Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
26th, actually.
Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Dubious. Cai doesn't respect her mom because she's her mom, she fears her because she's a godlike cultivator with insane political power. Ling Qi's mother is at Ling Qi's mercy from a political and physical POV, turning power over to her out of filial piety or whatever would probably inspire disdain more than most of what we can do.
Cai's dream she'd never confess is probably to free herself from her mom and stand strong. You're saying 'hey we've got the one thing she can never have, let's spit all over it in front of her'.
ah yep. Miscalculated a bit. Still, dc30 still wouldn't give us an 'even' number of meridians.
What.
It's not about that at all. You're so far away that I can't even process it.
We have to talk to mom about this. We should refuse to accept until we do. That's a perfectly good reason to tell Cai to wait. It has nothing whatsoever to do with CRX's feelings.
If Cai is the kind of person who would refuse us a talk with our mom then I want nothing to do with her.
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Being friends with Cai would be nice, but I don't see it as a prerequisite at all. We're not friends with Elders Zhou or Jiao or whoever would be our hypothetical superior in the MoI.
This is a transactional agreement, which is why I think talking to Guangli is more important than talking to Cai herself. It's more important O know how she is as a odd than it is to know how she is as a friend. But from talking to Meizhen, it seems like CRX is a perfectly fine friend.
Honestly though, I don't think it's that big an issue, since we're probably going to take a few months to break through anyway, and there's a good chance Cai will help out with our mother's sitiuation.
As for the people who say it's too minor a thing to cash in a favor- do you think Ling Qi thinks the safety of her mother and little sister is just a minor thing? Yes, it would be trivial for Cai to do, but I'm not sure there's anyone else who can do it. Ling Qi herself has very limited power projection abilities and I doubt anyone else is going to be willing to go stomping around mortal crime rings in Cai Shenhua's turf.
And what else were we going to get out of that favor? A decent talisman? A pill? CRX could have just given us one of those things directly. Narratively, the favor was designed just for a situation like this.
This is a transactional agreement, which is why I think talking to Guangli is more important than talking to Cai herself. It's more important O know how she is as a odd than it is to know how she is as a friend. But from talking to Meizhen, it seems like CRX is a perfectly fine friend.
Honestly though, I don't think it's that big an issue, since we're probably going to take a few months to break through anyway, and there's a good chance Cai will help out with our mother's sitiuation.
As for the people who say it's too minor a thing to cash in a favor- do you think Ling Qi thinks the safety of her mother and little sister is just a minor thing? Yes, it would be trivial for Cai to do, but I'm not sure there's anyone else who can do it. Ling Qi herself has very limited power projection abilities and I doubt anyone else is going to be willing to go stomping around mortal crime rings in Cai Shenhua's turf.
And what else were we going to get out of that favor? A decent talisman? A pill? CRX could have just given us one of those things directly. Narratively, the favor was designed just for a situation like this.
Thoughts of a Real Tortoise
- Location
- United States of America
The Musings of a Real Tortoise, or
Precious' Thoughts
We needed to dig, to gather fuel, to make a nest. It was a drive we had, a drive that could not really be expressed. Food was needed for our hibernation, this we knew. We didn't know how we knew it, but we knew it regardless. Concern from Mo - Big Sister was a skittering thought against our soul. We ignored it, for there was nothing to be concerned about. This was natural, this was right.
It was so hard to talk to Big Sis right now. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it. We told her what we needed, but it felt as though there was a thick sheet of velvet over our thoughts. Nothing was clear, only the need to have a nest and fuel to burn. Big Sis came through though, she brought nicely scented wood, soft piles of good hay, and some other plants that smelt nice. We could feel that the qi of the materials was thick as well, embedded into the wood, hay, and plants. It would be wonderful to burn it all.
And so we ate and we built, then we built and ate. This is what we needed to do, all other concerns fell by the wayside. The nest grew bigger by the hour, and Big Sis kept feeding us all that we could eat. A platter of fruit was destroyed in our ravenous hunger, but it was ok because nothing was more important than building the nest and growing. Growing strong enough to protect Big Sis from all those mean people who hurt her.
