Waiting for more votes and, since you lived up to the moment of intensive training, done the elaboration of how the attributes influence attribute skill bonuses
Attribute skill bonus = (total major influence attribute / 2 + total average influence attribute / 3 + total minor influence attribute / 4) - 10
ATTRIBUTE INFLUENCE ON SKILLS
Skill
Major influence
Average influence
Minor influence
Melee combat
STR
COOR
MOB
Ranged combat
PER
MICR
STR
Arcane skill
INT
MICR
CON
Defence
CON
MOB
STR
Objects usage
MICR
PER
STR
Mounted combat
COOR
STR
MICR
Willpower
WIS
INT
PER
Balance
COOR
MOB
STR
Sneaking
COOR
PER
MOB
Reconnaissance
PER
WIS
INT
Persuasion
CHA
WIS
INT
Intimidation
CON
CHA
STR
Haggle
CHA
PER
WIS
Performance
CHA
MICR
WIS
Seduction
CHA
COOR
CON
Geography lore
WIS
INT
PER
Nature lore
WIS
INT
PER
Arcane lore
WIS
INT
PER
Social and cultural lore
WIS
INT
CHA
Craft lore
WIS
INT
MICR
Lingual lore
WIS
INT
CHA
Daily craft
MICR
WIS
INT
Pharma and treatment
INT
MICR
WIS
Weaponsmithing
MICR
INT
STR
Armorsmithing
MICR
INT
CON
Tailorng
MICR
INT
CHA
Art
MICR
CHA
WIS
Artificery
MICR
INT
WIS
Burglary
MICR
INT
PER
Huntsmanship
PER
WIS
COOR
Alchemy
INT
WIS
MICR
Sorcery
INT
WIS
PER
The most curious or/and persistent of you may even analyze the skill sets of available companions to get some meta insights on their backgrounds
I feel like starting making minor lore codex additions (one entry would be below 500 words or so. Might become a good warm-up before actually writing updates). So I need you to pick the topics within our girl's reach. How does it work? You state the topics of codex knowledge you would like to see covered and list them. This would be a sub-vote in between some of the updates. You can start tossing your lists of the desired codex uncovers right now. Just keep them within ten at a time per a reader and try to bespecific.
Just feelin' charitable enough to give you a free hint:
Judging by the previous vote (and how all voters went for the mage-fighter hybrid), you seem to have decided on the class niche for Lucy. With that decision made, you may want to decide on whom you'd like to see at your party of misfits. Note that it is an indirect choice in 30% of cases. By that, I mean that some characters may forward you to some other characters they know who would likely join you (or not very likely, or conditionally). That being said, you still have some time to decide whom and why you'd like to see in unless you would prefer to rely on your luck later on.
You've unlocked an essential dialogue and will have a number of INPUTS. This number is 10 for this conversation - it is made out of your CHA modifier and the situation that presumes zero urgency and no negative opinions about you held by the interlocutor.
You can input your phrases, questions, social actions like bluff or persuasion, from Lucifina's perspective (aka in character). To do so, you just type the input and color it with Lucy's color (Amber)
You can write the general guideline and the message of an input, leave it with the default color, and I will speak for lucifina.
If you go for an input that requires social rolls, I will notify you and ask to make one.
You can end these dialogues prematurely before exhausting all of the available inputs if at least three of you type "Stop conversation" or if there were no new inputs for more than a day.
Mind that different characters come out of various walks of life, have different interests, likes and dislikes, so try to think about the context and about the strategy of getting the information or resources that you want.
Continuing the tradition, here goes the second rundown analysis of what you did and how it affected the story.
This time, each update gonna get a bit of my snarky (or not) commentary. Perhaps, it would give you some thoughts while you are taking your sweet time reading this and, hopefully, deciding the on where and with whom to send Lucy on the new adventure.
Day first or "are we there yet?"
One fluff vote to ensure what kind of dietary preferences our girl has (I guessed right about what would you chose), trying to make a good impression on all the new people (good move), and asking the maidservant to show you around (also a good move). Overall: no arguably dumb decisions made. Although, it was hard to do stupid this early in the chapter.
