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A Simple Transaction I

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There is the other perspective, if we can seamlessly cooperate, then a couple of Weave Masters could feasibly do something like
Aabcehmu said:
such as reshaping society on a global level or analyzing the magical weaves of several magi to synthesize all of your magics together into something grander than the sum of its parts.
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across the entire playerbase, at which the only threats are those external to the CYOA as the playerbase proceeds to swiftly conquer the presumably unpowered universe and then achieve collective rank of (however much Rank conquering the observable universe gets).

However the CYOA doesn't actually present any other threats to us aside from each other, sooooooooooooo
 
[ ] Earthbound -
[ ] The Weave -

I think I'd go for this, as well.

I'd initially aim for an SEP type weave, turning away hostile attention from those aware of me and those of who I am aware. This requires no expansion of the initial range, as anyone aware of me is only one step removed. Ideally this supplements the natural defences of Rank, such that Rank applies first, then social connections are influenced, and mental influence is only applied in the case of extreme exigency.

Given that users participating in this thread are relatively close to me in the weave, though likely more than just one step removed even while communicating, I should become aware of magic fairly rapidly, even if everyone is cautious and sneaky enough not to end up on the news.

Once I become aware of other magic users I'd aim to ally with others and am perfectly willing to create, customize, modify, synthesize, or otherwise assist people with their magics or mental state. Working out an internal power source for earth bound, such as Wyrmling, and then allowing for cooperative, overlapping, Earthbound territories would be my medium term goal. If a reasonable cooperative structure can be found I would begin linking in people.

Ideally, when every human has their own self-sourced Rank which feeds into the many different levels of mutual territory until they culminate with the Human territory, we will be ready to explore and expand beyond the umbral border.

That's my initial plan, at least, though when actually examining the various magics and cooperating with others it is likely to dramatically change. The core goal of creating a resilient, cooperative baseline for humanity to rely on, especially against potential threats from beyond the umbral is very unlikely to change however.

As usual I am willing to cooperate with Rihaku and other thread participants. For Wyrmlings and Skinchangers in particular, if you require assistance to avoid, for example, being dissected by your government because they saw you transform, I am willing to help.
 
Shard said:
There is the other perspective, if we can seamlessly cooperate, then a couple of Weave Masters could feasibly do something like

across the entire playerbase, at which the only threats are those external to the CYOA as the playerbase proceeds to swiftly conquer the presumably unpowered universe and then achieve collective rank of (however much Rank conquering the observable universe gets).

However the CYOA doesn't actually present any other threats to us aside from each other, sooooooooooooo
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Other than undead timelines, bullet worlds, and gray wanderers, but I admit that even for the people who know the Secret Lore like Lealope and Birdsie, just saying those names probably doesn't mean much.

🤔 If you all do manage to come together and conquer the universe (which, if you took all of the mass in the observable universe and reformatted it optimally for inhabited land area, should get you somewhere in the ballpark of Rank 9.3) and then started expanding into the Abyss, I wouldn't be opposed to writing some blurbs (possibly hiring Birdsie as a co-writer) for you all to look into.
 
Earthbound implies a need for population density, human habitation, and development, but doesn't specify the amount of each.

It does clearly note that area, not population, is the scaling statistic.

With that in mind, what are the limits? Can I gain the alliegance of the polar bases to take over Antarctica? If that's too sparse, or too poorly developed, what about Alaska?
 
Aabcehmu said:
Other than undead timelines, bullet worlds, and gray wanderers, but I admit that even for the people who know the Secret Lore like Lealope and Birdsie, just saying those names probably doesn't mean much.

🤔 If you all do manage to come together and conquer the universe (which, if you took all of the mass in the observable universe and reformatted it optimally for inhabited land area, should get you somewhere in the ballpark of Rank 9.3) and then started expanding into the Abyss, I wouldn't be opposed to writing some blurbs (possibly hiring Birdsie as a co-writer) for you all to look into.
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I assume those are, in order (not knowing secret lore etc) timelines that basically got retgonned or could have happened and are trying to come back to life like Homestuck doomed timelines, ultrafast high frequency temporally accelerated setting with stupid scaling, and effectively evil planeswalkers who want to reduce things to mundanity and boringness and/or possibly gray goo stuff with mundanifying cthululoid equivalents. Just my impressions.

