[X] [AP] MEN+1
IIRC a large number of our skills have mental as a primary.
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
All those pings must be pretty distracting. And I don't think our horrific Cthululing protagonist should be casting aspersions on those poor dogs.
While the second Mutt tried to slash at my wing with one of its unnatural sharp blade-feet, my wing pulled away whilst one of my arms reached from the other side to wrap around one of the Mutts idle legs and yank. Jump. Wing! Avoid. Slash. Surprise! Falling!
Though I don't know what this is about. Five of the seven Mutts were defeated, so did the two that actually attacked the mc turn on the others? But I don't think it would cause all the others to run, and for the two the mc touched to completely win, if the Mutts were still 'normal'. So did Psionics and Memetics or Divergence Magic somehow make them loyal? Or did some other general stuff happen and Bone Magic (or other life Magic) boosted them?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
Five levels, four after this, will give a cap of level 40 for Skills with a PHY primary. Which I think is a safe bet for what we used most, and will likely continue to use most for the time being. Unarmed Combat is level 12, Unarmored is 14, Climbing is at 9, and Athletics are at 8. All of the other skills we have also have a cap at 20, since we balanced our stats. So I figure working on our PHY right now is, at least, just as good as the others.
[X [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
Life and Biomancy are Affinities. Life is an Internalism, instinctive and with protections in place but is subtle and abstract in the beginning. Biomancy is an Esoterism, which is blunt and basic in the beginning but is far easier with a matching Internalism. Vital is a Reach and it's description is,'Unlock the innate magics of bodies organs'.
So, the way I see it, we have two gambles. One with Sleeping, while injured and in a hostile environment. The other with magic, which we know nothing about. But we chose that magic, so I think we should use it.
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
-[x] But maybe hide first since healing might take some time and leave you vulnerable. No need to heal a wound if you it causes you to die in the open
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
...Dang it, I shouldn't be invested in a pastless abomination on what is clearly a death world...but I am, so here we are.
So, here's a question: If Homun swaps out a Revelation (Logic, Athletics, etc), is it more that he's simply unable to level it up any further, or does all progress that he made in the skill effectively evaporate? I can understand that removing, say, a Affinity means that the school of spells that were unlocked are unavailable to you, but I'm concerned that if we swap out a Revelation, we may end up effectively crippling or lobotomizing ourselves if all the progress is revered when it's lost.
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
...Dang it, I shouldn't be invested in a pastless abomination on what is clearly a death world...but I am, so here we are.
Not every protagonist can be as awesome as Chariot, but I'm glad to see more people picking this thread up now.
So, here's a question: If Homun swaps out a Revelation (Logic, Athletics, etc), is it more that he's simply unable to level it up any further, or does all progress that he made in the skill effectively evaporate? I can understand that removing, say, a Affinity means that the school of spells that were unlocked are unavailable to you, but I'm concerned that if we swap out a Revelation, we may end up effectively crippling or lobotomizing ourselves if all the progress is revered when it's lost.
So, here's a question: If Homun swaps out a Revelation (Logic, Athletics, etc), is it more that he's simply unable to level it up any further, or does all progress that he made in the skill effectively evaporate?
It looks like you're using 3 points. It costs 2 to level up PHY. So it might be best to think of it as spending Attribute Points to level them up, instead of just allocating them. It cost 2 AP to level up a single category, and thus all of the sub-categories by 1 as well, but it only costs 1 AP to level up a singular sub-category.
I can understand that removing, say, a Affinity means that the school of spells that were unlocked are unavailable to you, but I'm concerned that if we swap out a Revelation, we may end up effectively crippling or lobotomizing ourselves if all the progress is revered when it's lost.
Well, here's the descriptions of the first two thresholds.
[0] - Neophyte
No actual benefit yet.
[20] - Professional
Standard professional skill. About 4-5 years experience.
It doesn't become sort of supernatural ability until 150, and doesn't actively bend reality until 200. Of course magic already does screwy things, but in particular Revelations are Skills. Capital S. A Revelation is when a mundane skill that anyone can do becomes a Skill.
This is to say that I think we would lose something if we swapped out a leveled Revelation. Homun is a special case, but even then. I wouldn't expect it to be a case where they become like a newborn baby, especially with their stats and other skills, but I think they'd lose the auto-pilot and the speed of learning. They could probably reach what's functionally level 100 in a skill (not a Revelation) the regular way, but that's literally best in the entire world.
Also, on the thing with the Mutts, what if Green also played a part? Like in the sense of The Green from DC. So that Homun has a kind of incarnation/avatar of Life going on, and that maybe turned the animal and plantlife around the Mutts against them?