A casual tour or "where do they hide all the bagels?" The sweetest vote possible won there. Big bro got some love, and you made a step in ensuring that he will support you through hell and high water. Also, it was fun to write that scene in the next update, especially when playing with the contrasts and the scenery. Had to dig some parables to make it even more thematic. Judging by @Lazy Minx reaction, I reached the desired effect.
A bedtime story or "what lies at the bottom of a tale?"
This voting bout was a rather fun one. I'm still wondering whether did you vote for the bath scene because of the fanservice demand or because you really thought it would be a good idea. In any case, some bonding time with Amalia plus a spoiler bomb regarding some of Lucy's not-so-common physiology. Oh, and wing-jitsu. I was kinda surprised how seriously you would train this particular skill later on, choosing it over socialization or attribute raising.
Day third or "applied anatomy for dummies"
Not an influential vote in here, really. There was not much serious stuff you could've done there, and you decided to go socialize with Big Bro, who was also socializing with Claudius. Interestingly enough, you might have had a harder time getting old healer's trust if not that scene. Should your rapport with Claudius be at least three points lower, Isaac wouldn't be available for free hire. Writing a scene after this voting was moderately challenging back then because it was the first big sequence of dialogs (I always struggle with these).
A jolly banter or "here's a health to the company"
Well, I'll be honest: I decided to spice things up a little in the second part of this update. You had two major options back then: to risk and explore or to stay put and inquire. You've chosen the latter, missing on a slight boost to the spirit magic and some trivia about Dalgaard family.
Day fifth or "the bliss of ignorance"
Now, this is where the first PHAT decision in this chapter was made. In short, there were four pathways from this point:
1) You run away with Sephorah, derailing the entire route of the story.
2) You keep Sephorah hidden, which would've resulted in your ability to covertly communicate with her for the duration of the chapter, but also in lower defenses of the manor, which would've made the chapter ending a bit (or not just a bit) more tragic.
3) You exposed Sephorah to Rosaline and elaborated on who she is. This was the route you took, and it resulted in the lack of communication with the Dusky woman but also with higher manor defenses, which served you well.
4) Should you fail miserably at hiding or elaborating Sephorah's presence, she would've been thrown in jail, leaving the story until the final credits rundown. The manor security would've been bolstered at the cost of you never seeing this damsel again.
A sudden visit or "but I wanna keep her!"
This is the point from which the serious character-building began. The exploration of the third floor was also well-timed since it unlocked one of Claudius's routes and some other opportunities. To squeeze the maximum out of that vote (and to make my QM life harder) you could've scouted the first floor as well (the absence of this decision bit you in the butts later on and barred away from Gustoff's and Andrew's routes, which is why in the ongoing vote you have not the slightest idea which recruits they might have directed you to. By not exploring the first floor in time, you isolated yourself from some considerable chunks of lore regarding seafaring, coastal lands, and history as well as some material bonuses.
The early half of the second week or "crouching angel, hidden mage"
Now, aren't you sweet pumpkins :3 ? Very in-character, very sweet. Helped a lot in gaining Rosaline's and Claudius's trust, as well as secured Amalia as a free-of-cost hire. Yes, that slowed down your training, but, at the very least, you've learned some handy skills in the process.
After the sudden visit. Rosaline's perspective
Not much to say here. A vote deciding on hiring a comic relief male fighter or a stiff-lipped knightesse with a pole up her arse. Comedy won, although I still can't comprehend why you decided to overlook poor Lodric during the chapter. I almost feel sorry for the spotlight malnutrition he got.
The latter half of the second week or "it's that time of year"
The voting facilitation where I dun goofed. Seriously, I should've included some options as the way you decided what to do with the kiddies had a potential impact on the final sequence in the chapter. How? They could've been recruited to spy and sabotage for a promise to let them see their relatives. And they would've been granted with that wish, although not in a way they imagined (If you do remember what happened with some of their parents, you can figure out on what am I hinting). Well, you dodged such situation more because of my inadequacy than because of own actions.
The eve of the third week or "why can't I, for once, have a nice dream?"
Well, as for the update, I still don't understand why do you tend to overlook Lucy's dreams, I dig down buttloads of very subtle clues in em. As for the voting, you did quite well. Checking on who attends attic turned out to be 40% in succeeding with Claudius's route, and checking the second floor opened even more opportunities for you, especially with developing Lucy as a mage and picking her own magic operating style.
