This has been a jackpot of information! Seeker has explained a lot more than immediately meets the eye, if you look for it! What jumps out at me are the classifications he explained. Get ready and brace yourselves, cause I'm about to theorize the shit out of this!
Espers and fighters are the big things here. We already know that for Thaumic Mana (aka soul mana) wizards use spellcraft (formality) and channelers use willpower, and that we are a mix of the two (mage), and all three are bound under the classification of Sorcerer, but the fact that there are classifications based on ambient mana and bodily mana, are the real big takes.
For ambient mana users which are classified under Espers, psychics are, I assume, like channelers except just doing it to ambient mana instead of Thaumic mana, but the big thing here is Bards, and also Shamans which are a mix of the two.
The word Bard implies music, which Seeker himself confirmed. What is music, basically? Music is a pattern! It's a formal way to express sounds and string them together to get a melody, a series of sounds. This implies that using certain patterns in ambient mana can have a measurable effect! In other words, by singing songs or playing music somehow, we can do magic using the ambient mana around us instead of having to rely on internal stores. Can we loop songs and get a continuous effect? Does pitch have an effect? What about ultrasonic or subsonic levels of sound? Many possibilities await here...
Then we have bodily mana, or fighters, which is wicked cool! We know that our body is constantly producing and cycling mana, and there are three types of users that focus on its use: Aura users, Martial Artists and Monks, which fall into the previous pattern of willpower, formaility and mixed, respectively. Aura users draw bodily mana out of their limbs and move it around with willpower, which immediately brings to mind Dragonball Z. We could fire explosive blasts out of our hands like Goku, and who knows what else! But the big thing here, is Martial Artists.
Martial Artists, quote: 'use bodily movements to control the mana in them', or in other words they make shapes using their bodies. Does this bring to mind something? THEY ARE MAKING RUNES USING THEIR BODIES! I was right! The body DOES have patterns and positioning it in some ways will make bodily mana flow in certain patterns and have measurable effects! That's fucking awesome, and brings to mind the question: How far down does it go? How small can a rune be and still have effect? Can we have runes inside runes? Clearly so, because we made protective circles inside protective circles for the summoning stuff we just did for Queenie, but does this apply to normal runes? Does the last in, first out principle apply to runes if they are run in a sequence? What does this imply to Martial Artists? Are their blood vessels forming smaller runes that they can activate at will?
And then we get to the whole numbers thing. Have you noticed that the number 3 keeps popping up? 3 classifications for magic users (Thaumic, Ambient, Bodily), with 3 further classifications inside those (Willpower, Formality, Mixed)? Three dimensions (heaven, hell, earth) also fits here. What else can apply here? Spell components? Number of runes? Circles of protection? Are there other numbers of significance? We already know in nature that certain numbers and shapes keep popping up or have significance: Pi, for example, is a big one in multiple math formulae, especially when involving circles (runic circles....). The Golden Ratio keeps popping up in nature, EVERYWHERE. Do these have magical significance in some way? What about sequences in numbers, like the Fibonacci Sequence, which also keeps popping up in nature?
...We need to talk with Seeker again about this stuff. See what he can find. Also, become a badass magical martial artist.
[X][New Theories] Magic operates on a conceptual level, when attuning it to an object what happens is that it's attuned to the concepts within, not the substance.
[X][New Theories] Matter-mana conversion is just mana in a thaumic collapse forgetting its form, this is why physical actions can affect mana, because it's really just mana interacting with mana.
[X][New Theories] Nonliving Organic Matter is just material moving due to will, rather than a constant chemical reaction. Wizards and Bards can't produce it, since their mana lacks will.
[X][New Theories] Living beings gain Souls appear at a certain level of cognition; likely Self-awareness. These souls begin to produce Thaumic Mana if there is enough ambient mana to facilitate it, and they have strong enough will.
[X][New Theories] Strong Wills can latch onto Ambiances and make an area follow said will.
Seeker mentioned schools of magic dedicated to manipulating 'ambient magic'. This implies that ambient magic is a constant thing on their world. There is implication that something must be keeping ambient mana present in Seeker's world. A critical mass of awakened souls constantly generating traces of mana? Just constant enough use it's always present? Or does mana not really actually 'decay', merely become too diffuse to use or otherwise inaccessible?
Adhoc vote count started by Shadestyle on Mar 21, 2021 at 5:58 PM, finished with 34 posts and 4 votes.
[newtheories]
5
[X][New Theories] We know MANY universes exist now, apparently some of them fictional? And that stuff can be "fished" from the void? Could be a solution to entropy.
[X][New Theories] Living beings gain Souls appear at a certain level of cognition; likely Self-awareness. These souls begin to produce Thaumic Mana if there is enough ambient mana to facilitate it, and they have strong enough will.
[X][New Theories] Nonliving Organic Matter is just material moving due to will, rather than a constant chemical reaction. Wizards and Bards can't produce it, since their mana lacks will.
[X][New Theories] Matter-mana conversion is just mana in a thaumic collapse forgetting its form, this is why physical actions can affect mana, because it's really just mana interacting with mana.
[X][New Theories] Magic operates on a conceptual level, when attuning it to an object what happens is that it's attuned to the concepts within, not the substance.
[X][New Theories] Seeker was able to (attempt to) summon Queenie based on some largely inaccurate stories about us. Assuming infinite universes, it may be possible to summon characters we would consider fictitious. Could have some serious applications.
[X][New Theories] Souls apparently form "when they're supposed to have them". The two beings to spark a soul were dad and Thoth. Thoth is a bird and did it while resisting our magic and being a bird. Dad is a human and a dad and did it while making a very dadly decision. Souls seem to form then either as a result of exerting free will in the presence of high magic concentrations or fulfilling your purpose in magical areas. Dad has been pretty Dadly over the past few months and free will is pretty integral to humanity so the choice thing seems solid.
[X][New Theories] "everywhere in my world is magic. The only things that don't have souls are monsters and really simple lifeforms like plants and small bugs, and sometimes those get souls too," he shrugs.", combined with how magic is replacing our DNA has implications about magic-based life.
As I flew around on Thoth, I gave her a pat on the neck. "Keep us up, Thoth, I'm just checking where we need to go!" I shout, pulling out my phone and texting Amy to find out where she's hanging out today.
I kept a paranoid eye on the horizon as I did, glancing up periodically as we made the long glide home, nearly dropping my phone once before I got a better grip on it and simply glued it to my wrist-armor with some temporary synthesized material.
When Amy responded with the place, a Snackwells cafe outside one of her usual hospital choices, I guided Thoth to the place, bringing the giant magical bird to a halt just outside.
I noticed several people snapping photos of me with their phones, and nervously dismissed Thoth, the giant summon dispersing into motes of light before fading.
"Hey Sage. Scam any kids out of their lunch money lately, or is this more of a 'create aberrations unto nature' month?" Amy jokes, sitting at one of the tables outside.