Seems like that might be kind of op though lol.
So the Mutts hit Homun, and feel their pain through Psionics. Then Memetics or Psionics or Divergence Magic or Green and maybe Bone Magic caused it. Maybe some combination of all of that, or none of it.
Love you ideas, two clarifications I think it's relevant to know as they are part of the general download you received.
* Skills at lvl 0 provide no benefit and often are functionally equal to simply not possessing a power/magic at all. If Magic/etc did intervene in what just happened to you then it was not from your Skills.
* The Neophyte/Professional etc categories are the thresholds for people with Skills rather than skills.
Someone with the Skill 'Dodge' can reach the Professional rank after 4-5 years and they are going to vastly outcompete a normie who practices dodging for 4-5 years to improve their skill..
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
Unless we immediately power level Sleep and subconsciously synergize it with other Skills, it's better to be proactive.
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] MEN+1
Love you ideas, two clarifications I think it's relevant to know as they are part of the general download you received.
* Skills at lvl 0 provide no benefit and often are functionally equal to simply not possessing a power/magic at all. If Magic/etc did intervene in what just happened to you then it was not from your Skills.
* The Neophyte/Professional etc categories are the thresholds for people with Skills rather than skills.
Someone with the Skill 'Dodge' can reach the Professional rank after 4-5 years and they are going to vastly outcompete a normie who practices dodging for 4-5 years to improve their skill..
I'm assuming that each skill has something like an exp bar, and level ups aren't just instant whenever a skill is used. Though even if that's the case, it seems like Homun is special there as well.
I guess that this makes me wonder how many people achieve Revelations, and where they would start. Like if two people achieve a Revelation at different levels of skill, presumably they are both a level 0 with their new Skill. I wouldn't expect one person to have their skill reduced, so maybe there's a cutoff of sorts for Revelations? Like if someone reaches a level of skill without having a Revelation, then they won't get one for that skill ever. Or something. Assuming this is the case, does that mean that same person could then practice other skills in an attempt to get a Revelation in one of them? Or is it just all or nothing? If it's the latter, then do they slot those new Skills automatically?
For both of them, I would guess 'no'. If people can only acquire some Skills arbitrarily, then that's super limiting and unfair. For the second one, I at least think that getting a Revelation wouldn't be so simple that someone wouldn't expect that they were going get it. Meaning they would have some say in what they get. Not to say that this world can't be unfair, my assumptions is that only some people can even get Revelations, but until I see otherwise I'll assume this is how it is.
As for my guesses about the Mutts, I think the biggest question is why Homun was getting credited with defeating them. So I was looking at what skills could possibly have a say in making them run off and three of them being defeated. While some skills might be harder to level, I still think Psionics may be the reason why Homun could pick up on their thoughts, it sounds like you're saying that my guesses weren't right. I say that I think it was Homun's Psionics because the Mutts don't seem like they would be able to project or otherwise share their thoughts like that, since they vocalize so much. Not a sure thing though. That said, for what started attacking them, maybe it's tied to this:
Their movements gibbered left to right ever so slightly for no discernable reason and they seemed to yip and bark at unseen tormentors as they gave chase.
I really don't have a clue what these 'unseen tormentors' would be, other than the fact that the Mutts aren't natural. At least in the sense of naturally occurring, since I don't know if what created them is biological or magical in nature.
Since they seem unnatural, maybe what's chasing them is doing so because they're unnatural. In a 'this doesn't belong' way. Homun also doesn't belong, but maybe it's because their nature differs from the Mutts or it's because they have Green. As for why Homun would get credit, maybe they're right and it's just because they were involved in the fight.
Edit: I thought that I should say that I don't really expect answers to all of this, I figure we'll maybe find out sometime later and this is just speculation.
Reading over the chapters again, I have to think that Homun, or at least his mind, used to be that of either a human or a recognizably humanish mentality. He's experiencing some level of body dysphonia whenever he considers his body, and even though concrete language isn't fully a skill set of his, the structure of his inner thoughts seems fairly coherent. Normally, you'd expect the baseline for some vat grown, freshly born abomination to be closer to the level of a violent infant, not having enough points of reference to make any degree of understanding or insight to their surroundings. Homun, on the other hand, at least has the mental concepts of cameras, portals, experiments, swamps and the definitions of the Skills in order to use them properly. He used to be somebody else...but right now he's just Homun.
The following is meta knowledge the MC does not possess. But for you readers it will give an idea of the general scope that Skill Perks and Prestige Skill Perks (require multiple Skills at a threshold together) can reach.