With Weave Magic and stuff it should be possible to basically convert the universe into a giant lagless matrioshka hyperspheroid or something stupid like that. I'm pretty sure ex nihilo creation of matter and conceptual laws is well within possibility to turn that into a reality. Of course this all presumes successful cooperation with HI interpretation of stuff. But in that case expanding into the Abyss wouldn't be needed because the literal physical space/area occupied by the AST collective would be potentially infinite, meaning the effects of Earthbound would hit whatever Rank Cap can be reached by ordinary space alone already. And potentially more, since instead of invading other spaces it should be possible to create additional fundamental planes of existence and so forth..
 
Okay.

This is my brain having looked at stuff and decided that this tactic has not actually been proposed before.

Here it is:

Let Aobaru defect.

What? You ask.

Yes. Exactly.

In the opening post of the story, Hunger's Wife sacrifices herself to create an opening that the Hero then proceeds to go full Shattering Blow on the Tyrant.

Hunger is now the Tyrant. The Maiden is playing the role of the hero. But the Maiden is also Hunger's Wife.

So if Aobaru joins the Maiden, he naturally takes the role of the Hero. The Maiden is relegated to the role of inspirational Muse/doomed love interest. Between the core themes of Catherine/Hunger, this means that now the Maiden is effectively forced into the role of being the sacrificial lamb/Martyr to provide the opening and final motivation for the Hero, Aobaru in this case, to execute the Shattering Blow. Basically force the Maiden into An Ending True. Hunger has the Battle Domain which expressly improves the power of actions of symbolic weight, which would definitely be the case here.

At which point Aobaru just needs to, you know, not take the shot.
 
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Shard said:
Okay.

This is my brain having looked at stuff and decided that this tactic has not actually been proposed before.

Here it is:

Let Aobaru defect.

What? You ask.

Yes. Exactly.

In the opening post of the story, Hunger's Wife sacrifices herself to create an opening that the Hero then proceeds to go full Shattering Blow on the Tyrant.

Hunger is now the Tyrant. The Maiden is playing the role of the hero. But the Maiden is also Hunger's Wife.

So if Aobaru joins the Maiden, he naturally takes the role of the Hero. The Maiden is relegated to the role of inspirational Muse/doomed love interest. Between the core themes of Catherine/Hunger, this means that now the Maiden is effectively forced into the role of being the sacrificial lamb/Martyr to provide the opening and final motivation for the Hero, Aobaru in this case, to execute the Shattering Blow. Basically force the Maiden into An Ending True.

At which point Aobaru just needs to, you know, not take the shot.
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I can see it maybe
*Add the Domain of Battles to the wielder's repertoire and maximize his ability therein. Within the context of battle he can easily manipulate virtually any circumstance, phenomenon or outcome. Effects of symbolic importance are heightened further still.
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Ideally Hunger would also somehow get the Maiden's Shattering Blow to be somehow targetted at the Doom of the Tyrant, achieving maximum mitigation efficiency. She's pretty conceptually opposed to it, after all.

e: The final optional powerup for Hunger could be, essentially, companion sacrifices. In the opening post Hunger as the Hero basically had his companions sacrifice their lives in his stead. The Battles Domain could allow Hunger to use up his friends and love interests as extra lives, which would definitely improve his odds of victory massively because he can actually lose battles occasionally without outright losing.
 
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So, in a fit of procrastination I have gone through all Orm posts since June 2021. These portions seemed reasonably relevant:

