Bleach Quest, the Uryū vs. Byakuya fight inspired a few of the tactics this time around. I just... hope it sees similar success.
Edit: Jesus Christ, Resolve is only combat effectiveness, how did I miss that? Fuck.
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A Simple Transaction I
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
- Original
Edit: Jesus Christ, Resolve is only combat effectiveness, how did I miss that? Fuck.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
Hm. Oldest surviving likely candidate I know of: The Old Testament.
Other probable ancient sources: The Mahabharata. Stuff from China. Probably lots of other places?
First appearance in anime? I don't know, but it'd be old. "Contemporary with the original Saint Seiya" is about the youngest I could believe.
It's a cool scene, and it's pretty obvious if you have knowledge of stabbing weapons and how ludicrously durable/shock-resistant humans are.
Projectile
Thinking of Rabbits
- Location
- USA
Oof, I thought that meant that fighting was a backup plan. To be fair, we do get ++++++++Cha (or whatever the real, non-mechanical thing is) in Rageform, so...
Should've stuck with my first vote. At least it's an 'update' and not quest over... but I don't think Rihaku would spoil the outcome that way. I preemptively apologize if this is it, guys.
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
it won't be your fault if this is the end, these actions are in line with dozens of decisions we've made
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Also, I think the coolest possible introduction for the Form of Rage would be having it help us talk someone out of fighting rather than just make us fight gooder. There's a lot of transformations that up power level but how often have you seen the Final Boss shift into his third phase and completely shatter your resolve through words.
Now that would be sick.
Now that would be sick.
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- Location
- Pindorama
Don't apologize because then I'd have to apologize too! The higher rage proc chnace might save us where 5% effectiveness wouldn't! Think of the positives people. More seriously, channeling fighting the Tyrant for a Dialogue option is weird as hell, but hey; system doesn't lie. How crucial is 5% anyway?
LordOfMurder
Bhaal
- Location
- Australia
Possibly it gives combat effectiveness as the original intent of resolve is to take the blows in order to deliver our own. Maybe by commiting to Dialogue though we can convert that to social effectiveness?
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Losing 5% effectiveness of persuasion is totally worth having 3% more combat effectiveness and more importantly the Form of Rage trigger chance buff. It gives us better backup for if diplomacy fails, and is probably somewhat safer.
It would look dramatic if in case social fails, and he "kills" Hunger despite the latter's sincerity, a second later Hunger is like "alright, I tried being nice", and goes full RAGE.
Sky Above Sky
Rihaku
The Internet
Sky Above Sky
Hunger had an uneasy feeling as he carved through the legions of the Outer Temple, rushing headlong towards the Middle once more. He was making visible progress every day, growing in strength and proximity to the Imprisoned, but some ill premonition dogged him still, a feeling that, despite the life-and-death battles he'd participated in, the real challenge was still to come.
Focused exclusively on blood enhancement, his strength, speed, and regeneration all had increased prodigiously after the fight with the Archer, though his ranged attacks had benefited most of all. Now his blade-winds and projections struck with singing force, curving and dancing across the battlefield with easy fluidity, far less taxing to employ than before. With a substantial exertion of self, he could compress the power of his strikes even further, folding seven cuts into a single blow that would rend flesh and spirit alike.
Such power had served him well, rendering the entirety of the Outer Temple a trivial exercise, and yet...
The residents of the Middle Temple treated the Outer as nothing more than ablative armor, its autonomous armies culling the chaff from those unfortunates bound to the Temple's call. Any who made it to the Middle were controlled via carefully selected incentives, the carrot of bribery and the stick of the Outriders acting in concert to neuter the outsider threat. Even the weakest Outrider patrols seemed a match for the mightiest beasts of the Outer Temple.
If the Middle represented so great an increase in sophistication over the Outer, then what did that bode for the Ring's guardian itself? For all that his rate of progression had been absurd, was he growing strong enough, fast enough, in the fields that mattered against so versatile and well-resourced a foe? This was no single monster, to be baited and easily hunted. It was an entire civilization bent to the purpose of keeping their Ring imprisoned and extracting its value thereby. Was his own power too linear, too physically focused, to overcome them?
But for all that he could doubt his chances of success, there was no doubt as to his course of action. He would cut through, until the Ring was freed.
Mid-morning saw him in the Middle Temple again, deep past the bucolic pastures of its outskirts and into civilization proper, densely-populated towns of high medieval architecture separated by sweeping, carefully regimented fields of crops. In the valley between two towns he spotted an ongoing battle: A one-armed swordsman in grey Outrider leathers against a figure clad in unadorned plate. It was going poorly for the latter, puncture holes dotting their torso, the heavy steel of their armor rent and ruptured around each exit wound.
The swordsman spotted him out of the corner of his eye and swiftly attacked, jabbing with his blade in Hunger's direction. His movement was a blur even to the Cursebearer, and scarce had Hunger interposed the Evening Sky before it was pierced easily through, a wound sprouting across his lower torso. Whipping his cloak around he sprinted behind a nearby hill, blocking the swordsman's line of sight.
