Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
sure, why notOf course, you can just leave it to me to interpret what "inhabitable, but not enjoyable" means in the Resolution.
Creation & Revelation - Game Thread
@Krall
Herds of large elephants now migrate between the briny oceans of the 11th layer. They seem capable of drinking the salty water without any real harm, and will uproot and devour entire cacti and other plants along their routes, consuming them without any issue thanks to their tough mouths and digestive systems.
Placid herbivores, they will however tend to trample any obstructions that block the way of their routes, including buildings or other creatures.
The Inky Pools will now afflict those who drink their waters with a crippling phobia of not serving someone and following their orders. Most sufferers, if not already a slave/servant will try to find themselves a master as soon as possible, or end up semi-catatonic until someone takes them into their service.
Plains of living glass chains begin to choke out the wadis of the desert, eagerly awaiting prey, who they will then entangle within their coils, slowly extracting their bones to form new chains while keeping the prisoners somehow alive. Those captured tend to expire within a few months, but can be rescued before then.
A massive, permanent river flows through the 11th stratum, winding around a set of three massive sky-chains that connect the ground below with the ceiling far above (like the chains mentioned in Crilltic's original writeup of the machine). It's banks are lush with nutritious vegetation, and its waters house various frogs, mudfish and various other fish. Crocodiles made entirely of rubies and sapphires lazily swim along its currents.
Slaver Vines inundate the three sky-chains of the great river in their own riotous growth, their luridly colourful flowers flashing with quite noticeable lights.
If a seed of a Slaver Vine is fed to/inserted into another orifice (such as ears) or surgical incision on an intelligent being after being quickened with the blood or other life-fluid of the intended master, it will grow gruesome vines through the flesh of the slave, forcing it to obey the will of its master, literally puppeteering its body and mind if neccessary, incapacitating the slave with pain and slowly strangling it to death if it somehow still resists following commands.
Slaver-Vines can only grow on sky-chains or in the living flesh of a slave.
Titanic Sphinx-Basilisks now guard all the passages leading to and from the 11th stratum. Besides immediately and permanently turning to stone any who look upon them (no, mirrors don't work), they are immensely powerful combatants, requiring at least a large mortal army to even have a chance of defeating.
The easiest way to be peacefully granted passage through the way they guard is to wear a blindfold, and when near the Basilisk-Sphinx, prostate yourself before it, and recite a minute long litany of eternal fealty to Serenity.
Any involved in the death of a Basilisk-Sphinx are cursed with muteness and blindness, but on the upside, the first time a Basilisk Sphinx dies, its corpse dissolves into a pile of Syndium collars, manacles and chains that magically resize to fit any creature. Each Basilisk-Sphinx will repeatedly reincarnate a century later if it dies, but will not drop loot again if killed, though it still curses its killers.
Herds of large elephants now migrate between the briny oceans of the 11th layer. They seem capable of drinking the salty water without any real harm, and will uproot and devour entire cacti and other plants along their routes, consuming them without any issue thanks to their tough mouths and digestive systems.
Placid herbivores, they will however tend to trample any obstructions that block the way of their routes, including buildings or other creatures.
The Inky Pools will now afflict those who drink their waters with a crippling phobia of not serving someone and following their orders. Most sufferers, if not already a slave/servant will try to find themselves a master as soon as possible, or end up semi-catatonic until someone takes them into their service.
Plains of living glass chains begin to choke out the wadis of the desert, eagerly awaiting prey, who they will then entangle within their coils, slowly extracting their bones to form new chains while keeping the prisoners somehow alive. Those captured tend to expire within a few months, but can be rescued before then.
A massive, permanent river flows through the 11th stratum, winding around a set of three massive sky-chains that connect the ground below with the ceiling far above (like the chains mentioned in Crilltic's original writeup of the machine). It's banks are lush with nutritious vegetation, and its waters house various frogs, mudfish and various other fish. Crocodiles made entirely of rubies and sapphires lazily swim along its currents.
Slaver Vines inundate the three sky-chains of the great river in their own riotous growth, their luridly colourful flowers flashing with quite noticeable lights.