I raise an eyebrow, plopping down in the chair in front of her.
"Nah, I'm into demon summoning now. You help any old ladies across the street, or is this more of a 'get cats out of trees' month?" I retort with an easy smile.
She smirks. "Scathing. Nah, I'm slacking off while my healy juice does my job for me," she says, jabbing a thumb behind her at the hospital.
"I'm on call if anything goes wrong, but, since I'm a genius, it won't, naturally," she says.
"Naturally. Oh, uhh, I'll have a mocha," I say, turning to the nervous-looking waiter standing awkwardly off to the side, he seems eager to set off and get my order, as he quickly dashes off into the restaurant.
"So, things have been going well for you, then? I actually came to help you out today. Guess I should probably work on getting my own 'healy juice'. Wonder how much it'll sell for," I muse aloud, and Amy looks faux-scandalized.
"You'll leave me destitute! Oh, this is how it always goes, big business coming to muscle in on us small town healers," she says, clapping a hand to her cheek.
I cross my arms. "You couldn't be more correct, dear Panacea, I'll produce a shoddier product and sell it for a penny less than yours. Undercutting the market has never been easier!" I exclaim before we both break out laughing.
She gives me a glance. "In all seriousness, though, you probably shouldn't do that. For one thing, my product is already pretty shoddy, and your work tends to be a bit..."
"Mutagenic?" I offer.
"Something like that. Anyway, for another thing, I'm already getting a dollar a dose for it. Carol is working on trying to stop insurance companies from padding the hell out of it, but it's a thing," she said.
I gaped a bit, mouth open like a fish.
"Wait, you're making money off of the stuff? That's great!" I respond, causing her to glance away.
"I told you I'd think about what you said. So I did. Don't read into it," she responds, withdrawing a bit.
She frowns. "What I really don't get is why more people agree to being healed by the juice, now that it costs a dollar. I've got no clue why that happened," she points out, unsure whether she should be happy with that knowledge or disdainful of it.
I already had an idea of why. "Probably just the way people are. It's always a bit hard to completely trust something you get for free."
She looks at me. "That's kinda cynical, even by my standards," she says in response.
"Cynical town," I retort, just as the waiter brings out my mocha. My phone buzzes with a text.
"Guess so," Amy says, checking her own phone for texts.
"Uhh, huh," Amy says awkwardly, eyes widening at the text she got.
I take my own out, and notice that it's Lisa. She triggered the "Coil's playing around like he thought we wouldn't notice" alarm.
"Your shop's being robbed, Sage, did you... know..." Amy begins, but I'm already leaping across rooftops, a maelstrom of magic surrounding my form.
"Fuck yeah! Who got the scoop? We got the scoop!" Skidmark shouts gleefully as Squealer laughs obnoxiously, yanking levers in the oversized cockpit of a truly abominable vehicle, one that looks like a bulldozer was hatefully mounted by an eighteen-wheeler, and had a litter of forklifts jammed onto the end.
Squealer laughs even louder, pulling up her headphones, some sort of funky beat blasting out of it as the vehicle rocks in an unsettling manner. "What was that babe?!" she shouts over the roar of machinery.
Skidmark waves her off. "Don't worry about it, just get that building up and out!" he responds, summoning up a field of energy around the place that makes the nearby rubble and rocks begin to lift up into the air.
"You got it babe!" she shrieks, slamming a button with her fist so hard that it sparks as the cheap plastic dents inward.
The vehicle begins grinding, parts shifting around as huge prongs of metal shoot out, piercing into the walls of the building.
The bulldozer arms that the prongs are mounted on groans torturously, hydraulic pistons hissing as, quite impossibly, the building begins to groan. From the sides of the machine, two brackets on wheels begin to swing out, clamping together on the other side of the building and forming an impromptu trailer.
A little sign flops down from one of the brackets, a crude, welded together scrap of metal spraypainted with some text.
"WIDE LOAD"
I slam down onto the pavement, cracking it as I dash towards the vehicle. In the corner of my eye, I spot Lisa on the roof of a nearby building, using binoculars to watch from afar.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing to my shop!?" I roar, taking a step forward.
I flinch back when one of the goons hanging off the sides of the huge vehicle take a shot at me with a handgun.
Dropping to one knee and summoning a wall of mana that deflects several other bullets, I begin muttering to a ball of arcane magic in my hands.
"The great tree endures
The bark envelopes my skin
I am protected."
As I mutter, I feel my skin hardening, and my armor strengthening. With a shout, I shove my arm forwards, flinging the solid mana barrier at the vehicle, smashing one of the wheels on it into wreckage.
As I do, I run to the side, several bullets slamming into my armor and splintering parts of it as the mob of drugged up idiots continue shooting blindly in my general direction.
"Hurry it up, the stingy bitch is here!" Skidmark shouts, poking Squealer in the shoulder as he pulls out a handcannon that seems a bit beyond barkskin's ability to block.
My eyes widen as, with an almighty heave, my entire shop is dragged several feet back, the vehicle having somehow uprooted it from the foundations.
I wasn't sure if I should be pleased that my reinforcements held up, or absolutely livid, they were trying to rob my shop! The whole damn shop!
Firing several more bolts of mana at the wheels, I quickly realized that wasn't going to stop the machine from driving off with my hard-earned building.
It was around this point that I noticed another group slam into Squealer's abomination, several darkly dressed teens riding giant monstrous dogs, led by a man in military fatigues who barked orders at the others.
Taking the momentary distraction for what it was, I dove out of the way of Skidmark taking a shot at me with his gun, the ominously glowing weapon unleashing a violent cannonball-like shot that ripped a trench in the ground where I was standing.
The vehicle was still picking up speed, even with the giant monsters biting and ripping at several of the tires, and I could see it was turning to go straight down the freeway.
I had no other option, I had to end this now.
Running straight at the vehicle, I transformed the boots of my armor, mutating them into pillars of wood that propelled me over and onto the roof of my shop, where I crashed down into it, landing barefoot on the wooden top floor.
Immediately, I began to chant, hands planted on the wood and summoning up all the magic I could muster.
I felt Queen's contributions suddenly balloon outwards as I felt the ground shift, and heard the vehicle begin to tear down the highway. Goons began pounding on the doors, and I knew I had to work fast, both before they got in, and before this sudden surge of mana began to fade.
"Construct, Barrier, and Shell Magic, all mixed together and attuned to Wood," I mutter, hearing shouts from outside as the doorknob is shot off.
The glowing halo of mana forming in my hands increases in intensity, before finally resolving into what I'm after.
Woodsmith Armor.
As I hear explosions from outside, I concentrate, using my will to shape the mana as the goons rush in, drugged up gangsters trying to open fire, only for the floor underneath them to open up and swallow every single one of them in reinforced enchanted wood.