A perfect shot to the liver, punching clean through to daylight. Were it not for his Ring of Blood, it would quickly become a lethal wound. As it was, the relatively small cross-section of the attack meant it would only be the inconvenience of seconds. And yet there was no time to lose. Once the outrider dispatched his current opponent, Hunger would be next, and the enemy's incredible speed meant that pursuit would not favor him. What did he know so far? High physical parameters, already wounded, ranged thrust attacks with apparently infallible aim. His best solution was to meet offense with offense.
Wasting no further instants, he quickly leapt out from the hillside, launching a sevenfold blade projection directly at the swordsman as he charged. Eyes flickering briefly, the enemy intercepted his blade projection with one of his own, the thrust every bit the equal of the cut, spearing it in twain. Collapsed blade-force carved a meters-deep divot into the ground as the attack folded in on itself.
Hunger was already lunging, sword like a flickering thresher as he fired forward consecutive blade-winds, Ring of Blood flaring to exacerbate the outrider's wounds and repair his own. Without hesitation the swordsman turned to face him, effortlessly countering the swarm of blade-winds while a strategically placed thrust put a hole through Hunger's heart.
A critical organ for most, but not for the bearer of the Blood Ring. Without so much as breaking stride Hunger continued brazenly forward, and the swordsman was forced to leap back in order to avoid a close-range grapple. At that moment the armored figure fired, its arm falling away to reveal a cannon-like apparatus before launching a thunderous salvo.
With unerring grace the outrider shifted in midair, blur of his sword a deflecting dance to answer the storm of bullets. Hunger joined in, charging again for the grapple, exerting the full power of his Ring to denude his enemy's blood in erratic, disorienting fits. At last the swordsman appeared to falter, but sensing a feint Hunger juked to the side in the moment before contact. Wisely so, as the outrider spun and thrust twice, displaying heretofore-unseen speed even as his blood was further suppressed. Light jabs both, but Hunger felt his eye put out all the same, and a corresponding groan from the armored figure.
Blind, but he still had his blood sense. No time for despair. And yet what could he do? The enemy was simply too fast, his reflexes too sharp, form and instincts impeccable, every attack landing exactly where it was placed. Desperately he exuded raw Pressure, sheer murderous intent, the cruel shining sun of his spirit blazing ceaselessly over his foe. At this finally the swordsman relented, reeling under that supernal might. For all his strength, there was a seam in this outrider's spirit, a thin dividing line that was only imperfectly sealed.
And yet, how to exploit this weakness? His uttermost extrusion of Pressure had given the man pause, but it was not feasible to continue for long. A spirit-rending attack could harm him for sure, but he had no way of targeting that specific fault-line, and no way to reliably land such an attack against an enemy of this speed. If he let up the pressure for even a moment, the outrider would have time enough to prepare a serious thrust targeting Hunger's brain, and that would be the death of this flesh body. His ghost form, bereft of blood to enhance, would be completely outclassed by this foe. Idly he noted that the armored figure, his erstwhile ally, had no blood at all.
He felt more than heard that figure's next movement, steamroller charge of pure crushing force, fury and clangor like an ironworks onrushing. Hunger redoubled the expulsion of his Pressure, hollowing himself out, pinning-in-place the outrider by sheer verity of spirit. Even so, at the last moment he felt the enemy throw off his influence, violent force as the outrider's very soul seemed to nearly rupture in twain, one-half of it absorbing the brunt of his assault so that the other could go free.
There was a clap of thunder.
Blind and briefly spent, Hunger could barely react to the outside world as he marshaled his reserves once more. Through his bloodsense he saw the figure of the swordsman, blade outstretched, and heard the tinkling of armor plates falling to the ground.
Slowly his Ring's regeneration restored his sight. The swordsman was a ragged ruin, raw muscle and bone naked to the winds, blood dribbling and pooling from countless tears across his form. In the last instant he must have met the incoming armor with a counter-charge of his own, a full-bodied piercing lunge that cored out the mass of plate in a single fell stroke. Indeed, there was a swordsman-shaped exit blown out the back of the hulking machine, which now slowly toppled. Of course, such an attack left no protection for its executor against the terrible crushing momentum of the armored figure's charge.
Panting, Hunger gave his opponent a nod of acknowledgement. He could respect the tenacity, the sheer force of will behind his unswerving technique.
Politely, the outrider inclined his own head. Neither had the strength in this moment to summon an attack capable of bringing his opponent low. Hunger could only hope that the Ring of Blood rejuvenated him faster than the swordsman adapted to his own wounds. Trauma that would have killed a normal man seemed to only briefly faze him. Under the influence of his Ring, very little blood now remained in the man's veins, but the outrider stood stoic and nearly upright, a blade bent but unbroken. And like a blade, chipped and marred, damage to his physical form would weaken, but fail to render useless, so long as the edge was sharp.
"Vanreir, Amarlt," said the outrider, breathing heavily still, his voice a whispery croak. "The strength, of your spirit, is commendable."
"The spirit," Hunger remarked, his breaths equally ragged, "is willing; but the flesh, is weak."
Vanreir raised his hand and waved it slightly, as if to say that he had seen worse.