If a seed of a Slaver Vine is fed to/inserted into another orifice (such as ears) or surgical incision on an intelligent being after being quickened with the blood or other life-fluid of the intended master, it will grow gruesome vines through the flesh of the slave, forcing it to obey the will of its master, literally puppeteering its body and mind if neccessary, incapacitating the slave with pain and slowly strangling it to death if it somehow still resists following commands.
Slaver-Vines can only grow on sky-chains or in the living flesh of a slave.
Titanic Sphinx-Basilisks now guard all the passages leading to and from the 11th stratum. Besides immediately and permanently turning to stone any who look upon them (no, mirrors don't work), they are immensely powerful combatants, requiring at least a large mortal army to even have a chance of defeating.
The easiest way to be peacefully granted passage through the way they guard is to wear a blindfold, and when near the Basilisk-Sphinx, prostate yourself before it, and recite a minute long litany of eternal fealty to Serenity.
Any involved in the death of a Basilisk-Sphinx are cursed with muteness and blindness, but on the upside, the first time a Basilisk Sphinx dies, its corpse dissolves into a pile of Syndium collars, manacles and chains that magically resize to fit any creature. Each Basilisk-Sphinx will repeatedly reincarnate a century later if it dies, but will not drop loot again if killed, though it still curses its killers.
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- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
I'm afraid I can't accept this as a valid turn, as you've made many large changes across the entirety of the world which exceed the scope of previous players' turns. I must ask you to rework your turn, focusing on adding detail to the 11th Stratum.
- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
Okay, Demonic Spoon's revised turn is accepted, so we're on to you @TheMaskedReader!
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Death, the everpresent fear. Something that no one can avoid. Except for those plants, creatures, and animals that touch the bottomless Soul Oasis in the 11th Strata. An everchanging locale, it shifts with the sands of the desert. Those that drink from it are revitalized, returned to a state of perfect health and youth! However, this great feat of restoration comes with a price and a test. Only once can the Soul Oasis be found in the lifetime of any being and those who take anything from the vibrant wildlife surrounding it are forever cursed for their greed, in that all food tastes like ash, and all water is tainted in their mouths. To punish those whose greed is greater than their sense of self-preservation, those who touch more than once will be sucked into the oasis, never to return. However, this curse only applies to the pool itself. Should some creature recieve the water from another, then the benefits are still received, with none of the ill effects.
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- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
You gave more details than this in our PM conversation - you NEED to mention those details here for them to be canon.
- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
Ah, I didn't realise you'd editted your post, @TheMaskedReader. Alright, that means it's your turn, @Firebringer2077!
- Location
- SF Bay Area
Although the stratums contain the usual materials of mundane nature: Copper, Iron, Gold, Platinum, Lead; it is between the Stratums where the truly legendary and valuable materials of universe lie. The Heart requires all sorts of various exotic and special materials to continue operating, and throughout the ducts, pipes, conduits, bulkheads, and other bizarre machinery carry the various Heartbloods that keep the machine operating
Astranic Plates
One of the more plentiful Heartblood materials, but also one of the hardest to get as it requires a team of excavators to mine down nearly all the way to the next Stratum, take the plate before it falls to the Silicon Windstorms of the 12th and shatters. The plates themselves are illuminated by the machine but are reflective showing the stratum below it. However due to the windstorms and the fragility of the panels make it a dicey proposition. At least other stratums have as much difficulty, and besides the occasional dead spots, the reflection holds.
OOC: The sky is a collection of reflective plates and are perfect mirrors. Sorta like skin flakes of the machine, and depending on the cycle (amazingly corresponding to day and night) are either brighter or dimmer. Also the sky apparently has dead pixels now, damn 10th stratum miners taking our panels. Also the sky is a brighter or dimmer reflection of what's beneath it depending on the time of day, giving us a day night cycle. I'm sure this will never be exploited by anyone.
Ceruel & Scarlet
Two liquids, known for their blue and red colors are incredibly potent. Ceruel is superfluid that forms the lubricant and primary coolant of the machine. Occasionally formations of Ceruel form and escape into the 11th stratum causing "Ice volcanoes". Scarlet is an incredibly volatile, high viscosity reddish liquid that can fuel a fire longer than any mundane fuel, and can only be contained by a handful of materials without consuming. Scarlet is also a remarkably powerful medicine if properly treated and distilled, and can cure all but the most terrible diseases. The only known material that can contain BOTH substances separately is Vyzantic Obsidian. DO NOT LET CERUEL AND SCARLET COMBINE, the results are devastating to whatever region it occurs in
OOC: Presenting the Machine's Coolant, and Heart's blood.
