The awesome thing about support is that it basically can do a bit of everything.
It can buff our damage, slow the enemy, buff our defenses, heal our wounds...
Yeah, and that's how we got into a situation where someone with worse techniques then us and less progress then us almost ran us down and punched our face in, only failing because we ran out the clock.
They do everything, but they do nothing as good as a dedicated technique.
Does that mean if we get that apprenticeship we might end up following in the path of the previous Emperor?
Meizhen doesn't seem a fan though and that's more important. Not like a commoner could be Empress anyway (cue finding out we're somehow the Empress' cousin's nephew's bastard)
I'm conflicted, all the buffs or following a set path. At the very least focussing on a few elements would mean we could better benefit from talismans affecting them. I do think we ought to mix it up a bit eventually though. Definitely want the Crimson Water Art first though. Sensory (perfect for our ninja build) and helps with wounds
Yeah, and that's how we got into a situation where someone with worse techniques then us and less progress then us almost ran us down and punched our face in, only failing because we ran out the clock.
no. She has a good technique and has been cultivating a lot longer than us. She is a powerful woman and you shouldn't dismiss her as a scrub.
And if we had normal attack techniques instead of our support mix we would have gotten rekt. The fact we could hide in mist and dodge like crazy is the only reason we WON that battle.
If we had a "Shoot fireball" or "bulk up and smash" skill instead she would have whooped our ass
Another good examples is how we used support against the rock monster and that du asshole. Despite having only support techniques, we have been able to defeat multiple opponents that were more powerful than us and by all rights should have won.
The fact that we relied on teammates makes support even more important.
Also, we didn't "run out the clock", we ran out her Qi, there is a significant difference here and that is that Qi quantity is cultivated. And as the elder said, our cultivation has gotten us crazy amounts of Qi quantity. We have opened multiple meridians per week. When many others make do with only a couple of meridians. and every meridian adds more Qi to our pool.
The fact she ran out of Qi and we didn't is indicative that our combat method is more efficient with more staying power
Also, buff have durations and barring instant techs like Gale Shield we can't do more than one art a turn. Having 10 different buffs doesn't actually mean you can stack them, unless we get good enough at getting longer durations on them.
We did in the last fight? For a time We had Mist + Against the Wind+ Gale Shield+Crescent grace, then Mist + Dissonance+ Crescent Grace. I guess it's "stacked debuff" rather than 'Stacked buff'.
We did in the last fight? For a time We had Mist + Against the Wind+ Gale Shield, then Mist + Dissonance. I guess it's "stacked debuff" rather than 'Stacked buff'.
Hypothetically. It would require us to take the turns necessary to do the arts, and if the arts only last for say, three clashes, then at most we would have 3 debuffs stacked. The way around this would be to get instant cast support arts, which might bring us up to 6 debuffs for three clashes.
Hypothetically. It would require us to take the turns necessary to do the arts, and if the arts only last for say, three clashes, then at most we would have 3 debuffs stacked. The way around this would be to get instant cast support arts, which might bring us up to 6 debuffs for three clashes.
Mmmh. I am pretty sure we can't do more than one card at once, but I might be wrong. @yrsillar, can we use 50 cards at once acitvating all the debuffs?
We STILL haven't loaded anything into our cards yet. The only reason NOT to do that is because of forgetfulness or because of some concern with their flexibility.
We STILL haven't loaded anything into our cards yet. The only reason NOT to do that is because of forgetfulness or because of some concern with their flexibility.
We STILL haven't loaded anything into our cards yet. The only reason NOT to do that is because of forgetfulness or because of some concern with their flexibility.
In turnspeed or in combatspeed? In turnspeed it's basically inconsequential I think, though yeah I'm not totally sure of that. Meizhen (who, admittedly, already knows how to do it) just focused a little to load it. In combatspeed activation definitely isn't free unless the technique is free I think.
Just as a favor? Or give some of them cards with some of Ling Qi's techniques also?
In turnspeed or in combatspeed? In turnspeed it's basically inconsequential I think, though yeah I'm not totally sure of that. Meizhen (who, admittedly, already knows how to do it) just focused a little to load it. In combatspeed activation definitely isn't free unless the technique is free I think.
"Yeah, I guess we should collect our due," Ling Qi replied absently to Gu Xiulan, glaring down at Hong Lin. Still, despite her words, she felt a twinge of… something when she glanced at the other two. It wasn't guilt precisely, because in the end they had attacked her and her friend. She couldn't really think of Gu Xiulan any other way after her words a few minutes ago after all, even if she was still a bit worried about the other girls temper and inclinations.
