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A Simple Transaction I

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Three Times Greatest

Passage: Fate/Grand Order (HI, +0)
Patronage: The Seraph (+1 HF), The Mandarin: Obols of Paradise (-1), The Genius (-2)
Provision: A Debt (+2), Fisherman's Association Membership (+1), Overcharge (+2), Obols of Paradse 5 (-5)
Panoply: A Sword - Chronicler's Blade

Obols of Paradise: Augmented due to Mandarin. Grand Servant - Hermes Trismegistus

Grand Caster

STR A+
AGI A+
END B
MGI A+++
LCK EX

Class Skills:
Item Creation A+
Territory Creation A++
Independent Manifestation A

Personal Skills:

Philosopher-King EX - A Skill representing Trismegistus' position as the greatest magus, the greatest priest, and the greatest king of his times. Effectively grants EX-Rank in ancient sorcery, High Speed Divine Words, and Charisma.

As Above, So Below A++ - Anything is possible for he who has mastered this most foundational principle of magic. Operates as Imperial Privilege A++, but requires preparation and lacks side effects.

Divinity A+++ - As the avatar of threefold gods of magic, Trismegistus possesses Divinity nigh-unassailable.

Noble Phantasms:

The Emerald Tablet A++ - Upon which the lore of Trismegistus was inscribed. It is an 'Artifact Reality Marble' not dissimilar to the Temple Complex of Ramses II, though with potentially permanent duration and a focus on the domains of knowledge, theology and the arcane

Magnum Opus * - The progenitor 'great work,' the philosopher's stone that upon contact with any object or entity renders them 'perfect' according to the perspective of Trismegistus. The potential applications - limitless; casual manifestation of a flawless verison of the Third Magic numbers among the least of its capabilities.
 
Added First Reason's Last Resort to the sword index.
 
Rihaku said:
You may share burdens undertaken, such as the compulsion of the Overlord or the duties of Heroism, with your closest companions, proportionally but imperfectly diminishing their demands upon you. For example, a companion that undertakes half your responsibilities of Heroism will reduce yours by one-fourth.
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How does this work when you're sharing your responsibilities with more than one companion? If you have one companion sharing half your burdens, then if another companion commits to sharing half your burdens, is that calculated against the original value or against the value after it was reduced by sharing with the first companion? Similarly, will this also reduce the obligations of the first companion?

Like, example scenario with the Overlord's requirements. It starts at:

You: 16hr/day commitment

Then you add a companion who will commit to sharing half your burdens:

You: 12hr/day commitment
Companion 1: 8hr/day commitment

Now if you add a second companion who will also commit to sharing half your burdens, is that Scenario 1, 2, or 3:

Scenario 1
You: 9hr/day commitment
Companion 1: 8hr/day commitment
Companion 2: 6hr/day commitment

Scenario 2
You: 9hr/day commitment
Companion 1: 8hr/day commitment
Companion 2: 8hr/day commitment

Scenario 3
You: 9hr/day commitment
Companion 1: 6hr/day commitment
Companion 2: 6hr/day commitment

I also had a couple-few other questions, if it's not too much hassle.

1: What happens if you apply the Mandarin to whatever you take from the Seraph? Anything?
2: If the Mandarin doubles your stat +s from the Princess, are they also doubled for companions taken with the Auger?
2a, nitpicky: Should that be Augur? Auger is also a word, but it has a pretty different meaning.
3: I'd also like to second the question of whether we can take more than one companion with the Auger? Is the answer different if the Princess is naturalizing the process and it doesn't involve the gem anymore? I can see that you can get two if you apply Mandarin to the Auger, but can you hypothetically just buy it again to get another?

Rihaku said:
Aura: Fateful Portency - +50% LCK. By just doing whatever they feel like, the character naturally stumbles into new abilities, friends and resources at an optimal rate, compared to other courses of action. The advancement speed is considerably slower than proper application of Outermost Lathe.
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Is this actually an aura flaw? "Not as good as another aura" doesn't really seem like a flaw the purchaser actually suffers from in any way, in contrast to the other flaws.

Anyway, time to do another build using the updates.

Baseline 3
Passage: Your Choice - Cradle (+0)
Patronage: The Overlord (+5), The Seraph (+1 Heroic Favor), The Mandarin - Targeting Princess (-1), The Princess (-8)
Provision: Finitude Lacing (+1), A Debt (+2), Flicker of Soliton (-1), Auger of Companionship - targeting Lindon at Truegold (-1)
Panoply: Special Dispensation (-1 Heroic Favor)

The Princess - Mandarin augmented: Distribute 500 +s; CHA/APP double cost, WITS/WIS triple cost, INT/LCK/WILL quintuple cost, cap 100 +s / Stat

Might +0
Agi +0
Cha +0
App +0
Wits +0
Wis +0
Lck +0
Int +0
Will +100
Prot +0

Aura: Overriding Will - Will +20%, you may apply your Will to anything normally covered by another Attribute, provided that doing so clearly contributes to your pursuit of your most fundamental objectives. You are inclined to believe that the direct path is always the best path.

Yep, another Cradle build. What can I say, I love those books, and also cultivation settings are among the very few where you can hope to attract companions capable of scaling as far as an ambitious build allows you to. The thesis here is fairly simple. Maximize your Will using the Princess and the Mandarin. Then, take the Praxis as your only direct source of power outside of stat +s and your Aura as that can scale off Will/uses Will to advance. Further, it makes Finitude Lacing practically a freebie - it may or may not affect your Aura (Cradle and especially the attached multiverse have room for a lot of esoteric effects), but the Praxis is specifically noted as working everywhere so it should be entirely unaltered. It also has a near-unlimited power ceiling, even with "just" the Royal version. Then, make your Will able to apply to anything. Ain't no build like a SAD build, as they say.

Next, make sure you get the Auger of Companionship so that you will have at least one companion you should be able to get to share your burdens to proc that effect from the Princess. Lindon was chosen strategically as a companion. Not just because it gives you an in with the core cast, but because he is probably the only person in the story inclined to go "you want me to work up to 16 hours a day on getting stronger? oh, you mean like I was already going to?" As such he makes an excellent candidate for sharing your burdens per the Princess, and gratitude for receiving either 250 or 500 stat +s (pending QM clarification) should seal the deal. You may rapidly scale past most of the other members of the core cast being eligible to share your burdens thanks to the Praxis, but Eithan at least should remain a theoretically possible option for a good while. And once you ascend out of Cradle, maybe you can buddy up with Suriel? She seems pretty cool.

I will say, though, that while this build is presumably effective thanks to including the Praxis and the SAD focus, I don't actually find it too compelling personally. It just doesn't speak to me like I thought it might when I thought of it originally. As such, I'm going to try to put together an edited Princess build that I find a bit more fun when I have some more time to focus on it.

458 words of build discussion, I'm going to sum this with the other build whenever I get around to it.
 
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It comes, and it comes now. Make as many builds as you can, to empower the Forebear! Glory to the November Sky!
---

A Wish Upon A Star
CYOA​

A long time ago, as a mere child, you made a wish upon a star on one Christmas evening. As the new year approached, you forgot about it.

A few moments ago, as the new year approached, you were about to suffer the fate of death.

Not anymore. We are here, wish-maker.

---

A new year - and indeed, a new eon - approaches, and with it, that last star's flame verges ever closer towards collapse, its flames trickling down like molten tears.

As much as you may wish for it to be otherwise, everything must have its end in time - happiness, existence, and even the immortal concept of love shall perish; as the stars wink out, put out like ignoble candle flames, one by one marching to a beheading ceremony at the cruel edge of entropy's sword. So, too, does the end march in our direction.

However, until then, we - the wearied and tired soldiers fighting at the end of time, offer you a final paradise. A resting place where you, who had once saved our souls from oblivion, may now rest under our watchful aegis. No one has to die alone.

Please, accept a single and humble Spark, an exhalation of the glory-that-was. It's all that we can offer you at this time - a single gasp of our dying kindness, for the infinity of splendor you have once shown us. We are sorry that we could not offer more.

---

The Realms Ahead
The Realms Ahead

A setting difficult to describe, but one that can be viewed semi-accurately through the lens of metaphor: imagine, if you will, a simple pine tree. This is the Ever-Tree.

A few centimeters above its crown burns the Final Star: a spark of mass, energy, dreams, and primal magic with the awesome magnificence of primordial nucleosynthesis.

And directly underneath that star is the guardian world of this tree, the Starworld, a utopian paradise of gods and ancient spirits who draw on power directly from the shining patron overhead; a place where most humans do not receive direct access barring extreme circumstance.

If we are to then move down the tree's spine, we'll encounter the First Crossworld, and then moving on, the Second Crossworld, and so on, until the biggest Sixth Crossworld, and the nascent and final Seventh Crossworld.

As you move down, the universes in question have a tendency to become larger, but also less orderly, more chaotic, less idyllic, less magical, and exponentially more dangerous. As an example, the First Crossworld is a world roughly the size of an Earth continent, with a population of five billion souls, and free access to technology advanced enough to appear magical, and magic advanced enough to appear divine. Compared to that, the Seventh Crossworld is about the size of your own former universe, with a far greater population, medieval technology, and magic barely more advanced than Earth's average, yet beset endlessly by various Devourers from further below.

Underneath the Seventh Crossworld is nothing but the Conflux. It's more than possible to wander even down here, into this Chaos of Worlds, the last creations of the dying star, and survive, perhaps even thrive, but it's not a pleasant location. Even the Conflux used to be a realm much larger, but it is constantly being eaten by the monstrosities who inhabit these unlit depths, seeking to ascend the tree and consume the dying star before its final light can burn out.

Aside from the Crossworlds, there are also Branchworlds, which split off directionally to the 'sides' of a Crossworld; sometimes, these Branchworlds even branch off of one another or connect in other, various arcane ways. A Branchworld of another Branchworld may be considered its own world, or a sub-realm, like a demiplane. Most distant Branchworlds have limited contact and traffic with their Crossworld (but such exists, especially on the upper levels), but Crossworlds usually have at least nominal means of contacting fellow Crossworlds, usually the ones directly above and under them.

More details on specific worlds in the sections below.

(Note: Greatly not to scale and with only modest accuracy. Take it with a whole bucket of salt.)
Their Dangers
Their Dangers

Among the Ever-Tree's myriad worlds, there are countless monsters and foes that can be encountered - enemy kings or malevolent dragons on fantasy worlds, armies of self-replicants or evil clones on space worlds, and hundreds of variations of these in between a stew of other foes. There is a hidden faction of the Star Guardians who, despite appreciating your wish and respecting you for your status, believe that your presence is a threat to local reality and would rather see you eliminated in spite of their genetic instinct to obey your orders. There are Devourers who may become allies, and orders of archiwizards who'd see you captured and plumbed of your soul's innermost secrets.

Although you wished for this world, you are not, after all, its ultimate master or threat.

However, among the most dangerous creatures that plague the Ever-Tree are the Devourers; beings of ultimate void, whose progenitors once felt the light of the Star entering the emptiness in their hearts and filling it with something, who now desperately seek the protective heat and light the Star, consuming all on their upward journey.

Among the Devourers, there are multiple species of varying levels of rarity, danger, cogency, and overall power. Around a seventh of them are well-documented, and around a 25% of those shall be described here in a brief index.

Devourer Species
Vampires - A near-human species in appearance, often indistinguishable from a person aside from their pale skin and fangs, Vampires are a form of infiltration parasite that enter on their own into undefended societies and consume them from within, using arcane powers in order to hypnotize innocents into servitude or corrupting humans into undead thralls. Aside from that, Vampires can drain a victim of their blood and spirit, in order to grow stronger over time in physique and magic.

As soon as a society is completely under its rule and can offer no significant resistance, a Vampire shall walk its streets and consume every being in sight, and devour even its thralls. When this process is complete, they move on to other places, to repeat the cycle. They do not reproduce as such, but if they leave behind an undead thrall unconsumed (a rare event), it shall grow into its own Vampire given sufficient time, with little memories of its former life and no empathy. It's unknown what ceiling there is to vampiric growth, but exceptional specimens are known to match mid-rank Star Guardians in might and speed.

Rootworms - A Rootworm resembles an earthworm large enough to be ridden, with a set of red eyes and a thick carapace, as well as a mouth that opens like a chasm, set with multiple rows of sharp and grinding teeth. They are rarely encountered on the upper levels. Rootworms are maybe the most docile Devourer species commonly known, as they are not directly hostile towards humans in most circumstances, and can even be tamed to serve as steeds of modest loyalty under the right conditions.

A Rootworm will never attack a human when solitary, even to defend itself, but they can become dangerous in large groups (more than a hundred per square kilometer,) as their combined pheromones will drive them into a feeding frenzy where they seek to consume the earth, what's on it, and one another. If such a frenzy is triggered, it can often ruin an entire town and lead to the metamorphosis of the final surviving Rootworm, which evolves into a Jabberwock and often eats whatever remains.

Gnawers - A Gnawer is a kind of scouting drone and scavenger, about the size of a small dog, with a set of arachnid limbs and eyes, as well as a thick shell. They are very agile, capable of adhering to any surface, and often operate as swarms counting no less than a minimum of twenty individuals, but often as much as hundreds. They are capable of tracking and communicating at great distances via scent and pheromone release, often ensnaring a village or traveling group with the intent of making an organized ambush, waiting for the moment of greatest vulnerability and lowest strength to close the distance and strike as a swarm.

Creepers - An organism that rolls around and then burrows into the ground, faintly resembling a sac of pulsing red acid with multiple tentacles, their presence represents a regional threat. A Creeper will burrow and spread its tendrils into the earth like an evil tree, consuming microbes, minerals, and other structures, often twining around the roots of other plants and taking away their food, but never showing above the earth. A Creeper's reach can scale into the kilometers and its consumption process happens over a multitude of weeks, making them difficult to find before they start to cause damage.

Seekers - A flying monster resembling a giant mosquito with a dark carapace and baleful violet eyes, a Seeker is often largely uninterested in direct consumption, preferring long-term rewards over immediate gratification. As such, most Seekers are found on the upper levels, named indeed for their tendency to 'seek' out the most fulfilling meals. Among the Devourers, the Seekers are the only species ballsy enough to ever attempt a direct assault on the Starworld. However, they are not particularly strong for a Devourer even en masse, and so, much like the animal they resemble, they are mostly a petty annoyance.

Stalkers - A Stalker is a rare monster, similar to a human, but with visible indentations and bits of carapace on their chest, arms, and legs that mark them as recognizably inhuman if viewed from a moderate distance. As creatures go, Stalkers are experts of stealth, never seen and rarely heard, using their mild psychic abilities in order to help mask themselves or even make themselves appear like normal and perfectly ordinary people. Their feeding habit is to follow around a single victim over days or weeks, causing small accidents of distress and giving them a persistent yet growing feeling of dread; an emotion which they consume at a trickle to feed. As a victim acclimatizes to this state of things and can no longer act as interesting food to the Stalker, it will accost them directly and kill them, eating the evidence of the murder, then seek out the next victim. Most commonly encountered in urban settings, but rarely also in the wild.