Skills provide numerous passive and continual benefits, Skill Perks stand atop the usual benefits as bonuses that activate at key thresholds.
Prestige [Parry|'Melee Weapon Skill'|'Armour Skill'|Dodge] (20) Perk: Apprentice of Magnificence You may spend an hour to bind yourself to a specific weapon and set of armour. Your items become [Parry|'Melee Weapon Skill'|'Armour Skill'|Dodge]% more durable, sharp, protective, maneuverable and you receive an equal bonus to all relevant Skill rolls while using only these items.
Your bound Skills are inactive and offer no bonus if using any unbound armour or weapon. Climbing (40) Perk: Like a Ninja You may attempt to run on and jump from impossible surfaces with an exponentially increasing DC depending on how many degrees of reasonableness beyond the possible you are exceeding multiplied by length of the impossible feat in three second increments. (Short stunts feasible, longer feats incredibly hard). At level 80, objects like 'the air' and 'yourself' are considered valid climbing targets for the purposes of this Perk. Psionics (60) Perk: Innate Reader You may passively read the surface thoughts of any being with a Psionics Skill level less than half your own. This can be used to anticipate actions or decisions before even an individual is aware they will make them and all the advantages that implies.
If you are four times an individual's Psionics level, you can perfectly spoof a fake mindstate to deceive or misdirection them. Otherwise you must engage in an opposed DC to determine if they see through the projected illusion. Essentialism (80) Perk: Essential Equivalency You may substitute meta-physics and magics for related components at an efficiency cost of [Essentialism]%/2 each degree of separation. For example, using blood/bone/skin/carapace magic on blood/bone/skin/carapaces, or using biomancy on mechanical implants and prosthetics or using Remorse and Psionics interchangeably. The degrees of separation for the previous examples would be a half, three and one respectively. Prestige [Spirit|Mentalism|Essentialism|Psionics] (80) Perk: The Anywhere Self Your entire being can exist and project separate to your physical body for no penalty. You can use Skills and Magic from either or both as if they were your full self. If you inhabit and destroy the being of another body, you may choose to permanently possess that physical body instead of your own.
You may regenerate your body from your being or your being from body if either are destroyed automatically every (lowest of) 80/[Spirit|Mentalism|Essentialism|Psionics] weeks. Unarmed Combat (100) Perk: Transcendent Vector You may directly attack the body, mind or soul (+any other extra-spatial components) with an unarmed strike.
You may ignore redirection or reflective magics when making an unarmed attack.
You may choose to halve your effective Attack on any attempt to inflict curse-wounds instead of natural ones with a DC of UNARMEDLVL/2 to heal. (A Healer's relevant skill level must be equal to your UNARMEDLVL/2 to attempt the heal DC and not auto-fail.) Curse wounds can kill most otherwise immortal beings. Dodge (125) Perk: Flash Step You no longer cross the intervening space between the starting and finishing positions of your dodges. You may instantly teleport your SPD/10 metres to any unoccupied location once per second. (You may also teleport into objects and creatures to initiate an Existence Contest).
You may choose to dodge into spaces you can reach but cannot perceive, with all the consequences that may or may not cause.
I deliberately didn't give you any level 20 examples you can achieve soon as that seemed a bit too meta-helpful.
However, speaking of being meta-helpful. Congrats @Silverkingyou guessed the secret challenge before the conclusion of the first quest.
Reading over the chapters again, I have to think that Homun, or at least his mind, used to be that of either a human or a recognizably humanish mentality.... ....He used to be somebody else, but right now he's just Homun.
[X] [WtoN] I saw words like 'Life', 'Biomancy' and 'Vital' on my list of selected Skills. Could I figure out how to use one of them? Could they heal me?
[X] [AP] PHY +1
Chapter 0.3 - - A Gamble of Trust
My first hope of feeling less like I was about to die was putting my spare points into raising PHY. How the incredible complexity of a living body could be accurately abstracted into a single integer was a question I pointedly did not waste time hurting my brain over.
PHY +1 (6)
I felt… a little better honestly. The heavy lethargy that seemed to weigh upon my whole body getting just that little bit lighter. Nowhere close to alright though.
It really would come down to a hail Mary gamble, seeing if I could just up and 'magic' on command.
All of the skills I'd seen show up so far had simply happened as I did things, so I reasoned that I must be able to use any of the Skills that had first appeared along with the 'System'. I hoped there wasn't some phrase or incantation necessary to even start, because if so I was out of luck.
So that was how I found myself laying up in the trees, gingerly holding some hands over the gorged opening in my abdomen and trying to think 'healy' thoughts.
Nothing happened.
