I'm assuming that means if ten then it costs thirty control points instead of forty, not thirty-nine. Hilarious as that would be.
And good to know that these are the hunting dogs to find enemies with.. makes them something to get should we decide it to be likely we want to track someone down.
Geneforge 1 - Mutagen is the remake of Geneforge 1. It was released on February 24, 2021 on Steam. Geneforge 1 - Mutagen has new graphics and a new UI both similar to Geneforge 5, with many improvements, new models, and new art. It also includes new characters, new quests, and new mechanics like...
This is the quest which got me into reading Quests. And then it got me dissapointed in 'Quests' because I never found another so compelling or of such high quality. I can't wait to see what else you write!
Hunting Pack: If fielded in groups of ten(10), Roamers require one(1) less control point, as preset instincts to obey the pack hierarchy set in.
Call of the Hunt: Roamers are capable of tasting and tracing the magical signature of living beings up to half a day after a living creature has passed through an area.
Roaming Hunters: Roamers can go prolonged periods without Shaper contact with reduced chances of going feral as long as basic pack numbers(10) are maintained.
Roamers not having BS is some BS or rather, it is odd to me that their ranged attack is removed, given that they are a Fire Creation. I guess making them light cavalry and trackers keeps them more distinct form Artilae, though.
Is it ten or more, or ten specifically at which they count as a pack?
Roamers not having BS is some BS or rather, it is odd to me that their ranged attack is removed, given that they are a Fire Creation. I guess making them light cavalry and trackers keeps them more distinct form Artilae, though.
More or less the reason, though I will compensate them elsewhere for it. There was just no logical reason to have roamers do the same job that artila/fyora/wingbolts already do better.
[X] Tell your apprentices about how you and your master made Fiochag together at the culmination of your apprenticeship, not too many years ago, as a final lesson, and a mark of approval. Tell them that when they finish their apprenticeships, if they are sufficiently diligent in their studies, you will help them create a special creation of their choosing for each of them.
[X] Tell Waters that you are anticipating building up to some quite considerable in-house production capacity in the near future, but that you will consult with some of your contacts about whether any of them can provide cheap armaments in the meantime.
-[X] make a mental note to ask your smuggler acquaintances whether they ever trade in cheap arms whose provenance is irrelevant.
You slide a finger against a scalpel lying upon your desk while you consider their question, gently tracing the edge of the blade as you carefully craft your answer, all the while you feel Fiochag herself shift beneath your robes, her name having caught her attention.
"Fiochag Is not a normal creation child. Even in my homeland, where there are hundreds of thousands of Shapers there are few that possess such creations as her - for many reasons." You gently slide your seat back, rising from your feet while the finger that had traced the scalpel instead begins to trace the wood of the desk as you move - and then snatches a piece of chalk as you reach it while moving.
"Fiochag is what is sometimes known as an Alpha creature - a creature not created from a standard template, but rather made and sculpted very carefully over a very long time." As you speak you continue to move, reaching the blackboard where you begin to draw circles.
"Each Alpha creature is unique, in mind." The first circle is filled in, mind underlined twice for emphasis. "Body." A second circle is filled and underlined just as before. "And connection." and so the third circle is filled and underlined, and all three circles are connected to a fourth.
"The mind and its changes are simple really - barely a deviation from the norm in most cases, though the nature of its loyalties are generally significantly shifted from what is normal. It is the body and the connection to its master where the Alpha creature truly deviates to the point of barely being comparable. The first is also the process that takes the longest."
You tap the body circle with the chalk. "The design of each Alpha creature is a massive deviation from any and all templates - it is a change built into the creature from its very foundation, often unraveling the base template of its origin completely and starting over from scratch. Often choices are made in this reworking that would be suboptimal for a normal creature, choices that would make the creature far too hard to control normally, and would almost certainly see it barred if it was actually attempted. I will not go into any of the details, but suffice to say that some of the flaws inherent to all creations are there by design, not by chance or by unavoidable limitations."
"The only reason Alpha creatures are allowed, the rare number of them that do exist, is their connection" and here you once more tap a circle with the chalk. "To its master. An Alpha creature, unlike a normal creature, is not shaped in one go, but rather slowly formed over months and sometimes even years depending on the complexity of the creature. Fiochag for an example took two and a half years to complete."
You do not miss the surprised expression that flits across the faces of the children.
"Yes, that long." And with that, you fill in the fourth circle with the word time and underline it. "The reason is again its connection - the process is intentionally kept slow and drawn out, allowing the intended Shaper to suffuse the creature's psyche to a much deeper level than normal, through a process you are not yet equipped to understand even if I were to explain it. Suffice to say, the end result of the mental modifications and the connection phase means that the creature is forced into a self perpetuating loop of obedience enforcement. That is to say, the Alpha creature's own subconscious mind, as well as its preset instincts, will prevent it from going rogue." And with that you add another line, drawing another circle, and writing "control" within it.
"Now as for your question - perhaps one day, though not before you have finished your studies and are close to deciding your own path forward, with your own research and endeavors." You give them a thin smile. "After all, until that point it is likely more time than any of us can spare on such a project, nor are you likely to require the protection such a creature would offer... that, and you do not yet know enough to select which creature you wish to make your companion."
You return to your desk, dropping the chalk into the small groove in the desk where you customarily leave it. "Now, I do believe you have something you are meant to be doing at this hour, no?"
It is clear in their expressions that they wish to ask more questions, but they appear to have also used up what little courage and will they had to disturb you merely to ask the first question, and had little left to pursue additional ones, and so they slink back into the dim hallways and return to their dorm.
All the while you remain at your desk, leaning back and slowly petting Fiochag's head as she appears out of a gap in your robes, her tongue tasting the air. It is only as you faintly hear them close the door leading to their dormitory that you move the hand not petting Fiochag to grab a pen and make a note, adding another research project to pursue in the future.
Though as you told the children, that is years into the future.
Waters grunts, shifting the rod in his hands. "Would help, that's for certain. 'Course, would not be a good idea to massively increase the company even with that, what with it being damn foolish to flood the ranks with too many green recruits. Still, would let us expand our numbers significantly, compared to the recruiting we have been doing so far at least."
He gives you a sideways glance as he continues. "If you get me proper equipment Sindri, then I will get you a proper amount of feet on the ground within a year or two, that much I can promise."
GM note: Thank god google drive finally solved the double spacing issue when copy pasting... Turn post as soon as ive had a chance to look over all the documents.
So I just read this magnificent quest over the course of 1 day and night and have to say I love everything about it and truly fortunate it's starting again.
