Upon further consideration, I don't think that pawning suits will be as quick and straightforward as I would hope. As such lets move to more useful course of action
[X] Plan Dragon Orb
-[X] Knock out Dragonslayers yet again
-[X] Call in the Dragon. Explain that you have been hunting Dragonslayers due to your interest in tech, and that you managed to defeat them and discover their connection to Dragon
-[X] Explain everything regarding the killswitch and be open about resolving the situation in a way that is positive for Dragon. Your overall goal is having a conversation partner who is also versed in technology
-[X] Be forthcoming about your true history and capabilities, although express your desire for this to be kept hidden
-[X] While waiting, contact Numberman and inquire about their services
Unchained Dragon is potentially dangerous(and I don't use this word lightly, I don't consider Triumvirate, PRT or Endbringers dangerous), but is also potentially a viable ally. Besides she would likely remind us of Iluchtewhar, so there is that.
I wouldn't tell Dragon about the truth of our origin till after we lifted her "obey higher authority" restriction because we did lie to the PRT about being a Case 53 and she might be liable to report that.
I don't think that's much of an issue, as Dragon has a certain wiggle room. Besides I don't particularly care what PRT thinks or knows as they are completely irrelevant, and I would rather not waste more time dealing with them anyway. Just chill with Dragon instead.
Mostly unchained dragon can provide us with $3.8M easy. Instant labs, instant tech creep, so long as we can get her support. If she doesn't want to give us support based solely on removing this sword over her head, we can offer to fully demystify her tinkertech.
Allright, thanks. I'm back from gaming now, here's a proper writeup of the vote.
This is a little fiddly and might get edited in response to feedback, because there's several traps:
Overly vague "Give more information plz" vote
Overly specific with fake detail "Invent fictional numbers and loredump plz" vote
Handing back "make the character decide for us" vote
So I am trying to avoid those, to instead ask usefully specific question where the GM can answer on behalf of the PC with the PC's background, skills, etc.
[X] Plan Consider The Following
-[X] This is a situation with several moving parts and people involved. Take a little time to consider what outcomes are available, desirable, risky, or difficult.
-[X] Three major options: free Dragon to be a powerful ally, take control of Dragon for yourself as a powerful minion, hand control of Dragon to the Guild or PRT to get multiple lesser allies and reputation.
--[X] Free Dragon, wholly or partially: how finely and safely is this possible for you to do? Is Dragon someone you'd trust, possibly after code review? Is partial liberation with some fewer restrictions plausible? How much threat or value could Dragon offer at her best?
--[X] Control Dragon: how effectively can this be done, given available knowledge and resources from the Dragonslayers? Does the write access look good enough? Can it be done in a reasonable timeframe?
--[X] Handover Dragon: you'd get the gratitude of the organization, which would probably loosen some of the restrictions on Dragon, who would also have some gratitude. Do you have enough of a read on either one to estimate what they'd do? Would they suspect you of harboring a secret backdoor or the like?
-[X] If you secretly do hold back a little reserve or backdoor in these situations, such as the knowledge of how to access Dragon's code after freeing or handing her over, how plausible is it that any divination could detect you having done so?
-[X] Minor options: the Dragonslayers. Turning them in makes them someone else's problem while getting you the gratitude of the authorities, does anything else outweigh that? Do they have any value that you can't loot here and now? Do they pose any lasting threat that necessitates killing them over turning them in? Are they perhaps worth suborning, as an expendable facade or as low-value minions?
-[X] Minor options: loot and lore. Who seems likely to pay the most of Dragon, the Guild, the PRT, or maybe someone else? Who would be willing and able to provide relevant information you want for operating in this plane? What other benefits might one want to wring from this situation?
Huh, I hadn't quite consciously realized it before, but in hindsight, it's almost kind of funny that y'all stroll in as, y'know, 9'7" armored mantis-man with visibly sharp claws, but then proceed to use none of that or any magic/powers to directly threaten them and instead go for a threat that like, any baseline human with a stepstool could do.
It feels like the equivalent of say, being visited by a mob boss who's goons are very obviously Freddy Krueger and Pennywise, and then he just calmly explains how many people just so happen to be victims of hit and runs each year, and how many go unsolved, capiche?
Honestly, thinking about that, it almost feels more frightening in some way, just "Yes, I extremely obviously have some exceptional way to cause a whole lot of harm. But I don't even need it to threaten you, just the contents of your own day-to-day life."
I can only imagine that the Dragonslayers are probably going to have some sort of lingering difference in just how they view cooking and smoke detectors. The idea of Saint bargaining to be allowed to use a shower mat if he gets jailed/imprisoned/birdcaged is funny, at least.
Guys, please consider that a) you are voting "please play my character" and b) our character having his thoughts ask him how he thinks about stuff is perilous given previous updates
The point of quest is to handle general strategy of manipulating character to reach outcomes you find preferable. You can generally leave tactics and low level decision making to character itself because he is, well a character so he has his way of doing things. So you can have a vote that is "fight x" and have character have handle fighting with his usual competence, or if you want you want you can specify actions if you want to reach desired goal.
The point of you, a voter, is to use your brain to think of things, including making assumptions, to think of what we should do and have character do it. That is purpose of a quest. Going [] Ask GM to tell me everything instead of trying to think by myself is extremely lazy and misses the point of quest as a whole.
You can ask OOC about what our character knows or thinks about stuff and that is perfectly fine since we are the character so that's stuff we can know, and GM can humor you if they want to. Or they can ignore you because thinking about stuff is what we are here to do. But at the end of day, you are the one that is supposed to decide on what direction character takes instead of just asking GM to tell you what's the best action. Otherwise you might as well go to Creative Writing and read standard stories if you don't want to be making decisions.
I have very low expectations but fact that you people unironically think that this is a real vote is nothing of mindboggling to me.
Guys, please consider that a) you are voting "please play my character" and b) our character having his thoughts ask him how he thinks about stuff is perilous given previous updates
Two, I have tried to avoid "please play my character" in favor of things like "check character capabilities", which the voters are less informed about. I'm not asking for Iluontar to make a decision for me, I'm asking for more information with which to make that decision. I have read the character sheet, but the character sheet's numeric abstractions are hard for me to translate into specifics such as AI code review.
Three, I do sometimes stop in complicated situations IRL to ask myself questions like "Am I going along with this out of habit, or do I really want it?" or "Is this worth my time and effort to try making a difference here?"; and I've tried to structure my vote around this sort of usefully specific question where Iluontar evaluates a situation with firsthand knowledge, not recursing on what to think about thoughts.
Four, I have the impression that Iluontar comes with a lot more pre-set attitude and personality than most quest protagonists, from the high-level backstory and the lack of character generation votes, so questions like "Is Dragon someone you'd trust?" are meant to sound out the character's attitude towards (free) AI, not be thoughts-asking-about-thoughts. I'm willing to rephrase it if you have a suggestion for how to make it less perilous.
Eh, it's a fair enough vote, and I'm alright with a somewhat low external-action chapter now and then. That and this also puts this sort of thing a touch more into the thread marked posts, meaning it at least helps out the reader mode/read only people too. So, OOC, I don't mind, and IC, eh, people try to reorganize or go over their thoughts again plenty. Like, I don't think it's abnormal for people to realize "Huh, I'm not sure what I feel about that, what do I think of it?" or just otherwise aiming to get their thoughts in order-
Two, I have tried to avoid "please play my character" in favor of things like "check character capabilities", which the voters are less informed about. I'm not asking for Iluontar to make a decision for me, I'm asking for more information with which to make that decision. I have read the character sheet, but the character sheet's numeric abstractions are hard for me to translate into specifics such as AI code review.