Eventually, the nest was ready, the dirt, wood, hay, and plants all arranged to provide safety and security from all those outside of the nest. We felt some qi of Big Sis permeate enter some formations we hadn't notice before layering even more protection around us. Finally we were safe to grow, finally we were ready to grow, and finally it was time to grow.
Our thoughts retreated further into ourselves. Big Sis became even more muted and distant than before. It was alright though, this was natural, this was right, and Big Sis would be ok while we grew strong. And so we began to focus inward, focus on that which stopped us from growing stronger. And in that state, we began to burn, and the nest alit with flame. The flame grew, consuming all of the nest in a fiery convocation. As the flames grew, so did the heat, and we fed the fires ourselves as well, becoming a part of it and feeding it to keep it going. The heat was comfortable and so we drew it in.
It was in this state that we began to ponder. What did it mean to be of destruction and growth? How could growth and destruction be in one being? How could Zhen be Gui, and Gui be Zhen?
Destruction fed on fuel, and without fuel it could not begin or grow. For without something to destroy, what was destruction? Growth required fuel as well, nutrients, as well as space. Without the space or the nutrients how could anything grow? Destruction destroys providing space for growth, and growth provides fuel for destruction allowing destruction to be sustained which in turn allowed growth to continue. In this the cycle was everlasting. But was this all? Was there not more to the cycle?
Our thoughts turned to the spirit we met while playing with the pretty fires, Linhuo. A spirit of pure fire, born from something called a forest fire far from here. Why did the forest burn, what help did the fire provide to the forest that caused the forest to welcome the scorching heat of fire? What of our ash, something that was created from growth and destruction combined. What was it, and what benefit did ash have for fires or for growth?
The destruction of growth makes ash. Destruction has no substance, which means that the ash is a part of growth. As a part of growth, shouldn't ash help with the growth of new things? Wouldn't it have the nutrients that growth requires? Is that the key, that through the destruction of the forest, the new growth would have both the space and nutrients needed? And through the new growth, more fuel would be there for more destruction to begin and be sustained? Thus the cycle evolves, for through destruction growth receives everything it needs, and through growth destruction receives everything it needs. While one may have one or the other, it is through both that they can sustain themselves in an everlasting cycle of destruction and growth, of growth and destruction.
But is that all? Does it stop there? Is there nothing more to this cycle but providing that which the other half needs? No, there must be more. Destruction destroys all the fuel that it is given. Without discrimination, prejudice, or care. And should there be more fuel, then there is a growth of the destruction to consume that fuel. So with more fuel, destruction grows, and it will keep growing to consume all that fuel. In that sense, destruction also grows, just like the tallest trees and forests, destruction will grow to consume all of the fuel and space that it has available.
Then what of growth? Does that destroy as well? How can growth destroy? Then we remembered the roots of the great trees where we lived. They dug down through the earth, ever searching for more nutrients, burrowing and consuming all they dug through. They destroyed the earth in their search for more. Then they reached the rock of the mountain, and in their search for more, they cracked the rock like a walnut, digging deeper into the mountain. All the roots touched were destroyed to fuel the growth of the trees. Was this not like destruction, destroying all that was touched to grow larger and larger?
As such, we came to the realization, that to grow was to destroy, and to destroy was to grow. They are not different sides of the same coin, they are both present on each side of the coin. Growth and destruction required each other to flourish, and in flourishing, growth destroyed and destruction grows. This was truth.
We would destroy all that prevented us from growing, and in that act we would grow. In the act of growing past our limit, we would destroy the chains that prevented us from becoming powerful enough to protect Big Sis. We would be free to destroy those chains and to grow past our limits, to grow strong enough to protect Big Sis and destroy all that would hurt her. We were not only destruction, nor were we only growth. We were the embodiment of the cycle, the cycle that never ends. The cycle that required destruction to grow, and growth to destroy. Never will there be one without the other, and in one the other can be found as well.
It was in these thoughts that we drew comfort, and as we pondered these things our nest burned ever more fiercely but was never extinguished.
A/N: So, here is my take on what Zhengui is thinking and working over while in his nest. I don't know how much of these things he is thinking, or how deeply he is thinking of them, but this is what I think would be a good starting point for Zhengui to mull over regarding what it means to be a Xuanwu that is both destruction and growth. I hope you enjoy the read! As always, critiques and criticism are welcomed.