Orm Embar said:
Another thing to consider is how or whether the pilot's powers impacts the Armament's capabilities; is it counterproductive to put high-Ranking party members in the cockpit? If not, Adorie might be a good choice, Nova's Charisma specialty seems like it'd synergize with the Winter Queen. The proposed names are related to rule and rime, both within her wheelhouse. But that runs into the power-concentration problem again if she has to stay with Hunger. Gisena could pilot, but with Totality it feels like a waste of her last two Graces. The current state of affairs is somewhat messy, even if debating how to distribute your forces is a good problem to have.
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Orm Embar said:
Seal of Ruin grants not only practical but inferential power, we can threaten Shards with the Sealing Designate status to coerce concessions if remote targeting works.
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Orm Embar said:
Throwing raw Rank at a problem always helps with Hunger's level of it, but focusing on the feedback should be attempted: shut out other senses, close his eyes (remember when Hunger only had one of those?), maybe pull a Forebear and temporarily deafen himself, until only the Astral Realm remains. An ad hoc meditative regimen, yet it could help with locating the party or perhaps even tracking down Dien. His strength and sophistication are greater, but blatancy of spirit was called out as a character flaw of his. He wants challenges, revels in contests. Another thing worth trying is seeing if Hunger can sense Versch and Nova through his connection as their bonded Cursebearer.
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Orm Embar said:
Since this post's pretty much turned into throwing shit at the wall and seeing if Hunger's Wis makes it stick, summoning the information broker that gave us the glimpse of Augustine could be useful. It did offer to repeat the service, and the escalating cost isn't an issue if we're eventually going to render Supreme Enclosure useless by spamming it for picks; currently, Hunger doesn't know the disposition of the Astral Realm or whether Dien inherited the Republic's alliance when he stole their planets and populace. You'd think his trajectory would make him the enemy of anything with eyes, but maybe they're not biological enough to feel threatened or already subverted.
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Orm Embar said:
Anyway, it could be interesting to raise Vanreir for a chat about the Forebear's legacy, as he has perspective on what the other end of the equation looks like. Rereading his interlude knowing that Hunger was the Forebear's a bit of a trip. His father sacrificed everything just to prove the sincerity of their cause, the depth of their desperation... only for the reincarnated and amnesiac Forebear to come along and kill his own descendant. So much for the Forebear's promise:
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Orm Embar said:
Anyway, my ability to generate tactics for a fight of this level is somewhat limited, but here goes. The Realm of Daylight 'complements and utterly opposes' the Realm of Evening. The converse is presumably also true. Yet evening is day's end; Hunger doesn't command the Realm of Night, but the subset of it which heralds the end of one's waking hours. Could be a conceptual vulnerability there. She can't truly rest, so an endurance-focused strat centered around wearing her down with Ruin could help, so long as she doesn't destroy the Sphere and trip the Geas' loss condition.
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Orm Embar said:
Then there's the nature of the vessel. However shredded by the sacrifices she's made to prosecute her vendetta, the Maiden's inhabiting Ceathlynn. If Hunger has resurrected Moren Tao, he might provoke the moment's hesitation that was decisive against Procyon again. Hopefully the Tyrant's Doom doesn't prohibit restoring those who died defying him, but Hunger's demonstrated respect for worthy opponents. Could be worth extending this 'play the man, not the ball' approach to the Maiden, consulting surviving Shards for information about her, but however fungible time's become there may not be enough of it to conduct research. But that's what Gisena is for.
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Orm Embar said:
All else aside I want to see my Wish reach its culmination and get the Haeliel Ending. Mordred kneecapped her screentime by delaying her next two appearances, but I have faith in the Seraph of Heroism's ability to inject the spark of hope Hunger's epilogue so desperately needs. Whatever wins here, whether Hunger himself wins, it's been a pleasure playing with everyone.
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Orm Embar said:
Mentioned on Discord, repeated here for redundancy's sake: the Maiden is inhabiting Catherine of Amarlt (aka. Bad Cat), the last descendant of a defunct Dynasty. The Ring of Blood and/or authority as the Forebear could potentially exploit this.
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Orm Embar said:
Play the woman, not the ball. The Maiden's morality is a mystery, but according to Faeliad the stated reason she'd agree to this is that Hunger's trampling all over her ancestral Realm. It's possible Faeliad is referring to a step on the Forebear's Procession where he destroyed the Foremost, but the most straightforward reading is that she has principled objections to what Hunger's currently doing.
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Orm Embar said:
Closing the Fist, or some permutation thereof. Fuse with all Companions, or even the entirety of Hunger's forces if that's feasible! Striking the Maiden down as one composite entity would be a comprehensive rejection of both her and Catherine's ideals.
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Orm Embar said:
Logically, when thinking about actions taken in the present with long-term impacts, precommitting comes to mind. Most are too irresolute to follow through on choices made. Fortunately, this is one of many problems solved by being the Forebear; Hunger considers giving his word an absolute commitment. There are many possible oaths to be made, simply swearing not to oppose the Accursed again foremost among them.
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And these seemed most relevant to the current negotiations.

