So does the bonus happen automatically next turn, or is there something we have to do?

Also, the character sheet says flying is a core skill, do we need to do something with that?
 
So does the bonus happen automatically next turn, or is there something we have to do?

Also, the character sheet says flying is a core skill, do we need to do something with that?
I think that just means flying is a class we once took first year so it is included in our core skills. In regards to the bonus, do you mean the following:
Experience by Classes:

You are a Ravenclaw and will it might have advantages outside of class to be of a different house, your true advantage lies inside the classroom. Out of all houses you have to highest gains for simply going to classes. Classes go from September to June, leaving you with ten months' worth of classes in one school year. With your Ravenclaw trait you get your skill raised by 2 per year in each subject that you have classes in, which means that every month worth of class gives a 1/5 to the next raise in skill.

These progresses are not hindered by your own studies. If you chose to train your skills by yourself, you instead roll for it. If your skill is raised by a point through training outside of class, your progress to the next overall skill raise through classes will still stay the same.
If so that takes effect the last month of the year.
 
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If so that takes effect the last month of the year.
nah, i'm talking about this.

New Spell Research: What stops an unstoppable force? (Patronus Charm) - DADA. This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring (Requires Charm and DADA skill of at least P), DC 500, DC 300. + New trait if learned while Lupin is Professor.
did we just automatically get the new trait or is there something else we need to do?
 
did we just automatically get the new trait or is there something else we need to do?
We got it, check under the traits in the character sheet.
I decide what is possible – You do not take kindly to other people telling you what you can or can't achieve. You have proven time and time again, that the only limit you have is deciding how much you truly want something. While you will not go out and brag that you have achieved it, it does feel satisfying to prove someone wrong.
 
ahhhhh, ok, I forgot we got that trait.


I wonder if asking our parents for any advice regarding learning Legilimency & Occlumency we do anything.
 
[X] Plan: Working on the Basics for the Future
-[X] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[X] Runes Club Research (Progress 7/10. Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes)x2
-[X] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[X] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about
--[X] Write to Nicolas Flammel and tell him about Mermaid's Breath, and ask him about alchemical items capable of protecting one´s mind.
- [X] Train, Learn, Achieve - Alchemy x2
- [X] Train, Learn, Achieve - Stamina
- [X] Do your research – (Shrinking Solution, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons, Pocion Vital)x2
- [X] Do your research – (Protego (Deep Understanding), Diffindo, Incendio (Deep Understanding))x2
 
[x] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case
[x] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy
 
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[] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy
-[] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[] Runes Club Research x 2
-[] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[] Write a Letter (Free Action) – To Nicolas Flamel (telling him about our newest creation in regards to exploring the Lake and our encounter with the soul-snatcher and if he has any insights onto what the effects of the encounter might be and how to hunt such a thing. Also write a letter to our parents telling them about the misadventures we seem to be having at school, though try not to worry them overly much either.
-[]x7 personal actions.
-[] Understanding of Magical Creatures x1
-[] Legilimency & Occlumency x1
-[] Alchemy x2
-[] Learning x 3 (Protego (Deep Understanding), Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Lumos (Deep Understanding), Point Me, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Tempus)

Made an alternate plan for anyone interested in learning some Alchemy. Needed to take an action away from Understanding Magical Creatures and the Mind Arts to do so.
 
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[X] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy

I'm just imagining him going around wearing steam punk goggles after making the ghostly goggles at some point.
 
Well, approval vote for every plan that has Alchemy...
[X] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy
[X] Plan: Get the basics done first
[X] Plan: Working on the Basics for the Future
 
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Alright, thinking things over and looking at how much time we have left for the term, it is unlikely for Jacob to make another attempt at the Lake before the year ends. He technically could do it, but the risk of burnout would be pretty big.

As such it probably makes more sense to spend a couple actions on Alchemy right now in order to actually allow Jacob the possibility to start working on the Map as a side project, while still working on everything needed to make another attempt at the Lake so he is set to do that at the beginning of next year. This coincidentally would also allowing him the opportunity to prepare to explore the Forest before the term ends this year. As such I'm changing over to my alternate plan with the Alchemy focus:

[x] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy
-[x] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[x] Runes Club Research x 2
-[x] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[x] Write a Letter (Free Action) – To Nicolas Flamel tell him about Mermaid's Breath and ask for any insight or advice he has in regards to the Soul-Snatcher. Also write a letter to our parents telling them about the misadventures we seem to be having at school, though try not to worry them overly much either.
-[x]x7 personal actions.
-[x] Legilimency & Occlumency x1
-[x] Alchemy x2
-[x] Train Constitution x1
-[x] Learning x 3 (Protego (Deep Understanding), Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Point Me, Lumos (Deep Understanding)

Edit: I'm altering the plan and replacing the Understanding Magical Creature action with a Constitution training Action. This is because it was noted a few posts below that doing 4 academic training actions during one turn would probably be very stressful for Jacob. Doing Constitution training gives Jacob a physical activity to break up the monotony of all the Academic work in order to avoid burnout and it was something that needed doing either this turn or the next one anyways. Understanding Magical Creatures got cut this turn instead of Alchemy because we need the Alchemy actions to unlock the Map and allow Jacob something to spend his Normal Actions on. The Mind Arts stayed because we are more likely to need to use them than Understanding Creatures in the next turn as we aren't going exploring.