Pushing down the pang of frustration, I tried coming at things from another angle. Starting with {Life}, I tried reach for anything that felt like 'Life'. Strength, Health, Energy… I really had no idea what I was doing. It didn't help that occasionally when I couldn't help but shift, the movement would send stabbing pain through one of my wounds. I kept pushing through, trying to centre my mind on the singular idea of me living.
Mentalism +1 (1)
It was immediately easier to concentrate.
Thanks. But not what I was going for.
I tried even harder, shifting between subtle nuances of what 'Life' could be represented as. I thought of it as a gift from above, a Well pulled from the centre of my soul, an omnipresent force to exchange with, a raw concept given form; all the while pushing aside any distraction.
Mentalism +1 (2)
With zero results…
This went on for quite some time.
Mentalism +1 (3)
Right when I was ready to give up, something I tried actually worked.
Life +1 (1)
Life +1 (2)
Life +1 (3)
As I was thinking of Life as 'My Life, my state of being alive, able to thrive, change and grow', I felt it. A prickly prodding feeling flowing over my abdomen and immediately dulling the pain. It was deeply uncomfortable, I'd liken it to a sensation of being 'too full', like having eaten two meals and being told you had to eat a third. It was almost intense enough to make me stop save for the next System ping.
First Aid +1 (1)
I couldn't confirm that that was an endorsement of what I was doing as correct, but it didn't matter. Less pain and raising my {First Aid} were two things that easily outweighed the nearly crushing discomfort, even if it honestly made it hard to breathe. I started pushing the prickly healing as hard as I could.
- - -
Life +1 (4)
Life +1 (5)
Life +1 (6)
Life +1 (7)
Life +1 (8)
Life +1 (9)
Life +1 (10)
First Aid +1 (2)
First Aid +1 (3)
First Aid +1 (4)
First Aid +1 (5)
Mentalism +1 (4)
Mentalism +1 (5)
Perception +1 (5)
It was working. As {Life} ticked higher, I began to get a feel for how to direct it properly, like a sleepy muscle waking up for the first time and flexing with unfamiliar strength. My wounds honestly started to feel great so long as I kept the tap open and jamming Life in there. In the end, I had to slow down, not because I couldn't go harder, but because I thought it might be dangerous.
At {Life} 10, I could now push hard enough to actually make it impossible to breathe. However Life worked, it put a pressure on the rest of my body to use which, while temporary, could clearly become harmful if taken too far.
But that was okay, because this was enough.
Gingerly, I slowly sat up, careful not to flex anything too far. I wasn't able to draw from Life and focus on moving without falling out of the branches at the same time, both taking too much concentration on their own. Looking at my wounds, they all looked significantly better. Life didn't magically erase injury, but even the half-hour I'd just spent (where I really only got the hang of it toward the last half) had done what I'd guess to be nearly a week's worth of healing. My thigh wound was completely closed, very tender, but I could place my body weight on the limb with only mild discomfort. Where my hand had been bitten, my fingers were still quite swollen, but did not hurt unless I tried to grip something. My abdomen still felt quite bad and I knew if I tried anything beyond normal walking and some careful climbing it would likely re-tear or something equally undesirable.
I still felt quite weak, whatever power Life drew from, I was able to tell I'd used more than half of its 'reserve', for lack of a better word. What I had left would get me most of the way back to being well. Then I really needed to find something to eat, because another side effect of Life Healing was quite clearly hunger, which I'd been feeling even before everything happened. Plenty of problems, but it looked like I was going to be-
"Eiiieeeee!!!"
…
Goddammit
I didn't wait to listen for any noises, I knew they'd be coming.
Instead, I used my three good hands to carry myself back up into the higher rungs of the canopy. I began hearing the same tell-tale sagging and groaning of wood from creatures making there way across branches from multiple directions, it was a good thing I'd started climbing straight away, because I was a fair bit slower in my reduced state than I'd been the first time.
Climbing +1 (10)
Athletics +1 (9)
I could actually perceive what felt like the tinniest increase in my upward speed when {Climbing} and {Athletics} ticked over. Had it always been like that and I was only just noticing? Or did Skills have larger effects at higher numbers?
Perception +1 (6)
Analysis +1 (5)
I wished I had a better plan than the previous one, but none of the important facts had changed about my situation. So "Climb high enough to not be surrounded and then fight back defensively" remained the best of my options. Still, I'd be more aware of the help Skills might be lending me this time; I was at {Unarmed Combat} 12, that had to count for something.
Logic +1 (5)
I hadn't quite caught sight of what was coming by the time I reached my previous perch. It was a decent spot and I was familiar with the placement of the surrounding branches so I didn't see why it couldn't be the place for my 2nd stand too.
