Wards unlock! WOOHOO! And it also does ward breaking? Fuck, yes. So many secrets opening up!
Bare success on the investigation, but I'm very glad his dueling held up to the challenge. I can't wait until he ulocks rituals, or gets better at alchemy, and is able to better use the things that attack him to magic up cooler stuff! (If that is even an option.)
Anyway, I'm leery of both options. Reminder that this is a trait, so it has no obvious mechanical effect but it changes who Jacob is. Staying cool in all circumstances is nice, but if it's because you feel superior to everyone else... Yikes. Jacob has already enough issues connecting with people without reinforcing his tendency to view people as inferiors.
I completely agree. It might be cool in a grimdark revenge character story, but as a smart kid defining how he's growing up, I'd be leery of both traits too. I mean, the second trait puts him on the path of being . . . Gryffindor.
Wards unlock! WOOHOO! And it also does ward breaking? Fuck, yes. So many secrets opening up!
Bare success on the investigation, but I'm very glad his dueling held up to the challenge. I can't wait until he ulocks rituals, or gets better at alchemy, and is able to better use the things that attack him to magic up cooler stuff! (If that is even an option.)
I completely agree. It might be cool in a grimdark revenge character story, but as a smart kid defining how he's growing up, I'd be leery of both traits too. I mean, the second trait puts him on the path of being . . . Gryffindor.
I believe even Jacob himself thinks the house system is stupid, we shouldn't keep him constrained within it, especially since he himself doesn't give a fuck. A truly powerful mage, would need qualities found in all four houses, which we are going to need that if we want to explore the fae place that Jacob found.
Beyond that Gryffindor thing is more specifically bravery than the second option.
Present Date: 27th May 1994
Current Wand: Fagus wood, Phoenix feather core
The evening air was cool and crisp as you made your way through the hidden passage beneath the Whomping Willow. You had been careful to wait until after the dueling club was over and most of everyone had left, before making your way out of the castle grounds through multiple stairways and corners that you used to lose any unwanted attention.
Once in the passage, you threw the dark coat that you had brought in your bag over yourself and stowed the bag away in a small cove of the dark and cramped passageway. It would wait here for your return.
A small vial landed in your pocket before you followed the tunnel, roots and vines creeping along the walls and ceiling. You had to duck and shuffle your way through the narrow corridor, trying to avoid getting snagged on any of the obstacles.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you emerged from the passage and into the basement of the Shrieking Shack. You took a moment to catch your breath and survey your surroundings.
From the outside, the Shrieking Shack would look like always: a dilapidated old building that had long been abandoned. The building was in a state of disrepair, with peeling paint and broken windows. It was clear that no one had lived here in many years.
The interior of the Shrieking Shack was even more run down than the outside, with cobwebs covering every surface and the floorboards creaking beneath Jacob's feet. You made your way cautiously through the rooms, taking in the eerie atmosphere.
As you made your way through the abandoned and decrepit Shrieking Shack, you couldn't help but notice that the cobwebs seemed to be fewer in number than you remembered from your last visit. The dust on the floor was disturbed, with some footprints leading through the room. Some of the furniture had been moved, as if someone had been searching for something. A sense of unease settled over you as you realized that you had found your first clue of the night.
It was clear that someone had been here recently.
You pulled your wand out and made your way through the Shack, stepping on air above the visible footprints, leaving no clue behind that you had been here.
The outsides of the Shack were surrounded by a dense thicket of trees, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. The moon was high in the sky, casting a pale silver light over the clearing. You took a deep breath as you exited the building and began to make your way towards the forbidden forest, the ground below you looked soft and spongy ground as you walked above it in the air. You knew that you had to be careful, as the forest was full of danger and secrets. But you were determined to find out what lay beyond its shadowy depths.
"Lumos," you whispered.
Your eyes were focused on the set of footprints that you could make out in the ground, leading up to the forest.
As you made your way deeper into the trees, you could feel the weight of the forest pressing in on you from all sides. The underbrush was thick, and the air was heavy with the scent of pine and the hum of insects. You could hear the rustle of small animals moving through the leaves, but you couldn't see them. You kept your wand at the ready, knowing that you had to be prepared for anything.
You followed the footprints as they led you deeper into the forest, trying to stay as quiet as possible. The trees seemed to grow taller and thicker the further you went, blocking out most of the moonlight. You could felt your heart beating faster as the darkness closed in around you. A sense of danger that was getting more familiar to you as the months went on. You could feel the energy rush inside you.
As you pressed on, the footprints became harder to follow, and you found yourself relying more on your sense of direction to guide you. You knew that the forest was vast and dangerous, and you couldn't afford to get lost. But despite the danger, you couldn't shake the feeling that you were getting closer to something important. You could feel it in your bones, a sense of excitement and anticipation that kept you moving forward.
Suddenly, you heard a rustling sound behind you and turned just in time to see a giant shadow rushing towards you. You were moving, before you consciously registered what was happening. You quickly raised your wand and shouted, "Flipendo!"
