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Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)

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kitsune9 said:
I was just rereading the thread and if the white room allowed two and Gu didn't get along with the cave pair why didn't we invite Han Fang aka quiet guy who we feel like we owe because Gu doesn't have anything against him.
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I don't follow. Gu Xuilan would only interact with SuSu if Han Jian brought her, because in the case we do use the white room they don't get invited, and WE'D bring Gu.
 
He pretty clearly came down on Jian's side when everything went to shit in the golden fields, it does not surprise me that Xiulan is not a big fan of Fang.
 
TotallyNotEvil said:
You realize a Late Red/Gold girl wall the way back on Thunderdome 1 had a DV10 weapon, right?

So I think a Green longbow should be able to reach that easily, and more with some effort, yes.
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Wasn't a bow. Different weapons have different stats. We already have a Yellow tier bow... And it has DV 7. Asking for DV14 is about as realistic as looking for a flail with range 45m because you saw a dagger with range 30m back at red.
 
kitsune9 said:
I don't remember her ever disliking han fang where was this?
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week 30 said:
However, things were very awkward, Xiulan snapped easily at Fan Yu and Han Fang, which put both boys in an ill mood, even Heijin was hesitant to approach her. They didn't find much of great interest either, but it was only the first day. They didn't part on the most cheerful of terms, and Ling Qi left feeling rather more weary than the physical exertion would account for.
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growing pain Fin said:
"I do not want to be friends," Xiulan snapped, scowling at her. "I want him. I deserve that much do I not? I work hard, harder than anyone else, save perhaps my sister, and what do I get for it? Chained to a fool and an oaf," she continued harshly.
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It might be that both fool and oaf applies to Fan yu, here, but I have been told it makes more sense that fool is Fan Yu and oaf Han Fang.
 
No she's applying both of those insults to Fan Yu.

She basically treats Han Fang like he's an extra arm for Han Jian honestly.

That said, going to have to push the update back to tomorrow.

I wont say its the fault of monster hunter worlds, but... its totally the fault of monster hunter worlds.
 
So since spirits are invisible to the unenlightened I wonder if that occasionally makes Cultivators look like crazy people to mortals?

Like Ling Qi is walking with her mother and then spontaneously gets in an argument with a mud puddle.

Don't do drugs kids.
 
yrsillar said:
No she's applying both of those insults to Fan Yu.

She basically treats Han Fang like he's an extra arm for Han Jian honestly.

That said, going to have to push the update back to tomorrow.

I wont say its the fault of monster hunter worlds, but... its totally the fault of monster hunter worlds.
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So Ling Qi'll get a talking cat spirit beast next week, will she? And there'll be a hidden reward for taking hunting-type sect jobs?
 
@yrsillar, how are Healthbox calculated? We have +5 from misc (1AS, 2Silver, 1Zhengui, 1 Wood Mastery), 5 from Stamina, but what's the rest? I can't remember if it was "3 base" or "STR" or something else.

Charsheet says 12 though, and I think we should have at least 13.
 
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Year 43, week 38, Part 2
  • Threadmarks
    • Talent 6 + YSS 25 + Zeqing 15 + Dark Pool 6 + EPC 12 +Manual 6+Lung 10= 80 dice + 10 autos (Music 5, Imperial Element 5).
    5 9 8 9 1 1 3 10 1 2 3 8 7 7 8 1 2 3 8 8 3 5 1 5 1 6 1 8 3 9 2 7 10 1 8 2 1 10 4 4 1 8 3 10 5 10 2 8 5 10 7 9 4 8 3 6 5 5 3 7 6 6 6 5 6 3 6 8 4 1 3 8 5 6 4 10 3 2 4 8. 43 successes

    Rerolling 11
    10 2 3 9 6 2 3 4 6 4 4. 7 successes. 10 auto. 60 total

    54/40 First Cycle Achieved

    20/100 Second Cycle

    1/4 to spiritual
    115/600

    The Frozen Soul Serenade was not a happy song. It was not even melancholy, as Forgotten Vale Melody was. No, to her the song spoke of sadness and loneliness, and eternal hunger for warmth that could never reach you. She didn't think she would ever play it for enjoyment, not the way she sometimes did with the Forgotten Vale.