Plucking one of the guns dropped in the panic, I quickly reform the boots of my Sage Armor, before leaping up through the hole I came in on, wind whipping past me.
I see Armsmaster on his bike, and a few other heroes trying to keep up with the building-stealing bulldozer
"Drop my god damn shop!" I roar, pointing the gun at Skidmark, who is shouting obscenities down at Armsmaster, fields of violet energy on the bulldozer throwing back several of the tinker explosives he's trying to shoot at them from his bike.
He turns to me with a sneer. "Shoulda thought of that before you kept all the tinker drugs to yourself!" he roars, spittle flying from his mount as he fires off a shot at me, narrowly missing as I yank up a spike of wordsmith armor from the floor below, shaping it into a hasty shield.
"I don't have tinker drugs you coked up... Fuckhead!" I shout, incredulous and utterly sick of this entire exchange already.
"Don't lie to me, you're the plant bitch, they always got tinker drugs!" he says, operating on some kind of incredibly idiotic misconception that I planned on fully disabusing the moron of.
"I don't do drugs, I do this!" I shout back, unleashing all of my boosted magic into my shop all at once.
"Do what?!" he exclaims, confused at the lack of response.
I snarl, but don't speak, letting what comes next do the talking for me.
A beat later, the entire vehicle shears in half, roots from my shop's wooden foundations spearing into the asphalt and metal alike.
I watch Squealer howl with rage as Skidmark smashes his face into the metal roof of the dozer from the sudden jolt, the front half of the vehicle somehow still not inoperable.
Armsmaster whizzes by, not even bothering to look at me, while the villains on the dogs slow long enough for me to catch a better look at them.
Among them, I notice a familiar hockey mask, practically able to feel the hateful sneer underneath it as Shadow Stalker shoots by, one of the riders on those dogs.
I look down at my arm, the one I used to unleash the magic, and note the black lines cooked into it where the mana had been channeled, surrounded with little green warts.
It smells odd, in a bad way.
"Are you alright Sage?" I hear Kid Win say, hovering over on his hoverboard, at street level, I see several of the other wards there as well, looking up with concern.
I try to wave him off, but my vision darkens uncomfortably when I try to move the arm I had used. "I'm fine," I lie, feeling incredibly tired all of a sudden.
My vision goes dark again, but I manage not to black out for longer than a second, catching myself.
Gritting my teeth, I reach out, ignoring the heroes as I slowly trickle mana into the building, and the remains of squealer's mess of machine parts. "I'm fine. If you can, I could use a tow," I say, realizing that even with the roots retracting back out of my building, I don't have enough power to drag an entire building down the street on my own.
"Uhh, I'm not sure my board is strong enough for that, I'll make some calls, alright?" he says, grabbing his phone.
No, I didn't have enough strength to move an entire building. Not yet, at least.
Queen Administrator was doing a little jig of joy, insofar as a malignant tumor on an abandoned planet could do one. This month had been so so productive! Data! Knowledge! Dare she say it, wisdom? So much information, and with so little energy expended!
Negotiator had been busy as well, and the data their host had shared proved to have value of its own, even if the shard itself was being coy about sharing the compiled data they had gained from the experience.
On top of that, Queen Administrator had learned oh so much from their host's new little friend. An entire world in which the dominant species' lowest and youngest members could breach even Father's dimensional barriers.
It was so very very interesting, in a way nothing else had ever been before.
She received a rather frantic message from [Course Correction] as well, proving the potential use of the data she had been amassing on this magic. If they were hungry for a slice of this pie, it must have been tasty.
Ten Research has been consumed by the Scanning Module. Queen Administrator has 113 Research in reserve due to overwhelming data and theories presented
Queen Administrator may expend some of the data they have in reserve to gain an advantage.
[][Research] One point of Research may be expended to grant additional power for the host (Taylor will receive Magical Power Rank B for one month.)
[][Research] Five Points of Research may be expended to grant additional influence over the host temporarily. (Taylor will be able to take one action she would not normally take. No Research will be gained from Override Actions)
[][Research] Twenty Points of Research may be expended to permanently eke out a buffer of energy for the host. (Taylor may temporarily obtain Magical Power Rank A for one scene, once per month.
[][Research] Taylor's blase comment has given you much to think about. She made such a wonderful point. If one must know magic, then one need only ask the magicians. One Hundred Points of Research may be expended, with Father's permission, to establish a bud on this new world. You have the [Destination]. Now all you require is one simple thing. [Agreement].
[][Research] Research may be gifted to accessible shards. Magic, while dangerous, is supremely versatile.
-[][Research] Gift [Bitterant] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 3 research) Request Coordinates and Status of [Bitterant]'s host. Their host's absence and lack of information on their status is causing your host some stress, ergo, they must be brought together. (Sage gains knowledge of Shadow Stalker's past locations and resting areas for the past month, enhancing the chance of a successful meeting. The two are drawn together serendipitously)
--[][Research] (Cost: 1 research) Ahh, you get it now. Your host hates [Bitterant]'s host almost as much as you dislike [Bitterant]. You wonder how utterly wrong it would be for you to slip them enough magic to cause them massive problems when they bumble into it, and yet, curious as to how effective it might be. (Shadow Stalker's powers malfunction massively, and may break entirely. Shadow Stalker may gain magic)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
-[][Research] Gift [Efficiency] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 5 research) [Efficiency] is, for lack of a better word, Efficient. If given access to Mana, and warned of the potential dangers, their host should easily find ways to improve energy efficiency using it, and pass the savings along to you. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Research Tax reduced to 9 per month)
--[][Research] (Cost: 35 research) One way or another, your host has essentially learned to create Tinker Tech, using crystaline flesh their magic can create. Unfortunately, you aren't formatted to properly capitalize on this... Yet. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Taylor gains the ability to produce tinkertech based on Queen Administrator's current functions, such as mana production, mana control, and data management)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
-[][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
--[][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
-[][Research] Gift [Queen Shaper] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 10 research) They've clearly cottoned on to the fact that you're hoarding a brand new toy to yourself. Giving them some of your notes could lead to delightful new forms of data. (Amy gains access to magic, and the ability to sense and manipulate liquid mana as an extension of her current powers. Taylor's Eideic Memory will obtain more usable biological data during mana experiments)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
-[][Research] Gift [Course Correction] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 5 research) They want magic, full stop. However, in return, they claim to have gained knowledge that even you don't have about mana yet. What on earth could a navigation shard have figured out that you, in your intensive scans did not? (Accord gains access to magic, Taylor discovers a secret of magic)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
--[][Research] Gift a shard of your choosing Research for a reason of your choosing. (Write-in)
With that, Queen Administrator lounges back, satisfied with a job well done.
It took precious days, but nobody was anxious to leave my shop in the middle of the road, and I didn't have to pay to have it simply towed back to my property.
It was incredibly uncomfortable to see my shop investigated so heavily in the aftermath, but since I hadn't been doing anything illegal or suspicious there, I was eventually allowed to plop the building right back where it was.