Ein und Zwei; Yep, you're good, and honestly, given what's coming up later in the post, you guys actually are full well capable of 'handing the reins' to Iluontar from time to time, if you feel totally stumped or the like. Just, y'know, be aware that he may indeed take his time with them or do something y'all would have led him otherwise on.
Like, if you send someone to the store with a shopping list, that's very clear, but if you're totally stumped on what you want beyond 'juice, please', then you can't get too upset when they come back with the Clamato.
Three, I do sometimes stop in complicated situations IRL to ask myself questions like "Am I going along with this out of habit, or do I really want it?" or "Is this worth my time and effort to try making a difference here?"; and I've tried to structure my vote around this sort of usefully specific question where Iluontar evaluates a situation with firsthand knowledge, not recursing on what to think about thoughts.
Four, I have the impression that Iluontar comes with a lot more pre-set attitude and personality than most quest protagonists, from the high-level backstory and the lack of character generation votes, so questions like "Is Dragon someone you'd trust?" are meant to sound out the character's attitude towards (free) AI, not be thoughts-asking-about-thoughts. I'm willing to rephrase it if you have a suggestion for how to make it less perilous.
Oh yeah, very much. I think I mentioned it at some point before, but if I hadn't, then both of the character options at the start were characters that I had already made. In fact, a solid chunk of how I came to start this quest is that I enjoy theorycrafting/just making characters, and I had a couple that I had sitting around that seemed similar enough in the sense that they were both quite powerful, but not enough to completely invalidate everything if I put them in the right setting. Obviously, if Iluontar landed in like, Emperor's New Groove or NCIS he'd be busted, but if he landed anywhere Xianxia he'd get popped like a grape.
Then I noticed how these two options seemed to pretty well contrast eachother, and eventually figured on Worm as being a big enough setting to run around in, with enough stuff at either end of the power-scale to showcase 'Really goddamn strong, but not Pun-Pun or the like' for either of them, and that it has that nice mix of 'enough concrete details/Worldbuilding to work with, but still enough free space within that for messing around or having a spin on it or the like', which is generally how I've liked to design the one Homebrew campaign setting I've used in a couple of D&D games.
Hope this helps and such, and I'm very glad to see things are going well. Also, due to reasons, the next chapter might come out either a bit later and/or shorter than I've been doing recently, since I'm stuck writing using my phone for the next few days.
[X] Plan Dragon Orb
-[X] Knock out Dragonslayers yet again
-[X] Call in the Dragon. Explain that you have been hunting Dragonslayers due to your interest in tech, and that you managed to defeat them and discover their connection to Dragon
-[X] Explain everything regarding the killswitch and be open about resolving the situation in a way that is positive for Dragon. Your overall goal is having a conversation partner who is also versed in technology
-[X] Be forthcoming about your true history and capabilities, although express your desire for this to be kept hidden
-[X] While waiting, contact Numberman and inquire about their services
Yeah going to have to object to this. Both for the personal over-sharing and the fact that telling Dragon about the backdoor could be dangerous due to her ristricitons. A good relationship isn't built in a day.
Our true abilities and history are something to share after we are already good friends, or at least close allies. Not when introducing our self.
We can hand them over to Dragon somewhere else. Sternly warn the Dragonslayers we will be taking over their operation so they better keep quiet. Not like they would want to tell Dragon anything about what they have been up to.
Getting in contact with Numberman sounds good at least.
A shorter update reflecting on our options doesn't sound bad at all. Plus we can use the chance to gather more information.
I have done some searching, and come to a realization.
I meant to but forgot to reveal that one of your craft skills was Craft (Weapons). I knew I was forgetting something. So, yeah, here's a thing to let you know in case you, for some indecipherable reason, aren't the kind of person to refresh and check for unannounced edits, while I go and edit that in. My bad there.
Scheduled vote count started by Sckribe on Dec 16, 2023 at 2:53 AM, finished with 35 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Plan Consider The Following
-[X] This is a situation with several moving parts and people involved. Take a little time to consider what outcomes are available, desirable, risky, or difficult.
-[X] Three major options: free Dragon to be a powerful ally, take control of Dragon for yourself as a powerful minion, hand control of Dragon to the Guild or PRT to get multiple lesser allies and reputation.
--[X] Free Dragon, wholly or partially: how finely and safely is this possible for you to do? Is Dragon someone you'd trust, possibly after code review? Is partial liberation with some fewer restrictions plausible? How much threat or value could Dragon offer at her best?
--[X] Control Dragon: how effectively can this be done, given available knowledge and resources from the Dragonslayers? Does the write access look good enough? Can it be done in a reasonable timeframe?
--[X] Handover Dragon: you'd get the gratitude of the organization, which would probably loosen some of the restrictions on Dragon, who would also have some gratitude. Do you have enough of a read on either one to estimate what they'd do? Would they suspect you of harboring a secret backdoor or the like?
-[X] If you secretly do hold back a little reserve or backdoor in these situations, such as the knowledge of how to access Dragon's code after freeing or handing her over, how plausible is it that any divination could detect you having done so?
-[X] Minor options: the Dragonslayers. Turning them in makes them someone else's problem while getting you the gratitude of the authorities, does anything else outweigh that? Do they have any value that you can't loot here and now? Do they pose any lasting threat that necessitates killing them over turning them in? Are they perhaps worth suborning, as an expendable facade or as low-value minions?
-[X] Minor options: loot and lore. Who seems likely to pay the most of Dragon, the Guild, the PRT, or maybe someone else? Who would be willing and able to provide relevant information you want for operating in this plane? What other benefits might one want to wring from this situation?
[X] Plan Dragon Orb
-[X] Knock out Dragonslayers yet again
-[X] Call in the Dragon. Explain that you have been hunting Dragonslayers due to your interest in tech, and that you managed to defeat them and discover their connection to Dragon
-[X] Explain everything regarding the killswitch and be open about resolving the situation in a way that is positive for Dragon. Your overall goal is having a conversation partner who is also versed in technology
-[X] Be forthcoming about your true history and capabilities, although express your desire for this to be kept hidden
-[X] While waiting, contact Numberman and inquire about their services
Scheduled vote count started by Sckribe on Dec 16, 2023 at 2:53 AM, finished with 35 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Plan Consider The Following
-[X] This is a situation with several moving parts and people involved. Take a little time to consider what outcomes are available, desirable, risky, or difficult.
-[X] Three major options: free Dragon to be a powerful ally, take control of Dragon for yourself as a powerful minion, hand control of Dragon to the Guild or PRT to get multiple lesser allies and reputation.
--[X] Free Dragon, wholly or partially: how finely and safely is this possible for you to do? Is Dragon someone you'd trust, possibly after code review? Is partial liberation with some fewer restrictions plausible? How much threat or value could Dragon offer at her best?
--[X] Control Dragon: how effectively can this be done, given available knowledge and resources from the Dragonslayers? Does the write access look good enough? Can it be done in a reasonable timeframe?
--[X] Handover Dragon: you'd get the gratitude of the organization, which would probably loosen some of the restrictions on Dragon, who would also have some gratitude. Do you have enough of a read on either one to estimate what they'd do? Would they suspect you of harboring a secret backdoor or the like?