    All the same, she noted with a bitter smile, she had a talent for it. She felt Zeqing's fingers of ice on her shoulder as she lowered her voice, the cold of her mentors touch no longer stung as harshly. She had never been a singer before, but it came naturally now, her voice echoing out over the cold mountain peak. What she had sung were not words, not that she could understand anyway, but the meaning was pretty clear.

    She opened her eyes and saw the snow falling around her, knowing that for once, it was because of her and not the ice spirit beside her.

    "You sing well, for a beginner," Zeqing praised, letting her hand slip from Ling Qi's shoulder. "And your ice is still slow to emerge, but that will improve with effort," she seemed satisfied with the lesson.

    Ling Qi nodded silently, still focusing on the darker feelings stirred up by the song. It was undeniably useful, and this was only the first stage of mastery. Still she held out hope that Xin's puzzlebox had something a little more cheerful in store. "Thank you," she said, giving a polite bow to her mentor. "I appreciate your teaching as always."

    "I appreciate your studiousness," Zeqing replied, giving her a considering look. "Ling Qi, I would like Hanyi to join us."

    Ling Qi's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? I don't exactly mind," too much. "Won't she, well…" she looked away, not wanting to be rude.

    "Hanyi has trouble focusing on her studies," Zeqing admitted. "It is my hope that witnessing a human surpassing her at our natural abilities might bring greater focus to her efforts."

    That made sense Ling Qi supposed. "Well, I don't mind," she hedged.

    "Then I will be happy to make time for lessons every week," Zeqing replied knowingly. "That we might have our more private sessions."

    Ling Qi sighed in relief, sad songs or no, she really did enjoy having some time just to relax with the quiet snow woman.

    Attributes: Yin, Water, Dark
    Current Meridians: Lungx2(water), Arm 1(dark)
    Needed Meridians: Arm(3), Lung(6)
    Max Level 6

    Passive Effects
    Cold effects by the user gain armor piercing 2
    User gains armor 2 vs cold effects
    Basic unarmed and music attacks by the user gain one bonus cold damage
    The user receives a two die bonus to all expression based offensive clashes

    Springs End Aria: oo
    Cost 5 qi
    The first notes of the users song herald the end of warmth, draining the heat from the area and around them and crystalizing the moisture in the air into snow and ice. Enemies within thirty meters suffer a three die penalty to spiritual defenses as the song saps their will, and the user gains a three die bonus to their own spiritual defense.The user becomes the nexus of the cold, draining the energy from their opponents attacks. Unsuccessful clashes vs the user allow them to recover one qi per three spent on the clash by their opponent. This effect lasts six turns.

    Hoarfrost Caress: ooo
    Cost 6 Qi
    The user's song becomes the howl of of a blizzard in the depths of winter as they focus the expression of their will upon a single enemy. This triggers a spiritual attack with a bonus of four and an additional armor piercing of two. On a successful clash, the target finds frost spreading across their body as their blood and qi alike runs sluggish. This attack is DV 3, and deals semi perfect damage. On damage, the target suffers a four die penalty to all clashes for the next two turns. On hit, Damage is applied again on the following turn.

    "Big Sister, can we go yet?" Gui asked as he tramped along behind her, disturbing the debris strewn across the ground. There was just a touch of whine in his voice. "I wanna play hide and bite some more!"

    "Foolish Gui, don't distract Big Sister," Zhen scolded, his tongue flicking out to taste the dusty air. "Help her look for leavings instead."

    "But worm slime is gross," Gui muttered sulkily, even as he began to dutifully nose at fallen bits of roof.

    Ling Qi sighed as she took her eyes off her spirit beast. Zhengui wasn't much help in this kind of investigation yet, but if she was going out into the woods anyway, she had figured she should pick through the rubble of Yan Renshu's puppet factory and make an effort to see if he could be tracked at all.

    Of course, she noted somewhat glumly as she turned over a fallen stone which had crashed through a workbench, Yan Renshu had been rather thorough in covering his tracks. The building had been collapsed sometime in the last week, and there were very few traces. They had been attacked by worms a couple of times, but they were weak, grade one things which served mostly to annoy and disgust by exploding into smelly acrid mist when killed. They were also mostly engaged in busily chowing down on everything vaguely organic that had remained, and covering the ground in a sort of sticky film.

    This was a pointless waste of time, is what she was getting at. She kicked the heavy stone she had turned over irritably, sending the head sized chunk of masonry clattering through the wreckage until it cracked against a retaining wall. It looked like she would have to try other options.