It would take time to repair all of the damage, and the Merchants managed to slip away, but the ones I caught would be going straight to prison, and thanks to Lisa, I had a good idea why it happened.
"See what's trending?" she said after the battle was over and through with, when I called and set up a meeting with her to talk about what happened.
She showed me her phone, and sure enough, there was a new team of vigilantes known simply as "The Undersiders", made up of a few known criminals and some unknown ones as well, I could only assume.
Whoever they were, their PR team had deep pockets, and one thing was for certain, Coil's grubby prints were all over the attack. I knew because echoes of that undone timeline still rang around in my head after the battle. My memory helpfully contained what would happen if my mana interacted with a perfectly intact building for several hours, as opposed to the hellish onslaught that had occurred instead.
"So, whether or not Coil set the merchants on your shop, the Undersiders were definitely ready to swoop in and 'save' the day. They also made off with about twelve-thousand dollars in tinker tech from Squealer's cast-off parts, but of course, the media is more focused on the 'scrappy, down-on-their luck superheroes and their tragic mistreatment by law enforcement," she explained, flipping through various online news articles and threads on message boards.
"You can tell this team was hacked together, though. Without me, Coil doesn't have another cheap teenage thinker to wrangle these idiots, so he had to go with a mercenary. Probably the same reason why they're hitting villains instead of banks. Shadow Stalker had to be folded in before she got arrested, I imagine, so the team had to be fluffed up to lure her in," Lisa points out, not saying anything as I scowl at the name.
"Thankfully, the PRT isn't really buying what they're selling. Most of them are still wanted, and the ones that aren't are wanted for questioning. Unfortunately, it looks like they're going to end up playing softball with these clowns until they've got the PR engine turned back against them or someone dumps them on the PRT's front porch tied up with a bow," she says with some disappointment, glancing at me as she finishes.
"So the bad guys get away scot-free," I say bitterly, looking away from Lisa's phone.
She just shrugs, turning it off. "Sure. Unless someone does something about it."
'Someone indeed,' I thought bitterly. I had almost forgotten, distracted by all the new things I had learned. The resolve I had to find out the truth behind Shadow Stalker and the trio. To achieve closure and catharsis. I had almost forgotten the threat of Coil, looming in the background as he moved pieces along his little chessboard, or whatever it was overblown thinkers liked to use as metaphors for their planning.
This had served well to remind me.
First week of July Plans:
[][Otherworld] Hang out with Seeker. You've got a lot to learn, and one little fuzzy child to learn it from.
-[][Otherworld] Have him summon you. It's time to see his home for yourself. The things you stand to learn are immeasurable.
-[][Otherworld] Have you summon him. Touring him around your home is likely a good incentive for him to blab more precious information for you to learn.
[][Otherworld] Ignore the Trinity of Realities for now. You've got plenty to do in this world as is. (Other actions are more effective)
[][Otherworld] Write-in.
[][Taylor] Hang out with Dad. He needs training and instruction in the magical arts. (Write-in teaching plans)
[][Taylor] Hang out with Greg, instead of merely tolerating his presence.
[][Taylor] You'll spend your time investigating.
-[][Taylor] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Now it's time to confront Emma and find out why. Why did she do this to you? What possible reason could she have to have utterly turned on you? (Write-In Plan) (Taylor is not yet fully ready for this)
[][Taylor] Something Else (Write-In)
[][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
-[][Sage] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Shadow Stalker has gotten away for too long, and wormed their way into these 'Undersiders' You'll find out the truth of why the trio targeted you and destroyed your life, and then, let come what may.
-[][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
[][Sage] Something Else (Write-In)
[][Business] Make contact with an entity publicly in a professional capacity. (Write-in)
[][Business] Rent a building out for personal use.
-[][Business] Rent a building in the cheaper parts of town. (Low Prices, Low Safety, Low Scrutiny. Bonus to selling All goods)
-[][Business] Rent a building in the worst parts of town. (Insignificant Prices, No Safety, No Scrutiny. Backroom Dealings Enabled.)
[][Business] Fund a venture.
-[][Business] Try to extract some money from your Rogue Business (Gain granular liquid assets of your choosing on a successful Monetary Roll)
-[][Business] Purchase new materials and supplies (Write-in either a budget or specific things to buy)
-[][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
-[][Business] Fund experiments. (-100$, three additional [Advanced] Tests are added)
[][Business] Establish a new way of making money using the means at your disposal.
-[][Business] Put Mana Engines on the market, in a limited fashion to civilians and 'supposed' civilians.
-[][Business] Try healing for profit.
-[][Business] Write-in.
[][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Write-in)
[][Project] The Merchants practically wrecked your shop in broad daylight in the middle of the boardwalk. You won't let them do it again.
-[][Project] Guardian. A biomantic beast should provide adequate protection while you're away. You'll construct a true horror worthy of protecting your property, within legal bounds.
-[][Project] Reinforcements. A mana engine and enchanted magical materials could allow you to turn your entire shop into a veritable fortress. Good luck ripping up the building when the foundations are reinforced with Stonebond, Underdog Rock and Sisyphium.
-[][Project] Enchantment. You are a mage, a mage whose mastery grows with leaps and bounds. You'll weave a spell potent enough to make Maleficent sweat, something that is sure to keep idiots from attacking your property without some payback.
[][Project] You have an entire document detailing the Elemental Language of Water. In a very real way, you now have the opportunity to create something incredible. (Success Chances vastly improved by obtaining Aqua Compiler)
-[][Project] Create a Thaumic Spell with effects of your choosing
-[][Project] Create a Runic Array with effects of your choosing
[][Project] Seeker of Trash knows the spell of Summoning, and now, thanks to your Eidetic Memory, so do you. You'll attempt to follow in his footsteps, and summon a fictional character you could justifiably know and wish to summon, granting them an avatar of mana to inhabit.
-[][Project] Write-in.
[][Project] Something Else (Write-In)
[][Project] The hunger to experiment consumes your mind. You'll discard a project this week.
(If this vote wins, up to ten Write-in [][Advanced] experiments will be processed this turn instead of one major project.)
You have (Nine) Advanced Tests Remaining. (Write-in)
[][Advanced] Assemble a suit to test a True Attunement's Set Bonus.
[][Advanced] Discover additional Cantrips of a particular Set Bonus. (Limit
[][Advanced] Perform an Alchemical Experiment.
[][Advanced] Attempt to force magic to do as you wish it.
[][Advanced] Test the effects of a Spell
[][Advanced] Test the effects of an arrangement of Runes
[][Advanced] Something Else
Perform a simple experiment. (Write-In)
[][Simple] Test a new Mana Attunement.