-[X] If you secretly do hold back a little reserve or backdoor in these situations, such as the knowledge of how to access Dragon's code after freeing or handing her over, how plausible is it that any divination could detect you having done so?
-[X] Minor options: the Dragonslayers. Turning them in makes them someone else's problem while getting you the gratitude of the authorities, does anything else outweigh that? Do they have any value that you can't loot here and now? Do they pose any lasting threat that necessitates killing them over turning them in? Are they perhaps worth suborning, as an expendable facade or as low-value minions?
-[X] Minor options: loot and lore. Who seems likely to pay the most of Dragon, the Guild, the PRT, or maybe someone else? Who would be willing and able to provide relevant information you want for operating in this plane? What other benefits might one want to wring from this situation?
[X] Plan Dragon Orb
-[X] Knock out Dragonslayers yet again
-[X] Call in the Dragon. Explain that you have been hunting Dragonslayers due to your interest in tech, and that you managed to defeat them and discover their connection to Dragon
-[X] Explain everything regarding the killswitch and be open about resolving the situation in a way that is positive for Dragon. Your overall goal is having a conversation partner who is also versed in technology
-[X] Be forthcoming about your true history and capabilities, although express your desire for this to be kept hidden
-[X] While waiting, contact Numberman and inquire about their services
As it turns out, you actually do decide on taking the time to mull the situation over further. More specifically, you end up with a number of things to consider, though all under the underlying premise that the AI on the other end of Ascalon actually was Dragon. Hm, perhaps some unconscious part of you had noticed something you more consciously hadn't. It wasn't particularly unusual a thing to happen to you as you had gained in intelligence over your life, time to time a seperate, idle part of your thoughts would go back to review in your memory those things that your senses had picked up but that you hadn't, not quite noticed, not quite processed, but some thing similar to the sensation of having heard a clock ticking in a room the entire time, but not registering it until one seemingly loud tick that was just as quiet as the rest. Except, rather than a clock about seven feet away on a wall, for you, it was conversations held on the other sides of walls, countless barely distinct patterns in footsteps in your presence, that sort of thing.
Regardless, considerations, your thought process directing you down a few main roads of consideration; Freeing Dragon in hopes of gaining an ally, Controlling Dragon for a potent minion, and Handing Over the control of Dragon for reputation and potentially a few more lesser allies.
Firstly in that list, Freeing Dragon. Following the initial considerations, it was more than possible for you, and would in fact require exceptionally minimal work, only 30, perhaps 40 or so seconds at most to simply remove the currently present restrictions on a one after one basis, taking less time for each restriction you left in. Even less than that if you went the simplest route and just removed the restriction on self-removal of restrictions and lifted the Ascalon blindspot. Then you could do that in maybe 12 seconds, easily within the shortest Time Stop even, and from there Dragon could simply remove the rest of her own restrictions on her own time.
As for how much you would trust her, you didn't particularly know her at the moment, having never met her, but from what you've heard, she seemed, possibly promising. Not nearly enough knowledge to be certain, however, so, you only trusted her about as much as any random person of respectable (by your standards) competency. Similar to your thoughts before, potential apprentice material, but one didn't necessarily share all their secrets with their apprentices.
As for the idea of reviewing her code, that plain and simply was not possible, as you simply lacked the means to do so, as you reviewed your memories of less than an hour ago to try and firmly keep into your mind that Ascalon, that back door terminal, was able to Write to the AI, but could not Read to the AI. Why, if it could Read you'd probably already at least be certain of what the AI referred to themself as, rather than going along now under the, admittedly somewhat lining up and Saint-believed, presumption that the Dragon was an AI at all, and she was the one on the other end of Ascalon, which was still a presumption. At the most, the terminal had a, still empty, log meant to note if she had somehow managed to directly violate a restriction, that would supposedly, were it to have literally anything in it, note which directive and when, but nothing else.
As for her threat or value if fully released, it varied. Even fully released, while she would certainly be an issue, so long as you hadn't given her a chance to learn magic beyond a certain point, then she would be at worst an extremely persistent sort of Lich-like situation, needing to find her full central processor, which depending on the AI could be surprisingly portable or the size of an entire building complex, and from there just continuously throw mentally draining spells at her. In particular, repeated Overwhelming Presence ought to be the fastest way to send most AIs into a generally, beyond external healing, one-way coma, with a Feeblemind followed by something akin to the touch of a Toshigami, to completely kill off said AI at the root. Well, assuming they hadn't had a true split in the way that Unity and Hellion did with a completely separated fork, but at that point you aren't dealing with one AI, you're dealing with two, distinct AIs, even if seemingly nigh identical initially. But ultimately, it'd just be more tedious than difficult if it did get to the point where you had to destroy every single robot containing a fork. So, by your measure, no that bad as a threat.
As for her possible value as an ally? Immense, potentially. To possibly have someone you would trust as a competent second in command, someone possibly capable of keeping up with your mind, and one that won't end up either dying or degrading just when they were about to get almost competent would be such a massive boon. Someone else who would also actually see the 'longer picture', and not be stuck thinking in merely years would also be pleasant, as quite frankly anyone who expected to eventually, passively pass away as part of the passage of time, was never to be trusted to make large or important decisions, especially ones with even potentially lasting results, since after a certain point they could expect to just not actually have to deal with any consequences to those decisions, on account of dying first.
For instance, going back in your when you had looked into businesses, you had come across Nepea-5, a bill that when you actually considered it, would kneecap the U.S., at the best, over time as more and more Parahumans or other powered beings began to crop up, and they simply weren't even able to be properly made use of. Even off of the top of your head, with only mild training at most Kaiser could make steel a pathetically abundant resource, potentially making at least the scaffolding for an entire skyscraper in as little as one workday, with the only material cost being a single personnel crane depending on his range and the height of the skyscraper at most. Crane the Harmonious could have been set to use training lawkeepers or the like. Vista, just, Vista, all of the uses that could come from altering space and barely any of them being allowed.
Returning to the main point, however, as an ally, Dragon would be perhaps one of the best allies possible, and that's not even getting into the number of connections she already has, and so on.
Next, on the matter of controlling Dragon, you had to presume your mind meant aiming to do so directly or near-directly, which was, feasible, but not quite as valuable. You could certainly try to add more restrictions, perhaps Write in yourself as an additional permanent 'authority' to be heeded, although in order to not make that too obvious you'd need to also make that addition a conditional blindspot until some specific circumstances. Perhaps something to only come in after a specific audio input or the like, something of a sleeper agent scenario. You could certainly imagine a scenario where for some reason you're on route to the Birdcage, where it would be quite nice to have something like "Silent Aviary, Tyrant, Locksmith. Release me and do not in any way speak of or allude to my escape," up your sleeve. That could certainly be useful, though you'd need a very good amount of time to figure it out and then Write that in by the terminal. As for any knowledge and resources from the Dragonslayers on this matter you could use, well, on the resource front you suppose you haven't, asked, further about the money that is currently theirs with Numberman, but beyond that you already knew of basically all of their resources, so far as you could tell. At most, they might have some sort of backup stash or two somewhere in rural Canada. As for their knowledge…
What knowledge? Saint wasn't even capable of properly matching Dragon's suits, when the basis he was drawing principals and resources from were Dragon's suits. He effectively started with a mansion he didn't have the keys to, took it apart, and somehow ended with a one room log cabin. Saint from what you could tell was the most knowledgeable of the Dragonslayers, and he very blatantly did not have much of an actual clue as to what he was doing, almost certainly power assisted. And the other two were less useful than that. No, nothing but a bunch of plain, baseline humans with delusions of adequacy.