    That didn't mean this had to be a waste though. "Zhengui, can you come here?" She asked, turning to face where she had seen her spirit last. "I think I know what we're going to practice today."

    Gui lifted his blunt snout from the rubble he had been nosing in, excitement gleaming in his bright green eyes. Zhen's gaze continued to flick around watching their surroundings for threats as he trotted over. "What game are we going to play Big Sister?" He chirped.

    "We're going to call this one Root Trap," Ling Qi replied, crouching down in front of him to come closer to eye level. "I know you can move tree roots around, so I want you to use them to catch me as many worms as you can, alright?" She doubted they were valuable to Renshu, but she may as well exterminate the things. "But you can only use the roots, alright?"

    "They're so far away though," Gui said looking to the treeline at the edge of the fallen building. "...And worms are gross."

    "You don't have to eat them," Ling Qi replied, smiling. "But for every one you catch, I'll give you a fresh core, I bought a lot for today." The pile of grade two cores she had bought would take up her pill income for the week, but it would be worth it.

    "What will I do Big Sister?" Zhen hissed, his attention now captured. "I want to train too."

    Ling Qi hummed thoughtfully. "...Each worm Gui captures, I will throw. If you can hit it with your venom, you'll get a treat too," she decided. She wasn't sure where to push Zhen's growth yet, but working on his aim seemed like a good start.

    "Hmph, making me rely on clumsy Gui," Zhen sulked.

    "I'll catch them all!" Gui replied definitely looking up at his counterpart. "Lazy Zhen should just stay ready."

    "Get along now," Ling Qi chided gently. "Now come on, we should move to the middle for this."

    It proved an entertaining… if smelly game, but Ling Qi could put up with a little stink if it meant improving Zhengui's abilities. The root grabs were still too slow for her liking, so it wasn't combat viable yet, but Gui seemed to slowly be getting the hang of it. He wasn't always using existing tree roots she noted, they seemed to spontaneously generate where he needed them. They tended to be more like creeper vines than tree roots when he did it that way though. So the ability was weaker if he wasn't within range of any trees.

    Zhen on the other hand proved a very good shot, and was all the more smug for it… until she remembered to pull the effects of her arts back. It was a little harder when he had to rely solely with his own abilities. He still didn't miss often, and the squealing wormlings went up in smelly flames under his venom.

    Once they had cleared the fields, she took him hunting for a time, since he enjoyed 'Hide and Bite' so much, both of them did.

    The animals she spooked into his range liked it rather less.

    Eventually though they headed home, and Zhengui buried himself in the garden to nap, exhausted by the days activity, while she cleaned up and prepared to head up to the vent. She had asked Su Ling if they could practice in the early night this week. Su Ling had needed a target to practice her illusions on, and resisting them while cultivating Eight Phase Ceremony would be a good mental exercise.

    Talent 6 + YSS 25 + Starlit Meadow 5 + EPC 12+Su Ling 2 = 50 dice + 5 autos
    4 10 9 2 8 6 3 10 9 10 5 2 6 9 7 9 6 4 2 10 2 9 5 1 5 2 4 5 6 5 2 9 6 1 2 5 8 4 4 7 4 10 10 1 9 6 9 4 1 2. 26 successes

    Rerolling 4
    2 6 4 9. 2 successes. 5 auto. 33 total
    58/200

    ⅕ of successes to qi
    33/58

    While fending off Su Ling's temptation inducing visions of succulent food and easily accessible and ill guarded loot was a an interesting exercise, they parted ways by morning. Su Ling heading home to tend to her elixirs and Ling Qi headed up the mountain. She needed to follow things up with Fu Xiang after all… and see if he had any insights on Yan Renshu.

    Once she had collected the reinvigorated Zhengui, Ling Qi headed back to Fu Xiang's little cottage nestled in the middle slopes of the mountain. She didn't bother to hide her presence, since, with the investigation ongoing she had every reason to be here.

    She was cautious though, keeping careful eye on her surroundings as she traveled up the beaten dirt path. She could feel Fu Xiang's presence within the home as well, and no one else, so she approached and knocked without worry.

    She did roll her eyes a little as the door creaked inward on its own, revealing the deliberately flickering lights of the entry hall. She had learned on her last visit that Fu Xiang liked a bit of atmospheric theatrics in his home.

    She found the boy in his sitting room, in front of a wide circular mirror set over his desk. She couldn't see more than a few cloudy blurs in it, but then again, it wasn't her art.

