Yeah and Decimator's Affliction is still a Curse that the Accursed bears. This might be a fraction of what he has, but its still a fraction of an irritant to the being closest to True Omnipotence. You think it can't eat through eternal lifespan? And no, what this grant is merely immense lifespan.
Yeah, I misread it. Also, while I'm sure the curse would still work on someone with an eternal lifespan, I'm still kinda interested in how that would manifest since percentage loss is kinda meaningless in that case.
 
The Reward of Discipline
The Reward of Discipline

Do not confuse mere mastery of circumstance, for discipline. Influence erases adversity; discipline withstands it.
-The Forebear

The winner was Myth and Legend, granting Hunger a host of benefits alongside Feat: Saber and Inheritance: Pierce Through. +++Adorie, she is now willing to accompany you beyond the Voyaging Realm. As the ascendant scion of House Mirellyian, those in her retinue may accompany her beyond the Voyaging Realm without triggering its defenses, thus bypassing your magus extraction problem to an extent.

Select your Heroic Advancement.

[X] The Forebear's Blade: Once and Future - You already have this!

[ ] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare - The spark that ignites the Age of Blood.

The components of influence are power and control. The Crimson Flare grants tremendous might, but the character wielding it may as-yet lack the experience to fully plumb the depths of its capability. Not so anymore. This upgrade immensely elevates the character's skill with his Chief Dominion, equivalent to many millennia of focused, painstakingly comprehensive practice. Its secrets and mysteries are laid bare to him, and its highest depths of attainment fully comprehended. As with Dr. Amarlt before him, through inspiration alone he can forge ash into platinum; from a box of scraps, the Plenary Core.

*Enormously increases Hunger's bloodsense radius to National scale. System-, Galactic- and even Universal-scale are possible with sufficient INT and WITS.
*First Flaring: To those who directly witness the first Heroic blaze of the Crimson, Ennobling now grants +30 Might, +25 Agi, +20 Wits, +15 Will, +10 Other Attributes, eternal youth, immense longevity and elevates Rank to a minimum of 4.5. Those of higher Rank see a +2 bonus to their Rank, to a maximum of 8. All of Hunger's current companions are in a position to witness this, and power such as this will serve Nilfel well in Adorie's absence.
*Other Ennobled henceforth still receive +8 All Attributes, a healthy lifespan of ten thousand years, and +1 Rank (to a maximum of 7), a formidable boon. An immensely potent tool in trade, negotiation, or the demanding of subservience.
*Architect of the Age: Those Ennobled, especially by the First Flare, find that they may erect great wonders and attain great accomplishments by working together over the span of years.
*Triple the bonuses applied by Quickening to Hunger himself.
*Renders his powers of restoration and suppression both fantastically mighty and subtle; mere physical harm now can never overcome the regenerative power of the Ring, while fine control of the bodily humors allows precise manipulation of the morale and fighting spirit of many beings. All such beings within the radius of his bloodsense that possess some form of blood can be heightened to unruly vigor or diminished to unfeeling husks with the simplest of exertions. Their own Rank affords a degree of resistance, but even an Armament within its Shroud would be noticeably affected.

[ ] The Evening Sky: Pillars of Creation - O Hero, of whom much has been asked, much will be given.

Substantially increases the opulence and effectiveness of the amenities present within the Realm, and grants an additional 210 days per year within the Realm of Evening. These days may be distributed as the Hero sees fit among the existing sessions; even front-loaded, if desired, though certain Curses might relish the opportunity to so accumulate power... +++Mental Stability, +All Characters (that are taken into the Realm of Evening).