Ghosts - Although technically not Devourers by virtue of origin, Ghosts are the byproduct of Devourers and share their feeding habits, and as such, are often classified in this manner. A Ghost is, simply put, the voided remains of a dead soul from a dead world, often in the Conflux or what used to be under the Conflux, resembling a floating dark cloak with no other discernible features. The very presence of a Ghost is anathema to living creatures, sapping away their strength, will to run away, and their heat, creating a field of stillness and cold with their appearance. A Ghost can only be destroyed with powerful magic, as blades or other physical weapons simply phase through them.

There is a rare, one-in-a-thousand event in which a Ghost attempting to feed on nearby mortals will spontaneously cease its activity and then rapidly and visibly tear itself apart into shadowy strips, before even those dissolve into harmless dark fumes, but it's unknown what causes Ghosts to 'kill themselves' in this manner, nor how this state can be reproduced artificially; all that's known is a laundry list of things, which have been experimentally attempted, and which have been determined not to be the cause.

Demons - An evolved form of Ghost that occurs due to a poorly-studied kind of metamorphosis, a Demon is invisible to the naked eye, appearing only in reflections or mirrors as a floating sphere of black gas that leaves behind a faint trail in its wake. A Demon, unlike a Ghost, often selects a single vulnerable victim, entering their body through the nostrils and mouth and then spreading throughout their system. After several moments, the Demon will have complete control over the victim's body, mind, and soul (including their magic), steering their entire being with no input from their victim. After this point, there is no way to save the victim from the Demon.

It will utilize the body, abilities, and memories of a vessel to inflict seemingly random acts of wanton violence and terrorism with little rhyme or sense, albeit very often aiming for maximum casualties and 'shock factor.' All known attempts to communicate with a Demon have yielded few answers. Demons will only communicate in attempts to produce emotional distress and cause pain to their interlocutors. If the host body is killed, the Demon will vacate it within moments, seeking out their next vessel, but notably, a Demon is either unable or unwilling to vacate a vessel that has been captured or imprisoned (however, they are not afraid of making their vessel commit suicide if they are aware a capture attempt which is likely to be successful is impending.) A Demon, much like a Ghost, can be killed using powerful magic, but not direct means. There are a few known methods for resisting demonic possession, but the most faultless one is to simply remain alert and kill it before it can possess you.

Ghouls - An undead thrall belonging to a Vampire is commonly known as a Ghoul. Aside from corpselike resilience, a strong hostility towards the living, and retaining no memories of their past lives, Ghouls are unremarkable.

Jabberwocks - A Jabberwock is the evolved form of a Rootworm, a pseudo-draconic lifeform, it mostly inherits the laziness of its former Rootworm form. Although vastly more powerful and intelligent than a Rootworm, capable of breathing fire, with a resilient carapace that defies even the sharpness of an enchanted blade or the tip of a magical arrow, a Jabberwock retains many of its prior form's tendencies, mostly uninterested in humans and largely slothful, feeding on earth and rare minerals when no animals or plants are within close vicinity. As it can be dangerous when roused to anger, but otherwise not exceptionally harmful, the standard procedure is to leave Jabberwocks alone on their own and give them a wide berth.

A curious property has been noted - although this feat has not been replicated since, there was a person that used to have a loyal Rootworm steed. After its evolution into a Jabberwock, this creature retained its loyalty to its master.

Consumers (True Devourers) - A Consumer, also known as a True Devourer, is the most varied species of Devourer. As a matter of fact, Consumers are the species of Devourers that do not fit into any other kind of known or identified species; unique or unknown specimens are called Consumers or True Devourers until such a time when other members of their kind are successfully identified and properly investigated. At one point, it was often believed the original Vampire was a True Devourer, until it became apparent that he was merely the splinter of something else...

World-Eaters - A World Eater is a catch-all term for a Devourer that has developed or grown to the point of representing a meaningful risk to an entire universe or set of universes, such as a Branchworld or a Crossworld. They are often also a True Devourer that has grown to monstrous size and capability, or a member of an established species that underwent significant metamorphosis to the point of barely resembling the other members of its species. These are, as one might imagine, rather difficult to find and most of them are in the Conflux or even further below. A single World-Eater is known to be progressing upwards on the Chainworld.
The Choices You Make
The Choices You Make

As detailed before, you have a single (1) Spark that you may spend on anything you desire. Further Sparks may be acquired through various means. The first choice you must make is where in these worlds you are delivered. It will cost far greater power to deliver you up the tree, but delivering you to a lower place may spare us many resources...

---

Location

[ ] Starworld [1 Spark] - As described above, the Starworld is a place of carefree life and utopic idyll. Its form is that of a single flat disk of platinum-silver alloy, as a perfect coin, with a surface area of roughly forty thousand square kilometers. Above this disk are many layers of rock and soil, various forms of benign flora and fauna, and cities made by the Star Guardians, all of which are densely populated. Although, despite its form, relatively few of its citizens experience the actual luxury this place is theoretically capable of sustaining, as every Star Guardian must endure harsh training in magic and might to descend down the Ever-Tree in order to fight off the Devourers.

Although no ordinary human is allowed here, every Star Guardian and human living on the Ever-Tree owes you an infinite debt, and so, you will be permitted to live here until the Ever-Tree withers, in any dwelling you'd prefer and served by a skilled retinue of Star Guardian butlers, maids, cooks, etc. Any food, beverage, or luxury possible on Earth and many that are not, including various forms of media, can and will be provided upon request in great abundance and unbelievable quality, surpassing their Earthly equivalents by the same degree that Earth's resources surpass that of a common caveman's. All of the Star Guardian species will convert a modest but powerful portion of their attention and power to ensuring that you enjoy your stay here, no matter what, but empowerment to superhuman ability is somewhat limited.

If you desire to travel further down the Ever-Tree, a small troop of Star Guardian bodyguards will accompany you, and you are permitted to bring back any people you encounter to live in similar conditions to yourself - within reason (up to a hundred people whom you'd classify as acquaintances and towards whom you owe a minor debt and feelings of gratitude is acceptable; an entire world's population simply for the sake of benevolently saving them from Devourers isn't.)

At their current predicted rate of expansion, it'll be roughly six-hundred and forty standard years before the World-Eaters reach this place. If you so desire, a Star Guardian may assist you and your friends in suicide when that happens, making it a painless and even a relatively joyful experience.

As a minor footnote, Star Guardians (also known as Illuminosians,) are nearly indistinguishable from humans, save they are exceptionally beautiful and eternally youthful. They often possess hair the shade of snow, and eyes in various colors of starlight (in descending order of commonality: yellow, orange, red, blue, white, green, purple) which glow when they are under duress or exerting themselves. An Illuminosian's body feeds on the ambient starlight and magical energy in their surroundings to permanently empower their physiques, eventually learning to draw on their internal mana reserves for great feats, such as flight, regeneration, empowering of their equipment, or the firing of energy beams and attacks. Each and every Illuminosian has an inborn sense of duty and obligation towards their creator (you.) They are also a species of natural warriors, having taken on the task of protecting the final star as their duty.

[ ] First Crossworld [0 Sparks] - Also known as Pasmanteria, the First Crossworld is similar to Earth, including its appearance and features, but is significantly smaller (it has a single continent about the size of Eurasia,) and five billion people living on it, with a very minor population of Star Guardians who keep the peace in cooperation with the local authorities. It'd be decidedly easy to cross over to the Starworld from here - all it'd take is for you to contact the local government and convince them you must speak to a Star Guardian, and prove your identity to the Star Guardian in question if - and when - you manage to find them. It should be relatively easy, as we are expecting you, and most Star Guardians will instinctively comprehend who you are upon seeing you.

If you wish, however, it's perfectly valid to remain here instead. As far as worlds go, Pasmanteria is one of splendor and great development, with free access to technology advanced enough to appear magical, and magic advanced enough to appear divine. Even an unregistered citizen, such as yourself, would be able to gain citizenship within moments of proving that you are not an illegal immigrant (easily done if you can locate a Star Guardian,) and such would entitle you to luxuries only a few steps below those of the Starworld, albeit with significantly less daily interference from the Star Guardians.

There's little Devourer presence on this level. A Vampire or two who slip through the cracks, and obviously Seekers, but the former will often be incinerated by the local military before killing a single victim, and the latter ironically served in restaurants as meals, as a form of local delicacy (Seekers are one of the few edible Devourer species.)

[ ] Fourth Crossworld [+1 Spark] - A world the size of several connected star systems, each with its own inhabited planets. As expected, the technology and civilization level is about on par with 27th century Earth, with local metaphysics allowing for relatively safe space flight and somewhat mitigating the drastic results of space exposure. Aside from this, however, it's also a world far more dangerous than its upper cousins; Star Guardian presence is limited, as most Star Guardians are assigned either to the Conflux or the Third Crossworld level. Devourers are relatively common on all planets, making concentrated invasions and often living in the murk of large cities.

About 30% of violent deaths on the Fourth Crossworld can be attributed to the Devourers, and this can become even worse on the Branchworlds.

It's hard to say much else aside from the generalizations above, as every planet on the Fourth Crossworld is unique in terms of society, space, population, luxury, etc. It should not be impossible to acquire one's own spaceship and travel with six months of a common farmer's salary, and it should be even cheaper for most other professions.

As, coming down here, you have at least two Sparks, you should be capable of getting to that point and then possibly ascending up to the Third Crossworld with only a modest risk of being devoured. Good luck, dear Maker.

[ ] Sixth Crossworld [+2 Sparks] - An exceptionally dangerous and deadly place, the size of a single galactic supercluster whose components are connected with cosmic treadways and quantum encoders that increase the ease of magical teleportation between them. However, most of those galaxies are now abandoned, the military forces once keeping them protected having since then retreated to the Core of the supercluster to mount a final defense against the Devourers approaching from the sides, riding the wave of destruction from the Seventh Crossworld. If they aren't stopped, this will become the place of the Second Great Devouring in less than fifty years.

The Sixth Crossworld is, on average, home to technologies analogous to modern Earth, but with a few remarkable pieces that stand out. As an example, human ingenuity and great bureaucratic cooperation have managed to produce effective spaceships and the aforementioned cosmic treadways before, but those feats are now far beyond the capabilities of this realm's inhabitants - any technological and magical artifacts here are not going to be reproduced. There is no significant Star Guardian presence here, nor on the level above, aside from a couple of units who'd managed to survive the First Great Devouring on the Seventh Crossworld and didn't make it further up since then.

The outer rims of the supercluster are fraught with dangers and constant Devourer presence in the form of great fleets and deadly magical beasts who travel ever inwards through the cold of space. The presence of Devourers is a daily occurrence in those places; on a weekly basis, an entire planet's population dies to a swarm of locusts, and on a monthly basis, an entire galaxy's worth of lights forever disappears from the sky never to shine again. The Core of the supercluster is mostly safe, especially if you stick to other humans. It won't remain so forever. Are you sure this is the way?

It shall die as the Seventh had, a death not by the cruel sword, but a slow consumption - a hundred trillion great devourers moving in concert with an unstoppable inertia.

[ ] Seventh Crossworld [+3 Sparks] - A long time ago, this place used to resemble your own universe. In your honor, a place identical to Earth and the Milky Way was even created here through a confluence of fate manipulation and similar abilities. However, those august powers are gone, and so are those august places. The heroes of this World put up a valiant defense, and so did the legions of Star Guardians sent down to protect it, but now they are gone, the victims of the First Great Devouring, marking the first of many failures and inadequacies on the parts of the Guardians; the point at which they realized the Ever-Tree's inevitable collapse. That was a thousand years ago.

The humans of this Crossworld are scattered across innumerable floating planet-remnants or half-devoured arcships that were meant to escape to upper Crossworlds but failed to activate as their reactors were consumed for the brightness of their glow and power. There are no stars in the sky; only artificial and magical lights can produce any kind of illumination within this space. The local technology ranges from medieval to somewhat pre-modern, with magical and exotic abilities rarely higher than your former Earth's average. There are few people left (although more than fifty billion in total, they are scattered across vast distances), so make sure to treasure the presence of any companions for what it is. It'd be a great challenge to escape this place, and a considerable one to survive here for any span of time, even for one such as yourself.

In a few years, the Seventh Crossworld shall be entirely consumed by the few World-Eaters who stayed behind to finish their meal down to the last crumb of the feast.

Make careful decisions with the Sparks you have, Maker, and reconsider twice the choice you're about to make.

[ ] The Conflux [+5 Sparks] - A realm, but not in truth, of lawless chaos, composed of a hundred minor worlds, all in the process of being eaten right down to the specks of space and time, until not even the blind infinities separating them remain.

There isn't much to be found here, aside from True Devourers and World-Eaters that shall move on upward as soon as their meal is finished. There are only very rarely any planets or environments in here, and where they occur, Devourers are consuming them in vast armies; you are assured to appear somewhere where you can survive the first couple of seconds and where there are metaphysics and an atmosphere capable of sustaining you, but outside of that, you will have to make your own path to survival or any of the other worlds the Conflux holds. It's strongly recommended you come here equipped with magical capabilities that include self-sustenance in their arsenal.

There is no method to travel upwards, as it was eaten long ago. You'll have to make one if you ever want to see the higher worlds.

[ ] The Chainworld [+3 Sparks] - An bit of an oddity - a while ago, a mutation in the founding code of a Branchworld occurred, which caused it to bud off a Branchworld almost identical in function as well as appearance, which caused it to bud off a Branchworld almost identical in function as well as appearance, and so on, almost five-hundred times. At the bottom of the Chainworld, a single World-Eater that managed to leap between the base of the Ever-Tree and the nearest Branchworld is steadily consuming its way up. As soon as it is done, it shall reach the sixth level of the Ever-Tree and probably consume an entire branch attached to the Sixth Crossworld - it will manage this feat within the next twenty years, and perhaps slightly less.

All of the Chainworlds are, as stated, similar to each other - the passage between them can be found in the center in the form of a 'well' that goes up as well as down. Outside of that place, the standard template of a Chainworld is a flat world with metaphysics and elements similar to Earth and some amount of natural magic. A few humans are present and have civilizations in the form of primitive kingdoms, but they are sadly unaware of the true nature of reality or the approaching Devourer. There is no Star Guardian presence of any kind here or on the branch the Chainworld hangs from.

[ ] A Random Realm [+1 Spark or +2 Sparks] - A random place on the Ever-Tree. An option for gamblers-only. As the Star Guardians wouldn't take this risk, invent a random explanation as to why you were scattered to some other point in the Ever-Tree (a Devourer attack is perfectly reasonable if you're short on ideas.) Instructions below:

Select Level: Roll 1d8, the outcome is the level you appear on (1 = first Crossworld, 3 = third Crossworld, 8 = the Conflux, etc.)
Select Point: Roll 1d4. (1 = Crossworld of that level, 2 = a Branchworld close to the Crossworld, 3 = a Branchworld distant to the Crossworld, 4 = a demiplane.)