The first part of the third week or "party hard!"
Must confess, I was somewhat surprised by the choice of gifts you decided to take; my main bet was the posh dress and the second was the sturdy travel clothes. Oh well, QM's must be ready for anything. This is also when you seemingly began to realize the ease with which Lucy can advance as a mage. As it happened a bit later, you would go not for a pure mage aka surprise me again.
Oh! you have also missed on a particularly fun event wherein Lucy finds Amalia and three other maidservants being members of an "underground literature club", reading various stories while hiding from the head maid. Yep, it would've been a subtle easter egg reference to the Doki Doki literature Club, with some snacks, bhirothian ghost stories (some of which you could even try to confirm later in the story), and a huuuuge boost in relationships with Amalia. Alas, poor Yorick.
The second part of the third week or "learning the ropes"
The continuation of character building in which you went for a martial/magic balance route. You did miss on an opportunity to have a couple of fun scenes with Rosaline in town as well as even more bonding with her (which you compensated nevertheless further in the story) and a one helpful item of your choice.
The first part of the fourth week or "work it 'till it hurts"
This is when I made my tendency to subtly take notes from your votes to determine the development of Lucy's psyche not so subtle. Well, you made the girl fearful of all sorts of lewd, which absolutely certainly will surface in the future for a number of times. Also, this is when I understood the approach you would use to deal with issues (aka cast first, stab to be sure later).
The second part of the fourth week or "the sown efforts' first crops"
This was a close tie between going well with the lows or with the tops. In the end, the noblesse plan won, shifting Lucy's disposition towards better understanding those with power and influence, and a little bit clumsier with the commoners of all type (not even mentioning wretches). Expect the members of said groups to make comments on Lucy's social disposition. As for the development, you persisted with the "Valkyrie" stereotype, making Lucy a bit less helpless in the conflict situations.
The first half of the fifth week or the "sweet taste of success"
Oh my! Here I was expecting you to teach Lucy to be either ultra-open or uber-sheltered about the way she expresses her feelings, but you decided to go with the middle path, which won't lead Lucy to neither "Ice queen" nor "tomboy" type of person. The way you responded to the gambling event also suggests that you are grooming her as a balanced "Hero" archetype with a tint of adorkable naivete. Also, at this point, I abandoned the thoughts of you remember that the girl has the affinity in the spirit magic. Ironically, if you DID abandon it, Lucy would've been able to perform some serious combat-oriented thaumaturgy tricks by now with at least some success, but it would also lock her out from the other route-deciding story point which I would elaborate next.
The dawn of the sixth week or "my very first delivery from the other side" The dawn of the sixth week or "hints prodding and clues shaking"
A subtle way of delivering the message from Limbus, some fluff, and almost the best resolution of the urban ambush. Exposing thaumaturgy did bite you and everyone at Dalgaard manor in the read, and this is not the end of it but, frankly speaking, you did well there. Those investments into the ability to defend oneself certainly paid off. During this sequence, you were the sloppiest with handling Sephorah. She would probably remember that exchange between you as an awkward one. The resolution of the ambush event put the last update's sequence on the countdown. Oh, another thing: Claudius would not have survived should you let any harm come to Rosaline. So, double-well done.
The dawn of the sixth week or "fumes and fury" The first part of the sixth week or "pokes&pinches" The second part of the sixth week or "all shall be well?" The first part of the seventh week or "more home than a house"
I honestly intended to run a full-blown detective sequence, but after witnessing how poorly detective gameplay goes on SV, I just buried down three leads which you could've uncovered to neutralize the damage done in the last update. You did find one of them, which made the last update not-entirely-perfect. Although, I am not telling you who's the spy yet just so you have a thought or two about the risk of taking them into your party. Also, by voting to socialize with Morinth, you unlocked one of the destinations (which I was certain you would do). Also, scouting the first floor THAT late into the chapter was an absolutely funny thing to watch. Maybe you haven't noticed, but I even snarked about that decision in the update itself.
The second part of the seventh week or "Anything that can go wrong..."
