

PrimalShadow said:
Not seeing any voting, despite lots of people watching this thread. Are people dissatisfied with the current plans and looking for something else?

Funny you should mention that! Here is my plan that I have been working on. I don't like it all that much, its light on resources, but it is what I think we need to do in order to survive the enemy cultivator.

[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil
Resources
-[X] 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill, Snowy Peak Pill, Dark Moon Pill
-[X] Buy and Use 1 Steady Growth, 1 Bear Marrow Elixir, 1 White Hart Elixir, 1 Flowing River Pill, 1 Qi expansion pill (Total of 26 red stones)
Major Actions
-[X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] FSA
-[X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
--[X] Spiritual
-[X] Take a job
--[X] Investigate Disappearance
---[X] Ask Meizhen if she is able and willing
---[X] If not, then ask Su Ling
---[X] Attempt to do at Night if possible.
-[X] Cultivate on your own
--[X] EPC
-[X] Train with Bai Meizhen
--[X] Physical
---[X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
Minor Actions
-[X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
-[X] Head to the market for some shopping
--[X] A combat bow
--[X] Yellow Soul Medicines
-[X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme
--[X] Only take the tokens of victory, it sucks but we need more positive light on us after this week.
Alright, so here is my idea for a gameplan of what we should be doing this week. If we can get FSA up and running, we will have a much better ability to do damage to whatever is making the people disappear. Since it is a 25 point mission, we need to take it or it might disappear. This is a basic plan to improve our combat ability while continuing to grind at spiritual and physical attributes. The difference in this is the shopping action and the approach to Xuan Shi in the archives.

We know that there are better pills and medicines than Bear Marrow Elixir at the shop for Yellow cultivators, Zhou told us that much after his test. I would like to move on to the more expensive medicines that are available to Yellow cultivators than having to rely on the pills from the Red stage. We know that we don't know how good these better pills are or how expensive they are. We have the ability to find out and so we should take it now or lose out on turns where the medicines could have helped us.

The next little bit is approaching Xuan Shi in the archives. We are apparently the target of a powerful cultivator (or wealthy one) who wishes to besmirch our good name rather than deal with us directly. We don't know who it is, but the more allies we can get on our side before the cultivator has the opportunity to smear our good name the better. We are diving head first into the world of sect politics with this action, and when you enter the battlefield of words and hidden daggers, the more people you know who aren't gunning for you the better. I don't like Xuan Shi personally, but he comprises a major player at the table and we need him on our side as much as possible before the enemy cultivator has a chance to strike again. So far he has been a neutral party, but hopefully, we can use a common interest in formations to form the first social connections and develop a camaraderie with him.

Politics is a terrible, terrible business to be in, but the best way to survive is to grow as strong as possible and to get as many friends on your side in the process. If that means having to talk to the dude who speaks in rhyme and verse who likes being by himself then so be it.

Edits: I have been notified that there are additional pills that I could be using. As such, I am adding the White Hart pill at the moment. More resources might be spent as discussion plods along.

Edit: I have edited the Xuan action and removed it completely. I have been convinced that we do not have the time to build up a social link in order to help protect against the social attacks the enemy is engaging in. We need to act now and set the pace for future engagements, which means being the in public as a noble cultivator that follows the traditions.

Edit: added dashes to make it look nicer and work should people do a block voting tally.

veekie · Jun 21, 2017

So can I convince anyone to survey the market for a handfree instrument without a commitment to buy it?

Mr.rodent · Jun 21, 2017

Honestly I approve of no one voting just yet. It helps prevent bandwagons or voting for plans because you don't like one plan and don't want it to win , not because you actually care for the plan your voting for.

Go ahead and discuss more. If will give you time to edit your plans and see what people in the thread consider appropriate .

Personally I think Gu and Bai as well as Cai meeting are important. The Last social I would use for either Su or Han, mostly because if Su broke through we can congratulate her and earn some points for friendship. If not then we can give her advice and be there for her also earning points.

The Han one could go south tho... "WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES I HAVE ON MY SHOULDERS!" Type of scenario.... then again that might be better to get into a fight with him. Let him release some of his stress and regret his actions. Character growth yo.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

veekie said:
So can I convince anyone to survey the market for a handfree instrument without a commitment to buy it?

I would totally do it if we had a free minor action. Which I don't think we do.

Katreus · Jun 21, 2017

The number of second stage cultivators was increasing in a steady trickle by the week, but they were still among the first.

Also something to note in the update. There should be a greater number of 2nd realms at Cai's meeting next week. Speaking of that, I wonder how exactly is the seating going to work? At some point, she's going to run out of room around the tables - and her government meeting is going to be like half the year by the last meeting.