The Acromantula didn't have enough weight to counter the force, so it was pushed up in the air. "Incendio." By the time it fell onto the ground again, it was burning brightly, casting a shadow on two more creatures that were to its left and its right.
You heard movement from above and jumped back, stepping higher up into the air to evade whatever had jumped. Something dropped past you. You turned and pointed at a close by dead piece of wood: "Draconifors." You needed to equal the numbers.
The wood, turned into a small dragon that rose into the air. "Avifors." A flash of blue light followed the airborne dragon as it was joined by a flock of bats. By the time you had finally caught up to the movement on all sides, your air support was already in their way, blocking them from reaching you and gaining you some valuable seconds.
"Incendio." And a second spider burned.
Two spiders in front of you, one to your right that had come from above … that meant where you should expect more; you turned around: "Protego." The shield charm went up just in time for two more spiders from the back and your left. They crushed headfirst against the solid shielding spell. The force of the impact made something crack. You couldn't say if it had been one of two heads, but it had certainly not been your shield.
"Glacius," you said when they dropped to the ground. You focused on their legs and soon enough a part of both spiders was frozen against the ground below.
It had taken you a second too long, though.
You heard something being pushed away behind you. And just a moment later something crashed into your back. All air was pushed out of your lungs as you were thrown forwards, losing a step before you were forcefully rammed against a tree.
You groaned in pain as you hit the ground after falling from six feet up, struggling to catch your breath. Your vision swam as you tried to push yourself up, but it was too late. You saw the shadow of the spider moving towards you, its fangs glinting in the dim light.
There was no evasion possible, so you did not lose time on trying. You braced yourself for the hit and instead of endangering the grip on your wand, you pulled your arm away in the last second. It missed its primary target, but the spider simply continued until it sank its fangs into your side. The many eyes of the beast had frantically locked on you as it bit down.
Gritting your teeth, you turned around as it hesitated after releasing its poison inside the wound, thinking its job done. Your right knee touched the ground, giving you just enough room to turn your body to the right, move your wand arm completely away from the spider and swing your left arm towards it.
You heard another crack as your fist impacted against some of its many eyes. A shrieking scream filled the darkness of the forest. But you didn't let it go. Your fist opened to grab its haired head, before it could jump back. Using the creature as leverage, you pushed yourself up and around, giving you momentum enough to fully turn around your axis.
With two points of contact to hold your body up; one being your left knee and the other your left hand on the spider's head, your right hand shot upwards into the direction that had been your blind spot just a moment ago. They had surprised you once with their ability to attack from the back, they would not succeed again. "Incendio," you said as your wand shined the light onto the last spider that was trying to ambush you again.
With that you pushed yourself upwards quickly. It had been only a few seconds, but you could already feel the magic of the potent venom that was setting in. There was not much time left.
Pushing the spider away that you had grabbed on, you shouted: "Flipendo." More room was created between you as the hurt spider was thrown back. "Incendio." The sixth spider burned. And besides the loud shrieking voice, there was no movement left around you.
A second passed. Then another. Then another.
Nothing came.
You let yourself fall against the tree again, panting hard as you hurriedly tried to grab something out of your dark coat. You felt the strength leave your fingers already. But they would not get you this time. Today, you were prepared.
The vial that you had made together with Justin felt cold on the bleeding black wound in your side.
Among six burning corpses of the dark beasts, you sat leaning against the old tree behind you. You stayed there for a while, trying to recuperate and process the few seconds that had almost cost you your life. If anyone had seen you, no one would have understood the excited smile that didn't leave your face until you found the strength to stand up again and continue your journey into the forbidden forest.
1d5+1 = 6
1d100+61 #Jacob Defence I, DC 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 = 85
1d100+41 #Jacob Attack I, DC 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 = 109
1d100+41 #Jacob Defence II (-20 Malus for injury), DC 40 (Higher DC for proximity) = 124
Dammit, what a badass, the good thing is that we finally have enough Acromantula poison for the blue Wideye poison
@Tabula Rasa Would it be possible to get the fangs of the Acromantulas alongside the poison? Not for getting extra cash or ingredients, but killing 6 Acromantulas is pretty awesome and making a necklace out of them (like the ones made of Grizzly´s Claws) would be metal as hell...
[ ] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
[ ] Blood strengthens me - You have felt the rush of excitement in battle many times before; inside your own body and in the memories of your ancestor. In the midst of a battle, you feel more like yourself than you do outside of it. It is as if you are getting stronger the more damage you take. No one and nothing can break your spirit.
I am tending towards the first trait, while the superiority thing is pretty bad I don´t like the berserker build of "the more you are hurt the stronger we are" we are the literal opposite of D&D...
I was wondering that same thing. But then I remembered that Helga Hufflepuff was the one who set up all that stuff underground in the mountain. So I would take that as being her secret.
