If the drive to self-optimization Ambition imparts alone isn't that signficant, the early Evocations are not that much better than those of a lower tier artifact weapons and the SMA style is only unlocked with high-level Adamant Evocations, how long would Moon actually have to wield it to advance noticably quicker than with Zao's blade or an Artifact 3 Daiklave respectively?
[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
Rihaku
The Internet
Okay, I'm eliminating Swift Deployment. If you voted for Swift Deployment, or desire to change your arguments and or vote in light of the new voting circumstances, please indicate so below.
The drive to improve is great, but she can only use it for the days you aren't training evocations, and if she's seen with it that publicly connects her to you unless you give it to her for essentially good.
The drive to improve is great, but she can only use it for the days you aren't training evocations, and if she's seen with it that publicly connects her to you unless you give it to her for essentially good.
Rihaku
The Internet
The rules, administrative minutiae, tactics, and all assorted miscellaneous information that a high ranking officer in the Imperial Navy has to know to operate competently. You have War 5 so your tactical skill doesn't increase, and all your effort is being focused on training so the specific information is just rote learning unless you want to spend XP raising Sail.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
And there's no mechanical effect of increasing our knowledge base even by rote learning? Bummer.
Is it possible that the public connection could be mitigated by the fact that they're both Zao's direct pupils? He could be ordering both to train with this particular blade for reasons of his own. Quite aside from the fact that he might want Ulyssian and Moon in particular to cross-train with longswords, perhaps some of its more minor capacities might be either leaked or hinted at? Not the big stuff, like that it ensures that all of its bearer's actions ultimately benefit Ulyssian, but small things, like it encourages the wielder to train or something. There would be questions as to why his other students don't get to use it, but given that Moon is an acknowledged prodigy with no established ties besides Zao, and we're his publicly designated successor it's not out of the question that he'd want to give them those two in particular a boost to ensure their loyalty and increase their abilities as assets to Zao.
Is it possible that the public connection could be mitigated by the fact that they're both Zao's direct pupils? He could be ordering both to train with this particular blade for reasons of his own. Quite aside from the fact that he might want Ulyssian and Moon in particular to cross-train with longswords, perhaps some of its more minor capacities might be either leaked or hinted at? Not the big stuff, like that it ensures that all of its bearer's actions ultimately benefit Ulyssian, but small things, like it encourages the wielder to train or something. There would be questions as to why his other students don't get to use it, but given that Moon is an acknowledged prodigy with no established ties besides Zao, and we're his publicly designated successor it's not out of the question that he'd want to give them those two in particular a boost to ensure their loyalty and increase their abilities as assets to Zao.
Speaking of Solars, did Odyssial have a Solar Circle in the First Age?
Or did they all run away because of acute feelings of inadequacy of being on a team with Odyssial of all people?
Rihaku
The Internet
What mechanical benefit would there be? It's not generally applicable enough to count as a full Ability dot, and your Lore and War can't be further improved. It's like studying for a test that you know you'll forget immediately after, unless you want to spend at least some modicum of effort on actually retaining it for practical purposes. I. E. XP. But even if it raised your abilities, you'd be in XP debt until you paid for them anyway, and I doubt you guys want to.
If you build a connection between the two of you, that makes your falling out more suspicious. Plus, the really specific story needed to justify it isn't going to become well known because not enough people will remember it, they will just remember the General impression.
You don't remember any, maybe they just weren't close enough to you at the time.
Last edited:
- Location
- The savanna.
Just reiterating my vote. More Solar-tier allies in the long run is a good thing. Also, the option that had the most synergy with Ambition is out of the running.
[X] Tell the Truth and give the Sword
[X] Power & Security.
[X] Tell the Truth and give the Sword
[X] Power & Security.
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
Hmm. I might try writing a training montage (or something else) omake to boost our efforts with XP and stunts. I'll likely be focusing on Uly, but I think that "Moon with Ambition" -training omake could be also quite entertaining. Anybody interested in doing that?
Rihaku
The Internet
Hm, I don't want you guys to think that the universe is going to unfairly dump an illogical excess of strong enemies on you, and go paranoid. All enemies, but especially strong ones, have good reasons for their capabilities. A sorceror with 12 2CDs is just what almost any person given Celestial Circle Sorcery and good demon-wrangling ability will end up with in a stable equilibrium. Of course, the phrase 'good demon-wrangling ability' encapstules an enormous array of circumstances, attitudes, and abilities. But even if you don't optimize for combat; that doesn't mean you are screwed in battle. Uly is already extremely strong without Evocations; with Evocations and his powerful allies, Developing Connections would by no means be weak. In fact, your total utility might go up! But it is an area in which you are not as comfortable, and your personal strengths do lie elsewhere. However, plenty of people do things they are uncomfortable with to advance their goals!
Rihaku
The Internet
Btw, you do have Integrity favored, so you could, like, just spend all your socializing XP on becoming REALLY hard to convince or something. People would eventually give up and you'd get a reputation as a formidable pillar of society, or at least as a respected if taciturn hardass.
