A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
[X] The Armament Fish
[X] Undying Vanguard
Prefer to SAVE some Arete for either ADS or some 3 pick but meh. We have to keep Aobaru save anyway and making Gisena a bit more tanky is not something I am against(honestly I will even vote for RW if we get ADS and RoB before that)
[X] Undying Vanguard
Prefer to SAVE some Arete for either ADS or some 3 pick but meh. We have to keep Aobaru save anyway and making Gisena a bit more tanky is not something I am against(honestly I will even vote for RW if we get ADS and RoB before that)
OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
So I was thinking about Lord Hunger's current mindset, and I'm starting to think that given his mindset he'd fit fairly well in an alternate universe as a Chosen of Adorjan.
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Windborne Stride(A speed enhancement charm)
Running to Forever(At high enough essence levels this makes running replace sleeping for the purpose of relieving fatigue, a second purchase can make any form of continous and normally fatiguing exertion involving significant non-stationary movement provide the benefits of sleeping. Given our issues with slacking off so far it seems like it fits. )
Murder is Meat(This is basically a baby version of Hunger's Ring. Kill people and you recover motes of essence and get the benefits of eating)
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We're running all the time trying to kill things to get enough power to kill what we're running from(directly or indirectly). That seems pretty Adorjani.
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Windborne Stride(A speed enhancement charm)
Running to Forever(At high enough essence levels this makes running replace sleeping for the purpose of relieving fatigue, a second purchase can make any form of continous and normally fatiguing exertion involving significant non-stationary movement provide the benefits of sleeping. Given our issues with slacking off so far it seems like it fits. )
Murder is Meat(This is basically a baby version of Hunger's Ring. Kill people and you recover motes of essence and get the benefits of eating)
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We're running all the time trying to kill things to get enough power to kill what we're running from(directly or indirectly). That seems pretty Adorjani.
Occupied currently, but let's hold off on Vanguard for now since it seems the Fish won. That Arete would be better spent on All-Defeating Stance, the Apocryphal mitigation also helps the party's survivability! The Fish is a fast satiation option, so if we survive we'll be back as soon as Nightmare Airlines takes off the next evening. Territorial Waters or Stalks would've paired better with Vanguard, the first to address the longer window of vulnerability and the second to give us time to stick around to mitigate the Delta's instability, if we wanted to take that chance (it would have been a bad move, but that's hardly a guarantee against us making it).
I'm not caught up with the thread and don't know if people were pushing for this, but Undying Vanguard versus the Fish would fall short of its name. Resilience is of limited usefulness against it, on account of its sheer size and power; the description implies a game of rocket tag, with it pitting its continent-sundering power against Hunger's speed and Artful Thorn's attrition. Vanguard improves Con, not Agi, it'd just give us a pretext to needlessly endanger our party members. The urge to throw Arete at companion safety back in Nilfel is understandable, but if we're remotely in range of ADS it's better to save for that. Returning with overwhelming power like some kind of... Once and Future King is the best option for their well-being, if Hunger dies here they're all just up shit creek without a paddle. Also, even if we can't get ADS, remember that the Fish will be a build vote, and we'll want every drop of Arete to capitalize on whatever killing a nascent Ereadhihr offers.
I'm not caught up with the thread and don't know if people were pushing for this, but Undying Vanguard versus the Fish would fall short of its name. Resilience is of limited usefulness against it, on account of its sheer size and power; the description implies a game of rocket tag, with it pitting its continent-sundering power against Hunger's speed and Artful Thorn's attrition. Vanguard improves Con, not Agi, it'd just give us a pretext to needlessly endanger our party members. The urge to throw Arete at companion safety back in Nilfel is understandable, but if we're remotely in range of ADS it's better to save for that. Returning with overwhelming power like some kind of... Once and Future King is the best option for their well-being, if Hunger dies here they're all just up shit creek without a paddle. Also, even if we can't get ADS, remember that the Fish will be a build vote, and we'll want every drop of Arete to capitalize on whatever killing a nascent Ereadhihr offers.
OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
[X] The Armament Fish
You are right.