Orm Embar said:
Then there's Aobaru. His Heroic empowerment during the Mordred proc delayed Haeliel's next two visitations. But there's no reason that process couldn't be reversed, theoretically. Have Gisena nerf Aobaru to reset the cooldown, allowing both Hunger and the Maiden to benefit from the Seraph's Advice Corner at a time when her wisdom is most needed! A tad tyrannical given his performance in the fight, but that's Hunger for you.
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Orm Embar said:
Visit Nilfel or whatever part of Hungertopia has the most continuity with it. I have no idea if it's even a discrete polity these days, but we did spend a Heroic Advancement on Season's Greetings and then never used the Apocryphal leeway. Now is the time to cash in.
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Particularly this last one could work well. Ceathlyn and the Maiden have been made fanatical by the Apocryphal curse, shielding them from its influence should notably soften their opposition.

Getting Haeliel support somehow also seems reasonable, with Age comes the Treachery to call your big sister for support!
 
Fumbles said:
Earthbound implies a need for population density, human habitation, and development, but doesn't specify the amount of each.

It does clearly note that area, not population, is the scaling statistic.

With that in mind, what are the limits? Can I gain the alliegance of the polar bases to take over Antarctica? If that's too sparse, or too poorly developed, what about Alaska?
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Antarctica is significantly too sparsely populated, as is most of Alaska. It's hard for me to precisely parameterize the lower limit, but the basic gist is that the people living on the land need to have a particular sort of familiarity with it, and with specific individual features and elements of the geography, down to at least the human scale. People need to be able to at least see and hear things happening in the territory you're trying to claim on a pretty regular basis, maybe a often as daily depending on how ~active the territory is.

Shard said:
I assume those are, in order (not knowing secret lore etc) timelines that basically got retgonned or could have happened and are trying to come back to life like Homestuck doomed timelines, ultrafast high frequency temporally accelerated setting with stupid scaling, and effectively evil planeswalkers who want to reduce things to mundanity and boringness and/or possibly gray goo stuff with mundanifying cthululoid equivalents. Just my impressions.

With Weave Magic and stuff it should be possible to basically convert the universe into a giant lagless matrioshka hyperspheroid or something stupid like that. I'm pretty sure ex nihilo creation of matter and conceptual laws is well within possibility to turn that into a reality. Of course this all presumes successful cooperation with HI interpretation of stuff. But in that case expanding into the Abyss wouldn't be needed because the literal physical space/area occupied by the AST collective would be potentially infinite, meaning the effects of Earthbound would hit whatever Rank Cap can be reached by ordinary space alone already. And potentially more, since instead of invading other spaces it should be possible to create additional fundamental planes of existence and so forth..
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Those are all reasonable guesses, yeah. And if you control infinite territory, you'll hit Rank 10-equivalent.

Scree said:
Wrymling's growth is passive so I can focus pretty much entirely on my other magic. Skinchanger is great for not dying early, lets me blend into society and lets me create as much gold as I want from my own body. I can probably manage dimensional travel with Skinchanger.
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This is definitely a very safe build, though given it's density you probably won't be making that much gold initially. Also, sadly, the Skinchanger's irreal store is a dead end, it doesn't lead to anywhere else, or even is really a location or space unto itself. It's the absence of reality, not an alternative reality. The only magic that ever allows for interdimensional travel to universes that you don't make from scratch yourself is Shadow Blend.
 
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Thanks Aab, that is more than enough clarity! I'd use the term settled, maybe. I just wanted yo make sure there weren't obvious claim-rushing exploits.

With CYOA that leave the world initially intact I'm much more conservative. I don't want to conquer the universe or really bother anyone, and I want to stay human and relatable to my friends and family. I take an optimistic view that no one in this thread will be a serial killer or tyrant.