Logic +1 (6)
Noticing my own darkened maroon blood colouring some of the nearby branches, I pushed aside the fear and focused on being ready.
Mentalism +1 (6)
Snapping off a sharp thin piece of wood, I held my new implement in my hand testing how it felt as a possible weapon to extend my range without putting my own limbs at risk of being bitten again. I immediately dropped it though when I distinctly felt the confidence and grace {Unarmed Combat} 12 was starting to give me vanish. It returned as soon as I was no longer holding a weapon, thank goodness.
Perception +1 (7)
Analysis +1 (6)
Instead, I spent the time I had before the noises tracked me down pushing some more Life into my wounds. Better to have a mostly emptied reserve and live to tell the tale than the alternative. I worked hard to keep an eye out while also devoting the necessary concentration to channel Life.
Mentalism +1 (7)
Life +1 (11)
Life +1 (12)
First Aid +1 (6)
First Aid +1 (7)
First Aid +1 (8)
When I gained sight of them, I briefly got my hopes up. It looked like only two Mutts this time. I wouldn't say I started to relax, but I certainly felt much more confident about my chances.
I nearly missed it.
A slight whistle in the wind, a creak on a nearby branch I'd dismissed as too small for any sort of approach; but I was already in the habit of looking for blurry distortions, that was the only reason I lived.
The nearly invisible creature lunged at me far faster than any Mutt could have managed. Detaching from the branches I was holding onto and twisting in the air, I narrowly avoided its transparent slash through where my head had just been.
I wasn't done though. Following through on my spin, I did my best to put as much force behind a kick right into the centre of the blurred mass as I fell and it passed over me.
Unarmed Combat +1 (13)
Unarmed Combat +1 (14)
Whatever it was, it was not hardy. I thought I might have felt a bone break under my foot's impact. Though I didn't have long to think on that as I needed to focus on arresting my own fall and landing on the branch below without falling straight off.
Acrobatics +1 (2)
Athletics +1 (10)
As I landed, pain exploded through me as something in my abdomen tore open again from my jerky movements.
But I refused to crumble now at the critical moment, instead focusing hard on ramming down the pain and watching where the nigh-invisible predator landed on the neighboring branch. I couldn't lose track of it.
Finally having time to take in the 'sight' before me, I observed the blur's movements carefully. Although the Mutt sized shape appeared to be busy mewling at the bruise/fracture I'd given its underbelly and wasn't moving toward me immediately, it was nearly impossible to tell if something like that was rearing to pounce or not. Something about it also subtly encouraged you to look away, though it was much less pronounced now that I was well and truly aware of it.
It hissed at me, a grating gravely sound. And I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to do so, but I hissed right back. I was just so done with this whole situation, I hated this swamp, I hated whatever the fuck this thing was, I hated it all. If a hiss could sound like a swear, that's the inflection I put in mine.
Psionics +1 (1)
Psionics +1 (2)
I definitely wasn't expecting the blur-mutt to flinch suddenly, letting out a pained howl in response and actually becoming ever so slightly opaque for a moment.
Perception +1 (15)
As I briefly observed the four legged red-scaled thing before its occlusion quickly snapped back into place, I had no idea why me speaking apparently counted as Psionic, but I was not one to look a gifthorse in the mouth. I also had no idea if it would get less effective from repeated exposure, so in the very next moment I raced toward the blur screaming my gills out as loud as I could.
Psionics +1 (3)
Psionics +1 (4)
Psionics +1 (5)
I ignored the pain blossoming through me as I exploded into a lunge. It would be terribly ironic if I'd hesitated to attack because of my preexisting wounds and that was what got me killed. If I was going down, I didn't want to do huddling and afraid. As I hoped, my scream had a profound effect on the creature. It popped fully into my vision, reeling back and mewling in pain from the noise as I took my chance and fell upon it.
Mentalism +1 (10)
I didn't think, I didn't stop, I just kept punching, ducking, stepping, kicking. Spikes of pain rippled through me with each move, but I just kept going. My fists occasionally making wet crunch noises as I got the red-ish Mutt-thing in soft spots.
I rained down blow after blow on the disorientated creature, it's invisibility never returned after I starting pummeling its body, it was probably too dazed. A couple times it swiped at me with long scythe like claws, but those I didn't quite dodge seemed to slide across my skin leaving only shallow scratches, they mustn't have been that sharp.
Finally, I managed to get in a truly devastating blow. Bringing two merged pair-arms down on top of its head was accompanied by a wet splintering squelch as its skull partially caved in.