Anything that can go wrong didn't go wrong this time around. The last update was a short summary of the consequences of your earlier decisions, which you can check from the invisible text scattered here and there. If measured by the western grades scale, this is either an A- or B+ chapter ending, which is quite and quite good. You did make a lot of good decisions, even though not venturing for the bolder ones and missing some of the opportunities. But in general, well played. Even a bit better than the previous chapter, due to your tendency to better stay safe than sorry.
Now, you are up to build upon your decisions and continue the (group)story. Be mindful where you wish to go and whom you want to bring along (I'd say especially be mindful who are you taking with you). Also, the next chapter will start after the second chapter's outro update (2.21). I will tell you more about what to expect next after you assemble your party. Also, do keep in mind that the first update of the third chapter will take place after a minor time skip, during which I will give you some points to raise skills/attributes/arcane/relationships to better suit your vision of Lucy and her party.
I do not want to rush the voting process, realizing that I spoiled you with all the presets it is that time of the year when activity isn't that high, but I would also stress out that the ongoing vote is of crucial importance, so try to leave your mark on the story, ok? :3
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Tidbits of trivia on willpower, arcane, and power of friendship
But for the sake of clarity: @Teloch does Willpower provide mechanical bonuses to resisting aspects' drawbacks? I can't find info on that, but I believe it was mentioned IC.
It has a variety of uses like resisting mental afflictions or attempts of hostile mages to brainwash/smite you, but not technically required to progress further with arcane (it is WIS that accelerates learning). As you remember, there already was one series of rolls for it, featuring the "shaken" affliction for the losers. But anyway, it will come in quite handy if you decide to pursue spirit aspect and navigate Limbus a lot - there is a lot of messed up stuff going on in the purgatory and plenty of entities that may or may not attempt to shatter our girl's brains.
Speaking of aspects, you are per a level away in both schools from starting to unlock some really crazy stuff, which you may or may not deploy efficiently considering your arcane skill.
Also, I consciously chose to not socialize with people because I want to heed Ulren's warning. If Lucy plans to get into combat (and we do plan to do that, right?) then now is the time she has to prepare herself.
You decide. Technically, it is possible to go through the quest without throwing Lucy into combat at all and rolling exclusively as an administrator protagonist, which means that your task would be mentoring/coaching other characters to be their best (You did notice that Ren got a new team perk, right?) and to recruit/seek for new characters for increased odds at collective survival. Buuut, other readers discarded the idea of pacifist Lucy a long time ago, so it is basically the choice of how much you wish to do yourself and how much to leave to others. Be warned, though, that having the low rapport with others or turning the blind eye to ongoing hostilities between character does not only lock them from reaching higher potential as a collective but also raises some potentially health-hazardous risks.
On this note, progressing with relationships and personal stories can and will open some unique behavioral perks of your teammates. For now, you have only one opened, but how many and which exactly will depend on how you treat and arbitrate others. It goes without mentioning that these perks can and will likely be story-influencing in the long run.
In this chapter, I attempted to change the tone a little bit, knowing that the second chapter ended on a dark-ish one (but not as grim-dark as it possibly could should you make the wrong decisions). So, your regular "dialogue" with a diary and a pub brawl to kick things off in a more light-hearted way (Now, counting the number of cliches, I wonder how exactly did this quest evade the sewer level trope so far).
The essential choices in this chapter's voting were: higher risk & complete pacification VS taking one side for half of the consequences VS taking minimum risks in exchange for delayed consequences. Some new options might have popped, but as I see, write-ins are quite rare occurrences. In any case, I recall drafting a hilarious scene of Lucy playing on the troublemakers inflated egos and using public shaming to defuse the hostilities. You went for the short-term safest option with the most delayed consequences, so I had to re-package the hilarity charge into Seph's infamous "chair-to-the-face" waltz.
As for the concluding update of the sequence, your earliest plan of action resulted in a souring of attitude between Ren and Seph. Also, you have picked the more lengthy route (the alternative was going through the marshy part and encountering a trading carriage stuck in a bog and assaulted by the wildlife, with me putting you before a choice either to save riches and get profit or to save live(s) and get a minor non-monetary benefit). Additionally, you seem to rekindle interest in Lucy's "medium" magic ability, pushing her back from the more popular modern archetype of angel towards the more dated Valkyrie one.