This allows Jacob to start working on the Map while also allowing some flexibility in how he spends his other actions whether working on Spells, Potions, or other projects. If it helps to visualize it here is a potential way the coming months could play out:
  • April (The Current Plan being voted on)
    • 2x Alchemy (Allows Jacob to start on the Map in his free time, giving him more options)
    • 1x Constitution Training (breaks up the monotony of studying and gives Jacob some exercise, needed because we are about to cap out some stats too)
    • 1x Mind Arts
    • 3 other Personal Actions
  • May
    • 2x Understanding Creatures
    • 1x Mind Arts
    • 3 other Personal Actions
  • June
    • 1x Understanding Creatures (Meets Criteria for the minimum level Jacob should have before adventuring in the Lake and Mountain, which the Forrest Exploration Action probably also shares)
    • 2x Mind Arts (this sets Jacob up nicely for having another go at the Soul-Snatcher at the beginning of Term next year)
    • 3 other Personal actions
    • Forrest Exploration??
  • Summer Holidays????
    • Don't know what happens here
  • September of Next Year?
    • #xMind Arts?
    • Jacob going fishing?
 
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I think the new option we unlocked for completing the Riddle Case is missing from the turn options.

New Option: The Splitting of a soul (2 Normal Actions) – Through experience and deduction have you come to realize that the manipulation of a soul is possible through intense emotions, good or bad. This has created new questions to which you have no answers yet. You will not attempt it … but your curiosity is demanding to know what is theoretically possible if one sets out to go the lengths. (Required: Alchemy P-, Dark Arts P. Gives Ability: 'Horcrux'; ?)

Though we're still missing out on a lot of Dark Arts ranks before we can even attempt to investigate it.
 
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I think it might be more prudent to try round II with the evil creature from the deep in the latter half of Year 4. The reason is that the Occulmancy DC was 80, which for us to even get a 50/50 shot at passing requires Jacob to have a +30 mod. That is not happening for a while. If we were to go in again, even with all the training needed for the minimums, we would only have an additional +4 bonus to Occulmancy.

I suggest we try and take the next few months before the Ravenclaw bonus pops to try and get Charms, DADA, and Transfiguration to A and to get the required Potions and Spells done this turn. And to work on our Stamina/Empathy.

Why? Because we are in Action Hell and there seem to be three ways to deal with it: get more actions, be more efficient with actions, and get higher bonuses.

Charms, DADA, and Transfiguration: I'd like these skills to be at A+ before the Ravenclaw bonus pops so it will be at E- at end of term. Which would be good for the Duel, but also great for most of our major research actions moving foreword. A large portion of our actions went to researching spells needed for classes and adventures. And the DCs are lowered by the rolls we make if they do not pass. Bonuses would not only make it more likely that a roll succeeds in research, but compounds on failures. Since E- is when bonuses start really popping (going from +10 to +15), a +5 bonus could save personal actions either the first, second, or third roll.

Also, we have to start looking at the 12, 15, and 17 skill walls even now and start planning to address them.

Required Spells this turn: Since research for spells is mostly roll dependant (the bonuses are not high right now), if a research roll for a required potion is low this turn we can still try the bare minimum actions next turn because we will have the turn after just in case. But, if we make it probable that we'd have to roll for the DC 100 next turn...what do we do if we roll low? We would then have to put more actions just to ensure we make the deadline the turn after. It isn't a huge issue, but it is a potential inefficiency.

Stamina/Empathy: Right now, Stamina and Empathy can be rolled with DC 20/30 respectively. Which is good, because those are the stats that are capping the Attributes- and it would be a waste to put attribute points in them from level ups. (And the associated skills are capped at 7/8). If we put the two attribute points into Creativity (and we probably want to do that), we would be capped on 2 stats. Stats that we may want to upgrade next level up. So, best to start training while we still have a good shot of getting results.

Plus, there seems to be a mechanical advantage to keeping Jacob physically active. We got a Stamina level up by just having him move around and adventure. On turns where the adventuring is not high, we may want to at least work out by himself.
 
"I am sorry for causing you trouble," you said to the elder. There was sadness in your voice. It was not for the knowledge that you would miss out on. It was because you realized that until this very second, you had seen them as mere pawns to satisfy your curiosity. Only when you looked at the group in front of you again, did you see them for what they were; humans.

