Usernames
Merc gonna merc ya
Uh what?
[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
Uh what?
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
I presume he means "how is us having MEDIOCRE chances GOOD"?
How much Omakes will it takes to improve the odd to Great
Rihaku
The Internet
It's a matter of quality and well as quantity, but we'll see. I don't know if there's anything you can do to guarantee victory, though you can certainly improve your chances in various ways. You guys have surprised me in the past, though.
The point, though, is that even though you are the PC, the universe does not privilege you. You are Odyssial; you have no other advantages. There's no such things as plot armor or plot-enforced victory for you. But neither is there anything like plot-enforced defeat or cutscene beatings. If you challenge Ahlat and beat him fair and square, then you beat him. That, also, is the nature of the universe.
The point, though, is that even though you are the PC, the universe does not privilege you. You are Odyssial; you have no other advantages. There's no such things as plot armor or plot-enforced victory for you. But neither is there anything like plot-enforced defeat or cutscene beatings. If you challenge Ahlat and beat him fair and square, then you beat him. That, also, is the nature of the universe.
- Location
- The savanna.
Now do you see why I want full Regalia and more intel?
Complacency is a disease. We need all the power and information we can get, when one of our enemies can hold off Ma Ha Suchi itself. Nice touch calling him an it, by the way, makes him seem even more terrifying. Odyssial probably didn't care much for him, though, would be an amusing reunion.
Last edited:
There is something that is bugging me. In the beginning of this quest we have Zao obsessing over how dragonbloods even ones like him can never keep up with Solars, and his plan to save creation uses having a Solar as a key component which suggests that they are innately better by a large enough margin that Solars can't be replaced by very good dragonbloods in marginally better number. However we've reached the maximum combat potential for a E3 Solar boosted by a N/A artifact sword and a 5 artifact armor yet we still only have mediocre chances against elite dragonbloods.
There seems to be some dissonance here as in some points Solars are treated as being OOC problems to dragonbloods in comparable numbers once they get their feet under them yet here it seems that only elder Solars are significantly better than dragonbloods can get. Especially since we have supernal melee which should make us almost as killy as many E5 Solars considering most won't have artifacts as good as ours and they won't optimize as much as Uly does.
There seems to be some dissonance here as in some points Solars are treated as being OOC problems to dragonbloods in comparable numbers once they get their feet under them yet here it seems that only elder Solars are significantly better than dragonbloods can get. Especially since we have supernal melee which should make us almost as killy as many E5 Solars considering most won't have artifacts as good as ours and they won't optimize as much as Uly does.
[X] Investigate
[X] Full War Regalia
[X] Masked Individual
[X] Peleps Champion
[X] Full War Regalia
[X] Masked Individual
[X] Peleps Champion
The other competitors are probably over a century old and is E6+ with multiple unique charms under their belt. Even if we have E5 charms in Melee, we're still behind.
- Location
- The end of all things
Vote tally:
##### 3.21
[X] Full War Regalia
No. of votes: 20
CharlBaal, Guile, SirLagginton, Savonarola, useofstrike32, inawarminister, CrawlingChaos74, kinglugia, Diller, Serous, Aloysius, Gaudy Guise, me.me.here, Van Ropen, cyberswordsmen, Celestrail, vali, Fumbles, Reckless_Sun, Random Asian Person
[X] Sword and Self Meditation
No. of votes: 19
sithmor, veekie, Ridiculously Average Guy, Dark Lord Bob, LordOfMurder, dragon, Daniel14541, Orm Embar, meianmaru, DOOMPOTATO, inventive alias, nairit, aja318, 1986ctcel, Emerald Oracle, trekbook, Vitaris, afterthought53, Anasurimbor
[X] Decompress
No. of votes: 21
useofstrike32, inawarminister, CrawlingChaos74, kinglugia, inventive alias, nairit, aja318, Diller, Serous, Aloysius, Gaudy Guise, me.me.here, cyberswordsmen, Celestrail, vali, 1986ctcel, trekbook, Fumbles, Reckless_Sun, Random Asian Person, afterthought53
[X] Investigate
No. of votes: 6
sithmor, veekie, LordOfMurder, meianmaru, Savonarola, Vitaris
[X] Write-in: The Power of Friendship - Specifically, shadow the Nellens congregation. Make Saery's extensive network of mortal informants your own. She is clever and well-connected, and Raern seemed smart enough to rely on her abilities. You will do likewise. Hopefully House Nellens's information gathering abilities are as great as you believe, and can turn something up on some of the unusual entrants this year that you did not expect.