Slowly, painfully, he turned his blade to face Hunger, its tip pointed unsteadily at his eye.
"I, regret, the necessity of this," he said, "but know, that it's for, a good cause."
Fighting through the exhaustion, Hunger took up his own stance, blade raised and poised to cut. The world contracted, static fuzzing in at the edges of his vision. He'd gone too far again, spent too much of his own essence pursuing an impossible feat. Still he dredged up what pitiful slivers remained, enough perhaps for one concerted attack.
He would let the man kill his flesh body, and hope that the surprise of his ghost form's emergence outweighed its now-lacking strength and speed. It was perhaps a vain hope. For the entirety of this battle Hunger had not landed a single physical blow upon this opponent.
"I understand," Hunger said, steadying his blade. "Cut through, even if it cannot be cut. It must be quite the cause."
The swordsman frowned, eyes sharp. "You..."
Sensing an opening, a moment of weakness, Hunger still did not strike. He allowed his opponent to gather his thoughts.
"Hmph," Vanreir shook his head. "What are the chances... my father once said something very similar. I'm not one to believe in fate, but I'm glad you were my final opponent. A worthy enemy can be rarer than even a true friend."
"Well said," Hunger replied, idly scanning the battlefield. He raised his hand, setting his opponent's heart to beating, restoring some volume of Vanreir's blood. "Shall we decide properly which of our swords is the greater?"
"If you wish," Vanreir said, with the air of a man granting a final request. Hunger circled around to a particular point on the battlefield, matching the angle of his initial entry, where the sun fell in neither swordsman's eyes. Slowly he raised his blade aloft, jewel on his finger grim and subdued. The pallor of mortality was like a shadow across the battlefield. Each man knew that this moment could be his last.
Vanreir walked to match him, taking up the stance of his signature thrust. Now within melee range, tip of his blade aimed squarely at Hunger's brain pan, the crystal-steel edge caught and splintered the sun's rays, a daytime thunderbolt.
Enough of sword-projections. An opponent such as this deserved the physical blade.
On the same count they inhaled. An unspoken understanding passed between them. Time compressed, congealed, folded over on itself like molten amber. On came the thrust, that viperous lash of silver like lightning made steel. Hunger's blade descended, but slowly, far too slowly to land any serious blow. By the time Amarlt's thrust loomed before him, his hand had managed only to interpose itself between the enemy's sword and his own head.
There was a clang of steel against silver, a clarion note of pure deflection. The Forebear's Blade fell from nerveless fingers.
Like an inverse kingfisher Amarlt was pointed skywards, his blade thrusting forwards and up, the all-piercing force of his strike no match for the indestructible Ring in its path, which had been bound to Hunger's finger by the Accursed himself. Hunger pressed downwards with his right foot, titanic strength collapsing the weakened ground around the divot that his very first blade-projection had created.
Falling rapidly, the bones of his hand a shattered ruin, the Forebear's Blade was level now with his mouth. Snatching it in his teeth, he fired a single blade-projection, one last absolute exertion. Committed still to his thrust, Vanreir could not change his trajectory. Cleanly bisected, chest from sternum, still his arms and eyes and blade could only face up, up, up: turned forever heavenward, as if to pierce through the sky itself.
But there was always a sky above the sky. One could pierce for all eternity without finding its limit.
Age and treachery had prevailed again, though victory tasted like ashes in his mouth. Slowly he examined the Ring, its jewel flaring crimson, the pulse of its inhalation drawing a thundering sea of power.
Jewel and band and finger all were whole and untouched. Of Vanreir Amarlt's final attack, no evidence remained, not even so much as a scratch.
---
The winner wasDialogue and Resolve The Accursed, as expected. Choose your Devastating Complication.
[ ] Punctured Soul - Rank reduced by 10%, physical attributes by 20%, mental attributes by 30%, and social attributes by 40% for 1 month.
[ ] True Maiming - Liver wounded on a metaphysical level. Permanently reduce CON and CON improvements by 10% and suffer 400% increased vulnerability to poison and supernatural disease. Suffer severe damage upon strenuous exertion for the next three days.
[ ] Lingering Exhaustion - Exhausted for a week and Tired for the week after. Any interruption of rest may worsen Exhaustion.
---
You have 4 picks and have special dispensation to spend up to 2 Arete, assuming that your Arete generation this update will cover it.
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]
[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.
Select a domain of influence. While acting within its domain, [Ring of Power] effects are substantially less taxing and more potent; the effects of this can be abstracted as follows: treat the owner's Rank as if it somewhat* higher for related actions. You may select this advancement multiple times, choosing a different domain each time. If multiple domains apply, their bonuses do not compound.
*+0.5 if Low, +.25 if Mid, +.1 if High.
The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion
[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Vigor Itself - The primordial might and glory of Blood resplendent. Let all who witness its form tremble, and be subject. Adds [++Might, +Charisma] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.
[ ] Evening Sky - Opalescence - The soft light of evening before which all attacks falter.
Improves defensive parameters. [+Protection]
[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes.
--- 3-pick Advancements ---
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Ruinous Valor (3 picks)
Where he advanced, so did the tide of entire wars, the shock of his blade like a hurled epicenter, the trail of his passage but wasteland and rubble.