They were actual people, with lives and rich culture. They had thoughts and feelings just as you did. And while that would have been a logical fact just seconds before, now you felt that realization on an emotional level.
LOOK AT THIS!
Look at Jacob's character development and growth!
Sorry for the caps, I'm just a bit excited. I joined this quest during the ghost party vote, so seeing Jacob reaching this point is very satisfying.


We should learn the Point Me charm before the next exploration, whether it is the forest, the lake, or the caverns. It would be very useful both for not getting lost and keeping our word to the merfolk and might grant Jacob an epiphany concerning charm creation.

The fight with the soul snatcher was interesting, with the fourth wall breaks and as an example of Occlumency. But I still don't feel well enough to chew and comment on it.

"But please, Jacob. Do not let fear hold you back. It is important to always be curious and to seek out new experiences. Just be sure to always take necessary precautions and have someone with you." Dumbledore winked at those last words and pointed at Tracey.
Someone might have commented already, I still didn't read everything, but isn't this bit a little strange? Doylist wise it makes sense; Tabula Rasa enjoys writing adventures and doesn't want the thread to drop this plot hook. Watsonian-wise, Dumbledore is being very irresponsible toward his pupil's life. We the readers are used to it toward Harry, where it was part of the grand plan for killing Tommy. What's his plan(s?) for Jacob? Does he know of the mess which is Jacob's creation? Is he just an irresponsible old man, curious to see if the "soul snatcher" could be used against Tommy?


Considering that Dumbledore and Jacob's father share a past, I would like to hear more about it from the latter. Jacob noticed the similarities between him and the headmaster, so this could lead to some interesting self-reflection.

If we are going after The girl that is two option, it could be neat to learn Tempus. A greater understanding of it, combined with a time travel plot could lead to interesting insights.


EDIT: Voting time
[x] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case
[x] Plan Slow Down, Train, and take a Case, but with Alchemy
 
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Just want to confirm Hogwart's schedule real quick. May will be the last month of classes before Summer Break, is that correct?

Edit: Looks like June is the last month before before break. Gives Jacob 3 more months before he has to worry about exams.
You made me have a look at my ancient notes about how I set this system up in the beginning. Interestingly, I found something else I am still dying to write with you guys (Which I will not tell you!). I expected year 1 to be completed in around 100k words, but it will be probably end up with around 200k words. So, no wonder that I haven't gotten to some fun bits yet!

Notes say: [...] School year system ends with June. Exams and other events [e.g. Duelling Tournament] are at the end of june. Any planning & training action in june will be completed before those to count the bonuses. [...]

While I don't disagree but getting Alchemy up to D is also really important, so that we can get the Map done ASAP

Not really, the classes in Hogwarts end around the last week of June-first week of July and start again the 1st of september
Ha, thank you. I wouldn't have needed to look it up it seems! +1 Point to Ravenclaw!
Also with all the exploring Jacob likes to do, understanding Magical Creatures has become sort of necessary, it is kind of apparent that Jacob has a tough time when he actually has to interact with other magical creatures.

Oh no! Now I will have to actually look up the difference between an Ocotopus and a Squid :(

Joking aside: Until now, you had quite the similiraties to a young Newt Scamander. Your obsession was just a very different one than his. Which might be an answer to the following bit:



Someone might have commented already, I still didn't read everything, but isn't this bit a little strange? Doylist wise it makes sense; Tabula Rasa enjoys writing adventures and doesn't want the thread to drop this plot hook. Watsonian-wise, Dumbledore is being very irresponsible toward his pupil's life. We the readers are used to it toward Harry, where it was part of the grand plan for killing Tommy. What's his plan(s?) for Jacob? Does he know of the mess which is Jacob's creation? Is he just an irresponsible old man, curious to see if the "soul snatcher" could be used against Tommy?


Considering that Dumbledore and Jacob's father share a past, I would like to hear more about it from the latter. Jacob noticed the similarities between him and the headmaster, so this could lead to some interesting self-reflection.
That I don't really want to focus on the Mechanics and want you guys to rather chose for story reasons is already well established. But to give a bit of insights to the Dumbledore bit. Albus clearly knows your parents and that you grew up around Flamel. There is obviously some form of relationship between Flamel and Dumbledore. Jacob doesn't know any details, so I won't put in more information there.

Jacob himself, as introspective as he is, sometimes doesn't realize how much impact he has on the people around him. And Dumbledore has learned in the past, that the most brilliant of his students are those that he may need to actively guide at times. As I said, for someone that knew Newt Scamandar as a child, there are many similarities to our boy Jacob.

But he also sees some parallels to more infamous students of the past. So, which do you think he will try to nudge you into as subtley as he can?

Also, the character sheet says flying is a core skill, do we need to do something with that?