Vyzantic Obsidian
In desert stratums (like the 11th) there are occasionnaly these black reflective "trees" that spurt up where trees are not expected. These trees are not infact trees but created by the machine, which cause them to appear on the surface. These trees usually are between 50 and 300 feet talls, and generally in inhospitable locales for extraction. However Vyzantic Blades, Arrowheads, are some of the sharpest possible. Additionally Vyzantic Obsidian can be peeled off in paperthin sheets from the trees. Vyzantic Obsidian is also surprisingly light.
OOC: Get your Magical Obsidian Plate here! Obsidian Daggers and Blades two for a buck!
Arachnic Netting
Complicating the extraction of the Astranic Plates are Arachnic Netting. Miniscule nearly impossible to see strands that conduct signals throughout the Machine. These strands if properly made into lattice or made into impossibly strong rope, or quite resilent clothing and hosts of other applications. The problem in extracting them is that too much extraction and the machine processes in a section go awry calling the Machine's defenses down on the area
OOC: The wiring of the machine, and they are nanotubes. yay.
Astranic Plates
One of the more plentiful Heartblood materials, but also one of the hardest to get as it requires a team of excavators to mine down nearly all the way to the next Stratum, take the plate before it falls to the Silicon Windstorms of the 12th and shatters. The plates themselves are illuminated by the machine but are reflective showing the stratum below it. However due to the windstorms and the fragility of the panels make it a dicey proposition. At least other stratums have as much difficulty, and besides the occasional dead spots, the reflection holds.
OOC: The sky is a collection of reflective plates and are perfect mirrors. Sorta like skin flakes of the machine, and depending on the cycle (amazingly corresponding to day and night) are either brighter or dimmer. Also the sky apparently has dead pixels now, damn 10th stratum miners taking our panels. Also the sky is a brighter or dimmer reflection of what's beneath it depending on the time of day, giving us a day night cycle. I'm sure this will never be exploited by anyone.
Ceruel & Scarlet
Two liquids, known for their blue and red colors are incredibly potent. Ceruel is superfluid that forms the lubricant and primary coolant of the machine. Occasionally formations of Ceruel form and escape into the 11th stratum causing "Ice volcanoes". Scarlet is an incredibly volatile, high viscosity reddish liquid that can fuel a fire longer than any mundane fuel, and can only be contained by a handful of materials without consuming. Scarlet is also a remarkably powerful medicine if properly treated and distilled, and can cure all but the most terrible diseases. The only known material that can contain BOTH substances separately is Vyzantic Obsidian. DO NOT LET CERUEL AND SCARLET COMBINE, the results are devastating to whatever region it occurs in
OOC: Presenting the Machine's Coolant, and Heart's blood.
Vyzantic Obsidian
In desert stratums (like the 11th) there are occasionnaly these black reflective "trees" that spurt up where trees are not expected. These trees are not infact trees but created by the machine, which cause them to appear on the surface. These trees usually are between 50 and 300 feet talls, and generally in inhospitable locales for extraction. However Vyzantic Blades, Arrowheads, are some of the sharpest possible. Additionally Vyzantic Obsidian can be peeled off in paperthin sheets from the trees. Vyzantic Obsidian is also surprisingly light.
OOC: Get your Magical Obsidian Plate here! Obsidian Daggers and Blades two for a buck!
Arachnic Netting
Complicating the extraction of the Astranic Plates are Arachnic Netting. Miniscule nearly impossible to see strands that conduct signals throughout the Machine. These strands if properly made into lattice or made into impossibly strong rope, or quite resilent clothing and hosts of other applications. The problem in extracting them is that too much extraction and the machine processes in a section go awry calling the Machine's defenses down on the area
OOC: The wiring of the machine, and they are nanotubes. yay.
- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
For the moment these will be localised to the 11th Stratum until otherwise stated (perhaps as Serenity's equivalrent of Eden it requires this infrastructure whilst the other strata do not).
Anyway, @Dom you're up!