[X] The Armament Fish
Honestly the best possible outcome is if there is 3 pick of +Rank and get ADS.
Magical_Duck
The One Who Quacks
- Location
- A Pond
- Pronouns
- Duck
[X] The Armament Fish
"...Quack, Quack"
"...Quack, Quack"
Rihaku
The Internet
Draft version of the update (or perhaps part of it) up on the Patreon for subscribers. This one's a doozy. Full version should be finished early tonight. Have a preview -
Is there a means of attaining contentment without excess self-satisfaction? Quick is the plunge to stagnation, once one's goals are attained.
-Notes of the Forebear
Monday, the 1059th world.
The treadmill of worlds ground on ceaselessly, and he increased his pace to match. Long had it been since his first dire transport, his first breathtaking emergence into mystery and wonder. Now there was only the drab gray abattoir of his trek, the mire of worlds each successively crueler and more ashen than the last, pith of his soul ground into an unfeeling husk. Yet even that dusky charcoal had not been enough for the Procession. By raw pressure alone it had smelted him into something harder, charcoal become diamond; become something that could neither tarry nor yield, but only press ceaselessly onwards into the abyss of worlds. There was no brightness in this mire, so all he could display was his sharpness: the power to pierce, to strike, to cut...
Such edge, he thought dully, and briefly smiled.
Is there a means of attaining contentment without excess self-satisfaction? Quick is the plunge to stagnation, once one's goals are attained.
-Notes of the Forebear
Monday, the 1059th world.
The treadmill of worlds ground on ceaselessly, and he increased his pace to match. Long had it been since his first dire transport, his first breathtaking emergence into mystery and wonder. Now there was only the drab gray abattoir of his trek, the mire of worlds each successively crueler and more ashen than the last, pith of his soul ground into an unfeeling husk. Yet even that dusky charcoal had not been enough for the Procession. By raw pressure alone it had smelted him into something harder, charcoal become diamond; become something that could neither tarry nor yield, but only press ceaselessly onwards into the abyss of worlds. There was no brightness in this mire, so all he could display was his sharpness: the power to pierce, to strike, to cut...
Such edge, he thought dully, and briefly smiled.
- Location
- a place
Well, in fairness, The Forebear said they were growing crueler and more ashen, which doesn't necessarily mean that the caliber of his opponents got any stronger, just that the world's he visited were more horrible each time.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
A presence appears, suddenly and otherwise, across a hyper-trillion of your charges. In response, you realize three things successively:
1. He (it's largely a he) is beyond you. You are the law and nature of Comeuppance, and you consider yourself one of the most profound powers in the metaverse. But he is plainly beyond you. He is beyond concepts, which doesn't - can't, actually - make sense, and so part of you decides it must be illusion. (And it's right! A full three-quarters of his metaexistence is falsehood, and sealed besides. But he is still beyond you. His truth is stronger than your truth, and - rather unfairly - so is his falsehood.)
2. He has already been brought low, and not by you. While your preceding discovery was acceptable, at this one you despair - for it means you cannot possibly be complete.
3. In making his offers to them, he is also making an offer to you. You have a want, to place the ones that brought him low under your dominion? To say to the omniverse, "if even the Furthest Beyond are not beyond Comeuppance, then they are not beyond me"? Then take up a fraction of his curse, and receive a fraction of his power.
Of course, you accept. It could not be otherwise.
CURSEBEARER, SELECT YOUR CURSE:
[ ] The Cosmic Balance - For you, morality will be a zero-sum game. Every good must be paid for with evil, and every evil paid for with good, every kindness with cruelty, every thieving with gifting, every selfish and unselfish intention at equilibrium. Latitude can be gained by trading smaller acts of one for larger acts of another, although without mitigation they must still be somewhat commensurate - killing a human tyrant cannot be paid for by raising up even a hundred million ant-queens, nor can you grant power whose only price is extensive psychological torture; it must be paid for with rivals of equal total strength.