If you wish, then you may receive 2 Sparks instead of 1, but in return, you must add a single +1 to the roll outcome.

As a result of this, if on Select Level, you roll a total of 9, you emerge in the darkness under the Conflux, where only Devourers exist, which amounts to immediate death - accept this outcome as a risk that has not paid off and redo the roll while hanging your head in the appropriate level of shame, adding a further +1 as a penalty for greed. If, by some miracle of misfortune, you keep landing in the darkness until it's basically impossible to crawl out, you've lost. If on Select Point, you roll a five, then you are on a world that has fallen off the edge of the Ever-Tree due to devourer withering and is steadily flying down either to a lower branch or to someplace unknowable.

If you're amazingly unlucky and end up in a world that fell off the Conflux, then... well, I wish you the best of luck on your descent to darkness. You'll need it.

If you land on a Branchworld, if you so wish, you may also roll to determine the features of that particular world. Instructions: 1d20 for tech level, 1d20 for magic level, space, etc. A value of 10 indicates the same level as its Crossworld, a 20 is slightly worse than the Crossworld above, and 1 is slightly better than the Crossworld beneath. If you are on a distant Crossworld, apply a -4 penalty to this roll, and if you are on a demiplane, apply a -8 penalty to this roll. If you're on a world that's fallen off, pick up a coin and assign a -4 and a -8 penalty to each side, then flip it, as close Branchworlds generally don't fall off.

[ ] Leave [1 Spark] - Allows you to depart this wretched realm on the verge of collapse entirely. As per Winter Dynasty's "A Quest" option but using this CYOA instead. An expanded list of worlds has been provided, too, should you wish to utilize a broader listing. Use the below as a 1d10 or tack it on top of the Quest list and use a 1d30 roller.

1 - The Witcher
2 - RWBY
3 - Supernatural
4 - Avatar: The Last Airbender
5 - Tensei Shittara Slime Datta Ken
6 - Rising of the Shield Hero
7 - Konosuba
8 - One Punch Man
9 - Star Wars
10 - A crossover setting: roll twice and combine the results into a comprehensive and seamless whole, merging power systems, setting elements, and maybe even characters into a single gestalt, using your best judgement for this task.

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Magics

[ ] Starmade Physiology [1 Spark] - An offer of relative simplicity; receive the comprehensive attributes and powers of an Illuminosian, including a single instance of permanent alteration to your appearance in order to match their own.

As your basic capabilities, gain seven times the strength, speed, and agility of an otherwise ordinary peak-human, with the durability to handle such exertions. Also quadruple your natural perceptiveness, qualitative intelligence, speed of cognition, and raw personal charisma. Become ever-living and youthful, with a keen appearance that would be described as handsome or beautiful by most humans. Also, gain the vaunted Illuminosian natural ability to absorb ambient starlight and magical energy for gradual self-enhancement. With effort and time, develop the natural techniques accessible through such, including fast-speed flight, a formation of a body-tight selectively permeable forcefield, empowering of equipment, and emission of concentrated thermal energy and luminosity to inflict grievous wounds on opponents.

Progression: Non-linear, somewhat affected by effort and choices. After a period of fifty years of casually living on the Starworld, or seventy-five on the First Crossworld or one of its close branches, your basic capabilities will triple. If you live on the Second Crossworld or one of its close branches, or one of the distant branches of the First Crossworld, this will instead happen in a hundred and sixty-five years. A level further down, in a three-hundred and fifty. After that, progression slows in proportion to distance from the Starworld in a similar manner to what's been described. After the initial attribute tripling point is achieved, all further progression is slowed down by half until the next benchmark, and then slowed by half again, and so on, and so on. None of this occurs all at once, but rather, slowly and over time.

A significant progression boost can be obtained by regularly meditating and physically training in close proximity to major leylines as well as large and powerful sources of heat and light. If this is done in optimal conditions a hundred percent of the time, then the time until your next benchmark can be shortened by as much as 20%. At the apex of around six hundred and fifty years of such training, a Star Guardian can be easily around two-thousand times more powerful than they began. It's likely that you'll be around this level when the Devourers arrive on the Starworld, if you do nothing except train the entire time.

All Star Guardians are encouraged to remain on the Starworld and train as hard as possible to grow a level of strength that may one day suffice to fight back the Devourers, but the Devourers are not without a growth of their own...

There is a secret method to speeding up advancement that requires no external resources, but none of the Star Guardians know of it. Maybe you will be able to discover it?

[ ] Exalted Spirit [1 Spark] - All of the broad abilities of a classical magician and archwizard; begin with basic spells of ordinary punch-transference telekinesis, firing elemental bolts and explosive spells for offense, or summoning and binding astral spirits from distant Branchworlds to aid you in combat or daily life, and eventually develop into a walking arsenal of vast capabilities and stupefying power, near-arbitrary control over space and time via conducted rituals, the ability to construct a lich's material phylactery to safeguard your existence against lesser Devourers, and give rise to great defensive bastions manned by thousands of manmade servitor constructs on par with a Star Guardian whose aim is to deter the incoming Devourers for as long as possible to give more breathing room and space to those on the upper levels.

The magics of Exalted Spirit come entirely from within, embedded in the spark-fragment of starlight in your soul. Although magical energy will regenerate given time, be careful to not overstep, as casting too many spells will result in swiftly accumulating levels of injury followed by death. Over time, your reserves will expand, letting you move on from household cleaning enchantments to world-spanning barriers, as shall your control, letting you develop spells of much finer granularity and utility than simple elemental evocation or summoning of basic and unrefined matter into your hand.

++Intelligence, ++Wits. Acquire more Intelligence and Wits +s over time with age, at a rapidly and greatly diminishing rate, up to a total of +10 of both. +++++Willpower.

Progression: Highly diminishing, practice and intellect-based, with an eventual capstone that must be overcome with a breakthrough. Although even a beginner's fumbling can produce a vengeful lightning bolt to strike an insolent monster, the greatest feats are locked squarely within the realms of archmastery, which is difficult to access. Although it's possible to boost one's progression with cast spells and this could theoretically yield almost transfinite power given transfinite time, you are not afforded such a luxury in this verse. A greater intellect and effortful practice allow you to learn more about the spells you cast and their principles, as well as the key sub-quantum potential and operations of your internal spark, which allows you to derive a greater fundament on which to base your spells. A single foundation leads to the making of another, which leads ever-higher, like an ascending tower with no end in sight.

After seventy years of highly effortful, daily spell-casting practice and intensive research, assuming that you have near-superhuman intellect, you ought to have the ability to fight a high-level Vampire on your own without complications and with only minor (5-10%) risk of injury, or even banish a Demon from a possessed body without further hurting its host, and later return them to full health and cognition as if they'd never been possessed in the first place. It might allow you to figure out the reason behind the Ghosts' tendency to self-immolate using divination spells. However, reaching that far without means of extending your own lifespan can be difficult; immortality serums and methods of improving one's intellect can be found on the upper worlds if you can contact the Star Guardians.

All other wizards in the Ever-Tree have a tendency to cap out at this level, but extremes of intellectual effort and ritual self-improvement may, with a spark of genius and a small amount of good luck, carry you even higher. None of this is guaranteed, of course. Assuming that such a 'breakthrough' occurs...

After seventy years of highly effortful, daily spell-casting practice and intensive research following your breakthrough, assuming that you have outright superhuman intellect comparable to a supercomputer, you ought to be capable of creating artifact prisons that can permanently seal away a World-Eater and whittle down their fundamental essence over time (a few real-time weeks) into an elixir that can empower an Illuminosian as if they'd trained on the Starworld for around five-hundred years. It'd let you fight entire armies of Devourers, maybe even fighting down the great horde (currently at Sixth Crossworld,) and completely breaking it (note that such a solution is temporary, as more hordes of far greater Devourers are sure to follow, but it'd help.)

After a further two-hundred-year period of such practice and intensive research, you'd be capable of replicating the other 1-Spark options on this list with moderate effort and some input of time (around a week per object), and empower either yourself or a chosen human or Illuminosian with it, allowing you to transform a human into an Illuminosian, an Illuminosian into a wizard with capabilities identical to your own, etc. (It's obvious which one is the more efficient selection.) It'd let you achieve potentially world-transforming feats, briefly empowering the dying star in order to let it survive for another five thousand years (its current estimated lifespan, if undevoured, is about that much time) at the cost of permanently setting your progress back a few hundred years, but doubling progression for all Illuminosians globally, or even add new Branchworlds and Crossworlds to the Ever-Tree with metaphysics uniquely suited to your or others' advancement, and similar feats.

[ ] Half-Devourer [1 Spark] - An ability derived from dangerous and heretical research conducted on the lower Crossworlds before the Devourers could fully consume them. Some of those details were later found and put together by a cabal of archwizards, who instantiated the modifications derived from the scrolls of data in order to develop new and terrifying powers. All of it was done in the name of defending the Ever-Tree, whatever it takes. There are currently fourteen subjects in existence who have access to a power like this, but you may join their ranks in order to bring the fight to the enemy.

Simply, become a half-Devourer, with a few magical mechanisms placed on top of your soul, in order to allow you for much greater and flexible progression with the ability, as well as to mitigate the negative side effects.

+20 Might, +10 Agility, +10 Protection, +10 Wits, +5 Intelligence, +2 All Stats. Also pick up to seven mutations based on Devourer physiology, which can either be cosmetic or functional, internal or external. Mutations can't be removed/are a part of your body.

Examples:
- An external buglike carapace that has five times the durability of your flesh and resists magical effects.
- Eyes that flash with a subliminal light pattern which makes people and even lesser Star Guardians more suggestible.
- A replacement of the lungs with an organic system that's five times more effective and lets you survive intense toxin and poison exposure. Also lets you spit venom.
- An additional organ that produces substances and regulates internal function to allow for survival in the vacuum of space for up to several minutes.
- A pair of black-feathered wings sufficiently powerful to carry you aloft for short periods of time.
- Sharp claws that make handling items awkward but let you cut through steel even without your enhancements.
- A pheromone that forces Devourers to recognize you as one of their own, letting you walk among them. Doesn't work on powerful and intelligent specimens.

And so on.

Also lets you eat anything, no matter how improbable or harmful it'd be to an ordinary human.

Progression: Consumption-based. If you've ever heard the saying, "you are what you eat," this might well be the quintessence of that. If you consume a hundred tonnes of pure rock, you'll gain a small fraction of their great solidity, permanently improving your durability and strength. If you consume a thousand trees, you'll gain some of their ability to derive nutrients from the soil and therefore make any future rock-eating even more efficient. It's most effective, however, to consume living creatures, and even more effective to consume sentients with powerful souls; a mild nudging sensation directs you to climb up to the shining light far above and drink from its luminosity.

If you consume a hundred powerful Star Guardians, you'll gain a reduced aspect of their physiology. If you believe this to be necessary, the Star Guardians will offer themselves to you as sacrifices, but this exchange is a gamble that may prove not to be worth it in the long-run...

[ ] Hope [2 Sparks] - And to hope; perchance to dream.

At three points in your journey, where you'd be met with otherwise unassailable foes or certain death, you may choose instead to hope, and to find a path through the darkness. This powerful effect is essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card, absolving you from the weight of crushing strategical mistakes by transforming them into the choice of a genius retroactively, 'undoing' the death of an ally by letting you find out later they'd been brought back as a cyborg, or avoiding a World-Eater's jaws by the sudden interference of an unexpected ally. Often, these will turn a minor failure into a minor victory, and an impressively spectacular failure into an awesomely great victory.

This effect is broad and powerful, almost insurmountable for the opposition that faces it, but it can't save you from absolutely degenerate and impossible odds, such as somehow magically undoing an army of World-Eaters surrounding you in the lowest levels of the Conflux. There are situations where even hope can be hopeless, and it does well to remember that everything has an ending at some point.

A single use of this ability regenerates after two-hundred years; this can be accelerated slightly using various external magics, but never significantly, and never more than by 100%, no matter what form of insane stacking or cheating is utilized.

Also, your fortune is boosted considerably, as are some of the more esoteric or combat-irrelevant aspects of your being: +15 Luck, +15 Willpower, +10 Wisdom, +10 Appearance, +10% to the value of +s regarding these.

[ ] Astaroth the Great Devourer [2 Sparks] - A long time ago, long before even the Great First Devouring, an ancient order of sorcerers captured and interrogated this entity - a True Devourer on the level of a World-Eater - within their sanctum. However, unable to see any other evidence of Devourer presence in the Ever-Tree despite the entity's insistence, they merely locked Astaroth within a thrice-bound reliquary, placed it within the depths of their monastery vault, and promptly forgot about it, outside of a few scrolls recording what transpired. A few thousand years later, it turns out they were unwise to not hear its advice.

Astaroth, also known as the Great Devourer, has changed significantly since then. After feasting for so long on the holy energy of the monastery, and on the errant flicker-thoughts of its inhabitants, it gained more knowledge than it could ever hope - and more importantly, it gained something no other Devourer has: self-restraint. It now wishes for the Ever-Tree to continue its existence, so that it may experience living on its branches in full glory, and to accomplish such, wishes to devour its own brethren to stop them. At the price of two Sparks, Astaroth shall be placed within you, a living monster in cooperation with a living human.

Its powers are heavily truncated, but it enhances you with its very essence. +10 All Stats, +20 Agility, +40 Might, and a comprehensive +.2 ISH boost. You also benefit from its relatively wise and intelligent voice speaking to you in your mind, offering sage advice on matters both tactical and mundane. It does not anger if you don't heed its advice, even for impractical reasons, outside of matters of self-preservation or when your choices or their absence blatantly endanger the Ever-Tree.

At times, you may let Astaroth externalize upon your skin as a shell-armor of crimson red tissue, letting it assume direct control over your actions and full access to other magics you have, as well as doubling the boosts from this option, including the ISH boost.

Externalizing Astaroth is dangerous for long periods of time, as it needs to consume parts of you in order to survive - it will attempt to minimize any damage it does, consuming inconsequential things at first, like tiny droplets of blood and sweat, memories you basically don't recall anyway, or minor spiritual refuse cluttering your soul. However, as time burns, so does its store of inconsequential items, which may force it to draw deeper. All of this damage may be slowed down by letting it consume other things, including other Devourers, but this process is psychologically unpleasant for you unless you are part-Devourer yourself. It will always relinquish control to you if you ask, out of a simple sense of honor (it's your body, after all,) even if such a choice is illogical. The only exception is when such a choice is outright suicidal for the both of you.

If you allow Astaroth to feed on its brethren, it will restore its lost strength over time, accumulating greater strength and more powers. A far eon from now, you two may be powerful enough to vanguard entire worlds on your own.