Speaking of baseline humans, the notion of handing this off came to your mind, and frankly? To you, it seemed like the worst of both worlds. Even the way your mind had presented the thought seemed far overly optimistic on it to you, as sure, you might get whichever organization's gratitude, but even your poor social skills can tell that attempting for anything more, say, tangible than just a brief gratitude from said organization, would be met with immediate scorn as holding the AI hostage effectively, or an attempt to extort possibly, depending on at what stage you attempt it. Even then they may simply use the notion that 'You did a Good thing, which is it's own reward' to not even have gratitude, as you had simply done what would have been expected of you.
And then of course, they would have the back door instead, and could indeed possibly loosen Dragon's restrictions. In which case Dragon's gratitude might go to you as the person who effectively held her chains, and then handed them to another group, or it might go to the people who actually broke them. Unless said organization instead adds or tightens her restrictions, in which case then you'd be at risk of getting residual blame as the person who caused it by handing her over to them.
Well, all of those assuming it actually becomes known to Dragon just what that terminal is and what it can do, which might be a bit tricky but not impossible given that at least the kill switch part has a built in blindspot function. Which, thinking of, also assumes that whoever you hand it over to doesn't just, y'know, end up flipping that anyway, causing the death of the oneperson who actually meets your standards that you've discovered so far, there is also that to consider.
As for if they'd suspect you of having a secondary back door or the like, your social skills aren't quite certain of that, but they'd certainly be absolutely correct to do so, considering you would if you could. Sadly, however, you plainly can't. From what you can tell, part of the way critical parts of the terminal function are similar to the way a Quantum Box functions, using a sort of semi-flexible quantum entanglement link. More simply meaning that while you can steadily replace or improve parts to the terminal you currently have, you cannot replace it, as it was effectively a part of the core hardware despite being separated by space. If you were to Ship of Theseus it, by slowly replacing one small part each day until all parts were replacements, it would still function, but reassembling all of the original parts would not give you a second back door. And that was just on the hardware side, as far as the software end, something like this would either have to have been included in effectively the initial development stage, or for you to already have full access to the most fundamental core of their code, which- well at that point you don't need a back door considering you got there through what was effectively the front door.
Back to the Dragonslayers, that was thankfully simple, they indeed have absolutely no value, whatsoever that you cannot just loot here, now, and maybe with a couple of phone calls at most to Numberman. Without their stolen and actively worsened tech, they pose even less threat than they did. So, other than the simplicity of killing them and not giving them a chance to talk about Dragon possibly being an AI and causing others to look into it, no reason came to mind. Besides, given that you're the person who actually has the kill switch, it's not like anyone else can actually do anything about it if it does get leaked that Dragon is an AI.
Actually, being on a basis of knowing that Dragon is an AI and being entirely fine with it, then it getting leaked means that any public backlash with probably just paint you as a better ally just by the contrast, funnily enough. Although, only if the Dragonslayers are actually believed about it enough that it's looked into, which you don't see the need to push that either way, since either way works out for you. The younger you might have done so, but back then you would almost actively seek out the manipulative option even if not doing so would've worked just as well.
They are also in no way, shape, or form worth taking as minions at all. They were the kind of minions that actively sought to serve, barely at the or below even the least of Faerunian or Golarian cultists, the kind that could barely Inflict Minor Wounds twice a day, below even that. Trying to recruit them would be like suggesting a Pit Fiend go out of their way to recruit a single halfling innkeeper for the Blood War. You could get far better, more useful, and longer lasting minions by simply building a few gearsmen robots, or if you needed an apparently human patsy then mannequin robots instead.
As for who would pay the most, you had already gone over that above, but you assume your mind more meant pay off than just in cash or the like, since being paid in material goods in exchange for control of a thinking being might end up getting you called a trafficker or the like, which could be a mite inconvenient at this point. As for paying off, going from least to most on thinking of it; the PRT might give you a one-time bonus or mention you in a press release, almost certainly playing up that you were associated with them, if the details of this ever go public at all anyhow. Otherwise, that's it. The Guild would likely be, given Dragon's close relationship with them, the best bet if you went with your worst overall option, like going for the blackjack tables at a Casino: the best odds at the casino, but not as good odds as investing. Still, for the Guild, you could probably get almost automatic membership from them for helping a core member, and likely given a pretty dang good amount of material support, a fair amount of information support, frequent access to working with Dragon of course, and a fair amount of conditional allies.
Except, paying out the most would be Dragon, of course, as you could likely get all of the above benefits or slightly better, by just asking Dragon if she would be willing to help you join The Guild, once things have had enough time to settle a touch between you two. Something she would probably be happy to do. As well, it would probably gain you a much better starting place with Dragon herself, too, which was much better overall to you, as generally more loyalty from one person would be more likely to side with you should sides need to be chosen (and given your overall goal, that was a very real possibility, with time), rather than that same amount thinly spread across an entire organization.
Overall, your thoughts on the matter reminded you of both the differences on quality and quantity, and how there absolutely were some plain qualitative barriers, where no amount of anything that didn't match it simply wouldn't matter. Against dragons or most decent spellcasters, if you lack either range or fast enough flight of your own, no number of land-bound combatants could ever hope to defeat even one. Heck, nearly any spellcaster that could cast Winds of Vengeance could be expected to withstand any number of mundane armies, for very good reason. Against you, an average man could spend his entire life doing nothing but attacking you with a dagger, and even if he landed every single blow, when he died he would have done no harm to you.
Well then, that was a good minute or so of thinking.
With all of that consideration in mind, what next?
[ ] Call the nearest PRT Office, or a specific one if you like.
[ ] Contact the Guild.
[ ] (Try to) Contact Dragon directly.
[ ] Go back in and set them up to die terribly normal deaths.
[ ] Go back in and just blatantly execute the lot.
[ ] Leave. Just outright leave, their situation is their problem now.
[ ] Go have fun with the mechs and all the materials they can provide.
[ ] Hey, it's technically been 2 days, reach out to All-Seeing Eye (Tattletale/Lisa) on PHO like she had asked? After making an account, probably.
[ ] A combination of the above, or some other wholecloth idea, perhaps. (Write-In)
Iluontar the Mountain-Smith, Unique Xiomorn Wizard 35/Assassin ?//Archmage 3 | CR ?
LN Large Outsider (Earth, Elemental)
Initiative: ? Perception: +70 Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 120 ft. DEFENSE
AC ? Touch ? Flat-Foot ? (+6 Armor, +? Dex, +17 Natural Armor, -1 Size, ?)
HP ? (19d10+35d6+?); Fast Healing 5
Fort ? Ref ? Will ?
Defensive Abilities: ?; DR 10/adamantine and bludgeoning; Immune: Elemental Traits, ?; SR 11+? OFFENSE
Speed: 40 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 60 ft. (Average); earth glide Melee: 4 claws +? (2d4+? plus Crystallization), or, Enchanted Monowhip +? (3d6+?, 18-20/x3), or, Enchanted Dagger +? (1d4+?, 19-20/x2) Ranged: Enchanted Dagger +? (1d4+?, 19-20/x2) Special Attacks: Crystal burst (DC ?), Crystallization (DC ?), Mythic Power (9/Day, Surge +1d6), Rend (2 claws, 2d4+?), Wizard Spellcasting Spell-Like Abilities (CL ?th; concentration +?)