[A] The Weave
[a] Skinchanger

Just metamagic and relative safety. Minor scaling in that I can push Shapeshifting to wild conclusions and share it via Weaving, but not ultimately a synergy build.
 
Looking at OrmTactics gives me the chance to jump on any mention of Foremost Shards, which remain one of my absolute favorite reveals in the entire quest. Since we couldn't slow down the digital waterfall and quickly outscaled most of the Foremost Shards, I'll probably just have to win the lottery and buy a Patreon wish to learn more about what was up with the Foremost.

Orm Embar said:
Seal of Ruin grants not only practical but inferential power, we can threaten Shards with the Sealing Designate status to coerce concessions if remote targeting works.
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Seal of Ruin pits Hunger's Ruin against all efforts of the target, while Imprisoner's Refinement (Flood of Runes) plus Gilded Cage means that Foremost Shards may be rehabilitated (up to +3.0 Rank from their default fallen state) without undue danger to Hunger & co. I remember pushing hard for Crimson Flare; Blood Halo has removed Hunger's ability to tinker with essence via the Ring, but the Archmage advancement remains a truly wild source of versatility.

Allrian hypertechnology and leaning on the domain of Artifice from the Realm of Evening should be enough to reforge the Foremost shards into something resembling their former glory. The Maiden is described as a very young Foremost, and she was defeated in part by the Arcanist's experience with using Sorcery in peer-level combat. That means the awakened shards may have something valuable to offer even in their reduced state.

Tactic proposal: cobble together a facsimile of the lost Foremost economy by mining awakened shards to uplift the Human Sphere.

Orm Embar said:
Could be worth extending this 'play the man, not the ball' approach to the Maiden, consulting surviving Shards for information about her, but however fungible time's become there may not be enough of it to conduct research. But that's what Gisena is for.
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This tactic says "talk to the Shards to learn about a potential upcoming threat." It occurs to me that if the Maiden was a 'young' Foremost, she must have been present during whatever catastrophe or ascension made them depart the galaxy that eventually became the Human Sphere. If the Shards would have known about her, they might also know about other Foremost-level threats. What might the Surgeon have considered a challenge in his prime?

Tactic proposal: Talk to the existing Foremost about deep L O R E that might threaten an up and coming Foremost like Gisena the Genius.
 
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Aabcehmu said:
A Magical Dream​
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Happy Halloween to everyone! In the spirit of the holiday, have a couple quick builds for Magical Dream focused on transformation:

Ancalagon
Skinchanger, Wyrmling

Human civilization is at the mercy of the first person who chooses Weave with Shadow Blend and decides to take knitting needles to the collective unconsciousness. Without the latter I won't even remember enough for proper paranoia, so one of Skinchanger or Weave is virtually required to avoid being mastered. Necromancy is unpalatable. Earthbound is appealing, but scales slowly and entails entering into a zero-sum contest with everyone else who took it. Everything's in flux, but in the words of a certain Spirit: "When in doubt, pursue power."

To cling to the veneer of mortality in such straits as these would be foolish. Kill the man and let the dragon be born. Flesh falls away, revealing scales like tenfold shields. Nails become talons; breath becomes flame. Wings unfurl, carrying me westward in the direction of the United States Bullion Depository. Knocking over Fort Knox as soon as possible via impersonation or force will yield enough gold to both anchor wards for my lair and bribe other Wyrms, once I learn of them.

Other than the laundry list of spell effects I have in mind, this build's simple: draw on Skinchanger's irreal reserves to accelerate Wyrmling's metamorphosis and try to incorporate unimbued gold into myself through shapeshifting, to become the biggest dragon possible. As Ancalagon, I will act as a mercenary protector for whichever Earthbound polity pays best and meets my aesthetic/moral standards. Naturally, I take my salary in twenty-four carat gold or magical favors.

Eärendil
Skinchanger, Shadow Blend (preferred)

Let the Earthbound wage war over petty scraps of land. Let the Wyrmlings rain fire from the skies. Let the Weavers spin their schemes and Necromancers empty every graveyard. Why stay on mere Earth, even one inhabited by a handful of demigods, when the Umbral Plane contains every eidolon and daydream ever conceived? I'll set sail on a greater voyage than they can possibly fathom. Not to the Undying Lands in search of aid, but into the imagination of mankind - and one day, the Abyss beyond it.