[ ] Unification Module [2 Sparks] - Allows you to achieve a temporary and somewhat limited soul-union with a wide and diverse multitude of captured and friendly astral spirits floating around in the world-tunnels and upper Branchworlds and Crossworlds of the Ever-Tree. Most of the astral spirits you capture are either non-sentient or possess a form of sentience that isn't directly analogous or on the same level as human sophoncy.

The Unification Module is an option with considerable immediate power. Start off with the four spirits detailed below, but you're also free to draw in more via deep meditation. Average rate for this is a spirit captured per 500 hours of meditation, but sometimes, a lucky streak may win as many as four spirits in that same time, or a misfortunate streak might leave you stranded with not a single capture after months of effortful meditation. This Progression is somewhat dependent on Luck, and somewhat on Wisdom, but a combination of both is ideal. Only a single spirit can be unified with you at a time, but there are system-external methods of overcoming this limit.

The Shire Reeve - As long as you bear this spirit: +20 Might, +20 Agility, and +120% to their respective +s. +++Wisdom, +++Wits. At will, summon a spectral longsword capable of harming intangible or spiritual opponents as if they were physical or a flaring star-shaped badge of authority that immediately compels any lawful people to comply with your orders as if they were issued by an immediate superior. A single time per combat encounter (any fight with an opponent or group of opponents which can be argued to be separate from any other given fight,) avoid a single attack or offensive measure with skill and grace. However, you are compelled to uphold the law of the land.

The Atilliator Squire - Allows you to empower a team of four to eight individuals, giving them overall +5 All Stats, and +15 Physical Stats, as well as +15 Wits, but somewhat diminishing these benefits with more individuals on the team. However, regardless of their quantity, all of these individuals receive a single ranged weapon that matches their personality and temperament and are treated as if trained with its use to the point of expertise and having trained with each other in multiple coordination exercises to act as a single, skillful group with specialized tactics. All of the ranged weapons in question are moderately enchanted, capable of causing damage to armored vehicles.

The Court Jester - Assume, freely, a disguise of any potential humanoid form you desire for every observer who has you in their line of sight, including technological devices such as cameras which are currently recording, crafting these disguises via immediate magical instinct in order to perfectly avoid detection or suspicion by other parties. Also lets you produce minor, illusory items to help with convincing others of your disguise, such as a prop gun for a police officer or an identification badge for a scientist at a research station. +5 Manipulation, +++Agility, ++All Stats.

The Astral Herald - Allows you to, for as long as you can hold your breath, become completely ethereal and invisible, traveling briefly at five times your running speed via directional flight, and reappearing in any configuration you desire (crouching, when you started travel standing or vice versa, etc.) If you take in a breath, you immediately rematerialize wherever you are. This effect cannot be scrambled with anti-magic of any kind.

A unified spirit can be swapped for another in five seconds, but growing considerably less in proportion to your Willpower. (+15 Willpower makes process near-instant, +30 Willpower makes it actually instantaneous.)

[ ] Sunlord [3 Sparks] - An Illuminosian is, however, merely the descendant of a truer kind of Star Guardian.

As per Starmade Physiology, but with the following alterations:

*+25 Might, +10 Agility, +10 Intelligence, +10 Wits, +10 Wisdom before Starmade Physiology is applied.
*After a benchmark, time until the next one is increased by 20% rather than 50%.
*A broad expansion of what you can do with your internal magical energy, allowing you to cast a multitude of spells of energy manipulation, spatial transference, and material creation of various sorts, eventually developing into full-blown sorcery. Practice-based progression, at half the rate of Exalted Spirit, with a slightly lower capstone.
*Gives you an incredible depth of charisma and personal magnetism, drawing on persons of interest throughout the entire Ever-Tree like a gravitational pull. Make a single, free 2-Spark choice in the Associates section, or two free 1-Spark choices, whichever you prefer.
*At one point in your life, you may experience the Hour of Glory, a moment during which you are a nigh-undefeatable entity of vast power. At this point, you blaze like a star of phantasmagorical impossibility, comprehensively enhancing every aspect of your Illuminosian-derived powers around seventy times. Also moves you +.7 ISH on every possible and imaginable axis for that duration. Lasts for a single hour, and cannot be prolonged or shortened through any means. Afterward, you are diminished forever, sealing away the benefits of the Sunlord and making you into an ordinary Star Guardian.

[ ] Might [2 Sparks or 3 Sparks] - To might alone...

Select one:

2-Spark Version: Distribute 80 +s among your Attributes (Might, Agility, Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance, Intelligence, Wits, Wisdom, Luck, Will, Protection.) Charisma, Manipulation, and Appearance are double cost; Wits, Wisdom, Intelligence, Luck, and Willpower are triple cost.

3-Spark Version: Distribute 120 +s among your Attributes (Might, Agility, Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance, Intelligence, Wits, Wisdom, Luck, Will, Protection.) All of them except Might, Agility, and Protection are double cost. Also, for every five points spent on a given Attribute, apply a +2% to the total worth of its +s.

And regardless of which you pick, also gain this minor perk:

Might's Halo - All physical actions which attempt to directly impose your own physical superiority over a foe of equal or near-equal power are considered in a more favorable light by random chance. Also gain +.25 ISH to a total of five physical actions every day, albeit this stacks in a diminishing manner with other ISH boosts. It's possible to gain more physical action uses per day with extensive training to as many as a few hundred, and extend the ISH boost as high as +.5, but this would be a process requiring multiple centuries of practice.

[ ] Perfect Number [3 Sparks] - A perfect number is self-describing and self-containing, axiomatic and evidently true. A number like this exists, being the code of basic reality and relatively simple to initiate into - simply knowing the number carries its associated effects.

However, study of the Perfect Number isn't a minor task. Its first couple thousand digits are relatively easy to remember, but offer no actual power. After the hundred-thousandth digit, a practitioner of this memorization can notice a gradual increase to their physical parameters, a reinforcement to their essence, and many other minor benefits. It's after several millions of digits have been perfectly committed to memory and comprehension that a practitioner starts to attain some measure of external control over reality, capable of influencing matter on the macro-quantum level. The Perfect Number isn't infinitely long, but it's transfinitely long, and its higher digits contain an increasingly dense axiomatic shell of impermeable meta-logic that prevents simply using divination spells or other special powers from achieving knowledge of them.

Progression: Slow, intellect and willpower-based. After a time, the Perfect Number develops into a googolplex; a mess of numerical complexity where advancement by even a single digit is a slog of research taking entire days of thinking, meditation, and filling out blackboards with equations. It requires an utterly superhuman mentality to even begin practice: one must thoroughly memorize and internalize every step in a string that's millions of digits long, and forgetting any of the digits can rapidly throw one's knowledge into disarray and lose them a great extent of their ability. It's much like a house of cards - it requires great finesse and patience to build, but can show truly beautiful results if not overturned by a stiff breeze. As such, it requires a rock-solid foundation and, if possible, cheating in the form of chewed gum.

It's often said that reaching the decimal point is where one's power makes a transition from physical into conceptual (ISH 1.999 -> ISH 2) but no one even knows where the decimal point is. All that's known for absolute certain is that no one in the history of the Ever-Tree has reached even 15% of the path to it; a fact based on meta-calculations regarding the Perfect Number's self-descriptive nature. And no one has any idea what might even exist past the decimal point, what secrets may lie in that strange void between wholeness and partition...

[ ] Seventh Bell [4 Sparks] - A last dying wish of the Seventh Crossworld's greatest and most avid defenders, to avenge the loss of their world against the evil Devourers.

A single power from every one of those protectors is now passed onto you; a mere firearm in their great personal armamentaria, but altogether maybe sufficient to change the world in time. And maybe, perhaps, if these gifts are united in the hands of a single person as great and powerful as yourself, it will be able to do what they could not, even together? To save this world and all others that exist above it? It's certain those protectors wished, at the very least, for this to be the truth...

Gain all of the following effects as a permanent enhancement to your competence:

- Heart of the Phoenix: All of the powers of a 40-year-old Illuminosian (almost 20x peak-human physicals, almost 12x human mental attributes + charisma.) However, with the ability to progress further at a hundred times the usual rate, but also losing progression rapidly when exposed to any form of cold (even a frosty breeze drains progress at an astonishing rate,) down to a hard minimum of what you start with and not going any lower. Also rapidly loses progress when extensively or intensively using any abilities that aren't your attributes. The 'minimum' for your progression in this ability grows with age at half the rate (the powers of a 45-year-old Illuminosian after a decade of use, etc.) Also, if you ever die, resurrect immediately in a safe place, but lose this power's benefits entirely.

- A Hundred Points: Allows for near-instantaneous shapeshifting into any form no heavier or more voluminous than seven times that of an African bush elephant, done via immediate reconfiguration of baryonic matter. Can also be used to shrink down to the size of an organism only a few micrometers large. All processes are instinctively guided to ensure host survival in new forms, with innate functionality to ensure that the host's consciousness is preserved between forms as closely as possible with minimal mental side-effects. Can, with modest study and practice, incorporate beneficial Devourer mutations or other mutations that allow for semi-exotic effects and 'magic.' A few examples of low-hanging fruit powers that can be developed include stretchiness, enhanced senses, disguises, seeing through walls, somewhat limited reconfiguration and boosting of physical statistics, and similar. +20 Constitution and Protection in all forms, achieved by toughness-oriented shapeshifting.

- Among The Stars: At any point, lets you summon and banish a bulky suit of polished technological super-armor laden with runes of enhancement and reinforcement equipped with back-mounted propulsion jets, alloyed plating sufficient to guard you against all of the effects of a nuclear explosion, and automatically restocking munitions that have sufficient power to shoot down reinforced tanks with their least powerful ordnance. Also +++++Might and Agility, as well as a permanent +50% to the worth of Might and Agility +s, both of which are applied before any other considerations, even outside the armored suit. +++++Intelligence.

- A Conjurer's Promise: This allows you to summon an astral entity with the powers of a seventy-year-old Exalted Sorcerer (see: Exalted Spirit) that hasn't gone through a breakthrough, and with no ability to do so. The spirit has no memories of any potential former life and serves you unquestioningly, but has the physical form of a translucent male human around the physical age of their late twenties, wearing dark robes. It cannot be killed with physical means, but some Devourers have the magics or esoteric abilities that'd allow them to consume it. If the spirit is destroyed, it is destroyed in a permanent fashion.

- A Half-Broken Equation: A single half of an equation that, if completed without errors or flaws, will allow you to further develop a machine that's capable of time travel on the scale of the entire Ever-Tree. However, even if you can do this, caution is greatly suggested as completing the equation forever introduces the possibility of paradoxes and other associated errors, which may over time develop into a threat far worse than the Devourers - or perhaps, even, end the Ever-Tree instantly from your perspective.

[ ] Anti-Bell [4 Sparks] - Maybe the guardians of the Seventh Crossworld were its firm protectors for many years before the Devourers came to end their august reign, but they were hardly its only great people, and never would the other side of the conflict have you forget it. If you wish, accept the gifts of their former enemies. It matters not to the greatest men and women of the Alpha Imperative if you accept their powers instead of - or in addition to - the powers of the guardians, merely that you carry onward their legacy of greatness at any cost, which you do by taking on these powers and burdens.

Gain all of the following effects as a permanent enhancement to your competence, but you must take the associated drawbacks as well. If you dislike a certain aspect, you may choose not to take it, but this doesn't refund any Sparks.

- Thrice-Scorned: +50 Intelligence, +300% to the value of Intelligence +s, +0.9 ISH Intelligence, a mild ability to carry over certain elements of metaphysics with your presence that allow you to construct technological devices of nearly impossible complexity, almost beyond ordinary logic, with mere household resources and keep them working even under the hostile assault of eldritch creatures that defy and alter the laws of physics with their very presence.

However, you are in return made forever richly ambitious, overwhelmingly reckless, and fiercely arrogant, refusing to even consider cooperation with anyone you have an active grudge against and bow down to the authority of anyone you do not consider to be at least an intellectual equal. Also, you must conquer the world (this one and all others you're aware of,) in time, but He-Who-Was-Thrice-Scorned will allow other considerations, such as the defeat of the Devourers, to come first. This might paint you an unacceptable tyrant even to the Star Guardians, in a time from now. -40% to the value of Wisdom +s.

- Eternal Night: +Progression at night, ++Progression when in a world without any form of light or illumination; -Progression instead when under direct sunlight, and direct sunlight also reverses any progression you have made in any system or power you possess. Allows you to grow stronger, more glorious, and more powerful given sufficient time and effort - but only when exposed to night's sweet caress. It's suggested that you attempt to eliminate the sun and every other star, as this role's previous holder did. Also initiates you into the magic systems of Chinese Mysticism and Cultivation as a simple beginner.

May not take any option associated with the Star Guardians (Starworld, Starmade Physiology, Sunlord, etc.) If you take Seventh Bell, the Heart of the Phoenix is sealed away and may only be utilized for its one-time resurrection benefit and nothing else.

- White Devil: Allows you to form unbreakable contracts with other sentients of any sort, forever binding the affected parties to follow the contents of their contracts to the word of the letter. An effective +25 Intelligence and +150 Manipulation when it comes to the skillful drafting and design of such contracts, as well as tricking others into accepting them in spite of potential consequences. Can even form these contracts with beings as high as ISH 3.99 and they will be considered fully binding for them. Also +10 Agility and +5 All Stats. It's the power of these contracts that forms the basis of the drawbacks of these abilities, but you may not cancel them for yourself.

There is no significant drawback to this ability. However, at least once per month, you must carry out a chosen act of evil, no lesser in scope than the murder of a single truly innocent person, the torture of an animal, a permanent and substantial worsening of living conditions in a large geographical area to the point of making the locals live in squalor and famine, or similar. It must be an act of true evil, however, and cannot be selected for the appeal of the 'least evil' option. Afterward, you are not permitted to reverse your act of evil in any way or form - your soul will be corrupted, no matter what, one deed at a time. All of your evil acts are expected to scale accordingly with your capabilities, never being particularly onerous or time-consuming, but not being an automatic trifle either.

- Azoth Master: +80 Might, +50 Agility, +20 Protection, and +150% to the value of Might, Agility, and Protection +s, an incredible but ultimately mundane depth of skill in martial arts, as well as knowledge in the fields of organic chemistry and basic applied thaumaturgy. Also gives you 50% of the Half-Broken Equation's second half, with the remaining 50% possible to realize easily with the other resources acquired from this list. Be careful in any event however, as such an action may be fast to doom the world you are trying to save and optimize...

If, at any point, you encounter an individual whose views and very being are diametrically opposed to yours - a person whose personality, motivations, and desires are completely repugnant, disgusting, and condemnable from your perspective - then you must either kill them or hopelessly fall in love with them as soon as possible, whichever you prefer. You may even do both. It does not matter, however, who they are, or what their powers are, or what their use is for your plans - this geas is absolute. If you encounter more such people, having already either killed or fallen in love with the last individual who triggered this drawback, you repeat the effects of this drawback.