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
We've had multiple warnings from older characters that we are tap dancing towards the sort of mentality Voldemort had. That's why I think the second option is probably better.
Investigating the Chamber of Secrets will be interesting. I think there's a long slide down, but I think we can get back out using our boots. The entrance was only opened with Parseltongue, so that will be an obstacle. There's also still the Basilisk corpse down there. Probably some other stuff too since I don't think any others really investigated the Chamber other than to fight in it. Dumbledore might have looked around though.
Might lead to some trouble though. I'm thinking of a funny scene where the trio go down to get a Basilisk Fang to destroy Horcruxes only to find out that Jacob looted them all.
The Headmaster's Office is interesting since apparently the personage of the Headmaster gets ultimate authority over the school. There's something going on with the office itself since I remember it automatically makes a magical portrait whenever it loses a Headmaster. Also it might lead to Jacob meeting with Fawkes.
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
Leaning towards this due to our low constitution…
I might change votes though.
Dumbledore is a genius, but he's showed himself in quest to deeply value the perspective of those less capable than him (i.e. pretty much anyone).
I expect his genius traits are without those superiority elements.
His genius traits are without the superiority elements now. Before he had that wake up call with his sister, his close friendship with Grindelwald hints at someone not quite as humble and perspective as Dumbledore is today. We don't have to repeat all his mistakes, but there are worse things than teenager that is very talented getting a big head. And I doubt that the trait is final and can never be changed again.
[ ] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
All in all a close call for me, both traits contain parts to be overcome or refined, and may lead to worse things if Jacob isn't careful. In the end I like the calmness more than the lust for battle.
Edit: Basic subtraction is hard, I missed that the moratorium is still on.
People voting before the vote is open. Its true what they say. Moratoriums are hard.
Considering this is the evolution of a trait I'm sure that how we deal with the side effects of either trait is going to determine a further evolution.
Oh right, Jacob didn't enter the chamber or discovered the Room of Requirement yet. I wonder what kind of need will open it for Jacob, and what the room will transform into.
Not sure if the passageway into the caverns could be considered Hufflepuffs' secret, or if it would be something else that we would unlock later.
Can't say I'm fond of either of the options we got. One will increase Jacob's superiority feelings and alienation from his peers, while the other encourages destructive behavior for dealing with the lack of stimulants.
It will be disheartening to work on the alienation after all the time and effort it took into making Jacob more sociable and empathic. The wording of the second option is equally concerning: "...in the memories of your ancestor... you feel more like yourself ...". Jacob losing his sense of self in favor of Basques or any of the many souls' who compose him is dangerous and will lead for a different flavor of alienation.
Apologies for the lack of coherent writing and for repeating points others might have made. I don't have time currently to read everything, and I have been repeatedly called off the computer and further attempts in editing.
Jacob is already going into danger regularly and will keep doing so for the sake of solving riddles. The second trait just means he doesn't mind a good scrap while doing what he would have done anyway even without the new potential trait.
This is just a natural progression toward being an magical adventurer of some sort. We find a riddle that needs solving, we deal with any obstacles on that path. The second option would just mean that Jacob will enjoy the entire process
[X] Blood strengthens me - You have felt the rush of excitement in battle many times before; inside your own body and in the memories of your ancestor. In the midst of a battle, you feel more like yourself than you do outside of it. It is as if you are getting stronger the more damage you take. No one and nothing can break your spirit.
It appears the the "Blood Strengthens Me" trait more states that they feel more like themselves in battle- not when adventuring. So, he becomes more of a person who only feels like themselves when in battle.
Not a fan of the other trait's superiority aspect, but I am less of a fan of someone who only feels like themselves in battle and this would seek it.
I enjoy the more analytical and calmer fighting Jacob who fights not as a means in of itself but because he is protecting himself or others. Even if he will think himself superior to his opponent.
Edit: Blood Strengthens me also strikes me as something of a trait of a berserker.
From my clock it looks like the three hours are up so I'm going to vote.
[X] Blood strengthens me - You have felt the rush of excitement in battle many times before; inside your own body and in the memories of your ancestor. In the midst of a battle, you feel more like yourself than you do outside of it. It is as if you are getting stronger the more damage you take. No one and nothing can break your spirit.
Gaining strength the more damage is taken instead of losing it isn't something I can dismiss. Considering the push for us to be more social I think experiencing some passion and strengthening our spirit will be better to get our classmates to become more empathetic with us versus leaning into the superiority, even if it is only for our opponents, its more likely to inspire feelings of inferiority and distance in some of our friends.
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.
Btw, me, LordPanther14 and BeepSmile were the only ones to keep to the moratorium, so there are only three votes.
Clearly we'll enforce it and only tally from BeepSmile's post
[X] A genius awakening - You can be surrounded, ambushed or stand against insurmountable odds. Your mind stays calm no matter the situation, because deep inside you there is the lingering feeling of superiority against any opponent. You know that your potential is limitless. If you lose today, you will be stronger tomorrow.