The red-mutt collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, sliding bonelessly off the branch. It made wet crunching noises with each impact on its staggered fall down and out of the canopy.
Not that I was paying much attention, instead marveling at how my entire body was immediately hale and whole.
Not a scratch, no lethargy from my climb and vicious melee, just immediately and completely fine. I hadn't noticed it the first time, not properly anyway, caught in the middle of a life and death contest as I was, but Level Ups were apparently a complete restoration to full health. Not just health either, I could feel my 'reserve' of Life fully topped off too.
I felt the most confident about making it through this than I had since I'd seen my first Mutt.
Speaking of which, the previous two Mutts that I'd spotted prior to their invisible cousin trying to ambush me were just arriving on the scene. But unlike the previous gang, these two seemed less inclined to openly attack me.
They sniveled and growled and mewled and snarled, but kept their distance. I didn't take Mutts for timid scavengers; they already proven far too aggressive for that normally. I also didn't think of them as smart enough to run after watching me defeat one of their own. But it seemed that their lesser numbers and my fresh victory had sapped their confidence.
They feinted and snapped at me, but well outside even twice my wings' span. Close enough that I needed to carefully watch them, but not a serious attempt at violence.
Analysis +1 (7)
Logic +1 (6)
A small stupid voice in my head wondered if I might be able to get more levels and Skills by trying to attack them. I crushed that idiotic thought down hard; picking fights was about the last thing I wanted to do.
The standoff between us looked like it wasn't going to end any time soon. I started thinking about how dreadful it was going to be, slowly searching for a way out of this swamp while being literally hounded every step of the way, never able to drop my guard for even a moment.
But as seemed to be the pattern that could sum up my entire existence so far, something unexpected happened.
The two Mutts both peaked their heads, looking behind them further south, before yipping in a high-pitched panic and bolted left and right away from me at a fast clip.
My curiosity and worry were immediately answered not six seconds later when a young girl's voice spoke inside my head.
Gosh not anoth- … Oh my goodness you're intelligent!
I recoiled, not in pain but just shock. Her voice was not loud, it didn't have a volume at all really. But I'd thought I was alone out here and finding out I wasn't via 'unannounced voice-in-mind exclamation' was not something I'd prepared for.
No… I- I'm so sorry. Don't be upset. I'm like you, us, whatever we are.
Like us?
Did she know who I was? How we got here? Now that got me interested. The smart play would still be to run, everything I'd met so far had been different flavours of 'try to kill you', betting on this being the trend-breaker could get me sleeping six feet under.
But… answers. It was hard not to get caught up in the allure they offered.
Logic +1 (7)
My name is Slippy. I made it up since I don't remember anything from before. You should be able to see me in four or five seconds.
Sure enough, the girl, Slippy, soon appeared at the end of what I could see through the canopy, sliding over, under and between the branches in a gyrating slither like a snail on fast forward.
She was… quite beautiful honestly.
Uh… hi.
The girl's tentacles writhed shyly, having stopped once she was in my sight.
…do you have a name?
…
I considered what I should do.
Tempting as it was, should I really just trust a pretty face?
Choice Time: Allocate Attribute Points: 4 Total
[ ] [AAP] Write In.
Her Voice in my Ear: She acted gentle and friendly. Did I trust that it wasn't a façade?
[ ] [HVimE] I ran in the opposite direction, the swamp had taught me better than to trust.
[ ] [HVimE] Trust, but Verify. I allowed her to approach, ready to attack at the first sign of treachery.
[ ] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
[ ] [HVimE] Write in.
A Name: The Question was asked, and I honestly hadn't considered. Did I have a name? Did I want one?
[ ] [AN] If she was 'Slippy', then I guess I was 'Splitter'.
[ ] [AN] A name didn't matter. If someone wished, they could come up with one for me.
[ ] [AN] I was just me, I didn't want a title.
[ ] [AN] Write in.
Not sure how things will work with skill synergy, but we now have someone who we can actually talk to, so every little bit helps when making a new friend. Also, it might help to have a little cosmic advantage so we don't get almost blindsided by some new foe.
[X] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
While "Trust but Verify" might be the safer play, I'm going to advocate for going all in. Her awkwardness is what's selling me.
[X] [AN] If she was 'Slippy', then I guess I was 'Splitter'.
Getting a sense of identity is an important step in centering yourself, and Slippy's going to need something to call us. Sadly, I couldn't think of any IC way to suggest "Homun."
Huh, looks like Homun's sense of..."aesthetics" may be tied to his body. I wonder if he'd have a negative reaction to seeing a regular human at this point.
