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A Simple Transaction I

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Conjured Blade said:
I don't think I went into the Cursebearer's Association.

Fair point about the tactics, it was established for this fight that tactics matter, to the people who put effort into it, congratulations.

I enjoy the show that is Rihaku's work in general but I like to think I treat this as a game to be won. Our metaphorical "score" is some nebulous mix of our growthrate/conquest progress, the quantity of defensive wishes used, whether or not Hunger is an ethical dumpsterfire of a human being, how long its been since the last time we went shit shit shit mine the arete to get this or we're dead, and whether or not we die in the epilogue.

So I guess this is a gamist vs narrativist argument or something.
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Fumbles said:
That's fair. I often grapple with my own preferences vis a vis winning vs the story.
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Hah, I don't think I'm using a Narrativist argument, that's where "merit" or whether Hunger "deserved" to win matter the most! My statements come from how I believe the game is balanced is mostly gamist as well.

Rihaku makes no secret that a Simulationist approach is prioritized whether there is any conflict between those things, and I find this approach very refreshing compared to the either haphazard or heavily Narrativist approach of most other Quests on this site. The comment that no one "deserves" or "earns" anything should be view in this light, as the fact that Huger would win given the simulation is more important than whether he "should" win or not. What happened with the set-up with Ber and the whole of EFB are basically statement to this type of Quest structure.

But the point is, a gamist approach is fundamentally imperfect because unfairness is the most realistic thing that is, and a gamist approach tends to shy away from that in the name of balance. Is it fair we are constantly rewarded for our risky decision-making? Probably not. But while improbable, I can't say it's unrealistic; in fact that maybe the most realistic element of all. Sometimes you are never punished, that's life.
 
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Eh, Ruling Ring isn't a weak choice if we follow it up with power-leveling in the Realm of Evening to take advantage of that ++Progression via lots of picks. However, it's been implied that power-leveling in the Realm if Evening is not as straightforward as it sounds, so maybe we shouldn't bet on that outcome.

Going up the next OaF level or trying to skip to Sign number 7 to realize that Evening Sky bonus power would probably be the best in terms of immediate power. Tenfold Echo is also pretty good for 1 pick and 7 Arete, and I think we'll qualify for it this pick round. Our behavior fits.

So, a maximum power route would be something like OaF3+Tenfold Echo, which takes 3 picks and 32 Arete. Leaving us with enough to finish Fisher King and get that 10 Accursed Favor.

Alternatively, Hasten 6th and 7th Signs + Tenfold Echo?
 
I mean, as far as immediate power goes, we could get Once and Future III and IV, which should be more than enough to deal with any problems we're facing, even if I doubt the thread's willingness to do so.
 
Alright, if we have to worry about being hit again before we even get into PillarTime, we definitely need to buy some immediate power. Fortunately I think we're definitely getting offered Tenfold Echo here and it's great for its price. OAF3 is also an option.

A lot will depend on what complication we get hit with. Hard to plan ahead when we don't know that.
 
Honestly, we might want to consider picking up Final Form if it's offered. Having a backup like that would be nice given the trends in thread behavior, and we can definitely afford it at this point.
 
I noticed that Shardcraft was missing one advanced technique when I posted that blurb, so I've edited that one in.
Shard said:
Shardform

"If the sum of the parts are greater than the whole, then let me be the sum of my parts."

The user manifests a multitude of lesser clones ('Shards') of themselves, each wielding Shards the user had collected. Unlike most other self-cloning powers, the total power of this ability increases with the amount of shard-entities created, though each clone becomes individually weaker. For example, you might summon 2 clones, each at 75% of your original power, or 10 clones, each at 30% of your original power. The maximum amount of Shard-entities created with this ability is directly equal to the amount of Shards you possess.

You may not Shardcraft while this power is active.

* Moderately useful in combat, especially against weaker entities.
* Extremely useful in training Shard-abilities. Multiple entities equal a direct multiplication of training time that isn't in the form of chronomancy.
* Shard Entities still suffer the full effects of your curses.
* Also useful if one desires a specific Shard ability to be empowered; Typically they represent only a small fraction of your power, but with this ability one can artificially empower specific Shards to 'represent' large fractions of your power.
** For example, you could fragment yourself into 2 Shard-entities, and have 1 Entity possess the Serendipity Shard, and the remainder possess all your remaining Shards. The Shard-Entity with Serendipity would empower it as if it represented a full 75% of your original power, unlocking powers such as Fateweaving as well as a passive rate of fortunate event at a rate almost rivaling the Apocryphal Curse' rate of unfortunate events.
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Dangerous to get your heart set on any one advancement before we find out what the situation is with Complications, Rerolls, the Wish, and immediate plot fallout.

We're going to be baited with a 5 pick advancement, and we have no natural immunity to blurbs with the word "Heroic" in the title. There is no plan that will proceed past this rubicon unfazed. We'll just have to wait and see what he hits us with.
 
BrainInAJar said:
Hah, I don't think I'm using a Narrativist argument, that's where "merit" or whether Hunger "deserved" to win matter the most! My statements come from how I believe the game is balanced is mostly gamist as well.