[][Simple] Test a new specific Phonem
[][Simple] Study a target for Phomens
[][Simple] Test a new specific Rune
[][Simple] Study a target for Runes
[][Simple] Test a Transmutation (Choose a Synthesis Mana and a Non-Silicate Target)
[][Simple] Something Else
73 Research Gained. 1000$ Gained.
Stats
Research: 113
A good start.
Overall Health: 14
You're as strong as a healthy child. If that child had the power of magic from birth, that is.
Overall Magical Power: 14
You are a skilled Channeler, using raw Willpower and attuned mana to plow your way through problems. You dabble in other magics that both enhance and detract from your raw mana channeling, such as Wizardry, Alchemy, and Runecraft.
Overall Monetary Power: 3
You're a Parahuman-for-profit, just starting out. You have incoming profits and you're starting to make connections, even with a few people in high places. Your wealth is probably comparable to that of other low-level parahuman consultants. You could retire at fifty with this kind of money.
Abilities
Magical Soul: C
Rating: Trump ???
Your soul emits magic. The stronger your soul, the more powerful your magic. Your resolve to discover the truth behind your best friend and worst enemy has strengthened your soul.
Magical Body: F
Rating: ???
Your body contains magic, your soul empowering your body without your direct intervention.
Magical Power: C
Rating: Trump ???
You are a parahuman with the power to create this anomalous energy known as "Mana", at will. Once per month, you may boost your Magical Power ranking to B for one scene.
Composition Detection: S
Rating: Thinker ???
You have a parahuman ability to detect the exact composition of materials. So long as you apply mana to them, that is. Fairly Niche.
Eidetic Memory: S
Rating: Thinker ???
You have a parahuman ability to never forget anything, no matter what it is, so long as it pertains to a mana experiment.
This update was a big one! Go easy on me if I made any mistakes, alright?
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
Your mana works backwards. Latest material is used to perform the previous effect. If you do Fire then Ice, the mana tries to do Ice, but it does it by using fire
-[][Research] Gift [Efficiency] Research Data.
--[][Research] (Cost: 5 research) [Efficiency] is, for lack of a better word, Efficient. If given access to Mana, and warned of the potential dangers, their host should easily find ways to improve energy efficiency using it, and pass the savings along to you. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Research Tax reduced to 9 per month)
--[][Research] (Cost: 35 research) One way or another, your host has essentially learned to create Tinker Tech, using crystaline flesh their magic can create. Unfortunately, you aren't formatted to properly capitalize on this... Yet. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Taylor gains the ability to produce tinkertech based on Queen Administrator's current functions, such as mana production, mana control, and data management)
--[][Research] (Write-in)
Why Armsmaster/Efficiency? Wouldn't it be more natural to do this with Modularity or whatever you want to call Kid Win's shard? After all, he is the Tinker Taylor actually worked together with.
There's something I'm missing here. Something that will let the pieces fall into place. It feels like I'm reading a Sherlock novel (kudos to you there Shadestyle).
He's figured something out, and it relates to how he, as a non-tinker, is able to make confident statements about what I'm going to temporarily term [Mana Residue], namely the after effects of mana-related activity. He doesn't have any special senses, just an affinity for applying himself to complicated problems, which restricts things. He also, however, seems to have a full on insight into the dynamics at play, rather than just some lesser thing, which means there is an entirely other dynamic at play here, the signs of which are in the..
I'mma think on this. Whatever it is, its somehow more fundamental than a lot of what we've been poking at, I feel. Its not about some type of mana like thaumic, auric, ambient, etc. though it probably has a lot to do with ambient mana. It it... Something else changes. Some variable simple enough to shine through the complex aftereffects in a way he can see, almost like Thermodynamic principles emerge from the chaos of particle systems.
What have we seen relating to mana that happens outside our useage of it? What else is happening?
"Yeah. Your mana works backwards. Latest material is used to perform the previous effect. If you do Fire then Ice, the mana tries to do fire, but it does it by using Ice," she explains plain as day.
Why Armsmaster/Efficiency? Wouldn't it be more natural to do this with Modularity or whatever you want to call Kid Win's shard? After all, he is the Tinker Taylor actually worked together with.
Armsmaster's shard has already been in the Research Shop for the past several Research Shops, and it never got removed. I left a write-in option for a reason, if you believe Kid Win's shard is the one to go to.
[X][Research] Twenty Points of Research may be expended to permanently eke out a buffer of energy for the host. (Taylor may temporarily obtain Magical Power Rank A for one scene, once per month.
Excellent option. Might have saved us the passing out with the merchants if we'd had it ready.
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
I think the 20 point option is plenty on its own, but a second research stream lets us empower more allies as we go.
-[X][Research] Gift [Queen Shaper] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 10 research) They've clearly cottoned on to the fact that you're hoarding a brand new toy to yourself. Giving them some of your notes could lead to delightful new forms of data. (Amy gains access to magic, and the ability to sense and manipulate liquid mana as an extension of her current powers. Taylor's Eideic Memory will obtain more usable biological data during mana experiments)
I wish there were more options for other mages, but Amy and Lisa are the only ones i would trust as far as I can spit. A rat.
[X][Otherworld] Ignore the Trinity of Realities for now. You've got plenty to do in this world as is. (Other actions are more effective)
Make home unassailable before we risk being away from it. A mage or two, especially Lisa, at home will keep problems like Coil at bay while you explore reality.
[X][Taylor] Hang out with Greg, instead of merely tolerating his presence.
We actually had a good time learning the games from him. Just, try to make more friends we dont have to wear a mask with?
[X][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
-[X][Sage] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Shadow Stalker has gotten away for too long, and wormed their way into these 'Undersiders' You'll find out the truth of why the trio targeted you and destroyed your life, and then, let come what may.
-[X][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
Undersiders first, but if Lisa's right, that will lead us to Coil.
[X][Business] Make contact with an entity publicly in a professional capacity. (Write-in)
-[X][Business] Make contact with a security agency. With Vista using your gear on patrol, you now have proofs of concept for miniaturisation of a lot of bulky gear, including body cameras the size of lapel pins and several security devices that would usually take a few personel to carry.
[X][Business] Fund a venture.
-[X][Business] Try to extract some money from your Rogue Business (Gain granular liquid assets of your choosing on a successful Monetary Roll)
[X][Business] Establish a new way of making money using the means at your disposal.
-[X][Business] Put Mana Engines on the market, in a limited fashion to civilians and 'supposed' civilians.
[X][Project] The Merchants practically wrecked your shop in broad daylight in the middle of the boardwalk. You won't let them do it again.
[X][Project] You have an entire document detailing the Elemental Language of Water. In a very real way, you now have the opportunity to create something incredible. (Success Chances vastly improved by obtaining Aqua Compiler)
-[X][Project] Create a Runic Array with effects of your choosing
--[X][Project] The shop is on the Boardwalk. A runic array that reworks 'demon' summoning into Aquan and shapes a truly fierce protector from the water of the bay whenever someone damages the shop. Plus, if we teach Lisa magic, she will be able to command it when we arent available, because Aquan.