[+++++Strength]
Power of Ruin now scales upwards depending on your Strength.
Choose:
Einhander - You may not regrow or replace your left arm by any means. Substantially reduces the cost and increases the range of special attacks made with the Forebear's Blade. This Advancement grants Might instead of Strength (+Might = +Str, +Con).
Zweihander - Regrow your left arm. Your barehanded strikes now carry the full destructive power of the Forebear's Blade.
If Einhander is taken, unlocks One Arm Fury.
If Zweihander is taken, unlocks Martial Stances: Forebear's Blade
[ ] The Ring of Power - Inheritor (3 picks, 2 Arete)
He whose soul contains multitudes, may inherit the legacy of those fallen.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
*Choose one Soul Evocation user you have slain. You may use their Soul Evocation at a substantial fraction of the original wielder's skill. Apply [To Shatter Heaven] to their Soul Evocation, but gain fragments of their selfhood.
*+50% to the value of that user's highest Attribute +s.
*+50% the value of that user's second highest Attribute +s.
*-10% to the value of future Rank +s, but you may train Rank manually.
*++Mental Contamination from the user you target. Their soul lives on as your prisoner.
*Available Evocations: The Librarian. The Correspondent. The Unerring.
--- 4-pick advancements ---
[ ] Feat: Kinslayer - A true opponent's worth. Set Rank to 5. (4 picks)
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Uttermost (4 picks)
Focus beyond absolute focus. To cut what cannot be cut. To pierce what cannot be pierced. To go further and even further beyond in the unrelenting pursuit of perfection. To exert every iota of self, turn every faculty of purpose, bind every testament of will towards a single, unswerving ideal: that is what it means to do one's uttermost. There are no compromises for he who walks the path of the blade.
Do, even if it cannot be done.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Cannot mitigate the Doom of the Tyrant beyond its original state
Expends and sacrifices the Form of Rage
Increase by 30% the value of all Rank +s
Reduce by 30% to the value of Luck, Protection, Wisdom and Charisma +s
+++++++Willpower, ++All Other Stats
First Blade: Restores the Forebear's Blade. Apply the effects of the Fell-Handed Stroke, including modifiers, to all basic attacks with no surcharge. You may upgrade [A Thousand Cuts] to [Cut Through] for the difference in their Arete costs.
[ ] Hunger - Stranglethorn (4 picks)
Age and treachery made flesh.
The might of beasts is not the only province of the ring Hunger. It bears witness to a deeper and elder power as well, the strength of root and stem that bleeds life from the earth itself to thrust upwards towards heaven. The might of oaks, ancient and thousand-ringed, which crumbles stone and blunts steel, which repels the wind and absorbs the tide, which stands unscathed even in the face of heat and fury. That juggernaut stubbornness like a gnarled fist: the power to push through problems with patient, unyielding strength, to break them down and see them crushed beneath you.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Increase by 20% the value of all Rank +s
Double the value of Strength and Constitution +s
Double the value of Willpower +s
Reduce by 20% the value of Agility +s
Establishment: By committing meaningful resources towards a given context, and staking out a solid position, you slowly but increasingly accrue power and influence within that context, becoming ever-more inescapable and impossible to dislodge.
Hunger had an uneasy feeling as he carved through the legions of the Outer Temple, rushing headlong towards the Middle once more. He was making visible progress every day, growing in strength and proximity to the Imprisoned, but some ill premonition dogged him still, a feeling that, despite the life-and-death battles he'd participated in, the real challenge was still to come.
Focused exclusively on blood enhancement, his strength, speed, and regeneration all had increased prodigiously after the fight with the Archer, though his ranged attacks had benefited most of all. Now his blade-winds and projections struck with singing force, curving and dancing across the battlefield with easy fluidity, far less taxing to employ than before. With a substantial exertion of self, he could compress the power of his strikes even further, folding seven cuts into a single blow that would rend flesh and spirit alike.
Such power had served him well, rendering the entirety of the Outer Temple a trivial exercise, and yet...
The residents of the Middle Temple treated the Outer as nothing more than ablative armor, its autonomous armies culling the chaff from those unfortunates bound to the Temple's call. Any who made it to the Middle were controlled via carefully selected incentives, the carrot of bribery and the stick of the Outriders acting in concert to neuter the outsider threat. Even the weakest Outrider patrols seemed a match for the mightiest beasts of the Outer Temple.
If the Middle represented so great an increase in sophistication over the Outer, then what did that bode for the Ring's guardian itself? For all that his rate of progression had been absurd, was he growing strong enough, fast enough, in the fields that mattered against so versatile and well-resourced a foe? This was no single monster, to be baited and easily hunted. It was an entire civilization bent to the purpose of keeping their Ring imprisoned and extracting its value thereby. Was his own power too linear, too physically focused, to overcome them?
But for all that he could doubt his chances of success, there was no doubt as to his course of action. He would cut through, until the Ring was freed.