Yeah, I threw a spook at you. Not all that dangerous, though (whacking players in the very start of the adventure is a bat tone, IMHO). And then, there was a choice between doing an arguably less moral thing to do (perpetuating the suffering of the void-corrupted soul, endangering your party member, but getting a substantial arcane aspects learning boost) to leave, everything as it was, or doing the selfless thing with no further benefits or risks. You did the latter, ye lovely players <3. It also cheered me to see @Raptor580 recounting this particular encounter much later on in a comment to a vote, which makes me think that the scene was sufficiently memorable.
The slight ambiance-filled intermission after the skirmish scene, some minor opportunity for characters affections shifts, and, most of all, a chance to get a unique mascot character, which you did. Once again, I played with your sense of curiosity/looter instinct VS your morals. Although, this time around I made it less morally-charged as in there were less arguments for not taking Mia's collar medallion. And this is how you, after rather divided voting, ended up with an ectoplasmic smug menace. I am absolutely itching to spoil a bit more of this character's conception (which those perceptive of you might have already guessed out), but I'll keep it until much later. As of now, I'll just say that you haven't missed out on one of the two pre-designed unique mascots (the other one was a gargoyle telepath and would've been available should you pick the route to Rabenia Dukedom at the end of the second chapter).
A relatively easy sequence of updates used for some worldbuilding, showing you some hints of how your inter-group dynamics are developing and testing your social side. To my little surprise, you went the neutral-good way. Although, I hoped you would vote for Seph to do her "about to give birth" scene. You did play it back to a degree in a followed interactive dialogue phase. Must confess, writing "The Talk" trope was hilarious, even more so after Lucy's first unfortunate encounter with the topic of lewd. You do realize that our girl now has a complex about this stuff, do you?
This is where I decided to put you up for the first serious combat encounter, letting you either skip it with some losses, go moderate, or go reckless. You went moderate, initiating a mini-boss (although, I doubt that a mutated rabid manticore fits the "mini" prefix all that well). Even though the closing crisis of the third chapter also had some interesting rolling sessions during the camp defense & evacuation phase, I still think that the manticore boss fight combat rolling session was the most intriguing one in the quest so far. Much drama, some action scene writing, Sephorah wondrously evading the critical state of struggling for her life and the beast going down. Yeah, this sequence was a high-octane fun to roll and write. Considering the number of comments with considerations and analysis, here's my hope that you all enjoyed it as well.
A fat-ish mid-chapter respite update during which you sent Lucy to develop her combative side, pushing her further the "Valkyrie" stereotype. Lots of exposition, some downtime with Seph (back then, I thought she is your favorite character, but the ongoing poll does not exactly seem to confirm that). Overall, all the support party members did unexpectedly well (MEIDO POWA!), and you had an episode of thriving. The end of the update hosted path-deciding and high-consequential choices. You've made your picks and "successfully" avoided a new companion. Back then, I just shrugged, thinking that you probably grab at least one extra body a little bit further. Little did I know... But anyway, you decided to go a bit lengthier path with more sequences packed.
A minor party banter scene with the first part of the consequences of the choices made in the chapter's first update came to bite your pinky butts. A low to medium threat encounter with options to disgracefully buy yourselves out of this predicament or to double down and go lethal. Here, I played with your "plank" of pacifism but failed miserably after making the assaulters who have just had a skirmish... umm... let's say display an unhealthy degree of libido. Predictably, you went for no mercy at all. Do be sure that the encounter and its resolution left a permanent dent on Lucy as a person. She will always remember that she has blood on her hands. But from the writing point of view, that's a good pile of food for character development and extra drama potential.
The resolution of the skirmish with briarites and the start of the new crisis. The support squad did well to locate the threat, but Jory did not get out with others. You going to get Jory's arse out of peril was something I pretty much anticipated, but you all surprised me by playing it over-cautious and not joining the storming group. In short, you decided to minimize the short-term risks and skipped a sequence of mini-events, which ended up with your group barely clawing Jory out and running away while receiving some beating. This was the point where your overall "success" decline in this chapter began, with the first "damage control" sequence. Oh, and should your party roll 2-3 points better or should Lucy take part in an assault, you would've gained some loot, opportunities, and came across a potential recruit who had been enslaved. Second possible recruitment opportunity denied by the dice gods. Happens to anyone, and it's not like you would dodge the third chance, I thought back then. But...