Precious' Thoughts
We needed to dig, to gather fuel, to make a nest. It was a drive we had, a drive that could not really be expressed. Food was needed for our hibernation, this we knew. We didn't know how we knew it, but we knew it regardless. Concern from Mo - Big Sister was a skittering thought against our soul. We ignored it, for there was nothing to be concerned about. This was natural, this was right.
It was so hard to talk to Big Sis right now. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it. We told her what we needed, but it felt as though there was a thick sheet of velvet over our thoughts. Nothing was clear, only the need to have a nest and fuel to burn. Big Sis came through though, she brought nicely scented wood, soft piles of good hay, and some other plants that smelt nice. We could feel that the qi of the materials was thick as well, embedded into the wood, hay, and plants. It would be wonderful to burn it all.
And so we ate and we built, then we built and ate. This is what we needed to do, all other concerns fell by the wayside. The nest grew bigger by the hour, and Big Sis kept feeding us all that we could eat. A platter of fruit was destroyed in our ravenous hunger, but it was ok because nothing was more important than building the nest and growing. Growing strong enough to protect Big Sis from all those mean people who hurt her.
Eventually, the nest was ready, the dirt, wood, hay, and plants all arranged to provide safety and security from all those outside of the nest. We felt some qi of Big Sis permeate enter some formations we hadn't notice before layering even more protection around us. Finally we were safe to grow, finally we were ready to grow, and finally it was time to grow.
Our thoughts retreated further into ourselves. Big Sis became even more muted and distant than before. It was alright though, this was natural, this was right, and Big Sis would be ok while we grew strong. And so we began to focus inward, focus on that which stopped us from growing stronger. And in that state, we began to burn, and the nest alit with flame. The flame grew, consuming all of the nest in a fiery convocation. As the flames grew, so did the heat, and we fed the fires ourselves as well, becoming a part of it and feeding it to keep it going. The heat was comfortable and so we drew it in.
It was in this state that we began to ponder. What did it mean to be of destruction and growth? How could growth and destruction be in one being? How could Zhen be Gui, and Gui be Zhen?
Destruction fed on fuel, and without fuel it could not begin or grow. For without something to destroy, what was destruction? Growth required fuel as well, nutrients, as well as space. Without the space or the nutrients how could anything grow? Destruction destroys providing space for growth, and growth provides fuel for destruction allowing destruction to be sustained which in turn allowed growth to continue. In this the cycle was everlasting. But was this all? Was there not more to the cycle?
Our thoughts turned to the spirit we met while playing with the pretty fires, Linhuo. A spirit of pure fire, born from something called a forest fire far from here. Why did the forest burn, what help did the fire provide to the forest that caused the forest to welcome the scorching heat of fire? What of our ash, something that was created from growth and destruction combined. What was it, and what benefit did ash have for fires or for growth?
The destruction of growth makes ash. Destruction has no substance, which means that the ash is a part of growth. As a part of growth, shouldn't ash help with the growth of new things? Wouldn't it have the nutrients that growth requires? Is that the key, that through the destruction of the forest, the new growth would have both the space and nutrients needed? And through the new growth, more fuel would be there for more destruction to begin and be sustained? Thus the cycle evolves, for through destruction growth receives everything it needs, and through growth destruction receives everything it needs. While one may have one or the other, it is through both that they can sustain themselves in an everlasting cycle of destruction and growth, of growth and destruction.
But is that all? Does it stop there? Is there nothing more to this cycle but providing that which the other half needs? No, there must be more. Destruction destroys all the fuel that it is given. Without discrimination, prejudice, or care. And should there be more fuel, then there is a growth of the destruction to consume that fuel. So with more fuel, destruction grows, and it will keep growing to consume all that fuel. In that sense, destruction also grows, just like the tallest trees and forests, destruction will grow to consume all of the fuel and space that it has available.