Whatever passive information Homun has, an understanding of game mechanics is not one of them. Why else would some actively deny "murderhobo" Logic?
I suspect that improving skills is less tied to repetition and more tied to facing higher difficulty thresholds. Unarmored shot up from a critical hit, Perception shot up trying to find an invisible enemy, and Unarmored Combat shot up once Homun tried to actively murder his opponent. Eventually the lower Mutts won't be able to do anything for him, so he's going to have to keep challenging himself and trying new things.
[x] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
[x] [AN] I was just me, I didn't want a title.
[X] [AAP] +2 Luck
[X] [APP] +1 MEN, +1 Luck
[X] [APP] +2 MEN
[X] [AAP] +2 Luck
[X] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
[X] [AN] If she was 'Slippy', then I guess I was 'Splitter'.
Slippy is definitely one of the top ten hottest anime girls of all time, no contest
[X] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
[X] [AN] If she was 'Slippy', then I guess I was 'Splitter'.
I want to push our PHY Skill cap up to 40, and my reasoning as a whole hasn't really changed from last chapter. Unarmored, Unarmed Combat, Athletics, Climbing, and Dodge are all PHY skills and are really important right now. Plus there is Perception, Mentalism, and Psionics which are also seeing some use now in the PHY category. Even though I suspect that these Skills have a MEN stat as their Secondary, that cap is already at 30 and getting PHY to 8 puts the highest cap possible at 32.
She claims to be another Homun, and even if that's true we have no clue how long she's been here. Either way, she seems to have encountered enough Homuns for the novelty to wear off. Her comments on how interlligent Homuns are a rarity is something to be expected, since investing heavily in PHY would be the predictable path most would take. Plus we both have Psionics, and what are the odds that a Homun chooses that. Though Psionics are another question entirely.
Psionics (60) Perk: Innate Reader
You may passively read the surface thoughts of any being with a Psionics Skill level less than half your own. This can be used to anticipate actions or decisions before even an individual is aware they will make them and all the advantages that implies.
If you are four times an individual's Psionics level, you can perfectly spoof a fake mindstate to deceive or misdirection them. Otherwise you must engage in an opposed DC to determine if they see through the projected illusion.
Does this mean that actually projecting one's thoughts into another's mind is higher than 60? If so, then it's possible that 'Slippy' has catered their appearance based on Homun's psychology. Or is it the case where actively reading is more difficult than projecting thoughts? Which is a possibility, since Homun in this very chapter seemed to use a very crude version of projection.
I also had no idea if it would get less effective from repeated exposure, so in the very next moment I raced toward the blur screaming my gills out as loud as I could.
(I loved this image. It seems like it would be quite intimidating.)
What I'm trying to say with Slippy is that we're seemingly at her mercy. Maybe she's a horror with her Psionics, and it's almost guaranteed that she has a higher PHY stat than us. So while we might as well go along with her, I don't think we should even try to beat her at the Psionics game at this point. It's only at level 5 right now, so I don't see a pressing need to raise it's cap right now in comparison to PHY as a whole.
She's been alone for so long, and maybe even had to kill other dumb Homuns, that she's now obsessed with the first real form of companionship she's encountered for a long time.
[ ] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
I'm sure this won't end terribly. Besides, if she was so strong then why is she still hanging out so close to 'spawn'? Maybe a Bigger Fish?
[X] [AN] If she was 'Slippy', then I guess I was 'Splitter'.
Sounds good enough, and it even works with the later magic. The Anywhere Self, Divergence Magic, Effigy, and Memetics.
Snapping off a sharp thin piece of wood, I held my new implement in my hand testing how it felt as a possible weapon to extend my range without putting my own limbs at risk of being bitten again. I immediately dropped it though when I distinctly felt the confidence and grace {Unarmed Combat} 12 was starting to give me vanish. It returned as soon as I was no longer holding a weapon, thank goodness.
I would guess that this would've been an opportunity for Improvised Weapons. Maybe it'll be a waste of space due to Unarmed Combat, but it could also come in handy. We'll have to wait and see.
E: I figured that I would make my own write-in. If anyone sees any problems with it, let me know.
[X] [HVimE] Cautiously optimistic. She could represent danger, she could be a trap. But she represents potential information, food, shelter, and companionship. Maybe I can speak back with Psionics, like with the Red-Mutt, try to project these feelings.
[X] [AAP] +1 MEN, +1 Luck
[X] [AAP] +2 Luck
[X] [AAP] +2 MEN
[x] [HVimE] Where one falls, two might thrive. I took her word at face value. I suggested we go to the building I'd seen. As a telepath, she could tell me if anything was already inside before we sought shelter.