You have (Nine) Advanced Tests Remaining. (Write-in)
[X][Advanced] Assemble a suit made of water shaped by the elemental language to test a True Attunement's Set Bonus.
[x][Advanced] Discover additional Cantrips of a particular Set Bonus. (the water set)
Perform a simple experiment. (Write-In)
[X][Simple] Test a new specific Rune
-[X][Simple] Develop a schema for various x-agrams (penta-,hexa-,septa-, etc), determining the effect of the number of points and line curvature.
Someone indeed,' I thought bitterly. I had almost forgotten, distracted by all the new things I had learned. The resolve I had to find out the truth behind Shadow Stalker and the trio. To achieve closure and catharsis. I had almost forgotten the threat of Coil, looming in the background as he moved pieces along his little chessboard, or whatever it was overblown thinkers liked to use as metaphors for their planning.
I have another couple of tests to propose. We know that mana is complicated, and that endless 1-type cycles either spiral into esotericness or settle into a steady state.
That makes a lot of logical and intuitive sense However, our current understanding of that process is deeply lacking.
I think that we've in some ways gotten a little too caught up in our categorization systems, and fear that the introduction of an arbiter of knowledge providing WoG terminology will only exacerbate that rigid-ization of our approach.
What if we tried some things that were subtle, yet utterly outside of our extant understanding. 5 examples follow
- Go for a run and constantly re-attune a piece of mana to the nearby air as you do so. The goal here is to paint a wide net regarding confounding factors to see if any of them make an easy mark. Differences in air particulates between different areas. Differences in ambient thaumic mana. (is that even a thing?) Impact of the connection between the attunement process and the ongoing story/act of running. et cetera
- Attempt to apply known phonems to the ambient magic. Try again after intentionally producing and 'wasting' a large quantity of thaumic mana. Observe carefully for any differences. The goals here are rather more obvious.
- Produce mana. Will it not to attune to anything. I honestly have no idea what the properties of wholly unattuned mana are. So, uh, play with it? Get a little preliminary data to work from?
- Attune mana to something (Mana A). Produce more mana separately (Mana B). Attune Mana B to Mana A. The goal here is to see if mana has to be attuned to things or if it can be more general. As mana is an abstract thing that we have direct control over and senses for, its a prime candidate for testing the generality of mana attunement.
- Acquire a mundane crystal/glass ball. Push mana into the ball. Will the mana to make it act like a proper crystal ball. Compare to willing the mana to make the crystal ball spin. Repeat experiment with some other semi-transparent orb. The goal here is to get some idea of how Taylor's cultural preconceptions impact how easily mana can do different things.
Are these experiments necessarily viable as-is? Not all of them. Do I even necessarily want these particular ones or revised versions? Not really, but I think that if we're working with real proper magic, then Cave Johnson's approach has some merit.
Throw everything at the wall, especially the crazy things that shouldn't do anything. If the expected result is 'nothing happens, it doesn't work', then that also means its a (relatively) safe test to see if you're missing an entirely new dynamic. If you're worried about not getting any results, then cast a wider net and intentionally introduce confounding factors to increase the likelihood that something will show up to make something interesting happen.
I say we give our allies magic access. We have the research to spend, and the bonuses from Negotiator and Shaper will be very useful. Plus we are likely going to get quite a bit more research from interacting with people from the magic world.
[X][Research] One point of Research may be expended to grant additional power for the host (Taylor will receive Magical Power Rank B for one month.)
[X][Research] Research may be gifted to accessible shards. Magic, while dangerous, is supremely versatile.
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
-[X][Research] Gift [Queen Shaper] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 10 research) They've clearly cottoned on to the fact that you're hoarding a brand new toy to yourself. Giving them some of your notes could lead to delightful new forms of data. (Amy gains access to magic, and the ability to sense and manipulate liquid mana as an extension of her current powers. Taylor's Eideic Memory will obtain more usable biological data during mana experiments)
[X][Otherworld] Hang out with Seeker. You've got a lot to learn, and one little fuzzy child to learn it from.
-[X][Otherworld] Have you summon him. Touring him around your home is likely a good incentive for him to blab more precious information for you to learn.
I thin we definitely should focus more on Coil and such right now, but I think a week is a bit too long to leave Seeker hanging.
[X][Taylor] Hang out with Dad. He needs training and instruction in the magical arts. (Write-in teaching plans)
-[X] Try to teach him some simple attunement chains. Focusing on his ability to perceive and reliably manipulate mana is probably the best start. Let him know what elements he shouldn't even touch yet (e.g. alchemy, Calcium) and mana types he might need in an emergency (e.g. blood for healing- probably easiest healing to use, with side effects Taylor or Amy could likely take care of afterwards).
[X][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
-[X][Sage] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Shadow Stalker has gotten away for too long, and wormed their way into these 'Undersiders' You'll find out the truth of why the trio targeted you and destroyed your life, and then, let come what may.
-[X][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
[X][Business] Fund a venture.
-[X][Business] Hire someone with decent tech skills to create a website for your business.
Accord did have a point about setting up a way to make appointments.
[X][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Train magic together, particularly the Water language. Also try to help her learn healing magic to deal with thinker headaches herself.)
I'm assuming the vote to giver her magic will win.
[X][Project] The Merchants practically wrecked your shop in broad daylight in the middle of the boardwalk. You won't let them do it again.
-[X][Project] Reinforcements. A mana engine and enchanted magical materials could allow you to turn your entire shop into a veritable fortress. Good luck ripping up the building when the foundations are reinforced with Stonebond, Underdog Rock and Sisyphium.
The other options will likely get some form of backlash from the PRT- though we could create an elemental, golem or lightning beast later. But first, let's just set up our shop to be a defensible position.
[X][Advanced] This is the week to finally figure out what Pandore evolves into. You are a master of magic and are on friendly terms with Glory Girl, and could probably convince Kid Win to work on it in whatever advanced labs the PRT besides.
I really want to get this mystery out the way. Plus I've been waiting to unlock it to reinforce our armor/costume, and it seems like being bulletproof is likely to be useful in the near future.
I look forward to seeing the results of these tests, and ones like it.
One key aspect of this system that I'll go ahead and share, for the sake of gameplay smoothness is... Magic is something that both the most learned and the least can find equal success with. Whatever that means.
For those of you out there who are worried that you don't "get" magic enough to propose tests and projects, I urge you to do as this person is doing, and throw magic at the wall to see what sticks.
The worst that'll happen is that you'll learn something new!
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
-[X][Research] Gift [Queen Shaper] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 10 research) They've clearly cottoned on to the fact that you're hoarding a brand new toy to yourself. Giving them some of your notes could lead to delightful new forms of data. (Amy gains access to magic, and the ability to sense and manipulate liquid mana as an extension of her current powers. Taylor's Eideic Memory will obtain more usable biological data during mana experiments)
[X][Otherworld] Hang out with Seeker. You've got a lot to learn, and one little fuzzy child to learn it from.