"Zhu Qing, right?" Ling Qi called, studiously ignoring the handful of people still lurking within ear shot. The girls shoulders stiffened and her head shot up, even as the green glow around her hands continued unabated. "You have till we're done with her to finish up healing him. You drop the staff afterward and stay where you are."
Ling Qi glanced to Gu Xiulan for approval even as she spoke, it was a little presumptuous, but hopefully the other girl would be fine with it. Gu simply cocked her head to the side slightly, an amused smile on her lips. "There is no rush, I will keep an eye on her," she said simply, turning to face down the other two cultivators with her arms crossed in that slightly irritating bust emphasizing way she had.
The girls face twisted with helpless frustration, but after a moment, she meekly nodded and returned to her work. Dropping her gaze from Gu Xiulan's unimpressed stare. Ling Qi instead strode toward Hong Lin, where the girl had finally managed to sit up. Her legs were burnt badly, and Ling Qi's stomach churned a bit at the scent of cooked flesh, but she kept her glare unwavering as she flicked a knife into her hand. "I don't want anything to do with you or that creep," she said quietly. "But you attacked me and I won't just forgive that," she added coldly. "I figure you know what comes next."
She sneered up at Ling Qi, but she could see the weakness in Hong Lin's expression, the trembling in the hands keeping her upright. "Of course, now you rob me, correct? It isn;t as if I would expect anything else from a beggar."
"Oh do stop that," Gu Xiulan replied dryly, not turning around. "You soft central cultivators do so love your pretensions, but let us not seriously entertain the notion that you would not be taking spoils in our place."
She sniffed, somehow managing to sound haughty despite the obvious pain she was in. "A token of victory is hardly the same as the robbery you sand dwelling bandits engage in," she replied just as coldly. "Get on with it."
Ling Qi rolled her eyes, having no further desire to engage with the girl, who sat stiffly as Ling Qi scooped up her weapons, only barely managing to avoid lurching under their tremendous weight. Her expression darkened when Ling Qi spotted a familiar grey ring on her right hand and reached down to take it. The last thing that caught her eye were a pair of glittering silver anklets the other girl wore, shimmering and unburnt despite the state of the girls leggings and shoes.
She felt a bit bad at the restrained sob of pain that the other girl let out when she removed them, but she crushed it ruthlessly. Just because she had resolved to be a better ally didn't mean she had to be kind to enemies. A quick scan showed her nothing else of value… and Ling Qi wasn't about to escalate to strip searching the other girl. "Don't come near me again," she said flatly as she stood up. "I don't want any further conflict with you, deal with your own problems."
She knew her words were futile, she could see the hate in the other girl's eyes as she rose unsteadily to her feet and turned away, slowly limping off in the direction of the market and the medicine pavilion. Ling Qi would just have to get strong enough that the other girl and her lunatic fiance couldn't threaten her.
"I will show you how to attune the storage ring when we are done," Gu Xiulan said conversationally as Ling Qi turned around to face the same way as her. Ling Qi grunted in response, arms trembling as she continued to support the girls weapons. "You… don't want it?" Ling Qi asked carefully, trying not to show her strain.. She had gotten the impression that they were pretty valuable.
"Father will be sending me a similarly low grade one now that I have reached the second stage," Gu Xiulan replied with a shrug. "Now, allow me to take care of this, since your hands are full."
Zhu Fong had stirred to consciousness while Ling Qi had been relieving Hong Lin of her things, and he glared up at Xiulan from the ground. "This won't be the end of this," he said stiffly as the glow faded from his sister's hands.
"It should be," Ling Qi replied tiredly. "You aren't going to help anyone like this."
Gu Xiulan smirked, idly brushing a few strands of hair that had come loose from her braid out of her eyes. "She is right you know. You'll only waste your time on this nonsense. If you are really so concerned for your friend then perhaps you should cease chasing me, it is hardly my fault your families lack the expertise to aid her," she said dismissively, causing the girl to flush in shame and the boys scowl to deepen. "Now, place your talismans and pouches on the ground, or would you prefer to be crude like that Hong girl?"
"Bandit," the boy spat, even as he kicked the sword still lying at his side toward them and began to remove his belt pouch. Ling Qi shifted from foot to foot, feeling a bit uncomfortable as she watched the girl set her staff down with a pained look, and remove a rather pretty white jade hairpin in the shape of a lotus flower from her hair. Her brother merely unwound his sash and threw it atop his sword. Xiulan collected it all, while humming cheerfully to herself, along with the boys other sword and Ling Qi's knife that had been thrown at the start of the melee.