I answered it in the past. The Game Mechanics were created before you decided on which character to play. So, some parts of them are maybe not the most intuitive now that Jacob is a fully fledged out person. Core Skills were defined as 'Skills that you need to stay alive.' Simple as that.


I'm just imagining him going around wearing steam punk goggles after making the ghostly goggles at some point.
Me too!!

Great to have you back! You are bringing a lot of life into the quest again.
I think the new option we unlocked for completing the Riddle Case is missing from the turn options.

Though we're still missing out on a lot of Dark Arts ranks before we can even attempt to investigate it.
Haha. I would never make such a mistake ...

I will add it. Thanks for pointing it out!
Plus, there seems to be a mechanical advantage to keeping Jacob physically active. We got a Stamina level up by just having him move around and adventure. On turns where the adventuring is not high, we may want to at least work out by himself.
Jacob's father agrees with the yellow statements. He is very happy about the ghosts sitting inside Jacob's mind.

LOOK AT THIS!
Look at Jacob's character development and growth!
Sorry for the caps, I'm just a bit excited. I joined this quest during the ghost party vote, so seeing Jacob reaching this point is very satisfying.

This makes me really happy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the reaction!
 
Vote is still open. Here a Tally:

8 people have voted
-[x] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[x] Runes Club Research x 2
-[x] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[x] Write a Letter (Free Action) – To Nicolas Flamel (telling him about our newest creation in regards to exploring the Lake and our encounter with the soul-snatcher and if he has any insights onto what the effects of the encounter might be and how to hunt such a thing. Also write a letter to our parents telling them about the misadventures we seem to be having at school, though try not to worry them overly much either.
-[x]x7 personal actions.
-[x] Understanding of Magical Creatures x2
-[x] Legilimency & Occlumency x2
-[x] Learning x 3 (Protego (Deep Understanding), Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Lumos (Deep Understanding), Point Me, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Tempus)
8 people have voted
-[x] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[X] Runes Club Research (Progress 7/10. Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes)x2
-[x] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[X] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about
--[X] Write to Nicolas Flammel and tell him about Mermaid's Breath, and ask him about alchemical items capable of protecting one´s mind.
- [X] Train, Learn, Achieve - Alchemy x2
- [X] Train, Learn, Achieve - Stamina
- [X] Do your research – (Shrinking Solution, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons, Pocion Vital)x2
- [X] Do your research – (Protego (Deep Understanding), Diffindo, Incendio (Deep Understanding))x2
8 people have voted
-[x] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[x] Runes Club Research x 2
-[x] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[x] Write a Letter (Free Action) – To Nicolas Flamel tell him about Mermaid's Breathin and ask for any insight or advice he has in regards to the Soul-Snatcher. Also write a letter to our parents telling them about the misadventures we seem to be having at school, though try not to worry them overly much either.
-[x]x7 personal actions.
-[x] Understanding of Magical Creatures x1
-[x] Legilimency & Occlumency x1
-[x] Alchemy x2
-[x] Learning x 3 (Protego (Deep Understanding), Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Lumos (Deep Understanding), Point Me, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons (Needed for exams at the end of the year), Tempus)
2 people have voted
-[X] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions)
-[X] Random Encounter
-[x] Runes Club Research x 2
-[X] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about
--[X] Write to Nicolas Flammel and tell him about Mermaid's Breath, and ask him about alchemical items capable of protecting one´s mind.
-[X] Train, Learn, Achieve
--[X] Legilimency & Occlumency x2
--[X] Understanding of Magical Creatures
--[X] Constitution
--[X] Shrinking Solution (Needed for exams at the end of the year)
--[X] Protego (Deep Understanding) x2
1 person has voted
-[x] Case IV: The girl that is two (2 Actions) - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. Magic changes these ultimate laws, into mere guidelines, to be stepped around whenever needed. If you are in one place, you can not be in another place at the same time. But somehow, there is a girl that seems to not abide by this specific law. How is this possible? You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking not eating lunch to uncover the mystery of the girl who is two.
-[X] Runes Club Research (Progress 7/10. Multiple Actions on this count as multiple rolls stacking) – Spend time with the Members of the Runes Club looking for hidden runes and glyphs in the castle walls (Will also count as a training roll towards Ancient Runes)x2
-[x] Random Encounter – Just… Go and live your life. You don't need to plan everything in your life out.
-[X] Write a Letter (Free Action) – Specify to whom it is that you want to write and what you want to talk about
--[X] Write to Nicolas Flammel and tell him about Mermaid's Breath, and ask him about alchemical items capable of protecting one´s mind.
- [X] Train, Learn, Achieve - Alchemy x2
- [X] Do your research – (Shrinking Solution, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons)x2
- [X] Do your research – (Protego (Deep Understanding), Diffindo, Incendio (Deep Understanding))x3
 
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