- Mistress of Nether: As per Exalted Spirit, but with an added +100% Progression speed, doubled magical energy reserves, and tripled magical control. The breakthrough required to advance in Exalted Spirit's magics is fated to occur no later than five years after you reach that general zone of advancement. It doesn't stack with Exalted Spirit itself for doubled progression, however, purchasing Exalted Spirit on top of this will further double your magical reserves, control, and it will allow you to benefit from the growth of Intelligence and Willpower it grants.

A combination drawback. Firstly, never speak a direct lie, no matter the circumstances, or the cost of telling the truth or not speaking. Secondly, never offer any form of benevolence or succor towards people lesser than you in any metric, as such gifts are wasted on the ingrates and incompetents. If you should ever find yourself in a situation where you abstractly hate a situation, but counter-acting it would aid your lessers, you must refrain, except in situations where this is massively impractical, such as feeding your army to keep it working effectively or casting a wide-area protective spell that happens to save a few souls by a simple stroke of luck. If a situation exists where the lines between aiding another and aiding yourself are blurred, then you must ensure no individual benefits significantly more from a given exchange more than you. A single exception to this geas exists: the elimination of the Devourers or any process which helps prepare in eliminating them will never trigger the secondary effect.

[ ] A Wish [5 Sparks] - Allows you to recall a phantom of the wish-that-was, calling upon an echo of that ancient power in order to alter the world a single time at less than a hundredth of the power of the original wish. It lets you enact any broad, external change, such as, "remove all Devourers possible," or, "empower all Star Guardians as much as possible," or enact a single and equally broad internal change, such as, "empower me as much as possible," or "grant me this specific ability." As many additional clauses and further details may be tacked onto the wish as you desire; further details do not reduce the wish's power, but rather, help direct it into a narrower form.

However, this ability still has certain limits - for instance, "remove all Devourers possible," would only serve to remove a little over half of them from the general multiverse, while, "empower me as much as possible," would still only offer powers on the level of five Sparks, potentially greater than anything else on this list, but limited in the end. Be smart when making your wish, watch out for imprecise conditions, and be careful about the consequences of what you desired, for such opportunities do not happen twice in this universe. And, of course, be aware that a wish isn't necessarily omnipotent or absolute, as there is always a power greater still...

After all, every wish is limited, and there is always an ending.

---

Artifacts

[ ] Empowerment Phial [1 Spark] - A simple phial of empowerment, relatively uncommon in most worlds but also rather useful; once, the Thrice-Scorned used to create entire tanks of such great mixtures. Choose or design a small, personal superpower, equivalent in scope to something like receiving +30 Might, or broad and powerful thermokinesis that allows you to melt stone with blasts of light, synergistic with the capabilities of Starmade Physiology. Cannot exceed this general power level, but can mix-and-match lesser systems to create a larger but weaker powerset as desired. Alternatively, the phial may empower a single ability you already possess by a similar amount.

All of these powers have at least some minor potential to grow with practice or expand with time, and if you are extremely powerful when you take the phial, its granted abilities will also be slightly greater to match your current scope.

[ ] Manifold Scroll [1 Spark] - An invention of a long-deceased Illuminosian sorcerer who sung praises to the Maker's name, this scroll now found its way into your hands, drawn to you by its very nature. Otherwise, it may have been lost to a Devourer's jaws. It appears as a single roll of immaculate mint-green parchment with a viridian script of ancient glyphs that glows subtly when beheld by the eye, even in darkness. All but the Maker (you) and Star Guardians who attempt to read this scroll will rapidly find themselves going insane and losing themselves to its secrets, becoming obsessive and paranoid, and suffering from a string of constant bad luck.

This scroll's pages contain arcane secrets and studies involving the nature of the Star. As you study its pages, you can achieve even greater control over the other capabilities you possess. After a decade of study, select one of the benefits below; after a century of study, select a second benefit. After a full millennium, select the final benefit.

Freedom - A permanent and comprehensive reduction of a single flaw or drawback of your choice, by a value of 33%, but growing to 50% mitigation over the course of five hundred years. After a thousand years, pick a second flaw or drawback to mitigate by a value of 10%, growing to 20% over the course of a millennium.

Arete - Appends a single +Progression bonus to any discipline or power of your choosing, including slightly esoteric but limited disciplines such as "punching," or "science," as well as a 10% boost of raw capability and versatility in said discipline, no matter how unlikely. Allows you to develop minor superpowers in said discipline if it doesn't have any.

Mastery - Select one skill or discipline, but not magical system, and treat it as if you'd trained with your present capabilities in its use for a single human lifespan (circa 100 years.) Also gives you an immediate 200% boost of raw power and potential versatility to any power or other choice you've made, except for A Wish.

++++Luck, ++++Wisdom.

[ ] A Savior's Chalice [1 Spark] - A small chalice of untarnished gold, shining bright when held up to the light. It fills, over months and years, slowly with a kind of miraculous sizzling yellow liquid that, if drunk, can heal one's wounds and deadly ailments even to the level of missing limbs or incurable disease. A sufficient quantity of liquid may resolve or help resolve even powerful spiritual maladies, a partially-devoured soul, or issues of similar nature that are otherwise difficult to even examine. A single week of filling suffices to cure ordinary cancer, restore a severed forefinger, and prolong an individual's natural lifespan by a single day.

Alternatively, you may shatter the chalice permanently at any point in order to give yourself or another individual broad and comprehensive regeneration on the sub-cellular level, with some of these benefits carrying over to a lesser degree on the level of spiritual matter, allowing you to restore ten pounds of flesh and bone within several moments of losing them, and refilling the body rapidly with blood. As a result, if you aren't already, you will be made eternally youthful and never again have needs such as hunger, thirst, or tiredness. This has the side effect of making you a highly desirable meal for most Devourers, but most of them won't take any special notice of you.

[ ] Armament [1 Spark] - A custom-made weapon that stands in quality and power an entire octave over most enchanted weapons. It can be a sword, a bow, a blunt implement, or any other kind of weapon that you desire. It cannot be stolen from you by anything lesser in power than a highly esoteric and powerful True Devourer's ability to consume physical matter, appearing back in your possession after several moments if you are otherwise disarmed, robbed, or simply misplace it for whatever reason. Also, you may develop special techniques with this weapon over years of sustained practice. A few examples below, for a medium-grade practitioner who'd developed and trained said techniques for slightly under a week, but feel welcome to invent.

Cut Spirit (Sword) - Make an ordinary attack against an otherwise intangible or indestructible foe (such as a Ghost or Demon,) and kill them instantly if aimed well. It deals only slightly greater damage against physical foes, as their spirit is insufficiently exposed for this technique to sneak by.

Snipe (Longbow) - A near-perfectly aimed snipe shot from an effective distance of two kilometers; you must be at least somewhat aware of the target's presence in order to make this attack. Allows you to accurately strike any zone or target smaller than a coin within this range, otherwise.

Auto-Dodge (Dual Daggers) - Allows you to blink to a space within three meters of your previous location in order to instantly avoid a single ordinary attack made by an opponent. If you are unaware of the incoming attack, or unable to react, this will happen on its own. It has a cooldown of five seconds and a limit of ten times per day.

Shatter Delusion (Mirror) - Allows you to show an opponent his true reflection; a semi-conceptual attack that forces them to behold every flaw and mistake of their being and be tortured by the awareness and knowledge of what they are perceiving. Doesn't work on blind foes.

[ ] Orb of Insight [2 Sparks] - A powerful scrying device: this pale blue orb allows you to peer into any location on any world lower than yours on the Ever-Tree, as well as any Branchworlds directly next to yours on your current level, always counting your level's Crossworld among them, as well as the Crossworld one higher than yours. A specific place or individual can be found with some effort and concentrated hours of searching, considerably shortened if you already have some experience or knowledge of the world in question and know how to navigate it, and further shortened in worlds higher up on the Ever-Tree. As you continue using the Orb of Insight, your cognition will expand at a gradual rate, accruing a +Wits for every twenty hours of use, adding an hour for each such benchmark.

After many days of use, the Orb of Insight can start developing new functions to help you look. An automatic seeker mode, viewing the past or future, seeing into astral or ethereal layers of a given world, or even glancing into alternate or possible universes. These offers are but a few of the possibilities that can be developed by a skillful and intelligent user of the Orb of Insight, which allows its wielder to see that which cannot be seen, and view that which is unviewable. However, be cautious not to see a thing you aren't supposed to - such an event could end badly for all parties involved...

Also gives +5 Willpower and +7 Wits.

[ ] Elixir [2 Sparks] - A bitter elixir of considerable power. After ingestion, it reinforces its wielder's essence, granting them several permanent improvements. Among these, most notable are a high level of resistance to hostile magic and esoteric effects, pushing their entire being a tenth of a step along the Infinite Singularity Husk, and then applying an external and separate 10% modifier to all of their physical Attributes which is counted after any and every other consideration involving said Attributes. And lastly, the drinker applies 25 +s to any Attributes of their choice. Also, select a single benefit of the below, but only one:

Elixir of Mastery - As per the Manifold Scroll's option of Mastery, but can affect magic systems with no issue and improve your rate of training slightly, but cumulatively with all other benefits and considerations.

Elixir of Power - Allows you to discount a single 2-Spark or higher option by the cost of a single Spark in the Magics section. It also receives a boost of 30-50% empowerment to its capabilities (lower empowerment for higher options.) Alternatively, if you use this on Anti-Bell, you may select one drawback not to suffer from.

Elixir of Invisibility - At will, become impossible to perceive for any insufficiently enlightened, intelligent, or strong-willed creature. Most Devourers partially resist, most Star Guardians are fully immune. After a century, this power weakens. After a millennium, it dissipates fully.

Elixir of Infinity - +++Progression, and +.5 Physical Attribute ISH for a single week after ingestion, and lets you make rapid and incredibly relevant breakthroughs in most systems of power. Make sure to use this period well.

[ ] Ring of Power [2 Sparks] - A featureless steel-gray ring, attached permanently to the royal finger it's put on, interestingly well-fitted.

If worn, a casual and minor exertion of will serves to bend the world and its fate to your design, often in minor but accumulating ways, influencing chance as much as physicality in order the world into a structure more closely resembling your own personal vision. Its power is dependent on your Willpower foremost, but increases in Wisdom and spiritual power also serve to compound its ability to a noticeable degree in a positive fashion.

It seems to be drawing on a source of great power to manifest these abilities. Every time you exert the Ring, you can feel a light somewhere dimming, and its very existence seems to act as a minor beacon for the Devourer hordes... Odd.

A minor synergy with Sunlord - allows you to experience a second Hour of Glory before your final use of the ability, at halved power and effect, but also at no further cost and no loss of either Sunlord status or the Ring of Power itself. Or instead, you can use both Hours of Glory concurrently with each other for a stupendous boost of ability, pushing you to the low-conceptual levels of power, rendering you almost perfect in every pursuit and action for the duration, letting you overcome nearly any foe and do nearly anything which is imaginable, moving at lightspeed and exerting infinite forces with the same ease one might walk or tap a finger on a surface. However, be careful indeed not to burn out, as while mighty, even this stupendous ability can hardly clear all of the Devourer hordes in the Ever-Tree on its own.

Not in an hour, and not recklessly activated, to be sure.

+10 Willpower, and slowly accumulates more as long as the Ring of Power is worn and used (+Willpower after a full month as a moderately active wielder, then +Willpower after month and half, then +Willpower after two months, and so on.) +++Luck.

[ ] Marosian Instruction [3 Sparks] - A book made of bound Devourer leather with pure orichalcum latches, its nature as an artifact is relatively recent. However, it still holds awesome powers over reality, and for that, it should not be underestimated.

This book allows you to 'instruct' reality to act in a certain manner. A law of physics may be removed, or law of metaphysics added; a specific individual may be removed from reality's ledger, or a fictitious being may be written in. Allows you to make a theoretically unlimited number of alterations of arbitrary power levels, but reality diminishes with each use, spending parts of itself in order to enact your will, withering away more branches, and more leaves. It's not practical to perform more than a single large-scale alteration (global training boost worth 1.25x, a spawn zone effect for human cities on upper worlds, etc,) or three moderate ones (this particular galaxy-devouring horde of Devourers will be defeated, this particular ally will receive a fabulous power-up within the incoming days when such would be least stressful for reality to enact.)

[ ] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks] - A necklace of white pearls. It cannot be donned by yourself, as its touch slips before it can fall upon the Maker's neck, emitting only a peal of ghastly, coy laughter from an indeterminate direction. Instead, this necklace is meant to be an anointment for the Maker's favorite being - a gift, offered freely and with grace.

As its primary effect, the Pearl Necklace offers broad, comprehensive, and rather considerable empowerment to the chosen individual, roughly on par with any 3-Spark option within this CYOA, one which is well-suited to their nature, demeanor, and current abilities, synergizing with present capacities or filling out holes. The Maker and individual in question may steer the powers received to an extent, but about half of these alterations altogether, including the Attribute improvements, fall outside of their ability to meaningfully alter. The universe has its own ideas for gifting the Maker's favorite and none may forestall its realization of those ideas.

As its secondary effect, the Pearl Necklace offers its chosen individual a form of immortality. If they should ever die, the necklace will resurrect them in a safe place, restored to peak condition, and burn off a single pearl in their place, but also losing an equivalent portion of the powers it offers as a result. It holds sixty such pearls in the beginning.

And lastly, as its final effect, it gives the wearer +1 All Stats for every two pearls still on the necklace. Never underestimate this - the power of raw Attributes, granular power in its finest and highest-utility form. It shall, alongside its primary effect, easily render the wearer of this necklace into nothing less than an immortal peer to the Maker, or perhaps even their direct superior in terms of raw capability. Make sure the person you are gifting this Pearl Necklace with is someone loyal and trustworthy, otherwise they may claim the ultimate power and simply leave you to whatever terrible fate awaits you tomorrow without them...

[ ] Omega Sky [4 Sparks] - A product of intense technomagical engineering, the final and unashamedly proud result of countless millions of laborious manhours and the combination of resources which nowadays are almost impossible to find. Although otherwise lost in the Conflux, if you should take this, you will appear in your emergence point sitting on the throne of Omega Sky (although you are free to rename it, should you like.) It is nothing less than a flying space-fortress the size of multiple urban centers put together, with the independent functionality of an entire world.

Among its greater features are relatively fast and unimpeded flight through the vacuum of space (at intergalactic travel speeds), as well as portal tunneling across universes, letting it effortlessly scale the Ever-Tree even without access to the usual Crossworld traversal methods. It may simply float through the blind infinities between worlds, much like some of the incredibly resilient species of Devourers. It has defenses unbreachable to anything except direct and focused attack by an enraged and powerful World-Eater, and offensive armaments that can raze entire galaxies within hours of flight, long-range FTL scanners and weapons, an army of loyal constructs numbering in the billions, onboard automated factories with installed blueprints of hundreds of devices out of a futurist's dream, an AI subsystem utterly loyal to you that automates everything you desire, and countless other sub-systems that are still damaged and need to be turned on but would undoubtedly elevate this weapons platform past its current level by the same amount it rises above a common airplane.