The campfire evening of "spiritual healing" episode after two sequences of violence and tension. @veekie steered away from my expectations of whom you would decide to initiate a larger dialogue, though. The dialog went normal, but at the point when you voted for Lucy to call Amalia strange, I sincerely believed that you are going to bully the poor meido. Good thing I was wrong in my suspicions shortly. Overall, you got some info on Jory, which Lucy used in the last update's "verbal beatdown", and laid the foundation of Amalia's new perk of a team relationship assistant manager. However, you missed to open up her another perk by not choosing the option of asking about her role model and picking Morinth as such. Still, it went rather well. PS: why are some still suspicious about Amalia? (ಠ_ಠ) No bulli meidos, ok?
Oh, and the ghost cat made its entry. Have I told you that she is essentially your guide through Limbus (aka purgatory)? In this regard, she is the only one from your party at the moment who can and will follow you there. In addition, she is pretty much your spiritology mentor, even if a smug and quirky one. A good find, right? You can even try to search for a way to get on her better side (I did not include her to the ship-o-meter sheet because the relationships between felines and people are not that easily measured & estimated)
*brews some more tea*, *sips obnoxiously loud*. Four. Four companions missed. Like, you had an option to either enter one of three instances, launching a subsequent series of mini-updates instead of the last crisis chain of this update, with potential recruits in each instance, but you decided to skip em all. All of them. Just to count the alternative routes: the river shore village had an exotic non-humanoid companion and some minor loot should you go through minor investigational tasks and get out from the ambush of amphibious predators. The lonely fortified hut hosted no loot but an almost warranted survivalist companion with her pet after a sequence of the crazed wildlife siege. And ruins could've been your typical dungeon crawl run made out as an exploration - puzzle - combat situations triangle with good loot and a possibility to get not one but two companions. You dodged em all and rushed forth towards the chapter's last crisis sequence. *gulps all the tea*. This decision to push forward, though, resulted in some extra leeway in the coming chapter and a little bit more freedom in actions due to... ehm... you'll see it soon-ish™.
Now, before I deconstruct this one, I must mention the poor luck in getting this crisis at all. When you picked the riverside valley path, it was stated that the paranormal risks are rather low, meaning that the chances to stumble at anomaly shenanigans were outnumbered by the odds to end up in any other type of crisis. But the gods of random decided that they would like some more of the low-probability misfortunes comparable to the OHK of HMS Hood. So, in the end, you had to face one of the three worst possible situations that Blugd-Tur can throw at you.
So, it all began from the reconnaissance phase, during which you had an option to investigate, a chance to get what's going on earlier or to stay alert until the poop hit the fan. During this phase of the ultimate crisis, Lucy managed to cause more problems for everyone by getting Seporah misconceived of your intentions, unwittingly putting her at risk. Then, Lucy gracefully failed the chances to find similarities with the abandoned fortress haunting incident and to raise the alarm before the things got violent. It all ended up in you pushing the first phase to the limit and then deciding to back down. Should I tell you how screwed you would have been in this situation, should you not invest time in learning how to fly and should you not take Mia's collar medallion with you? Also, for fairness sake, I must mention that you would have had a chance of averting the detonation of the crisis into its second part should you only went for a spiritualist mage build during chapter 2, but that was not to be.
And so, there was a cry "havoc" and the dogs of war slipped loose [/dramaqueen]. Lucy's stats and resilience against arcane shocks carried her thorough the escalation part (do you still remember that decision to brace yourself against the arcane storm before recovery of Mia's token, eh?). And yet again the flight capability granted to at least some time before the onslaught began. But alas, Lusy failed to guide Seph back. Should she fail her speed check too, she would have been lost and it would've been your fault (you really should have informed Ren about your intentions to investigate instead of her). But she was speedy enough to end up not far away.