Then what of growth? Does that destroy as well? How can growth destroy? Then we remembered the roots of the great trees where we lived. They dug down through the earth, ever searching for more nutrients, burrowing and consuming all they dug through. They destroyed the earth in their search for more. Then they reached the rock of the mountain, and in their search for more, they cracked the rock like a walnut, digging deeper into the mountain. All the roots touched were destroyed to fuel the growth of the trees. Was this not like destruction, destroying all that was touched to grow larger and larger?
As such, we came to the realization, that to grow was to destroy, and to destroy was to grow. They are not different sides of the same coin, they are both present on each side of the coin. Growth and destruction required each other to flourish, and in flourishing, growth destroyed and destruction grows. This was truth.
We would destroy all that prevented us from growing, and in that act we would grow. In the act of growing past our limit, we would destroy the chains that prevented us from becoming powerful enough to protect Big Sis. We would be free to destroy those chains and to grow past our limits, to grow strong enough to protect Big Sis and destroy all that would hurt her. We were not only destruction, nor were we only growth. We were the embodiment of the cycle, the cycle that never ends. The cycle that required destruction to grow, and growth to destroy. Never will there be one without the other, and in one the other can be found as well.
It was in these thoughts that we drew comfort, and as we pondered these things our nest burned ever more fiercely but was never extinguished.
A/N: So, here is my take on what Zhengui is thinking and working over while in his nest. I don't know how much of these things he is thinking, or how deeply he is thinking of them, but this is what I think would be a good starting point for Zhengui to mull over regarding what it means to be a Xuanwu that is both destruction and growth. I hope you enjoy the read! As always, critiques and criticism are welcomed.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Elemental balance remains iffy here with AC. We have a good deal of reason to push Dark/Wind in the long term, so while Water isn't bad it's also not ideal. We probably shouldn't be hunting discounts on fire, but the training bonus is nice.
+2 to hit is also nice, and the multiple attacker bonus is an effective extra +1 every time we gang up. Armor durability is niceish, but something we're probably not going to build to exploit in most cases.
Scalding Stream gives us a free +5 to hit, +1 damage and +1 armor piercing. The stack is nice, but requires constant upkeep to keep maxed. Basically, with FVM compatibility, this probably becomes our default lowest priority action if we're not leery of spending. IE: Once things are up and we don't have something else to do, we may quite likely default to SS with flute. Good to have, and the full stack is painful if sustained, but it also plays into some of the other weaknesses of our build and needing to snowball. I'd be surprised if this duration goes up.
Pressure Crack looks nice, but it's not, and potentially won't ever be, instant. That means no use while playing and no using other buffs on the same round (adding a qi surcharge to pop it). +3 to hit for 3 turns is nice, but the action cost hurts synergy here. It helps feedback our direct attacks, which is also nice if we're having trouble hitting, but the set-up on that islong. The direct comparison here is probably Encircling Wind, which fills much the same role, but operates on a shorter time-frame and costs less. I'm not entirely sure if 'attack the same foe as the user' requires us to use>attack to hit the benefit on the second/third round only or if it applies even though we're not attacking anyone when we use it, which would change the value somewhat.
At present, Encircling Winds stacks much better with large numbers of allies, and the dice pool it provides is better for a short burst. Naturally, they stack, which is quite good, and makes our highest output Pressure Crack>Encircling Winds>Encircling Winds in some very specific situations, where we need that duration of burst, aren't using our songs, and can't or don't see much gain in attacking ourself (and we don't have enough allies taht three EWs is just better). These numbers may or may not change, but it's also worth noting that more dice right now is probably better in most situations than a smaller longer buff unless the latter's stacked up (and that comes with its own costs).
With 1 ally, Pressure Crack essentially trades us attacking for that ally getting +3 dice to 3 attacks, and a +1 each round. This comes at the cost of a multiple attacker penalty, which is enhanced, so it's probably not worth to use if we have exactly 1 ally. At 2 it's a bit debatable, and at 3, if each of the 3 is worthwhile, it'll be decent.
Worth noting too is that worms can't use Pressure Crack well with other arts. Summon Worms>Summon Crack leaves 2/3 actions to get the buff if we cast it. This doesn't apply to Encircling Winds with worms (but we're probably not often using worms).
Some or all of these limits may change, but the use of Pressure Crack is somewhat limited, if not nonexistent.