Mid-morning saw him in the Middle Temple again, deep past the bucolic pastures of its outskirts and into civilization proper, densely-populated towns of high medieval architecture separated by sweeping, carefully regimented fields of crops. In the valley between two towns he spotted an ongoing battle: A one-armed swordsman in grey Outrider leathers against a figure clad in unadorned plate. It was going poorly for the latter, puncture holes dotting their torso, the heavy steel of their armor rent and ruptured around each exit wound.
The swordsman spotted him out of the corner of his eye and swiftly attacked, jabbing with his blade in Hunger's direction. His movement was a blur even to the Cursebearer, and scarce had Hunger interposed the Evening Sky before it was pierced easily through, a wound sprouting across his lower torso. Whipping his cloak around he sprinted behind a nearby hill, blocking the swordsman's line of sight.
A perfect shot to the liver, punching clean through to daylight. Were it not for his Ring of Blood, it would quickly become a lethal wound. As it was, the relatively small cross-section of the attack meant it would only be the inconvenience of seconds. And yet there was no time to lose. Once the outrider dispatched his current opponent, Hunger would be next, and the enemy's incredible speed meant that pursuit would not favor him. What did he know so far? High physical parameters, already wounded, ranged thrust attacks with apparently infallible aim. His best solution was to meet offense with offense.
Wasting no further instants, he quickly leapt out from the hillside, launching a sevenfold blade projection directly at the swordsman as he charged. Eyes flickering briefly, the enemy intercepted his blade projection with one of his own, the thrust every bit the equal of the cut, spearing it in twain. Collapsed blade-force carved a meters-deep divot into the ground as the attack folded in on itself.
Hunger was already lunging, sword like a flickering thresher as he fired forward consecutive blade-winds, Ring of Blood flaring to exacerbate the outrider's wounds and repair his own. Without hesitation the swordsman turned to face him, effortlessly countering the swarm of blade-winds while a strategically placed thrust put a hole through Hunger's heart.
A critical organ for most, but not for the bearer of the Blood Ring. Without so much as breaking stride Hunger continued brazenly forward, and the swordsman was forced to leap back in order to avoid a close-range grapple. At that moment the armored figure fired, its arm falling away to reveal a cannon-like apparatus before launching a thunderous salvo.
With unerring grace the outrider shifted in midair, blur of his sword a deflecting dance to answer the storm of bullets. Hunger joined in, charging again for the grapple, exerting the full power of his Ring to denude his enemy's blood in erratic, disorienting fits. At last the swordsman appeared to falter, but sensing a feint Hunger juked to the side in the moment before contact. Wisely so, as the outrider spun and thrust twice, displaying heretofore-unseen speed even as his blood was further suppressed. Light jabs both, but Hunger felt his eye put out all the same, and a corresponding groan from the armored figure.
Blind, but he still had his blood sense. No time for despair. And yet what could he do? The enemy was simply too fast, his reflexes too sharp, form and instincts impeccable, every attack landing exactly where it was placed. Desperately he exuded raw Pressure, sheer murderous intent, the cruel shining sun of his spirit blazing ceaselessly over his foe. At this finally the swordsman relented, reeling under that supernal might. For all his strength, there was a seam in this outrider's spirit, a thin dividing line that was only imperfectly sealed.
And yet, how to exploit this weakness? His uttermost extrusion of Pressure had given the man pause, but it was not feasible to continue for long. A spirit-rending attack could harm him for sure, but he had no way of targeting that specific fault-line, and no way to reliably land such an attack against an enemy of this speed. If he let up the pressure for even a moment, the outrider would have time enough to prepare a serious thrust targeting Hunger's brain, and that would be the death of this flesh body. His ghost form, bereft of blood to enhance, would be completely outclassed by this foe. Idly he noted that the armored figure, his erstwhile ally, had no blood at all.
He felt more than heard that figure's next movement, steamroller charge of pure crushing force, fury and clangor like an ironworks onrushing. Hunger redoubled the expulsion of his Pressure, hollowing himself out, pinning-in-place the outrider by sheer verity of spirit. Even so, at the last moment he felt the enemy throw off his influence, violent force as the outrider's very soul seemed to nearly rupture in twain, one-half of it absorbing the brunt of his assault so that the other could go free.
There was a clap of thunder.
Blind and briefly spent, Hunger could barely react to the outside world as he marshaled his reserves once more. Through his bloodsense he saw the figure of the swordsman, blade outstretched, and heard the tinkling of armor plates falling to the ground.
Slowly his Ring's regeneration restored his sight. The swordsman was a ragged ruin, raw muscle and bone naked to the winds, blood dribbling and pooling from countless tears across his form. In the last instant he must have met the incoming armor with a counter-charge of his own, a full-bodied piercing lunge that cored out the mass of plate in a single fell stroke. Indeed, there was a swordsman-shaped exit blown out the back of the hulking machine, which now slowly toppled. Of course, such an attack left no protection for its executor against the terrible crushing momentum of the armored figure's charge.
Panting, Hunger gave his opponent a nod of acknowledgement. He could respect the tenacity, the sheer force of will behind his unswerving technique.