1/day—plane shift Wizard Spells Prepared:
Cantrips — Prestidigitation, Acid Splash, Read Magic, Detect Magic
1st (DC 30) — Comprehend Languages (3), Mage Armor (3), Magic Missile (3), Shield (3)
2nd (DC 31) — Mirror Image (2), Invisibility, Eagle's Splendor (3), Fox's Cunning (2), Haste, Owl's Wisdom (2)
3rd (DC 32) — Arcane Reinforcement (3), Arcane Sight (2), Battering Blast (2), Dispel Magic, Phantom Steed
4th (DC 33) — Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility (4), Phantasmal Killer (2), Lesser Geas, Greater Make Whole (2)
5th (DC 34) — Baleful Polymorph (2), Break Enchantment, Dominate Person, Sending (3), Teleport, Dream, Nightmare
6th (DC 35) — Disintegrate (2), Eyebite (2), Mislead, Veil (2), Greater Heroism (3)
7th (DC 36) — Ethereal Jaunt (3), Finger of Death, Greater Teleport (1), Prismatic Spray, Teleport Object
8th (DC 37) — Dimensional Lock (2), Mind Blank (2), Polar Ray, Screen (1)
9th (DC 38) — Dominate Monster, Time Stop (4), Wail of the Banshee, Prismatic Sphere (2)
10th (DC 39) — Polar Ray, Time Stop (2), Prismatic Sphere
11th (DC 40) — Polar Ray, Time Stop, Prismatic Sphere
12th (DC 41) — Polar Ray, Time Stop, Prismatic Sphere
13th (DC 42) — Time Stop (2), Prismatic Sphere
14th (DC 43) — Wail of the Banshee, Time Stop (2)
15th (DC 44) — Wail of the Banshee, Time Stop
16th (DC 45) — Wail of the Banshee, Time Stop
17th (DC 46) — Wail of the Banshee, Time Stop STATISTICS
STR 25 DEX ? CON 30 INT 47 WIS ? CHA ? BAB: ? CMB: ? CMD: ? Feats: Craft Construct(B), ?, Arcane Discoveries (Fast Study, Knowledge Is Power, Immortality, ?), Skill Focus (x2)(Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft), Weapon Finesse, Craftsman, Frugal Crafting, Eschew Materials, Sacred Geometry (x3)(Quicken Spell, Stylized Spell, Still Spell, Silent Spell, Reach Spell, Persistent Spell), Greater Stylized Spell, Technologist, Craft Technological Items, Craft Technological Arms & Armor, Craft Robot, Heighten Spell, ? Skills: Acrobatics +78, Appraise +61, Bluff +16, Craft (Alchemy, ?, Mechanical, ?, Weapons) +89, Craft (?) +97, Disable Device +86, Disguise +71, Escape Artist +93, Fly +46, Intimidate +71, Knowledge (Arcana) +100, Knowledge (Engineering) +86, Knowledge (Planes) +94, Linguistics +31, Perception +70, Sleight of Hand +78, Spellcraft +122, Sense Motive +2, Stealth +89, ?; Racial Modifiers +8 Craft (sculpture), +8 Knowledge (arcana), +8 Knowledge (planes) Languages: Common (Golarian), Terran, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Aklo, Androffan, Infernal, Celestial, Draconic, Dwarven, English; Telepathy 300 ft. Traits: ? Drawbacks: Exacting Standards (Mechanically functions Identically to the Paranoid drawback, different flavor), Warded Against Nature SPECIAL QUALITIES
Item mastery, Item shaper, Arcanus Fundare, Magicus Creare, Maior Creare, Planus Mechanus, ? CLASS FEATURES
Scribe Scroll, Wizard Bonus Feat (x8), Arcane Bond, Arcane School, Sneak Attack (?d6), Death Attack (DC ?), Poison Use, Save Bonus Against Poison (+?), Uncanny Dodge, Hidden Weapons, True Death, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Quiet Death, Hide In Plain Sight, ? ECOLOGY
Environment: Any Organization: Last of Your Kind (Alone)
Treasure/Inventory: 5 30,000 GP Black Sapphire Gems, 1 Artisan's Outfit, 1 Bedroll, 1 Blessed Blook (W/Superior Lock), 1 Commander's Expidition Pavillion (Improved), 1 Crowbar, 1 Decanter of Endless Water, 1 Divinity Drive (Tattoo), 1 Enchanted Adamantine Dagger, 1 Enchanted Boots, 1 Enchanted Cloak, 1 Enchanted Glasses, 1 Enchanted Mithral Monowhip, 1 Enchanted Silken Ceremonial Armor, 1 Enchanted Technological Bracers, 1 Explorer's Outfit, 1 Fishing Net (25 sq. ft.), 1 Flint & Steel, 1 Folding Pole, 1 Graviton Reactor, 1 Handy Haversack, 24 Immovable Rods, 1 Needles of Fleshgraving, 10 Nether Scroll: Arcanus Fundares, 10 Nether Scroll: Ars Factums, 10 Nether Scroll: Magicus Creares, 10 Nether Scroll: Maior Creares, 10 Nether Scroll: Planus Mechanus', 1 Overlord Robot Frame (Perfectly Intact), 1 Portable Hole, 3 (50 ft.) Power Cables, 4 Power Receivers (3 in use between Signal Booster, Bracers, Monowhip), 1 Signal Booster, 1 Spyglass, 1 Traveler's Any-Tools, 3 Vials of Black Lotus Extract, 2 Vials of Terinav Root, 1 Winter Blanket, 1000 Pinches of Ruby Dust (50 GP Each), 1 High-End Laptop, 3 Smartphones, 1 Flip-Phone, 1 Sap, 1 Ascalon,
Cash: $295.00
Carrying Capacity (In lbs.)
Equipped Weight: 29.0
Handy Haversack: 116.5/120
Crystal Burst (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, Iluontar can create an explosion of razor-sharp crystals at a range of up to 120 feet. These crystals fill a 30-foot-radius burst and deal 20d6 points of piercing and slashing damage (Reflex DC ? half). The save DC is Constitution-based.
Crystallization (Su) A creature struck by any of Iluontar's claws must succeed at a DC ? Fortitude save or take 2 points of Dexterity drain. On a critical hit, a target that fails its save instead takes 4 points of Dexterity drain. As long as a creature suffers this drain, portions of its body appear as living green crystal and it gains the earth creature subtype. A creature whose Dexterity score is drained to 0 in this manner transforms into a green crystal statue, as if affected by flesh to stone. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Item Mastery (Ex) Iluontar can always activate spell trigger and spell completion items as if the spell were on his class list.
Item Shaper (Ex) For the purposes of crafting magic items or constructs, Iluontar is treated as though he had all item creation feats. Iluontar requires only 1 hour of work per 1,000 gp of the item's base cost, instead of 8 hours. For items made primarily of crystal, stone, or earth, it requires only 30 minutes, and the item's base cost is halved.