*While this has enormous applications for training and advancement, much of the power of this upgrade is invested into the Realm itself, upgrading the splendors and luxuries within from deific to transcendent.
*Some may consider it wasteful to expend such an enormity of power on mere enjoyment, and there is also the risk of dependency... but such is no true risk to one who does their uttermost. The hero may need to keep an eye on his companions whose will may not be so potent, especially those that are not fledging Maidens, or Rank 10.
*Perhaps this can be weaponized to induce dependencies among the heroes of the enemy... though whether Hunger wishes to pursue such an ethos is another question. But surely the carrot is kinder than the stick?
*An extra 210 days within the Realm, that's a lot of free picks and/or Mental Stability.
*Ultimate comfiness
*U l t i m a t e

[ ] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter - For she who risked everything to save him, ensure they are repaid in kind.

The Oath of Winter is dangerous indeed, for if any one of the prospective Sovereign's subjects should have both the power and inclination to overthrow her, their essences would be pit in a battle to annihilation; and neither allies nor companions would be afforded to assist her, for Might in the proving must stand alone. For the thief of all platinum and Champion of her nation she gambled everything; and though she won the day in the end, still the magnitude of that venture ought be registered.

Upgrades and extends King of Winter: Now increases Health, Damage Resistance, Condition Resistance, and Attack Speed by 75%, and Damage Dealt by 250%. The Sovereign of Nilfel shares these benefits in full, and the nation of Nilfel by two-thirds.

Re-awaken the Fonts of Myth, slowly restoring Nilfel to its glory of old and repairing the wound in the Walls. Quells the Arcanist Shard and advances Aobaru's mission. One day the Kingdom of Winter may rise anew. +++++++Adorie, +Aobaru, may unlock Bear Curse - Winter's Brand.

*That's 30% + 30% + 15% Attack Speed, to be absolutely clear.
*Do I even need to argue for this?
*Imagine if you had less Attack Speed, would you even have been able to pierce through Procyon?
*Damage Dealt directly improves All-Defeating Stance.
*Damage Resistance and especially Condition Resistance of that magnitude are incredibly potent, with the latter vastly weakening all forms of non-damaging assault. Combined with his further-buffed All-Defeating Stance, Hunger's defense against subversion, illusion, transfiguration and other means of conceptual assault is immense.
*Season's Greetings: The hands of Fate are not the Apocryphal's alone; and though her power is by far the greater, still she may acknowledge the sanctum of her kin. Allows Nilfel to be shielded by Spare the Innocent even if Adorie is not physically present. You can move your other populations into Nilfel if you want. Given the massive lifespan and vitality upgrades, it's unlikely they would complain. Perhaps more importantly, by retreating into Nilfel Hunger may earn a modest reprieve from whatever interesting times are troubling him at the moment. Abuse this privilege and the consequences will be dire: but sometimes all you need is a day and a night.

[ ] Feat: Saber - He who is willing to die by the sword, must also have the skill to live by it.

Increases the Rank bonus of Feat: Saber to .5 base, or +1 after modifiers. The Cut and Thrust are the most fundamental elements of swordplay; in mastering both, Hunger attains proficiency over their endless permutations. Considerably improves Hunger's actual skill with the sword, expanding the range of easily-accessible effects that can be acquired via the Sword Praxis, and making him a more effective combatant overall. Rank and Attributes determine raw power, but skill determines how that power is applied, and though Hunger is exceptional for one of his age, among the great heroes of his stature his relative skill in combat is seriously lacking. There are mortals more skillful than him in this very Realm! How embarrassing.

*An incredibly significant Rank boost improving all aspects of Hunger's prowess.
*Finally dunk on Aeira's Sword-Element friend. Take that.
*Can he who wields the Forebear's Blade truly exhibit this shameful lack of skill?
*You can't take a Forebear's Blade Advancement, so this is the closest thing available.
*Guarantees you will have an opportunity to unlock Feat: Orb.

---

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Hmm. Does that awaken active Rank for those who don't have it? Because that would substantially boost Gisena's research and Artificing endeavours, especially with the +Mental.
 
[X] The Forebear's Blade: Once and Future - You already have this!