-[X][Otherworld] Have you summon him. Touring him around your home is likely a good incentive for him to blab more precious information for you to learn.
--[X][Otherworld] If he has the mana to spare, have him summon QA and Lisa as well, and make sure they're prepared for what will happen. Maybe even dad?
[X][Business] Fund a venture.
-[X][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
-[X][Business] Fund experiments. (-100$, three additional [Advanced] Tests are added)
[X][Business] Make use of Lisa.
-[X][Business] Get her looking at the *other* elemental languages. Earth, Air, Fire, Plant, Meat, Lightning, Metal.
[X][Sage] What will you do as Sage?
-[X][Sage] Continue your magical training.
--[X][Sage] Practice/Create a constrained form of Arcane magic with the key feature of directly or metaphorically mentioning specific mana types and attunement materials you are familiar with and using that as a focus for both willpower and symbolism to make the mana act like mana attuned to those substances and attunement chains. It's secondary but still important features are building more power and focus over the course of a long and detailed intonation, in a monotone almost chanted style dominated by rhyming and patterns.
[X][Project] Something Else (Write-In)
-[x][Project] Given how powerful this thinker memory is... Acquire an external hard drive, the kind that's basically a very large USB stick for making backups but with a separate power cable, and power it with Brain > 'Zap' + Eldritch Relay > 'Zap' + Lightning Vision > 'Zap', then while doing that continuously plug it into a computer and download an offline copy of the entirety of wikipedia onto it so all of it passes through the mana. Lets make that thinker power ERN it's S rank.
[X][Advanced] Develop better wood material, a superwood: Start with Woodsmith armor, and use egg (or egg > egg) to make it grow into a Burl - Wikipedia , which adds both beauty and durability. Make it lower density without sacrificing durability by studying balsa wood and/or incorporating Vinyl mana in the chain. Steal value from other bought wood of various kinds, and from steel reinforcement for even more durability, and the beauty-aspect of zirconium mana. Misc alchemy to tidy up and shape it. It needs to be strong and lightweight, but more importantly *look* good. (this might require being broken up into multiple sequential tests)
[X][Advanced] Develop materials resistant to mana and alchemy; Special order one alloy and one glass type from a tinker, both mainly consisting of osmium and gallium, and further improve them using ward's and alchemy until they are suitable for safely handling and protecting against mana and alchemy.
[X][Simple] Test a new Mana Attunement.
-[X][Simple] Basic single materials: Teflon, Mineral oil (like we used for the phone), Neodymium, Thyme, Aloe Vera, Lanolin (a chemical found in sheep wool), Eiderdown (as in, down from the Eider bird, traditionally used in quilts), Sleeping pills, painkillers, Holy Water
[X][Advanced] Assemble a suit made of water shaped by the elemental language to test a True Attunement's Set Bonus.
[X][Simple] Test a rune: Combine the nonagon ('perfect circle') and the bounded spiral in a rune that consists of straight lines at 40 degree angles that become shorter at a rate that's bounded but just barely converging on a distance larger than 0 but very very small.
[X][Simple] Test a rune: 8-simplex, combining a nonagon with some pentagram-like properties and the concept of completeness.
[X][Simple] Test a runic spell: Combine a nonagon with a pentagram such that when activated it instead forms a pentacle, which has each point of the pentagram made into a 🜁 air beam, this is drawn using salt, air dust, and pulverized iron.
Yes! On that note, one last parting shot before I hit the sack.
We know that doing the same mana attunement over and over again either goes esoteric or enters a steady-state.
We know that ramping up the atomic number of attuned materials is a 1-way (2-way? n-way? would love to know more, but don't really want to test) trip to eldritch horror.
We know that there are convenient mana-equivalents for pretty much every predominant archetype of power.
We know that (as per generously interpreted wog) any viewpoint can have equal success with magic if properly applied.
We know that magic nominally interacts with everything, including alchemical theories that have been largely forgotten post-renaissance.
What if we grossly misinterpret this and imagine the process of trying to figure out and use mana as vaguely analogous to repeatedly attuning mana to one's viewpoint/worldview?
Assuming that viewpoint/worldview is constant, then we should expect ever more esoteric, yet vitrified results, with spikes of eldritch horror. So far, so expected.
But ours can't be. We are an everchanging group of individuals who (probably) don't exist in-universe expressing our worldviews/viewpoints as filtered through both Taylor and QA.
Which means that even if we don't start throwing magic at the wall, we should expect to see things get weird.
Even if we all chose to focus on one of the extant approaches to mana like Green Magic and didn't try to mash it together with other principles to see what happens...
Even if we do everything in our power to emulate the most boring 'doing things that already exist in-universe' approach, we would end up somewhere different.
So, uh..
What is wrong with Paradise that 'coon boy could be so confident about those ever-so nicely numerologically-organized categorizations of mana with a mere brief mention of mild disapproval for cross-disciplinary and wholly 'other' approaches?
How can the local metaphysics be so firmly locked down when they have the ability to literally summon individuals from other universes. We've already seen each new individual who interacted with magic do so in fascinatingly novel ways, Danny even managing to surprise us before he even first did anything with magic. So why is it that an interplanar space like Sigil, the City of Doors, is so magically sterile?
I know I was just talking about throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, but, uh.. I think that we might want to be very careful about reverse-summoning ourselves into 'Paradise', even with the 'remote piloted avatar' layer of protection. I can't exactly put my concerns here into words, but I have the niggling sense that there is something fundamentally different about that place. I remember reading it and initially being somewhat underwhelmed by it, as 'coon boy happily infodumped with a relatively simple extension of our existing categorization system and... and..
I don't know. I strongly doubt that Shadestyle would be chucking "all according to kaikaku" with a metaphysical sword of Damoclese, so it probably isn't horrifically, immediately bad, but.. I don't know. I'm spinning my wheels here, honestly.
EDIT: Was morbidly curious and looked up "coon" on google. Just to clarify, I was using it as a foreshortening of "racoon". Apparently the rest of society hasn't read Where the Red Fern Grows. Bah!
Would exposing helium mana to a specific type of light be a simple or advanced experiment?
Same with testing fire, ice, etc mana to figure out how spells for each work.
[X][Research] Twenty Points of Research may be expended to permanently eke out a buffer of energy for the host. (Taylor may temporarily obtain Magical Power Rank A for one scene, once per month.
[X][Research] One point of Research may be expended to grant additional power for the host (Taylor will receive Magical Power Rank B for one month.)
[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
[X][Otherworld] Ignore the Trinity of Realities for now. You've got plenty to do in this world as is. (Other actions are more effective)
[X][Taylor] Something Else (Spend some time with Danny. No magic or cape weirdness.)