Passives are good enough to justify equipping this long-term and training it if we don't urgently need meridians (OTOH, 8 meridians at max level is a bit of a pain). It does illustrate why we should go get more art diversity for a small meridian investment and Scalding Stream is quite nice with FVM upgrades, allowing us to avoid swapping to bow in mid-range.
Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised and wouldn't mind investing here, though mostly due to factors that have changed in the past week or so.
+2 to hit is also nice, and the multiple attacker bonus is an effective extra +1 every time we gang up. Armor durability is niceish, but something we're probably not going to build to exploit in most cases.
Scalding Stream gives us a free +5 to hit, +1 damage and +1 armor piercing. The stack is nice, but requires constant upkeep to keep maxed. Basically, with FVM compatibility, this probably becomes our default lowest priority action if we're not leery of spending. IE: Once things are up and we don't have something else to do, we may quite likely default to SS with flute. Good to have, and the full stack is painful if sustained, but it also plays into some of the other weaknesses of our build and needing to snowball. I'd be surprised if this duration goes up.
Pressure Crack looks nice, but it's not, and potentially won't ever be, instant. That means no use while playing and no using other buffs on the same round (adding a qi surcharge to pop it). +3 to hit for 3 turns is nice, but the action cost hurts synergy here. It helps feedback our direct attacks, which is also nice if we're having trouble hitting, but the set-up on that islong. The direct comparison here is probably Encircling Wind, which fills much the same role, but operates on a shorter time-frame and costs less. I'm not entirely sure if 'attack the same foe as the user' requires us to use>attack to hit the benefit on the second/third round only or if it applies even though we're not attacking anyone when we use it, which would change the value somewhat.
At present, Encircling Winds stacks much better with large numbers of allies, and the dice pool it provides is better for a short burst. Naturally, they stack, which is quite good, and makes our highest output Pressure Crack>Encircling Winds>Encircling Winds in some very specific situations, where we need that duration of burst, aren't using our songs, and can't or don't see much gain in attacking ourself (and we don't have enough allies taht three EWs is just better). These numbers may or may not change, but it's also worth noting that more dice right now is probably better in most situations than a smaller longer buff unless the latter's stacked up (and that comes with its own costs).
With 1 ally, Pressure Crack essentially trades us attacking for that ally getting +3 dice to 3 attacks, and a +1 each round. This comes at the cost of a multiple attacker penalty, which is enhanced, so it's probably not worth to use if we have exactly 1 ally. At 2 it's a bit debatable, and at 3, if each of the 3 is worthwhile, it'll be decent.
Worth noting too is that worms can't use Pressure Crack well with other arts. Summon Worms>Summon Crack leaves 2/3 actions to get the buff if we cast it. This doesn't apply to Encircling Winds with worms (but we're probably not often using worms).
Some or all of these limits may change, but the use of Pressure Crack is somewhat limited, if not nonexistent.
Passives are good enough to justify equipping this long-term and training it if we don't urgently need meridians (OTOH, 8 meridians at max level is a bit of a pain). It does illustrate why we should go get more art diversity for a small meridian investment and Scalding Stream is quite nice with FVM upgrades, allowing us to avoid swapping to bow in mid-range.
Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised and wouldn't mind investing here, though mostly due to factors that have changed in the past week or so.
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- Pronouns
- She/Her
Stacking is good, but of somewhat limited use. If you and everyone else cast it on the same turn, you lose more than an effective third of the buff's duration (No one attacks, and no one procs the attack bonus back to each other).
- Location
- Spain
Asking CRX to do something Ling Qi can do herself is a waste no matter how you look at it. And i am pretty sure than wharever problems mom has, if any, can be easily solved by a green cultivator.
But she can't do it herself because she's not allowed off the mountain.
But even if we waited twenty weeks to act, I'm not sure, but there might be some consequences if Ling Qi goes cracking mortal or red/gold cultivator skulls. We might even need to cash in the favor to get out of the legal consequences.
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
There's almost certainly a system for paying Cultivators to do stuff even outside the Sects. All we'd have to do is pay for a Cultivator to solve the problem with our massive wealth.