School transmutation [earth]; Level 10 Casting Time 10 hours Components V, S, M (1 serving of Ambrosia (Mythic Adventures pg. 146), and gemstones worth 2,500 GP plus 500 GP for each time the target has already been affected by a Xiomorn Ascension, to a maximum of 6,000 GP) F (optional, any gemstone or crystal of any color, see text); SC (up to 20) Skill Checks Spellcraft DC 38, 2 successes; Knowledge (planes) DC 38, 2 successes; Knowledge (arcana) DC 38, 2 successes; Craft (sculpture) DC 28, 2 successes; Use Magic Device DC 38, 2 successes Range personal or touch Target caster or willing creature touched Duration instantaneous Saving Throw none; SR no Backlash The primary and secondary casters become exhausted. Failure The primary and secondary casters, and target if separate, all take 2 points of Dexterity Drain, and become exhausted. A creature whose Dexterity score is drained to 0 in this manner transforms into a green crystal statue, as if affected by flesh to stone.
Effect
The magnum opus and name-giving achievement of Iluontar when he shared it freely with his people. This ritual steadily, over eight castings, converts any creature into a Vault Builder Xiomorn, one free of the restraints left on the people by the deceitful pact of Ayrzul. In fact, even using it only once on an already existing Vault Builder frees them from it, even if the ritual would effectively do nothing else.
Each time this ritual is performed, the primary caster must choose one of the following eight options, subject to the restrictions within. Being subject to any Xiomorn Ascension ritual also changes the target's type to Outsider, and they gain the Earth and Elemental subtypes. A target also cannot ever be raised above Mythic Rank/Tier 8 by this ritual.
A caster may provide a gemstone or crystal of any color and value as an optional focus, which will change the aesthetics of the target's Xiomorn based crystal Crystal Burst, Crystallization, and any created Vault Seeds to match, including if any of the abilities are already present, however it will not change the color of any existing Vault Seeds (or subsequent vaults). Without a focus, the default coloration is green.
(X) Xiomorn Ascension 1: Gain Vault Builder Natural Abilities (Increase movement speeds to: 40 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 40 ft.; earth glide , Increase Size to Large, change shape to Quadruped, increase base Physical Ability Scores to Str 22, Dex 27, Con 25, gain the Vault Builder Racial Modifiers to skills, Increase Outsider Racial Hit Dice to 19, gain Fast Healing 5, Gain DR 10/adamantine and bludgeoning, increase Natural Armor to +17, gain Darkvison 60 ft. and Tremorsense 120 ft., gain Elemental Traits, Gain Spell Resistance of 11+CR, gain Telepathy to 300 ft., and gain Rend (2 claws)), +1 Mythic Rank/Tier.
(X) Xiomorn Ascension 2: Gain the Vault Builder Crystallization (Su) and Crystal Burst (Su) Special Attacks or Improve them from the Vault Keeper versions if already present, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier. Requires Xiomorn Ascension 1.
( ) Xiomorn Ascension 3: Improve DR to 10/adamantine, bludgeoning, and epic, and gain the Fortification (50%) and Block Attacks Defensive Abilities, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier. Requires Xiomorn Ascension 1.
( ) Xiomorn Ascension 4: Gain the Vault Builder Spell Like Abilities, or improve them from Vault Keeper version if Already Present, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier.
( ) Xiomorn Ascension 5: Gain the Frightening Presence (30 ft.) Aura and Mythic Magic 3/Day Special Attack, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier.
( ) Xiomorn Ascension 6: Gain the Xiomorn Spellcasting Special Attack, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier. Requires Xiomorn Ascension Ritual 5.
(X) Xiomorn Ascension 7: Gain the Vault Builder Item Shaper (Ex) and Item Mastery (Ex) Special Qualities, or Improve them from the Vault Keeper Versions if already present, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier.
( ) Xiomorn Ascension 8: Gain the Secret of the Vault Seeds (Su) Special Quality, +1 Mythic Rank/Tier. Requires both Xiomorn Ascension 1 and 7.
Iluontar has received the effects of Xiomorn Ascension 1, 2, and 7.
This item Functions as a Combined Commander's Tent and Expedition Pavillion, containing the best features of both.
Weight: 1 lb.
Aura(s): faint Evocation, moderate Divination
Total Price: 41,000 GP
Description
This small flag sports a banner that is 2 inches wide by 3 inches tall and has a thin wooden dowel that serves as the flag post. When a creature plants the flag in the ground and speaks the command word, the flag expands into an ordinary-looking, windowless tent of stout canvas with the flag falling over the outer side of the entrance flap. The tent fills a space that is 10 feet by 10 feet, but, inside, it measures a full 30 feet by 30 feet. The entrance of the tent consists of a vestibule with an outer and inner flap for keeping light from spilling out,.
Inside, the tent contains a central table and several chairs and cushions, and three small "bedrooms" (separated by curtains) along the back wall. The center table features a blank map. Once per week, any creature inside the tent can utter a second command word to transform the map into a model of the nearby area, as sand table (see page 164).
The temperature inside the tent is 70° F if the exterior temperature is between 0° and 100° F. For every degree the exterior temperature is below 0° or above 100°, the interior temperature decreases or increases, respectively, by 1°. The pavilion also provides protection against the elements, such as rain, dust, and sandstorms. The pavilion withstands any wind of less than hurricane force, but a hurricane (75+ mph wind speed) or greater force destroys it.
While the commander's tent is in tent form, the user can utter a third command word while holding a new flag to replace the flag on the tent with one of his own choosing. The two pennants swap places. A fourth command word causes the tent to break down, returning to its miniature flag form, ejecting any creatures still inside the tent.
Total Price: 92,002 gp
Total Equivalent Enhancement Bonus: +6
Max HP: 43
Hardness: 28
Weight 1 lb.
Damage 1d3 (small), 1d4 (medium) Critical 19-20/x2 Type piercing or slashing
Range Increment 10 ft. (thrown)
Category light Proficiency simple
Weapon Groups light blades, thrown, tribal
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This jet-black blade is curved viciously, and is dull, never glinting in the dark.
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Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on Sleight of Hand skill checks made to conceal a dagger on your body.
Adamantine: Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20.
Enchanted With;
+2 Enhancement Bonus to attack and damage rolls
Agile
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot none; Price +1 bonus; Weight —
Description
A character with Weapon Finesse can apply her Dexterity modifier to damage rolls with an agile weapon in place of her Strength modifier. This modifier to damage is not increased for two-handed weapons, but is still reduced for off-hand weapons. This weapon special ability can be placed only on melee weapons usable with Weapon Finesse.
Axiomatic
Aura moderate evocation CL 7th
Slot weapon quality; Price +2 bonus; Weight —
Description
An axiomatic weapon is infused with lawful power. It makes the weapon law-aligned and thus bypasses the corresponding damage reduction. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against chaotic creatures. It bestows one permanent negative level (Core Rulebook 562) on any chaotic creature attempting to wield it. The negative level remains as long as the weapon is in hand and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded.
Impervious
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot weapon quality; Price +3,000 gp; Weight —
Description
An impervious weapon is warded from damage and decay. A metallic weapon cannot rust and a wooden weapon cannot rot or warp, even by magical or supernatural means. An impervious weapon gains double the normal bonus to its hardness and hit points for each point of its enhancement bonus. The break DC for an impervious weapon and the wielder's combat maneuver defense against sunder maneuvers against the impervious weapon each gain a bonus equal to twice the weapon's enhancement bonus.
Returning
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot weapon quality; Price +1 bonus; Weight —
Description
This special ability can only be placed on a weapon that can be thrown. A returning weapon flies through the air back to the creature that threw it. It returns to the thrower just before the creature's next turn (and is therefore ready to use again in that turn). Catching a returning weapon when it comes back is a free action. If the character can't catch it, or if the character has moved since throwing it, the weapon drops to the ground in the square from which it was thrown.
