Back at my computer, time to write up responses to everything I missed and do the daily index update...
Regarding the Saber and Orb Feats, there's no guarantee those are going to be safe. Given the first's name, the opposite's likely to be true:
We'll have Stranglethorn, which doubles our Might/Con/Will pluses, the first of which scales with the All-Defeating's automatic Power of Ruin usage. That perk is also synergistic with Rank, another layer of defense alongside our Pressure. If the Tower is that risky after Stranglethorn & another EFB along with all the other picks and purchases we'll get along the way, then frankly we have no business being there and should just leave, Decimation or no.
Anyway, in the process of skimming through recent posts I found these gems, which I'll quote for everybody's viewing pleasure:
Stranglethorn's a rare four-pick, gated behind a fight that guarantees a death chance if we don't manage to get a +1 bonus going into an applicable 3-pick fight. If we're not going to try piecemeal purchasing SJUC, it's a good use of Core Panoply's bonus, buffing both stats and Rank acquisitions. It becomes even better once we get ADS. Ironically, it'd be synergistic with Be the Change, since Hunger could Establish himself as a fixture of Sovereignty society. And sure, weighing our options and seeing more blurbs has its appeal, but unlocking this Defining Advancement comes with a hefty opportunity cost. Besides, visiting the Walls also qualifies as 'waiting to see all our options'.
I already outlined how Crown's 0.5 Rank bonus is worse than it seems if you take a medium-term view incorporating our Errantry gains from the Tower. The time required to Be the Change also effectively bars us from exploring the Walls beforehand, and depending on our actions they may or may not be there when we leave. So we'll be going in blind with less Arete to spend and fewer opportunities. OaF is at best an uncertain proposition, since we're going to be presented with the rewards of reform/travel/Tower-toppling in the wake of buying Crown. In conjunction with OaF it would be shitload of power, but it seems staggeringly unlikely to me that we're actually going to get that combination before the conclusion of the Tower arc with present activity levels, if at all.
That would be nice, but isn't guaranteed:
The primary benefit we'd get from the Walls is information about the Realm we're about to enter, which is obviously less valuable on the way out. And it's entirely possible matters will have developed elsewhere or the voterbase won't want to prolong the Tower arc, meaning we'll miss out completely. I need my DEEP LORE fix!
The Elixir Sovereignty was founded by separatists, not colonists. We know they have a dwindling supply of Armor Prototypes and an automated industrial base that's producing outdated Imperial technology for them. It's unlikely that they're trading with the Empire when so much of their national identity is bound up in being independent from it. Navigation/communication out of the Voyaging isn't easy either, even discounting the risk of provoking the Realm. It's true that we don't know the preicse bounds of the problem, though. The possibility of discovering additional hurdles to reaping the full benefits of ruling the Sovereignty is one reason Hunger shouldn't commit to it!
Regarding the Saber and Orb Feats, there's no guarantee those are going to be safe. Given the first's name, the opposite's likely to be true:
Actually being able to afford All-Defeating Stance on a whim on account of having Arete reserves is a good start. It would've been enough to trivialize the end of the Temple arc. World-Defeating alone is a pretty anemic panic button, honestly, +0.2 Rank isn't going to make that much of a difference against a foe sufficiently terrifying that long-term planning gets tossed out the window in favor of survival. Putting all our eggs in the Bloodcasting basket and hoping we don't run into anyone immune to its debuffs is risky in its own right. It doesn't provide direct offense, just expedites exsanguination and reduces their stats.
We'll have Stranglethorn, which doubles our Might/Con/Will pluses, the first of which scales with the All-Defeating's automatic Power of Ruin usage. That perk is also synergistic with Rank, another layer of defense alongside our Pressure. If the Tower is that risky after Stranglethorn & another EFB along with all the other picks and purchases we'll get along the way, then frankly we have no business being there and should just leave, Decimation or no.
Inherit the World came with three pluses' worth of mental contamination that makes Hunger fly easily into a violent rage and disdain cowardice. We saw Sten murder his own child, so I'd hardly call that downside insignificant.
Anyway, in the process of skimming through recent posts I found these gems, which I'll quote for everybody's viewing pleasure:
The index has also been updated.