So gather blackmail on them instead
Again, that depends how willing a random low level cultivator is to go beating up mortals in Cai Shenhua's turf.
You're misreading it.
When Arts say they need something like Heart(3), they're not saying you need three Heart Meridians. They're saying you'll need another Heart Meridian at Level 3 of the Art.
There's comparatively few people at mortal or red who when told by a Green Cultivator to stop causing problems for their mother will keep causing problems.
- Location
- Required Location
Which, due to Ling Quinghes profession, is not that easy to figure out. While the cloud tribe theory has gained traction in the quest and seems heavily hinted at in the actual story, yrsillar has already confirmed that Ling Qi's skin color is not that special, as there are several ethnicity with similar skin color in the empire.
She might of course, have perfect memory of LQ's father but it is a bit unlikely. That is, if she is even willing to tell us, one way or another.
Yeah, but she'd have to show up personally, which she's not allowed to for another 20 weeks. I don't think a strongly worded letter will have the same effect. Maybe an explosive formation? Not sure the Sect mailing office will be ok with that though.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
@Shadell Scalding Streams cost 1, and wounding an enemy gives us 1Qi/Turn. So it's essentially free if we have no other ways of wounding the enemy that cost 0. We also have a pretty decent dice pool of 23 + 1 auto-success with it.
Pressure Crack can be used while playing and while attacking, so we can use it when attacking with our flute, if I understand it right. As such, it's a good alternative to Scalding Streams if we have an ally. It cost 3Qi instead of 1, but at it does give +3 to ally as well as +1 damage, so damage wise it's stronger. We would also get +2 next turn.
Pressure Crack can be used while playing and while attacking, so we can use it when attacking with our flute, if I understand it right. As such, it's a good alternative to Scalding Streams if we have an ally. It cost 3Qi instead of 1, but at it does give +3 to ally as well as +1 damage, so damage wise it's stronger. We would also get +2 next turn.
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notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
I think you're underestimating the impact being personally told off by someone two realms higher than you will be. If we got a strongly worded letter from a Fourth or Fifth Realm, we'd drop whatever we were doing in an instant, even if we knew that they couldn't personally deal with us for a while.
- Location
- my house
I am all for pretending to be her concubine
Black Noise
Curious
- Location
- About 1AU from Sol
I've ran some simulations for opening meridians, and here's what I've learned:
For the 5 meridians we need to open (meridians 22~26), we have a 15-16% to fail once or more. That's assuming we get our 5th larceny dot and use Highsun pills for all 5. If we only use Highsuns for the last 4/3 meridians, chances of failure rise to 18%/21%.
Using SLP for the all 5 meridians together with a highsun would give a4-5% of failure, which means saving an expected 1/10th of an action. Not a good trade to say the least.
Edit: It's worth noting that with Heavy Rains pill failure on opening a meridian shouldn't cost anything more than an action, and yrsillar said that "close" failure should make the next attempt easier. So it basically costs an action.
Edit2: These results also mean that we should strive to open all 5 meridians on highsun pills if feasible, and if not all then at least the last 4.
Edit3: SLP number above is wrong, we only have 3 "train with friends" actions so it's actually ~8 6.5% failure rate, making it a slightly worse idea than the above numbers indicate.
For the 5 meridians we need to open (meridians 22~26), we have a 15-16% to fail once or more. That's assuming we get our 5th larceny dot and use Highsun pills for all 5. If we only use Highsuns for the last 4/3 meridians, chances of failure rise to 18%/21%.
Using SLP for the all 5 meridians together with a highsun would give a
Edit: It's worth noting that with Heavy Rains pill failure on opening a meridian shouldn't cost anything more than an action, and yrsillar said that "close" failure should make the next attempt easier. So it basically costs an action.
Edit2: These results also mean that we should strive to open all 5 meridians on highsun pills if feasible, and if not all then at least the last 4.
Edit3: SLP number above is wrong, we only have 3 "train with friends" actions so it's actually ~
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Yes, we are currently pretty much still in the comfort zone of our Talent regarding Meridians.
When the failure chances rise to 30%+ is when we will have to address this - like doing something reckless to try and raise our talent.