There isn't much else to be said. Fly today with Omega Sky!

[ ] Diary of Adventures [4 Sparks] - A diary of the personal adventures of a young woman or girl that seems to have ended up within the Ever-Tree many centuries ago, traveling its countless worlds in search of fortune, great peril, and adventure. Although most of its contents are nonsensical descriptions of places and various adventures, which may be interesting to some, the largest items of interest are the deep secrets encoded within a few choice pages, containing details of many magics or great powers described further above, as well as other and more novel systems, many of which have a synergistic function. A single afternoon of concerted study might not glean much from these pages, but spend a few weeks on researching the diary's claim, and you may find yourself rapidly advancing in power as its original writer claims to have.

However, the diary is enchanted to not be read - violating a girl's secrets is a sin, after all - it requires a minimum of +++Willpower to even hold, and requires further and exponential levels of Willpower to force yourself to read further. Going past the few initial chapters is a task worthy of an indomitable master of nearly limitless reserves of personal will and great resilience against the effects of long-term psychological unpleasantry; going to the very end is a task befitting a god. It's suggested that you ration your progression through this diary as this may help significantly in avoiding the brunt of the magical effects preventing you from reading the diary.

[ ] Black Whistle [5 Sparks] - A whistle made of night-blackened bone, the color of a raven's feather, smooth to the touch and reflecting light softly. A couple of minutes after air is pushed through the whistle, a magical store will manifest in the user's close vicinity. It has many interesting magics and strange artifacts on offer, many of which are not available here and surpass the options contained within the sections above by sheer level of ultimate power, final potential, and possible versatility. However, any such gifts are costly, requiring either an equal sacrifice of power, a favor owed to the store, or similar costs. Nothing is ever free, and kindness can be a chain.

However, the shop owner is greedy and blatantly unfriendly to most sentients, so it is recommended you wait until 12:00 (GMT +8) on Earth, the time at which he usually succumbs to sleep deprivation and falls into torpor, in order to deal with one of his more pleasant indentured workers.

---

Associates

At your will, a number of willing companions may be moved from their present dwellings in order to join you at the presence of your emergence spot, to act as bodyguards, friends, helpers, or a multitude of other roles. However, this also does have cost of its own, tying together your fates...

[ ] Matthew Dvorah [1 Spark] - A hero from a world lost to the invasion of a Branchworld from the level of the Seventh Crossworld, he's managed to evacuate up and is currently aiding the inhabitants of the Sixth Crossworld. Aside from superhuman attributes, Matthew is a sorcerer of renown and some notable power.

He has an inborn mutation that gives him kinetic control over silica particles and glass of any kind within his line of sight, also letting him see through glass on top of augmenting his processing for every shard of glass in his range, and further manifesting his control effect through anything he can see, which can rapidly form into an expanding and unending chain where he can control continental masses of enchanted glass for the purposes of defense, offense, scouting, transportation, and a multitude of other functions. He is incredibly adept with these abilities and the others at his disposal, combining his control over glass and magic to deadly effect, forming sensory domes attached to long silicate tendrils which he uses to focus laser beams of immense power, often sufficient to cleave elder monstrosities in half.

Aside from his intellect and powers, he is also a good person with a strong sense of right and wrong and a staunch devotion to his ideals. He often wears a costume made entirely of glass, but the name of his identity when this costume is worn has fallen by the wayside in recent days - no one seems to care, and maybe rightly so; after all, the world is ending, and there isn't much that anyone can do about it. He's willing to serve under you as a loyal soldier, for so long as your personality and choices do not significantly conflict with his own. He can offer the advice of a former superhero with many years of experience. He's completely forgotten his old life in favor of saving the world, and from time to time, likes to brush his hand against the remaining works of humanity to remind himself what he's fighting for.

Hm, well, I suppose I wouldn't be that opposed to a suicide mission, given your reasoning for it. What do you suggest in specific, though? I don't think simply throwing planets at the issue will resolve it, but if all else fails, we might as well try that.

[ ] Artyom Landsknecht [1 Spark] - A former PMC member from a mundane reality demiplane attached to a minor Branchworld, Artyom has since then made his way across worlds in search of both companionship, adventure, and a stiff drink. Sometimes on his own, sometimes spearheading a number of companions at his side.

He's over a hundred and twenty years old, but looks maybe only around half that age, yet with a rippled and muscular physique of a man even younger, and has many fascinating tales of conquest or simple war anecdotes to share with a given interlocutor, many of which suffice to astonish the listener. He's charismatic, but his charisma is far outstripped by his willpower and limitless personal strength. His physique isn't significantly superhuman by the standards of the Tree, only being a match for a low-rank Star Guardian, but his knowledge of tactics and strategy, as well as tendency to rapidly adapt and think outside the box, more than makes up for any perceived or real weakness in his strength. Although he'd never admit it, and would swiftly attempt to refuse any such posting out of simple humility and weariness, Artyom would make for an excellent, almost unparalleled, leader for an organized company of soldiers or workers under his direction.

As a mercenary who grew old and then survived past that age in a profession where a lot of people don't, he is a man whose advice ought to be heeded, especially when he is instructing you to leave a place for your own good. He also has access to a small armory of magical artifacts and weapons, which might sway anyone disagreeing.

Outside of any serious concerns or combat, Artyom is a pleasant man who enjoys laughter and telling jokes. He likes the flavor of cheese and wine, and will often request or personally acquire a sundry of them to sample on long weekends.

[ ] Alice [2 Sparks] - "She's beauty, she's grace, and she'll kick you in the face."

Alice is a cheerful and upbeat girl from one of the upper worlds - as soon as news reached her place of residence of the demise of the Seventh Crossworld, she signed up with the volunteer fleets and descended to reinforce the Sixth Crossworld against the impending invasions. In the process, she discovered, to her extreme shock, the squalor and relatively poor conditions these people lived in, if it could even be called living, given they died on a regular basis (an absence of biological immortality is unheard of in her reality.) As such, she changed track into the Science Corps, intent on helping the locals with scientific research and development, particularly quality of life improvements. She is not particularly good at it, but still makes significant leaps and bounds on the relative scale. She doesn't know she'd be more useful in the Engineering Corps.

As might be expected from a descendant of the upper worlds, Alice is greatly augmented, both via divine magic and impressive technology. She's capable of casually reacting to ordinary gunfire and plucking a bullet out of the air with her fingers, playing with it for a couple of seconds (from her perspective), and then plucking the next from the same machine gun barrage to repeat this process. Her strength and durability are similarly impressive, and even then, her organism has a number of cybernetic improvements and safeguards to increase survivability to a point which borders the ridiculous, letting her, among others, breathe (note word use: breathe, not survive,) in space. She doesn't have significant combat experience or drill, and is unlikely to have the willpower to learn or train outside of carrot-and-stick motivation methods and controlled applications of Pavlovian conditioning usually reserved for training circus monkeys.

Her intellect has also been considerably elevated, to the point where she can invent useful devices out of science fiction with a day's effort of bored, mindless, and frankly rather clumsy fumbling on her iHolopad, but as coddled as she was by the luxurious civilian life of the upper worlds, she lacks what some people might refer to as common sense. She might not have realized what she signed up for was a horrific conflict with lives at stake and permanent consequences for the world, a thing that would've broken many who discovered this truth in her place, but she also doesn't seem to entirely... care?... Huh?

She thinks you're pretty neat and attaches golden star stickers to your forehead whenever you do something that she approves of. She takes away a star when you do the opposite. She cannot be reasoned with and convinced not to do this, but sufficiently charismatic rhetoric or roundabout 'logic' may sway her to attach them elsewhere.

[ ] Kefas Haedox [2 Sparks] - A sorcerer's apprentice who had the misfortune to outlive his master, Kefas Haedox now travels the many worlds, staff and magic in hand, in search of both personal enlightenment and maybe a way to save the Ever-Tree before it withers forever, a painful reminder of his master's failure on the Seventh Crossworld. He cannot find either, and is desperate for any kind of answer to his search. A call to duty from you would serve as a last and scintillatingly beautiful ray of hope in his long search, a conclusion to a life of pilgrimage.

Kefas is a master sorcerer, a possessor of Exalted Spirit who's on the verge of making his breakthrough after so much time attempting to find a way, and is more than capable of using his gifts to help elevate you in power. He's possessed of life wisdom, and knowledge both practical and strictly, intellectually academic in nature. Although he dislikes the Star Guardians for a great many perceived flaws, he's willing to cooperate with them and put aside many other conflicts. He is a calm and silent soul, acting as a stabilizing influence on the people around him, able to rein in even the most chaotic personalities and acting as the negotiator for personal conflicts with extreme skill and sagacious perspicacity; a man used to wrangling children. An understandable fact, given his advanced age, well over several centuries old - although he refuses to share details.

[ ] Alexandra 'the Fierce' [3 Sparks] - A woman from a middle world that was dying under her rule even before the Devourers came in swarms and tides to consume everything, she abandoned her rule as queen of that shattered realm in order to seek you out. She desires only vengeance against the Devourers, and those who are originally responsible for her realm's slow collapse.

Alexandra is a sorceress of incredible power, with control over lightning and ice, fire and water, the ability to sway unprepared human minds en masse, and to form glyphs of immaculate shielding over areas the size of cities, and a plethora of abilities in between. Although she doesn't have an Exalted Spirit, she hardly needs such, "minor things," as she is confident in her ability to develop temporal power via simple arcane research and meditation, as well as adopting principles of external systems that she observed. She also utilizes a handful of forbidden magics that most Illuminosians frown upon, as they either draw in the attention of Devourers or sap minute amounts of energy directly from the Star. As such, the more powerful you are to start with, the more likely she is to become powerful on her own, maybe even surpassing you in time. Even if she cannot derive anything meaningful, her abilities can terraform planets and destroy them already, so there isn't much initial need to go even further beyond.

She is a cold and mean woman in attitude, slightly unkind to her peers verbally, and embittered by the existence of the Devourers, but also the fate of the world itself. She bears a minor grudge towards the Star Guardians and would be pleased to see their endeavors fail in the most spectacular manner, even if she intellectually understands they are allies in the upcoming conflict. However, she is also a fierce and loyal friend, spewing invectives of spellcraft against anyone who hurts those she cares about. Although she may be a heretic, isn't there a certain appeal to having someone on your side who can slit a lamb's throat and unleash all of the fires of hell in your defense?

[ ] Ximena Torres [3 Sparks] - At one time, she was a Conquistador, a seeker of the below - climbing down the Ever-Tree to colonize and settle the lands under, but the first horde of Devourers came up on the chaos of places that was going to transform into the Eighth Crossworld and started consuming it.

Ximena escaped further up the Ever-Tree. None of the Star Guardians heeded the warning, thinking the Devourers were a minor threat whose actual scale was overblown. She was forced to watch as the Devouring came, a horde of star locusts and world-eating monstrosities from beyond the wildest dream of man; all of her meager and lesser preparations not sufficing to even help save the Seventh Crossworld; a grain of sand in an ocean of measures that failed spectacularly to stop the threat.

After that, she turned her back on the Guardians and decided to make her own path to stopping the Devourers. A path of blood and conquest, moving up and down the tree to eliminate the greatest and most dangerous parasites. Alas, she was not powerful enough to make even a small dent in the hordes, but unbeknownst to her, she wasn't alone in her dream, and the others were seeing her actions for their excellence. After some time, a cabal of wizards calling themselves the Assidian Order contacted her, seeing her actions as marks of a true believer in salvation, and they made her the first half-Devourer.

Aside from incredible power gathered from ages of consuming Devourers and countless other creatures, mutating herself further to become even stronger, Ximena is ancient, over a thousand years old with the experience this entails. She has personally observed and charted the paths into the furthermost reaches of the Tree, and knows the path up and down from every Crossworld, being perhaps the most adept traveler of its branches and spine, on par with the Star Guardians and their secret measures.

[ ] Henry Milan [4 Sparks] - Originally a member of military personnel from Earth, on the Seventh Crossworld, Henry Milan has since then gotten involved in an incident in which his team attempted to capture a reality deviant.

Although he broke free of its effects, he came out of it altered, disappearing for hundreds of years and evolving through effortful and peaceful meditation among the stars of the infinite void. After he returned, it was after becoming an entity of vast cosmic power, capable of manipulating physics and bending the lesser realities of the Ever-Tree to freely to his will. Although his powers diminish on the higher worlds to be merely capable of contesting Star Guardians, down below, he can rule uncontested by Illuminosian or Devourer, having created a peaceful and idyllic world protected from the touch of either side, in a secret place between the Sixth and Seventh Crossworld. He is greatly confident this world can survive even the Ever-Tree's withering, and that it can elude the vision of even the greatest World-Eaters.

However, this doesn't mean he is beyond benevolence - he desires to save the Ever-Tree as much as anyone, and so, is willing to accompany you on your journeys. Affably polite, taking on the form of a young man, Henry's presence is a drop of calming water in any environment. He doesn't require much to be your companion, but will occasionally leave to tend to his world's defense. He is also willing to utilize his world as an operating base for you and your allies, should you desire, which'd considerably lessen the burden of his constant leaves of absence.

[ ] Sybil Allard [4 Sparks] - A true woman of the Renaissance, empathetic and charismatic, originally from the Fifth Crossworld, Sybil Allard was a member of the futurist movement, an advocate of alien rights, and a casual fan of combat robotics. However, the appearance of the Devourers forced her to drop her hobbies and, as many, aid the lower worlds in their defense against the enemy.

As companions go, she is competent possessed of a diverse and vast trove of abilities: knowledge of how to construct scintillatingly complex super-technology, cast magical spells of world-transforming scale, many practical skills, and a comprehensive genius in the application of her own talents and knowledges to resolve situations of stark and imposing complexity or danger. She isn't afraid to experiment or acquire new means of greatness, and would be greatly honored to accompany you on your travels.

[ ] Ectonconara [5 Sparks] - The last remaining Sunlord, and one of the first Illuminosians to ever be created, in that original wish-breath you once bestowed upon her; Ectonconara feels infinitely, personally indebted towards you, and is willing to put your concerns above any other.

Although somewhat reduced in affect and machine-like in her interactions, Ectonconara is a Sunlord far greater in age than many of her now-deceased peers, capable of whacking galaxies into disarray with errant fist-blows, moving at massively intergalactic travel speeds as casually as you may take a lethargic step forward, or casting ritual spells to protect an entire universe at a time from any kind of harm or negative interference; she knows an endless and profuse quantity of secret techniques, knowledges, and magical systems which she is more than willing to teach or bestow on you or anyone you designate, and can reproduce, in time, almost any 1-Spark or 2-Spark option in this CYOA in near-arbitrary quantities, maybe reaching even further beyond that range with high degrees of effort and extensive workloads of time. If she were to be further empowered herself, she could well prove to be the salvation this world needs.