Well - that's an exaggeration, but it'll be interesting to see how many is a "trickle." Curious to see if Hong Lin makes it there too.

Thor's Twin · Jun 21, 2017

Mr.rodent said:
Personally I think Gu and Bai as well as Cai meeting are important. The Last social I would use for either Su or Han, mostly because if Su broke through we can congratulate her and earn some points for friendship. If not then we can give her advice and be there for her also earning points.

I think that Xuilan is important as well, but I do think that she is trying to prove to herself that she can handle conflict and strife and is willing to take those risks. Trying to convince her to do otherwise might not be a wise idea. She is intelligent (if headstrong) and so I don't believe that she will choose to do something that is completely out of her league, but she will probably choose to have a challenge.

As for Su Ling and Han Jian, I would like to do them, and that is why I approach Su Ling about the Investigate disappearance mission if Meizhen doesn't agree to it. It would be even better if Su Ling has broken through to yellow, as then she wouldn't be in as much danger from the spirit.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

Thor's Twin said:
Since it is a 25 point mission, we need to take it or it might disappear.

I mean, it hasn't disappeared yet - which means either nobody took it, or worse, they took it and failed. I strongly caution against treating mission rewards as things that we are entirely to or will necessarily earn; the higher rewards need to be earned with sweat and blood, and we have no guarantee that they are within our capabilities.

Grigori · Jun 21, 2017

Mr.rodent said:
The Han one could go south tho... "WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES I HAVE ON MY SHOULDERS!" Type of scenario.... then again that might be better to get into a fight with him. Let him release some of his stress and regret his actions. Character growth yo.

Han Jian is far too centred, he could do with a little fire and it's not like he can let himself go with people he's responsible for, especially with the tangled web that is their relationships with each other. Ling Qi is probably the only person he can talk to who hasn't already formed their own opinions and who matters the least if his venting pushes them away. Plus I really wanna know what's going on in his head. Yay, pushing Han Jian to breaking point and taking a peak behind the mask!

archangis · Jun 21, 2017

[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil

The only issue I have with this plan is the Xuan Shi vote as it will probably be easier to befriend him after (if she does so) Cai berate him for not asking further question and confirming Ji Rong culpability (If the puppet master is targeting high talent).

Also investiguate disparition at night.

Waffle · Jun 21, 2017

Katreus said:
Also something to note in the update. There should be a greater number of 2nd realms at Cai's meeting next week. Speaking of that, I wonder how exactly is the seating going to work? At some point, she's going to run out of room around the tables - and her government meeting is going to be like half the year by the last meeting.

Well - that's an exaggeration, but it'll be interesting to see how many is a "trickle." Curious to see if Hong Lin makes it there too.

I doubt the ones who entered the 2nd realm after the first meeting will be invited.

Kshail · Jun 21, 2017

PrimalShadow said:
Not seeing any voting, despite lots of people watching this thread. Are people dissatisfied with the current plans and looking for something else?

I usually wait till the discussion dies down and gets set to repeat before voting and then survey the proposed plans and see what looks good.. I haven't even looked at the proposed plans yet.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

The front page lists us as having 3 wellspring pills. Is that accurate, or are we only at 2?

pheonix89 · Jun 21, 2017

Codex said:
Unfortunately you won't get much support for your plan without Spiritual and/or Physical Cultivation.

Hmm.
Point.

Ok, three combat art cultivations and EPC. That's worth popping a Snowy Peak and Starlight. Since that's two qi rolls, pop a Darkmoon and a Qi Expansion pill. Starlight creates a physical roll so add phys boosters (Bear Marrow, White Hart). Darkmoon creates a spiritual roll so add Flowing river.

Flip a couple things around to fix my miscount.

Hmm, I think I have a revised version.

[x] Plan Ash Burst
-[X] Use From Inventory: 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill, 1 Snowy Peak Pill, 1 Darkmoon Pill, 1 Starlight Elixir, 1 Qi Expansion Pill.
-[X] Buy and Use: Bear Marrow Elixir, White Hart Elixir, Flowing Rivers Pill, Steady Gropwth Pill (24 red stones)
-[X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] Falling Stars Art
-[X] Train with Bai Meizhen
--[X] Argent Mirror
--[X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
-[x] Visit the Archive
--[x] Get Ashen Shroud Art
--[x] See if you can find an art for hands-free instrument playing while you're there
-[x] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
--[x] Eight Phase Ceremony
-[x] Cultivate on your own
--[x] Spiritual

Minor Actions
-[X] Spend more time with Han Jian fleshing out your understanding of noble politics
-[X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
-[X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme

Net results: 2 Spiritual rolls w/ 7 and 10 pill dice, 1 phys roll w/ 10 pill dice and qi overflow, 2 qi rolls w/ 11 pill dice, and a whole bunch of boosted art rolls.