Forewarned of the calamity to come, I cut all contact and dip in and out of my own perceptions to impede Weaver tracking. In the subsequent days and weeks I'll map out as much of the Umbra as possible, exploring thematic realms of superheroism, high fantasy, and science fiction. Stockpiling umbral matter via Skinchanger so the resulting treasures can withstand the waking world is convenient, but I prefer hoarding artifacts in a dreamvault abutting my perceptual realm to save on upkeep.

The real perks are shapeshifting away oneiric oxygen deprivation and adapting myself to the Umbral. I'll surface occasionally to check if the internet still exists and see if I can place whichever god-king the news anchors are genuflecting to, but once I can construct submersibles superior to any innately created? There'll be no need to awaken again. Once I've dreamed up a vessel whose hull is my pride and sails are pure escapism, I can bring the arsenal amassed to bear on breaching the lower Umbral boundary.

If Eärendil returns at all, it will be as something like a god, with a Silmaril strapped to my brow.
 
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Is the Tactic asking Haeliel for help? Hinted at via the Ineptitude Favour alternative option. Presumably it would burn Haeliel favour, and so it obviates some of Vengeances benefits. It's something fundamental, and something I could see improving the chances of someone becoming an HCB. It's not something Hunger would seriously consider by himself, even if the idea occurred to him. And it was mentioned in one of Orm's posts.
Orm Embar said:
All else aside I want to see my Wish reach its culmination and get the Haeliel Ending. Mordred kneecapped her screentime by delaying her next two appearances, but I have faith in the Seraph of Heroism's ability to inject the spark of hope Hunger's epilogue so desperately needs. Whatever wins here, whether Hunger himself wins, it's been a pleasure playing with everyone.
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It seems to fit the criteria?
 
It is a little awkward to have two builds for the same person with no ~preference order between, as happy as I am to have your build, Orm. Any thoughts on how you'd interact with the specific people who have posted build so far, whether as Ancalagon or Earendil?
 
Aabcehmu said:
It is a little awkward to have two builds for the same person with no ~preference order between, as happy as I am to have your build, Orm. Any thoughts on how you'd interact with the specific people who have posted build so far, whether as Ancalagon or Earendil?
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My preference is for Eärendil, which conveniently dodges that question by haring off into the deep Umbral! Ancalagon would probably shop around for a lair and be wary on learning that qwolfs and beowolf have connection controlling powers, wishing instead for a Fisher King who's creating a utopian demesne that attracts immigrants with incentives.
 
Rihaku said:
*The Progression penalty of the Ring Crimson is removed. Its bonus remains.
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Is it possible for Hunger to remove this benefit of Blood Halo to instead gain an amplified form of this?
Rihaku said:
Dramatically reduces the benefits of training, but explosively increases rate of progression during active conflict.
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If the Ring Hunger normally provides something like

Training Progression: ---
Conflict progression: +++

And Blood Halo effectively turns it into:

Training Progression: /
Conflict progression: +++

Could Hunger instead embody Blood Halo in a way so as to effectively get something like:

Training Progression: -----
Conflict progression: ++++++++

Which would be incredibly useful against the Maiden?

It would also negate the benefits of Finality, because going forward this turbocharged variant of the Hunger would have the extremely unique strategy of literally outscaling an enemy during the very fight itself (including the Maiden). It's very thematic for Hunger, who has always been venturing into battle, so something like this should be possible. It massively improves' Hunger's odds in this and all future encounters, so I think it would be a 'valid' Tactic. Hunger is also the Ring Hunger itself, he is the Halo and all. I don't think this tactic has been mentioned before in all the prior discussion either. With Fault Defeating Stance Hunger could theoretically advance at 100x Progression of a Cursebearer with ++++++++++ Progression +s during a conflict. Engaging and winning against 10-pick encounters on the regular should actually be viable.

e: Not only that, Hunger's future scaling is unaffected because he has the Praxis, whose progression is unaffected by the Ring Hunger. Hunger could scale at both normal and at hyperexponential speeds. In terms of power gain there's basically no negative.