[X] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare

[X] The Evening Sky: Pillars of Creation

[X] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter

[X] Feat: Saber
 
[X] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare

[X] The Evening Sky: Pillars of Creation

[X] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter

[X] Feat: Saber


THEY'RE ALL GREAT
 
They're all amazing!
But only one gives us the god-stat :).
[X] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter
 
*Season's Greetings: The hands of Fate are not the Apocryphal's alone; and though her power is by far the greater, still she may acknowledge the sanctum of her kin. Allows Nilfel to be shielded by Spare the Innocent even if Adorie is not physically present. You can move your other populations into Nilfel if you want. Given the massive lifespan and vitality upgrades, it's unlikely they would complain. Perhaps more importantly, by retreating into Nilfel Hunger may earn a modest reprieve from whatever interesting times are troubling him at the moment. Abuse this privilege and the consequences will be dire: but sometimes all you need is a day and a night.
Considering one of the big drawbacks of Myth and Legend was that our kingdoms wouldn't be protected from Apoc since we'd be taking her in our party, this is seriously good.

As for the rest, +75% attack speed. Nuff said. (Though seriously, it's a powerful All-Defeating Stance and eventual RoB intensifier. That's important since we needed to take RoB anyway since our stats are really lagging.)
 
Attribute Upgrades
  • Strength: 27 +16 (210% value) +[Willpower]
  • Constitution: 23 +16 (210% value) +[Willpower]
  • Agility: 35 +13 (280% value) +[Willpower]
  • Intelligence: 13 (160% value)
  • Wisdom: 7 (130% value)
  • Wits: 7 +7 (160% value)
  • Charisma: 21 +5 (250% value)
  • Manipulation: 7 (160% value)
  • Willpower: 12 (160% value)
  • Protection: 36 (180% value) [+Charisma]
  • Luck: 5 (130% value)
  • Appearance: 4

The stats quickening gives us are those in red. So if we decide to take ring we'll get 32 points in str and con, 26 in agi, 14 in wits, and 10 in cha. That is a lot of stats.
 
Well, I said I would vote for mental stability if it was offered, and I am a man of my word.

[X] The Evening Sky: Pillars of Creation

Crimson Flare is very tempting though, Architect of the Age in particular sounds awesome. King of Winter has a lot of very nice effects as well, I particularly like restoring the Fonts of Myth. Having a Foremost level kingdom at our backs would be great. The only one I don't really care for is Saber.
 
*Damage Resistance and especially Condition Resistance of that magnitude are incredibly potent, with the latter vastly weakening all forms of non-damaging assault. Combined with his further-buffed All-Defeating Stance, Hunger's defense against subversion, illusion, transfiguration and other means of conceptual assault is immense.
I nearly forgot, but ADS has powerful utility capabilities in its highly multi-faceted defense as well, which gets boosted alongside with ADS. As expected of the culmination of Magic/Guile/Weapon/World-Defeating Stance.
 
So I did some math on what unmitigated Decimators Affliction does to somebody with 10,000 year lifespan ennoblement under continuous unmitigated exposure to the Decimation. It's a mix of sobering atrocity and intoxicating progress at the magnitude of our power. We can almost give people 1st world lifespans even under worst case Decimation conditions.


Lifespan of a 21 year old Empowered with a 10,000 year lifespan by ennoblement assuming continuous exposure to unmitigated Decimator's Affliction