Furthermore, while your own strength is enough to mitigate this curse significantly, in its' full form all these actions must be simultaneous - no storing up in order to spread out damage. This is a rare curse, only offered to existences already near your level. Lesser beings could not handle it, and the Accursed would quite like to be rid of it entire.
[ ] The Plenary Brand - The truth of your nature will become apparent to all who witness it, and will no longer inspire love in the hearts of any. If chosen, automatically dedicates one full third of your power to mitigation: the complete effect would kill the vast majority of the metaverse, which the Accursed would not tolerate.
No one who sees you can love you, Charlie.
[ ] The Apocryphal Curse - Would Comeuppance be complete, if it could not defeat itself? Perhaps, but it need not be so. Absorb a portion of the Accursed's burden into your very nature, and be changed forever more.
While unlikely to destroy you even in the long term, the detriments from absorbing this Curse would significantly exceed the benefits. This is one of the afflictions laid against the Furthest Beyond, and its' name is this: "May you live in interesting times."
CURSEBEARER, SELECT YOUR REMITTANCE:
[ ] Incarnate - The Accursed's personal casting style, and enough selfhood to train it directly. This 'Imperial Praxis' is the tool by which real and ideal are both refined in the furnace of Effort, by whose power even the lowliest insect could eventually match the highest titan, if its' will were sufficiently pure. Made in service to a simple dream of fairness, it calls to your kinder side. And yet cynicism is no less a part of you, and to that lens the dream seems inherently flawed.
*Become a Progression-type Cursebearer, and also unambiguously a person. At your level, even the Accursed is only a few tiers away!
*Most conventional protagonist. Isn't that boring?!
*P R A X I S
*Praxis.
*But actually-for-serious, Praxis. Due to the way it scales, it's practically guaranteed that you'll catch up to the Accursed eventually. Is Comeuppance really the sort of principle to pass that up on a gamble?
[ ] Collection - Become a Research-type Cursebearer, responsible for advancing both understanding and command of the omniverse's deepest principles. Rather than the Accursed's direct methods, gain the powers he used to devise them. Not fundamentally guaranteed to do anything useful, but examining why that would be - and why that would be strange - is one of those principles you would be expected to examine.
*Most meta. Be the Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist party to Rihaku's postexalted!
*Also really abstract. A story following this Remittance would be primarily focused on datamining the fundamental structures of the universe via story-facilitation.
[ ] Accursed Favor - The Accursed will expend the power of your Remittance on protecting you from the dangers of befriending him. Probably quite useful, but not guaranteed - Cursebearers are presently beyond your sight, so this is actually just your best guess at what's going on rather than something he's "clearly explained" to you.
*Mystery box! Ish.
*You still get to be a Progression-type, if you're worried about that.
*The true path, the Red path, the path of the moderately esoteric relationship simulator!
1. He (it's largely a he) is beyond you. You are the law and nature of Comeuppance, and you consider yourself one of the most profound powers in the metaverse. But he is plainly beyond you. He is beyond concepts, which doesn't - can't, actually - make sense, and so part of you decides it must be illusion. (And it's right! A full three-quarters of his metaexistence is falsehood, and sealed besides. But he is still beyond you. His truth is stronger than your truth, and - rather unfairly - so is his falsehood.)
2. He has already been brought low, and not by you. While your preceding discovery was acceptable, at this one you despair - for it means you cannot possibly be complete.
3. In making his offers to them, he is also making an offer to you. You have a want, to place the ones that brought him low under your dominion? To say to the omniverse, "if even the Furthest Beyond are not beyond Comeuppance, then they are not beyond me"? Then take up a fraction of his curse, and receive a fraction of his power.
Of course, you accept. It could not be otherwise.
CURSEBEARER, SELECT YOUR CURSE:
[ ] The Cosmic Balance - For you, morality will be a zero-sum game. Every good must be paid for with evil, and every evil paid for with good, every kindness with cruelty, every thieving with gifting, every selfish and unselfish intention at equilibrium. Latitude can be gained by trading smaller acts of one for larger acts of another, although without mitigation they must still be somewhat commensurate - killing a human tyrant cannot be paid for by raising up even a hundred million ant-queens, nor can you grant power whose only price is extensive psychological torture; it must be paid for with rivals of equal total strength.