Politely, the outrider inclined his own head. Neither had the strength in this moment to summon an attack capable of bringing his opponent low. Hunger could only hope that the Ring of Blood rejuvenated him faster than the swordsman adapted to his own wounds. Trauma that would have killed a normal man seemed to only briefly faze him. Under the influence of his Ring, very little blood now remained in the man's veins, but the outrider stood stoic and nearly upright, a blade bent but unbroken. And like a blade, chipped and marred, damage to his physical form would weaken, but fail to render useless, so long as the edge was sharp.
"Vanreir, Amarlt," said the outrider, breathing heavily still, his voice a whispery croak. "The strength, of your spirit, is commendable."
"The spirit," Hunger remarked, his breaths equally ragged, "is willing; but the flesh, is weak."
Vanreir raised his hand and waved it slightly, as if to say that he had seen worse.
Slowly, painfully, he turned his blade to face Hunger, its tip pointed unsteadily at his eye.
"I, regret, the necessity of this," he said, "but know, that it's for, a good cause."
Fighting through the exhaustion, Hunger took up his own stance, blade raised and poised to cut. The world contracted, static fuzzing in at the edges of his vision. He'd gone too far again, spent too much of his own essence pursuing an impossible feat. Still he dredged up what pitiful slivers remained, enough perhaps for one concerted attack.
He would let the man kill his flesh body, and hope that the surprise of his ghost form's emergence outweighed its now-lacking strength and speed. It was perhaps a vain hope. For the entirety of this battle Hunger had not landed a single physical blow upon this opponent.
"I understand," Hunger said, steadying his blade. "Cut through, even if it cannot be cut. It must be quite the cause."
The swordsman frowned, eyes sharp. "You..."
Sensing an opening, a moment of weakness, Hunger still did not strike. He allowed his opponent to gather his thoughts.
"Hmph," Vanreir shook his head. "What are the chances... my father once said something very similar. I'm not one to believe in fate, but I'm glad you were my final opponent. A worthy enemy can be rarer than even a true friend."
"Well said," Hunger replied, idly scanning the battlefield. He raised his hand, setting his opponent's heart to beating, restoring some volume of Vanreir's blood. "Shall we decide properly which of our swords is the greater?"
"If you wish," Vanreir said, with the air of a man granting a final request. Hunger circled around to a particular point on the battlefield, matching the angle of his initial entry, where the sun fell in neither swordsman's eyes. Slowly he raised his blade aloft, jewel on his finger grim and subdued. The pallor of mortality was like a shadow across the battlefield. Each man knew that this moment could be his last.
Vanreir walked to match him, taking up the stance of his signature thrust. Now within melee range, tip of his blade aimed squarely at Hunger's brain pan, the crystal-steel edge caught and splintered the sun's rays, a daytime thunderbolt.
Enough of sword-projections. An opponent such as this deserved the physical blade.
On the same count they inhaled. An unspoken understanding passed between them. Time compressed, congealed, folded over on itself like molten amber. On came the thrust, that viperous lash of silver like lightning made steel. Hunger's blade descended, but slowly, far too slowly to land any serious blow. By the time Amarlt's thrust loomed before him, his hand had managed only to interpose itself between the enemy's sword and his own head.
There was a clang of steel against silver, a clarion note of pure deflection. The Forebear's Blade fell from nerveless fingers.
Like an inverse kingfisher Amarlt was pointed skywards, his blade thrusting forwards and up, the all-piercing force of his strike no match for the indestructible Ring in its path, which had been bound to Hunger's finger by the Accursed himself. Hunger pressed downwards with his right foot, titanic strength collapsing the weakened ground around the divot that his very first blade-projection had created.
Falling rapidly, the bones of his hand a shattered ruin, the Forebear's Blade was level now with his mouth. Snatching it in his teeth, he fired a single blade-projection, one last absolute exertion. Committed still to his thrust, Vanreir could not change his trajectory. Cleanly bisected, chest from sternum, still his arms and eyes and blade could only face up, up, up: turned forever heavenward, as if to pierce through the sky itself.
But there was always a sky above the sky. One could pierce for all eternity without finding its limit.
Age and treachery had prevailed again, though victory tasted like ashes in his mouth. Slowly he examined the Ring, its jewel flaring crimson, the pulse of its inhalation drawing a thundering sea of power.
Jewel and band and finger all were whole and untouched. Of Vanreir Amarlt's final attack, no evidence remained, not even so much as a scratch.
---
The winner was
[ ] Punctured Soul - Rank reduced by 10%, physical attributes by 20%, mental attributes by 30%, and social attributes by 40% for 1 month.
[ ] True Maiming - Liver wounded on a metaphysical level. Permanently reduce CON and CON improvements by 10% and suffer 400% increased vulnerability to poison and supernatural disease. Suffer severe damage upon strenuous exertion for the next three days.
[ ] Lingering Exhaustion - Exhausted for a week and Tired for the week after. Any interruption of rest may worsen Exhaustion.
---
You have 4 picks and have special dispensation to spend up to 2 Arete, assuming that your Arete generation this update will cover it.
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Echo of the Forebear - Cloud-shadow of the Forebear's might.