Gu Xiulan dismissed the two of them with a wave of her hand after that, and Ling Qi fell in beside her as they walked away, heading back toward the lecture hall for the moment to organize and go through their winnings, and she took another of her recovery pills. Gu Xiulan showed her the trick to attuning and opening the ring… it wasn't hard, but apparently the higher quality rings had better security. For now she just had to apply a drop of blood and a bit of qi. It felt rather strange, linking herself to the ring. It felt like she could 'see' the inside of a small stone cube filled with various items in her minds eye, and an effort of will would draw the items out and into the world.
22/31 Qi
Storage Talismans do not count against your accessory limit, though you may only have one equipped at a time. They function essentially as an rpg inventory. Each ring has a limited number of slots for items, and various items stack in different ways.
A brief rundown is as follows
A Talisman of any kind takes a full slot on its own.
Up to five medicines of the same type stack in one slot
Fifty Spirit Stones of any one type may stack in one slot
Mundane items may stack up ten in a slot
Items within a storage talisman may be called into hand at any time as a free action, but only the contents one slot at a time can be summoned per turn. The same goes for storing items. Switching an item for another takes the place of the users action for the turn in a clash, though they may still move.
Once she was able, she emptied the ring out onto the ground of the empty room Xiulan and she had found to divide their spoils in. It contained more spirit stones than she had seen in her life up to that point, including a few glittering yellow ones. Yellow stones were apparently worth ten red ones, according to Xiulan, though the exchange for higher tier stones apparently grew steeply with each level, to the point that a single green stone was worth fifty yellow ones.
There were also a number of pills, some of which she recognized, her own loot was shortly joined by Xiulan's and they soon set to dividing them.
+55 Red Spirit Stones
+2 Yellow Spirit Stones
+3 Qi Expansion Pills
+2 Clear Wind Pills
+1 Lesser Storage Ring (10 Slots)
+15 stones worth of Pills
The remaining pills and elixirs were sadly not much use directly, being things meant to help one cultivate metal, mountain and wood arts respectively, so the two of them agreed to simply split the proceeds on those rather than bother dividing them up, with Gu getting the larger part since Ling Qi had gotten the storage ring.
The talismans were another matter
Lifespring Staff: A old and well cared for wooden staff capped with metal on either end. Adds two dice to the use of wood arts, and reduces the cost of wood arts by two, to a minimum of one. DV 4. 50 stones
Whirlwind Sabers: Fine steel paired sabers with spirit beast hide wraps. Adds one die to the use of wind arts. Reduces the cost of wind arts by two to a minimum of one. Allows to user to project melee attacks up to five meters away. DV 7. 35 stones
Lotus Root Pin: A fine jade hairpin carved in the profile of a lotus flower, with a qi absorbing formation carved masterfully into its design. During battle, the user regains one qi each turn as the pin absorbs the excess qi emitted by the combatants and purifies it for the wearers use. Provides one die to defense against non-physical attacks. 15 stones
Warrior's Sash: A fine gold embroidered sash. Increases the user's initiative by two and adds one die to all normal melee attacks. 5 stones
Mountainheart Guai: A paired set of white stone guai that weigh far more than they appear too. Reduces the cost of metal and mountain arts by three to a minimum of one, ignores armor less than three. DV 10. 35 stones.
Skirmishers Anklets: A pair of fine silver anklets. Increases speed and initiative by one. Reduces the cost of arts equipped to leg meridians by 1, to a minimum of one. 20 stones
"Well… do you want to go to the market before we decide what to do with them?" Ling Qi asked tentatively as they considered the small pile of gear she was crouched in front of. She was reluctant to suggest it, and not just because the idea of spending the next several hours being dragged around by Xiulan on a shopping trip were pretty unappealing. She was worried about everyone. Bai Meizhen had been fighting Sun Liling, and who knew what was happening with Li Suyin and Su Ling, or even Han Jian and the others.
Gu Xiulan looked contemplative for a moment. "I had considered going to see how Jian was faring…" she said thoughtfully. "Or at least find a few of our more insulting peers to put in their place…"
"What was up with that anyway?" Ling Qi asked with a frown, idly twisting the new ring on her finger. She couldn't do anything for Meizhen, and her other friends were probably hiding out at this point if she knew them at all. "I understand why they were insulting me, but what was that 'desert rat' stuff," she added. "And what were you talking about at the end there, when you were scaring them off?" It had slipped her mind at the time, but she was kind of curious now that they had a moments peace.
Gu Xiulan sniffed disdainfully., drumming her fingers against the desk she was leaning on. "Childish and outdated insults about my home and nothing more. You are familiar with the tale of Lu Guanxi?"