    "I did not expect to see you again so soon Miss Ling," The boy said as she entered his sitting room, turning to face her with a pleasant smile. "Did you happen to discover any clues about the vandalism?"

    She gave him an unimpressed look and sat herself on one of the couches lining the room. "How long are you going to wait to discover the culprit?" She shot back, still not entirely happy with her part in this.

    "A bit less than a week I think," he mused, adjusting his glasses. Then, rising from his seat in front of the desk, he rose and stretched. "My it is a bit of rush isn't it?" He added as he made his way to a more comfortable seat that faced Ling Qi.

    "I'm not sure what you're talking about," Ling Qi replied dryly. "Have you been peeking again?"

    "Nothing of the sort you are implying," Fu Xiang replied in a wounded tone. "No, I merely mean that being in control of what ones Lord sees and believes," he said lightly. "Though I suppose in the future you will have to ensure that you keep a tight hold on Lady Cai's intelligence sources."

    Ling Qi kept her face blank. "...Who said I'm going to accept?" She said evenly. "I don't plan on doing things like this often anyway."

    "Not often is not never," he replied slyly. "Steering the powerful is a dangerous game, but quite rewarding. Were I a more ambitious sort, I might be jealous."

    "That's not why I did this and you know it. We're even now," Ling Qi replied with a frown.

    "I suppose we are," Fu Xiang replied, studying her for a moment. He seemed briefly a little disappointed. "Well, while congratulations on your breakthrough are in order, I cannot imagine that you came to me for that. What can I help you with today?" His tone and expression snapped back into bland pleasantness in an instant.

    "I would like to know more about Yan Renshu. We've driven him to ground, and I can't find any sign of him," Ling Qi replied simply.

    Fu Xiang smiled. "One hundred red stones will purchase you a dossier, fifty more will purchase you some current events. Two hundred will purchase an in depth investigation." At her responding frown, he simply raised an eyebrow. "We are even now Miss Ling, are we not?"

    Ling Qi didn't really have a response to that. He did make his living off this kind of thing. "No offense, but Lady Cai's information on him was flawed, and I assume that came from you. I'm not sure I should pay that kind of price."

    Fu Xiang leaned back in his seat, still smiling. "My apologies on that matter, when last he had been active, water was indeed among his specialties. Nor was I aware of the extent of his operations."

    "What do you mean by that?" Ling Qi asked.

    Fu Xiang seemed to debate the merits of answering for a moment. "Very well, a teaser just for you Miss Ling," he said, bringing his hands together. "Yan Renshu is a disciple from the year before mine. He was a bit of a shut in, and that wasn't a surprise. He had been ruined for offending a young lord of House Wen the year before, according to rumor."

    Ling Qi recalled Yan Renshu's words and nodded. "So he started operating in the background?"

    "Quite," Fu XIang replied. "He took control of a fair share of the market and crafting disciples by offering relatively cheap aid in gathering reagents in return for a cut. Obviously the actual breadth of his operations were missed. Investigating things since… well you and Miss Bai have ruined him again. Do not worry about that."

    "How can you be sure? Ling Qi asked. "He hid things before."

    "Miss Ling," he replied dryly. "Consider the breadth of the operations you have ruined so far, and the number of disciples on the mountain. Make no mistake, what you uncovered is impressive indeed… but it is also the limit of what an unbacked outer disciple could achieve. The Elders would not brook interference with the permanent outer sect members work, and one can only extract so much wealth from a few hundred disciples. The economy of our little game is limited. All indications show that he has gone entirely to ground, as he did in the year before mine."

    "...Why tell me that? Do you not want to get paid?" Ling Qi asked, arching an eyebrow.

    "Do not mistake me Miss Ling," Fu Xiang replied, pushing his glasses up. "A cornered rat is at his most vicious. I do not doubt that he plots revenge… on you at least. Miss Bai is a bit beyond his reach if he has any sense left, no matter how battered her clans reputation might be."

    "...I'll think about it," Ling Qi said after a moment. "Thank you for your time."