Edit: SHIT I somehow miscounted actions. Have to drop AM to get to five.

Thor's Twin · Jun 21, 2017

PrimalShadow said:
I mean, it hasn't disappeared yet - which means either nobody took it, or worse, they took it and failed. I strongly caution against treating mission rewards as things that we are entirely to or will necessarily earn; the higher rewards need to be earned with sweat and blood, and we have no guarantee that they are within our capabilities.

Well yes, but just because it hasn't disappeared doesn't mean that it won't next week. There is no guarantee that it will not be taken, and as a possible 15 point mission, we should at least try to do it. Also, if we get Meizhen in on the plan, then there will not be much that is in these mountains that could stop us from getting away. If the spirit monster is level 4 or above then it would be doing much more damage than a simple guardsmen or villager every now and again.

archangis said:
The only issue I have with this plan is the Xuan Shi vote as it will probably be easier to befriend him after (if she does so) Cai berate him for not asking further question and confirming Ji Rong culpability (If the puppet master is targeting high talent).

Also investiguate disparition at night.

Him, I'm not too sure about it being easier to befriend him after Cai berates him. We don't know for sure if she will do that, we also don't know if Xuan didn't ask Ji Rong about what happened and Ji Rong agreed that he had done it. Also, it might be wise to warn him ahead of time about the topic should Cai be berating him, that way he can appreciate our advance warning and be prepared not to lose to much face.

As for investigating disappearances at night, sure I can make that modification. Plays to our strengths and is when the target is moving around after all. Will probably be easier to spot and find because of that.

PrimalShadow · Jun 21, 2017

Thor's Twin said:
[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil
Resources
[X] 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill, 1 Steady Growth, 1 Bear Marrow Elixir
Major Actions
[X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
-[X] FSA
[X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
-[X] Spiritual
[X] Take a job
-[X] Investigate Disappearance
--[X] Ask Meizhen if she is able and willing
--[X] If not, then ask Su Ling
[X] Cultivate on your own
-[X] EPC
[X] Train with Bai Meizhen
-[X] Physical
--[X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
Minor Actions
[X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
[X] Head to the market for some shopping
-[X] A combat bow
-[X] Yellow Soul Medicines
[X] Approach Xuan Shi in the archive. He is the only member of the council aside from Kang Zihao that you haven't had any real interaction with

Several points.

Why the lackluster pill use? No White Hart Elixir to boost Physical and FSA? No Flowing Rivers Pill to push us towards Mid Yellow on week 20 instead of 21?
I see that you are okay with Gu Xiulan going off on her own?
Wouldn't it be better to level up FSA a bit and see its capacities before buying a bow?

Codex · Jun 21, 2017

Might change my mind later on, but this is what I'm going to go for right now:

[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil

Adhoc vote count started by Codex on Jun 21, 2017 at 12:11 PM, finished with 18697 posts and 7 votes.