Rihaku makes no secret that a Simulationist approach is prioritized whether there is any conflict between those things, and I find this approach very refreshing compared to the either haphazard or heavily Narrativist approach of most other Quests on this site. The comment that no one "deserves" or "earns" anything should be view in this light, as the fact that Huger would win given the simulation is more important than whether he "should" win or not. What happened with the set-up with Ber and the whole of EFB are basically statement to this type of Quest structure.

But the point is, a gamist approach is fundamentally imperfect because unfairness is the most realistic thing that is, and a gamist approach tends to shy away from that in the name of balance. Is it fair we are constantly rewarded for our risky decision-making? Probably not. But while improbable, I can't say it's unrealistic; in fact that maybe the most realistic element of all. Sometimes you are never punished, that's life.
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I think I see where you're going with this. I got gamism and simulationism muddled. Like say... an immersive sim. If it's an immersive sim videogame like Deus Ex or Dishonored, those always have low chaos, pacifist, or close to pacifist runs you can do if you want to show off. If you find some novel exploit in the world model like using LAMs to climb walls in Deus Ex, and leverage it to solve missions in interesting ways you're doing well. But at the same time you can show off in a fight on the level of say... Stealth Gamer BR in Dishonored. What all the approaches I mentioned have in common is the demand you understand the systems. Learn the world, and exploit your knowledge to solve the mission in whatever route you feel like doing. If there's some weird luck video where you win an immersive sim level by doing absolutely nothing I wouldn't mind seeing it but it isn't something I'd conventionally understand as being in the spirit of an immersive sim at the moment. If you charge a mech without a GEP Gun, an equivalent, or some funkadelic plan you should expect to die.

Still, you may have a point about the fairness angle for our risky decisionmaking when it comes to simulationism in the RPG sense. In the meantime I'm going to try sleeping.
 
Hello! It's time for the second part of the Rihakuverse Musical. This second song is called, "The Maids of Fray" and it's dedicated to girl power and smugness. It might have also been funded with Imperial money.

Teal, Suizhen, Nilul, and Gisena enter the stage.

[Verse 1]
Good evening, all you gentlemen
Mobsters, creeps, and crooks
Men with blights come after you
And still you're off the hook
For those who scare and terrorize
It's the dawn of a brand new day
You scum can simply call us
The one and only Maids of Fray!

Lord Hunger has his special ring
(Pretty strong that little thing)
Seram's deeds are really swell
(But who will bring him out of his shell?)
Haigara's foes, they finish last
(Too bad sometimes he's just too fast!)

[Hook]
While all the boys can always save the day
No one does it better than the Maids of Frey (The one and only Maids of Fray)
While all the boys can always save the day
No one does it better
No one does it better than the Maids of Fray

[Verse 2]
Ishida has heroic traits
That is when he's shooting straight (Hey!)
(I'm just sayin'...)
Daylian's always courageous
(His little Lazulite, less outrageous)
The Interchangeable Man can expand
Becomes putty in our hands

[Hook]
While all the boys can keep you punks at bay
No one does it better than the Maids of Fray (The one and only Maids of Fray)
While all the boys can always save the day
No one does it better
No one does it better than the Maids of Fray

[Verse 3]
Nameless throws his Diagram
What a weapon, what a bang
Check out that artifact chest-plate
Sure can make a girl's heart melt
He's always right there for the save
(I'd like to see his secret cave!)

[Hook]
While Nameless does things in his special way
He'd do it better with the Maids of Fray (The one and only Maids of Fray)
While Nameless always seems to save the day
No one does it better
No one does it better than the Maids of Fray
Maids of Fray
(Yeow!)
Oh, and uh, wordcount's like, 360 words or something.
 
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HoratioVonBecker said:
2 picks 0 arete or 0 picks 7 arete, actually. And it needs nine echoes first, of which I believe we have eight.
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Rihaku said:
[ ] Tenfold Echo (7 Arete, 0 picks or 3 picks, 0 Arete) - Adds ++++++++++AGI, ++++++++++Might. This is considerably more efficient than you would normally get for 7 Arete, and likely to be highly relevant against the Rotbeast, allowing Hunger to fell the monster in near-absolute safety with far fewer casualties. Only available when one performs a feat worthy of the Forebear; in this case, the selfless regard for one's vassals no matter what rains may come.
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0P 7A is a pretty good deal, imo. 3P 0A would be hard to justify given the pick drought. I'm not sure it requires 10 echoes. There are some very strong QM endorsements of Tenfold in the statement index, as well...
 
To put the goofs aside, Sword in the Stone is probably where it's at, since it's got some stuff we could really find useful. Slice Fate would be nice, as would Pathway. Ruling Ring components would be handy but provoking Asterios before we know if the situation in the HS is a bit dicey. I'm almost a 100% certain we're going for some ludicrous 5 pick 50 Arete gigapower tho.
 
Imagine spending 5 picks to repair the Borefear's wSord.

Flex Tape ain't fixing that, for sure.

Either that or get Adorie/Nifel EFB. Or Aobarus.

Maybe even Aeira's because it's almost obligatory we mention her once every few pages lest we actually forget her.
 
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