Legendary strength and speed, and the resilience to exert them. Can be taken multiple times. [+Might, +Agility]
[ ] The Ring of Power - Dominion - 2 Arete
A ring of power does not exert influence casually. It has its own will, its own preferences, and if that will should be inseparable from its owner's, its sway thereby shall be greater for it.
Select a domain of influence. While acting within its domain, [Ring of Power] effects are substantially less taxing and more potent; the effects of this can be abstracted as follows: treat the owner's Rank as if it somewhat* higher for related actions. You may select this advancement multiple times, choosing a different domain each time. If multiple domains apply, their bonuses do not compound.
*+0.5 if Low, +.25 if Mid, +.1 if High.
The available domains for Hunger are: War, Passion
[ ] Fierce Quickening - The absurd violence of Blood unleashed. Let all that falls within its dominion be spilled, if it be in service to the Ringbearer. Adds [++Agility, +Wits] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Vigor Itself - The primordial might and glory of Blood resplendent. Let all who witness its form tremble, and be subject. Adds [++Might, +Charisma] to the bonuses from Quickening, subject to the usual conditions. Can be taken up to 3 times.
[ ] Augment Dominion: Blood - The world-wielding will of the Ring.
Treat the wielder's Rank as if it were (.5 Low/.25 Medium/.1 High) higher for purposes of the [Ring of Power] effect applied to the Blood domain, increasing its potency and versatility. Repeatable, but costs 1 more pick each time.
[ ] Evening Sky - Opalescence - The soft light of evening before which all attacks falter.
Improves defensive parameters. [+Protection]
[ ] Evening Sky - Iridescence - 2 Arete - The sharp light of the stars before which all malice is lessened.
+Protection, +Charisma. Expands the range of effects subject to the Evening Sky, allowing it to passively weaken almost all forms of magic. Even Nullity itself can be once withstood before the Sky recedes.
--- 3-pick Advancements ---
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Ruinous Valor (3 picks)
Where he advanced, so did the tide of entire wars, the shock of his blade like a hurled epicenter, the trail of his passage but wasteland and rubble.
[+++++Strength]
Power of Ruin now scales upwards depending on your Strength.
Choose:
Einhander - You may not regrow or replace your left arm by any means. Substantially reduces the cost and increases the range of special attacks made with the Forebear's Blade. This Advancement grants Might instead of Strength (+Might = +Str, +Con).
Zweihander - Regrow your left arm. Your barehanded strikes now carry the full destructive power of the Forebear's Blade.
If Einhander is taken, unlocks One Arm Fury.
If Zweihander is taken, unlocks Martial Stances: Forebear's Blade
[ ] The Ring of Power - Inheritor (3 picks, 2 Arete)
He whose soul contains multitudes, may inherit the legacy of those fallen.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
*Choose one Soul Evocation user you have slain. You may use their Soul Evocation at a substantial fraction of the original wielder's skill. Apply [To Shatter Heaven] to their Soul Evocation, but gain fragments of their selfhood.
*+50% to the value of that user's highest Attribute +s.
*+50% the value of that user's second highest Attribute +s.
*-10% to the value of future Rank +s, but you may train Rank manually.
*++Mental Contamination from the user you target. Their soul lives on as your prisoner.
*Available Evocations: The Librarian. The Correspondent. The Unerring.
--- 4-pick advancements ---
[ ] Feat: Kinslayer - A true opponent's worth. Set Rank to 5. (4 picks)
[ ] Forebear's Blade - Uttermost (4 picks)
Focus beyond absolute focus. To cut what cannot be cut. To pierce what cannot be pierced. To go further and even further beyond in the unrelenting pursuit of perfection. To exert every iota of self, turn every faculty of purpose, bind every testament of will towards a single, unswerving ideal: that is what it means to do one's uttermost. There are no compromises for he who walks the path of the blade.
Do, even if it cannot be done.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Cannot mitigate the Doom of the Tyrant beyond its original state
Expends and sacrifices the Form of Rage
Increase by 30% the value of all Rank +s
Reduce by 30% to the value of Luck, Protection, Wisdom and Charisma +s
+++++++Willpower, ++All Other Stats
First Blade: Restores the Forebear's Blade. Apply the effects of the Fell-Handed Stroke, including modifiers, to all basic attacks with no surcharge. You may upgrade [A Thousand Cuts] to [Cut Through] for the difference in their Arete costs.
[ ] Hunger - Stranglethorn (4 picks)
Age and treachery made flesh.
The might of beasts is not the only province of the ring Hunger. It bears witness to a deeper and elder power as well, the strength of root and stem that bleeds life from the earth itself to thrust upwards towards heaven. The might of oaks, ancient and thousand-ringed, which crumbles stone and blunts steel, which repels the wind and absorbs the tide, which stands unscathed even in the face of heat and fury. That juggernaut stubbornness like a gnarled fist: the power to push through problems with patient, unyielding strength, to break them down and see them crushed beneath you.
Defining Advancement. You may only have three Defining Advancements.
Increase by 20% the value of all Rank +s
Double the value of Strength and Constitution +s
Double the value of Willpower +s
Reduce by 20% the value of Agility +s
Establishment: By committing meaningful resources towards a given context, and staking out a solid position, you slowly but increasingly accrue power and influence within that context, becoming ever-more inescapable and impossible to dislodge.