Furthermore, while your own strength is enough to mitigate this curse significantly, in its' full form all these actions must be simultaneous - no storing up in order to spread out damage. This is a rare curse, only offered to existences already near your level. Lesser beings could not handle it, and the Accursed would quite like to be rid of it entire.
[ ] The Plenary Brand - The truth of your nature will become apparent to all who witness it, and will no longer inspire love in the hearts of any. If chosen, automatically dedicates one full third of your power to mitigation: the complete effect would kill the vast majority of the metaverse, which the Accursed would not tolerate.
No one who sees you can love you, Charlie.
[ ] The Apocryphal Curse - Would Comeuppance be complete, if it could not defeat itself? Perhaps, but it need not be so. Absorb a portion of the Accursed's burden into your very nature, and be changed forever more.
While unlikely to destroy you even in the long term, the detriments from absorbing this Curse would significantly exceed the benefits. This is one of the afflictions laid against the Furthest Beyond, and its' name is this: "May you live in interesting times."
CURSEBEARER, SELECT YOUR REMITTANCE:
[ ] Incarnate - The Accursed's personal casting style, and enough selfhood to train it directly. This 'Imperial Praxis' is the tool by which real and ideal are both refined in the furnace of Effort, by whose power even the lowliest insect could eventually match the highest titan, if its' will were sufficiently pure. Made in service to a simple dream of fairness, it calls to your kinder side. And yet cynicism is no less a part of you, and to that lens the dream seems inherently flawed.
*Become a Progression-type Cursebearer, and also unambiguously a person. At your level, even the Accursed is only a few tiers away!
*Most conventional protagonist. Isn't that boring?!
*P R A X I S
*Praxis.
*But actually-for-serious, Praxis. Due to the way it scales, it's practically guaranteed that you'll catch up to the Accursed eventually. Is Comeuppance really the sort of principle to pass that up on a gamble?
[ ] Collection - Become a Research-type Cursebearer, responsible for advancing both understanding and command of the omniverse's deepest principles. Rather than the Accursed's direct methods, gain the powers he used to devise them. Not fundamentally guaranteed to do anything useful, but examining why that would be - and why that would be strange - is one of those principles you would be expected to examine.
*Most meta. Be the Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist party to Rihaku's postexalted!
*Also really abstract. A story following this Remittance would be primarily focused on datamining the fundamental structures of the universe via story-facilitation.
[ ] Accursed Favor - The Accursed will expend the power of your Remittance on protecting you from the dangers of befriending him. Probably quite useful, but not guaranteed - Cursebearers are presently beyond your sight, so this is actually just your best guess at what's going on rather than something he's "clearly explained" to you.
*Mystery box! Ish.
*You still get to be a Progression-type, if you're worried about that.
*The true path, the Red path, the path of the moderately esoteric relationship simulator!
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HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
I find it unlikely that High Cursebearers would exist if Progression couldn't ever let you exceed him in any respect!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
what about High Cursebearers makes them above the Accursed in some respect?
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
They're useful to him for reasons other than mitigation, which suggests they can do things he otherwise couldn't. Granted, that's probably in part because of his curses limiting his latitude for non-mitigation activities, but I've never seen "can't even theoretically be surpassed" as core to his concept - "can theoretically surpass anything, apparently even if that doesn't make sense" is just too essential to Progression as a concept.
I am sure even the heights of Accursed's power are not beyond reach - except, by the time you reach them, the man himself already moved further. He is not resting on his laurels either, after all.
- Location
- a place
A while ago when Rihaku was asked about Cursebearers in the Discord, when going into the specifics about the perquisite to being a High Cursebearer being that you're relevant to him beyond just curse mitigation, one of the examples he gave was how a Space Marine was relevant to the God-Emperor of Mankind. I wouldn't necessarily take for granted that the existence of High Cursebearers implies anything close to any of them having something resembling parity with the Accursed.