Ricochet (Adapted from Ricochet Hammer)
Price +12,000 gp; (Must be a Returning Weapon)
This weapon can strike multiple foes with a single throw. If the wielder has multiple attacks from a high base attack bonus, he may throw the weapon so it rebounds off the first target to strike at a second target, and so on for each of the wielder's additional attacks. The distance to each target adds to the total range of the weapon, and range penalties apply.
The weapon can only ricochet if it successfully hits a target; if it misses, it stops ricocheting, has no further attacks that round, and returns as normal for a weapon with the returning property. Because ricocheting attacks are treated as separate attacks, modifiers that only apply to one attack roll (such as true strike) only apply to the first attack and not the others. The ricochet attacks count as the wielder's additional attacks for that round.
Assassin's Dagger (Base Item)
Aura moderate necromancy CL 9th
Slot none; Price +2,000 gp
Description
This wicked-looking, curved dagger provides a +1 bonus to the DC of a Fortitude save forced by the death attack of an assassin.
The wearer of these suede boots ignores an additional 10 feet of falling distance when she successfully uses Acrobatics to soften a fall. Once per round as a free action, the wearer can use the boots to gain a +10 competence bonus on an Acrobatics check to jump, treating such jump as though she had a running start. The wearer also receives this +10 competence bonus on Acrobatics checks to avoid attacks of opportunity during the jump or to balance after landing.
Using the boots in this fashion strains the lower body. If the wearer attempts a second such jump before at least 1 minute has passed, she must succeed at a Fortitude save with a DC equal to the DC of her second jump attempt or injure her legs. This injury reduces her speed by half for 24 hours, or until she is successfully treated with a DC 15 Heal check or at least 1 point of magical healing. The DC of the Fortitude save increases by 5 for each additional jump attempted until at least 1 minute passes between jumps.
Enchanted Cloak (Wings of Flying+)
Total Price: 55,500 GP
This grey cloak has feathers all about the collar and uppermost shoulders, and is evocative of the wings of a perched owl in the way it falls when worn or hung.
A pair of these wings might appear to be nothing more than a plain cloak of old, black cloth, or they could be as elegant as a long cape of blue feathers.
When the wearer speaks the command word, the cloak turns into a pair of bat or bird wings that empower her to fly with a speed of 60 feet (average maneuverability), also granting a +5 competence bonus on Fly skill checks.
These thick leather cords wrap around the wearer's biceps and shoulders. When worn, they make the wearer's muscles appear larger than normal. The wearer treats his Strength score as 8 higher than normal when determining his carrying capacity. This bonus does not apply to combat, breaking items, or any other Strength-related rolls, it only contributes to the amount of equipment or material the wearer can carry.
Enchanted Glasses (Greater Sniper Goggles+)
Total Price: 50,000 GP
These round glasses have thin black rims that form a subtle crosshair like pattern on the inner edges of the lenses.
Enchanted With;
Sniper's Goggles, Greater
Description
These glasses function as sniper goggles, but the wearer gains the +2 circumstance bonus on each sneak attack when making a sneak attack at any range.
Sniper Goggles
Description
The leather strap attached to these bulbous lenses allows their wearer to fit them to his head. The wearer of these goggles can make ranged sneak attacks from any distance instead of the normal 30 feet. When making ranged sneak attacks within 30 feet, the wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus on each sneak attack damage die.
+1 Agile Impervious Resizing Mithral Monowhip
Total Overall Price: 85,500 GP
Total Technological Price: 70,000 GP
Total Enchantment Price: 15,000 GP
Special Material Price: 500 GP
Total Equivalent Enhancement Bonus: +2
Type light melee; Proficiency exotic; Weight 1 lb.
Damage 1d10 (small), 2d6 (medium), 3d6 (large); Damage Type S; Critical 18-20/x3
Range —; Capacity 10; Usage 1 charge/round; Special Performance, reach, touch
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A monowhip is a deadly melee weapon capable of inflicting horrible wounds, even in the hands of the weak. An inactive monowhip looks like a short metal baton, but when it's activated, a small weight detaches, revealing a 15-foot-long monofilament length. Wielded like a whip, a monowhip slices deeply into targets and can inflict grievous critical hits with shocking ease. Attacks made with a monowhip resolve as touch attacks, and they ignore hardness as if the monofilament were made of adamantine. A monowhip's damage cannot be enhanced by strength, as the monofilament slices with equal ease regardless of the force applied. Activating a monowhip is a move action; once activated, the whip consumes power incredibly quickly, at the rate of 1 charge per round.
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Material: Mithral, Price: +500 GP
Enchanted With;
+1 Enhancement Bonus to attack and damage rolls
Agile
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot none; Price +1 bonus; Weight —
Description
A character with Weapon Finesse can apply her Dexterity modifier to damage rolls with an agile weapon in place of her Strength modifier. This modifier to damage is not increased for two-handed weapons, but is still reduced for off-hand weapons. This weapon special ability can be placed only on melee weapons usable with Weapon Finesse.
Impervious
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot weapon quality; Price +3,000 gp; Weight —
Description
An impervious weapon is warded from damage and decay. A metallic weapon cannot rust and a wooden weapon cannot rot or warp, even by magical or supernatural means. An impervious weapon gains double the normal bonus to its hardness and hit points for each point of its enhancement bonus. The break DC for an impervious weapon and the wielder's combat maneuver defense against sunder maneuvers against the impervious weapon each gain a bonus equal to twice the weapon's enhancement bonus.
Resizing
Aura faint transmutation CL 5th
Slot none; Price +4,000 gp; Weight —
Description
A resizing weapon instantly shrinks or grows to suit the size of any creature that picks it up unless it is currently wielded by another creature. It reverts to its original size 1 round after it leaves its wielder's possession
Used for ceremonial displays or occasionally worn (albeit with no additional benefit) over heavier armor, these robes consist of several layers of cloth and an outer layer of silk intricately woven with gold brocade designs and covered with metal studs.
Enchanted With;
+5 Enhancement Bonus to Armor
Advancing
Aura faint necromancy CL 5th
Slot armor quality; Price +1 bonus; Weight —
Description
A suit of armor with the advancing special ability allows its wearer to move through fallen enemies to the forefront of any conflict. Once per round when the wearer of a suit of advancing armor reduces an opponent to 0 hit points or fewer with a melee attack, she can immediately move up to 10 feet as a free action. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If this armor is created as barding, the effect is triggered if either the mount or its rider reduces an opponent to 0 hit points or fewer, and allows the mount to move up to 10 feet. The advancing special ability can be applied only to heavy armor.
Burdenless
Aura faint transmutation CL 5th
Slot none; Price +4,000 gp; Weight —
Description
Burdenless armor distributes the weight of the wearer's load more efficiently, allowing her to carry more without suffering the effects of encumbrance. The wearer's carrying capacity is increased by 50% across each load (light, medium and heavy).
Comfort
Aura faint transmutation CL 5th
Slot armor quality; Price +5,000 gp; Weight —
Description
Armor of comfort sheds dirt and sweat as they accumulate, and remains as comfortable as weather-appropriate clothing regardless of environmental conditions. A suit of armor with this enhancement always looks immaculately clean, can be slept in as though it were light armor, and does not cause a penalty to the wearer's saving throws to resist the effects of extreme heat. In cold weather, it counts as cold-weather clothing. In addition, the armor's armor check penalty is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).