LIng Qi blinked, but nodded. "Yeah, he was a hero who saved the empire…" She frowned wracking her brain, she hadn't exactly had time for bedtime stories after leaving mother behind. She had recalled this when she met Han Jian though. "From… some huge army of walking corpses," she finished a little lamely, not remembering the rest of the story. "The King of… something?"
"The Twilight King," Gu Xiulan corrected gently. "A pretender to the imperial throne at the time, who used forbidden arts to craft abominations of his slain foes, yes. In any case, the Gu family is a surviving branch house of the extinct Lu family, hence we are descended from the Sun."
That… Ling Qi thought she was missing something. She was pretty sure Gu Xiulan's family was lower status than Han Jian's, but shouldn't they be higher if that was the case. "Alright," she replied slowly. "So that explains the speech, what about the insults?"
Gu Xiulan scowled, and the air warmed slightly. "My esteemed ancestors actions may have been necessary, but they were hardly without ill effect. Much of Golden Fields remains an ashen wasteland to this day, and in the first millennia after the event the surviving houses of the province… struggled to stay competitive with the rest of the empire," she crossed her arms again. "Of course, my family has worked long and hard to ensure that we are no longer poor vagrants scrabbling among ruins, so such words betray the speaker's lack of knowledge and poor education."
Ling Qi nodded slowly, considering that. Was that why Gu Xiulan liked flaunting her wealth so much? She doubted that was the entire reason, but she suspected it might be part of it. "Well, that's interesting…" Ling Qi considered how to seague back into the other subject, and upon failing to do so simply shrugged. "So, the market?" She asked bluntly.
Gu Xiulan raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed lightly. "Ling Qi, if you really wish for me to help you get yourself well appointed, you only had to ask," she said cheerfully. "That gown of yours is so ill fitting… I know, why don't we both get ourselves fitted for new gowns? I have had about enough of these dowdy grey things."
Ling Qi felt a creeping sense of dread as she glanced down at herself and her wrinkled gown, with it's twice wrapped sash and too short hems. "...This is fine, really," she replied hurriedly. "Besides, isn't this the sect uniform?"
"It really isn't," Xiulan replied chidingly. "You really aren't presenting yourself strongly with such things," she added while studying Ling Qi critically. "The soft color works for you in a way that it does not for me, but I think you might be better with black and shades of blue instead. You will want to stick the high cut to avoid drawing attention to your more deficient attributes… Do you have anything against veils?"
"I don't need to hide my face, I don't look that bad," Ling Qi snapped, feeling defensive.
"No, no," Gu Xiulan replied rolling her eyes. "I wasn't implying anything of the sort, though you could do with making a bit more use of your cosmetics," she added with a slight frown. "But your hair is coming along very nicely," she continued a bit more kindly.
Ling Qi fingered one of the stray strands that always hung in her face, still frowning. It might be true that her hair wasn't quite as lank and stringy anymore, but that wasn't the point. "Then what did you mean?" She hadn't missed that comment about her deficiencies either.
"That you could very well manage the mysterious look with a bit of work you silly girl," Gu Xiulan replied with exasperation. "You know the sort, veils and trailing length of silk that billow with your movements. It would certainly fit with that movement technique of yours. Besides, a proper cultivators gown will do you better in protection than that ugly thing you are wearing under your current garments. Did you go out of your way to select the least appealing gear at the market?"
"I got what I could afford," she replied defensively, but her anger had simmered down. Gu Xiulan wouldn't get her something explicitly worse than what she was already using, even if she'd probably insist on a bunch of silly aesthetic stuff. She did have a lot of stones right now too, and would have a lot more if they sold a few of the talismans, even if she was splitting the proceeds with Xiulan
[] Let Xiulan get you fitted for a gown
-[] Spend 30 stones
-[] Spend 40 stones
-[] Spend 50 stones
[] Sell
-[] Which Talisman's(Note, all sale values are split with Xiulan)
[] Buy
-[] See shop list
Well not a lot of advancement, but kinda necessary given the nature of the vote. The Shop List has been updated with a few new items for your perusal. I am going to hold on updating the character sheet until I see what you guys decide to do.
Tranquil River Veil: A soft blue silken veil embroidered with silver thread. Adds one die to all clashes in which a water technique is used. Reduces the cost of water arts by one to a minimum of one. 25 Red Spirit Stones
Starlight Ribbon: A narrow silk choker that glitters under the the light. Reduces the cost of darkness techniques by one to a minimum of one. Adds one die to all perception checks. 15 stones.
Blooming Heart Brooch: A masterfully crafted silver and platinum clasp with a many faceted ruby at it's center. Reduces the cost of all heart based arts by 1 to a minimum of one and increases their range by five meters. 40 stones
From the shop. at least I think the ribbon and brooch is new.