[x] [AN] I was just me, I didn't want a title.
Finally, a companion! A psychic, eldritch companion, and a cutie at that!
That's a good excuse to start investing in our other assets. Luck as a blind safety net (to make a sniper flinch, to so speak) and MEN for figuring stuff out alongside our companion. We are so young, after all. I know it's bad to ask lady her age, but... how old is she? Does she have System on her side too? Should we be worried about her SOC and psionic numbers, and intrusion on our free will?
No SOC yet because... it's just one person.
We have 4 points, this is like 12. (E: I'm dumb, approval voting threw me through a loop.)
I decided that it would be worth my time to really go over things with Slippy carefully, and just what we know in general.
First, a follow up on something I was wondering about last chapter. With the Mutts being driven away right after injuring Homun, and three of them being defeated without their direct involvement. I speculated if they were being hunted by things because they were 'wrong', and if those things might be invisible. In this chapter we have an invisible animal try to kill Homun, and I'm wondering if that's what was hounding the Mutts.
The nearly invisible creature lunged at me far faster than any Mutt could have managed. Detaching from the branches I was holding onto and twisting in the air, I narrowly avoided its transparent slash through where my head had just been.
A couple times it swiped at me with long scythe like claws, but those I didn't quite dodge seemed to slide across my skin leaving only shallow scratches, they mustn't have been that sharp.
The list of Skills we have is presumably all that's in the Nexus, so we can maybe guess what Skills this thing has. At the very least, it seems focused on Stealth and SPD. Also, the thing about it's claws and them not being sharp leads me to believe that this thing has access to Severance Magic. So maybe hitting it with a blast from Psionics overwhelmed it's ability to use that magic, so it lost it's camouflage and damage dealing ability. Maybe the camouflage was a Stealth perk? This doesn't explain why it attacked the Mutts when they injured Homun though. Maybe it was using them as fodder, to test and wound Homun? If so, why did it chase them for so long that it only came back after 30 minutes when the alarm went off? Would it have not caught the other two Mutts in that time?
Second, I want talk about Slippy. So, what are all the possibilities here? We take her at her word, and she becomes a great ally. She's some sort of liar, and somehow represents instant death. Or, she falls somewhere in between. In order to figure out where she lands, I want to look at just what we know about this situation.
Slippy has Psionics to the degree that
she can project full sentences into other minds. Illusion Magic can make sounds, but that's different than this:
Her voice was not loud, it didn't have a volume at all really. But I'd thought I was alone out here and finding out I wasn't via 'unannounced voice-in-mind exclamation' was not something I'd prepared for.
Homun only has level 5 Psionics, so we don't know for sure where this puts her. It could be level 20, or 40, or maybe even over 60. But if it's so high, and she's hostile, that's basically an auto-lose scenario and I don't think this is the case.
From here, I want to talk about the validity of her supposed identity. Her appearance, her skills and their levels, and he words, all indicate that our Homun isn't the first to be seen in this area. But at what frequency do they appear? The alarm has gone off twice so far, but is it on a timer or is Homun being observed and deliberately pressured? This is important, because Homun needs food and shelter. Which will be hard to get while constantly fighting or running. So the fact that Slippy has apparently survived so long makes me wonder just how exactly. So long that the Mutts instantly know that Slippy means danger. Are there breaks? Do the opponents become gradually more dangerous to match progression? Are there boundaries that make it so she can't leave? Or, is she a 'normal' animal like the Mutts.
This might make her something like a succubus, and it brings to mind an episode of Love, Death and Robots. Where this creature disguised itself as a person from the mc's past to give him a false sense of security and keep him in an illusory world. This is to say, what if 'Slippy' is just the cover for some other creature that just has high Psionics and hunts like an anglerfish or something? Of course, assuming that this is true this creature still would've had to have seen enough Homuns to know how to interact with them and craft something they would see as beautiful. Meaning there has to be a degree of frequency of Homuns being dropped here, which in turn means that it's possible that a few of them survive like Slippy apparently has.
This is to say, I think a write-in is in order. I think Trust but Verify is the smart option, but maybe we should try and ask her about some things. Food, shelter, and the alarm maybe. Then depending on how things go, Homun will be ready and have the PHY stats and Skills to either run or fight back.
Thoughts?
[ ] [HVimE] Cautiously optimistic. She could represent danger, she could be a trap. But she represents potential information, food, shelter, and companionship. Maybe I can speak back with Psionics, like with the Red-Mutt, try to project these feelings.
So here's how it looks. Is it valid? Any obvious problems?