Lazy Coyote
Mind of Military
- Location
- Tennessee
The universe is a strange place, so it isn't wrong to assume that something... different is going to pop up once and a while, something that defied expectations.
THE BLACK
Sitting on the 11th stratum, in an area with little to no life within several miles, in a bubble of darkness around the size of a football stadium, there was a spot on Non-Existance, which had given birth to one of the most common creatures around, the Non.
Magic cannot touch this place except for the strongest of magic users, and those that do are known to lose all their power, cursed for trying to use their magic to effect something that they have no hope of understanding.
Any who would enter this place would find themselves outside of existance, where only the creatures of Non had dared to exist, erasing them, for only the contradictory, impossible existance of the Non could survive, which brings us to our next subject.
THE NON
Pitch black, with animalistic intelligence, usually vicious claws and teeth, loyalty that put dogs to shame, and coming in varying shapes and sizes, the creatures of Non, contradictory to their terrifying... everything, are actually incredibly friendly, doing their best to help all those who cross their path.
Be warned that the creatures of Non will defend themselves and those who have befriended them, showing that despite how friendly their are, they are dangerous creatures.
Nothing they touched turned to The Black, but when they 'ate' so to speak, it instead seemed to almost... lose its color, becoming dull to the eyes of reality for a moment, ceasing to be, say, a Gear, and simply becoming a gear shaped object.
This is caused by what they eat, which is the very idea of something, which is not nearly as bad as it sounds, as ideas are rather tough all things considered, coming back almost immediately, with seemingly no damage taken.
The creatures of Non cannot be tamed, for they are already friendly, but they can be befriended, becoming stalwart companions to any who earn their loyalties.
The Non get bigger and stronger over time and the more they 'eat', and once they become house-sized, their maximum size, so long as there is no companion for them to stay with, they return to The Black, never to be seen again, before two new Non are created.
The newer, smaller Non, around the size of a small dog, have been known to be rather distractible and playful, constantly playing with eachother and climbing all over their larger counterparts.
THE BLACK
Sitting on the 11th stratum, in an area with little to no life within several miles, in a bubble of darkness around the size of a football stadium, there was a spot on Non-Existance, which had given birth to one of the most common creatures around, the Non.
Magic cannot touch this place except for the strongest of magic users, and those that do are known to lose all their power, cursed for trying to use their magic to effect something that they have no hope of understanding.
Any who would enter this place would find themselves outside of existance, where only the creatures of Non had dared to exist, erasing them, for only the contradictory, impossible existance of the Non could survive, which brings us to our next subject.
THE NON
Pitch black, with animalistic intelligence, usually vicious claws and teeth, loyalty that put dogs to shame, and coming in varying shapes and sizes, the creatures of Non, contradictory to their terrifying... everything, are actually incredibly friendly, doing their best to help all those who cross their path.
Be warned that the creatures of Non will defend themselves and those who have befriended them, showing that despite how friendly their are, they are dangerous creatures.
Nothing they touched turned to The Black, but when they 'ate' so to speak, it instead seemed to almost... lose its color, becoming dull to the eyes of reality for a moment, ceasing to be, say, a Gear, and simply becoming a gear shaped object.
This is caused by what they eat, which is the very idea of something, which is not nearly as bad as it sounds, as ideas are rather tough all things considered, coming back almost immediately, with seemingly no damage taken.
The creatures of Non cannot be tamed, for they are already friendly, but they can be befriended, becoming stalwart companions to any who earn their loyalties.
The Non get bigger and stronger over time and the more they 'eat', and once they become house-sized, their maximum size, so long as there is no companion for them to stay with, they return to The Black, never to be seen again, before two new Non are created.
The newer, smaller Non, around the size of a small dog, have been known to be rather distractible and playful, constantly playing with eachother and climbing all over their larger counterparts.
Big spot of touch this and you die which spawns a bunch of scary ass pets.
- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
Turn 2 - Lifegiving - Creative Order
***
1. @Demonic Spoon - Divineborn - Bid 5 Influence
2. @Sucal - Divineborn - Bid 4 Influence
3. @StellarMonarch - Divineborn - Bid 3 Influence
4. @TheGrudgeKeeper - Mortalborn - Bid 3 Influence
5. @Desdendelle - Divineborn - Bid 2 Influence
6. @Nox - Divineborn - Bid 2 (4) Influence (Late Bid)
7. @Lazy Coyote - Mortalborn - Bid 2 Influence
8. @ZeeBat - Divineborn - Bid 1 Influence
9. @TheMaskedReader - Divineborn - Bid 1 Influence
***
Guidelines for turn 2:
***
1. @Demonic Spoon - Divineborn - Bid 5 Influence
2. @Sucal - Divineborn - Bid 4 Influence
3. @StellarMonarch - Divineborn - Bid 3 Influence
4. @TheGrudgeKeeper - Mortalborn - Bid 3 Influence
5. @Desdendelle - Divineborn - Bid 2 Influence
6. @Nox - Divineborn - Bid 2 (4) Influence (Late Bid)
7. @Lazy Coyote - Mortalborn - Bid 2 Influence
8. @ZeeBat - Divineborn - Bid 1 Influence
9. @TheMaskedReader - Divineborn - Bid 1 Influence
***
Guidelines for turn 2:
1. This is a Lifegiving turn, as such the only thing that can be created is a single, sapient species, with an optional non-sapient companion species. Sapient species are the only beings that count as "Worshippers" in the Revelation game.
2. You are creating the species as it exists "in the wild", i.e. without any culture, society, or civilisation. As such things like technology, language, culture, etc. should not be touched upon - those will be developed in the coming Guiding turn. You may give the species instincts and natural tendencies which may influence their culture, though.
3. You may define anything natural/inherent about the species, including appearance, instincts, ecological niche, life cycle, method of reproduction, life span, and so forth. The species may have innate magical/supernatural abilities, but these will be inherent to the species and not something that can be taught/learnt by others.
4. Earlier players may add/change major and broad aspects of the species, whilst later players may add details to these aspects or add more minor aspects. As we are only making one species players should be writing a lot less than they did during Turn 1, as the scope of this turn is much smaller.
5. As mentioned before a player may use their turn to create a companion species for the sapient species. This companion species will be non-sapient and must have some connection to the sapient species, in that it is made "for" the sapient species in some manner. If a player creates a companion species later players may add details to the species as with the sapient species.
6. If later players are unable to think of anything to add, they may choose where in the 11th Stratum and in what numbers the species will be placed initially.
7. Previous rules about not erasing/overriding earlier players' turns apply, as do rules permitting the GMs to reject any changes/additions and to add details and nuance when resolving the turn.
2. You are creating the species as it exists "in the wild", i.e. without any culture, society, or civilisation. As such things like technology, language, culture, etc. should not be touched upon - those will be developed in the coming Guiding turn. You may give the species instincts and natural tendencies which may influence their culture, though.
3. You may define anything natural/inherent about the species, including appearance, instincts, ecological niche, life cycle, method of reproduction, life span, and so forth. The species may have innate magical/supernatural abilities, but these will be inherent to the species and not something that can be taught/learnt by others.
4. Earlier players may add/change major and broad aspects of the species, whilst later players may add details to these aspects or add more minor aspects. As we are only making one species players should be writing a lot less than they did during Turn 1, as the scope of this turn is much smaller.
5. As mentioned before a player may use their turn to create a companion species for the sapient species. This companion species will be non-sapient and must have some connection to the sapient species, in that it is made "for" the sapient species in some manner. If a player creates a companion species later players may add details to the species as with the sapient species.
6. If later players are unable to think of anything to add, they may choose where in the 11th Stratum and in what numbers the species will be placed initially.
7. Previous rules about not erasing/overriding earlier players' turns apply, as do rules permitting the GMs to reject any changes/additions and to add details and nuance when resolving the turn.
That should be everything. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask them in the main thread or in PM.
@Demonic Spoon, you're up! Note that you can (and probably should) give the species a name right off the bat - if not then a later player may provide one.
@Demonic Spoon, you're up!
Note that you can (and probably should) give the species a name right off the bat - if not then a later player may provide one.
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@Krall
The Minla
The Minla are on average pale, dog-sized, omnivorous termites. They are highly social creatures swarming together in great hives, in their primitive state instinctively building great nests of mud and dirt.