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- Location
- Earth
Welp so priest had school today, which meant I also had to get up if I didn't want to be on camera due to the positioning of his computer
so anyway I drew a hunger
bonus: some shitty hongar warmup doodles from last night
so anyway I drew a hunger
bonus: some shitty hongar warmup doodles from last night
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Projectile
Thinking of Rabbits
- Location
- USA
Oh, I love this. The Sky is complete now, and that Cut is so satisfying. But apparently no amount of EFBs can make Hunger happy, we gotta give this guy a break.
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
The "Give Hunger a Break" idea was rejected back in the very first vote cycle with Vengeance winning. The Apocryphal Curse doesn't give breaks, and if it ever does you should be very very concerned.
I guess we could try Pillars of Creation, that might actually get Hunger to take a day off. Or he could spend the time training instead.
Zampano
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
- Location
- Simping for DSB
#1400 Words
I really like thinking about how these fan-quests might play out! There's always a seed of inspiration that I might be able to use for my own purposes!
For this one, I'm running with the idea of a Tactical Squad offered a Simple Transaction. A quest about collective decision-making and responsibility, plus remittances!
We are introduced to ourselves as "Comeuppance" which is an ideal buried fairly deep in the structure of the universe. This move by HoratioVonBecker opens up whole vistas of new protagonist-styles for Cursebearers. A quick brainstorming session made me think about creating curse bearers at different levels of organization: Tactical Squads or Military Legions given a (singular) curse are essentially the same idea, but would play out very differently. You could extend this to a corporation given a curse without modifying the formula much. A Cursed civilization would broaden the gameplay challenges relative to a cursed corporation, but not by much. Moving away from organizational size, we could think about organizational structure. A family would react to a curse very differently than a hobbyist club, or collection of strangers.
All this is to say, the (progression) Curse Bearer genre can be expanded to lots of different play styles. DnD is basically a tactical combat game. Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist is closer to freeform world building. In between, the Accursed could grant power to people sandbox simulators like RollerCoaster Tycoon, or spooky-simulators like Fallen London.
In this particular fan work the MC is one who already has a pretty wide portfolio of assets. We get the very excellent phrase "hyper-trillion" alongside the very ambiguous term of "your charges." One definition of charge would be something like a ward - a person in your care. An alternative definition is the game-term for an increment or "quantum" of energy (charges in a magic wand, for example). Either explanation has Comeuppance operating in multiple discrete locations with defined goals and/or power available for each location. Depending on which version was intended, the manner of the Accursed's appearance might give some clues about the starting characterization for our multiversal protagonist.
It would be fun to find out!
The second sentence is easier to interpret. Comeuppance is a valid curse bearer because of its antipathy for the Accursed's enemies. Elevating 'just deserts' beyond its level on the ISH would have bring really satisfying karmic retribution to the kind of beings that are used to operating above the conceptual level of "consequences."
Thus: Curses!
This curse is really appealing once it has been mitigated, and really disturbing up until that happens. Lots of people get their comeuppance already, but it would be hard to argue that the universe only pushes back on those who have destructive ambitions. The climate activist is just as likely to get their comeuppance as an unethical financial broker. And the financial broker has more resources to mitigate consequences, so if the cosmic balance equalizes our MC's efforts for good and bad ends then there will be on net more weight applied against the good guys than the bad guys. On the other hand, if the curse equalizes the MC's outcomes then we might have a larger budget to impose penalties on the unscrupulous. This would lead to a quest whose theme weighs the herculean efforts needed to bring justice to wrongdoers against the feather-touch that is needed to ruin the fragile egg-shell lives of regular people.
Based on the 3(?) conversations I've had with Horatio, this would be a very interesting plot line to follow!
This option provides the largest obstacle to the MC's personal goals: it is known and it is weaker. However, it also puts no restriction on the MC's day to day activities. We'd set about the task of bringingjustice comeuppance to the denizens of the ISH's higher tiers.
Writing a quest where a protagonist with "hyper-trillions" of agents stumbles into a shadow-war against enemies with even broader resources would be difficult, but probably a lot of fun to read.