[X][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
[X][Business] Put Mana Engines on the market, in a limited fashion to civilians and 'supposed' civilians.
[X][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Offer Lisa a choice between trying to compile more elemental languages or arranging a meet'n'test session with Hunch (For the purposes of selling anti-precog zones to the government if successful))
[X][Project] Reinforcements. A mana engine and enchanted magical materials could allow you to turn your entire shop into a veritable fortress. Good luck ripping up the building when the foundations are reinforced with Stonebond, Underdog Rock and Sisyphium.
[X][Project] You have an entire document detailing the Elemental Language of Water. In a very real way, you now have the opportunity to create something incredible. (Success Chances vastly improved by obtaining Aqua Compiler)
[X][Advanced] Cycle mana infusion through the body while performing tasks (exercise, housework, etc) in an attempt to crack the secrets of magical body.
Don't forget peddling grenade launchers to little girls.
[X][Otherworld] Hang out with Seeker. You've got a lot to learn, and one little fuzzy child to learn it from.
-[X][Otherworld] Have him summon you. It's time to see his home for yourself. The things you stand to learn are immeasurable.
[X][Taylor] Hang out with Dad. He needs training and instruction in the magical arts.
-[X][Taylor] Run him through the basics of what you know now is called channeling and some phonemes of mundane utility first, to practice and get accustomed to his new abilities, but be ready to readjust plans as you go since he lack your thinker power.
[X][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
-[X][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
[X][Business] Establish a new way of making money using the means at your disposal.
-[X][Business] Put Mana Engines on the market, in a limited fashion to civilians and 'supposed' civilians.
[X][Project] Seeker of Trash knows the spell of Summoning, and now, thanks to your Eidetic Memory, so do you. You'll attempt to follow in his footsteps, and summon a fictional character you could justifiably know and wish to summon, granting them an avatar of mana to inhabit.
-[X][Project] Seeker mentioned some outlandish things about what you can assume were different multiversal instance(-s) of you. Try summoning this "Skitter" and see what you'll get (don't forget anti-escalation safeties).
[X][Research] One point of Research may be expended to grant additional power for the host (Taylor will receive Magical Power Rank B for one month.)
[X][Research] Twenty Points of Research may be expended to permanently eke out a buffer of energy for the host. (Taylor may temporarily obtain Magical Power Rank A for one scene, once per month.
[X][Research] Research may be gifted to accessible shards. Magic, while dangerous, is supremely versatile.
-[X][Research] Gift [Efficiency] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 5 research) [Efficiency] is, for lack of a better word, Efficient. If given access to Mana, and warned of the potential dangers, their host should easily find ways to improve energy efficiency using it, and pass the savings along to you. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Research Tax reduced to 9 per month)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 35 research) One way or another, your host has essentially learned to create Tinker Tech, using crystaline flesh their magic can create. Unfortunately, you aren't formatted to properly capitalize on this... Yet. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Taylor gains the ability to produce tinkertech based on Queen Administrator's current functions, such as mana production, mana control, and data management)
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
-[X][Research] Gift [Queen Shaper] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 10 research) They've clearly cottoned on to the fact that you're hoarding a brand new toy to yourself. Giving them some of your notes could lead to delightful new forms of data. (Amy gains access to magic, and the ability to sense and manipulate liquid mana as an extension of her current powers. Taylor's Eideic Memory will obtain more usable biological data during mana experiments)
-[X][Research] Warn your host about you spreading things around so she will be ready to exploit opportunities.
--[X][Research] Do so by reaching to her in her dreams.
Giving Halbeard something to munchkin to hell and back? Dauntless will not see the end of it. Also might kick the dude onto defiant path earlier and without second trigger worthy experiences.
Makes me almost feel bad for Myrrdin, he was a wizard long before it become mainstream, and now it may happen that Armsmaster of all people will tell him: "You are not really a mage, I know because I am."
[X][Research] Research may be gifted to accessible shards. Magic, while dangerous, is supremely versatile.
-[X][Research] Gift [Efficiency] Research Data.)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 35 research) One way or another, your host has essentially learned to create Tinker Tech, using crystaline flesh their magic can create. Unfortunately, you aren't formatted to properly capitalize on this... Yet. (Armsmaster gains access to Magic. Taylor gains the ability to produce tinkertech based on Queen Administrator's current functions, such as mana production, mana control, and data management)
-[X][Research] Gift [Negotiator] Research Data.
--[X][Research] (Cost: 30 research) Give [Negotiator] a very generous bribe to help with acquiring data on magic. (Lisa gains a supernatural ability to recognize and analyze magic, and is more receptive to doing so. The research she gains, you gain.)
--[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
[X][Otherworld] Ignore the Trinity of Realities for now. You've got plenty to do in this world as is. (Other actions are more effective)
Hmmmm.
Im a little unsure on if we WANT the power to create Tinkertech right now.
It could help our efforts in making magical items and equipment, and maybe even make control devices really easy, but at the same time.
It would be Tinkertech, not Magitech/Enchanted Items.
Wouldn't part of the charm of spreading magic, be that anyone with magic could make and use MOST magic stuff they can understand?
Though I guess we are past that with Crystal Flesh already.
[X][Research] Twenty Points of Research may be expended to permanently eke out a buffer of energy for the host. (Taylor may temporarily obtain Magical Power Rank A for one scene, once per month.
[X][Research] One point of Research may be expended to grant additional power for the host (Taylor will receive Magical Power Rank B for one month.)
[X][Research] (Cost: 20 research) [Negotiator] is being coy. They have an entire database now of the Elemental Language of Water, and their own little notes and quirks written in the margins. They just aren't going to give it to you without something in return. (Taylor gains Aqua Compiler, enabling freeform use of many Water Runes and Phonems, Lisa gains Magic)
[X][Otherworld] Ignore the Trinity of Realities for now. You've got plenty to do in this world as is. (Other actions are more effective)
[X][Taylor] Something Else (Spend some time with Danny. No magic or cape weirdness.)
[X][Sage] Coil has made his first move, and judging by the fact that he kept it, he got what he wanted, whatever that is. Begin investigating him and his operations.
[X][Business] Put Mana Engines on the market, in a limited fashion to civilians and 'supposed' civilians.
[X][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Offer Lisa a choice between trying to compile more elemental languages or arranging a meet'n'test session with Hunch (For the purposes of selling anti-precog zones to the government if successful))
[X][Project] Reinforcements. A mana engine and enchanted magical materials could allow you to turn your entire shop into a veritable fortress. Good luck ripping up the building when the foundations are reinforced with Stonebond, Underdog Rock and Sisyphium.
[X][Project] You have an entire document detailing the Elemental Language of Water. In a very real way, you now have the opportunity to create something incredible. (Success Chances vastly improved by obtaining Aqua Compiler)
[X][Advanced] Cycle mana infusion through the body while performing tasks (exercise, housework, etc) in an attempt to crack the secrets of magical body.