Year 0: Age 21, lifespan 9979
Year 1: Age 22, lifespan 8981.1
Year 2: Age 23, lifespan 8,082.99
Year 3: Age 24, lifespan 7274.961
Year 4: Age 25, lifespan 6,547.2219
Year 5: Age 26, lifespan 5,892.49971
Year 6: Age 27, lifespan 5,303.249739
Year 7: Age 28, lifespan 4,772.9247651
Year 8: Age 29, lifespan 4,295.63228859
Year 9: Age 30, lifespan 3,866.069059731
Year 10: Age 31, lifespan 3,479.4621537579
Year 11: Age 32, lifespan 3,131.51593838211
Year 12: Age 33, lifespan 2,818.364344543899
Year 13: Age 34, lifespan 2,536.5279100895091
Year 14: Age 35, lifespan 2,282.87511908055819
Year 15: Age 36, lifespan 2,054.587607172502371
Year 16: Age 37, lifespan 1,849.1288464552521339
Year 17: Age 38, lifespan 1,664.21596180972692051
Year 18: Age 39, lifespan 1,497.794365628754228459
Year 19: Age 40, lifespan 1,348.0149290658788056131
Year 20: Age 41, lifespan 1,213.21343615929092505179
Year 21: Age 42, lifespan 1,091.892092543361832546611
Year 22: Age 43, lifespan 982.7028832890256492919499
Year 23: Age 44, lifespan 884.43259496012308436275491
Year 24: Age 45, lifespan 795.989335464110775926479419
Year 25: Age 46, lifespan 716.3904019176996983338314771
Year 26: Age 47, lifespan 644.75136172592972850044832939
Year 27: Age 48, lifespan 580.276225553336755650403496451
Year 28: Age 49, lifespan 522.2486029980030800853631468059
Year 29: Age 50, lifespan 470.02374269820277207682683212531
Year 30: Age 51, lifespan 423.02136842838249486914414891278
Year 31: Age 52, lifespan 380.7192315855442453822297340215
Year 32: Age 53, lifespan 342.64730842698982084400676061935
Year 33: Age 54, lifespan 308.38257758429083875960608455742
Year 34: Age 55, lifespan 277.54431982586175488364547610167
Year 35: Age 56, lifespan 249.78988784327557939528092849151
Year 36: Age 57, lifespan 224.81089905894802145575283564236
Year 37: Age 58, lifespan 202.32980915305321931017755207812
Year 38: Age 59, lifespan 182.09682823774789737915979687031
Year 39: Age 60, lifespan 163.88714541397310764124381718328
Year 40: Age 61, lifespan 147.49843087257579687711943546495
Year 41: Age 62, lifespan 132.74858778531821718940749191845
Year 42: Age 63, lifespan 119.47372900678639547046674272661
Year 43: Age 64, lifespan 107.52635610610775592342006845395
Year 44: Age 65, lifespan 96.773720495496980331078061608554
Year 45: Age 66, lifespan 87.096348445947282297970255447698
Year 46: Age 67, lifespan 78.386713601352554068173229902928
Year 47: Age 68, lifespan 70.548042241217298661355906912636
Year 48: Age 69, lifespan 63.493238017095568795220316221372

For Comparison, here's some math I did a while back for Gisena(She'd have an even better prognosis, "Eternal Youth" as opposed to a 10,000 year lifespan)

Year 1: Age 22/Lifespan 270
Year 2: Age 23/Lifespan 243
Year 3: Age 24/Lifespan 218.7
Year 4: Age 25/Lifespan 196.83
Year 5: Age 26/Lifespan 177.147
Year 6: Age 27/Lifespan 159.4323
Year 7: Age 28/Lifespan 143.48907
Year 8: Age 29/Lifespan 129.140163
Year 9: Age 30/Lifespan 116.2261467
Year 10: Age 31/Lifespan 104.60353203
Year 11: Age 32/Lifespan 94.143178827
Year 12: Age 33/Lifespan 84.7288609443
Year 13: Age 34/Lifespan 76.2559748499
Year 14: Age 35/Lifespan 68.6303773649
Year 15: Age 36/Lifespan 61.7673396284
Year 16: Age 37/Lifespan 55.5906056656
Year 17: Age 38/Lifespan 50.031545099
Year 18: Age 39/Lifespan 45.0283905891
Year 19: Age 40/Lifespan 40.5255515302


See how far we've come?
 