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- Location
- Earth
Oh Jesus Christ I was so scared the update delay meant Rihaku was writing an epilogue
instead we have debilitating wounds and build vote gore but most importantly Hunger is alive
can we pls take a break from this temple now guys
instead we have debilitating wounds and build vote gore but most importantly Hunger is alive
can we pls take a break from this temple now guys
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ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
We did it!
That's a lot of rank.
OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
Ok. I'm seeing a couple of ideas here but those conditions are nasty.
First one is we take Stranglethorn to cancel out our Liver Damage from True Maiming.
Next one is we take Ring of Power-Inheritor with a one pick option, I'm thinking Opalescence, Quickening, or Fierce Vigor. We take the exhaustion option and hope the power of the Librarian has the ability to seal our tiredness.
For Punctured Soul I guess we could take Kinslayer and gamble on our high rank being enough?
First one is we take Stranglethorn to cancel out our Liver Damage from True Maiming.
Next one is we take Ring of Power-Inheritor with a one pick option, I'm thinking Opalescence, Quickening, or Fierce Vigor. We take the exhaustion option and hope the power of the Librarian has the ability to seal our tiredness.
For Punctured Soul I guess we could take Kinslayer and gamble on our high rank being enough?
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
We are backing the fuck out of this Temple, if Hunger will let us. That roll was miraculous.
True Maiming is likely the one we are best able to fully mitigate - the wound is likely of similar strength to those left by the Tyrant, and we are already working on healing those.
So...
[X] True Maiming
The pick choice is... much harder.
True Maiming is likely the one we are best able to fully mitigate - the wound is likely of similar strength to those left by the Tyrant, and we are already working on healing those.
So...
[X] True Maiming
The pick choice is... much harder.
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Rihaku
The Internet
HUNGER: No.
Don't worry, you're almost through!
HUNGER: No.
HUNGER: I like dying. And also being permanently maimed. It means I did my uttermost.
?
The Librarian doesn't have seals, only the Imprisoner can seal things in the manner defined by Seven Seals.
- Location
- Pindorama
Form of Rage literally never I see.
Also, blocking with the indestructible Ring. How did none of thought of that?
Also, blocking with the indestructible Ring. How did none of thought of that?
Man, I'm actually kind of sad that we won! Still pleased on the balance, but gosh, what a tragic end.
Will we learn anything, though. That I don't know. I'm still weak, easily swayed and lacking focus. What has to change to pull out of this death spiral, I wonder?
Anyway, fantastic fight! As usual, I'm deeply upset about the seemingly obvious advantage which Rihaku used to win the fight. Of course the ring is indestructible, it's of the Accursed! Using it as a shield is a wonderful gambit, and I didn't see it coming at all. Age and Treachery wins again, and I think that's the tragic element of the update. The greater hero lost, and Hunger goes further and further toward becoming his nemesis.
Will we learn anything, though. That I don't know. I'm still weak, easily swayed and lacking focus. What has to change to pull out of this death spiral, I wonder?
Anyway, fantastic fight! As usual, I'm deeply upset about the seemingly obvious advantage which Rihaku used to win the fight. Of course the ring is indestructible, it's of the Accursed! Using it as a shield is a wonderful gambit, and I didn't see it coming at all. Age and Treachery wins again, and I think that's the tragic element of the update. The greater hero lost, and Hunger goes further and further toward becoming his nemesis.
- Location
- Australia
[X] Lingering Exhaustion
[X] Hunger - Stranglethorn
The most temporary complication, and the most powerful / versatile advancement in the long term
EDIT: Now that i'm done with exams i'll start putting more effort into my posts.
We've seen a couple times that Age and Treachery are cornerstone's of Hunger's characterisation. He's a crippled hero past his prime, with little of a hero's strength and nothing of a hero's honour. What he has got is a hero's will.
I think Stranglethorn captures that characterisation really well - it cements Hunger as someone that inexorably works towards his ends, and accomplishes his goals with pure bloody-minded determination.
Personally, I think that's really neat
[X] Hunger - Stranglethorn
The most temporary complication, and the most powerful / versatile advancement in the long term
EDIT: Now that i'm done with exams i'll start putting more effort into my posts.
We've seen a couple times that Age and Treachery are cornerstone's of Hunger's characterisation. He's a crippled hero past his prime, with little of a hero's strength and nothing of a hero's honour. What he has got is a hero's will.
I think Stranglethorn captures that characterisation really well - it cements Hunger as someone that inexorably works towards his ends, and accomplishes his goals with pure bloody-minded determination.
Personally, I think that's really neat
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TwistedJester
Tired Lurker King
- Location
- Hell
The sky above sky title scared me for a bit, but thankfully that we were the sky.
But, seriously we fucking burned two Arete for essentially nothing more than new options that we might not actually pick. That seriously burns.
Oh well, I'll have another reaction and analysis up in the morning to help recoup that.
But, seriously we fucking burned two Arete for essentially nothing more than new options that we might not actually pick. That seriously burns.
Oh well, I'll have another reaction and analysis up in the morning to help recoup that.
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