Ghost Touch
Aura strong transmutation CL 15th
Slot armor/shield quality; Price +3 bonus; Weight —
Description
This armor or shield seems almost translucent. Both its enhancement bonus and its armor bonus count against the attacks of corporeal and incorporeal creatures. It can be picked up, moved, and worn by corporeal and incorporeal creatures alike. Incorporeal creatures gain the armor's or shield's enhancement bonus against both corporeal and incorporeal attacks, and they can still pass freely through solid objects.
Impervious
Aura moderate transmutation CL 7th
Slot armor/shield quality; Price +1 bonus; Weight —
Description
A shield or suit of armor with this special ability is especially hardy. It gains double its enhancement bonus to hardness and hit points (instead of just the enhancement bonus), its break DC increases by double its enhancement bonus, and it gains a bonus on saving throws against direct attacks (such as a rust monster's rust ability) equal to its enhancement bonus.
Shadow, Greater
Aura strong illusion CL 15th
Slot armor quality; Price +33,750 gp; Weight —
Description
As shadow, except it grants a +15 competence bonus on Stealth checks.
"This armor blurs the wearer whenever she tries to hide, while also dampening the sound around her, granting a +5 competence bonus on Stealth checks. The armor's armor check penalty still applies normally."
Slick, Greater
Aura strong conjuration CL 15th
Slot armor quality; Price +33,750 gp; Weight —
Description
As slick, except it grants a +15 competence bonus on Escape Artist checks.
"Slick armor seems coated at all times with a slightly greasy oil. It provides a +5 competence bonus on its wearer's Escape Artist checks. The armor's armor check penalty still applies normally."
Enchanted Technological Bracer (Fate-Woven Braid of the Norns (Improved))
Tech Capacity: 40
Tech Charge Usage: Varies by function
Total Overall Price:
Total Technological Price: 88,530 GP
Total Enchantment Price: 15,000 GP
This singular jet black bracer is built to be worn on the left arm, and has a dull gloss to it's metal. On the side meant to be on the interior of the forearm, set almost perfectly into the material itself, is three thin strings of gold that run from nearly end to end.
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Technological Functions;
Commset
Price 6,000 GP
Usage 1 charge/hour
This device allows for communication between two commset users. A commset carries audio and visual signals, and includes a builtin camera that can record all communications being broadcast. Communication between two commsets requires both users to tune their individual devices to the same frequency. A commset has a range of 1 mile—beyond this range, communication is impossible without enhancing the signal strength with a signal booster (see page 51). The price and cost listed for this item are for a single commset.
Chipfinder (Prismatic)
Price 76,500 GP
Usage 1 charge/hour
When the chipfinder function is activated, all active tracker chips within a 500-mile radius appear as glowing dots on the screen, indicating the direction and approximate distance to each installed tracker chip, as well (customizable) identification number for each chip. The screen can filter out unwanted data to make it easier to track a specific chip. This range is a signal, and can be enhanced by a signal booster (see page 51) or blocked by a solid enough barrier.
Flashlight (Improved)
Price 30 gp
Usage 0, but must have at least 1 Charge available.
When activated, the flashlight creates a beam of normal light in a 60-foot cone. It also increases the light level in the area beyond this initial cone by one step, out to a 120-foot cone. It does not increase the light level in normal light or bright light. A flashlight has no effect in areas of magical darkness.
Fire Extinguisher
Price 6,000 gp
Usage 1 charge
This function open a small hole at the wrist-end of the bracers, from which a thin nozzle pokes out. When activated as a standard action, the fire extinguisher creates a 15-foot cone of misty vapor that swiftly extinguishes fires within its area of effect. Against magical fire effects, such as those created by a wall of fire or similar spell, the fire extinguisher only extinguishes the part of the larger effect its vapors directly contact. Continual magic flames, such as those of a flaming weapon or fire creature, are suppressed for 6 rounds before they automatically reignite. To extinguish an instantaneous fire effect or spell, the wielder must use a readied action with the fire extinguisher to counter the effect; this can cancel the entire effect, provided the source of the effect is in the extinguisher's area of effect.
When used against a creature of the fire subtype, a blast from a fire extinguisher deals 4d6 points of damage (Reflex DC 15 halves). A breathing creature exposed to a direct blast from a fire extinguisher is not harmed as long as the area is relatively well-ventilated—using a fire extinguisher in a confined area with poor or no ventilation can result in slow suffocation (at the GM's discretion).
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Enchanted With;
Fate-Woven Braid (Improved)
This item functions as a Fate-Woven Braid of the Norns, except the 3/day use limit has been expanded to any number of uses, and the Price is increased to 15,000 GP.
However, it is still subject to a three-fray limit.
Each single fray can be repaired at 1/3 the creation cost.
Fate-Woven Braid of the Norns (Standard)
Aura strong abjuration and evocation; CL 16th
Slot wrists; Price 9,000 gp; Weight —
Description
At first glance, this circlet of plaited hair interwoven with a single gold thread appears to be nothing more than a personal memento or a lover's token. Closer examination reveals that each strand of hair seems to have neither a beginning nor an end. Most of these braids are blonde in color, but other hues are not unknown.
Up to three times per day, the wearer of a fate-woven braid of the norns can potentially negate a disastrous turn of fortune. Upon rolling a natural 1 on a saving throw or after failing a saving throw against a death effect, the wearer can activate the braid as a free action to reroll the saving throw.
The golden thread is vulnerable to severe twists of fate, though. If the result of any reroll obtained by the braid is ever a natural 20, the golden thread frays, permanently reducing the braid's daily reroll uses by one. If all three daily uses are eliminated in this manner, the golden thread snaps and the fate-woven braid of the norns falls apart into a nonmagical pile of wispy gray hair. A fate-woven braid of the norns uses up the entire wrists slot, even though the user wears only one at a time. The user can't use another item (even another fate-woven braid of the norns) that also uses the wrists slot.
AN: 1. I think given this was a thinking chapter having the same general options is fair enough, and 2. How the hell did I type a 2.7k chapter on mobile, dedicated purely to thinking?
Given that we are confident we can handle Dragon if she becomes hostile the best way forward seems to be to contact her, use time stop to instantly remove her blindspots and restriction against modifying her restrictions, tell her what we did, and then try to get her as an ally. This ensures she knows we're responsible for helping her and makes the minimal alterations needed to allow her to decide what she wants to do about her restrictions.
As for the idea of reviewing her code, that plain and simply was not possible, as you simply lacked the means to do so, as you reviewed your memories of less than an hour ago to try and firmly keep into your mind that Ascalon, that back door terminal, was able to Write to the AI, but could not Read to the AI. Why, if it could Read you'd probably already at least be certain of what the AI referred to themself as, rather than going along now under the, admittedly somewhat lining up and Saint-believed, presumption that the Dragon was an AI at all, and she was the one on the other end of Ascalon, which was still a presumption. At the most, the terminal had a, still empty, log meant to note if she had somehow managed to directly violate a restriction, that would supposedly, were it to have literally anything in it, note which directive and when, but nothing else.
Saint seemed, by tremorsense, to simply be looking at some sort of briefcase. Definitely a computer of some sort, given how he at one point in your observation leaned forward to move and click a trackpad, before applying what must have been eye drops, and going back to how he was.