Upgrades and extends King of Winter: Now increases Health, Damage Resistance, Condition Resistance, and Attack Speed by 75%, and Damage Dealt by 250%. The Sovereign of Nilfel shares these benefits in full, and the nation of Nilfel by two-thirds.
*That's 30% + 30% + 15% Attack Speed, to be absolutely clear.
*Do I even need to argue for this?
+75% Attack Speed.
...
Yeah, nah.
Ultimate comfiness-
Substantially increases the opulence and effectiveness of the amenities present within the Realm, and grants an additional 210 days per year within the Realm of Evening. These days may be distributed as the Hero sees fit among the existing sessions; even front-loaded, if desired, though certain Curses might relish the opportunity to so accumulate power... +++Mental Stability, +All Characters (that are taken into the Realm of Evening).
Oh.
Oh no.
We won't be the only ones training, it would seem.

"While you lounged in your palace, I accumulated power..."
"While you drank ambrosia, I accumulated power..."
"While you grinded mental stability, I accumulated power."
And right after we leave the Cozy Land, Arcanist (who is no longer just a Shard), built a special, Apocryphal Armament, which is piloted by the Terminator, who somehow got his hand on a Ring.
Interesting times ensue.
 
Tyrant refers to the triple quickening stats, not the enoblement.

Edit: wow way too slow right now. These are all amazing and I'm trying to sort. I think I want plot progression the most, so covering Mage Extraction and taking care of Nifel looks good.

[X] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter
 
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KING and Crimson are the clear standouts for me. More analysis is warranted, but I want to point one thing out in a short post that people are more likely to actually read:
*That's 30% + 30% + 15% Attack Speed, to be absolutely clear.
*Do I even need to argue for this?
It might be needed to argue for this! The +30% attack speed meme gets thrown around a lot, but I think there's a seed of truth that people have often ignored:

The damage of Artful Thorn is capped by the amount of time we spend in the Realm of Forms. Increasing our attack speed will increase the percentage of time that each strike benefits from the Artful Thorn boost.

King of Winter boosts damage output from Thorn by a lot.
 
[X] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare

[X] The Evening Sky: Pillars of Creation

[X] The Tears of Winter: King of Winter

[X] Feat: Saber


I said I wouldn't vote, but I think this is a good compromise!

Strategically they are all very valuable.
 
[X] The Ring of Power: Crimson Flare

While Gisena and Adorie are super powerful now, half our party is still very squishy. They are so weak that they bring us almost no gains. Crimson flare helps make them viable again. I'm not the only one who sees the benefits of having a Rank 4.5 ninja in the human sphere, a place full of scheming nobles and power plays, am I?
 
Allows Nilfel to be shielded by Spare the Innocent even if Adorie is not physically present.
Oh wow, I got that one guess right.


Shame not to see Trinity in there.
Re-awaken the Fonts of Myth, slowly restoring Nilfel to its glory of old and repairing the wound in the Walls. Quells the Arcanist Shard and advances Aobaru's mission. One day the Kingdom of Winter may rise anew. +++++++Adorie, +Aobaru, may unlock Bear Curse - Winter's Brand.
... That's interesting.

Bear Curse - Winter's Brand? Is that... an actual Curse?

I'm guessing that what it does is like something similar to Grailkeeper's effects, in that it renders a land... winter-barren. Or maybe it just renders the individual icy and unfeeling, and other wintry-stuff. A heart of ice perhaps? Hm. Probably not a Brand I'd want to bear, if that's the case; a heart of ice together with the Tyrant's Doom would be bad.

And +7 pluses to Adorie. Wow, what the heck lol. That brings her to like 21 relationship. ... Fair enough I guess, I mean -- she gambled, and in return she got the Walls of Myth repairing themselves, the Font of Myth is reawakened, the Arcanist Shard is lulled into slumber, and ensures that Nilfel is prosperous even if she personally is not there. Also, she becomes pretty badass in personal combat.

I'm really tempted to take this. It makes Nilfel a save haven in a massive way, even ensuring that the Arcanist Shard can't wake up and cause trouble.

And just...

I don't know what reawakening the Font of Myth does. But I bet it's pretty cool.
 
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