The course of the escalation path was majorly decided by the rolls of the first turn. No one seemed to notice, but Ren got just enough scores to pass the checks by the skin of his teeth. Should he not, you would have lost both him and Sephorah. Then, Amalia's daily craft came in handy (not as much from rolls as from her trained skill values). Isaac pulled out a "humble hero" card twice. Speaking straightforward, you decided to go for the best course of action available during the escalation and the dice gods, apparently, decided to reward you by not screwing up the rolls. The second turn resulted in Karl's affliction, resolving (or ignoring) which lies on you in the following chapter. Isaac got the foundation for his new trait due to his performance and smooth recovery from misfortunate development. Generally speaking, you salvaged the situation during the escalation phase, and even managed not to lose much in the material sense. Some proper damage control that was.
The last sequence in the chapter, which was meant to drop down the tension and to get some form of conclusions to what happened before. From noticeable developments, it is worthy to mention you success in using Jory's meltdown to softly reboot him. The lad is up for some painful self-searching now. Also, as you might have noticed, the result of the group's last crisis handling has led to the change of plans, so the fourth chapter would start differently from what it moved towards all this time. This will affect the development of the story, as mentioned before. Oh, almost forgot to mention that another side-effect of Lucy and the company surviving through that department of hell on earth is that Ren and Seph are currently on the best terms they ever were. Neither of them internalized that yet, but you might have your own ideas about what to do with that (or maybe not).
*sighs out*
And here we are, about to start a new chapter in this journey, even though I'm tempted to spoil it right now, I'd just say that, from the systemic point of perspective, it will look like a set of interconnected mini-adventures which you would be able to pick from. It would somewhat be reminiscent of the stay at Dalgaard mansion but now with more evident risks, benefits, and autonomy. This playing field would likely take from half of the fourth chapter to its entirety, depending on how entangled would you get and which decisions you would make.
Overall, I would rate your performance in chapter 3 as B or even B+ on a scale with S as a maximum score. You took off rather well, peaked closer to the middle, flatlined right after the Baathor, and then went into the lengthy phase of mistakes, misfortunes, and damage control. Still, you held out quite well, and your situation at the beginning of chapter 4 would be rather empowering.
But before I would launch it, please, solve the ties in the ongoing vote :3
Now, that being said, I would like to make a little remark unrelated to the narrative.
Keeping things short and concise, I want to thank all of you: from those who guided Lucy from the day one, like @veekie and @Raptor580 , to those who just joined, as the math wizard @uiopion , @Genesys , those who were in for a while, like @Mother Nyx , @Zaealix , @Martenzo , everyone else, and even to all the lurkers who never voted but still invested their time into following this quest.
It is one thing to see a story getting a decent mileage, having a story to continue its run after a hiatus is a league a bit higher. The development of this fictional world would not have been possible without you, so...
Now, with this done, I'm up to proceed to the preparations maintenance/editions phase. But don't think I would leave you without content! POV side story is coming as soon as we finalize the last 3-rd chapter's vote. New codex content drops are in order regardless.
Sooooo, I am gonna read this from the front just so I can reacquaint myself with everything. I have not forgotten this quest, and Angel girl is still the best girl. See you when I make it to the other side.
Aw. Welcome back, ye magnificent minx. Lucy might have done some things while you weren't looking :3
Also, it seems I've managed to confuse you all again with the voting layout.
Here's the technical elaboration:
- Three voting blocks are expected, with three party members ticked in the first one and per one zone of investigation in the next two.
By voting for an investigation zone, you send the party members, which you divided into groups to make the zones' highlighted rolls to gain more clues and leads.
- There are no strict checks by default, so the quality and the number of gained clues are determined by the rolls "difficulty" tiers beaten.
- Each round of investigation will consume some time, after which you will have some new information on the investigation (hopefully) and vote again using the modified options layout
- Things will change the more rounds pass.
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The existing lore topics queue has been depleted, it's time for a new one!
As the title of the post says: we have cleared the old lore topics queue, which means it is the high time for you to decide which topics you want me to reveal next.