Individual Minla destiny and role are decided at birth, each one born into a specific, highly specialized, caste, optimized to perform a certain specific job for life. Related to this, Minla like having a well-defined position and purpose in life, and will become agitated if deprived of this. They tend to be submissive to those they believe have the authority to command them and will on an almost instinctive level try to place strangers within the strict social order and hierachy that defines their own life and that of their hive.
The greatest and most important Minla in a hive is the arrogant Mother-Queen, elephant-sized Minla parent of almost all the other members of the hive who are instinctively loyal and obedient to her, her commands extremely difficult to resist. However, the Mother-Queen is usually an apathetic ruler who cares little about the minutiae of the hive, leaving much room for lesser leaders.
Minla possess basic telepathy. Telepathy only works within members of the same hive-family and are limited in complexity (the queen telling everyone "Eggstealer! Attack!") or a scout reporting ("Flood! Evacuate!"), for example. They also have limited pheromone communication and can lay scent trails.
There is a subconscious element to the telepathy and various background scents of the hive, which forms something of a zeitgeist or gestalt society mind of the entire hive. As examples: An underlying fear of change or strangers, worries about food, a passion for a certain style of architecture and music, etc.
While queens can through effort have some control over the caste and specific features of the eggs they lay, their egglaying is greatly influenced/determined by the communal subconscious of the hive.
The Minla
The Minla are on average pale, dog-sized, omnivorous termites. They are highly social creatures swarming together in great hives, in their primitive state instinctively building great nests of mud and dirt.
Individual Minla destiny and role are decided at birth, each one born into a specific, highly specialized, caste, optimized to perform a certain specific job for life. Related to this, Minla like having a well-defined position and purpose in life, and will become agitated if deprived of this. They tend to be submissive to those they believe have the authority to command them and will on an almost instinctive level try to place strangers within the strict social order and hierachy that defines their own life and that of their hive.
The greatest and most important Minla in a hive is the arrogant Mother-Queen, elephant-sized Minla parent of almost all the other members of the hive who are instinctively loyal and obedient to her, her commands extremely difficult to resist. However, the Mother-Queen is usually an apathetic ruler who cares little about the minutiae of the hive, leaving much room for lesser leaders.
Minla possess basic telepathy. Telepathy only works within members of the same hive-family and are limited in complexity (the queen telling everyone "Eggstealer! Attack!") or a scout reporting ("Flood! Evacuate!"), for example. They also have limited pheromone communication and can lay scent trails.
There is a subconscious element to the telepathy and various background scents of the hive, which forms something of a zeitgeist or gestalt society mind of the entire hive. As examples: An underlying fear of change or strangers, worries about food, a passion for a certain style of architecture and music, etc.
While queens can through effort have some control over the caste and specific features of the eggs they lay, their egglaying is greatly influenced/determined by the communal subconscious of the hive.
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Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
Ok, I think I'm doing this right.
Enviromental and Colonial Adaption.
While they start united when they form a colony, the Minla rarely stay truly 'united' for long. As they go through the world and discover strange new enviroments and potential new colony sites that hit a certain 'cord' in the song of the species, a scratching begins to form at the back of the mind. This scratching begins to build and grow, until to 'relieve' itself, the hive sheds a portion of the population with enough eggs to set up a new colony and breed a new queen, setting up a new colony that might find itself quickly under attack by the old.
Because of this, the most successful new colonies tend to form in places the 'old' Minla are less likely to be comfortable in. While the first generation to build a nest near a source of lava and ash might quickly find themselves burning out, the next few adapt quickly, until one would think they were a new species.
Enviromental and Colonial Adaption.
While they start united when they form a colony, the Minla rarely stay truly 'united' for long. As they go through the world and discover strange new enviroments and potential new colony sites that hit a certain 'cord' in the song of the species, a scratching begins to form at the back of the mind. This scratching begins to build and grow, until to 'relieve' itself, the hive sheds a portion of the population with enough eggs to set up a new colony and breed a new queen, setting up a new colony that might find itself quickly under attack by the old.
Because of this, the most successful new colonies tend to form in places the 'old' Minla are less likely to be comfortable in. While the first generation to build a nest near a source of lava and ash might quickly find themselves burning out, the next few adapt quickly, until one would think they were a new species.