[H] The Apocryphal Curse
[H] Collection
Collection is the quest that I want to read most. It is totally off the wall, and for someone who wants to investigate different phenomena, the Apocryphal Curse is not so much an obstacle as a weighty burden. The success of this quest would be dependent on the player base engaging in a collaborative writing process instead of the top down format of most quests.
Cosmic Balance and Collection are individually my favorite options, but it seems like they don't really work together. I could be wrong.
[V] The Cosmic Balance
[V] Favor
If we are playing a relationship simulator, we should start strong by taking a curse that the big man wants to offload. Cosmic Balance is a really interesting plot device imo because it would have the thread alternating between actions that the voters would feel really good about accomplishing and actions that the voters would hate to be responsible for. There's potential for salt here, but also potential for some really interesting negotiations: Would the players ever let a bad guy go, forsaking a victory's associated Progression growth, in case the backlash from "balance" was too severe?
Adding in the Favor component just makes this even more juicy. In the absence of enthusiasm for Collection and Buy-in for Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalism from multiple creative players, this is probably the option I'd vote for.
[Bkr] The Plenary Brand
[Bkr] Incarnate
It isn't obvious that the Enemies will immediately know that we are coming for them. While mitigation becomes more difficult as we scale up, it would be entirely possible to work really hard on Mitigation (Stealth) before escalating into direct opposition with our targets. Praxis seems like the obvious choice if we are declaring War, especially given our existing power base of various heroes & villains whose circumstances make them eligible for their comeuppance.
I really like thinking about how these fan-quests might play out! There's always a seed of inspiration that I might be able to use for my own purposes!
For this one, I'm running with the idea of a Tactical Squad offered a Simple Transaction. A quest about collective decision-making and responsibility, plus remittances!
Quite a lot of exposition packed into just a few sentences:
We are introduced to ourselves as "Comeuppance" which is an ideal buried fairly deep in the structure of the universe. This move by HoratioVonBecker opens up whole vistas of new protagonist-styles for Cursebearers. A quick brainstorming session made me think about creating curse bearers at different levels of organization: Tactical Squads or Military Legions given a (singular) curse are essentially the same idea, but would play out very differently. You could extend this to a corporation given a curse without modifying the formula much. A Cursed civilization would broaden the gameplay challenges relative to a cursed corporation, but not by much. Moving away from organizational size, we could think about organizational structure. A family would react to a curse very differently than a hobbyist club, or collection of strangers.
All this is to say, the (progression) Curse Bearer genre can be expanded to lots of different play styles. DnD is basically a tactical combat game. Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist is closer to freeform world building. In between, the Accursed could grant power to people sandbox simulators like RollerCoaster Tycoon, or spooky-simulators like Fallen London.
In this particular fan work the MC is one who already has a pretty wide portfolio of assets. We get the very excellent phrase "hyper-trillion" alongside the very ambiguous term of "your charges." One definition of charge would be something like a ward - a person in your care. An alternative definition is the game-term for an increment or "quantum" of energy (charges in a magic wand, for example). Either explanation has Comeuppance operating in multiple discrete locations with defined goals and/or power available for each location. Depending on which version was intended, the manner of the Accursed's appearance might give some clues about the starting characterization for our multiversal protagonist.
This one is rough. Has the Accursed done anything that would inspire glee at getting his comeuppance? The conflict between him and his tormentors is meant to be ineffable, but some hints have been dropped about the Accursed trying to challenge and change the status quo. If that change is for the better, describing his curses as "comeuppance" could only be very tongue in cheek. Is our MC's existence really limited by the denial of the chance for such a small bit of cosmic irony?
It would be fun to find out!
Now this is neat. The 'charges' seem to be people who have the attention of Comeuppance. When Hunger et. al got their curse offers, it was looking over their metaphorical shoulders. At least, I think that's what the first sentence is saying.
The second sentence is easier to interpret. Comeuppance is a valid curse bearer because of its antipathy for the Accursed's enemies. Elevating 'just deserts' beyond its level on the ISH would have bring really satisfying karmic retribution to the kind of beings that are used to operating above the conceptual level of "consequences."