Assuming, you know, that this is all possible.

e e: If this is possible one could call it, The Ring Hunger, True.

===

Hunger could also try to get Odyssial's Unshattered Kaleidoscope I guess, via Law/Space/Battle, and in the process maybe sacrifice the Shattering Blow (Unshattering Blow?). This would necessarily provide Hunger with Inheritance and also Imperishable Night, which would also make a good part of the benefits of Vengeance (the part where Hunger gets every noncontradictory Blade Advancement) irrelevant.
 
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I am working on a linoblock print of the Flower of Victory taking root in the Forebear's Blade - the ultimate defeat implied by Freedom.

The trouble is that art is hard for me. I've been experimenting with some different effects, including double printing water-based ink to get a resistance effect between the layers. It is getting close but my choice of stencils in the last run was a little clumsy. I've also added colored pencil to the line-work, with mixed results so far

Printmaking is fun exactly because troubleshooting these problems can reveal new dynamics in the image, but I've been stalled for a few weeks now.

Releasing progress pictures now to try and escape the logjam:


View: https://imgur.com/a/Fny51QL





 
A user in the Discord convo this morning (EST) has said something relevant to the Tactic, of roughly equal conceptual proximity as the hint within Orm's post.
 
My harebrained Discord Ideas:

1) Eat the Realm of Evening via the Ring Hunger somehow. RoE can provide curse mitigation of like 2/3, converting that to pure power somehow should let us Roflstomp the Maiden pretty much immediately even if the conversion efficiency was total garbage. < I don't think this is the tactic
2) Turbo Ring of Hunger -> Hunger can train with Praxis anyway (unaffected by the Ring Hunger), so if he juiced the baseline effects of the Ring Hunger effects to the logical endpoint he gets all the benefits without downsides. < - My personal favourite.
3) HR Deathrealm, make an infinity Hungers with infinity Temple Arc equivs, infinite training with Hunger Ring equivs, assimilate, repeat <Probably not it IMO
4) True Self Defeating Stance, upgraded from Fault Defeating Stance somehow. <I don't think this is the tactic
5) Somehow invert rank/ruin to get a turbo Edeldross of some kind to acquire turbo Wellspring to ultra uplift the HR to infinite gradiocosmic heights, buff them with turbo Blood halos and stuff. If Inheritance is an inescapable Singularity of the Black Hole's Event Horizon, we'd basically want a White Hole, an origin of infinity possibilities. Thematically opposed to the Procession of Worlds as well which is cool, good for powerlevellign and opposing the Hidden Ones. < I think this is the tactic
6) Unshatter Hunger by 'completing' him with all the other fragments and alternate Hungers, effectively a Hunger variant of the Unshattered Kaleidoscope. Doable with Space/Law, powerup is pretty obvious. <- My third runner up.
7) River Lethe all of Hunger's memories prior to this Geas. Unshackling himself from the past will effectively massively improve QoL as well as banishing all lingering affection vs Maiden that would have been a problem <- I don't think this is the tactic

My top 3 are, in order, summarize:

1) Inverted Rank/Ruin AKA Wellspring*, True
2) The Ring Hunger, True
3) Unshattered Kaleidoscope (Hunger Variant)

*In particular, Wellspring is a power that Rihaku has created for himself in Orm's CYOA. It's description is available somewhere in the thread, but basically that ability, amped up to the logical conclusion. It's incredibly OP, possibly like, one of the most powerful abilities conceptually and all, the power to Create. It even self-exponentiates! As a bonus, it's conceptually opposed to both the Maiden ('there is always an ending') AND the Procession of Worlds (because it's a literal inversion from the Procession).

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Honestly I think it's basically using Archmage/Rank/Ruin/Hunger/RoE to basically create a Singularity (in the computing idea of a Singularity, something that self-exponentiates infinitely) in some way. For example
Ruin/Rank to eliminate issues, Space/Law to create infinite possibility-space, RoE for conceptual shit, Hunger/Battles to create infinite competition, something along those lines.
 
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Rihaku's offered to narrow the search space by giving us a hint, in exchange for each poster only gaining one guess. I'm for it. If there's a substantial amount of support for the idea, Rihaku might offer it to us.
 
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