    With that less than pleasant thought in mind she returned home. At least Fu Xiang seemed certain that they had broken the majority of his resources

    Target Number 55
    Rolled
    96
    Failure

    41 Physical cultivation lost

    Physical Cultivation recovery
    YSS 25 + Xiulan 5 + White Room 30 + EPC 12 + Pills 14 + Larceny 5 = 91 dice + 8 autos (silver 2, room/talent 6 )
    8 3 8 6 1 10 8 3 3 2 4 4 8 5 9 10 6 5 4 8 5 3 2 3 3 6 4 8 5 10 3 4 5 10 9 7 1 8 10 3 2 5 8 9 1 7 9 6 1 4 5 7 6 6 10 9 3 5 8 9 4 10 3 10 1 3 7 1 3 8 6 4 2 3 4 3 1 4 10 4 7 5 10 5 2 1 5 7 5 2 7. 51 successes

    Rerolling 8
    5 6 10 10 8 4 4 6. 3 successes. 8 auto. 62 total

    20 overflow to spiritual
    135/600


    1/3 of successes to Qi
    20 to qi
    53/58

    Thankfully, Ling Qi remembered to take a dose of the pain medication Li Suyin had given her, as her attempt at breaking through went quite poorly, the qi she had woven into her body splintering under the strain of the attempt rather than merging with her tissues as it should have. Ling Qi was left instead breathing raggedly, covered in painful splotchy bruises and filled with a bone deep ache.

    It took her a few further hours of meditation before she could stand without a wobble. She hated to imagine what it would have been like if she still healed like a mortal. Recovering the lost cultivation would cost still more time. Ling Qi found she didn't much like the feeling of failure nor the time it cost her. Still, she supposed she could take the time to see what Cai's white room could do. It wasn't difficult to convince Xiulan to come with her.

    The Room itself took the form of a great three peaked tent of cloth set up outside of the village, shrouded in shimmering rainbow mists that seeped from underneath. There were more than a few mortals and common cultivators still gawking at the grand construction when she and Xiulan approached, but they were kept out by guardsmen who surrounded the field it had been set up in.

    It wasn't simply city guards either, though they made up the bulk of the perimeter. Mixed among them were men and women clad in sleek white lacquered armor over fine chain, and pointed helms with vermillion plumes. Showing her personalized council armband was sufficient to pass through the cordon though, and enter the misty interior of the room.

    It was… honestly a little difficult to describe the inside. Ling Qi could recall diaphanous sheets of silk and bubbling baths, scented oils and and incenses, and inhuman white clad servants who she couldn't clearly recall any details about.

    ...It was a little unnerving frankly, but when she emerged, she felt more refreshed and full of energy than ever before, and her cultivation had fully recovered. Xiulan looked to be quickly closing on the late stage of her physical cultivation.

    Next breakthrough roll reduced by 5

    With her recovery complete, Ling Qi had just one last thing to worry about. Her meeting with a Sect official regarding her 'imperial writ'. She had all manner of questions and concerns, to the extent that she was not certain she would get to ask them all. So, as the time of the meeting approached, Ling Qi sat down with a sheet of parchment to decide what information was most important too her…

    Okay, fairly nonstand vote here, but this meeting is likely to contain a lot of exposition. So I would like to know what sort of information folks would most like to see addressed. So heres the format. Each person may vote for a single question/subject, and the top-5 or so will be addressed in full by the Sect advisor.

    Format is simply

    [] Insert question/subject here
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Huh, interesting little perk recovery with the White Room seems to have...

    Also, Zhengui continues to be adorable.

    EDIT: Hmmm... FFS is kind of interesting. So unarmed and musical attacks gain a bonus cold damage and +2 armor piercing - but not melee like knives (at least not so far). Spirit attack dice and a bit of cold resistance to add to her fire resistance.

    As expected, the thematics are not enjoyable for Ling Qi, but that's all right - I'm hoping she'll end up with a number of musical arts that embody different concepts and emotions soon enough.
     
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    Given that we know have weekly tuition from our resident ice spirit we might even be able to learn further arts from her after the tournament.
     
    Mhh, Spring's end is a spiritual defense buff and debuff combined with Qi recovery, that lasts 6! turns.

    Hoarfrost is a armor piercing 4, DV 3 semi perfect with +1 damage from passive that repeats damage and debuffs.
     
    Hmmm... that qi recovery on an opponent's unsuccessful clashes is... quite interesting, especially given Ling Qi's spirit defense is buffed. Could be some real fun when combined with Argent Mirror's "counterattack" tech. And an attack as well.

    Note that (so far, at least) FSS's techniques are used with the voice, so there's going to be some loss of ability from the specialization and the talisman flute.
     
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