- Location
- Known
- Pronouns
- She/He/They
If I'm understanding this correctly, this seems to amount to "The Minla instinctively found new colonies in hostile environments, and continually re-found them until they adapt to the environment in question", right? I think you could do more with your turn if you want - like add details to how that adaptation happens, or add something else to the Minla - but if not that's still a pretty cool addition.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
Adaption.
Its said that that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. In the case of the Minla, it should perhaps be that what doesn't kill you makes you stranger. While rather slowly expanding in their natural state, as the Minla travel and explore, finding new things of interest, be it phenomena, resources, or enviroments so deadly to their current state that few survive, a change begins to come over the colony. Starting almost as a scratching at the back of the group mind, once a certain threshold is reached, the egg for a new queen is laid, and a chunk of the colony breaks away to form a new colony, one that is almost certainly on hostile relationships with their former 'comrades'.
While rarely adapted to survive the new conditions or best take advantage of the new circumstances at first, as generation after generation is spawned, they become better and better suited, developing new forms or even new castes as suits the needs. A minala colony that forms near an abundance of molten metal might develop resistance to extreme heat, while underground lakes might lead to aquatic or light sensitive forms. When Minla colonies struggle and fight, the end goal is to capture the Queens Gemheart, a secondary organ that acts as storage for both their engineered forms, and the colonies hive mind itself. A queen that devours the gemheart of another adds both the former queens knowledge and their adaptions/remaining 'drones' to their own
Its said that that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. In the case of the Minla, it should perhaps be that what doesn't kill you makes you stranger. While rather slowly expanding in their natural state, as the Minla travel and explore, finding new things of interest, be it phenomena, resources, or enviroments so deadly to their current state that few survive, a change begins to come over the colony. Starting almost as a scratching at the back of the group mind, once a certain threshold is reached, the egg for a new queen is laid, and a chunk of the colony breaks away to form a new colony, one that is almost certainly on hostile relationships with their former 'comrades'.
While rarely adapted to survive the new conditions or best take advantage of the new circumstances at first, as generation after generation is spawned, they become better and better suited, developing new forms or even new castes as suits the needs. A minala colony that forms near an abundance of molten metal might develop resistance to extreme heat, while underground lakes might lead to aquatic or light sensitive forms. When Minla colonies struggle and fight, the end goal is to capture the Queens Gemheart, a secondary organ that acts as storage for both their engineered forms, and the colonies hive mind itself. A queen that devours the gemheart of another adds both the former queens knowledge and their adaptions/remaining 'drones' to their own
StellarMonarch
Myrmidon
- Location
- Québec
The Minla: Castes
The Minla are primarily divided into three biological castes, with divergent castes being based on these: the Queens, the Workers and the Soldiers. Each hold highly specialized roles in the nest and mentally operate differently.
The Queens are elephant sized creatures that are born winged. Once adults, they are compelled to seek out other nests and acquire their best fertile workers in a primitive ritual of courtship and exchange, after which the Queen must venture out and form a colony.
The Queen is then fertilized by her chosen mates, of which she retains the seed for life. The fertilization complete, the mates severe their ability to reproduce and telepathically submit to the Queen in a complex ritual that culminates into the birth of the Queen's telepathic Synapse, otherwise known as Hivemind, or Network.
The Queen then enters a short hibernation period to complete its maturation and lose its wings during which the workers will begin building a nest from available materials and nurse the Queen's first offsprings, of which the abilities and traits are stitched together from the Queen's gathered Seeds.
These offspring come in two castes:
The Worker is fertile and is typically divided into two subcategories, Major and Minor. Major Workers are an order of magnitude larger than their Minor compatriots and are the heavy lifters - they direct Minor workers according to the tasks that fall into their portfolio, such as resource collecting, agriculture, nursing and construction. These Workers are all completely dependant on the Father Seed.
The Warrior is the most internally diverse caste; Warriors are in fact a mosaic of Queen and Worker traits. From Soldiers to Besiegers, these ants are built to be machines of War - acid projectiles, stingers, hard crests and strong mandibles are some of the most developed and essential tools in a warrior's arsenal.
The most common types of Warrior ants include the common Soldier, bred for combat; Orchestrators, the generals and leaders of operations distant from the nest; and Scouts, small ants of which the telepathic and therefore psychic abilities are highly refined in order to relay information and sneak around unnoticed.