No. of votes: 5
Guile, SirLagginton,
Van Ropen, Anasurimbor,
Emerald Oracle
[X] Attempt to Poison Everyone
No. of votes: 5
Ridiculously Average Guy, Dark Lord Bob, dragon, Orm Embar, DOOMPOTATO
[X] Sesus Taldrim
No. of votes: 6
CharlBaal, veekie, LordOfMurder, inventive alias, nairit, Anasurimbor
[X] Write-in: Armored Figure
No. of votes: 1
meianmaru
[X] Ayala
No. of votes: 3
Savonarola, aja318, Diller
[X] Cathak Polemgaos
No. of votes: 13
sithmor, Guile, veekie, Dark Lord Bob, SirLagginton, LordOfMurder, dragon, Orm Embar, meianmaru, Savonarola, me.me.here, trekbook, Vitaris
[X] Cynis Esertia
No. of votes: 2
sithmor, Ridiculously Average Guy
[X] Strange Heart
No. of votes: 1
Van Ropen
##### 3.21
[X] Full War Regalia
No. of votes: 20
CharlBaal, Guile, SirLagginton, Savonarola, useofstrike32, inawarminister, CrawlingChaos74, kinglugia, Diller, Serous, Aloysius, Gaudy Guise, me.me.here, Van Ropen, cyberswordsmen, Celestrail, vali, Fumbles, Reckless_Sun, Random Asian Person
[X] Sword and Self Meditation
No. of votes: 19
sithmor, veekie, Ridiculously Average Guy, Dark Lord Bob, LordOfMurder, dragon, Daniel14541, Orm Embar, meianmaru, DOOMPOTATO, inventive alias, nairit, aja318, 1986ctcel, Emerald Oracle, trekbook, Vitaris, afterthought53, Anasurimbor
[X] Decompress
No. of votes: 21
useofstrike32, inawarminister, CrawlingChaos74, kinglugia, inventive alias, nairit, aja318, Diller, Serous, Aloysius, Gaudy Guise, me.me.here, cyberswordsmen, Celestrail, vali, 1986ctcel, trekbook, Fumbles, Reckless_Sun, Random Asian Person, afterthought53
[X] Investigate
No. of votes: 6
sithmor, veekie, LordOfMurder, meianmaru, Savonarola, Vitaris
[X] Write-in: The Power of Friendship - Specifically, shadow the Nellens congregation. Make Saery's extensive network of mortal informants your own. She is clever and well-connected, and Raern seemed smart enough to rely on her abilities. You will do likewise. Hopefully House Nellens's information gathering abilities are as great as you believe, and can turn something up on some of the unusual entrants this year that you did not expect.
No. of votes: 5
Guile, SirLagginton,
Van Ropen, Anasurimbor,
Emerald Oracle
[X] Attempt to Poison Everyone
No. of votes: 5
Ridiculously Average Guy, Dark Lord Bob, dragon, Orm Embar, DOOMPOTATO
[X] Sesus Taldrim
No. of votes: 6
CharlBaal, veekie, LordOfMurder, inventive alias, nairit, Anasurimbor
[X] Write-in: Armored Figure
No. of votes: 1
meianmaru
[X] Ayala
No. of votes: 3
Savonarola, aja318, Diller
[X] Cathak Polemgaos
No. of votes: 13
sithmor, Guile, veekie, Dark Lord Bob, SirLagginton, LordOfMurder, dragon, Orm Embar, meianmaru, Savonarola, me.me.here, trekbook, Vitaris
[X] Cynis Esertia
No. of votes: 2
sithmor, Ridiculously Average Guy
[X] Strange Heart
No. of votes: 1
Van Ropen
- Location
- The savanna.
The Storm Armor is Artifact 4. It's just a question of maximum potential; we're a months-old Solar, they've been Terrestrials for fucking centuries and have been forged in the crucible of war. We're an E3 Solar, they're E5+. We've hit the cap for E3, sure, but that's nowhere near the pinnacle of Ulyssian's power. Some would say there is no pinnacle, that Odyssial is as limitless as Qaf itself. These guys? They're probably close to their peak. We're barely out of the starting gate. It's a testament to just how broken Solars are that we even have a chance.
They're the most skilled of the Dragon-Blooded host, so they're probably pretty fucking optimized, and they have the backing of Houses or the Order, so while they probably aren't rocking a N/A sword, they have some powerful artifacts.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
[X] Full War Regalia
[X] Investigate
[X] Sesus Taldrim
[X] Cathak Polemgaos
We waste more than training time if we fail to win the tournament. Time is valuable and cannot be made up, to be sure, so there's an opportunity cost if we wind up abandoning the Shogun's Armor; of course there'll be opportunity cost to getting better armor, too, and the loss of opportunities from not winning the tournament are likely even more substantial.
Going with investigate since it gives an extra Avoid/Encounter option, and the Sesus and the Cathak are likely the traditional powerhouses; and Ulyssian should know about the Sesus champion already, leaving Polemgaos, who clearly stands out among the competitors. All the other ones are threats not to be underestimated, but likely to be more interesting if we don't have a choice about fighting them. I figure avoiding Polemgaos and encountering Taldrim is how we'll want to go but that depends on the results of Investigation, doesn't it?