However, she doesn't have much of a driving motivation or will of her own; obeys your orders unquestioningly, but has no actual desires of her own. She is content to simply be a force or machine at your disposal. A few might view this as questionable, especially if you abuse the Sunlord's powers for your own benefit.

---

Drawbacks

And finally, this section - I suspect you already know what this entails. If you desire, you may pay a grave price in order to receive greater abilities. However, be careful not to overstep; some of these burdens are dangerous on their own, but can be almost impossible to carry in combination, and their gifts are scarcely limited...

Broadly speaking, there are two types of Drawbacks: Quests and Burdens. The former impose an action upon you, which you must complete, or on failure, suffer a negative effect far beyond what most Burdens impose. The latter are simply irritating curses, difficult to get rid of and proving to be a constant thorn in your side.

You cannot select more than two Quests and two Burdens.

[ ] Quest: A Hissing Beast [+1 Spark] - A True Devourer World-Eater, known as Satorneal, currently residing in the Conflux, must be slain, beyond any possibility of recovery and beyond any form of after-death influence. He is a monster the size of a moon, a winding serpent floating along the ether of space, with scales that perfectly reflect any magic back at the caster at doubled power, resist force and thermal energy on the scale of direct faster-than-lightspeed impact with a yellow hypergiant, and a jaw that can devour anything within, dissolving meals with an acid that breaks down the real into the ephemeral.

And most terrible of his abilities, is Satorneal's hiss, a terrible cacophonic noise that kills the mind of anything that hears it, including fellow Devourers; in a human, the sound of the hiss causes immediate ego disintegration, and exposure for longer than a couple of seconds will unfailingly kill any form of activity in the brain. Nothing is immune to this, aside from Satorneal itself, and the hiss can pierce magical barriers and wards of any scale and protective magnitude. It can be heard across even the soundless void of space up to fifty thousand light-years of distance, spreading at 100,000x the speed of light, and simply turning off your ears will not be a sufficient defense, as your soul and spirit can still hear the hiss deep in their vital marrow.

You have an allotted period of ten years to prepare, after which you must descend into the Conflux and slay this monster as described above. If you fail, you'll lose two Sparks worth of power forever and be rendered mute and deaf permanently, as an ISH 4 effect.

[ ] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+1 Spark or +3 Sparks] - A hero shall rise, prophesized to be elevated in the Fourth Crossworld. And you, the Maker-in-disguise, shall be their mentor on their hero's journey, guiding them against their dark lord, and ensuring they rise into a proper savior of the innocent and banisher of darkness.

At the beginning of their journey, the hero shall be afforded every advantage, companions of great splendor and power who enjoy their presence, and every magic and weapon they require to have victory. However, the hero shall - without intervention - become arrogant and spoiled by these gifts, their dalliance of a season transforming into a long march of sight-seeing and haughty distractions, with the conceit that the dark lord will simply wait until the hero arrives to graciously slay him. This isn't the case, as the dark lord will utilize this time to grow in power, to far surpass the hero's own and strike them down from the shadows.

If you allow the hero to die before they can complete their journey, you will die yourself instantly, although external means of resurrection may save you from this. If they fail to complete their journey in a satisfactory manner, becoming either corrupt or evil in some manner, or not having grown significantly, then you will instead receive a permanent 50% malus to any form of progression, and your face will be permanently scarred with a brand that makes you disgusting and unwelcome to the eyes of onlookers, a social pariah wherever you go. If you make no interference in the hero's journey, you're sure to suffer both fates. If you succeed, the hero and their companions will also become your perennial allies, aiding you in your fight against the Devourers.

The hero and dark lord's power level, as well as that of their respective companions and goons, will be adjusted to roughly match with yours, growing and scaling as you grow and scale. Never will either your protégé, nor their companions and sworn foe, be something trivial for you to deal with, but ingenuity may prove victor in the end.

Alternatively, select the +3 Spark version of this quest, which is identical, save for the following parameters:
- Your hero's world is a world that fell off the seventh branch and is headed directly for the Conflux and will land there within five years or less. It will be considerably difficult to even reach this place, let alone reach it before it falls down into the Conflux...
- Your hero is thrice as arrogant as before and will be exponentially more difficult to mentor in a way that amends this personality flaw.
- All of your hero's companions will be slightly weaker in terms of power, and less capable of helping protect them from the dark lord's machinations.
- Once the world falls into the Conflux, expect a lot of Devourers.
- The dark lord benefits, on top of his usual abilities, from Half-Devourer, Armament, and Mastery (as per Manifold Scroll,) developing each of these measures within the first six months. He also receives +40 Physical Stats, +25 Intelligence, and +25 Wisdom, but may also be more easily reasoned with (such as a brief ceasefire to deal with the fact the world is falling.)

[ ] Quest: Verdict Heart's Notation [+1 Spark] - Before there can be victory, there must be safety.

At a point no later than a hundred years from now, you must devise a measure - either a defensive plan, an astral fortress, a magical beacon, or anything else at all - that will allow you to safely lock away the entire Third Crossworld and its every Branchworld, preventing access to anywhere on its level and higher from the Devourers. It's possible for the measure to be flawed, allowing concerted effort or intelligence to dodge its power, but it should not be possible for at least 95% of the Devourer population. After that, you must ensure that never are there more than ten thousand Devourers on the Third Crossworld or any higher level - you will instinctively know if there are, and receive a very rough understanding of their location and species.

If you fail in this quest, then whatever you spent its associated Spark on will be lost from you - the power either stripped or weakened as appropriate, and the power in question will be copied and then pasted onto every Devourer in existence, massively bolstering the powers of their swarm. If Half-Devourer is the power you used the Spark on, then all Devourers will simply grow more powerful by 50%, receive +10 All Stats and +10 Might, and their progression via consuming things will be increased by 10%.

[ ] Quest: Striking Them Down [+1 Spark or +2 Sparks] - Over the span of the next two-hundred years, you must successfully slay no less than a total 50% of all Devourer population currently invading the Ever-Tree. It's acceptable to do so using partially indirect means (ordering a subordinate to slay them for you, making an army of Devourer-slayers, etc,) but you cannot take credit for any random kills unrelated to your situation, as they do not count towards your total. It must be your influence that kills half of all Devourers in the world, otherwise, you will fail this quest.

If you do not manage to complete this quest in the generous time allotment, you will be considered a sad failure and stripped of all volition. The Star Guardians and your companions and Associates will turn their backs on you, and you will be sent down into the Conflux to become a suicidal, Devourer-killing machine. If you manage to complete your quest in this time, your volition will be returned to you, and the other consequences of this quest's failure mitigated, but most likely, you will simply die, unless you are exceptionally lucky or well-prepared.

Alternatively, a +2 Spark version of this quest is possible, wherein you must slay 95% of all Devourers within the next five-hundred years - an exceptionally difficult and dangerous task, even for someone with highly synergistic and powerful abilities. Its failure condition is the same.

[ ] Burden: Sole Responsibility [+1 Spark] - Almost instantly, you will develop a nagging and impermissive tendency to do stupid things to save the Ever-Tree. An immensity of guilt, a survivor's or martyr's complex for this world, or the syndrome of idiotic heroism that many protagonists have a tendency to suffer from, or something of similar nature; maybe even an interesting mixture of factors described here, or other things unmentioned. In any case, it's clear this world is your sole responsibility, and so, you have no choice but to save it, whatever it takes.

-10% to the worth of Wisdom +s, and then a further -40% worth of Wisdom +s when concerning the matters of the Devourers and this world's survival.

If normally, you'd respond to the message that a given planet is about to be devoured by saying, "A shame; I suppose we'll deal with it when the fleet reinforcements arrive," then your response following this Burden will be no less than immediately heading for your personal starfighter with the intent to fight the entire Devourer horde on your own. Access to wise and convincing Associates can somewhat mitigate this by helping you understand the grave enormity of the errors you're committing, but sometimes even their words can fall on deaf ears, or simply go through one ear and out the other, the call to save the doomed people greater than any logical rhetoric or appeal.

[ ] Burden: Among Equals [+1 Spark or +2 Sparks] - Are you truly the Maker? Bullshit.

All of your status as the Maker is stripped, including any possible recognition from the Star Guardians and potential benefits of such. Any Artifact or power which requires the Maker to handle them directly doesn't recognize you as such - you aren't special, merely another soul in a lost world. You may not enter the Starworld under any circumstances unless you possess Starmade Physiology or Sunlord, and are likely to be imprisoned or exiled otherwise, maybe even killed on repeat attempts. All of the Star Guardians show you a cold face, seeing you as merely another mortal in the ranks. -5 Luck, -5 Willpower, -5% Progression.

Alternatively, select the +2 Spark variant of this burden, which comes with the following additional drawbacks:
- You are filled with a sense of duty and responsibility similar to a Star Guardian, preventing you from simply leaving this world or shirking your duties.
- Any Progression boosts or increases from any option in this CYOA are reduced by 20%.
- Roll 1d6. If the outcome is higher than 4, then you must spend at least one Spark on a Star Guardian option.

[ ] Burden: Seven's Number [+3 Sparks] - A considerable limitation and one that weighs heavily; you may not spend more than a total of seven Sparks, possess more than a total of seven Magics, and you receive a 70% malus to your overall power, external to every other consideration, and including your Progression in the reduction. It's that simple a burden, yet one that can only be called a heavy toll indeed.

[ ] Burden: Accursed Name [Special] - If you so desire, a providence from outside of the Ever-Tree is willing to consider giving you a power that many of those here would envy like green serpents, especially the Devourers lurking beneath.

Become a Combat-type Cursebearer of the Accursed, at a relatively low compatibility level; select at least two Curses from any official AST material; it cannot be the Geas of Indenture, Curse of Hubris, or the Doom of the Tyrant. It's possible to select more Curses for higher Remittance Value. After this, select a Primary Remittance and any Lesser Remittances that you can afford and finalize your build in the appropriate manner. Only official AST material produced by Rihaku can be used for this process, including elements from the blurb library and Curses that we know of. Also, you must pay a monetary charge of seven (7) Sparks to successfully perform this transaction.

Alternatively, become a Progression-type Cursebearer of the Accursed, at a pathetically low compatibility level. It costs thirteen (13) Sparks to do this, and furthermore, you must then select at least three Curses, but you may not select the Geas of Indenture or any Remittance which can more easily allow you to leave this place in time - the Accursed wants you to fix your own mess, not escape from it. As per normal, you can select a Primary Remittance and any Lesser Remittance you can afford, but unlike with the option above, it's considered modestly acceptable to use fan material, within reason; if more than half of your choices for this are fan-made, then you must pay a further surcharge of an additional Spark to seal the transaction.

Alternatively, do not become a Cursebearer of any kind, and receive no Remittance of any kind, but accept a minor Curse for +1 Spark, a major Curse for +3 Sparks, or a Crowning Curse for +5 Sparks.

Author's Note:
- Manifold Scroll's option of Freedom is treated as equivalent to Stage II Mitigation, but choosing to apply it expends both of the option's uses immediately and irreversibly. It also reduces the other benefits of the Scroll, forbidding you from picking a final benefit, only a second one.
- A Wish can, uniquely, reach somewhat above its usual power level in this regard and offer Stage III Mitigation.
- The Raven's Arcana, summonable through the Black Whistle, can offer services of Mitigation up to Stage IV with concerted effort and time. However, this service would cost you so much currency that you'd need to grind power and cash items for several trillion years for the shopkeeper to even consider haggling with you for it.
- Ectonconara is able to apply Stage II Mitigation to all Curses in the span of a few days of effort, and Stage III Mitigation with very high effort and some amount of permanent investiture of her own power.
- Most Associates with magical abilities can offer Stage I Mitigation, as can Exalted Spirit and a few other abilities.
- There are other Mitigation sources not mentioned here, probably because I didn't think of them.

[ ] Extra Burden: Writer's Quill [Special] -

Much like some others, this option is non-canon, and not recommended for serious playthroughs. It's also not recommended for builds overall, but if you feel that a build that is very interesting on paper is completely impossible to achieve without resorting to this option, then it may be what you have to pick.

Simply put, for every 2.5k words of omake or build analysis written with this CYOA as its basis or inspiration, pick up yet another Spark to throw on top of your build. It cannot give you more than +3 Sparks in total, for such is heresy and greed of highest order.

Also, the dark entity known as Ilbgar is forbidden from picking this option.

If you are Orm Embar, none of the limitations in this Extra Burden apply to you if you wish so. Write as much as you please, and grow strong to save this world as well, Master of the Ormulum, Litanist Supreme, and Creator of Another Universe. You, too, are a Great Maker.
Wordcount: 20.1k
 
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...Wow, that's a pretty impressive CYOA. Very fun, and I can see a lot of things I'd like to try. But, as an initial observation, it seems like Combat-Class Cursebearer builds are always the best option? The Interface or Imperial Praxis for one major curse is one heck of a deal. It also makes a lot of the drawbacks easier to deal with, and stage 1-2 mitigation is easy to come by. Maybe there should be a Spark cost for Combat-Class, like how Nameless would have had to pay for being one in EFB?

(Unless the entire point of the CYOA is to become a Cursebearer and then save the Ever-Tree. In that case objection withdrawn).
 
ImperatorV said:
aybe there should be a Spark cost for Combat-Class, like how Nameless would have had to pay for being one in EFB?
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Hmm. You make a fair point, I think I'll add something like that. A few moments, let me edit...

EDIT: CYOA edited. Combat-type now requires 2 Curses at minimum, and costs 4 Sparks.
 
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The Obvious Build is Obvious
[ ] The Conflux [+5 Sparks]
[ ] Quest: A Hissing Beast [+1 Spark]
[ ] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+1 Spark or +3 Sparks]
[ ] Quest: Verdict Heart's Notation [+1 Spark]
[ ] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks] -
[ ] Ectonconara [5 Sparks]

Edit:
The plan is to give the Necklace to Ectonconara, obviously. She should be able to brute force herself and me through the quests with the stat boost and further advantages. I guess long term make sure she's satisfied and fullfilled with her life, loyalty like that should be rewarded or so I feel.

I wouldn't actually pick this for myself, since it doesn't solve the core problem of the Star going out eventually. Some variant of a Cursebearer build would seem necessary, I'll probably write one up later today.

Cool setting though, was fun to see how the not!angels are viewed by the people they completely failed to protect.

[ ] A Quest [+1 Gift] - 3 - Marvel
[ ] The Mandarin [1 Gift] - The Heir
[ ] The Heir [3 Gifts] - Politics
qwolfs threw 1 20-faced dice. Reason: A Quest: Total: 3
3 3
 
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qwolfs said:
The Obvious Build is Obvious
[ ] The Conflux [+5 Sparks]
[ ] Quest: A Hissing Beast [+1 Spark]
[ ] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+1 Spark]
[ ] Quest: Verdict Heart's Notation [+1 Spark]
[ ] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks] -
[ ] Ectonconara [5 Sparks]

I wouldn't actually pick this for myself, since it doesn't solve the core problem of the Star going out eventually. Some variant of a Cursebearer build would seem necessary, I'll probably write one up later today.