- Location
- The savanna.
Thing is, we don't know if we're keeping or giving the sword away or not. If Uly's hanging onto Ambition, then mingling with Dynasts and dodging invitations to orgies is way less productive than training to become SESUS ULYSSIAN, HERO OF THE REALM, BY WHOSE SWORD ARMIES ARE ENDED. Power & Security kind of works with both options, way I see it. We keep the sword, we become powerful. We don't, we get the opportunity to train as a team.
" You see blablabla your best interests blablabla sake of the Realm blablabla think about the children"
Ulyssian: "No".
" Creation demands ! bribes blablabla veiled threat blablabla blablabla blatant threats"
Ulyssian : "No".
" For God's sa- * Muscled lobbying *
Ulyssian to the twitching corpses : "no".
Ulyssian: "No".
" Creation demands ! bribes blablabla veiled threat blablabla blablabla blatant threats"
Ulyssian : "No".
" For God's sa- * Muscled lobbying *
Ulyssian to the twitching corpses : "no".
- Location
- The savanna.
And then Uly was Rorschach.
I'm not convinced we'd really be dodging orgies day and night to the degree that we wouldn't even get any Evocations.
I mean, we'd obviously get them faster with P&S and some of the training time would be focused on social skills as opposed to sword stuff, but this is still Ulyssian we're talking about.
He'd be grumbling about all the lost training time if he were only training for ten hours every single day.
Given that we currently don't actually have enough XP to spend more than a third of P&S's duration on training Charms and Evocations, the power loss is mainly in that we'd only empty our tank after six months as opposed to two and that a certain percentage would be in social stuff, though more allies and a harder time for anyone Realm based to get as much support for assassination attempts can certainly make up for that loss, as can a better network that warns us against the moves of enemies.
Last edited:
Guile
Having a really great time right now
Too late! We now quiver in illogical fear, huddling together like frightened hedgehogs.
We dare do nothing except train forever, clutching our sword to our chest lest it be wrested away the moment our back is turned. We suspect a Sidereal in every teacup, an assassin in every closet, and every mortal king is secretly the Mask of Winters. We cannot take comfort in our friends, for we have driven them from us in abject terror, both for and of them. How could we do otherwise, when they could be used against us both knowingly and unknowingly? We cannot partake of our mentor's wisdom, for we know that he covets the sword with which he could remake the world anew, and seeks our death. We cannot gain succor amongst our family, for they would slay us if they knew what lies at the heart of us.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
OK. If we end up with Connections I want to see Integrity specced social expert Ulyssian. Apologies to Guile btw.
Realm Dynasts: Blah Blah Blah orgy, blah blah blah corruption.
Ulyssian: No, thank you.
Dynasts: Blah blah peer pressure, blah blah social expectations
Ulyssian: No, thank you.
Dynasts: Blah blah frustrated rage
Ulyssian: No Thank You.
Other Dynasts and/or Nillul: Thanks for drawing fire while we did our work Uly(ssian)
Ulyssian: No, Thank You.
Realm Dynasts: Blah Blah Blah orgy, blah blah blah corruption.
Ulyssian: No, thank you.
Dynasts: Blah blah peer pressure, blah blah social expectations
Ulyssian: No, thank you.
Dynasts: Blah blah frustrated rage
Ulyssian: No Thank You.
Other Dynasts and/or Nillul: Thanks for drawing fire while we did our work Uly(ssian)
Ulyssian: No, Thank You.
Rihaku
The Internet
As addressed multiple times earlier, this is not the case. You are getting an Artifact weapon anyway and there will not be a large power difference until you get into Adamant Evocations, which have a high Essence requirement.
- Location
- The savanna.
Yeah, but Uly's ridiculously overpowered willpower is part of his charm. And it lets him get actual Charms.
It does hurt our training a bit. I dunno, a bit part of Exalted's thing is that the Realm alone can't save the world from what's coming. S'why Zao wanted a Solar in the first place. I get the appeal of social shenanigans, but it's just not Uly, you know? Not when he could be training fourteen hours a day instead of ten.
My bad, sorry.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
How high? I know nothing about evocations that hasn't already come up in the thread. I know that they're incredibly relevant to Ulyssian's eventual combat power, but I know jack squat about the requirements for them. Also, given the more stringent requirements for higher level Essence this seems to be an important point.
There've been three incarnations of the quest so far, but there isn't a story-only thread for The Sword that Ends the World. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you're referring to the Odyssey's story thread? Posts one through thirty-nine of that are canon, after which this contains all the story posts of the current incarnation of the quest. The prelude details the exploits of Odyssial, and then the story picks up where it left off at the end of post thirty-nine of the Odyssey. I hope that helps.
Last edited:
Thanks man, I really appreciate it.
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
Essence 3 to 5 in the example Artifact 5 Red Jade Reaver Daiklave "Volcano Cutter".
Usernames
Merc gonna merc ya
how high?
Besides, that no reason not to start now.
We reach essence 5 soon enough.