The Minla are primarily divided into three biological castes, with divergent castes being based on these: the Queens, the Workers and the Soldiers. Each hold highly specialized roles in the nest and mentally operate differently.
The Queens are elephant sized creatures that are born winged. Once adults, they are compelled to seek out other nests and acquire their best fertile workers in a primitive ritual of courtship and exchange, after which the Queen must venture out and form a colony.
The Queen is then fertilized by her chosen mates, of which she retains the seed for life. The fertilization complete, the mates severe their ability to reproduce and telepathically submit to the Queen in a complex ritual that culminates into the birth of the Queen's telepathic Synapse, otherwise known as Hivemind, or Network.
The Queen then enters a short hibernation period to complete its maturation and lose its wings during which the workers will begin building a nest from available materials and nurse the Queen's first offsprings, of which the abilities and traits are stitched together from the Queen's gathered Seeds.
These offspring come in two castes:
The Worker is fertile and is typically divided into two subcategories, Major and Minor. Major Workers are an order of magnitude larger than their Minor compatriots and are the heavy lifters - they direct Minor workers according to the tasks that fall into their portfolio, such as resource collecting, agriculture, nursing and construction. These Workers are all completely dependant on the Father Seed.
The Warrior is the most internally diverse caste; Warriors are in fact a mosaic of Queen and Worker traits. From Soldiers to Besiegers, these ants are built to be machines of War - acid projectiles, stingers, hard crests and strong mandibles are some of the most developed and essential tools in a warrior's arsenal.
The most common types of Warrior ants include the common Soldier, bred for combat; Orchestrators, the generals and leaders of operations distant from the nest; and Scouts, small ants of which the telepathic and therefore psychic abilities are highly refined in order to relay information and sneak around unnoticed.
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Alright, we've got the details of their castes and normal founding of new hives worked out. @TheGrudgeKeeper you're up!
Remember that one player may, instead of adding stuff to the main species, create a non-sapient companion species (animal, vegetable, or otherwise) to accompany the main species.
Remember that one player may, instead of adding stuff to the main species, create a non-sapient companion species (animal, vegetable, or otherwise) to accompany the main species.
TheGrudgeKeeper
Keeper of Grudges and Awesomeness!
- Location
- Fighting Skaven and shit
The Momhu
The Momhu are massive multi-dimensional creatures that wander throughout different dimensions. It is unknown how they travel through dimensions, only that they are capable of phasing in and out of existence. The Momhu often travel individually, surrounding themselves with space dust and debris. They breed during very specific seasons and for much of their lifetime, they travel around different dimensions to graze on matter and energy.
They are also a convenient way of travelling between dimensions, provided one can deal with either a missing body part or two or getting stuck in something or someone else every time they emerge from dimension to another.
@Krall How does this look?
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Somewhat confusing, as there's only two "dimensions" in existence at this point - the Worldmachine itself and the Dreamscape - and the point about dealing with a missing body part or organ needs to be explained. Also you can't determine how the Minla interact with the Momhu - you can only determine what the Momhu are in their natural state. You can make it so that Momhu are basically ideal for making dimension-hopping hives, but you can't state how they actually interact. You're basically making these species in a void prior to introducing them to the world.
TheGrudgeKeeper
Keeper of Grudges and Awesomeness!
- Location
- Fighting Skaven and shit
Made some changes. How's it look?
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I'd say that's acceptable, considering there are still players left to add detail. @Desdendelle, you're up!
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- not here any more
The sun, as it is, is That Which Kills, for if a Minla ventures out of the nest in the hottest hours of the day, they will surely die, their carapace cracking and drying up and their lifeblood evaporating in the hot desert air. However, it is also very useful. There is a chance that a Minla, irrelevant of caste, will be born with a gem-like protrusion at the highest point of their back. Its uses are twofold. First, it allows the focusing of sunlight into a rather useful beam; workers have an instinctual understanding of its use in construction, while warriors are adept in using it in battle (queens rarely have it). Second, it allows sunlight to be filtered in such a way so as to attract Mohmu - not a sure-fire way, but it works, luring the dimension-grazers with promises of a meal of concentrated energy.
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So Minla are susceptible to overheating, but some are randomly born with a light focusing gem-like organ that lets them create a heat laser? Nice!
@Nox, you're up!