Here is the list excluding the ones already filled:
[] The War of the First Star overview, northern front
[] The War of the First Star overview, central front
[] The War of the First Star overview, southern front
[] Siege of Krodoss
[] The reservists' counter-offense
[] Forcing of Ruby river
[] Fall of the Lothar kingdom
[] Olfadir-Rhathonian wars
[] The recent history of Pheotor
[] The fall of Beilford
[] The Strasford incident
Geography:
[] The Northern Pheotor
[] Eldheitaed Mountains
[] Erbon Mountains
[] Sud Dalur Valley
[] Ebongale Peninsula and Archipelago
[] Cullanor valley
[] Gulljar Island
[] Soltsveig Islands
[] Riverlands
[] Western Hinterlands
[] The sphere of aspects
[] Thaumaturgy
[] Seers
[] Saints
[] Spirit aspect II
[] Spirit traces
[] Necromancy
[] Body aspect
[] Conflagration and radiation aspect
[] Statics aspect
[] Morphosis aspect
[] Alchemy II
[] Arcane crafting
[] Enchanting
[] Runecrafting
[] Arcane resistance (haber vita)
[] Gaian rejuvenation theory
[] Gaian flood seasons
[] Gaian metamorphosis
[] Limbus
Miscellaneous:
[] Balls on Skald mountain near Edenbridge
[] Ghost chases over Blug-Tur
The rules are simple: each voter can pick up to ten topics of interest regardless of the section for me to orient towards. The most popular topics will be unveiled first. Apparently, it's a simple vote and not a plan format.
I encourage everyone to vote on these as there are no right or wrong answers but just your interest and preferences in worldbuilding :3
As mentioned in the previous post, after recalling the positive reaction to going with the presets earlier, I'll bring them back for more complicated voting sets.
Just as before, you are not obliged to copy them entirely and can modify and fine-tune them, or go with your own custom plans.
Here is the set for the ongoing voting phase:
[] Custom plan: "A sharp word and sword can achieve more than just a word"
-[] The sense of self-proof, accomplishment, and familial endorsement.
-[] Seek out Mia's help to learn interactions with soul sparks and spirits at large (hard (18) Charisma check for -2 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Go with Ulren on a joint hunt with kherees.
-[] Go shopping and information gathering with Sephorah and Amalia.
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Melee combat
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Melee combat
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Sephorah
---[] Try having a talk on how she views and treats Ulren.
[] Custom plan: "When I close my eyes, the Sun is watching me"
-[] The call of your mystical nature.
-[] Study Karl's condition more, catalog and compare to your yesterday insights regarding voidlings' sparks properties (-1 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Practice and study your magic disciplines!
--[] Practice thaumaturgy
-[] Intensive training of attributes
--[] INT
-[] Routine attribute training
--[] INT
-[] Routine attribute training
--[] INT
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Melee combat
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Melee combat
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Defense
[] Custom plan: "A gentle guide for those living and not"
-[] The call of your mystical nature.
-[] Seek out Mia's help to learn interactions with soul sparks and spirits at large (hard (18) Charisma check for -2 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Study Karl's condition more, catalog and compare to your yesterday insights regarding voidlings' sparks properties (-1 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Practice and study your magic disciplines!
--[] Study soul aspect
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Defense
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Isaac
---[] Thank him for the job he's been doing, inquire about his life before this trip.
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Sephorah
---[] Inquire how she's handling this journey. If lucky, grasp for pieces of her background.
[] Custom plan: "In Queen Anora's footsteps"
-[] The tender sprout of leadership
-[] Seek out Mia's help to learn interactions with soul sparks and spirits at large (hard (18) Charisma check for -2 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Study Karl's condition more, catalog and compare to your yesterday insights regarding voidlings' sparks properties (-1 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Go shopping and information gathering with Sephorah and Amalia.
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Melee skill
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Sephorah
---[] Try having a talk on how she views and treats Ulren.
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Ulren
---[] Inquire about his days as a soldier and ask how did he handle his unit.
[] Custom plan: "They are my tribe and I must be their heart and a pillar"
-[] The sense of self-proof, accomplishment, and familial endorsement.
-[] Seek out Mia's help to learn interactions with soul sparks and spirits at large (hard (18) Charisma check for -2 to incompetency, ???)
-[] Go shopping and information gathering with Sephorah and Amalia.
-[] Join Isaac and Jory for in-house experimentation & supplies production, medication, and inventory management efforts.
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Targeted skill training
--[] Persuasion
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Sephorah
---[] Try having a talk on how she views and treats Ulren.
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Isaac
---[] Thank him for the job he's been doing, inquire about his life before this trip.
-[] Try bonding with someone
--[] Jory
---[] Inquire him on how he is holding up after the cursed valley. Ask him why he wants to see local witch-doctors