Cool setting though, was fun to see how the not!angels are viewed by the people they completely failed to protect.
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You get one spark for free, you took one more drawback than is necessary.
 
Aabcehmu said:
You get one spark for free, you took one more drawback than is necessary.
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I actually forgot, but since they seem to need the sparks I guess I'll leave the build as is. No need to run down their resources more than I already am.

If they don't really, positively need it though I'd probably get rid of the Hero Quest. Scaling enemies are the worst, particularly since I have no idea if it scales to include my companion who is the real power there.

[ ] A Quest [+1 Gift] - 15 - Fate
[ ] Obols of Paradise [1 Gift, requires Your Choice or A Quest] - Modest Magus
[ ] Victorious Ticket [3 Gifts] -
qwolfs threw 1 20-faced dice. Reason: A Quest: Total: 15
15 15
 
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I am not smart enough for complicate build.
My plan probably choose Seraphn and royal praxis and train in winter dynasty for godzillion years.
If the dynasty is fall to ruin that mean I will not lack any problem to grind my royal praxis with.
 
Here's a Wish Upon a Star build.

[ ] The Chainworld [+3 Sparks]
[ ] Sunlord [3 Sparks]
[ ] Kefas Haedox [2 0 Sparks]
[ ] Burden: Among Equals [+1 Spark]
[ ] Quest: Striking Them Down [+2 Sparks]
[ ] Burden: Accursed Name [4 Sparks]

Curses: Champion and Slumber. Primary remittance is the The Interface.

The Interface is one of the single best options for figuring out a permanent solution to the who "End of the World" thing, so I wanted to do that. Figuring out a build that would work with Brand of the Champion, my preferred curse, was significantly harder. Ectoncorona is the perfect companion for a Cursebearer with the Interface, but affording her requires diving into the Conflux - a dangerous proposition, when she may need to be negotiated with to protect me given Brand of the Champion! With Ectoncorona not an option, I eventually settled on a build centered around exploiting the Chainworld. The Chainworld is very low of power overall, and the inhabitants may struggle to overcome even the passive protection of the Interface. The incoming World-Eater is an issue, but it's one that can be fled from until the Interface's potential 5 rating starts to do serious work.

For a build with Affliction of Slumber, having a companion is a really good idea, especially one that can offer mitigation. But Champion once again is a thing. Kefas is my choice here, because I can offer him a useful service right away - using the Interface to augment his stats, giving him better chances of hitting his breakthrough. Being able to acquire Exalted Spirit by being around him (because of Interface copying magic systems) is also a nice perk. If taking a low-cost companion, Sunlord is very Spark-efficient, so I'll be doing that even if it makes negotiating with Kefas harder because he dislikes Star Guardians.

The question here is if 20 years of Interface Progression (OK it's effectively a lot less then that because Slumber, but still) can defeat a World-Eater. I think it probably can.

A different version I'm considering goes into the Conflux, takes Plenary instead of Champion, replaces Among Equals with another drawback, and grabs Ectoncorona. However, dropping into the Conflux with Plenary fucking Brand active is an excellent way to collectively aggro every single Devourer in existence, which is pretty scary. Ectoncorona is only capable of so much.

Another interesting idea is whether the AI of Omega Sky would be affected by Brand of the Champion. If not, that's a potential option.

Another interesting expansion on this build would be taking a lesser curse (probably the one that hacks your limbs off and halves your HP) to pick up the Lady of Nulity herself, since the Accursed Name option allows you to pick any canon Remittance. Gisena is cracked, she can do some serious work just by studying the Interface most likely. She did it with the Lathe, the Interface can't be harder then that.

EDIT: Oh Yeah I forgot to put it in the initial write-up, but Hour of Glory is stupid good when Sunlord is not your primary power. Yes please I would like a get-out-of-jail-free card when my build is potential-focused.
 
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qwolfs said:
[ ] The Conflux [+5 Sparks]
[ ] Quest: A Hissing Beast [+1 Spark]
[ ] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+1 Spark or +3 Sparks]
[ ] Quest: Verdict Heart's Notation [+1 Spark]
[ ] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks] -
[ ] Ectonconara [5 Sparks]
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Hey, that's pretty good! An empowered Ectonconara can most likely solo the Hissing Beast with only a mild risk of death, but she can resurrect herself if anything unacceptable happens due to Pearl Necklace, so she's assured to solve that one. Only the Hero Synthesis would provide any kind of challenge, with the rough odds of victory being closer to 50-65% (the main challenge of Hero Synthesis is one of wisdom and charisma, convincing the hero to get their act together, and your build has a slight absence of that; Ectonconara lacks the usual charisma of a Sunlord, and her power to give you abilities of your own is slightly limited at the outset,) but it should still be doable!

ImperatorV said:
The question here is if 20 years of Interface Progression (OK it's effectively a lot less then that because Slumber, but still) can defeat a World-Eater. I think it probably can.
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Hmmm. It depends. Around 90% of World-Eaters are like this:
- Physical Attributes in the 800-1000 range. Willpower in the 1000-1200 range. Also, their physicals usually have some level of meaningful ISH elevation (rarely above 1.5 ISH, rarely below 1.2 ISH; Astaroth is considerably weaker than most World-Eaters, and permanently crippled, because of how long he's been starved)
- Mental Attributes in the 60-100 range, with much lower Wisdom, but nothing that we would consider "skills."
- Low Appearance by human standards.
- Around 2-6 special mutations or unique powers. As an example, Satornael's magic-reflecting scales or deadly magic-piercing hiss. Some of them could have reality-bending or fate-bending abilities similar to Astral Rank, or an ISH 2 ability that lets them swallow your attack, chew it, and spit it at you at tenfold the parameters, etc.

Some of them can be weaker than the above. However, there could also be World-Eaters who can get Physical Attributes in the 2500-3000 range, have both Mental Attributes and Wisdom that are relatively high to this, a fuckton of exotic abilities, and have pretty much ISH 1.999 "Scion from Worm," type bullshit available to them. It's a pretty diverse category because a World-Eater is basically anything that could, theoretically, eat up an entire world. I'd be careful, though.
 
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Birdsie said:
Perfect Number
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A crucial question arises. Is it possible for a Cursebearer with the Interface to acquire this without originally purchasing it? This build assumes it isn't.

1 base
[ ] The Chainworld [+3 Sparks]
[ ] Perfect Number [4 Sparks] -
[ ] Quest: Striking Them Down [ +2 Sparks]
[ ] Burden: Among Equals [+2 Sparks]
[ ] Burden: Accursed Name [Special] - Combat Class [4 Sparks]
-Curses: Plenary Brand, Brand of the Champion, Brand of the Chaste
-Primary Remittance: The Interface
-Lesser Remittance: To Shatter Heaven

500 years is a long time. Especially for The Interface. A Perfect Number seems ideally suited for Interface, since it should be something its innate organization and calculation should enable the comprehension of without effort from the user.
And then I added To Shatter Heaven. Even without the number, the Cursebearer Remittances alone would render me safely able to survive and escape the Chainworld, and none of these Curses really effect anything my other selections allow. The Plenary makes my potential obvious, but I don't intend to confront anything that I can't curbstomp; the Brand of the Champion would remove my ability to use the Star Guardians, but I already gave that up; and finally I've never cared about the Brand of the Chaste.

All that's left is to roll the d6, and see if I need to add Starmade Physiology and Verdict Heart's Notation.
beowolf threw 1 6-faced dice. Reason: Here we go Total: 3
3 3
 
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beowolf said:
A crucial question arises. Is it possible for a Cursebearer with the Interface to acquire this without originally purchasing it? This build assumes it isn't.
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It's possible to acquire it, but the Interface wouldn't be able to significantly help you progress on its own. It can push you near-instantly across the first couple thousand digits, maybe, if you're aware that such a number exists and spend a few seconds pondering the issue, but after that, you'll need to put in the work. As you go higher up, the Perfect Number becomes "mathematically dense" on a meta-level.

(EDIT: Also, this CYOA was meant to be of at least some difficulty, so Cursebearers have been nerfed again.)
 
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So, here's a thought. Can you take more then one Elixir? And if you down the Elixir of Infinity immediately followed by the Elixir of Mastery... What exactly occurs? Does the 100 Years of progression with Mastery benefit from +++Progression? If you use the combo on Exalted Spirit, does the Elixir of Infinity bonus to breakthroughs apply to the 100 years of virtual training time, thus allowing an immediate breakthrough?
 
ImperatorV said:
So, here's a thought. Can you take more then one Elixir? And if you down the Elixir of Infinity immediately followed by the Elixir of Mastery... What exactly occurs? Does the 100 Years of progression with Mastery benefit from +++Progression? If you use the combo on Exalted Spirit, does the Elixir of Infinity bonus to breakthroughs apply to the 100 years of virtual training time, thus allowing an immediate breakthrough?
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Only a single Elixir, although there's plenty of stat-buffing options and sickeningly overpowered combos. Astaroth + A Savior's Chalice, for instance, would let you keep him deployed indefinitely and empower him greatly by simply letting him feed on you as much as he needs and regenerating what he consumes.

(EDIT: Final Cursebearer edit occurred. Now all Cursebearers must take the Apocryphal. This is what you get for breaking my setting, you hoodlums.)
 
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Oof. Something occur off-thread I'm not aware of, or is the Interface just too strong? Either way, it's back to the drawing board, Combat-Class is no longer viable. Apocryphal is a bigger threat then all the Devourer Hordes put together, and I for one do not want to make an already challenging scenario even more difficult.
 
ImperatorV said:
Oof. Something occur off-thread I'm not aware of, or is the Interface just too strong? Either way, it's back to the drawing board, Combat-Class is no longer viable. Apocryphal is a bigger threat then all the Devourer Hordes put together, and I for one do not want to make an already challenging scenario even more difficult.
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A Discord conversation determined that Combat-type Cursebearers, even with something as simple as a Lesser Remittance, would be able to resolve most of the setting's issues on their own given a few hundred years. Since this amount of time already the default for a character doing careful progression and minimizing lower-world activity, there must be an appropriate price tag attached, including extreme risk.
 
Behold, maximum degeneracy: the Waifu Directive

[W] The Conflux [+5 Sparks]
[W] Half-Devourer [1 Spark]
[W] A Wish [5 Sparks]
[W] A Savior's Chalice [1 Spark]
[W] Elixir [2 Sparks]
-[W]Elixir of Infinity
[W] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks]
[W] Quest: Striking Them Down [+2 Sparks]
[W] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+3 Sparks]
[W] Extra Burden: Writer's Quill [Special]

"I wish for the most powerful Devourer to be given a whole and healthy human-like mind, including: a moral intuition compatible with my own, comprehensive knowledge of my history and personality, a deep and abiding love for and attraction to my person, and perfect awareness of my location anywhere within the Ever-Tree; that they are summoned to my location; and that this Devourer is even further empowered as much as this wish is capable of in whatever ways they desire most."

What could be a more fitting use for a wish than wish-fulfillment?

I have confirmed with Birdsie that this wish works. By necessity, my wishing companion is at least as strong as the Hissing Beast at a baseline, plausibly even stronger, making them potentially even stronger than Ectonconara with the necklace. I then proceed to use the remainder of my wishing power to empower my companion further, and then also give them the necklace. Also I am dating them.

The drawbacks are fairly fluid. I'm confident that I can take down the Hissing Beast with Desire's help, but I can easily imagine swapping out The Hero Synthesis out if the Dark Lord scales to Desire's power rather than my own, maybe substituting Striking Them Down or Sole Responsibility or Among Equals.

-e

Swapped out The Hero Synthesis +1 for Striking Them Down +2, since I decided against risking a Desire-tier Dark Lord, and because I confirmed with Birdsie on the discord that with the right plan, Desire with Wish and Pearl boosts has good odds of succeeding. My current plan then is to have Desire bring us to a world with Star Guardian presence, use my status as the Maker to implore them to trust Desire, and then use their wise counsel to determine where and when Desire should strike. Also, added Half-Devourer for moderate increase in durability and for enhanced compatibility with Desire.

-e2

I'm officially on the hook for 2.5k words of my and Desire's adventure. Hopefully I can accurately portray the Hero's pompousness and the Dark Lord's dark-lord-ness. Current plan is to get picked up by Desire, give her the pearls and shatter the chalice for her, gank Satorneal while we're in the Conflux, find and travel to the Hero's world, give Desire the Elixir of Infinity, have her use chalice regeneration and autophagy to progress while under the +++Progression effect for a week, find the Dark Lord, convince the Dark Lord to put their plans on hold until Desire and I reattach the world to the ever-tree in a stable way, attempt to reattach the world to the ever-tree, once it's stable attempt to find the hero and start beating some sense into their thick skull, gamify the hero's training so that they pursue it of their own volition rather than having to be forced to do it, help the hero collect their party, maybe take the hero on trips to other parts of the ever-tree while Desire and I negotiate with the star guardians for help on exterminating the other devourers, try to impress upon the hero that while they are important, they are far from the only important person in the universe, and that letting their power go to their head will destroy many of the things that they enjoy in their life, and replace them with hollow, joyless mockeries that will never satisfy them, and finally take the hero and their cohorts to the Dark Lord and try to broker piece, at least for 500 hundred years while we all get together to fight the devourers.
 
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Aabcehmu said:
[W] The Conflux [+5 Sparks]
[W] A Wish [5 Sparks]
[W] Pearl Necklace [3 Sparks]
[W] Quest: A Hissing Beast [+1 Spark]
[W] Quest: The Hero Synthesis [+1 Spark]

"I wish for the most powerful Devourer to be given a whole and healthy human-like mind, including a moral intuition compatible with my own, comprehensive knowledge of my history and personality, a deep and abiding love for and attraction to my person, and perfect awareness of my location anywhere within the Ever-Tree, that they are summoned to my location, and that this Devourer is even further empowered as much as this wish is capable of in whatever ways they desire most."
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S-Such power. How terrifying. All you need now is to make yourself Half-Devourer so you two can bond over shared interests...
 
Birdsie said:
A Discord conversation determined that Combat-type Cursebearers, even with something as simple as a Lesser Remittance, would be able to resolve most of the setting's issues on their own given a few hundred years. Since this amount of time already the default for a character doing careful progression and minimizing lower-world activity, there must be an appropriate price tag attached, including extreme risk.
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I have two builds in mind, using the Curses to obtain Sparks option. But they bring up a few questions.
1. Can I take multiple Curses with the Burden?
2. How does the Brand of the Champion affect Astaroth?
3. ...If you have both Sunlord and Heart of the Phoenix, does the latter have the former's reduced slowdown as it grows? I'm sure it still shrinks when exposed to the cold, but does it have it's progression multiplied by .8 instead of .5?
 
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