2 people have voted
[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil
- archangis
- Codex
1 people have voted
[X] Plan Raoyue
- [X] Inventory - 2x RS, Snowy Peak, Darkmoon Pill, Qi Expansion Pill, Clear Wind Pill
- [X] Buy - 2x Wellspring Pills (6 RS) + Steady Growth Pill (8 RS) + Flowing Rivers Pill (6 RS) + White Hart Elixir (6 RS) + Bear Marrow Elixir (3 RS)
- [X] Sell - Hawk Talon Armguards (~10 RS)
- [X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
-- [X] FSA
-- [X] Bow; Spear
- [X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
-- [X] Spiritual
-- [X] Give Suyin the Qi Foundation Pill and Red Restoration Pill - we can't use either as a 2nd realm
- [X] Train with Bai Meizhen
-- [X] Physical
-- [X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
- [X] Cultivate on your own
-- [X] EPC
- [X] Take a Job
-- [X] Investigate Disappearances
--- [X] Ask Bai Meizhen
--- [X] If she declines, ask Su Ling if she has reached Yellow
--- [X] Else - Hunt the Crimsonwing Condor
- [X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme
- [X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
- [X] Free Minor (not decided yet)
- Katreus
1 people have voted
[X] Plan For Progress
-[X] Use From Inventory: 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill
-[X] Buy and Use: Steady Growth Pill, Flowing Rivers Pill, White Hart Elixir, Bear Marrow Elixir (24 red stones)
-[X] Buy and Store: 2x Wellspring Pill
- [X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] Falling Stars Art
- [X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
-- [X] Spiritual
- [X] Train with Bai Meizhen
-- [X] Physical
-- [X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
--[X] Drop the mental training if we can't handle it right now. Getting better at this sort of thing is worth doing, but not at the cost of tainting our interactions with Meizhen.
- [X] Cultivate on your own
--[X] Eight Phase Ceremony
-[X] Hunt the Crimsonwing Condor
--[X] All else being equal, try hunting the condor at night.
-[X] Spend more time with Han Jian fleshing out your understanding of noble politics
- [X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
- [X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme
- PrimalShadow
1 people have voted
[x] Plan Ash and Victory
-[X] Use From Inventory: 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill
-[X] Buy and Use: Channel Cleansing Pill, (2 red stones)
- [X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] Falling Stars Art
- [X] Cultivate on your own
--[X] Eight Phase Ceremony
- [X] Train with Bai Meizhen
--[X] SCS
-- [X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
-[x] Visit the Archive
--[x] Get Ashen Shroud Art
--[x] See if you can find an art for hands-free instrument playing while you're there
- [X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
--[x] Meridian (Lung)
-[X] Hunt the Crimsonwing Condor
--[X] All else being equal, try hunting the condor at night.
-[X] Spend more time with Han Jian fleshing out your understanding of noble politics
- [X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
- [X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme
- The Nomad
1 people have voted
[X] Plan Politics, the Necessary Evil
[X] 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill, 1 Steady Growth, 1 Bear Marrow Elixir
- [X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
-- [X] FSA
- [X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
-- [X] Spiritual
- [X] Take a Job
-[X] Investigate Disappearance
--[X] Ask Meizhen if she is able and willing
--[X] If not, then ask Su Ling
--[X] Attempt to do at Night if possible.
- [X] Cultivate on your own
-- [X] EPC
- [X] Train with Bai Meizhen
-- [X] Physical
-- [X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
- [X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
[X] Head to the market for some shopping
-[X] A combat bow
-[X] Yellow Soul Medicines
[X] Approach Xuan Shi in the archive. He is the only member of the council aside from Kang Zihao that you haven't had any real interaction with
- Thor's Twin
1 people have voted
[x] Plan Ash Burst
-[X] Use From Inventory: 2 red stones, 1 Clear Wind Pill, 1 Snowy Peak Pill, 1 Darkmoon Pill, 1 Starlight Elixir, 1 Qi Expansion Pill.
-[X] Buy and Use: Bear Marrow Elixir, White Hart Elixir, Flowing Rivers Pill, Steady Gropwth Pill (24 red stones)
- [X] Train by hunting with Han Jian and his group
--[X] Falling Stars Art
- [X] Train with Bai Meizhen
--[X] SCS
-- [X] Speak with Bai Meizhen, her... intense training methods have made things a little awkward between you
-[x] Visit the Archive
--[x] Get Ashen Shroud Art
--[x] See if you can find an art for hands-free instrument playing while you're there
- [X] Train at the vent with Suyin and Su Ling
--[X] Eight Phase Ceremony
- [X] Cultivate on your own
-- [X] Spiritual
-[X] Spend more time with Han Jian fleshing out your understanding of noble politics
- [X] Attend the next 'government' meeting that Lady Cai has called
- [X] Make sure Gu Xiulan does not bite off more than she can chew with her scheme
- pheonix89

JackOfAll · Jun 21, 2017

It's a pity, that FSA won in a last vote. FSA is Yang art, and does not get bonuses from EPC. ASA is Yin art, and it does.

It's only 3 dice per roll just now, but with higher EPC levels it may be 10 or more. It will ultimately add to hundreds of dice added to rolls. ASA cultivation would be quite a bit more effective and faster than FSA.

<sigh> I just wish it was possible for Ling Qi to change her mind. (especially since she did not train it yes, and FSA won by one vote)

FixerUpper · Jun 21, 2017

Thor's Twin said:
Also, if we get Meizhen in on the plan, then there will not be much that is in these mountains that could stop us from getting away.

I would rather keep most of Bai Meizhen's outings with us to things we know are pleasant. Our current track record when it comes to doing things with her outside the house... not the greatest.

End of the Thunderdome, we convince her to go to the Medicine Hall = immediately attacked by Kang Zihao's group
Go off to the mountain together = SEES US DEAD AND FLIPS OUT
Go on a simple trip together with Gu Xiulan = Whoops! We're interrupted by Cai Renxiang asking us to a meeting and she makes an unhappy face
We ask her to train with us and she basically reduces us to tears and fear and she does not like seeing us scared.

This is already kind of a pattern. =3=;

Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

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