Thus: Curses!
This would be a potent form of mitigation for the Accursed. Maybe Hunger's Indenture tasks would take on a different tone? I'm not really sure how mitigation milestones that are meaningful for the Accursed itself would work for already-completed transactions.
This curse is really appealing once it has been mitigated, and really disturbing up until that happens. Lots of people get their comeuppance already, but it would be hard to argue that the universe only pushes back on those who have destructive ambitions. The climate activist is just as likely to get their comeuppance as an unethical financial broker. And the financial broker has more resources to mitigate consequences, so if the cosmic balance equalizes our MC's efforts for good and bad ends then there will be on net more weight applied against the good guys than the bad guys. On the other hand, if the curse equalizes the MC's outcomes then we might have a larger budget to impose penalties on the unscrupulous. This would lead to a quest whose theme weighs the herculean efforts needed to bring justice to wrongdoers against the feather-touch that is needed to ruin the fragile egg-shell lives of regular people.
Based on the 3(?) conversations I've had with Horatio, this would be a very interesting plot line to follow!
This one just makes me sad for Protagonist-kun. If the meta verse became aware of its true existence, then anybody with an urge for reform would be discouraged. Put in the form of a curse, those reformers would see it in the worst possible light and despair immediately. What a sad commentary on the worth of our MC's efforts.
This option provides the largest obstacle to the MC's personal goals: it is known and it is weaker. However, it also puts no restriction on the MC's day to day activities. We'd set about the task of bringing
Writing a quest where a protagonist with "hyper-trillions" of agents stumbles into a shadow-war against enemies with even broader resources would be difficult, but probably a lot of fun to read.
Adopt the self-defeating stance. The benefits are explicitly smaller than the costs. However, this is less of an existential threat than it is for mortal curse bearers. Maybe we are a better spot for AC-mitigation because we will survive holding the curse for longer than any other curse bearer? I'm not sure how this one would play out.
I don't care that much about praxis. Hard work is a good fit for an operator who handles "hyper-trillions" of agents, but it's almost scary to think of what would be required to earn praxis picks.
Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist is such a cool concept. It seems like a quest should be able to handle the free-form element pretty effectively because the log of previous verdicts would always be available. I'm imagining something like a techno-babble quest, but with QM guidance.
I have to say, "moderately esoteric relationship simulator" with the Accursed is a sales pitch that I didn't know would be so effective. Despite my automatic enthusiasm for W/T/F, this one immediately caught my interest. I think it would depend on the combination of Curse / Remittance.
[H] The Apocryphal Curse
[H] Collection
Collection is the quest that I want to read most. It is totally off the wall, and for someone who wants to investigate different phenomena, the Apocryphal Curse is not so much an obstacle as a weighty burden. The success of this quest would be dependent on the player base engaging in a collaborative writing process instead of the top down format of most quests.
Cosmic Balance and Collection are individually my favorite options, but it seems like they don't really work together. I could be wrong.
[V] The Cosmic Balance
[V] Favor
If we are playing a relationship simulator, we should start strong by taking a curse that the big man wants to offload. Cosmic Balance is a really interesting plot device imo because it would have the thread alternating between actions that the voters would feel really good about accomplishing and actions that the voters would hate to be responsible for. There's potential for salt here, but also potential for some really interesting negotiations: Would the players ever let a bad guy go, forsaking a victory's associated Progression growth, in case the backlash from "balance" was too severe?
Adding in the Favor component just makes this even more juicy. In the absence of enthusiasm for Collection and Buy-in for Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalism from multiple creative players, this is probably the option I'd vote for.
[Bkr] The Plenary Brand
[Bkr] Incarnate
It isn't obvious that the Enemies will immediately know that we are coming for them. While mitigation becomes more difficult as we scale up, it would be entirely possible to work really hard on Mitigation (Stealth) before escalating into direct opposition with our targets. Praxis seems like the obvious choice if we are declaring War, especially given our existing power base of various heroes & villains whose circumstances make them eligible for their comeuppance.
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