[X] Investigate
[X] Sesus Taldrim
[X] Cathak Polemgaos
We waste more than training time if we fail to win the tournament. Time is valuable and cannot be made up, to be sure, so there's an opportunity cost if we wind up abandoning the Shogun's Armor; of course there'll be opportunity cost to getting better armor, too, and the loss of opportunities from not winning the tournament are likely even more substantial.
Going with investigate since it gives an extra Avoid/Encounter option, and the Sesus and the Cathak are likely the traditional powerhouses; and Ulyssian should know about the Sesus champion already, leaving Polemgaos, who clearly stands out among the competitors. All the other ones are threats not to be underestimated, but likely to be more interesting if we don't have a choice about fighting them. I figure avoiding Polemgaos and encountering Taldrim is how we'll want to go but that depends on the results of Investigation, doesn't it?
Rihaku
The Internet
You do not have maximum combat potential for an E3 Solar. Your build contains a large number of non-combat Charms or Charms which are only peripherally useful in combat, and you don't have anywhere near the maximum number of Evocations. You could be about 40% stronger if you were one hundred percent dedicated to combat and had filled out your Evocations to maximum, which is why Odyssial thinks that he is "too weak to be happy for long." Also, there is significant power in the other Abilities that you do need high Essence to get; you lack anything like an Aegis of Invincible Might analogue, which greatly extends the number of enemies you can handle at one time.
Also, personal combat is where the 3E power compression really hit hardest; in non-combat endeavours or strategic combat (such as, say, multi-ship fleet-based combat), the gap between Solars and even Celestials is much more pronounced. There is shit they have that Zao simply cannot do, like Solar Circle Sorcery, converting a nation in weeks, uniting the disparate pirate fleets of the West and forging them into an entity that can threaten the Realm Navy, etc. But even with that said, being able to challenge the strongest 15 Dragon-Blooded in the entire Realm within 3 months of Exalting is already a ludicrous combat feat. Calling these guys "Elite Dragonblooded" is selling them insanely short. Ragara Myrrun is not stronger than all of these guys. Mnemon would probably lose to most of them in a straight fight without prep time, just because she's not that combat-specced.
Just look at your disguise charms. You could literally pretend to be the Scarlet Empress and only your lack of deceptive skills would give you away (plus the various security checks and passcodes / seals around her identity); physically, only a Solar with Eye of the Unconquered Sun (or a Solaroid with the equivalent) would be able to strip that disguise. Now imagine that bullshit for every single field of endeavor. It's so annoying to deal with.
Last edited:
Ok that makes sense.
With the "We're losing more if we don't win than we are purchasing Regalia arguments" flying about, do those of us voting for Sword and Soul get to say "I told you so." when we lose a match?
Because we're not likely to win. You're saying, "Sure this is a waste, but when we win it'll be worth it" when Rihaku has said we probably won't win.
Because we're not likely to win. You're saying, "Sure this is a waste, but when we win it'll be worth it" when Rihaku has said we probably won't win.
Last edited:
Usernames
Merc gonna merc ya
Can we rebuild Ulyssian charms and skills later on once he no longer need disguises to optimized him or is he gimped forever from being optimal at fighting?
Rihaku
The Internet
Hey, I said your chances of winning were mediocre! Even if you had a 80% chance of winning each match, your chance of winning 4 matches in a row would only be 41%!
Rihaku
The Internet
Ulyssian doesn't have an ultimate limit on the number of Charms he can buy once you hit max Essence, so you're never going to be gimped forever. Given finite XP and training time, though, if you really want Odyssial to be optimal at combat, you and those who agree with you are just going to have to argue harder, because the votes tend to go the complete opposite direction.
- Location
- The savanna.
No, it just means we'll have to sink more experience into combat Charms in the future. Why, do you not like the insanely broken ability to disguise ourselves as basically anyone or anything with 5 minutes of prep? Sooner or later, we'd have to branch out from combat Charms, simply because we can't buy enough of the things to trigger our next Essence level. I think, anyway.
This makes me sad.
IIRC we had a 70% chance of winning against the Immaculates; how many of you voting for Regalia would have bet on us fighting that battle again three more times and winning?
Rihaku
The Internet
For some reason the way you put this is really hilarious. I mean that in a completely good way.
That's statistics! Even with a completely optimized Rising Sun Slash clash dicepool (which you do have for your Essence, barring unique Evocations and shit), you only have an ~84% chance of proccing Rising Sun Slash every roll. In fact, on your very first critical Clash roll, against the Air Aspect, you failed to! If it hadn't been for your stunting giving you a literal one success edge, you would actually have likely lost in an amusing manner.
- Location
- The savanna.
If we win, it will be worth it. Nobody's saying we're guaranteed to win; the exact opposite is true in fact. It's because our odds are so bad that we need all the help we can get. And you know what? Even if we lose, we'll be able to fuckin' fly. That's more interesting to me than increased stats.
Speaking of interesting shit, I want to see some new faces. Polemgaos is intimidating and maybe investigating him'll mean seeing more of Vaela and her pheromones. We have a really, really small pool of friends, after all.
Last edited:
